PITTSBURGH, PA – An illegal alien found in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty and has been sentenced in federal court to time served and one year supervised release on his conviction of illegal re-entry after deportation, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Rolando Tabora Fuentes, age 40, of Honduras. Judge Hornak further ordered that, following service of the sentence of imprisonment, Tabora Fuentes be remanded to the custody of federal immigration authorities for commencement of deportation proceedings.

According to information presented to the court, Fuentes was formally removed from the United States by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement on June 9, 1998, September 8, 2009, and September 20, 2013. Fuentes was found by federal agents to be illegally present in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 29, 2018. Law enforcement also determined that Fuentes did not receive permission to re-enter the United States.

Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Brady commended the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Fuentes.

Two convicted felon who each possessed a gun were sentenced on November 26, 2018, to nearly six years apiece in federal prison.

Tereall Deshawn Green, age 24, and Javonta Juan Herbert, age 26, both from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison terms after each previously pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Information from the sentencing hearing and prior court hearings showed that on January 13, 2018, Green and Herbert were passengers in a car that the Waterloo police stopped shortly after 1:00 a.m.  During the course of the stop, officers found a gun stuck in the front of Green’s pants and tied to a drawstring in the pants.  Officers also found a gun on the backseat floor where Herbert had been sitting and hiding under his foot.  After Green was arrested, he slipped out of his handcuffs and ran from officers but was apprehended a short time later.  Both Green and Herbert had prior felony convictions. 

In 2012, Green was convicted in Iowa state court of intimidation with a dangerous weapon and willful injury causing serious injury.  In that case, Green got a gun out of a car and fired shots at a group of people.  Green hit two people, one person in the abdomen and one in the arm.  The person who was struck in the abdomen required surgery because the bullet hit the person’s liver.

In sentencing Herbert, the court noted he had a long criminal history that showed he was a danger to the community and likely to commit further crimes.  Herbert’s criminal conduct began as a juvenile and continued as an adult with multiple burglary and theft convictions. 

Green and Herbert were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Each was sentenced to 71 months’ imprisonment.  They must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.      

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   The Department of Justice 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, the Department of Justice 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.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department. 

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

The case file number is 18-cr-2006.

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BOSTON – A Boston-area investment adviser was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for using his clients’ funds to make his own investments and to pay personal expenses.

James Polese, 52, of Wenham, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $30,000 and restititution in the amount of $462,000.  In April 2018, Polese pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and investment adviser fraud, eight counts of bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. In June 2018, co-conspirator Cornelius Peterson, 29, of Newton, was sentenced to 20 months in prison, two years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $462,000.

From approximately 2014 to June 2017, Polese and Peterson misappropriated approximately half a million dollars from their clients by transferring funds out of their clients’ accounts without their knowledge or consent. Specifically, on Aug. 20, 2014, Polese and Peterson used $100,000 from a client’s account to invest in a wind farm project despite the fact that it was not an investment opportunity authorized by their company. On May 15, 2015, Polese and Peterson used $400,000 from another client’s account to back a letter of credit in support of the wind farm project. On multiple occasions in 2017, Polese transferred funds from a client’s account to pay personal expenses, including college tuition payments and credit card bills. Polese and Peterson were terminated from the company in June 2017.

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. The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission also provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

ATLANTA – The last defendant of a group of 16 U.S. Postal Service letter carriers and clerks from across the Atlanta area was sentenced to federal prison for accepting bribes to deliver packages of cocaine – two kilograms or more at a time – in a wide-reaching undercover operation.  The defendants were willing to make the deliveries for bribes as low as $250, and received sentences of between three and nine years in prison.

“U.S. Postal Service workers are typically valuable members of the community, entrusted to deliver the mail every day to our homes,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.  “This important operation identified and prosecuted 16 corrupt individuals who chose to abuse that trust and instead used their positions to bring what they thought were large amounts of dangerous drugs into those same communities for a quick payoff.”

“The FBI places a high priority on public corruption based investigations and we hope this sentencing will serve as a deterrent for others,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office. “The blatant abuse of the public trust in this case not only stains the reputation of all U.S. Postal Service employees, but it puts the residents on their routes in significant danger by bringing drugs into their community.”

“Postal employees are paid to deliver mail, not drugs,” said Imari R. Niles, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Capital Metro Area Field Office.  “The vast majority of the Postal Service’s 600,000 employees are hard-working, trustworthy individuals. When postal employees decide to risk their job, benefits, retirement, and freedom to get involved with drug trafficking, Special Agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General will work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office to put them all in federal prison.”

“Drug trafficking, in itself, is an inherently dangerous crime,” said Sherry Boston, DeKalb County District Attorney. “When perpetrated by those in positions of public trust, citizen safety is severely compromised.  The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ferret out cases of public corruption and ensure that those who abuse their authority and violate the public’s trust, are held accountable for their actions.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2015, federal agents involved in the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization in Atlanta learned that drug traffickers had been bribing postal workers to intercept and specially deliver packages of drugs while they were on their regular routes, including through residential neighborhoods.  The drug traffickers believed the postal workers were less likely to be caught by law enforcement because of their official jobs, and found that the corrupt postal workers were willing to hand deliver the drugs in exchange for bribes.  That criminal partnership exploited the U.S. Postal Service to deliver dangerous drugs into the community, and also increased the risk that innocent postal workers and bystanders on their routes would be exposed to the dangerous substances or to rival drug traffickers who sometimes try to rob postal workers to steal packages of drugs.

To catch the corrupt postal workers, federal agents used a confidential source who posed as a drug trafficker looking for postal workers to deliver packages of kilogram quantities of cocaine or marijuana.  The defendants agreed to deliver the packages and negotiated the amount of the bribes they would charge, while law enforcement agents watched from a distance and recorded the interactions.  All the defendants chose to deliver cocaine instead of marijuana, believing they could charge a higher bribe for packages of cocaine.  They also agreed to deliver packages on multiple occasions over a period of time.  When the confidential source asked if they knew any other postal workers who did the same thing, some of the defendants introduced the confidential source to coworkers who also wanted to deliver packages (with the defendant claiming an additional bribe for every package their recruit delivered). 

The defendants convicted as a result of this operation include:

• Cydra Rochelle Alexander, 33, of Riverdale, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Ralph McGill Carrier Annex and Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $4,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on February 22, 2018.  Alexander pleaded guilty to these charges on November 27, 2017.
   
• Aurthamis O. Burch, a/k/a Tank, 47, of Snellville, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Doraville Post Office was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $1,500 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on April 10, 2018.  Burch pleaded guilty to these charges on December 11, 2017.
   
• Kawana Rashun Champion, 36, of Jonesboro, Georgia, a clerk assigned to the North Springs Branch of the Sandy Springs Post Office and Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $10,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on May 11, 2018.  Champion pleaded guilty to these charges on February 20, 2018.
   
• Eleanor Lolita Golden, a/k/a Eleanor Johnson, 55, of East Point, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on May 17, 2018.  Golden pleaded guilty to these charges on December 20, 2017.
   
• Tonie Harris, 55, of Decatur, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Sandy Springs Post Office was sentenced to three years, one month in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,450 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on August 14, 2018.  Harris pleaded guilty to these charges on March 20, 2018.
   
• Leea Janel Holt, 39, of Atlanta, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Old National Branch of the Riverdale Post Office was sentenced to 6 years, 6 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on November 27, 2018.  Holt pleaded guilty to these charges on June 6 and August 28, 2018.
   
• Clifton Curtis Lee, a/k/a Cliff, 43, of Lithonia, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Sandy Springs Post Office was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,800 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on June 18, 2018.  Lee pleaded guilty to these charges on February 28, 2018.
   
• Shakeed Anilah Magee, 41, of College Park, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on February 13, 2018.  Magee pleaded guilty to these charges on November 14, 2017.
   
• Horace Manson, 41, of Roswell, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on April 17, 2018.  Manson pleaded guilty to these charges on January 29, 2018.
   
• Olivia Marita Moore, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Old National Branch of the Riverdale Post Office was sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on July 16, 2018.  Moore pleaded guilty to these charges on January 5, 2018.
   
• Eddie Nash, 64, of Decatur, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on July 17, 2018.  Nash pleaded guilty to these charges on December 14, 2017.
   
• Jeffrey A. Pearson, 61, of Austell, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Decatur Post Office was sentenced to four years, nine months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,000 by U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross on May 22, 2018.  Pearson pleaded guilty to these charges on February 1, 2018.
   
• Rodney Antwain Salter, 34, of Jonesboro, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Martech Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on May 17, 2018.  Salter pleaded guilty to these charges on December 20, 2017.
   
• Frank Webb, 41, of Lithonia, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the Central City Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to three years, four months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $3,000 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on May 16, 2018.  Webb pleaded guilty to these charges on January 30, 2018.
   
• Katrina Nicole Wilson, a/k/a Trina, 39, of Fairburn, Georgia, a letter carrier assigned to the West End Branch of the Atlanta Post Office was sentenced to eight years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $9,500 by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May on August 27, 2018.  Wilson pleaded guilty to these charges on April 12, 2018.
   
• Harvel Donta Young, a/k/a Dante, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia a letter carrier assigned to the Westside Annex Branch of the Marietta Post Office was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,800 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on August 14, 2018.  Young pleaded guilty to these charges on May 1, 2018.    

Additionally, Dexter Bernard Frazier, a/k/a Dec, 57, of Fairburn, Georgia, who was not a postal employee but participated in some of the package deliveries by connecting the confidential source with postal workers, was sentenced to nine years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,700 by U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones on June 13, 2018.  Frazier pleaded guilty to these charges on March 6, 2018.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, and U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S Attorneys Garrett L. Bradford and Jill E. Steinberg, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of San Antonio, Texas, has been sentenced in federal court to 18 months incarceration on his conviction of Threatening Interstate Communications, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Yuttana Choochongkol, aka Jason Manotham, age 41.

According to the information presented to the court, on January 10 and 11, 2018, Choochongkol made three threats against the athletes and attendees of the National Football League Divisional Playoff Game on Sunday, January 14, 2018. Choochongkol used the internet to send threats to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania through the KDKA.com and Heinzfield.com "contact us" portals that he was going to engage in mass shootings and suicide at the game.

Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. In imposing the sentence, the Court noted the seriousness of the offense of sending internet communications threatening to harm fans and players participating in a public event.

U.S. Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Yuttana Choochongokol.

NEWARK, N.J. – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today affirmed five of seven convictions each for a former top official of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA) and a former member of then-Gov. Christopher J. Christie’s senior staff for their roles in a scheme to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, by misusing PA resources to cause traffic problems in the borough, Mark Coyne, Attorney for the United States, announced.

William E. Baroni Jr., 46, and Bridget Anne Kelly, 46 — formerly the deputy executive director of the Port Authority and the deputy chief of staff for legislative and intergovernmental affairs in the Governor’s office, respectively — were each convicted on Nov. 4, 2016, of conspiring to misuse, and actually misusing, property of an organization receiving federal benefits; conspiring to commit, and actually committing, wire fraud; conspiring to injure and oppress certain individuals’ civil rights, and acting under color of law to deprive certain individuals of their civil rights. Baroni was sentenced to 24 months in prison and Kelly was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

In a unanimous, precedential opinion by Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Anthony J. Scirica Sr., the court upheld all but the civil rights counts of conviction and remanded the case to U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton for resentencing.

All of the charges relate to the defendants’ scheme to manufacture traffic problems in Fort Lee by, without public warning, reducing from three to one the number of local access lanes to the upper level of the George Washington Bridge and the toll booths servicing those lanes. This was done to punish Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing then-Gov. Christie’s re-election bid. The evidence at trial showed that Fort Lee suffered hours of gridlock on four successive days during the first week of the school year because of the scheme.

The Court of Appeals found sufficient evidence of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, rejecting the defendants’ argument that Baroni had unilateral authority to control traffic patterns at “the world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge.” The court found that he lacked such authority and that he and Kelly had deprived the PA of property by devoting PA resources to a sham traffic study. The court said the United States “has an especially significant interest in protecting the Port Authority’s . . . operational integrity” against fraud.

The court concluded that the defendants intentionally misapplied PA property and conspired to do so. The court held that the applicable statue covers more than just bribery and theft, and that Baroni’s and Kelly’s “conduct in this case falls squarely within the statute’s purpose.

The court rejected the defendants’ argument that the United States was improperly using federal criminal statutes to police state and local officials in the conduct of their official duties. “Congress has a uniquely significant interest in safeguarding the Port Authority, an interstate agency created by its consent,” the court said. The court confirmed that the defendants’ motive in defrauding the Port Authority was “not a required element of any of the charged offenses.

The court also held, however, that the constitutional right of intrastate travel on public roadways was not sufficiently developed nationwide to warrant prosecution under the federal civil rights statutes. The court therefore reversed and vacated Baroni’s and Kelly’s convictions for criminal civil rights violations.

The government is represented in the appeals by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney Bruce P. Keller of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee M. Cortes Jr., David W. Feder and Vikas Khanna represented the United States at trial. The case is being overseen by Attorney for the United States Mark Coyne, Chief of the Appeals Division, because of the recusals of U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig.

Jackson, Miss. – Erika Shanta Kelly, 42, of Jackson, pled guilty yesterday before Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III to laundering proceeds from drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.

On April 22, 2014, March 3, 2015, and September 4, 2015, Kelly used money obtained from drug trafficking to purchase and make payments on vehicles. The purchases and payments made were to conceal or disguise the nature, source, ownership and control of the drug trafficking money. On November 28, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Kelly for conspiracy to money launder and using proceeds from drug trafficking to purchase vehicles for another person.

Kelly will be sentenced by Judge Jordan on March 8, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $500,000.

This case is the result of an extensive Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation, dubbed AOperation Pipeline,@ which began as an operation targeting illegal narcotics distribution in central Mississippi involving cocaine and marijuana. The distribution network encompasses the States of California, Texas and Mississippi.

The OCDETF program is a joint federal, state and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Mississippi Highway Patrol, Jackson Police Department, and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Chalk.

ALBUQUERQUE – Adam Sadlowski, 40, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 51 months in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  Sadlowski will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputies arrested Sadlowski at his home on Feb. 22, 2016.  According to court records, they found 13 firearms at Sadlowski’s residence, including two previously reported stolen.  Deputies also found assorted ammunition.  Sadlowski was prohibited from possession any firearms or ammunition at this time because of his previous criminal convictions for trafficking a controlled substance, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, and tampering with evidence. 

Sadlowski pled guilty to the indictment on April 5, 2018.  He admitted possessing two handguns and ammunition despite being a convicted felon.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case with the BCSO.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel A. Hurtado prosecuted the case under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

HAMMOND –Eric P. Krieg, age 46, of Munster, Indiana, through his attorney, filed a signed agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office indicating his intent to plead guilty to knowingly making an unregistered destructive device, mailing a destructive device, malicious use of explosive materials, and mailing a threatening communication, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

This case stems from the September 6, 2017 US Postal Facility explosion in East Chicago and the mailing of a suspicious package containing an explosive device on September 29, 2017.  In October 2017, Krieg was arrested and charged.  He has been in custody since his arrest. 

In the plea agreement, the parties agree that Krieg should serve a sentence of 29 years. 

According to the plea agreement filed today, Krieg is prepared to admit the following facts:

“From 2012 through August 2017, I engaged in a series of online postings and communications concerning other residents of Northwest Indiana. Through these online postings and communications, I made statements in multiple online forums, including a webpage ‘blog’ format that I controlled and administered.

“Victim 1 was an attorney who represented an individual in a lawsuit against me. This lawsuit was filed in the Lake County, Indiana Superior Court in 2013 based upon statements I made on my blog.  After the filing of the lawsuit, I filed bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Indiana.  Through filings made in the Bankruptcy Court, Victim 1 claimed the lawsuit could not be discharged in bankruptcy.  I agreed to settle the lawsuit with Victim 1’s client.  The settlement required me to pay Victim 1’s client $45,000 and post an apology on my blog.  I paid $45,000 and made an online apology.   

“In retaliation for the filing and settling of this lawsuit and other grudges I held, I devised a plan to construct and mail a pipe bomb that I hoped and believed would kill or injure Victim 1.  I constructed this pipe bomb and knew that it contained explosives and items that would produce shrapnel.  The pipe bomb was constructed in the Northern District of Indiana.  The pipe bomb was not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

“On September 6, 2017, I placed the pipe bomb in the mail by delivering it to the United States Post Office, 901 East Chicago Avenue, East Chicago, Indiana and ensuring it had the appropriate postage.  I mailed the pipe bomb with the intention that it kill or injure Victim 1.  I am aware the pipe bomb exploded before it was delivered to Victim 1 and instead injured Victim 2, a postal worker.  I damaged the Post Office where the pipe bomb exploded.  At the time of the explosion, the Post Office was used in interstate commerce or was used in an activity affecting interstate commerce.

“I engaged in online communications with Victim 3.  Victim 3 was a resident of Northwest Indiana.  I was upset with, and held grudges against, both Victim 1 and Victim 3.  On September 29, 2017, I mailed a threat to kill or injure Victim 3.  I placed this threatening communication in the mail in the Northern District of Indiana and it was post marked to, and I am now aware later delivered to, Victim 3 in the Northern District of Indiana.”

The plea hearing will take place in the near future before United States District Court Senior Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen in the Hammond Federal Courthouse. 

This case results from an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives; United States Marshal’s Service; East Chicago Police; Hammond Police; Indiana State Police; Munster Police; and Porter County Sheriff’s Department.    This case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua P. Kolar and Jennifer Chang.

# # #

A 13-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Aleksandr Zhukov, Boris Timokhin, Mikhail Andreev, Denis Avdeev, Dmitry Novikov, Sergey Ovsyannikov, Aleksandr Isaev and Yevgeniy Timchenko with criminal violations for their involvement in perpetrating widespread digital advertising fraud.  The charges include wire fraud, computer intrusion, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.  Ovsyannikov was arrested last month in Malaysia; Zhukov was arrested earlier this month in Bulgaria; and Timchenko was arrested earlier this month in Estonia, all pursuant to provisional arrest warrants issued at the request of the United States. They await extradition.  The remaining defendants are at large.     

Also unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn were seizure warrants authorizing the FBI to take control of 31 internet domains, and search warrants authorizing the FBI to take information from 89 computer servers, that were all part of the infrastructure for botnets engaged in digital advertising fraud activity.  The FBI, working with private sector partners, redirected the internet traffic going to the domains (an action known as “sinkholing”) in order to disrupt and dismantle these botnets. 

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 James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the charges and domain seizures.

“As alleged in court filings, the defendants in this case used sophisticated computer programming and infrastructure around the world to exploit the digital advertising industry through fraud,”stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “This case sends a powerful message that this Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will use all our available resources to target and dismantle these costly schemes and bring their perpetrators to justice, wherever they are.”  Mr. Donoghue thanked the FBI Cyber Division for its extraordinary efforts in carrying out the multi-year investigation.

 “As alleged, these individuals built complex, fraudulent digital advertising infrastructure for the express purpose of misleading and defrauding companies who believed they were acting in good faith, and costing them millions of dollars. This kind of exploitation undermines confidence in the system, on the part of both companies and their customers,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “Thanks to the hard work of our legal attachés and law enforcement partners overseas, with the cooperation of our international and U.S.-based private sector partners, the defendants will face justice for their alleged crimes.”

“This investigation highlights public- and private-sector collaboration across the globe, and again confirms the absolute necessity for interagency information-sharing. Criminals – especially those operating via the internet – do not concern themselves with jurisdictional boundaries, so it is critical that the law-enforcement community works together to achieve our shared goal of protecting the people we serve,” stated NYPD Commissioner O’Neill.  “I thank and commend the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, and all the investigators with the FBI Cyber Division and the NYPD. Together, we are ensuring that the vital systems and technologies of our economy are kept safe.”   

The Criminal Scheme

The internet is, in large part, freely available to users worldwide because it runs on digital advertising: website owners display advertisements on their sites and are compensated for doing so by intermediaries representing businesses seeking to advertise their goods and services to real human customers.  In general, digital advertising revenue is based on how many users click or view the ads on those websites.  As alleged in court filings, the defendants in this case represented to others that they ran legitimate companies that delivered advertisements to real human internet users accessing real internet webpages.  In fact, the defendants faked both the users and the webpages: they programmed computers they controlled to load advertisements on fabricated webpages, via an automated program, in order to fraudulently obtain digital advertising revenue. 

The Datacenter-Based Scheme (Methbot)

As alleged in the indictment, between September 2014 and December 2016, Zhukov, Timokhin, Andreev, Avdeev and Novikov operated a purported advertising network (“Ad Network #1”) and, with Ovsyannikov’s assistance, carried out a digital ad fraud scheme.  Ad Network #1 had business arrangements with other advertising networks whereby it received payments in return for placing advertising placeholders (“ad tags”) on websites.  Rather than place these ad tags on real publishers’ websites, however, Ad Network #1 rented more than 1,900 computer servers housed in commercial datacenters in Dallas, Texas and elsewhere, and used those datacenter servers to load ads on fabricated websites, “spoofing” more than 5,000 domains.  To create the illusion that real human internet users were viewing the advertisements loaded onto these fabricated websites, the defendants programmed the datacenter servers to simulate the internet activity of human internet users: browsing the internet through a fake browser, using a fake mouse to move around and scroll down a webpage, starting and stopping a video player midway, and falsely appearing to be signed into Facebook.  Furthermore, the defendants leased more than 650,000 Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses, assigned multiple IP addresses to each datacenter server, and then fraudulently registered those IP addresses to make it appear that that the datacenter servers were residential computers belonging to individual human internet users who were subscribed to various residential internet service providers.  As a result of this scheme, Ad Network #1 falsified billions of ad views and caused businesses to pay more than $7 million for ads that were never actually viewed by real human internet users.

The Botnet-Based Scheme (3ve.2 Template A)

As also alleged in the indictment, between December 2015 and October 2018, Ovsyannikov, Timchenko and Isaev operated a purported advertising network (“Ad Network #2”) and carried out another digital ad fraud scheme.  In this scheme, the defendants used a global “botnet”¾a network of malware-infected computers operated without the true owner’s knowledge or consent¾to perpetrate their fraud.  The defendants developed an intricate infrastructure of command-and-control servers to direct and monitor the infected computers and check whether a particular infected computer had been flagged by cybersecurity companies as associated with fraud.  By using this infrastructure, the defendants accessed more than 1.7 million infected computers, belonging to ordinary individuals and businesses in the United States and elsewhere, and used hidden browsers on those infected computers to download fabricated webpages and load ads onto those fabricated webpages.  Meanwhile, the owners of the infected computers were unaware that this process was running in the background on their computers.  As a result of this scheme, Ad Network #2 falsified billions of ad views and caused businesses to pay more than $29 million for ads that were never actually viewed by real human internet users.     

The Botnet Takedown

Following the arrest of Ovsyannikov by Malaysian authorities, U.S. law enforcement authorities, in conjunction with various private sector companies, began the process of dismantling the criminal cyber infrastructure utilized in the botnet-based scheme, which involved computers infected with malicious software known in the cybersecurity community as “Kovter.”  The FBI executed seizure warrants to sinkhole 23 internet domains used to further the charged botnet-based scheme or otherwise used to further the Kovter botnet.  The FBI also executed search warrants at 11 different U.S. server providers for 89 servers related to the charged botnet-based scheme or Kovter.  

In addition, as part of its investigation, the FBI discovered an additional cybercrime infrastructure committing digital advertising fraud through the use of datacenter servers located in Germany and a botnet of computers in the United States infected with malicious software known in the cybersecurity community as “Boaxxe.”  The FBI executed seizure warrants to sinkhole eight domains used to further this scheme and thereby disrupt yet another botnet engaged in digital advertising fraud.

Finally, the United States, with the assistance of its foreign partners, executed seizure warrants for multiple international bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere that were associated with the schemes. 

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Saritha Komatireddy, Alexander F. Mindlin, Michael T. Keilty and Karin K. Orenstein are in charge of the prosecution. 

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Legal Attachés abroad and foreign authorities in multiple countries provided critical assistance in this case.  The Office extends its appreciation to the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia, the Royal Malaysian Police, the Malaysian National Central Bureau of Interpol,the Supreme Cassation Prosecution Office of Bulgaria, the Regional Prosecution Office of Varna, the Cybercrime Department of the Bulgarian General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior Regional Directorate of Varna, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Estonia, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board and the FBI’s Legal Attaché Offices in Malaysia, Bulgaria and Estoniafor their assistance in apprehending defendants in this case.  The Office also extends its appreciation to the German Bundeskriminalamt Cybercrime Intelligence Operations Department and Polizei Sachsen Polizeidirektion Zwickau Criminal Investigation Department, the Dutch National Police, the United Kingdom National Crime Agency, the French Police Cybercrime Central Bureau,the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, FBI’s Legal Attaché Offices in those countries, and Europol for their assistance in various aspects of the investigation and botnet takedown.    

Multiple private sector organizations also provided critical assistance in this case.  The Office extends its appreciation to White Ops, Inc. and Google LLC for their assistance in the investigation and botnet takedown.  The Office also extends its appreciation to Microsoft Corporation, ESET, Trend Micro Inc., Symantec Corporation, CenturyLink, Inc, F-Secure Corporation, Malwarebytes, MediaMath, the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance and The Shadowserver Foundation for their assistance in the botnet takedown.   

For technical details on the malware and botnets referenced in this case, please see US-CERT Alert TA18-331A: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA18-331A

The Defendants:

ALEKSANDR ZHUKOV
Age:  38
Russian Federation

BORIS TIMOKHIN
Age:  39
Russian Federation

MIKHAIL ANDREEV
Age:  34
Russian Federation and Ukraine

DENIS AVDEEV
Age:  40
Russian Federation

DMITRY NOVIKOV
Age:  Unknown
Russian Federation

SERGEY OVSYANNIKOV
Age:  30
Republic of Kazakhstan

ALEKSANDR ISAEV
Age:  31
Russian Federation

YEVGENIY TIMCHENKO
Age:  30
Republic of Kazakhstan

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-633 (ERK)

On November 20, 2018, Jason Ford, a former teaching assistant and travel softball coach, pled guilty in South Florida to attempting to produce child pornography.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami, Florida Field Office, Charles P. Spencer,  Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville, Florida Field Office, James E. Jewell, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Mobile, Alabama Field Office, and Alphonso Norris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Columbia, South Carolina Field Office made the announcement.

Ford, 42, of Dothan, Alabama, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom on February 1, 2019, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Case No. 18-cr-60117).  He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

According to the court docket, including the agreed upon factual proffer Ford was a teaching assistant and travel softball coach, working out of Dothan, Alabama.   However, Ford falsely represented himself to be a University of North Florida and University of South Carolina softball coach, in order to have contact with female high school softball players.  Ford engaged in a calculated scheme to gain the trust of minor females who aspired to earn college athletic scholarships.  Ford engaged in inappropriate conversations with teen softball players in Florida, Alabama and Tennessee. Ultimately, Ford made contact online with an undercover agent he believed to be a 15-year-old female softball player. Ford was arrested after he sent the teen (who in fact was an undercover agent) currency for a sexually explicit video.         

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI Miami, Florida; Jacksonville, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Columbia, South Carolina Field Offices in this matter.  She also thanked the Dothan Police Department for their assistance.  The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Catherine Koontz.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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

          SANTA ANA, California– A City of Orange tax return preparer has pleaded guilty in a scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through the submission of fraudulent federal income tax returns for both himself and his clients.

          Gilberto C. Gonzalez, 55, who operated under the name Gil Income Tax, pleaded guilty Monday before United States District Judge Andrew J. Guilford to one count of tax evasion, two counts of passing forged United States Treasury checks, and one count of unlawful procurement of naturalization.

          According to a plea agreement filed in this case, during the years 2010 through 2012, Gonzalez prepared and filed with the IRS income tax returns for clients. But, after the returns were filed and without his clients’ knowledge, Gonzalez prepared and filed amended income tax returns that claimed a tax refund. In those amended returns, Gonzalez used his own home or business address, which caused the United States Treasury to mail the refund checks directly to Gonzalez. After waiting for some period of time, Gonzalez fraudulently endorsed the refund checks and deposited them into one of 11 bank accounts that he controlled.

          Over a five-year period that began in January 2010, approximately 1,258 federal and state tax refund checks – worth more than $2.3 million and payable to individuals other than Gonzalez – were deposited into Gonzalez-controlled accounts.

          Most of Gonzalez’s clients were Spanish speakers who had grown up in Mexico, according to the plea agreement, in which Gonzalez admitted that most of his clients could not read their income tax returns and had trusted him to properly prepare their tax returns.

          In addition to defrauding the IRS by filing the amended tax returns, Gonzalez failed to report this income on his individual tax returns. For the tax years 2010 through 2012, Gonzalez failed to report more than $1.3 million in income, which caused the IRS to suffer tax losses of approximately $457,207, according to the plea agreement.

          During the course of his tax fraud scheme, Gonzalez attempted to unlawfully procure United States citizenship by making false statements to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When he pleaded guilty, Gonzalez specifically admitted that he failed to disclose he had committed a crime by perpetrating his tax fraud scheme.

          Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Guilford on March 11, 2019, at which time he will face a statutory maximum penalty of 35 years in federal prison.

          As part of his plea agreement, Gonzalez also agreed that he owes the IRS restitution totaling $975,183. Additionally, Gonzalez has agreed to forfeit to the government his interest in his residence, which was purchased with $652,324 that was primarily money fraudulently obtained from the IRS.

          This case is the product of an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigation.

          The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel H. Ahn of the Santa Ana Branch Office.

BOSTON – An MS-13 member was sentenced to life in prison for using social media to lure and violently murder two teenage boys in East Boston.

Edwin Gonzalez, a/k/a “Sangriento,” 23, a Salvadoran national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to life in prison. In June 2018, after a multi-week trial, Gonzalez was convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy. In addition, the jury found that Gonzalez’s racketeering activity on behalf of MS-13 included his participation in the Sept. 7, 2015, murder of a 15-year-old in East Boston and the Jan. 10, 2016, murder of a 16-year-old in East Boston. 

MS-13 is a violent, transnational criminal organization whose members have engaged in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, and assault, as well as other criminal activity, including narcotics trafficking, firearm possession, robbery, and witness retaliation.

MS-13 is organized into smaller groups known as “cliques” that operate throughout the United States. Gonzalez was a member of the Molinos Locos Salvatrucha clique of MS-13. 

Prospective members of MS-13 are required to complete an initiation process and then progress through the ranks: from “paro” to “chequeo” to “homeboy.” To be promoted within the gang, MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, usually against rival gang members or those suspected of cooperating with law enforcement. Becoming a “homeboy” typically requires the commission of a murder. 

The investigation revealed that Gonzalez was the driving force behind, and key participant in, two separate murders in Massachusetts. 

On Sept. 7, 2015, Gonzalez and three other MS-13 members lured a 15-year-old boy through social media to Constitution Beach in East Boston. Convinced that the victim was a gang rival, Gonzalez and others targeted him by pretending to be a girl on Facebook and lured the victim to the beach for a date. When the victim arrived at Constitution Beach, Gonzalez and three other MS-13 members took turns stabbing the victim repeatedly, leaving him bleeding to death on a public beach. The victim had approximately 33 sharp force injuries and multiple blunt force injuries.

The other three MS-13 members who committed the September 2015 murder with Gonzalez—Carlos Melara, a/k/a “Chuchito,” a/k/a “Criminal,” Henry Parada Martinez, a/k/a “Street Danger,” and Rene Mejia Flores a/k/a “Gasper,”—were also charged in connection with this investigation and pleaded guilty before trial. Melara was sentenced to 36 years in prison, while Parada Martinez and Mejia Flores are awaiting sentencing. 

On Dec. 7, 2015, Gonzalez was promoted to “homeboy,” or full-member of the gang, to reward him for the murder he committed on behalf of MS-13. Melara and Mejia Flores were also promoted to “homeboys” for their role in the murder.

On January 10, 2016, Gonzalez and three other MS-13 members lured a 16-year-old boy through social media to Falcon Street in East Boston. Again, convinced that the victim was a gang rival, Gonzalez and others targeted him by pretending to be a girl on Facebook. Gonzalez then went to pick up the victim, pretending to be a relative of the girl that the victim was supposed to meet for a date. When Gonzalez arrived with the victim in East Boston, the MS-13 members attacked the victim. Three of the MS-13 members, including Gonzalez, were armed with large knives and stabbed the victim repeatedly, while the fourth MS-13 member fired multiple gunshots into the victim. Gonzalez and the other MS-13 members then ran away, leaving the teenager bleeding to death on a public street. The victim had approximately 48 sharp force injuries, multiple gunshot wounds, and multiple blunt force injuries.

One of the murderers was captured on tape stating that the “the dude [victim] was left completely destroyed” and “Sangriento [Gonzalez] whacked the guy’s hands with a machete.”  The day after the murder, Gonzalez himself was captured on tape admitting to the murder and discussing further violence against potential rivals, stating, “we’re going to leave all of them chopped in pieces.”

The other three MS-13 members who committed the January 2016 murder with Gonzalez—Edwin Diaz, a/k/a “Demente,” Jairo Perez, a/k/a “Seco,” and Rigoberto Mejia, a/k/a “Ninja”—were also charged in connection with this investigation and pleaded guilty before trial.  Diaz and Perez were each sentenced to 35 years in prison, while Mejia received 27.5 years in prison. 

Gonzalez was one of 49 defendants convicted as part of this investigation.  All nine defendants who went to trial were convicted and 40 others pleaded guilty. In all, 16 defendants, including Gonzalez, were found to have committed or knowingly participated in murders.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement today. The U.S. Marshals Service has provided crucial assistance with the case.

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that AMANDA JEPPE, age 34, ALAN GREGOIRE, age 36, CHANTELL EVERS, age 28, and JESSIE EVERS, age 28, were sentenced today after previously pleading guilty for their roles in an oxycodone conspiracy stemming from a pill mill that operated out of Gulf South Physician’s Group in Metairie.

According to court documents, beginning at a time unknown, but prior to January 2015, and continuing to on or about March 2016, JEPPE, GREGOIRE, CHANTELLEVERS and JESSIE EVERS obtained medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone from Dr. Shannon Ceasar in exchange for a flat fee of $500 cash per prescription. The purpose of obtaining the prescriptions was to divert the oxycodone to drug traffickers and addicts. On August 21, 2018, JEPPE, GREGOIRE, CHANTELL EVERS, and JESSIE EVERS pled guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Acquire or Obtain Possession of Oxycodone by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, or Subterfuge, in violation of Title 21, United States Code Sections 843(a)(3) and 846.

Shannon Ceasar was a physician and former co-owner who operated Gulf South Physician’s Group. Ceasar ran a “pill mill,” i.e., an operation in which he prescribed controlled substances to drug seekers and drug abusers without a legitimate medical purpose and in exchange for a flat fee. He previously pled guilty for his role in illegally dispensing and distributing controlled substances, threatening to assault or murder federal law enforcement officers, and health care fraud. On March 7, 2018, Ceasar was sentenced to 120 months in the Bureau of Prisons.  His business partner, Stephen Guilbault, also previously pled guilty for his role in controlled substances violations and health care fraud, and was sentenced to 24 months in the Bureau of Prisons on August 22, 2018.

U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey sentenced JEPPE, GREGOIRE, and JESSIE EVERS to probation for a period of five years, including six months of home confinement to begin immediately. CHANTELL EVERS was sentenced to five years probation.  

U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser praised the work of the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as the Jefferson Parish Sherriff’s Office and Louisiana State Police in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorneys Shirin Hakimzadeh and Myles Ranier were in charge of the prosecution.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –KEITH D. BOUDREAUX, age 56, of Ponchatoula, Louisiana was sentenced today for illegally shipping false map turtles in violation of Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(d)(2) and 3373(d)(3)(A).

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A criminal complaint was filed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Scott Brack and Elgin Brack with the armed robberies of four convenience stores in Queens.  Elgin Brack was also charged with brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.  Both defendants were arrested yesterday evening, made their initial appearances this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold and were ordered detained.

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

“As alleged, the defendants struck four all-night commercial businesses in Queens in a span of fewer than three hours, including a Duane Reade store in Woodside where an employee was callously shot in the head simply for resisting the robbery,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “While most people slept through this night of terror, members of the ATF/NYPD Joint Robbery Task Force were working tirelessly to identify and quickly apprehend the perpetrators who will now face justice for their multiple crimes.”

“The aforementioned individuals are alleged to have committed brazen acts of violence terrorizing business owners in their community,” stated ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Benedict.  “In one of their acts, a store manager was shot during a robbery attempt. If not for the work of multiple NYPD units and the ATF/NYPD Joint Robbery Task Force, they would be out on the streets continuing to reign terror on the innocent. ATF will continue to work with our partners to send a strong message to individuals that seek to spread violence in their community that all law enforcement resources will be used to apprehend and prosecute them for their violent actions. I would like to thank the United States Attorney’s office for their work in prosecuting this case.”

“New York City has achieved historic reductions in crime over the past two decades, but some outliers continue to traffic in violence and fear,” stated NYPD Commissioner O’Neill.  “That is why the men and women of the NYPD must continue to be the very best at what we do: fighting crime and keeping people safe.  Today’s charges highlight their exemplary work, and I commend the ATF investigators who work daily with our detectives on the Strategic Pattern Armed Robbery and Technical Apprehensions Task Force, or SPARTA.  By so efficiently pursuing and strengthening high-profile armed-robbery cases like this, we – together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District and all of our law-enforcement partners – are making the safest large city in the nation even safer.”

As detailed in the complaint, on November 26, 2018, at approximately 3:36 a.m., Elgin Brack entered a Duane Reade store at 60-02 Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside and pointed a gun at the store clerk.  Brack then moved behind the store counter, attempted to force the clerk to turn over money and shot the clerk in the hand and the head as he resisted.  Brack fled the Duane Reade and together with Scott Brack, traveled by car to a 7-Eleven store located at 50-92 Northern Boulevard in Long Island City where, at approximately 3:58 a.m., Elgin Brack demanded money at gunpoint and took $300 from an employee.  Next, the defendants drove to a Rite Aid store located at 33-01 30th Avenue in Astoria at approximately 4:20 a.m., where Elgin Brack approached a store clerk and asked to purchase chewing gum.  When the store clerk opened the cash register, Brack pointed a gun and demanded money.  The store clerk handed over $802.  Immediately outside the Rite Aid store, video surveillance captured Scott Brack discarding an item consistent in size and shape with the cash register tray taken from the prior 7-Eleven armed robbery.  Finally, at approximately 5:45 a.m., Elgin Brack entered a second Rite Aid store located at 115-10 Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica, approached a store clerk, pointed a gun and demanded money.  The store clerk complied and gave Elgin Brack $200. 

 The charges in the complaint are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, each defendant faces a minimum of seven years in prison.

Assistant United States Attorney Phil Selden is in charge of the prosecution. 

The Defendant:

SCOTT BRACK
Age:  50
Bronx, New York

ELGIN BRACK
Age:  22
Brooklyn, New York

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that an Alaska woman pleaded guilty in federal court for devising multiple schemes to defraud an Anchorage medical practice through various means. 

Jill Diane Applebury, aka: “Jill Wetzsteon,” 53, d/b/a Applebury Accounting Services, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess to four counts of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of fraudulent transactions with an access device.  The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 29, 2019, at 9:00 a.m.  

According to court documents, from the mid-1990’s until March 2013, Jill Applebury was an independent contractor who performed bookkeeping services for an Anchorage medical practice, which was owned and operated by an Anchorage physician.  From at least 2004 until March 22, 2013, Jill Applebury defrauded the Anchorage medical practice in several ways. 

According to admissions made in connection with her guilty plea, one such scheme stems from May 2008 to January 2010, when Jill Applebury used the medical practice’s funds to pay her Federal Income Tax Withholding without authority.  Specifically, Jill Applebury executed unauthorized and fraudulent transactions from the medical practice’s business bank account to the IRS, thereby having the medical practice pay her IRS individual income tax account. 

Another scheme involved the medical practice’s profit-sharing plan.  Employees of the medical practice were eligible to participate in its profit-sharing plan, which was overseen by a third-party administrator.  Independent contractors did not qualify for the plan; however, Jill Applebury falsely represented to the third-party administrator that she had become a full-time employee of the medical practice in 2009, making her eligible to participate in the profit-sharing plan beginning in 2010.  In all, Jill Applebury fraudulently caused the physician to unknowingly allocate $62,722.90 to her in unauthorized profit-sharing plan contributions for the years 2010 and 2011. 

In April and May 2011, Jill Applebury devised a scheme to defraud the medical practice by fraudulently transferring funds from the medical practice’s business bank account to pay for charges on her personal credit card, which she shared with her husband Darin Applebury, including charges for travel and dining.  Additionally, between 2004 and March 22, 2013, Jill and Darin Applebury used the medical practice’s business credit card to pay for items for their own personal and/or business benefit.  The unauthorized charges included cell phone service for the Appleburys and members of their family, internet service for their residence, business licenses for businesses owned by Jill and Darin Applebury, automobile insurance for their personal vehicles, and other personal items. 

The investigation also revealed that in October 2012, Jill Applebury fraudulently used the medical practice’s business credit card to purchase nearly $3,000 of medical products for her husband’s business, Rapid Recovery Medical Service, Inc.  The fraudulent credit card purchases were made using the physician’s name and address without the knowledge and permission of the Anchorage physician.

Jill Applebury faces a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison, as well as a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history, if any of the defendant. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Anchorage Police Department (APD) conducted the investigation leading to the charges in this case.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Retta-Rae Randall.  

POCATELLO – Stormy Ray Adakai, 23, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was indicted today by a federal grand jury sitting in Pocatello on one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

The indictment alleges that on or about September 2, 2018, Adakai assaulted a victim by intentionally hitting him in the face and head with rocks, resulting in serious bodily injury.

The charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.  This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Hall Police Department.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity.  It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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BOSTON – A former Army Reservist was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for stealing six machine guns and 10 handguns from a U.S. Army Reserve facility, escaping from federal prison, and attempting to rob two banks. 

James W. Morales, 37, of Cambridge, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 138 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In November 2017, Morales pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm; one count of possession of a machine gun; one count of possession of stolen firearms; one count of theft of government property; one count of conspiracy to possess, store, conceal, and sell stolen weapons; one count of escape; and two counts of attempted bank robbery.

On Nov. 14, 2015, Morales broke into a weapons vault at the Lincoln Stoddard United States Army Reserve Center in Worcester and stole six M-4 Carbines and 10 M-11 handguns. Morales was familiar with the layout of the facility, having been stationed there prior to his discharge from the Army Reserve. 

Morales gained access to the weapons by breaking a kitchen window located near the room that contained the vault, climbing to the top of the vault, and cutting a hole through its ceiling. The sharp edges of the ceiling caused Morales to cut himself, leaving behind DNA, which was matched to Morales three days after the robbery.

Upon identifying Morales through the DNA database, law enforcement learned that Morales was on bail for child rape charges pending in Middlesex Superior Court. One of the conditions of his release required him to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, which he wore during the robbery. In addition, surveillance video depicting a dark colored BMW X1 parked at a building adjacent to the U.S. Army facility was recovered. In the video, a man can be seen going to and from the car with duffle bags. Soon after Morales was identified, law enforcement learned that Morales was renting a BMW X1 at the time of the robbery.

After the robbery, Morales rented another vehicle, and GPS data from the vehicle showed that Morales had travelled to New York City, where he was located and arrested on Nov. 18, 2015, in Long Island. Inside his vehicle, four M-4 Carbines and two M-11 handguns were recovered with serial numbers matching those stolen from the Armory. 

In a statement admitting his role in the robbery of the Army Reserve facility, Morales explained that he sold five of the handguns to two individuals in Dorchester with the help of Tyrone James and Ashley Bigsbee, who facilitated the transaction. Morales claimed to have given James and Bigsbee several hundred dollars, one of the M-4 Carbines and one of the M-11 handguns as payment for assisting with the sales. In April 2017, James was sentenced to 57 months in prison. In March 2017, Bisgbee was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Following his arrest, Morales was detained at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, R.I. On Dec. 31, 2016, Morales escaped from the prison by climbing a basketball hoop, jumping onto a roof, and going through a barbed wire fence.

On Jan. 5, 2017, Morales was captured on surveillance video entering a branch of Bank of America in Cambridge and attempting to rob the bank by passing the teller a note that read, “I WANT ALL OF THE LARGE DENOMINATIONS W/BAND’S FROM THE 2ND (BOTTOM) TILL NOW BE CALM – BE COOL – NO DYE PACKS.” The teller was able to flee to the back of the bank behind a locked door, and Morales exited the bank without any money.  

Later that same day, Morales, again captured on surveillance video, entered a branch of Citizen’s Bank in Somerville and attempted to rob the bank by passing the teller a note that read, “I WANT THE MONEY IN THE TILL NOW!! 100’s 50’s 20’s  Be Calm, Be Cool, be Quick.” The teller stated, “I can’t,” and Morales wished the teller a nice day and exited the bank. 

After a foot pursuit in Somerville, Morales was apprehended by law enforcement; he admitted to attempting to rob both banks.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch for the District of Rhode Island; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; United States Marshal John Gibbons for the District of Massachusetts; United States Marshal Jaime A. Hainsworth for the District of Rhode Island; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Lelling’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

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