Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Justin Martin Jackson, age 29, of Darlington, South Carolina, pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Florence to drug conspiracy and firearms charges.  Specifically, Jackson pled guilty to three counts: conspiracy to violate the drug laws of the United States, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371; using a communication device to facilitate the commission of a felony under the Controlled Substances Act, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b); and, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(ii)(A). United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks of Charleston, accepted the plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed a presentence investigation report which will be prepared by the United States Probation Office.

Evidence presented at the change of plea established that, in 2005, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in cooperation with the Pee Dee Violent Crimes Task Force, began an investigation into cocaine and cocaine-base distribution activities in the Hartsville area. As part of that investigation, in February 2015, Jackson was found in possession of a quantity of ethylone (a drug also known as MDMA or “Molly”) during a traffic stop. In December 2015, Jackson was arrested at a home in Darlington on a federal arrest warrant. At that home, law enforcement found three firearms, over a kilogram of powder cocaine, and 54 grams of cocaine-base in the home.  Officers also recovered two cellular telephones, which Jackson had used in December 2015 to transact illegal drug activity.

Ms. Drake stated that the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of life in prison.

The case was investigated by agents of the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Pee Dee Violent Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Chris Taylor of the Florence office handled the case.

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Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Cederic Sharnard Bruce, age 31, of Florence, SC, was sentenced in federal court in Florence for possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and a quantity of cocaine base in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1). United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks of Charleston sentenced Bruce to 140 months in federal prison.

Evidence presented at Bruce’s guilty plea hearing established that Bruce and others in the Florence County and Darlington County area were subjects in an ongoing drug distribution conspiracy investigation dating back to 2005 conducted by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), the Florence Police Department (FPD), the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in cooperation with the Pee Dee Violent Crimes Task Force. As part of that investigation, in July 2013, a Florence Police Department officer stopped a vehicle in which Bruce and others were traveling. Police officers ultimately searched the car, and found a quantity of cocaine and a quantity of cocaine base hidden in the car.

The case was investigated by agents Florence County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), Florence Police Department, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in cooperation with the Pee Dee Violent Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher D. Taylor of the Florence office prosecuted the case.

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Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Tavares Lamore Wingate, age 33, of Hartsville, SC, was sentenced in federal court in Florence for conspiracy to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a quantity of cocaine and a quantity of cocaine base in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1). United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks of Charleston sentenced Wingate to 95 months in federal prison.

Evidence presented at Wingate’s guilty plea hearing established that Wingate and others in the Florence County and Darlington County area were subjects in an ongoing drug distribution conspiracy investigation dating back to 2005 conducted by the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in cooperation with the Pee Dee Violent Crimes Task Force. As part of that investigation, in June 2015, agents arranged a controlled buy of a quantity of cocaine and a quantity of cocaine base from Wingate and a coconspirator.

The case was investigated by the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in cooperation with the Pee Dee Violent Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher D. Taylor of the Florence office prosecuted the case.

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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JOSEPH A. CASTELLANO, 59, of Wallingford, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 68 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for operating an investment scheme that defrauded individuals of more than $1.4 million.

According to court documents and statements made in court, CASTELLANO operated various entities out of offices in Wallingford, including Casbo Investments, Wallingford Investors Limited Partnership, AIM Realty Investors, and Castellano & Co., LLC. As a Certified Public Accountant and owner of Castellano & Co., LLC, CASTELLANO prepared federal and state tax returns for individuals and local businesses. In connection with his tax preparation business, CASTELLANO established a base of clients to which he offered financial services and investment opportunities in addition to preparing their taxes.

Beginning in approximately July 2007, CASTELLANO falsely represented to victim-investors that he had clients who were in need of capital to fund businesses or real estate development projects, but were unable to secure funding from traditional sources such as financial institutions. CASTELLANO told victim-investors that he would obtain for them a consistent rate of return of between approximately six percent and eight percent annually on their money by taking their money and placing it with, or loaning it to, one or more of his other clients. CASTELLANO, through Casbo Investments, prepared and executed official-looking documents and investment contracts termed “Demand Notes,” which contained a promise to return the principal amount, with interest, at any time.

In fact, there were no actual investments or investment opportunities, and the money was not invested with or loaned to other clients of CASTELLANO. CASTELLANO diverted the funds for his own use and benefit, including for international travel. He also used some of the invested funds to make phony “interest” payments to other victim-investors.

During the scheme, CASTELLANO made false statements to certain victim-investors to explain various delays in the purported interest payments.

Through this scheme, CASTELLANO defrauded 18 victim-investors of a total of $1,447,151. Multiple victims lost most of their retirement savings.

CASTELLANO was arrested on April 6, 2016. On September 16, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering.

CASTELLANO, who had been released on a $250,000 bond, was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at the conclusion of the sentencing proceeding.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael McGarry and John Pierpont.

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Angela Lucke, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on March 8, 2017, before United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to unlawfully providing firearms to a convicted felon.

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Lucke admitted to giving three guns to convicted heroin dealer, Ariel Varsanyi of New York. Lucke purchased the guns for Varsanyi because he was barred as a felon from buying guns himself.

Lucke previously pleaded guilty in Lackawanna County Court in July 2016, to a charge of falsely reporting the firearms as stolen from her residence, and was sentenced in October 2016, to two years’ probation.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dunmore Borough Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Sean A. Camoni is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Partnership (“VCRP”), a district wide initiative to combat the spread of violent crime in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the VCRP consists of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies whose mission is to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes with firearms.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging former Florida House of Representatives member Dwayne L. Taylor (49, Daytona Beach) with nine counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20years in federal prison for each count. The indictment also notifies Taylor that the United States is seeking a money judgment in the amount of $62,834, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct.

According to the indictment, during Taylor’s 2012 and 2014 re-election campaigns, he falsely reported thousands of dollars of expenditures to the State of Florida in order to conceal a series of cash withdrawals, checks written to himself, and checks written to petty cash, in violation of Florida law. Taylor then used the misappropriated funds for personal expenditures unrelated to his re-election campaigns. As set forth in the indictment, in the State of Florida, neither a candidate nor the spouse of a candidate may use funds on deposit in a campaign account to defray normal living expenses for the candidate or the candidate’s family, other than expenses actually incurred for transportation, meals, and lodging during travel in the course of the campaign.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has violated one or more of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Embry J. Kidd and Roger B. Handberg.

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr. has sentenced Francisco Heleno Jaramillo (40, Colombia, South America) to 15 years in federal prison for conspiring with others to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He pleaded guilty on December 19, 2016.

According to court documents, Heleno Jaramillo was responsible for several marine smuggling ventures in international waters involving more than 1,000 kilograms of cocaine. In July 2013 and January 2014, the United States Coast Guard interdicted over 1,000 kilogram loads of cocaine that were being smuggled aboard vessels (commonly referred to as “go-fast boats”) traveling from Venezuela to the Dominican Republic.

This case was investigated by the Panama Express Strike Force, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprised of agents and analysts from the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and U.S. Southern Command's Joint Interagency Task Force South. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s drug supply. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Castaneda.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Delran, New Jersey, man will appear in federal court today to face charges that he abused his position as a U.S. Postal Service supervisor to steal cash deposits, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Amar D. Patel, 35, is charged by complaint with knowingly embezzling, stealing, purloining, and converting to his use U.S. Postal Service funds exceeding $1,000. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio in Camden federal court.

According to the complaint:

In July 2016, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General started investigating shortages in cash deposits reported by the Riverside, New Jersey, Delanco, New Jersey, and Delran post offices. Patel – who was a supervisor at those three offices – had access to deposit bags containing cash acquired during retail operations.

As part of the investigation, agents installed covert surveillance cameras inside the Riverside post office. On Jan. 14, 2017, one of the surveillance cameras captured images of Patel tearing open a sealed deposit bag, removing cash deposits, and placing the funds into his pocket. According to U.S. Postal Service financial records and bank deposit records, the Riverside office’s deposit was short $1,650 on Jan. 14, 2017.

Based on this and other information, Patel is accused of stealing $15,700 in U.S. Postal Service funds on 12 separate occasions from Feb. 20, 2016, through Jan. 14, 2017.

The embezzlement charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Monica Weyler, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel J. Vidoni of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

ALBUQUERQUE – Rogelio Santiago Quiroa-Valdez, 25, a Mexican national unlawfully in the United States, was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 60 months in prison for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction. Quiroa-Valdez will be deported after he completes his prison sentence.

Quiroa-Valdez and his co-defendants, Luis Rangel Arce, 45, and Miguel Rangel Arce, 36, also Mexican nationals, were amongst eight San Juan County residents charged with federal narcotics trafficking offenses as the result of a multi-agency investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force into methamphetamine trafficking on the Navajo Indian Reservation in northwestern New Mexico. The three men were arrested in May 2016 during a law enforcement operation that included the execution of two search warrants at residences in Shiprock and Kirtland, N.M.

The investigation leading to the federal charges was initiated in response to an increase in methamphetamine trafficking on the Navajo Indian Reservation in the Shiprock area, and was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. This Department of Justice program combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. investigation identified eight defendants, who were charged in five indictments, through a series of methamphetamine purchases by undercover law enforcement officers. Law enforcement authorities seized more than two and a half pounds of methamphetamine, ten firearms, approximately $1,600 in cash, and a vehicle during the investigation.

Quiroa-Valdez, Miguel Rangel Arce and Luis Rangel Arce were charged with methamphetamine trafficking charges in a seven-count indictment filed in April 2016. The indictment charged the three men with participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy between Nov. 2015 and March 2016, and with distributing methamphetamine on six occasions between Jan. 2016 and March 2016. According to the indictment, the defendants committed the crimes in San Juan County, N.M.

Quiroa-Valdez pled guilty on Aug. 30, 2016, and admitted that on Feb. 24, 2016, he distributed 85.5 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover officer.

On Aug. 30, 2016, Miguel Rangel Arce pled guilty to participating in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, and admitted that from Nov. 24, 2015 through March 17, 2016, he conspired to distribute between 500 grams and 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine to an undercover officer. Miguel Rangel Arce was sentenced on March 7, 2017 to 120 months in prison; he will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

Luis Rangel Arce pled guilty on Aug. 16, 2016, to distributing methamphetamine on Jan. 11 and 14, 2016. In entering the guilty plea, Luis Rangel Arce admitted distributing 63.17 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover officer on Jan. 11, 2016, and distributing 55.3 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover officer on Jan. 14, 2016. Luis Rangel Arce was sentenced on Jan. 5, 2017, to 87 months in prison, and will be deported after completing his prison sentence.

These cases were investigated by HSI’s Albuquerque office and the HIDTA Region II Narcotics Task Force with assistance from the Farmington office of the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and BIA’s Division of Drug Enforcement, Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, New Mexico State Police, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Farmington Police Department, and New Mexico National Guard. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez is prosecuting the cases.

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

LAFAYETTE, La. –United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that a federal jury found an Opelousas man guilty Tuesday of robbing three local businesses at gunpoint.

Carey Wardell Reed, 28, of Opelousas, La., was found guilty of three counts of interference with commerce by robbery; two counts of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime; and one count of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during a violent crime. After the conclusion of the trial, the jury deliberated for approximately two and a half hours before delivering the guilty verdict. United States District Judge Rebecca F. Doherty presided over the trial.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Reed robbed three commercial establishments in Opelousas in 2014. On May 2, 2014, Reed robbed the Tiger Stop #7 gas station. He fired a shot, and told everyone inside to “get down.” He then had the employees empty the cash register of $704 and fled the scene. One May 10, 2014, Reed robbed the Chicken King restaurant. He entered the restaurant with a gun, which he pointed at the cashier. He demanded money and threatened to harm those present. The cashier turned over $985, and Reed fled. On September 22, 2014, Reed robbed a Family Dollar store. He entered the store with a handgun and demanded money. Before leaving, he also threatened the employees’ lives and took $1,400. The defendant was arrested on September 30, 2014 after police conducted a traffic stop. Extensive ballistic and digital forensic evidence were key in proving Reed to be the perpetrator in all three robberies.

Reed faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the robbery counts, seven years in prison on each of the brandishing offenses, and 10 years in prison for the discharging offense. Because the defendant has been convicted of multiple firearms offenses, two of the firearms convictions are subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years of imprisonment for each count. Sentencing will be set at a later date.

The FBI and the Opelousas Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jamilla A. Bynog and Joseph T. Mickel prosecuted the case.

ALBUQUERQUE – Cory Werito, 33, of Farmington, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a health care fraud charge. The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso.

Werito and his co-defendant, Rosita Toledo, 47, of Kirtland, N.M., were charged in a ten-count indictment that was filed on June 15, 2016. The indictment included nine health care fraud charges against Werito and Toledo, and an aggravated currency structuring charge against Werito. According to the indictment, the health care fraud charges were based on the defendants’ roles in creating and operating a medical transportation company, CW Transport, a New Mexico company located in Farmington that provided non-emergency medical transportation to Arizona Medicaid recipients, funded by reimbursement payments from the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), a healthcare benefit program. The indictment alleged that over the course of two years between 2011 and 2013, CW Transport collected more than $1.9 million in Medicaid reimbursements from AHCCCS by submitting more than 18,000 claims for reimbursement, the vast majority of which were wholly or substantially false and fraudulent.

Count 10 of the indictment, the aggravated currency structuring charge, alleged that Werito conducted financial transactions involving the proceeds of the health care fraud in a manner that avoided the filing of Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs). CTRs are reports which must be filed by financial institutions on transactions involving more than $10,000 during any business day and are used by law enforcement authorities to uncover a broad range of illegal activities including money laundering. According to the indictment, from Aug. 2011 to July 2013, Werito conducted at least 200 cash withdrawals, each for several thousands of dollars but less than $10,000 and totaling at least $800,000, to avoid the filing of CTRs.

The indictment included forfeiture provisions seeking an order requiring Werito and Toledo to forfeit to the United States at least $1,959,405, the proceeds allegedly derived from the health care fraud alleged in Counts 1 through 9 of the indictment.

During today’s proceedings, Werito pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment, charging him with committing health care fraud. Werito admitted, as the sole owner of CW Transport, he submitted approximately 18,765 claims for reimbursement to AHCCCS between July 2011 and July 2013. Because the claims were grouped in 140 invoices, Werito received 140 payments from AHCCCS in an amount totaling $1,959,405. Werito admitted submitting the claims for reimbursement as part of a scheme to defraud AHCCCS because he either never provided or provided in a substantially different manner many of the services for which he sought and received reimbursement.

At sentencing, Werito faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Werito also will be required to pay $1,218,165 in restitution. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Toledo has entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment and is pending trial which has yet to be scheduled. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

The Albuquerque office of HSI investigated the case with assistance from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and New Mexico Office of the Attorney General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña is prosecuting the case.

CINCINNATI –Carlos Ruiz-Rodriguez, 25, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was sentenced to 15 months for extortion against a Cincinnati-based company.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence handed down yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

Ruiz-Rodriguez was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2016. He pleaded guilty on November 30, 2016 to intruding computers, stealing proprietary information from his employer, and then extorting his employer.

He had been employed at the company for approximately two years as a call center employee. In his role, he had access to the company’s customer service portal and personally identifiable information for certain clients. He used credentials for another employee to obtain the proprietary company information.

Ruiz-Rodriguez sent multiple extortion emails to the company between November 2015 and January 2016 via the internet claiming that he had hacked the company. He also provided proof of compromise of the company’s data. He stated that if the company did not pay a Bitcoin ransom, then the company schematics and client data would be released to the public.

Ruiz-Rodriguez, through an intermediary, then posted the company’s data on an internet “dark web” forum and received two separate ransom payments from the employer totaling approximately $15,000. Ruiz-Rodriguez was also ordered to pay restitution of $277,278.98 to the employer and $259,212.74 to the employer’s insurer.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI, and Assistant United States Attorney Tim Mangan, who is prosecuting the case.

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Jordan Tito (23, Tampa) has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft. He faces a mandatory penalty of two years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, in September 2016, a cooperating informant (CI) told investigators that Tito offered to sell him stolen identities for $10 each. The identities that Tito offered included names, dates of birth, and social security numbers, that the CI could use to make counterfeit credit cards and fake ID’s, and otherwise access the victims’ credit. In September 2016, Tito met with the CI and sold him approximately 86 stolen identities each printed on a separate sheet of paper. Each of the documents included the name, address, date of birth, and social security number of an identity theft victim. Of the 86 stolen identities, 29 were children.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mandy Riedel.

          LOS ANGELES– Rite Aid Corporation has paid $834,200 in civil penalties to the United States to settle claims stemming from alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act.

          Rite Aid paid the civil settlement yesterday as part of an agreement reached last week to resolve allegations that certain Rite Aid pharmacies in Los Angeles dispensed and/or recorded controlled substances using a medical practitioner’s incorrect or invalid DEA registration number. The government alleged that the incorrect or invalid registration numbers were used at least 1,298 times as a result of Rite Aid’s failure to adequately maintain its internal database.

          The settlement also resolves allegations that Rite Aid pharmacies dispensed, on at least 63 occasions, prescriptions for controlled substances written by a practitioner whose DEA registration number had been revoked by the DEA for cause.

          In 1970, the United States Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which created “a closed system” of distribution for controlled substances. The CSA established a regulatory framework to control every facet of the handling of the substances, from their manufacture to their consumption.

          The CSA became law against the against the backdrop of increasing diversion and abuse of legitimate controlled substances, but the law was also designed to ensure an adequate supply of those substances needed to meet the medical and scientific needs of the United States.

          “Accurate record keeping at retail pharmacies helps ensure that authorities can keep track of how many controlled substances a pharmacy should have and does have on hand,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “These federal regulations were put into place to prevent the abuse of powerful drugs that are dispensed by pharmacies and should only be used under the careful watch of a medical professional.”

          In entering into and paying the settlement, Rite Aid did not admit liability. Prior to entering into the agreement, Rite Aid implemented a DEA registration validation program designed to verify DEA registration numbers for medical professionals who prescribe controlled substances.

          “This settlement demonstrates DEA’s commitment to monitoring and holding accountable all potential sources of diversion for controlled substances and maintaining the safety of our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Steve Comer

          This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Diversion Control, Los Angeles Field Division.

          The settlement was negotiated by Assistant United States Attorney Donald W. Yoo of the Civil Fraud Section.

CHICAGO — More than 65 defendants are facing federal or state narcotics charges for their alleged roles in distributing heroin, cocaine and fentanyl on Chicago’s West Side.

The joint federal and state investigation, dubbed “Operation Sweet Dreams,” spanned more than a year and resulted in the seizures of more than a dozen firearms, including an assault rifle and semiautomatic pistol, more than three kilograms of heroin, three kilograms of cocaine, and more than $380,000 in cash. Authorities uncovered the alleged criminal activity through the use of wiretapped cellular phones, undercover narcotics purchases and extensive surveillance. The probe was conducted under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), with assistance from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA).

Law enforcement officers began arresting several of the defendants this morning.

The charges describe an extensive network of drug distribution, based predominantly in the Garfield Park, Homan Square and North Lawndale neighborhoods on the city’s West Side. Two of the defendants were charged with federal firearm violations as part of criminal complaints filed earlier this week in U.S. District Court and unsealed after the arrests.

The federal defendants will begin making initial court appearances this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago. The state defendants were charged in separate complaints and will appear at a later time in Cook County Criminal Court.

The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kimberly M. Foxx, Cook County State’s Attorney; Dennis A. Wichern, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Eddie T. Johnson, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department; and James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.The officials recognized the valuable assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Illinois State Police.

The investigation uncovered numerous drug deals, including one that occurred last October in an alley in the 1800 block of North Leavitt Street in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago. A defendant purchased two kilograms of heroin in exchange for $132,800 in cash, the complaint states. The defendant was under law enforcement surveillance when he picked up the cash from a Near West Side house, the complaint states. The money was wrapped in a red and white Target shopping bag.

The investigation further revealed that one of the defendants agreed to sell his Chevrolet conversion van to a buyer he met in an online marketplace in exchange for a kilogram of cocaine. Unbeknownst to the defendant, the purported buyer was an undercover law enforcement officer. During an afternoon meeting last August at Diversey and Austin Avenues in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago, the undercover officer gave the defendant a black bag containing a kilogram of sham cocaine in exchange for the van, according to the complaint. The deal was surreptitiously recorded by law enforcement.

The investigations were conducted under the umbrella of the OCDETF program, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of OCDETF is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations.

The public is reminded that complaints contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy Daniel and Jeannice Appenteng are representing the government in the federal cases. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office is representing the government in the state cases.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Ricardo Davis, 28, of Syracuse, New York, was sentenced yesterday to serve 110 months (9 years and two months) in prison for his possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian. Davis had previously admitted that he fired the firearm, a semiautomatic 9 mm pistol, in connection with a dispute with another man in Syracuse. Units of the Syracuse Police Department responded to a report of “shots fired” and arrested Davis after a short foot chase. Davis’s prior criminal record includes three (3) previous drug related felony level convictions. Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby, who imposed sentence, ordered that Davis’s term of incarceration is to be served in addition to his current state prison sentence for a parole violation. As part of his sentence, Davis will also serve a term of three (3) years of supervised release following his federal prison sentence. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Syracuse Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Commandeur.

ALBUQUERQUE – Julia Perez-Vega, 48, a Mexican national from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, made her initial appearance this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on a heroin trafficking charge. Perez-Vega remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for March 10, 2017.

Perez-Vega is charged in a criminal complaint with possession of heroin with intent to distribute following her arrest yesterday at the Greyhound Bus Station in Albuquerque. The DEA arrested Perez-Vega after agents allegedly found approximately 3.6 kilograms (8.064 pounds) of heroin in her baggage during a consensual search.

If convicted on the charge in the criminal complaint, Perez-Vega faces a statutory mandatory minimum penalty of ten years to a maximum of life in prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Han is prosecuting this case as part of the New Mexico Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative was launched in January 2015 by the UNM Health Sciences Center and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in response to the national opioid epidemic, which has had a disproportionately devastating impact on New Mexico. Opioid addiction has taken a toll on public safety, public health and the economic viability of our communities. Working in partnership with the DEA, the Bernalillo County Opioid Accountability Initiative, Healing Addiction in our Community (HAC), the Albuquerque Public Schools and other community stakeholders, HOPE’s principal goals are to protect our communities from the dangers associated with heroin and opioid painkillers and reducing the number of opioid-related deaths in New Mexico.

The HOPE Initiative is comprised of five components: (1) prevention and education; (2) treatment; (3) law enforcement; (4) reentry; and (5) strategic planning. HOPE’s law enforcement component is led by the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA in conjunction with their federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. Targeting members of major heroin and opioid trafficking organizations for investigation and prosecution is a priority of the HOPE Initiative. Learn more about the New Mexico HOPE Initiative at http://www.HopeInitiativeNM.org.

SOUTH BEND – The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, David Capp, announced an indictment charging Mason France, 19, of Winona Lake, Indiana with one count of possession of stolen firearms, one count of possession of a firearm while under felony Information and one count of selling a firearm to a juvenile.

According to documents in this case, on December of 2016, France received one or more firearms while pending a felony Information, and in December of 2016 and January of 2017 he possessed stolen firearms. In January of 2017, France sold a handgun to a juvenile.

The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty in court.

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in coordination with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, the North Manchester Police Department and the Wabash County Sheriff’s Department. This case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Molly E. Donnelly.

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HAMMOND- United States Attorney David A. Capp announced today that Brendan Theodore Coetzee, 29, of Johannesburg, South Africa was sentenced before District Court Judge Rudy Lozano for using interstate communications to illicit sexual conduct from a minor.

Coetzee was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment followed by 5 years supervised release.

According to documents filed in the case, Coetzee, a former carnival worker, met a female under the age of 14 at a carnival in Wisconsin over Memorial Day weekend 2015. Coetzee and the minor maintained some contact thereafter via social media. On June 22, 2015, Coetzee, who was then in Northwest Indiana, arranged for the minor to meet him at a motel in Lansing, Illinois, where he had sexual intercourse with the minor.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Lansing, Illinois and Munster, Indiana Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toi D. Houston.

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Twenty-two people indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to traffic large amounts of heroin and cocaine in Toledo, law enforcement officials said.

Named in the 72-count indictment are: Gary R. Hill, Sr., 62, of Lathrup Village, Michigan; Tyrone Watson, 45, of Sylvania; Keith Cooke, 51, of Southfield, Michigan; Leroy L. Hooker, 47; Larry E. Stewart, 50; Andre Anderson, 47; Andre Arthur, 38; Anthony Ballard, 24; Ivan Ballard, 26; James Bragg, Sr., 43; Dominique Brown, 25; Keith Chisholm, 38; Vincent Cooke, 69;, Dennis Garrett, 26; Victor Hardison, 57; Dorian Hooker, 42; Robert Jackson, 41; Cedrick Smith, 25; Damond Smith, 26; Marcus Stephens, 37; Jerome Toyer, 46, and Demond Washington, 36, all of Toledo.

All 22 defendants are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. The indictment details large shipments of heroin, including a December 2, 2016 sale of nearly seven kilograms of cocaine and nearly four kilograms of heroin, according to the indictment.

The defendants worked together to bring kilogram-level amounts of heroin and cocaine from the Detroit area and sell the drugs in and around Toledo. This took place between from 2012 through this year, according to the indictment.

Hill, Leroy Hooker and Keith Cooke recruited friends and relatives in Toledo to distribute heroin and cocaine. Hill and others in Detroit and Toledo supplied Hooker and Keith Cooke with drugs. Stewart and Brown drove between Detroit and Toledo transporting drugs and money on behalf of Hill, Leroy Hooker and Keith Cooke, according to the indictment.

Some of the defendants used residences in Toledo to store and distribute the heroin and cocaine, including locations on Rockingham Street, Barrows Street, Ogden Avenue, West Delaware Avenue, Bryant Court and Nantucket Drive, as well as locations in Southfield, Lathrup and Detroit, Michigan, according to the indictment.

Several of the defendants are charged with distribution of heroin for sales that took place between 2012 and 2016. Leroy Hooker, Demond Washington and Chisholm face additional charges for having guns despite felony convictions that prohibit them from possessing firearms, according to the indictment.

“We will continue to seek long prison sentences for drug traffickers,” said Carole S. Rendon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “Aggressive enforcement, coupled with increased access to treatment for those who want help, changes in prescribing practices and more education are all required to combat the opioid epidemic that his devastated our state.”

“Unfortunately, heroin and cocaine continue to plague our communities,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony said. “Law enforcement will hold these individuals, and any others, that bring illegal narcotics to our streets accountable in a court of law.”

“We are very happy with the results of this investigation,” said Toledo Police Chief George Kral. “Detecting, investigating, and charging these drug trafficking groups, and working diligently in keeping Toledo’s streets free of this poison is and will always be a priority of mine. These results also show the high level of cooperation and interaction we enjoy with our federal, local, and state law enforcement partners.”

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

This case was investigating by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Toledo Metro Drug Task Force, which is comprised of personnel from the Toledo Police Department, FBI, ATF, and Lucas County Sheriff's Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas P. Weldon and Alissa M. Sterling.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.