Matthew D. Krueger, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on September 8, 2020, United States District Judge Lynn Adelman sentenced Alberto Fernandez Ramirez (51) and Ana Delia Dominguez (45), of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to 24 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining over $1.7 million in tax refund checks. Both Ramirez and Dominguez pled guilty to three counts of theft of government money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.  Judge Adelman also ordered them to pay $1,733,677.22 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. 

Ramirez and Dominguez, who are married, committed their theft by fraudulently obtaining Individual Tax Identification Numbers (“ITINs”) from the IRS.  They did so by obtaining personal identifying documents of citizens in Mexico, and then used those documents to obtain ITINs in those individuals’ names.  They then used the ITINs to file false tax returns that often fraudulently claimed the Additional Child Tax Credit.  These false returns caused the IRS to send out United States Treasury tax refund checks.   From approximately 2010 through 2017, Ramirez and Dominguez received over $1.7 million worth of refund checks due to their scheme.  At sentencing, the government recommended that the Court impose a term of incarceration consistent with the advisory Guidelines range, which called for 46-57 months of incarceration.

“The defendants pursued an outrageous and brazen scheme to steal taxpayer dollars, by obtaining ITINs in the names of foreign nationals and then using those ITINs to file bogus tax refund claims,” said U.S. Attorney Krueger.  “I commend the excellent investigative work by the IRS to build this case.”

“We want everyone who files a tax return to take advantage of the deductions and credits to which they are entitled by law; however, no one is allowed to defraud the government and take what is not theirs”, stated Special Agent in Charge Kathy A. Enstrom of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office.  “The IRS will continue to be relentless in our mission to stop these types of fraudulent tax refund schemes and will continue to bring criminals to justice.”

This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. It is was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Keith Alexander.

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.

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United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on September 15, 2020, David A. Hay (age: 40) most recently of Brooklyn, New York, entered a guilty plea to a charge of receiving child pornography.

According to court filings, in May of 2010, while living and employed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, David A. Hay exchanged emails with a 15-year-old child. During the course of these communications, the defendant received sexually explicit digital images and videos from the child. Hay also provided sexually explicit images of himself to the 15-year-old.

Hay was principal at Tomah High School 2011 through 2014. Prior to that, Hay was principal at Kettle Moraine High School from 2008 through 2011 before resigning following the school district’s discovery of irregularities with Hay’s licensing and the misuse of a district credit card. Most recently, Hay served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the New York City Chancellor of Schools.

Hay faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years of incarceration in federal prison when he is sentenced in Green Bay’s Federal District Court on December 18, 2020.

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 U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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.

This case was investigated by the City of Neenah Police Department with the assistance of the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.

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.

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Evansville – United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today, the dismantling of a drug trafficking organization that brought large quantities of illegal drugs into southwest Indiana. Eleven defendants were indicted by a grand jury in Evansville with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and fentanyl.

 “Drug trafficking organizations operate on greed and takes advantage of the addiction problem this community, our state and our nation faces,” said Minkler. “This illegal activity cannot and will not be tolerated. I am fully committed, my office is fully committed, and the federal, state, and local law enforcement partners are fully committed, to help stop the flow of narcotics into this state and this community.”

Those arrested and or are a fugitive include:

Rudolfo Ibarra-Hernandez, Aka “Rudy,”48, Mexico FUGITIVE

Juan Guzman, Aka “Hollywood,” 33, Mexico FUGITIVE

Juan Tellez, 44, Phoenix, AZ

Alexus Ortiz, 21, Clarksville, TN

Rayvin Yates, Aka “Ray,”26, Dayton, OH

Cesar Castro, 45, San Diego, CA

Jovanny Contreas-Vazquez, 30, Los Angeles, CA

Maria Castaneda-Villabolos , 33, Los Angeles, CA

Ruby Hernandez, 37, Federal Way, WA

Tania Gervacio, 30, El Cajon, CA

Angelique McCleary, 31, Carlsbad, CA

 According to the indictment, beginning around January 2019, it is alleged that Ibarra-Hernandez and Guzman were the sources of supply for the drugs coming from the Mexican drug cartels to Evansville and Southwest Indiana. Tellez, Castro, Contreas-Vazquez and Castaneda-Villabolos, Gervacio, and McCleary were utilized as drug couriers within the organization, and Yates was a mid-level distributor. Ortiz and Ruby Hernandez were carriers of the money.

The organization used motor vehicles, commercial airlines, United States Postal Service, United Parcel Service and Federal Express to transport the methamphetamine, fentanyl and US currency to and from the southern Indiana area.

During the investigation, law enforcement recovered over 123 pounds of methamphetamine, 769 grams of fentanyl powder, 114 fentanyl pills, 500 oxycodone pills, 345 grams of heroin, and $14,346 in U.S. currency.

This case was investigated by the DEA, the Evansville Vanderburgh County Joint Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigations, U.S. Marshal Service, and the U.S Postal Inspection Service.

DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Michael Gannon said, “Today was a big win! Taking this much methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin off the streets is huge. It is important for drug traffickers to know that the DEA and our partners will use all available resources to prevent drug dealers from peddling poison into our communities.”

“The aim of these types of investigations is to remove illegal narcotics and violent drug dealers from our community and country,” said Dan McClain, US Marshal, Southern District of Indiana. “This investigation is an example of the tremendous teamwork and comradery shown by all organizations involved from start to finish.”

According to Assistant United States Attorney Lauren M. Wheatley, who will prosecute this case for the government, the defendants face a maximum of life in federal prison, 5 years supervised release following their sentence, and up to a $10 million fine.

An indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are considered innocent until proven otherwise in federal court.

In October 2017, United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced a Strategic Plan designed to shape and strengthen the District’s response to its most significant public safety challenges. This prosecution demonstrates the office’s firm commitment to target, investigate, and prosecute more organizations that supply and distribute methamphetamine and heroin in the District. (See United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Indiana Strategic Plan Section 3.1, 3.4)

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman announced today that the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has awarded more than $2.3 million to Northern Ohio organizations to help reduce violence against women and to strengthen services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

“Every dollar that the Department of Justice provides to address domestic violence in Northern Ohio has a positive impact on the lives of victims and survivors,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “These organizations have a strong program in place to address crucial needs or expand services.”

The award breakdown is as follows:

Cuyahoga County, Improving Criminal Justice Responses Program – $824,800 

The Improving Criminal Justice Response Program encourages state, local, and tribal governments and state, local, and tribal courts to treat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as serious violations of criminal law requiring the coordinated involvement of the entire criminal justice system.

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Children and Youth Program – $497,873

The Grants to Prevent and Respond to Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Against Children and Youth Program supports projects that develop, expand, and strengthen prevention, intervention, and response strategies that target children and youth who are victims of and/or exposed to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including support for the non-abusing parents, caretakers, and legal guardians.

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Enhanced Training and Services to End Abuse in Later Life Program – $399,991

The Enhanced Training and Services to End Abuse in Later Life Program’s purpose is to increase and strengthen training for police, prosecutors, and the judiciary in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting instances of abuse, neglect, exploitation, domestic violence, and sexual assault against older individuals; provide or enhance services for older victims; create

or support multidisciplinary collaborative community responses to older victims; and conduct cross-training for victim service organizations, governmental agencies, courts, law enforcement, and nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations serving older victims.

The University of Toledo, Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program - $299,999

Heidelberg University, Grants to Reduce Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking on Campus Program - $299,946

These programs provide a unique opportunity for institutions of higher education to establish multidisciplinary approaches to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campuses. These comprehensive efforts are designed to enhance victim services, implement prevention and education programs, and develop and strengthen security and investigation strategies in order to prevent, prosecute, and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

“For domestic violence victims, the added stressors of the pandemic can make a dangerous situation even worse,” said OVW Principal Deputy Director Laura Rogers. “Our grants in Ohio are a timely contribution to approaches already underway to keep victims safe and hold offenders accountable for their crimes.”

For more information on the Office of Violence Against Women, visit https://www.justice.gov/ovw

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Shawnee man was sentenced Tuesday to five years in federal prison for buying a membership to access a child pornography site on the internet, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said. In addition, he was fined $5,000 under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

Daryl Miller, 36, Shawnee, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of access with intent to view child pornography.

Miller was identified during an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) into the trafficking of child pornography on the Dark Web. Investigators in Washington, D.C., accessed a child pornography web site that sold access to users. They served a search warrant for the web site’s server, from which they learned that Miller had made 10 payments to the web site in 2016 and 2017. He used bitcoin virtual currency to make payments.

A forensic analysis of electronic devices in Miller’s home confirmed he had downloaded child pornography.

McAllister commended HSI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Flannigan for their work on the case.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Ralph Johnson, 54, of Kinzers, PA, former Chief of Environmental Management Services at the Corporal Michael J. Cresenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Philadelphia, PA, was charged by Indictment for soliciting and accepting bribes in connection with contracts and purchase orders at the medical center.

As the Chief of Environmental Management Services, Johnson was responsible for a range of sanitation, waste removal, linen and uniform services for the Philadelphia VAMC, and participated in the solicitation and award of contracts to vendors for those services. According to the Indictment, Johnson is charged with asking for, and receiving, thousands of dollars in cash from two Florida-based companies in return for steering purchase orders and contracts to those companies several times from about July 2018 until August 2019. He is also charged with seeking a $10,000 kickback on an $84,000 contract for tree trimming and removal awarded to one of those vendors, for which Johnson had fraudulently and grossly inflated the estimate of the work to be done and the price for that work under the contract.

“The allegations here are shameful. By giving us their best, we owe our veterans the same in return. As a senior official tasked with maintaining a healthy and safe environment for the care and treatment of our nation’s veterans, Ralph Johnson had a responsibility to do that job with honesty and integrity,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Rather than being concerned about serving our veterans, Johnson was allegedly concerned with serving himself by lining his own pockets at taxpayers’ expense.”

David Spilker, Special Agent in Charge at the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) stated, “VA OIG will vigorously investigate alleged instances when government employees solicit and accept bribes and kickbacks from vendors and contractors who seek to obtain business with the VA. As alleged in the indictment, Johnson’s actions breached the public’s trust, undermined the integrity of VA’s operations, and besmirched the vital work that honest hardworking VA employees do every day in support of our nation’s veterans.” 

If convicted, the defendant faces a possible sentence of 45 years imprisonment, 3 years supervised release, and up to a $750,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney K.T. Newton.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Trenton man was sentenced today to 204 months in prison for his role as a supplier to a significant drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed more than one kilogram of heroin in Trenton and the surrounding area, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

David Antonio, a/k/a “Pop,” a/k/a “Papi,” a/k/a “Santiago Ramirez,” 32, previously pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson in Trenton federal court to Count One of a third superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. Judge Wolfson imposed the sentence today by videoconference.

In October 2018, Antonio, and 25 other individuals were charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to distribute heroin. On Feb. 27, 2020, a grand jury returned a 10-count third superseding indictment charging Antonio and six other defendants with conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and various other drug and firearm offenses. Twenty-three of the 26 defendants charged in the complaint have pleaded guilty.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From October 2017 to October 2018, the defendant and others engaged in a large drug trafficking conspiracy that operated in the areas of Martin Luther King Boulevard, Sanford Street, Middle Rose Street, Southard Street, Hoffman Avenue, Chambers Street, and Coolidge Avenue in Trenton, and which sought to profit from the distribution of heroin and numerous other controlled substances. Through the interception of telephone calls and text messages pursuant to court-authorized wiretap orders, controlled purchases of heroin, the use of confidential sources of information, and other investigative techniques, law enforcement learned that conspirators Jakir Taylor and Jerome Roberts obtained regular supplies of hundreds of “bricks” of heroin from Antonio. Intercepted communications among Taylor, Roberts, Antonio, and other conspirators revealed that Taylor and Roberts agreed to obtain from Antonio, and that Antonio agreed to supply, a “motherlode” of as many as 1,400 bricks of heroin in a single delivery – equating to approximately 1.5 kilograms of heroin. Taylor told Antonio that he intended to “flood the streets” of Trenton with this large supply, and Antonio agreed to supply a sufficient amount of heroin to Taylor that would allow him to do so. In communications with Taylor, Antonio indicated that he was “filling the bags” up with heroin and fentanyl. During coordinated arrests on Oct. 25, 2018, law enforcement arrested Antonio at a residence in Trenton, and recovered more than 1.4 kilograms of heroin, in addition to a significant amount of paraphernalia used to package heroin for distribution.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wolfson sentenced Antonio to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr.; special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Newark Division, Trenton Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson; officers of the Trenton Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Sheilah Coley; officers of the Princeton Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Nicholas Sutter; officers of the Ewing Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police John P. Stemler III; officers of the Burlington Township Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Bruce Painter; and detectives of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, under the  direction of Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. He also thanked officers of the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan; detectives of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo Onofri; officers of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff John A. Kemler; and members of the New Jersey State Board of Parole for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

The government is represented by Attorney-in-Charge J. Brendan Day and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Ramey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

This case was conducted under the auspices of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the FBI’s Greater Trenton Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to enhance the identification, apprehension, and prosecution of individuals involved in gang-related activities, violent crime, and drug distribution in and around the greater Trenton area. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and money laundering organizations and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

The three remaining defendants charged in this case are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Kevin Swing, a/k/a “Tone,” 36, of West Chester, PA, was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge H. Slomsky, for his role in distributing more than 900 pills containing a dangerous fentanyl analogue, a Schedule I controlled substance.

In January 2020, Swing pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a substance containing a fentanyl analogue, as well as knowingly distributing a substance containing a fentanyl analogue, for his role in a scheme to sell fentanyl disguised as prescription oxycodone. On May 11, 2018, Swing used an intermediary to sell more than 900 pills containing the narcotic cyclopropyl fentanyl, a fentanyl equivalent, to his co-defendant Ryan Menkins, for $5,600. Each pill was imprinted with “ETH 446,” which is typically found on Oxycodone Hydrochloride 30 mg pills. In other words, the fentanyl pills were intentionally mislabeled as legitimate, prescription oxycodone pills. Co-defendant Menkins is currently scheduled for trial on December 14, 2020.

“It’s bad enough when legitimate prescription medication like oxycodone is misused and abused, but when a substance as dangerous as fentanyl is made to appear to be prescription medication, it can have disastrous consequences,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Fentanyl and the misuse of opioids is killing our citizens, and Kevin Swing significantly contributed to our region’s opioid epidemic. Together with our law enforcement partners, my Office will do everything possible to stop the illegal distribution of these deadly drugs.”

“Thank you to the U.S. Attorney’s office for bringing justice to the citizens of Chester County by removing the defendant and his drug peddling from our streets,” said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan. “We must work together to keep our residents safe.”

“Kevin Swing was peddling pills that appeared to be standard oxycodone doses, but in fact contained a drug related to fentanyl,” said Michael J. Driscoll, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Division. “Anyone buying those pills would've been expecting one thing and getting another, with potentially deadly results. Drug dealers making money off the misery of others is bad enough, let alone this dangerous bait and switch. Taking Swing off the street should send a message that the FBI and our law enforcement partners continue to fight to make our communities safer in the face of the opioid epidemic.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Newtown Square Resident Agency and the West Whiteland Township Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew T. Newcomer.

TOPEKA, KAN. – An operator of the Wamego Wastewater Treatment Facility was indicted today on federal charges of violating the Clean Water Act, said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

David Schleif, 47, Belvue, Kan., was charged with discharging untreated or inadequately treated sewage from the Wamego Wastewater Treatment Facility into the Kansas River. The crime is alleged to have occurred between May 2017 and August 2019.

In addition, he was charged with 19 counts of including falsified data in discharge monitoring reports. The falsified reports showed lower levels of biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids and E. coli than indicated by actual tests results.

If convicted, Schleif could face a penalty of up to three years in federal prison on the discharge count and up to two years and a fine up to $10,000 on each of the other counts. The Environmental Protection Division – Office of Criminal Investigations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

 Angelica Maria Alvarez, 38, Topeka, Kan., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Jan. 27, 2020, in Shawnee County, Kan.
 

If convicted, she could face a penalty of not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million. The U.S. Postal Service investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Debenham is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury indicted Russian nationals Danil Potekhin a/k/a cronuswar and Dmitrii Karasavidi a/k/a Dmitriy Karasvidi, charging them with a wide range of crimes in connection with an alleged conspiracy to defraud three cryptocurrency exchanges and their customers of cryptocurrency valued at the time of the theft and manipulation at a minimum of $16.8 million in cryptocurrency, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division Special Agent in Charge David Smith.  In addition, the United States Attorney filed documents seeking the civil and criminal forfeiture of assets traceable to the alleged crimes.  Further information about the announcement can be found here: https://youtu.be/RGAIsqmixdg.

The Superseding Indictment, filed February 18, 2020, was unsealed earlier today.  According to the Superseding Indictment, Potekhin, of Voronezh, Russia, created numerous web domains that mimicked those of legitimate virtual currency exchanges.  This tactic used a combination of “phishing” and “spoofing” to exploit Internet users’ trust in known companies and organizations to fraudulently obtain their login credentials, including email addresses, password information, and other personal information.  When unwitting customers accessed the fraudulent websites and entered their login information, Potekhin and his co-conspirators stole the victims’ credentials and gained access to their cryptocurrency accounts, from which they stole funds or which they used to manipulate cryptocurrency markets for their own gain.

“My warning to internet fraudsters is that we will prosecute internet frauds against U.S. citizens regardless of where those frauds originate,” said U.S. Attorney Anderson.  “My warning to the public is that digital currency exchanges are not like banks.  The security of digital currency exchanges is only as good as your own vigilance.  While law enforcement will do everything within our power to protect you, you must also protect yourself.”

“Since its inception in 1865 to combat U.S. currency counterfeiting, the Secret Service has remained committed to safeguarding the Nation’s financial infrastructure,” said Special Agent in Charge Smith. “The Secret Service mission has evolved to combat cyber fraud by tracing and seizing fraudulently obtained virtual currencies. These recent actions highlight the efforts of law enforcement to provide attribution to cybercriminals wherever they may reside.”

The Superseding Indictment describes similar attacks perpetrated against the customers of three cryptocurrency platforms, two of which are based in the United States, and one based abroad.  Victims of the attacks are alleged to have included people residing in the Northern District of California.

The Superseding Indictment describes a number of complex fraud schemes used by the defendants and their co-conspirators to maximize the value of the cryptocurrency that they stole from the customers of these digital currency exchanges.  The first fraud scheme, referred to as a theft attack in the Superseding Indictment, was a scheme to steal digital currency from as many users of a U.S.-based digital currency exchange as possible in a short amount of time.  Beginning in July 2017, Potekhin created and controlled at least 13 separate fake domains for this digital currency exchange.  Using the fake domains, the defendants induced more than 150 victim customers of the exchange to input their user identification and passwords.  Potekhin and Karasavidi, of Moscow, also created multiple fictitious accounts with the same digital currency exchange, and used stolen information from at least three individuals from the United Kingdom to create three of those accounts.  The defendants then used the stolen credentials from the victim customers to access the victims’ accounts in August 2017 and withdraw digital currency without authorization.  By linking the fictitious accounts to the accounts of victim customers, the defendants were able to withdraw larger sums of digital currency from victim accounts without authorization. 

The Superseding Indictment further describes a sophisticated market manipulation scheme that began in July 2017 using the stolen customer credentials of the same U.S.-based digital currency exchange and culminated in a manipulation attack that targeted three victim customers.  The defendants first created a number of fictitious accounts on the same platform and each account purchased an inexpensive digital currency known as GAS prior to the manipulation.  Then, on October 29, 2017, the defendants took control of the three victim customer accounts and used the digital currency contained in those accounts, with a value of over $5 million at that time, to purchased GAS at the same time, which increased demand and price.  The defendants and their co-conspirators then quickly converted the digital currency in their fictitious accounts from GAS to Bitcoin and other digital currencies, causing the value of GAS to plummet and leaving the value of GAS that remained in the victim customer accounts worthless, causing a loss to these three victims of approximately $5 million.

The Superseding Indictment also alleges similar fraud schemes that took place between October 2017 and March 2018, and which resulted in theft attacks targeting victim customers of another U.S.-based digital currency exchange and one based abroad.  The value of the stolen digital currency at the time of the thefts was over $11 million.

The Superseding Indictment alleges the defendants laundered the proceeds of the attacks and attempted to conceal the nature and source of the digital currency by transferring them in a layered and sophisticated manner through multiple accounts.  Ultimately, a significant amount of the stolen digital currency was deposited into Karasavidi’s account.

In sum, Potekhin and Karasavidi have been charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(b); computer fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(4); conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349; money laundering conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h); and two counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1).

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The defendants remain at large.  If convicted, the defendants face the following maximum statutory penalties:

Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

The U.S. Attorney also filed an action for forfeiture of millions of dollars of virtual currency that allegedly are traceable to the defendants’ crimes.  According to the forfeiture complaint, law enforcement has seized, and the U.S. Secret Service currently is in custody of, over $6 million in U.S. dollars, and several million in digital currency, the value of which changes based on the market.

In addition to the criminal charges, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it has issued sanctions against the two Russian nationals.  The Treasury Department’s announcement can be viewed here: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1123.

The prosecution and civil forfeiture actions are being handled by the Special Prosecutions Section and the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service San Francisco Field Office.  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit provided investigative assistance.

FORT WAYNE – Troy Topp, age 25, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady following his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

Topp was sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in this case, in July 2019, Topp was observed on video stealing from a vehicle.  When officers approached Topp, he ran but was apprehended and narcotics and paraphernalia were recovered.  A stolen firearm was also recovered and Topp admitted to acquiring the firearm in exchange for money and drugs.  Topp has a prior state court felony conviction in June 2015 out of Allen County for dealing methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine and possession of two or more precursors with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance. 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Fort Wayne Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey R. Speith 

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SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the indictment yesterday of a Scranton doctor, Kurt Moran, age 68, on charges related to receiving healthcare kickbacks and unlawfully distributing controlled substances, including distributions resulting in death.  Moran is scheduled to appear before United States Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick at 3:00pm on September 16, 2020.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the 423-count indictment alleges that beginning in December 2014 and continuing into 2017, Moran conspired with others to pay and receive bribes in exchange for prescribing the drug Subsys (sublingual fentanyl) to his patients.  Subsys is a transmucosal immediate release fentanyl (TIRF) drug.  It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only for use in cancer patients suffering from breakthrough cancer pain.  It is alleged that Moran was paid approximately $140,000 over a two year period to prescribe Subsys to his patients for pain not associated with cancer.  In order to conceal and disguise that kickbacks and bribes were being paid to Moran to prescribe Subsys, Insys falsely designated the payments to Moran as “honoraria” for purportedly providing educational presentations regarding Subsys.

Moran is also charged with multiple counts of unlawfully distributing Subsys to 13 patients and two counts of unlawfully prescribing Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone and fentanyl, which resulted in the death of a 35 year old man and a 32 year old woman.

The indictment alleges that Moran contracted with Insys Therapeutics, Inc. in 2014 to participate in the Insys Speaker Program (ISP), which was used as a vehicle to pay doctors and other clinicians to prescribe Subsys off-label.  In fact, the ISP was used as a way to funnel money to doctors like Moran under the guise of an “honorarium” appearing to be legitimate.  In reality, many of the speaker programs were merely social gatherings at high-end restaurants with no educational presentation whatsoever.   Most also lacked an appropriate audience of peer-level doctors with a professional reason to be educated about Subsys.  Moran allegedly was selected by Insys to participate in the sham speaker program because he consistently ranked as one of the top prescribers of opioid medications in Pennsylvania, including fentanyl.  Moran allegedly was paid as an Insys speaker as long as he continued to prescribe Subsys and the more prescriptions written by Moran for Subsys – and the higher the dose – the more speaking opportunities were awarded to him and the more money he made.  It is further alleged that Moran prescribed millions of micrograms of the sublingual fentanyl spray to patients with no cancer diagnosis and not suffering from breakthrough cancer pain.  The indictment charges hundreds of counts of unlawful distribution of Subsys by Moran. 

The indictment includes multiple counts of health care fraud related to the payment of claims by Medicare, FEHBP, and other private insurers who paid for the Subsys prescriptions.  It is alleged that had these health care benefit programs known that Moran was prescribing Subsys in exchange for a kickback and outside the usual course of professional practice, the claims would not have been paid by the insurers.

The indictment seeks to forfeit to the United States any and all proceeds derived from unlawful activity as a result of the offenses alleged in the indictment, including U.S. currency and the forfeiture of Moran’s medical license as facilitating property.

United States Attorney Freed stated, “this defendant, an experienced and substantial dispenser of powerful pain medications, lined his own pockets to the detriment of his patients.  He accepted bribes and kickbacks for prescribing medication narrowly approved to treat only cancer patients suffering breakthrough cancer pain.  He then concealed and disguised the payments he received for prescribing that drug as compensation for providing educational presentations.  In addition, but no less important, Moran improperly prescribed powerful schedule II controlled substances resulting in two deaths.  While physicians are properly given great leeway under the law to treat their patients, we are compelled to intervene when their fraudulent and criminal actions cause harm to others.  We are grateful for the thorough investigative work of our federal agency partners.” 

“Dr. Moran was responsible for the criminal distribution of oxycodone and sublingual fentanyl, both of which are extremely powerful and dangerous prescription opioid painkillers.  Moran’s unlawful prescribing ultimately resulted in the death of two people.” said Jonathan A. Wilson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division.  “Doctors have a legal and ethical obligation to prescribe these medications only for legitimate medical purposes and to do no harm to their patients.  The kickbacks that Dr. Moran received for being one of the highest prescribers of sublingual fentanyl in Pennsylvania showed his utter disregard for these same obligations.” 

“An important mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud related to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP).  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and OWCP to protect the integrity of DOL’s benefit programs,” said Derek Pickle, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Cleevely, Eastern Area Field Office stated, “the U.S. Postal Service spends billions of dollars per year in workers compensation-related costs, most of which are legitimate. However, when medical providers choose to flout the rules and profit illegally, special agents with the USPS OIG will work with our law enforcement partners to hold them responsible. To report fraud or other criminal activity involving the Postal Service, contact our special agents at www.uspsoig.govor 888-USPS-OIG.”

The charges stem from an investigation initiated in 2016 by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) located in Scranton, the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General (OPM/OIG) and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.  Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorneys Michelle Olshefski and Michael Consiglio.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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

In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute for the unlawful distribution of controlled substances resulting in death is life imprisonment.  The unlawful distribution of controlled substances charges carry a maximum term of 20 years’ imprisonment.  The charges related to receiving health care kickbacks carry a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.  Each charge also carries a fine and a term of supervised release following any period of incarceration.  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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TRENTON, N.J. – A former member of Paraguay’s Congress and her husband have admitted their roles in an international money laundering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Raimundo Va, 45, pleaded guilty today before Chief Judge Freda L. Wolfson to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. His wife, Cynthia Elizabeth Tarrago Diaz, 41, pleaded guilty on Sept. 15, 2020, before Judge Wolfson to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

On Nov. 21, 2019, Tarrago and Va were arrested by the FBI after they arrived in Newark as part of their unlawful money laundering activities, and were charged in a criminal complaint along with a third individual, Rodrigo Alvarenga Paredes, who remains at large in Paraguay.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Until January 2019, Tarrago was a member of Paraguay’s Congress, and in late 2019 had publicly announced her intention to run for mayor of the capital district of Asunción. While in office, Tarrago and her husband, Va, agreed to accept at least $2 million in United States currency from two individuals who represented themselves to be narcotics traffickers, believing the money to be proceeds of unlawful narcotics trafficking, and to launder the funds through an international network of accounts in order to disguise the unlawful source of the proceeds. Tarrago and Va traveled to New Jersey and Florida on multiple occasions and accepted approximately $800,000 in United States currency from the purported drug traffickers, and caused those funds to be laundered through the conspiracy’s network of accounts, and ultimately transferred back to an account maintained by the purported drug traffickers. To disguise the illicit source of the funds, members of the conspiracy generated fraudulent invoices that stated legitimate business reasons for the transfers of laundered funds to the purported drug traffickers’ account. Moreover, on multiple occasions during the purported drug dealers’ meetings with Tarrago and Va, Tarrago indicated that she would be able to assist the purported drug dealers with procuring large quantities of cocaine from Paraguay at an inexpensive price.

Unbeknownst to Tarrago and Va, the currency that they accepted from the purported drug traffickers and caused to be laundered was not actually illicit drug proceeds. Rather, those funds were provided to Tarrago and Va by two undercover FBI agents as part of an extensive investigation of the money laundering network. During the investigation, the undercover agents met with Tarrago and Va in the United States on numerous occasions, and obtained substantial video and audio recordings of their interactions with Tarrago and Va, during which details of the money laundering network were discussed. The evidence obtained during the investigation revealed that Alvarenga Paredes, operating through the auspices of a money-exchange company in Paraguay, coordinated the laundering of the funds that the undercover agents provided to Tarrago and Va.

The money laundering conspiracy counts against Tarrago and Va carry a statutory maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a maximum fine of the greater of $500,000 or twice the value of the funds involved in the conspiracy. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2021. The investigation is continuing.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas. He also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance in the case.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys R. Joseph Gribko of the Criminal Division in Trenton and J. Brendan Day, Attorney in Charge of the Trenton Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges and allegations against Alvarenga Paredes contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Casey Harvey, a Luray, Va. Man who conspired with others to traffic large quantities of methamphetamine from Oklahoma into the Western District of Virginia for redistribution, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg to 66 months in federal prison. Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar and Jesse Fong, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Field Division announced the sentence today.

Harvey, 30, pleaded guilty in May 2019 to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Co-conspirator Bryan Lee Estep was sentenced in August 2020 to 78 months in prison.

According to court documents, from December 2017 to August 2018, Harvey conspired with Estep to traffic methamphetamine from Oklahoma into the Western District of Virginia. As part of the conspiracy, Harvey introduced Estep to individuals that could purchase methamphetamine from Estep. Harvey also distributed at least one pound of methamphetamine.  In approximately June 2018, Harvey assisted Estep in picking up roughly six pounds of methamphetamine from a source of supply in Oklahoma and delivering it to the Western District of Virginia.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Luray Police Department, Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, the Page County Sheriff’s Office, the Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office, and the Staunton Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Jeb Terrien prosecuted the case for the United States.

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Michael Laury, age 41, formerly of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was convicted following a jury trial, of methamphetamine and false statement offenses.  The six-day trial was held before United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion in Scranton.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the jury returned the guilty verdict on all counts charged in the superseding indictment after approximately three hours of deliberation.  Laury was convicted of one count of managing a drug premises, one count of conspiring to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, and one count of making a false statement to the FBI.

The evidence presented at trial showed that in May and June 2017, Laury assisted two drug dealers in running a methamphetamine laboratory in the basement of Laury’s Wilkes-Barre residence.  The FBI and Pennsylvania State Police shuttered the laboratory in June 2017, when executing a search warrant.  Following the search, Laury made false statements to the FBI about his knowledge of and involvement with the laboratory.

Laury has remained in custody since his October 2017 arrest.  He was charged with three coconspirators, all of whom pleaded guilty to various methamphetamine offenses:

1. Mark Heath, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to a methamphetamine conspiracy and awaits sentencing;
2. Shawn Melleski, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to a methamphetamine conspiracy and was sentenced to 46 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release; and
3. Amy Casey, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to maintaining a drug premises and awaits sentencing.

The matter was investigated by the FBI, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Wilkes-Barre Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Phillip J. Caraballo and Jeffrey St John.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The combined maximum penalty under federal law for Laury is up to 45 years of imprisonment. There is also 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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NEWARK, N.J. – Two Iranian nationals have been charged in connection with a coordinated cyber intrusion campaign – sometimes at the behest of the government of Iran – targeting computers in New Jersey and around the world, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

Hooman Heidarian, a/k/a “neo,” 30, and Mehdi Farhadi, a/k/a “Mehdi Mahdavi” and “Mohammad Mehdi Farhadi Ramin,” 34, both of Hamedan, Iran, are each charged in a 10-count indictment returned Sept. 15, 2020, with: one count each of conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers and access devices; computer fraud - unauthorized access to protected computers: computer fraud, unauthorized damage to protected computers; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and access device fraud; and five counts of aggravated identity theft.

“These Iranian nationals allegedly conducted a wide-ranging campaign on computers here in New Jersey and around the world,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said. “They brazenly infiltrated computer systems and targeted intellectual property and often sought to intimidate perceived enemies of Iran, including dissidents fighting for human rights in Iran and around the world. This conduct threatens our national security, and as a result, these defendants are wanted by the FBI and are considered fugitives from justice.”

“We will not bring the rule of law to cyberspace until governments refuse to provide safe harbor for criminal hacking within their borders,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said. “Unfortunately, our cases demonstrate that at least four nations—Iran, China, Russia and North Korea—will allow criminal hackers to victimize individuals and companies from around the world, as long as these hackers will also work for that country’s government—gathering information on human rights activists, dissidents and others of intelligence interest.  Today’s defendants will now learn that such service to the Iranian regime is not an asset, but a criminal yoke that they will now carry until the day they are brought to justice.”

“The indictment of two Iranian nationals charged with computer hacking, fraud, and aggravated identity theft demonstrates how the FBI continues to work relentlessly with our law enforcement partners to identify cybercriminals who seek to do harm to American citizens, businesses, and universities, regardless of where those criminals may reside and hold them accountable,” George M. Crouch Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Newark Division, said. “Mehdi Farhadi and Hooman Heidarian are now fugitives and have been added to the FBI website for charges in connection with a massive, coordinated cyber intrusion campaign. These actions demonstrate how imposing risks and consequences on our cyber adversaries will continue to be a top priority for the FBI.” 

According to the indictment:

Beginning in at least 2013, the defendants were responsible for a coordinated campaign of cyber intrusions into computer systems in New Jersey and around the world. The victims included several American and foreign universities, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, a defense contractor, an aerospace company, a foreign policy organization, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), non-profits, and foreign government and other entities identified as rivals or adversaries to Iran around the world.

Heidarian and Farhadi conducted many of these intrusions on behalf of the Iranian government. The stolen data was typically highly protected and extremely sensitive, and included confidential communications pertaining to national security, foreign policy intelligence, non-military nuclear information, aerospace data, human rights activist information, victim financial information and personally identifiable information, and intellectual property, including unpublished scientific research. The defendants also often vandalized websites using the pseudonym “Sejeal” and posted messages that appeared to signal the demise of Iran’s internal opposition, foreign adversaries, and countries identified as rivals to Iran, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Tactics and Techniques

The defendants conducted online reconnaissance to carefully select their victims, gathering data and intelligence to determine their areas of expertise, and assessing computer networks in preparation for launching cyber-attacks. They often used information obtained at this stage in latter phases of their hacking activities to complete a picture of processes, organizational structure, and potential soft spots of victim networks. The defendants used vulnerability-scanning tools to test the victim networks and to reveal security holes.

The defendants gained and maintained unauthorized access to victim networks using various tools, including: session hijacking, where a valid computer session was exploited to gain unauthorized access to information or services in a computer system; SQL injection, in which they used malicious code to access information that was not intended to be displayed, such as sensitive government data, user details, and personal identifiers; and malicious programs installations, which allowed the defendants to maintain unauthorized access to computers.

The defendants then used key-loggers and “remote access Trojans” to maintain access and monitor the actions of users of the victim networks. They also developed a botnet tool, which facilitated the spread of malware, denial of service attacks, and spamming to victim networks. In some instances, the defendants used their unauthorized access to victim networks or accounts to establish automated forwarding rules for compromised victim accounts, whereby new outgoing and incoming emails were automatically forwarded from the compromised accounts to accounts controlled by defendants

Using these methods, the defendants stole hundreds of terabytes of data, including confidential victim work product and intellectual property, and personal identifying information, such as access credentials, names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and birthdates. The defendants marketed stolen data on the black market.

In addition to stealing intellectual property and other data, the defendants, using the pseudonym “Sejeal,” replaced the publicly available contents of websites with political and other ideological content, thereby defacing websites, for the apparent purpose of projecting Iranian influence and threatening perceived enemies of Iran. The defacements featured, among other things, images of burning Israeli flags and threats forecasting the death or demise of citizens in the United States, Israel, and elsewhere.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Crouch in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The counts of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and related activity in connection with computers and access devices, unauthorized access to protected computers, and computer fraud – unauthorized damage to protected computers, each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The counts of aggravated identity theft each carry a mandatory sentence of two years in prison. The count of access device fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean C. Sovolos of the U.S. Attorney’s Office National Security Unit, Daniel V. Shapiro, Deputy Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division, and Trial Attorney Scott McCulloch of the National Security Division. 

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

BRUNSWICK, GA:  A significant U.S. Department of Justice grant will allow a Jesup domestic violence shelter to expand its educational and crisis support programs into nearby rural communities in partnership with a Brunswick shelter.

The $495,357 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) will fund services provided by the Safe Harbor Children’s Center and the Fair Haven Domestic Violence Shelter, announced Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The program will establish a domestic violence/rape crisis center in Jeff Davis County to provide regional services for Appling, Jeff Davis, and Wayne Counties.

“Like all sparsely populated areas, the rural communities of the Southern District often face challenges in providing vital services to their residents,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “Safe Harbor and Fair Haven’s collaboration, fueled by this substantial OVW funding, will bring crisis assistance to those in need while assisting law enforcement in protecting these communities.”

“It is absolutely essential, as a society, to work together to prevent violence,” said OVW Principal Deputy Director Laura Rogers. “We are proud to do our part to support the people of Georgia as we all join together to keep victims safe and hold offenders accountable for their crimes.”

Safe Harbor, in Brunswick, is a sanctuary for abused, tormented and neglected children and older youths. Fair Haven is a domestic violence shelter in Jesup, Ga.

“Domestic violence and sexual assault against women is a steadily increasing concern in our community because of how COVID-19 has forced women and children to stay home with their abusers,” said Leslie Hartman, Executive Director of Safe Harbor Center. “We are thrilled to partner with Fair Haven Domestic Violence Shelter to ensure that all survivors receive the resources they need to ensure their safety and well-being. This unique partnership allows both organizations to leverage its expertise to effectively meet the needs of and enhance the response to domestic violence and sexual assault victims in the community.”

“We are honored to be able to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Justice and Safe Harbor to assist individuals who are suffering in sexual and domestic violence situations,” said Dana Mathis, Executive Director of Fair Haven. “Through this effort we will be able to work together to help those living in abusive situations to secure the services they need so their cases are investigated properly, and to ensure justice is served for the horrendous acts that they endured.”

The OVW funding, provided through a competitive grant process, is a component of the federal Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Program. Safe Harbor and Fair Haven plan to use the funding to establish a regional domestic violence/rape crisis center in Jeff Davis County; provide two full-time and one part-time staff positions to provide client services; provide client transportation to the center; provide training to local law enforcement personnel; and to provide outreach events and increase community awareness.    

The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) provides federal leadership in developing the national capacity to reduce violence against women and administer justice for, and strengthen services to, victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. For more information about grants, contact the Office on Violence Against Women at 202-307-6026 and ask for the Outreach and Communications Division.

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that two defendants, SCOTT ROBINSON and SARAH IZHAKI, each pled guilty today to conspiring to unlawfully distribute adulterated and misbranded drugs for the purpose of doping racehorses in connection with the two cases in which they are charged, United States v. Robinson, 20 Cr. 162 (JPO), and United States v. Izhaki, 20 Cr. 161 (MKV).  ROBINSON pled guilty before U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, and will be sentenced by Judge Oetken on January 15, 2021.  IZHAKI pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, and will be sentenced by Judge Vyskocil on December 2, 2020.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “Scott Robinson and Sarah Izhaki represent the supply side of a market of greed that continues to endanger racehorses through the sale of performance-enhancing drugs.  Each of these defendants provided the raw materials for fraud and animal abuse through the sale of unregulated and dangerous substances:  Robinson’s products were manufactured in shoddy facilities with no professional oversight of their composition; Izhaki’s products were smuggled into the country and sold from cars in supermarket parking lots.  These convictions show that our Office and our partners at the FBI are committed to the prosecution and investigation of corruption, fraud, and endangerment in the horse racing industry.”

According to the Indictments, the Superseding Information to which ROBINSON pled guilty, the Superseding Information to which IZHAKI pled guilty, and other court documents, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:

From at least in or about 2011 through at least in or about March 2020, ROBINSON conspired with others to manufacture, sell, and ship millions of dollars’ worth of adulterated and misbranded equine drugs, including performance-enhancing drugs intended to be administered to racehorses for the purpose of improving those horses’ race performance in order to win races and obtain prize money.  ROBINSON sold these drugs through several direct-to-consumer websites designed to appeal to racehorse trainers and owners, including, among others, “horseprerace.com.” 

ROBINSON contributed to the conspiracy by, among other things, sourcing chemicals used to create custom PEDs that were advertised and sold; falsely labeling, packaging, and shipping those PEDs to customers across the country, including in the Southern District of New York; and collecting, reporting, and responding to employee and customer complaints regarding the misbranded and adulterated products advertised and sold online.  Among the drugs advertised and sold during the course of the conspiracy were “blood builders,” which are used by racehorse trainers and others to increase red blood cell counts and/or the oxygenation of muscle tissue of a racehorse in order to stimulate the horse’s endurance, which enhances that horse’s performance in, and recovery from, a race, as well as customized analgesics which are used by racehorse trainers and others to deaden a horse’s nerves and block pain in order to improve a horse’s race performance.  The drugs distributed through the defendants’ websites were manufactured in non-FDA registered facilities and carried significant risks to the animals affected through the administration of those illicit PEDs.  For example, in 2016, ROBINSON received a complaint regarding the effect of his unregulated drugs on a customer’s horse: “starting bout 8 hours after I give the injection and for about 36 hours afterwards both my horses act like they are heavily sedated, can barely walk.  Could I have a bad bottle of medicine, I’m afraid to give it anymore since this has happened three times.”  Commenting on this complaint, ROBINSON wrote simply, “here is another one.”

In a separate conspiracy, from at least in or about February 2018 through at least in or about November 2019, IZHAKI conspired with others to transport, sell, and deliver, tens of thousands of dollars of erythropoietin, a “blood builder” drug intended to increase a horse’s racing performance, which had been smuggled into the country from Mexico.  This drug was covertly transported into the United States and sold by IZHAKI, who believed it would be used by racehorse trainers to illicitly improve their horses’ race performance.  IZHAKI also offered for sale amphetamines, and a substance that IZHAKI referred to as “the Devil,” which IZHAKI claimed would mask the presence of potent drugs in a human or animal’s body.

The defendants are among 27 individuals charged in a series of Indictments arising from an investigation of a widespread scheme by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, PED distributors, and others to manufacture, distribute, and receive adulterated and misbranded PEDs and to secretly administer those PEDs to racehorses competing at all levels of professional horseracing.  By evading PED prohibitions and deceiving regulators and horse racing officials, participants in these schemes sought to improve race performance and obtain prize money from racetracks, all to the detriment and risk of the health and well-being of the racehorses. 

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ROBINSON, 46, of Tampa, Florida and IZHAKI, 45, of Manalapan, New Jersey, each pled guilty to one count of conspiring to unlawfully introduce and receive with the intent to redistribute for pay or otherwise adulterated and misbranded drugs in interstate commerce, and to misbrand drugs in interstate commerce.  This offense carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Acting U.S. Attorney Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI New York Office’s Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force and its support of the Bureau’s Integrity in Sports and Gaming Initiative. Ms. Strauss also thanked the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the New York State Police, and the New York City Police Department for their support of this investigation, and the Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration for their assistance and expertise.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah Mortazavi, Benet J. Kearney, and Andrew C. Adams are in charge of the prosecution.

            CONCORD - Leon Mandigo, 33, of Auburn, pleaded guilty in federal court to drug trafficking, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

             According to court documents and statements made in court, during an ongoing drug trafficking investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that Mandigo was obtaining fentanyl from a source located in Massachusetts.  On March 7, 2018, agents learned that Mandigo intended to travel to Massachusetts to purchase 200 grams of fentanyl and later observed him participate in a hand-to-hand exchange with a known drug trafficker. 

            After the transaction, the New Hampshire State Police stopped a vehicle in which Mandigo was a passenger.  During the stop, he pulled an orange bag from his pants and threw it on the ground where a trooper later picked it up.  The bag contained approximately 184 grams of fentanyl.  

            Mandigo is scheduled to be sentenced on December 30, 2020.

            “The interstate transportation of fentanyl into New Hampshire endangers all of our citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “Public health and safety have been seriously undermined by the distribution of this drug.  In order to counteract this dangerous and illegal trade, we will continue to work tirelessly to identify and prosecute the traffickers who are responsible for fentanyl sales in the Granite State.”

            The case was a collaborative investigation that involved the DEA; the New Hampshire State Police; the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; the Nashua Police Department; the Massachusetts State Police; the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office; the Essex County District Attorney’s Office; the Internal Revenue Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; United States Customs and Border Protection Boston Field Office; the United States Marshals Service; the United States Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; the Manchester Police Department; the Lisbon Police Department; the Littleton Police Department; the Seabrook Police Department; the Haverhill (MA) Police Department; the Methuen (MA) Police Department; the Lowell (MA) Police Department; and the Maine State Police.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Walsh.

            Agencies participating in this investigation are part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy.  Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.

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WASHINGTON - Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers and U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald for the District of Minnesota today announced that ABDELHAMID AL-MADIOUM, 23, of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, has been charged by indictment with providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

AL-MADIOUM was detained overseas by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and recently transferred into FBI custody. AL-MADIOUM was returned to Minnesota where he made his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

According to the allegations in the indictment and a law enforcement affidavit, from July 8, 2015, through March 15, 2019, AL-MADIOUM knowingly provided material support and resources, including personnel (namely himself) and services to ISIS. On June 23, 2015, AL-MADIOUM, a native of Morocco and naturalized U.S. citizen, and his family traveled from St. Louis Park, Minnesota, to Casablanca, Morocco, to visit their extended family. On July 8, 2015, AL-MADIOUM left Morocco and traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, and then on to Iraq and Syria, where he joined ISIS. In March of 2019, AL-MADIOUM was captured and detained by the SDF.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter and Trial Attorneys Danielle S. Rosborough and David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

Defendant Information:

ABDELHAMID AL-MADIOUM, 23

St. Louis Park, Minn.

Charges:

• Providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (ISIS), 1 count

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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600