PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Adam C. Cobb, 48, formerly of Portsmouth, RI, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence to 5 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography. Cobb was arrested in April 2015, following an investigation by agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (RI ICAC).

At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Cobb to serve 10 years supervised release upon completion of his prison term and to pay a fine of $25,000. Cobb pleaded guilty on February 24, 2016, to one count of distribution of child pornography.

Cobb’s sentence is announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of HSI for New England; and Colonel Ann S. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.

According to court documents and information presented to the court, in January 2015, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported to the RI ICAC that an individual in Rhode Island uploaded images of child pornography to Tumblr.com. The investigation determined that an Internet address at Adam Cobb’s then Portsmouth residence was the address used to upload the images.

On March 5, 2015, ICAC Task Force members and HSI agents, supported by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents, executed a court-authorized search warrant at Cobb’s residence and seized various digital media, computers and cellular phones. Additionally, the next day, a cell phone was seized from Mr. Cobb by Customs and Border Patrol agents at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as Mr. Cobb entered the United States, having traveled from Tokyo, Japan.

A forensic examination of the digital media seized resulted in the discovery of photos and videos of child pornography depicting two juvenile females. With the assistance of the Baltimore, Maryland Police Department and HSI offices in Baltimore and in London, England, the RI ICAC determined the identity of both females.

Adam Cobb, who was arrested on April 3, 2015, has been detained in federal custody since December 21, 2015, after the court revoked his release on $1,000,000 surety bond after he admitted to violating the court imposed terms of his pre-trial release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence P. Donnelly.

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Contact:

Jim Martin (401) 709-5357

email: USARI.Media@usdoj.gov

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WICHITA KAN. – A registered sex offender who has been living in Wichita pleaded guilty Monday to distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Jeremy Michael Schmidt, formerly known as Jeremy Michael Davis, 41, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography. In 2013, Schmidt was convicted in Florida on a possession of child pornography charge and registered as a sex offender under the name Jeremy Michael Davis. He later changed his name to Jeremy Michael Schmidt.

Schmidt came to the attention of investigators in Wichita when they received four separate Cyber Tipline Reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators identified emails in which Schmidt provided links to child pornography.

Sentencing is set for May 1. He faces a penalty of not less than 15 years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Beall commended the Wichita Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Assistant U.S. attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that CARL IMMICH, formerly the property manager of Harriet Tubman Terrace Apartments, a Section 8 Housing Complex in Poughkeepsie, New York, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.  United States District Judge Cathy Seibel imposed today’s sentence.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated:  “Repeatedly and routinely, Carl Immich stole public money meant to subsidize housing for indigent tenants, and used it to dine out, travel, renovate his house, and play golf.  For his brazen fraud, Immich was sentenced today to time in federal prison.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Indictment, and statements made during court proceedings in the case:

Tubman Terrace is a large, low-income apartment complex in Poughkeepsie, New York.  The rental payments for nearly all of the apartments are subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, 42 U.S.C. § 1437f.  From in or about June 2010 through in or about November 2014, HUD provided approximately $150,000 to $160,000 each month to Tubman Terrace. 

From in or about 2009, Tubman Terrace was managed by a management company, of which IMMICH is the principal and sole owner.  In that capacity, IMMICH served as the management agent and property manager of Tubman Terrace since in or about 2009.

From at least in or about December 2010 until at least in or about March 2015, IMMICH fraudulently obtained at least approximately $150,000 of HUD funds from the operating account of Tubman Terrace, which were paid to him or used for personal expenditures.  IMMICH did so through as least three different schemes: (1) he used credit cards intended for Tubman Terrace business expenses for personal expenses, which were then paid through Tubman Terrace’s operating bank account; (2) he obtained check payments from the Tubman Terrace operating bank account to cover other personal expenses; and (3) he obtained payroll checks for himself and his daughter reflecting no work or other entitlement by them to such salary. 

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IMMICH, 54, of Rhinebeck, New York, pled guilty to theft concerning a program receiving government funds, and theft of government property.  In addition to the prison sentence, IMMICH was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $150,001 in restitution. 

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the HUD Office of Inspector General.

This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Schorr and Benjamin Allee are in charge of the prosecution.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CARRIE CAESAR, 46, of New Britain, pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to embezzling funds from Webster Bank Corporation.

According to court documents and statements made in court, CAESAR was a long-time employee of Webster Bank where she served in a variety of roles, including bank teller, account manager and, most recently, as manager of the Avon branch office. Between 2003 and 2016, CAESAR withdrew at least $535,600 from account holders’ certificate of deposit (CD) accounts at Webster Bank, without the knowledge or consent of the account holders, used the embezzled funds for her own purposes, and took steps to conceal her misconduct.

CAESAR targeted primarily six customers, all of whom were at least 79 years old and with whom she had developed a relationship as an account manager.

CAESAR pleaded guilty to one count of theft, embezzlement and misapplication by a bank officer and employee, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years. She is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford on May 8, 2017.

CAESAR is released on a $150,000 bond.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. sentenced the former CEO of ZeekRewards to 176 months in prison for operating a $900 million Internet Ponzi scheme. Paul Burks, 70, of Lexington, N.C. was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $244,000,000 as restitution. A federal jury convicted Burks in July 2016 of wire and mail fraud conspiracy, wire and mail fraud, and tax fraud conspiracy following a three-week trial.

Michael Rolin,Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Division and Thomas J. Holloman III, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) join U.S. Attorney Rose in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents, evidence introduced at Burks’ trial and today’s sentencing hearing:

From January 2010 through August 2012, Paul Burks was the owner of Rex Venture Group, LLC (RVG), through which he owned and operated Zeekler, a sham Internet-based penny auction company, and its purported advertising division, ZeekRewards (collectively “Zeek”). Burks and his conspirators induced more than 900,000 victims – including over 1,500 victims in the Charlotte area – to invest in their fraudulent scheme, by falsely representing that Zeekler was generating massive retail profits from its penny auctions, and that the public could share in such profits through investment in ZeekRewards. Burks and his conspirators, including Zeek’s former Chief Operating Officer Dawn Wright Olivares and her step-son and Zeek’s Senior Technology Officer Daniel C. Olivares, claimed at one point that investors would be guaranteed a 125% return on their investment.

Burks and his conspirators represented that victim-investors in ZeekRewards could participate in the Retail Profit Pool (RPP), which supposedly allowed victims collectively to share 50% of Zeek’s daily net profits. Burks and his conspirators did not keep books and records needed to calculate such daily figures. Instead, Burks simply made up the daily “profit” numbers. Contrary to the conspirators’ claims, the true revenue from the scheme did not come from the penny auction’s “massive profits.” Instead, approximately 98% of all incoming funds came from victim-investors, which were then used to make Ponzi-style payments to earlier victim investors.

In addition to promising massive returns on investments, Burks and his conspirators used a number of ways to promote Zeek to current and potential investors. For example, the conspirators hosted weekly conference calls and leadership calls, where participants could call in listen to Burks and others make false representations intended to encourage victim-investors to continue to invest money and to recruit others to invest in Zeek. Burks also organized and attended “Red Carpet Events,” where victim investors came to hear details of the scheme in person. During these events, Burks and his conspirators made false representations about the massive retail profits generated by Zeek. They also used electronic and print media, including websites, emails and journals, to make false and misleading statements about the success of Zeekler to recruit victim investors.

As the Ponzi scheme grew in size and scope it became unsustainable and it eventually began to unravel as the outstanding liability resulting from the bogus 125% return on investment continued to rise beyond control. By August 2012, Burks and his conspirators fraudulently represented to the collective victims that their investments were worth nearly $3 billion, but had no accurate books and records to even determine how much cash on hand was available to pay such liability. Contrary to representations made to victim investors, at that time, Burks and his conspirators had only $340 million available to pay out investors. Over the course of the scheme, Burks diverted approximately $10.1 million to himself.

Burks also failed to file corporate tax returns or to make corporate tax payments for his companies, among other things. In addition, for tax year 2011, Burks issued fraudulent IRS Forms 1099s, causing victim-investors to file inaccurate tax returns for phantom income they never actually received.

At sentencing, Judge Cogburn stated that for the defendant’s scheme to work would have required a miracle on the order of the “loaves and fishes.” Judge Cogburn stated that a significant sentence was necessary to promote respect for the law, provide just punishment, and also deter others considering committing fraud. Judge Cogburn further noted that the scheme was “almost breathtaking” and emphasized that the defendant had time to stop it.

Burks will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

Burks’ co-conspirators, Dawn Wright Olivares, Zeek’s Chief Operating Officer, and her step-son and Zeek’s Senior Technology Officer, Daniel C. Olivares, were previously sentenced to 90 and 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release, respectively, for their involvement in the scheme.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the U.S. Secret Service and IRS-CI for investigating the case, and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement for its assistance with the investigation.

The prosecution is handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jenny Grus Sugar and Corey Ellis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.

Additional information and updated court filings about this and related cases filings can be accessed at the district’s website: http://www.justice.gov/usao/ncw/ncwvwa.html.

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the filing of an Indictment charging CHRISTOPHER LONDONIO and TERRANCE CALDWELL with offenses related to their alleged role in the November 15, 2013, murder of Michael Meldish, as well as their participation in a long-running racketeering conspiracy composed of leaders, members, and associates of La Cosa Nostra, also known as the “Mafia.” LONDONIO and CALDWELL are charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit murder, murder, and firearms offenses. CALDWELL is also charged with assault and attempted murder in aid of racketeering, in connection with his alleged role in the shooting of a Bonanno Family member on May 29, 2013.

CALDWELL was presented last Friday, February 10, 2017, before the Honorable Lisa Margaret Smith at the United States Courthouse in White Plains, New York. LONDONIO was already in custody on state charges and will be transferred to federal custody and is expected to be presented in White Plains federal court today. The case is assigned to United States District Judge Nelson S. Román.

An initial pre-trial conference is scheduled for February 15 at 1:45 p.m. before Judge Román.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The mob continues to kill and maim in the name of La Cosa Nostra, and as alleged, Christopher Londonio and Terrance Caldwell did just that. In a misguided show of allegiance to this violent way of life, Londonio and Caldwell allegedly murdered Michael Meldish and attempted to kill a Bonanno Family soldier. We thank the FBI, the NYPD, and the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their dedication that led to the federal racketeering charges announced today.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Hollywood and popular fiction almost romanticize the mob, so much so the general public may not know it exists in real life anymore. However, the crimes members are accused of taking part in are violent and all too real for their victims. The men charged in this case allegedly committed murder, robbery, dealing illegal drugs and extortion to only name a few. The FBI Organized Crime Task Force investigates these families and their string of criminal behavior each day, proving the mob is still a legitimate threat to the community.”

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said:“This is further proof that the mob’s rackets, schemes, and violence are persistent. As alleged, the defendants engaged in ruthless violence, including the murder of Michael Meldish in the Bronx and the attempted murder of a Bonanno solider in Manhattan both in 2013. Our thanks to the thorough work of NYPD detectives, FBI agents, and prosecutors in the Southern District that led to today’s indictment.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment, which was filed in White Plains federal court on February 8, 2017[1]:

La Cosa Nostra is composed of leaders, members, and associates who work together and coordinate to engage in a multitude of criminal activities. La Cosa Nostra operates through entities known as “Families.” In the New York City area, those families include the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese, Bonanno, Colombo, and Decavalcante Families. Each Family operates through groups of individuals known as “crews” and “regimes.” Each “crew” has as its leader a person known as a “Caporegime,” “Capo,” “Captain,” or “Skipper,” who is responsible for supervising the criminal activities of his crew and providing “Soldiers” and associates with support and protection. In return, the Capo typically receives a share of the illegal earnings of each of his crew’s Soldiers and associates, which is sometimes referred to as Atribute.@

Each crew consists of “made” members, sometimes known as “Soldiers,” “wiseguys,” “friends of ours,” and “good fellows.” Soldiers are aided in their criminal endeavors by other trusted individuals, known as “associates,” who sometimes are referred to as “connected” or identified as “with” a Soldier or other member of the Family. Associates participate in the various activities of the crew and its members. In order for an associate to become a made member of the Family, the associate must first be of Italian descent and typically needs to demonstrate the ability to generate income for the Family and/or the willingness to commit acts of violence.

From in or about 2011 up to and including in or about 2017, LONDONIO and CALDWELL, along with other members and associates of La Cosa Nostra, committed a wide range of crimes, including murder, attempted murder, assault, robbery, extortion, gambling, and narcotics trafficking. In particular, and as charged in the Indictment, on May 29, 2013, CALDWELL attempted to murder a Bonanno Soldier in the vicinity of First Avenue and 111^th Street, in Manhattan. Separately, and as also charged in the Indictment, on November 15, 2013, LONDONIO and CALDWELL together murdered Michael Meldish in the vicinity of Baisley Avenue and Ellsworth Avenue in the Bronx.

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CHRISTOPHER LONDONIO, 43, of Hartsdale, New York, and TERRANCE CALDWELL, 58, of Manhattan, New York, are each charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1962(d), conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1959(a)(5); murder in aid of racketeering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1959(a)(1) and 2; possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(j); and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence on dates other than November 15, 2013, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c). CALDWELL is also charged with assault and attempted murder in aid of racketeering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1959(a)(3), 1959(a)(5), and 2. A chart showing the charges and maximum penalties for each count of the Indictment is below. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force, which comprises agents and detectives of the FBI, NYPD, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office. He added that the investigation is continuing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer E. Burns, Scott Hartman, and Hagan Scotten are in charge of the prosecution. The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit and White Plains Division.

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

United States v. Christopher Londonio and Terrance Caldwell, 17 Cr. 89

DAYTON – Leanna Heskett, 47, of Springfield, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to serve five months in prison for more than 100 instances of stealing items from packages she handled as a mail processing clerk at the Springfield, Ohio Post Office in 2015.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Monica Weyler, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Eastern Area Field Office announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

According to court testimony, Heskett’s job with the Postal Service was to receive and sort mail and packages and prepare them for delivery by postal carriers. In 2014, customers in Springfield reported receiving packages with items missing from inside the packages. Several postal carriers in Springfield also reported noticing open parcels among those they received for delivery. USPS-OIG investigators determined that Heskett had been opening and stealing mail. Heskett pleaded no contest on August 1, 2016 to one count of mail theft.

Security video documented Heskett placing packages into her pants and leaving the work area, as well as opening packages, removing the contents and resealing the packages.

Heskett was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, to be served following her release from prison, including seven months of home confinement.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the USPS-OIG and First Assistant United States Attorney Vipal Patel, who represented the United States in this case.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Chief of Maintenance at Paradise #9 Mine located in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky was recently charged, by Grand Jury Indictment, for falsifying a safety record and lying to federal inspectors about making the fraudulent statement, announced Untied States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.

According to the indictment, Daniel L. Couch, Jr., whose job it was to make a weekly inspection of electric equipment, specifically of the belt drive of coal seal 11 at Paradise #9 Mine, did not in fact make the required fire suppression checks for the week of May 1 through 7, in 2016.

On about May 17, 2016, an Inspector from the United States Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, inspected the record book for fire suppression checks conducted on the belt drives for coal seam 11, which contains seven separate belt drives at seven different locations, and found that no fire suppression checks had occurred for the week of May 1 through 7, 2016.

On or about May 19, 2016, the Inspector returned to Paradise #9 mine and re-examined the record book for inspections for the belt drive for coal seam 11, at which time the book revealed that the belt drives had been examined on May 7, 2016 by “D. Couch,” and that no hazards had been observed.

Couch is further charged with knowingly making a false statement to an inspector of the United States Department of Labor, Mine Safety & Health Administration, by stating that he had been underground, and had made an inspection on the belt drive of coal seam 11 at Paradise #9 Mine on May 7, 2016, when the statement and representation was false, because the defendant had not been underground at the mine on that date, and had not conducted said inspection.

If convicted at trial, Couch could face no more than 5 years in prison. Couch’s whereabouts is unknown.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream and is being investigated by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) U.S. Department of Labor.

The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Two defendants appeared in federal court today for drug crimes, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Gerald Harris, 23, of Huntington, was sentenced to eight months in federal prison for distribution of heroin. In a separate prosecution, Ashara Mayes, 29, of Decatur, Georgia, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

On March 22, 2016, Harris sold approximately 11.8 grams of heroin to a confidential informant working with the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. Harris met the confidential informant on Rear Monroe Avenue in Huntington to conduct the drug deal.

In a separate prosecution, on February 25, 2016, Mayes received a package containing cocaine and crack from codefendant Trevor Bethel in Atlanta. Mayes then transported the package to Huntington for Bethel in exchange for $500. After Mayes arrived in Huntington, she met Bethel and took the package to the residence of Jarrell Johnson, another codefendant, located on Rear 9th Avenue in Huntington. Laboratory analysis found that the package contained over 160 grams of cocaine and over 11 grams of crack. Mayes faces up to 20 years in federal prison when she is sentenced on May 22, 2017. For his part in the drug conspiracy, Johnson was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Bethel remains a fugitive.

The Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force conducted the Harris investigation. The investigation of Mayes was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory McVey is handling these prosecutions. Chief United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearings.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of illegal drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of illegal drugs in communities across the Southern District.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Mexican national was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison today for an immigration crime, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Adan Zamudio-Escalante, also known as Victor Giron, 39, previously pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having previously been removed from the United States on two different occasions. He is also subject to removal proceedings.

Zamudio-Escalante admitted that he had twice been convicted of the federal crime of illegally reentering the United States. The first conviction occurred on April 1, 2005, in Texas. After that conviction, Zamudio-Escalante was removed from the United States to his home country of Mexico. Zamudio-Escalante then illegally reentered the United States. He was convicted for a second time of illegally reentering the United States on January 6, 2010, in West Virginia, and was again removed from the United States. Zamudio-Escalante was subsequently found in Charleston by Department of Homeland Security agents on September 20, 2016, having illegally reentered the United States for a third time.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is in charge of the prosecution. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., imposed the sentence.

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BECKLEY, W.Va. – A federal inmate who was caught approximately a mile from Raleigh General Hospital was sentenced today to a year and a day in prison, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Jody Ladd Dellenback, 30, previously pleaded guilty to escape.

Dellenback admitted that on August 25, 2016, he ran away from his Bureau of Prisons escort after the completion of his medical examination at Raleigh General Hospital. Law enforcement authorities searched the area and found him about two hours later, slightly over a mile from the hospital. Dellenback was serving an 18-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution at Beckley for unauthorized use of a credit card.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons with assistance from the Beckley Police Department, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office, and the West Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorney John File is handling the prosecution. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence.

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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JACQUES FLEURIJEUNE, 27, also known as “Magic,” last residing in New London, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud stemming from his involvement in an insurance fraud scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between April 2011 and February 2014, FLEURIJEUNE and others conspired to stage approximately 50 car crashes in southeastern Connecticut for the purpose of defrauding automobile insurance companies and enriching themselves. A high percentage of these planned crashes were single-vehicle accidents on remote roads where there were no witnesses other than the occupants of the crashed vehicle. After each staged accident, the defendants filed fraudulent property damage and bodily injury claims with various automobile insurance companies. They then collected payouts on the fraudulent claims from the victim insurance companies. These payouts typically ranged from approximately $10,000 to $30,000 per accident.

In pleading guilty, FLEURIJEUNE admitted his personal involvement in one staged crash that occurred on October 22, 2013, in Norwich. After another scheme participant crashed the vehicle, FLEURIJEUNE replaced the other participant in the driver’s seat and falsely reported to responding law enforcement officers that FLEURIJEUNE had been driving the car at the time of the crash, and that the crash occurred because he swerved into a tree to avoid hitting a deer in the road.

After the crash, FLEURIJEUNE and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent insurance claims that misrepresented the conditions that caused the crash, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the crash, and whether and to what extent the occupants of the vehicle suffered injuries as a result of the crash. As a result, FLEURIJEUNE and others collected a total of $31,334.52 from the insurer.

Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for May 10, 2017, at which time FLEURIJEUNE faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. FLEURIJEUNE, a citizen of Haiti, is detained.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Norwich Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, with the assistance of the Mohegan Tribal Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi M. Perry.

     TUCSON, Ariz. – Today, Breana VanDyck, 28, of Tucson, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Raner C. Collins to 63 months in prison. Following a jury trial in September, VanDyck was found guilty ofmailing child pornography.VanDyck’s term of imprisonment will be followed by lifetime supervised release, with stringent sex offender conditions, including the condition that she register as a sex offender.

     VanDyck, using the U.S. Postal Service, printed and mailed child pornography to her husband at the Central Arizona Detention Center (CADC). At the time, her husband was in custody at CADC awaiting trial on charges involving the possession and production of child pornography.

     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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Tucson Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tucson. The prosecution was handled by Carmen F. Corbin and Erica L. Seger, District of Arizona, Tucson.

CASE NUMBER: CR-15-1388-TUC-RCC

RELEASE NUMBER: 2017-013_VanDyck

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

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ALBUQUERQUE – Jorge Chacon, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court to violating the federal firearms laws by unlawfully using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Chacon was arrested during an ATF-led investigation that resulted in the filing of 59 federal indictments and one federal criminal complaint charging 104 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses. The investigation began in mid-April 2016, when ATF personnel from throughout the country joined forces with federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies in New Mexico to combat the high rate of violent crime in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. The investigators utilized a number of investigative techniques, including undercover operations, historical investigation and targeting of multi-convicted felons in possession of firearms.

The investigation was undertaken in support of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

Chacon was charged in a seven-count indictment filed on June 30, 2016. The indictment charged Chacon with distributing methamphetamine, carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm on May 16, 2016; being a felon in possession of a firearm on May 19, 2016; being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of firearms with obliterated serial numbers on May 26, 2016. According to the indictment, Chacon committed the offenses in Bernalillo County. Chacon was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior felony convictions for burglary, aggravated battery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

During today’s proceedings, Chacon pled guilty to Count 2 of the indictment charging him with carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. In entering the guilty plea, Chacon admitted that on May 16, 2016, he carried a firearm in furtherance of the sale of methamphetamine. At sentencing, Chacon faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

To date, 27 of the 104 defendants have entered guilty pleas and two have been sentenced. The remaining defendants have entered not guilty pleas. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns is prosecuting the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Christopher Gallegos, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., pled guilty this morning in federal court to aiding and abetting the armed robbery of an Albuquerque-area bank.

Christopher Gallegos was arrested in March 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him and four co-defendants, Greg Miera, 51, Martin Huerta, 43, Christian Herrera, 20, and Isaiah Gallegos, 20, all of Albuquerque, with bank robbery. According to the complaint, a source identified the co-defendants as the individuals involved in robbing the US Bank branch located at 5620 Wyoming Blvd. NE in Albuquerque, on March 30, 2016. The complaint alleged that Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers conducted surveillance as a vehicle with four men pulled up to the US Bank on the afternoon of March 30, 2016. The complaint alleged that three of the men remained in the vehicle while the fourth entered the bank, threatened to shoot the bank employees, and demanded that two bank tellers place cash into a plastic bag.

Miera, Huerta, Herrera, Isaiah Gallegos and Christopher Gallegos were subsequently indicted on an armed bank robbery charge on April 27, 2016.

During today’s proceedings, Christopher Gallegos entered a guilty plea to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Christopher Gallegos admitted aiding and abetting the armed robbery of the U.S. Bank branch on March 30, 2016, by conducting surveillance of various potential banks in the two days leading up to the robbery.

Co-defendant Huerta previously entered a guilty plea to the indictment on Sept. 9, 2016, and Miera entered a guilty plea on Oct. 11, 2016.

At sentencing, Christopher Gallegos, Miera and Huerta each face a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. The co-defendants remain in custody pending sentencing hearings.

The two remaining co-defendants have entered pleas of not guilty to the indictment. Charges in complaints and indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia Simms is prosecuting the case.

DALLAS— Kevin Kenard Howard of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to serve 30 months in federal prison and pay $1,850,000 in restitution following his guilty plea in May 2016 to a felony offense stemming from his work with co-defendant Ellis Wamsley, IV and the FAIM Economic Development Corporation, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Howard, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and aiding and abetting. Judge Boyle ordered that he surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 26, 2017.

Co-defendant Wamsley, 47, of Grand Prairie, Texas, pleaded guilty in May 2016 to one count of engaging in a monetary transaction with property derived from specified unlawful activity and aiding and abetting and. Wamsley was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,850,000 in restitution in October 2016.

According to documents filed in the case, Wamsley formed FAIM in 2003, and in 2010, as its CEO, hired Howard to work as a financial consultant to assist in recruiting investors for FAIM. In summer 2010, while trying to recruit these investors to supply additional cash revenue for FAIM, Howard and Wamsley recruited “M.R.,” the owner/operator of “Company R,” in Flower Mound, Texas. They advised M.R. that a proposed joint venture between FAIM and Company R would generate funding for FAIM economic development projects in the southern sector of Dallas and throughout the U.S.

In August 2010, M.R. wired $2 million to a FAIM brokerage account at Charles Schwab. Approximately one month later, Wamsley transferred $1,791,703 in Company R’s investment funds from that account to a FAIM Merrill Lynch brokerage account that he had established and to which M.R. did not have access.

Wamsley told Howard that Howard would be FAIM’s primary point of contact with M.R. After the first few trades, the joint venture began to lose money. Wamsley told Howard to hide the investment losses from M.F. Howard agreed to, and did, lie to M.R. about the trading losses and the true balance of the investment account.

Howard knowingly participated in the fraud scheme by sending lulling emails to M.R. that contained false information about the true balance and value of the account. In November 2010, Howard sent an email to M.R. falsely assuring M.R. that profits in the investment account had increased. In December 2010, Howard sent an email to M.R. in which he falsely represented that the account balance was $2,436,611. In January 2011, Howard sent another email saying the total account balance was $2,500,000. In fact, from October 2010 to August 2011, Howard, at Wamsley’s instruction, sent several emails to M.R. with the specific intent to deceive, mislead and confuse M.R. about the account’s true balance. Wamsley and Howard also concealed that fact that Wamsley was diverting some of the funds in the account for his own personal benefit and use.

For instance, from October 2010 through April 2012, Wamsley fraudulently transferred more than $1.7 million of Company R investment funds to FAIM’s business accounts, and he unlawfully spent those funds for his, Howard’s and others’ personal benefits. For example, in November 2010, Wamsley used $40,024 in Company R investment funds to purchase a 2008 Cadillac Escalade for Howard; $41,764 of investment funds to purchase a 2008 Cadillac Escalade for a family member; and $125,477 in investment funds to purchase a 2007 Aston Martin for himself. Wamsley also used more than $200,000 in investment funds to host a Super Bowl fund-raising event in 2011.

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas. This defendant is the 16th defendant convicted since August 2013 as part of that initiative.

Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis was in charge of the prosecution.

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RALEIGH– The United States Attorney’s Office announced today that ten alleged members of the Black Mob Gangstas/Donald Gee Family (BMG/DGF) Raleigh-area Bloods street gang, including its leaders, have been indicted in Raleigh, for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise and related offenses.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI’s North Carolina Division and Chief Cassandra Deck-Brown of the Raleigh Police Department made the announcement.

The 11-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on January 20, 2017, and unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The indictment charges the defendants with racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, murder with a firearm, drug trafficking conspiracy, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and related offenses. The defendants range from senior leadership to associates of the BMG/DGF Bloods:

• Demetrice Regus Devine, aka Respect, 34;

• Dontaous Demond Devine, aka Scooch and Boochie, 28;

• Demetrius Deshaun Toney, aka Meat, 24;

• Brandon Jowan Mangum, aka B-Easy, 28;

• Jamario Keon Jones, aka Spect Junior and Skeeno, 24;

• Cleveland McNair, aka Blee, 33;

• Christopher Darnell Evans, aka Racks and Snacks, 27;

• Brenda Joyce Brown, aka Lady Banga, 32;

• Katherine Victoria Gast, aka Kat Snacks, 25; and

• Shaiona Marie Smith aka, Slyfox, 22.

The last individual was arrested and taken into custody today. All of the other defendants charged in the indictment are already in custody.

John Stuart Bruce, U.S. Attorney, stated: “This significant indictment is the result of a lot of hard work by the FBI, the Raleigh Police Department, and the N.C. Department of Public Safety, as well as the attorneys in our office and those in DOJ’s Criminal Division. Stopping illegal gang activity, especially violent crimes, is a top priority for our office.”

“These suspects are part of a ruthless street gang that uses fear, intimidation, and even murder to protect the interests of their criminal organization. They believed they were beyond the reach of justice, even tampering with witnesses. Together with our law enforcement partners, we have disrupted a dangerous criminal enterprise and will continue to hold those accountable who mistakenly believe they are above the law,” said John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.

According to superseding indictment, the BMG/DGF Bloods is a violent street gang with members operating in Raleigh, including Haywood Street area, since the early 2000s. The gang is organized according to a detailed hierarchical structure. Senior leadership regularly conducted formal meetings and collected dues from the rank and file members, assaulting members who failed to pay or follow orders. The alleged members and associates of the BMG/DGF are charged with a wide range of crimes used to further their racketeering scheme, including murder, attempted murder, assault with dangerous weapons, drug trafficking, extortion, threats of violence and distribution of narcotics.

The superseding indictment charges gang leaders Demetrice Devine and Dontaous Devine with conspiracy to participate in racketeering activities of the BMG/DGF Bloods, among other charges. The indictment also charges two other alleged gang members, McNair and Evans, with conspiracy to participate in the gang’s racketeering activities.

According to the superseding indictment, BMG/DGF members and associates were connected to two separate murders. In May 2009, Dontaous Devine, Toney and Mangum allegedly shot and killed a rival gang member for refusing to pay BMG/DGF’s gang dues. The indictment also alleges that in November 2008, Jones and another gang member shot and killed a rival gang member under orders from a high ranking BMG/DGF member.

The FBI, Raleigh Police Department and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dena King and Scott Lemmon of the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney John C. Hanley of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and are prosecuting the case.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Vincenzo Leonardi, 27, of Lakewood, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to production of child pornography in connection with his online impersonation of a minor girl to entice and coerce minor boys to produce sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from at least May 2012 to February 2016, Leonardi posed as a minor girl named “Taylor Capps” on Facebook, Instagram, Kik, and other social media services, for the purpose of contacting minor boys over the Internet to engage in sexually explicit communications and conduct. For example, as part of his scheme, Leonardi sent pictures of a minor girl and other naked females to his victims. One victim, located in Loudoun County, was 9 years old at the time he was contacted by Leonardi. For that victim and at least five others located throughout the country, Leonardi successfully enticed and coerced them to record themselves engaged in sexually explicit behavior and to transmit those photographs and videos to Leonardi. As part of his plea agreement, Leonardi admitted that he attempted to similarly entice and coerce at least a dozen other minor boys he contacted online, all of whom were between the ages of 9 and 12 years old.

As part of his plea agreement, Leonardi admitted that his personal laptop computer, which was seized during the execution of a search warrant in December 2015, contained over two dozen sexually explicit videos and over 100 sexually explicit images of minors.

Leonardi was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 3, 2016, and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on May 12. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Michael L. Chapman, Loudoun County Sheriff, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song and Jay V. Prabhu are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Ohio and the District of Maryland significantly aided in the investigation.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-247.

TYLER, Texas – A former pharmaceutical benefits manager has pleaded guilty to engaging in illegal kickbacks in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting United States Attorney Brit Featherston today.

Douglas M. Pick, 57, of Omaha, Nebraska, pleaded guilty to making unlawful kickback payments today before United States Magistrate Judge John D. Love. At sentencing, Pick faces up to three years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

According to information presented in court, Pick was the founder and long-time President and CEO of Pharmaceutical Technologies, Inc. (PTI). The company, which operates as a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM), provides for the administration and delivery of pharmacy products and services. PTI uses a network of pharmacies to service employee welfare benefit plans and health care benefit programs across the United States. During Pick’s tenure, PTI contracted with certain individuals, known as “Producers,” who had close business relationships with benefit plans. These benefit plans require administrative services in connection with the delivery of pharmacy products and services to their members. Agreements between PTI and certain Producers were used to facilitate the payment of illegal kickbacks. These Producers unlawfully used their positions to steer the benefit plans to PTI in exchange for kickback payments. The payments by Pick and PTI were based on the volume of business the Producers steered to PTI. Such agreements and the related payments violate the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Pick, as PTI’s President and CEO, was primarily responsible for the negotiations with Producers.

Between 2001 and 2013, Pick, acting on PTI’s behalf, entered into agreements with several Producers who unlawfully used their positions to refer benefit plan business to PTI in exchange for illegal kickback payments. These Producers collectively received illegal payments in excess of $3.5 million.

One such Producer was Tom Slack of Tyler, Texas. From 1998-2011, Slack served as the CEO of Tyler-based HealthFirst and its subsidiaries, including HealthFirst RX Solutions (HFRX). HealthFirst, a subsidiary of East Texas Medical Center, provides administrative services to employee benefit plans in East Texas. The plans include health care benefits, such as pharmacy products. HFRX, a private label PBM located in Tyler, provides pharmacy benefit services to HealthFirst’s client plans. In early 2004, Pick and Slack executed a contract in which PTI agreed to administer the pharmacy benefits of HealthFirst’s client plans through HFRX. The agreement specified that HealthFirst would pay PTI an administrative fee for every claim made for the filling of prescriptions. During April and May of 2004, Slack expressed to Pick that he wanted to personally receive money on the pharmacy business from HealthFirst in exchange for directing more business to PTI and automatic renewal of the PTI-HealthFirst agreement each year. Pick agreed that PTI would pay Slack in exchange for this commitment. To do so, Pick and Slack agreed that Slack would approve an increase of the PTI administrative fee imposed on HealthFirst’s clients for each prescription filled. PTI would then pay the increase to a shell company that Slack had established. Slack, who was fired by HealthFirst in July 2011 and later passed away in 2012, received more than $1.5 million in illegal payments/kickbacks from Pick and PTI.

Gary Gustafson, a Producer from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, received close to $750,000 in illegal payments/kickbacks from Pick and PTI. He pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges in the District of Minnesota in May 2016 and is awaiting sentencing.

To resolve the matter, PTI entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the United States and agreed to pay over $8.5 million. As part of the agreement, PTI agreed to cooperate with the government in the investigation and prosecution of individuals involved in the illegal kickback arrangements and to maintain internal controls, including compliance with ERISA, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and all other applicable statutes.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Labor - Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel Kummerfeld and Frank Coan and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth McGurk prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – A 55-year-old resident of Sugar Land has been ordered to federal prison for sending a threatening email to the Texas Attorney General’s Office (TXAG) and various employees with other state agencies, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Syed Kaleem Razvi pleaded guilty Oct. 3, 2016.

Today U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore sentenced Razvi to 24 months in federal prison immediately followed by two years of supervised release.

Razvi sent an email communication on June 8, 2015, to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Child Support Division, as well as various employees with other Texas agencies. The subject line of the email said “Tell Atty General of Texas this.” The email threatened the Attorney General of Texas, as well as all those emailed that Razvi would “get up in arms against you all,” and that he wished “God burn your houses and burn the bodies of your own children and yourself.” The email also demanded that the Attorney General of Texas return his money or “FACE TERRORISM.”

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

The FBI conducted the investigation in conjunction with the Texas Attorney General’s Office - Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ted Imperato, Alamdar Hamdani and Andrew Leuchtmann prosecuted the case.