RENO, Nev.— A Russian national made his initial appearance in federal court yesterday for his role in a conspiracy to recruit an employee of a company to introduce malicious software into the company’s computer network, extract data from the network, and extort ransom money from the company, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich of the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse of the FBI.

“As Nevada’s economy diversifies and evolves into a center for technological innovation, our office will continue to prioritize protecting trade secrets and other confidential information belonging to U.S. businesses,” said U.S. Attorney Trutanich. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we are committed to holding accountable anyone who plots to use malicious cyber tactics to harm American consumers and companies.”

“In this matter, the FBI was once again able to intervene before any damage could occur,” said Special Agent in Charge Rouse. “We will continue to aggressively pursue any person or entity that attempts to inflict damage to American business or enterprise, no matter who or where.”

Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov, 27, a citizen of Russia, was charged in a complaint with one count of conspiracy to intentionally cause damage to a protected computer. He was arrested on August 22, 2020, in Los Angeles and had his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alexander F. MacKinnon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, who ordered Kriuchkov detained pending trial.

According to the complaint and statements made in court, from about July 15, 2020 to about August 22, 2020, Kriuchkov conspired with associates to recruit an employee of a company to introduce malware — i.e., malicious software programs designed to damage or do other unwanted actions on a computer system — into the company’s computer network. The malware would supposedly provide Kriuchkov and his co-conspirators with access to the company’s system. After the malware was introduced, Kriuchkov and his co-conspirators would extract data from the network and then threaten to make the information public, unless the company paid their ransom demand.

Kriuchkov entered the United States using his Russian passport and a tourist visa. He contacted and met with the employee numerous times to discuss the conspiracy. Kriuchkov promised to pay the employee $1 million dollars after the malware was introduced. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Kriuchkov provided the employee with a burner phone, and instructed him to leave the burner phone in airplane mode until after the money was transferred.

After being contacted by the FBI, Kriuchkov drove overnight from Reno to Los Angeles. Kriuchkov asked an acquaintance to purchase an airline ticket for him in an attempt to fly out of the country.

Kriuchkov faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only.

A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct for purposes of establishing probable cause, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. 

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Las Vegas Field Office with assistance by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office; the FBI Sacramento Field Office; the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office; and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Casper and Candina Heath, Senior Counsel of CCIPS, are prosecuting the case.

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PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Sean Donald Premock, 47, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced today to ten years in prison, three supervised release by United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond for numerous fraud offenses. The defendant was also ordered forfeit $797,021 in proceeds and pay $1,061,532 in restitution.

The defendant, a former licensed stockbroker and investment adviser, pleaded guilty in May 2017 to nine counts of mail fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, and one count of investment adviser fraud. As part of his guilty plea, Premock admitted that he had lost all of his professional licenses between March 2012 and August 2013, and had been permanently barred from serving as an investment advisor. The defendant’s fraud that led to his conviction in this case began while he was still licensed and continued even after he lost his licenses.

Premock began defrauding his clients in at least 2009, while still employed at a securities firm in Florida. When it became apparent that he was going to lose his licenses, Premock set up his own investing companies, including the aptly-named Mocktrading Investments, LLC and Mock Trading Group, which the defendant used to defraud his clients -- most of whom were elderly and inexperienced investors and some of whom were his own family members. Premock continued to hold himself out as a licensed stockbroker and investment adviser even after losing his licenses, and convinced many of his clients to trust him with their life savings. The defendant promised to manage his clients’ money and invest it in, among other things, stocks, bonds, “hedge funds,” “tractions,” and annuities. Premock told his clients that their funds would be safe, and promised to place them in low risk investments.

In reality, Premock invested only about half of the funds he received from clients and spent the rest on himself. Furthermore, the investments he did make were failures and he lost virtually all of his clients’ money. To hide his fraud, the defendant lied to his clients about their investments and mailed them false account statements. Later, Premock even began calling himself “Ethan” to make it harder for anyone to discover his true identity. In total, Premock’s clients lost more than $1,000,000 during the course of his fraud.

“Honesty, integrity, and trust all play a critical role in the relationship between a financial advisor and a client. Any advisor who deliberately betrays his clients’ trust for his own financial gain turns the system on its head,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The damage done by such corrupt financial advisors can be catastrophic; here, some of Sean Premock’s victims lost their life savings. Today’s sentence reflects the gravity of that betrayal.”

“Getting fired for bad behavior and losing his professional licenses proved a mere career speedbump for Sean Premock,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “His next venture: flat-out fraud. He set about reeling in unsuspecting investors, lied about his plans for their money, and created a phony paper trail to cover up his crimes. Most of his victims were elderly. Maybe that’s why he thought he could get away with it. The FBI is proud to have proved him wrong.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DANNY CASTILLO, 28, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 128 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking fentanyl and other drugs, and possessing a short-barrel shotgun.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in August 2018, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department received information that Castillo and his associate, Pascual Ivan Medina, were distributing large quantities of fentanyl in and around Hartford.  An investigation revealed that Castillo used his family business, the Albany Grocery Store located at 1160 Albany Avenue in Hartford, to conduct narcotics transactions.  Between October 2018 and January 2019, investigators made multiple controlled purchases of distribution quantities of fentanyl from Castillo, sometimes with Medina’s assistance, at both the Albany Grocery Store and Castillo’s apartment on Woodland Street in Hartford.

On January 25, 2019, investigators conducting surveillance observed Alexis Velez arrive by car at Castillo’s apartment building, interact with Castillo, enter his apartment, exit the apartment and then drive away from the location.  After a Hartford Police cruiser conducted a traffic stop of Velez’s vehicle, a search of Velez’s person revealed quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine, and a search of a bag that Velez was seen carrying as he entered and exited Castillo’s apartment revealed approximately 102 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin, 46 grams of cocaine, 15 grams of crack, two ounces of marijuana, and $4060 in cash.

Castillo was arrested a short time later at his Woodland Street apartment.  A search of the residence revealed approximately 436 grams of fentanyl, 229 grams of heroin, 231 grams of a mixture with both fentanyl and heroin, 543 grams of a mixture of tramadol and methamphetamine, numerous items used to process and package narcotics for distribution, a loaded short-barrel shotgun, and a loaded Smith & Wesson .357 revolver.  Investigators later recovered a third firearm from Castillo’s residence.

U.S. Attorney Durham noted that the quantity of the fentanyl and heroin seized from Castillo would have produced at least 35,000 dose bags of the drugs.

Castillo has been detained since his arrest.  On February 11, 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, and possession of an unregistered short-barrel shotgun. 

Medina and Velez pleaded guilty to related charges.  On January 23, 2020, Medina was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment.  Velez awaits sentencing.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Topeka man was sentenced today to 94 months in federal prison for dealing drugs, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said.

Anthony Lee Hunter, 51, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In his plea, he admitted that when investigators searched his residence in the 700 block of northeast Emmett Street they turned up more than 30 grams of methamphetamine and more than 11 grams of heroin. Hunter told investigators that earlier that week he spent more than $30,000 buying drugs in Kansas City and the drugs they seized were all he had left.

McAllister commended the FBI, the Lawrence Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag for their work on the case.

FRANKFORT, Ky.- A McDowell, Ky., man, Denver D. Tackett, DMD, 66, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, before U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, to health care fraud.

According to the plea agreement, Tackett, a licensed dentist who owned and operated Tackett Family Dentistry in McDowell, Ky., submitted false and unnecessary claims to Kentucky Medicaid for reimbursement for dental procedures and services performed at his practice. Tackett admitted to performing, and submitting claims for, dental procedures that were not reasonable or necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of a patient’s illness or injury. For example, Tackett submitted claims for “surgical” extractions when he had only performed a “simple” extraction, a lower reimbursing procedure, or a “surgical” extraction was not medically necessary. 

In total, Tackett admitted to submitting more than $95,000 in reimbursement claims to Kentucky Medicaid and its fiscal intermediaries for medically unnecessary dental procedures.

As part of his plea agreement, Tackett agreed to permanently surrender his Drug Enforcement Administration registration and agreed to refrain from seeking registration in the future.  Without a DEA registration, healthcare professionals are not able to lawfully prescribe controlled substances. Tackett also agreed to pay restitution of at least $70,000, and agreed to a forfeiture money judgement of $20,000.           

Tackett was indicted in April 2019 as part of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force initiative. 

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jeffrey T. Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; and Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Attorney General, jointly announced the guilty plea.

The investigation was conducted by DEA, Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, and AHIDTA. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Smith and Assistant Chief Kate Payerle from the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section. 

Tackett is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15, 2020. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes. 

The ARPO Strike Force is made up of prosecutors and data analysts with the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section, prosecutors with the ten U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Appalachian region, and special agents with the FBI, HHS-OIG and DEA.  The ARPO Strike Force operates out of two hubs based in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee, areas, supporting the ten districts that make up the ARPO Strike Force region.  In addition, the APRO Strike Force works closely with other state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Kentucky Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Since its inception in October 2018, the ARPO Strike Force, which operates in ten districts, has charged more than 70 defendants who are collectively responsible for distributing approximately 50 million pills.  Thus far there have been 30 guilty pleas as a result of ARPO Strike Force’s efforts.  The ARPO Strike Force is part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force Program, led by the Fraud Section.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for approximately $19 billion.  In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-Office of Inspector General, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

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LONDON, Ky.— Jordan Ryan Turner, 32, of Middlesboro, Kentucky, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison on Tuesday, by United States District Judge Claria Horn Boom, after pleading guilty to using the internet to attempt to persuade, induce, or entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.

According to Turner’s plea agreement, he admitted to using Facebook Messenger and Kik Messenger to persuade and induce minors to produce sexually explicit videos and still images. Turner further admitted that, in March 2018, while employed as a teacher at Bell County High School, he used Facebook Messenger to attempt to convince a minor to send him a sexually explicit photo.

Turner pleaded guilty to the charges in March 2019.

Under federal law, Turner must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence and will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years after his release.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; James Robert Brown, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Commissioner Rodney Brewer, Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the KSP and FBI. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Rosenberg.           

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

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CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Hashim Hussein, a citizen of Kuwait, has admitted to selling cocaine near West Virginia University, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Hussein, also known as “Kuwait,” age 21, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Hydrochloride within 1000 Feet of Protected Location.” Hussein admitted to selling cocaine hydrochloride, also known as “Coke,” in December 2019 near the campus of West Virginia University in Monongalia County.

Hussein faces at least one and up to 40 years incarceration and a fine of up to $2,000,000.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI and Mon Metro Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michal John Aloi presided.

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Jeremy Crinkey, of Wheeling, West Virginia, has admitted to having child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Crinkey, 43, pled guilty to one count of “Possession of Child Pornography – Previous Conviction.” Crinkey, having previously been convicted of possession of child pornography in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in 2012, admitted to having images of child pornography in his possession in March 2020 in Ohio County. 

Crinkey faces at least 10 and up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Perri is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The U.S. Probation Office and the FBI investigated.

This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone presided.

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RAMEL GENERAL, also known as “Ra,” 38, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 120 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for his role in a southeastern Connecticut drug trafficking ring.

This matter stems from an investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Connecticut Statewide Narcotics Taskforce East, Connecticut Department of Correction and the New London, Waterford, City of Groton and Stonington Police Departments, into the distribution of narcotics and illegal possession of firearms in southeastern Connecticut.  The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps and controlled purchases and seizures of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine, and firearms.  General worked closely with an identified leader of a drug trafficking network, distributing cocaine on behalf of the organization and assisting in maintaining an apartment in New London that served as the organization’s primary narcotics distribution location.  On February 21, 2019, in association with the arrests of several of General’s co-conspirators, a search of the New London apartment revealed more than 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, more than 350 grams of heroin, and 10 firearms.

General was arrested on February 26, 2019.  On March 5, 2019, a grand jury in Hartford returned an indictment charging General and 23 other individuals with various offenses. 

On May 27, 2019, General, who was released on bond, was arrested by New London Police and charged with multiple offenses stemming from his alleged assault of a woman with whom he was romantically involved.  General’s federal bond was revoked on June 4, 2019.

On March 6, 2020, General pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

The state charges against General related to the May 27, 2019, incident are pending

This investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Connecticut Statewide Narcotics Taskforce East, Connecticut Department of Correction and the New London, Waterford, City of Groton, Stonington, Norwich, Old Saybrook and UConn Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha M. Freismuth.

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm today sentenced William Thompson, age 27, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to seven years, and one day in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for interference with interstate commerce by robbery, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.  Judge Grimm also ordered Thompson to pay restitution of $498.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department

According to his guilty plea, on August 9, 2019, Thompson robbed a convenience store in Silver Spring, Maryland, wearing a black mask, distinctive glasses, a jacket, and light colored gloves.  Throughout the robbery, which was captured on video surveillance, Thompson brandished a semi-automatic rifle.  Thompson pointed the rifle at a store employee and demanded money. Out of fear for his life, the employee gave Thompson approximately $98 of store funds.

The next day, August 10, 2019, Thompson used the same rifle to rob a market located in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Thompson pointed the rifle at the two store employees present and demanded money from the cash register.  In fear for their lives, the victims gave Thompson approximately $400 of store funds. Thompson then fled the store in a blue four-door Subaru sedan.

A little over three hours later, Thompson was involved in a traffic accident in the Subaru in Rockville, Maryland.  A search of the passenger compartment of Thompson’s vehicle led to the discovery of the black mask and gloves that Thompson had used in the robberies, as well a loaded black and gray handgun, in the center console. A search of Thompson’s trunk uncovered the loaded semi-automatic rifle that Thompson had used in the robberies. In addition, numerous additional magazines and hundreds of rounds ammunition were also located in Thompson’s vehicle.

A search warrant executed at Thompson’s residence uncovered more guns and ammunition, along with the jacket and shoes that the Defendant wore during the robberies.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended FBI and Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Burden H. Walker, who prosecuted the case.

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John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOEY FULLER, 31, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for violating the conditions of his federal supervised release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in June 2017, the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force initiated an investigation into a New Haven drug trafficking organization headed by Jermayne Butler.  Fuller purchased distribution quantities of crack cocaine from Butler and then sold the drug in smaller quantities to his own customers.  Fuller pleaded guilty and, on November 20, 2019, Judge Bryant sentenced him to approximately 21 months of imprisonment, time already served, and four years of supervised release.

On January 14, 2020, less than two months after Fuller was release from prison, New Haven police conducted a controlled purchase of marijuana from Fuller.  Investigators then arranged to purchase a quantity of heroin from Fuller.  Fuller was arrested on January 31, 2020, after he arrived at a location to conduct the transaction.  At the time of his arrest, Fuller possessed approximately 22 bags of heroin that he had agreed to sell.

Fuller has been detained since his arrest, and his state charges are pending.

On August 10, 2020, Butler was sentenced to 78 months of imprisonment.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick F. Caruso and David C. Nelson.

A Dubuque man, responsible for persuading a 15-year old girl to send him nude photos and videos, was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison.

Mark Curtis, Sr., age 60, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison sentence after a March 4, 2020 guilty plea to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of child pornography.

Information disclosed at his plea and sentencing hearings showed that between August 2018 and October 2018, Curtis persuaded a 15-year old girl, who lived outside the state of Iowa, to send him nude photos and videos of herself.  She sent the pictures and videos via Facebook.  Some images contained the young girl engaging in sexually explicit conduct, which Curtis had asked her to engage in.  Curtis knew the girl was a minor.  At one point, the girl told Curtis that she was studying to get her learner’s permit, to which Curtis replied he wished she was older.  In total, investigators found approximately 44 files containing images sent between the girl and Curtis. 

Curtis was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Curtis was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make a payment of $200 to the special assessment fund.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

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

The case file number is 19-CR-1047.                            

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BOISE – Timothy Semones, 60, of Ketchum, Idaho, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today. Semones was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise on February 12, 2020, on ten counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Sentencing is set for December 8, 2020, before Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye at the federal courthouse in Boise.

According to court records, Semones admitted that, in 2017 and 2018, he was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of ETA Compute, Inc. (ETA), a corporation with its principal place of business in Los Angeles, California. Semones worked remotely from Ketchum. As part of his duties as CFO, Semones had access to ETA’s Wells Fargo Bank business checking account and had the ability to make online transfers of funds from this account.

According to court records, in 2017 and 2018, Semones was in the process of designing and building an approximate 7,000 square foot personal residence located at 29 Lake Creek Drive in Ketchum. Between October 2017 and November 2018, Semones made nine online transfers of funds, totaling $3 million, from ETA’s Wells Fargo Bank business checking account to personal bank accounts over which he had access and control. Semones used the misappropriated funds to pay construction costs for the residence at 29 Lake Creek Drive, and to pay off the balance of a line of credit used to build the residence.

According to court records, in November 2018, when ETA’s Chief Executive Officer confronted Semones about the low balance of funds in ETA’s Wells Fargo Bank business checking account, Semones made false statements about the location and balance of funds.  Further, Semones emailed falsified Wells Fargo Bank records – that made it appear that ETA’s bank account had $1.5 million more than it actually did – to ETA’s Chief Executive Officer.

In May 2020, the Lake Creek Drive property was sold. ETA was provided with $3 million, in full restitution for its loss, from the proceeds of the sale.

The charge of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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            Albuquerque, N.M. – Eduardo “Lalo” Aguilar, 31, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, made an initial appearance on gun charges in federal court on August 20 before a detention hearing yesterday, at which the Court concluded that the he must be detained pending trial. Aguilar has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

            Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crime Task Force (VCTF), working in conjunction with investigators from the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, arrested Aguilar on August 13. According to a criminal complaint, while executing a warrant to search Aguilar’s apartment, investigators from the VCTF and the District Attorney’s Office located a loaded firearm, which, as felon, Aguilar cannot legally possess.

           A criminal complaint is only an accusation.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI VCTF and the District Attorney’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia Simms as part of Operation Legend, a Department of Justice initiative to assist cities with persistently high crime rates.  Operation Legend is a sustained and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with state and local law enforcement to prosecute gun and dangerous crimes arising in the City of Albuquerque.

SHREVEPORT, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Ryan Joel Shilling, 27, of Shreveport, was sentenced today for Distribution of Child Pornography. United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. sentenced Shilling to spend 168 months (14 years) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Shilling was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.

According to information presented in court, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations received information in July 2019 from an unnamed source that an individual sent him a message using Facebook Messenger offering to sell pictures of a nude girl and sent what appeared to be a selfie image of a nude girl. Law enforcement officers began their investigation into the allegations and learned that Ryan Joel Shilling was the individual who sent the message and sexually explicit image.

Shilling had been arrested by Shreveport Police Department officers on an unrelated matter in July 2019. Officers obtained a state search warrant for the defendant’s cell phone. During their investigation, officers found text messages between Shilling and a girl, who was later determined to be a minor, asking her to take sexually explicit images and send them to him. Shilling offered to pay her for them via CashApp. Federal and local law enforcement officers worked together and confirmed that the image Shilling had sent to the unnamed source through Facebook Messenger was in fact the image of the minor girl he was sending text messages. Shilling pled guilty to the charge in United States District Court on December 12, 2019.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines 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 U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Sean Donald Premock, 47, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced today to ten years in prison and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond for numerous fraud offenses. The defendant was also ordered to forfeit $797,021 in proceeds and pay $1,061,532 in restitution.

The defendant, a former licensed stockbroker and investment adviser, pleaded guilty in May 2017 to nine counts of mail fraud, nine counts of wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, and one count of investment adviser fraud. As part of his guilty plea, Premock admitted that he had lost all of his professional licenses between March 2012 and August 2013, and had been permanently barred from serving as an investment advisor. The defendant’s fraud that led to his conviction in this case began while he was still licensed and continued even after he lost his licenses.

Premock began defrauding his clients in at least 2009, while still employed at a securities firm in Florida. When it became apparent that he was going to lose his licenses, Premock set up his own investing companies, including the aptly-named Mocktrading Investments, LLC and Mock Trading Group, which the defendant used to defraud his clients -- most of whom were elderly and inexperienced investors and some of whom were his own family members. Premock continued to hold himself out as a licensed stockbroker and investment adviser even after losing his licenses, and convinced many of his clients to trust him with their life savings. The defendant promised to manage his clients’ money and invest it in, among other things, stocks, bonds, “hedge funds,” “tractions,” and annuities. Premock told his clients that their funds would be safe, and promised to place them in low risk investments.

In reality, Premock invested only about half of the funds he received from clients and spent the rest on himself. Furthermore, the investments he did make were failures and he lost virtually all of his clients’ money. To hide his fraud, the defendant lied to his clients about their investments and mailed them false account statements. Later, Premock even began calling himself “Ethan” to make it harder for anyone to discover his true identity. In total, Premock’s clients lost more than $1,000,000 during the course of his fraud.

“Honesty, integrity, and trust all play a critical role in the relationship between a financial advisor and a client. Any advisor who deliberately betrays his clients’ trust for his own financial gain turns the system on its head,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The damage done by such corrupt financial advisors can be catastrophic; here, some of Sean Premock’s victims lost their life savings. Today’s sentence reflects the gravity of that betrayal.”

“Getting fired for bad behavior and losing his professional licenses proved a mere career speedbump for Sean Premock,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “His next venture: flat-out fraud. He set about reeling in unsuspecting investors, lied about his plans for their money, and created a phony paper trail to cover up his crimes. Most of his victims were elderly. Maybe that’s why he thought he could get away with it. The FBI is proud to have proved him wrong.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. Lowe.

MADISON, WIS. - Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Travis Johnson, 32, Gays Mills, Wisconsin pleaded guilty and was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 78 months in federal prison for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. 

On November 10, 2019, a Crawford County Sheriff’s Department deputy saw an SUV being driven erratically in the village of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin.  The SUV eventually stopped on a side street, and the driver got out and walked away, leaving the driver’s side door slightly open.  As the deputy pulled up behind the SUV, he saw the driver attempt to hide on a patio of a nearby residence.  When the deputy got out of his squad car, the driver left his hiding place and walked towards the deputy.  The deputy identified the driver as Travis Johnson, a person who was on extended supervision for drug-related charges.

The deputy searched Johnson’s SUV and found several grams of Psilocybin mushrooms, a digital scale coated in white residue, hypodermic needles, and gem baggies.  The deputy then searched the patio where he originally saw Johnson hiding, and found a large plastic bag that contained 162 grams of methamphetamine.   

The charge against Johnson was the result of an investigation conducted by the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.  The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma. 

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

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned a five-count indictment charging Justin Terwilliger, 40, of North Hornell, NY, with filing false tax returns. The charges carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison, and a $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, for calendar years 2013 through 2017, the defendant prepared and filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. These returns falsely reported that Terwilliger had little or no taxable income, even though in fact he had substantial taxable income of approximately $125,000 in 2013, $190,000 in 2014, $201,000 in 2015, $185,000 in 2016, and $249,000 in 2017.

The defendant was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson.  Terwilliger is presently in custody serving an unrelated state sentence.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Jonathan D. Larsen, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office.   

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

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

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Terrance Rainey, 35, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of bank robbery by use of a dangerous weapon, was sentenced to serve 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge David G. Larimer. The defendant was also ordered to pay $30,208.00 in restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn M. Hartford, who handled the case, stated that on May 25, 2016, Rainey and co-defendant Latrell Parson robbed the First Niagara Bank on Winton Road in Henrietta, NY. The two men entered the bank, and Parson approached the teller, pointed an air pistol that appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun at her, handed her a bag and ordered her to fill it with money. At the same time, Rainey held the other bank employees at gunpoint with an air pistol that appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun. The teller complied with Parson’s demand, and Parson and the defendant then exited the bank and drove away in a vehicle. They then set fire to that car in the back parking lot of a bowling alley on Jefferson Road in Rochester.

On July 14, 2016, Rainey and Parson robbed the Chase Bank on State Route 31 in Macedon, NY. The defendant and Parson entered the bank wearing hooded sweatshirts, masks, and gloves, each brandishing a semi-automatic pistol, and ordered bank employees to get on the floor. Parson handed a bag to a teller and demanded that money be placed in the bag. The teller complied and Parson and the defendant then fled the bank in a SUV. Parson and Rainey then abandoned that vehicle behind a plaza adjacent to the bank.

On October 18, 2016, Rainey and Parson robbed the M&T Bank located on Oak Orchard Road in Elba. The two men entered the bank wearing hooded sweatshirts with face coverings and gloves, and pointed handguns at the employees. Parson threw a bag to one of the bank employees, ordering her to fill it with cash. The teller complied, and Parson and the defendant took the money and fled the bank, got into a car, and drove away. They then pulled into a vacant lot, switched vehicles, and left the area.
Latrell Parson was previously convicted and sentenced to serve 141 months in prison.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the New York State police, under the direction of Acting Major Barry Chase; the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter; the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff William A. Sheron, Jr.; the Macedon Police Department, under the direction of Chief John P. Colella; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia. 

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          LOS ANGELES– A Santa Barbara County man was charged today with fatally shooting a northern elephant seal on a beach near San Simeon.

          Jordan Gerbich, 30, of Santa Maria, is charged in an information with one count of taking a marine mammal.

          Northern elephant seals are a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They live up and down North America’s Pacific coast and haul out on land in areas called rookeries. These rookeries are typically populated with elephant seals year-round, but populations vary throughout the year based on breeding and molting cycles.

          In September 2019, the corpse of a northern elephant seal was found on a beach near San Simeon close to a popular viewing area along California Highway 1 where visitors can observe elephant seals. The animal had been shot in the head. Gerbich is charged with fatally shooting the mammal on September 28, 2019.

          An information contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

          If convicted of the misdemeanor offense alleged in the information, Gerbich would face a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison.

          This matter was investigated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement with substantial assistance provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

          This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Heather C. Gorman of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section.