ALBANY, NEW YORK – Uyiosa Eribo, age 42, and a citizen of Nigeria, was sentenced today to 10 months in jail for using a foreign bank account to accept money from fraud victims in the United States.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and James D. Robnett, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of IRS-Criminal Investigation.

United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also ordered Eribo to pay $11,000 in restitution to his victims, and to pay a $3,000 fine.

Eribo pled guilty to international money laundering charges on February 1, 2017. He admitted that in 2014, he opened and maintained a bank account in the United Kingdom. He used this account to receive wire transfers from people in the United States knowing that the money he received was proceeds of Internet-based frauds targeting United States residents. Eribo’s conspirators, who were based in Nigeria and elsewhere, had the actual contact with the victims and directed that the victims send money to Eribo.

Among other things, Eribo received proceeds from a stolen identity federal income tax refund fraud, in which a New York married couple’s names, social security numbers and financial information were used without their authorization to file a fraudulent federal tax return and obtain a $482,000 tax refund from the United States Treasury Department. Eribo’s account received part of this tax refund.

This case was investigated by the New York Field Office of IRS-Criminal Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

WASHINGTON – Mansfield, Texas-based Integrated Medical Solutions Inc. (IMS), along with the company’s former President Jerry Heftler, have agreed to pay the United States $2.475 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Act in connection with federal contracts IMS obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the Justice Department announced today.

“This settlement demonstrates that the Department of Justice is committed to protecting the integrity of the federal contracting process from unscrupulous contractors,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When government contractors maintain improper financial arrangements with government officials, it has a corrupting influence on contracts funded by taxpayer dollars.”

“Our office will continue to aggressively investigate federal contracting abuse and will use all available tools to hold accountable those who try to gain an advantage in contracting through improper means,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Parker for the Northern District of Texas.

“Our office is committed to uncovering corruption in the contracting process, particularly when it involves an abuse of trust by the Department of Justice’s own employees,” said Special Agent in Charge Monte A. Cason of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. “It is imperative that we protect taxpayer funds by ferreting out such abuse.”

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that IMS engaged Cary Hudson, who was then employed by BOP as a business administrator, to serve as a paid consultant to assist IMS in obtaining contracts with BOP to serve as a third-party administrator responsible for developing managed healthcare networks that provide medical care to federal inmates. Specifically, the Government alleged that IMS paid Hudson in order to obtain favorable treatment during the contracting process, which included Hudson’s provision of certain confidential, non-public information that gave IMS an unfair competitive advantage in the bidding process. After IMS obtained the contracts with BOP, the Government alleged that Hudson thereafter improperly assisted IMS in its performance of the contracts while simultaneously serving as a BOP financial administrator.

In October 2014, Hudson pleaded guilty to a felony violation of submitting a false document to an agency of the United States in which he failed to disclose payments he received from IMS as part of his annual obligation as a federal government employee to report any potential conflicts of interests.

This matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, with assistance from the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.

Except to the extent of the admissions in Hudson’s guilty plea, the claims resolved by the civil settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

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TRENTON, N.J. – An Ocean County, New Jersey, man was arrested and charged today for allegedly distributing images and videos of child sexual abuse, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Michael A. Ruggiero, 35, of Forked River, New Jersey, a corrections officer at a juvenile detention facility, was arrested at work this morning by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), on a complaint charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography. Ruggiero is expected to appear later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni in Trenton federal court.

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

From April 16, 2016, to April 19, 2016, Ruggiero used a mobile chat application to distribute and share over the internet images and videos of children engaged in sexual acts. Anyone with information regarding possible victims of this activity is urged to contact HSI in Newark: (973)-776-5500.

The charge of distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents HSI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian A. Michael; inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel Brubaker, Philadelphia Division; and members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, with the investigation leading to today’s charge.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Allende of the U.S. Attorney’s Criminal Division.

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

Defense counsel: Brian P. Reilly Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Clarksburg, West Virginia man was convicted today in federal court of illegally possessing a firearm, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Casey Love, age 28, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.” Love, having previously been convicted of second degree robbery in Harrison County Circuit Court and being a known user and addict of controlled substances, admitted to having in his possession a 9mm pistol in Harrison County in November 2016.

Love faces up to ten years 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 Traci M. Cook is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bridgeport Police Department investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.

TRENTON, N.J. – An Ocean County, New Jersey, man was arrested and charged today for allegedly distributing images and videos of child sexual abuse, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Michael A. Ruggiero, 35, of Forked River, New Jersey, a corrections officer at a juvenile detention facility, was arrested at work this morning by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), on a complaint charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography. Ruggiero is expected to appear later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni in Trenton federal court.

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

From April 16, 2016, to April 19, 2016, Ruggiero used a mobile chat application to distribute and share over the internet images and videos of children engaged in sexual acts. Anyone with information regarding possible victims of this activity is urged to contact HSI in Newark: (973)-776-5500.

The charge of distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents HSI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian A. Michael; inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Daniel Brubaker, Philadelphia Division; and members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, with the investigation leading to today’s charge.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Allende of the U.S. Attorney’s Criminal Division.

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

Defense counsel: Brian P. Reilly Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton

DALLAS — Bertha Alicia Garcia, 50, of Channelview, Texas, who pleaded guilty to her role in a pill mill operation that operated during parts of 2013-2015, has been sentenced, announced United States Attorney John R. Parker.

Garcia was sentenced last week to 37 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater, following her guilty plea in October 2016 to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, namely Oxycodone. Judge Fitzwater ordered Garcia to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on July 18, 2017.

In March 2015, a federal grand jury in Dallas indicted 23 individuals, including Garcia, on offenses related to their participation in a prescription drug distribution conspiracy. In 2016, an addition 7 individuals were charged in superseding indictments. That indictment alleged that from at least May 2013 through July 2014, the defendants participated in a scheme to illicitly obtain prescriptions for pain medications, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, and then distribute those controlled substances for profit. As part of the conspiracy, individuals, often homeless or of limited means, were recruited and paid to pose as patients at medical clinics, including the McAllen Medical Clinic in Dallas, to obtain prescriptions to fill those prescriptions at designated pharmacies.

According to documents filed in the case, on August 8, 2013, Garcia and another co-conspirator met with a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity at ABSMedical and Chiropractic clinic on Avenue C in Channelview, Texas. The undercover officer indicated that he wanted to obtain 30mg oxycodone pills and paid the clinic $420 in cash but never met with a medical practitioner and did not have a medical examination. Later the same day, Garcia met the officer at a gas station in Jacinto City, Texas, and delivered a prescription for 90 10mg oxycodone pills. Garcia has never been a licensed medical practitioner, has never held a DEA registration number, and has never been authorized to distribute or dispense oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance.

The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service, Texas Department of Public Safety, the Louisiana State Police, the Grand Prairie Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Houston Police Department, the Arlington Police Department, the Greenville Police Department, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Diplomatic Security Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Walters prosecuted.

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ATLANTA - Eric Donys Simeu, a/k/a Martell Collins, a citizen of Cameroon extradited from France, has been sentenced to four years, ten months in federal prison for a series of “phishing campaigns” which targeted clients of Global Distribution Systems.

“This case shows the global reach of our cyber investigation and prosecution capabilities,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “The great work of our domestic and international law enforcement partners brought a cybercriminal operating from the streets of West Africa to justice for seeking to harm one of our district’s corporate citizens, among others.”

“The sentencing of international cyber hacker Eric Donys Simeu to federal prison, as well as his arrest abroad and the resulting and protracted international extradition that brought him back to the U.S., is a direct result of the hard work and persistence of numerous FBI investigators and federal prosecutors working with their international partners. The cooperation between law enforcement, both domestic and international, and the victim companies targeted, as seen in this case, is an example of what it takes to investigate, apprehend, and present for prosecution those international criminals who feel that they are beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

“This sentencing sends a strong message that DSS is committed to making sure those who commit cybercrimes, identity theft and fraud, face consequences for their criminal actions,” said Richard Ingram, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Washington, D.C. Field Office. “Diplomatic Security’s strong relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and presence around the world are essential to our success in partnering with international law enforcement, investigating, apprehending and returning offenders to the United States to face justice.”

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: Eric Simeu was responsible for a series of “phishing campaigns” which targeted customers of Global Distribution System (“GDS”) companies from approximately July 2011 to September 2014. The GDS companies impacted by Simeu’s criminal conduct included Travelport, which maintains a major presence in Atlanta, and Sabre, which is headquartered in Southlake, Texas.

A “phishing campaign” is the act of sending targeted emails to individuals for the purpose of acquiring usernames and passwords. The emails masquerade as an official communication from a legitimate company to gain the trust of the recipient and deceive them into providing protected information.

GDS companies provide travel booking services to travel agencies and travel-related websites. Airline tickets that are issued from sources other than air carriers themselves are generally processed through a GDS company. Customers of GDS companies, such as representatives from a travel agency or travel-related website, are issued unique login credentials that are used to authenticate their identity and facilitate the issuance of airline tickets on GDS servers.

Simeu’s phishing campaigns targeted customers of Travelport and Sabre, causing phishing emails to be delivered to their customers for the purpose of obtaining and stealing their unique log-in credentials. Simeu and others used the stolen log-in credentials to access the servers of Travelport and Sabre and cause the issuance of fraudulent airline tickets. Simeu and others then sold these airline tickets to customers, mostly in West Africa, for fractions of the actual cost, or used them for personal travel. The value of the fraudulently issued airline tickets exceeded $2 million.

On September 3, 2014, Eric Donys Simeu, 32, was arrested by French law enforcement pursuant to a federal criminal complaint issued out of the Northern District of Georgia. At the time of his arrest, Simeu was traveling from Casablanca, Morocco, to Paris, France, on a fraudulently issued airline ticket in the name of his alias, Martell Collins, utilizing a fraudulent United Kingdom passport under the same name. A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Simeu on September 23, 2014, and Simeu was extradited from France on May 19, 2016. Simeu had been in French custody since his arrest in September 2014, pending completion of extradition proceedings.

Simeu pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on December 13, 2016. On May 25, 2017, U.S. District Court Judge William S. Duffey, Jr., sentenced Simeu to four years, ten months in prison, and ordered him to pay $162,146 in restitution to Travelport.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. Grimberg and Trial Attorney Peter Roman with the U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.

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

RENO, Nev.– A California woman was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du to 15 months in prison for making counterfeit $100 bills, then spending the counterfeit money at businesses in Northern Nevada, announced U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre for the District of Nevada.

Yvonne Geneal Flores, 38, of Sacramento, Calif., pleaded guilty on Feb. 15, 2017, to one count of making counterfeit currency. Co-defendant Thomas Michael Morla, 42, pleaded guilty to making counterfeit currency and was sentenced on Oct. 31, 2016, to serve 18 months in prison.

According to the plea agreement, from Oct. 7, 2015 to May 5, 2016, Flores and Morla manufactured counterfeit $100 bills and spent the counterfeit money at various businesses in Reno, Sparks, and Carson City. In May 2016, law enforcement arrested Flores and Morla for possession of an embezzled rental car in Carson City. At the time of Morla’s arrest, he was in possession of counterfeit money. During the execution of a search warrant of Morla and Flores’ hotel room, law enforcement found equipment and supplies used to manufacture the counterfeit currency. Law enforcement collected approximately $50,000 in counterfeit $100 bills from businesses that can be attributed to Flores and Morla based on the similarities of the fraudulent notes.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Carson City Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian L. Sullivan.

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Jacksonville, Florida – Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that a federal jury has found Thomas Leslie Carr (49, Jacksonville) guilty of using underage “models” to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing pornographic images and videos. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 15 years, up to 30 years, in federal prison on each of the two charges. Carr has been in custody since his arrest and a sentencing hearing is set for September 21, 2017.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in 2012, law enforcement officers began a human trafficking investigation involving the prostitution of minor and adult females throughout the state of Florida, by an individual named Michael Gallon (52, Lakeland). The investigation revealed that Gallon had recruited his victims to travel and work at “parties” and “VIP rooms” as “models,” where customers paid to have sex with them. During the investigation, agents identified and interviewed several female victims who had been prostituted by Gallon; Carr was identified as one of his regular customers.

On October 28, 2013, Gallon was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors and production of child pornography. Two weeks later, a federal search warrant was executed at Carr’s residence. During an interview, Carr admitted that he had hired about 15 girls from Gallon over a three-year period. He stated that Gallon called him when he had girls available in Jacksonville and that the two would meet so that Carr could pay Gallon to select girls to take back to his residence. At his home, Carr paid the females for photos session that usually consisted of photographing the female wearing an outfit, stripping nude, and then wearing a costume. He stated that he usually tried to get the female to masturbate for him on video, then he would attempt to have sex with her. If the female was reluctant, Carr would offer her more money.

During the search of Carr’s residence, agents recovered computer media that contained images and videos of at least two minors, ages 15 and 17, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Car admitted to doing “photo shoots” with each of these girls, and videos depicted him engaging in sexual intercourse with one of them.

In 2014, Gallon pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 33 years and 9 months in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Lakeland Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement‘s Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa and Jacksonville. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys D. Rodney Brown, Beatriz Gonzalez, and Stacie Harris.

It is another case 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 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.justice.gov/psc.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that NICHOLAS MURPHY, 27, of Exeter, R.I., pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to one count of traveling to engage in illegal sexual activity with a minor.

Accord to court documents and statements made in court, MURPHY communicated with a minor victim through online platforms including Facebook. The victim told MURPHY that she was 16 years old when, in fact, she was younger than 16, but older than 13. In May and June 2015, MURPHY travelled from Rhode Island to Connecticut to meet the victim. On at least one occasion during this time, MURPHY engaged in illicit sexual conduct with the minor victim in his truck.

On the evening of September 16, 2015, after communicating on Facebook, MURPHY drove from Rhode Island to Connecticut to meet the victim. MURPHY knew that the victim was sneaking out of her home without her parents’ knowledge to meet him. MURPHY picked up the victim in his truck and then drove to a secluded area where he and the victim engaged in illicit sexual conduct.

MURPHY is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on September 13, 2017, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.

MURPHY was arrested on related state charges on May 9, 2016. He is released on a $150,000 bond.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Plainfield Police Department, Rhode Island State Police and the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - An Olathe man pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $8 million from a Turkish investor, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Nagy Shehata, 57, Olathe, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In his plea, he admitted the crime occurred while he was president of Premier Investment Group, a corporation registered in Missouri. During that time, Shehata formed a joint partnership with co-defendant Laura Lee Sorsby, a Texas resident who conducted business through a company called Can Am International.

The victim was a Turkish resident who was the founder of a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. The defendants offered the victim the opportunity to invest in a project that started out as a plan to build a hospital in Syria and evolved into a plan to build a shopping mall in Iraq. Based on the defendants’ false statements, the victim transferred money to Shehata’s bank in New York. Shehata wired the money from New York to his bank accounts in Kansas.

The defendants did not use the money for the hospital or shopping mall projects. Instead, Shehata bought an $111,000 car and an $855,000 house.

Sentencing will be set for a later time. Shehata faces up to 20 years in federal prison and restitution of more than $8.2 million. Beall commended The FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.

SALT LAKE CITY -- An Information charging Dereck James Harrison with one count of carjacking and one count of kidnapping was filed late Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.

Count 1 of the indictment alleges Harrison took by force, violence and intimidation, and with intent to cause death or serious bodily harm, a 2013 Ford F150 pickup from a person identified as K.P.R. in the Information. The Information further alleges the May 12, 2016, carjacking resulted in the death of K.P.R.

Count 2 charges Harrison with the May 12, 2016, kidnapping of K.P.R. The indictment alleges Harrison took the victim from Utah to Wyoming and, according to the Information, the kidnapping resulted in the death of K.P.R.

The potential sentence for the charges in the Information is mandatory life in prison. An Information is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged in an Information are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

The District of Utah has concurrent jurisdiction in this case with Salt Lake County, Utah, and Lincoln County, Wyoming. Although Harrison is being prosecuted in Lincoln County, federal prosecutors believe Utah’s interests in the case have yet to be vindicated.

The victim was a resident of Utah. The crimes alleged in the Information filed Friday occurred in Salt Lake County, Utah. In consultation with the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office, a decision was made to represent Salt Lake County and the District of Utah’s interests by proceeding with a federal prosecution of Harrison. The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service have been actively involved in the investigation of this case since the alleged crimes occurred.

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Johnnie William Bateman, III, of Culpepper, Virginia, was convicted today of traveling across state lines to meet a minor for sex, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Bateman, age 39, pled guilty to one count of “Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct.” Bateman admitted to traveling from Virginia to Berkeley County, West Virginia in August 2016 to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a person he believed to be a 15-year-old girl.

Bateman faces up to thirty years 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 Anna Z. Krasinski is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

RALEIGH– The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, John Stuart Bruce, announced that today, Senior District Court Judge W. Earl Britt sentenced JONES TYLER MARTIN, of Hampton, South Carolina,and HAILEY TYKOSKI, of Wayne, Michigan, for their convictions in a fraudulent scheme that seriously impacted the United States Marine Corps and numerous victim Marines from North Carolina to California. MARTIN was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment, 5 years supervised release, and was ordered to pay $117,306.42 in restitution, and TYKOSKI was sentencedto 5 years probation and was ordered to pay $42,289.05 in restitution.

In September 2016, a federal grand jury in Wilmington, North Carolina, returned a five-count indictment charging MARTIN and TYKOSKI with conspiring to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and aiding and abetting. On January 30, 2017, MARTIN pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. On March 27, 2017 TYKOSKI pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

John Stuart Bruce, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, stated: “The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in this district treat cases such as this one with high priority. There will continue to be vigorous prosecution of those who commit fraud and cybercrimes targeting members of the armed services and veterans.”

H. Andrew Goodridge, Special Agent in Charge, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, stated: “This case reminds all of us to remain vigilant about what information we provide to strangers, it also demonstrates that NCIS is committed to pursuing those who exploit US service members."

The investigation revealed that between 2013 and 2015, MARTIN, working with accomplices including TYKOSKI, created fake female identities on internet dating websites for the purpose of targeting and luring young enlisted Marines into virtual relationships. In the course of the fraud scheme, the defendants sent text messages and emails to Marines who were deceived into believing they were in online romantic relationships. The conspirators induced the victims to take out personal loans from Navy Federal Credit Union. Using the victims’ personal identification, MARTIN then initiated wire transfers of the loan proceeds into other accounts. MARTIN also withdrew funds using new lines of credit and accounts in the victims’ names, leaving the victim Marines to pay off the debts.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Field Office Carolinas, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Special Assistant United States Attorney Mark Griffith prosecuted the case for the government.

DALLAS— Rolando Benitez, aka “San Luis,” 35, arrested in July 2015 following a law enforcement operation that was led by the FBI, the Dallas Police Department and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, has been sentenced, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Last week, Benitez was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 245 months in federal prison. Benitez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute a schedule I controlled substance in October 2016.

According to documents filed in the case, beginning on October 29, 2014 and continuing through February 2, 2015, Benitez and others possessed with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin.

The FBI, Dallas Police Department, and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation led the investigation with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety; the DFW Department of Public Safety; the U.S. Department of State; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Transportation Security Administration; the U.S. Secret Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and the Fort Worth, McKinney, Mesquite, and Plano Police Departments.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Leal and John Kull prosecuted.

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CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Fairmont, West Virginia man pled guilty today to mail fraud, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Michael Sine, age 34, pled guilty to one count of “Mail Fraud.” Sine admitted to participating in a staged vehicle accident, faking injuries from said accident, and filing false insurance claims resulting in a $41,000 settlement. The crime happened between May 2013 and October 2013 in Marion County.

Sine faces up to twenty years incarceration and a $250,000 fine. 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 defendants.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia Insurance Commission Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated.

U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.

BOSTON - A Guatemalan national pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a federal immigration crime.

Hirain Dermin Robles-Gomez, 44, a Guatemalan national residing in Lynn, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock, who sentenced Robles-Gomez to time served of approximately three months.  Robles-Gomez will be subject to deportation.

In June 1996, Robles-Gomez was deported from the United States.  Federal authorities encountered Robles-Gomez in Middleton, Mass., in December 2016, and determined him to be unlawfully present in the U.S.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – A Lesage, West Virginia man is facing a federal tax charge, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Andrew P. Nichols is named in a one count information, charging him with “Conspiracy to Impede the Internal Revenue Service.” Nichols is accused of conspiring with others to impede tax collection by the IRS. The criminal conduct in this matter occurred from 2009 until at least 2011.

Nichols was previously named in an indictment in November 2016, accused of being a part of a scheme which caused approximately $1.5 million worth of West Virginia Division of Highways work to be routed to the Dennis Corporation, a Columbia, South Carolina engineering consulting firm.

Nichols, age 38, formerly served as the manager of the West Virginia Division of the Dennis Corporation while also working as an engineering professor. According to the initial indictment, he was alleged to have managed the financial relationships between Dennis Corporation and a Division of Highways employee, and to have ensured that elicit payments were mad e to the WVDOH employee.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod J. Douglas is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Public Corruption Unit, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the West Virginia State Police.

An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DANIELLE FAUX, 49, of Weston, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to two years of probation, the first six months of which FAUX must spend in home confinement, for obstruction and tax fraud offenses. Judge Underhill also ordered FAUX to perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $3,000 fine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, FAUX owned and operated Danielle Faux PT, LLC, a physical therapy clinic located at 27 Lois Street in Norwalk. In August 2009, a contractor for the Medicare program conducting an audit of FAUX’s physical therapy practice contacted FAUX and requested records of 40 claims for physical therapy that FAUX had submitted to Medicare. The requested records included appropriate documentation to support the services billed, including the physical therapy progress notes, physical therapy flow sheet/activity sheets, and any additional documentation verifying medical necessity for the physical therapy procedures. Because no patient progress notes or similar records existed that would support many of the Medicare claims, FAUX instructed a physical therapist working for her to create detailed notes in the patient files that were requested in the audit, and FAUX similarly created such records.

In addition, from 2008 through 2011, FAUX skimmed checks and cash proceeds from her physical therapy practice and did not declare the skimmed proceeds on her federal income tax returns. Through this conduct, FAUX avoided paying $77,640 in taxes over the four-year period.

Judge Underhill ordered FAUX to pay full restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

On September 22, 2016, FAUX pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of a federal audit, and one count of making false statement on a federal income tax return.

In a related civil matter, FAUX agreed to pay $50,000 to settle allegations that she and her practice submitted false records to the Medicare program in violation of the False Claims Act.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Sheldon and Richard M. Molot.

            WASHINGTON – George Joyner, 50, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to an 11-year prison term on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the slaying of a man last summer in downtown Washington, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today.

            Joyner pled guilty in March 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentence of 11 years in prison. The Honorable Hiram E. Puig-Lugo accepted the plea on June 2, 2017, and sentenced Joyner accordingly. Following his prison term, Joyner will be placed on three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Aug. 8, 2016, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Joyner became involved in a physical altercation with Keon Parker, 28, who was walking in the area of the intersection of Second and E Streets NW. At some point during the altercation, Joyner began to assault Mr. Parker with a sharp object. Mr. Parker fell to the ground, and Joyner continued to attack him. Onlookers rushed to the aid of Mr. Parker, as did the District of Columbia Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services. Mr. Parker was declared dead at approximately 8:10 p.m. He had been stabbed in the neck and torso.

            Joyner was apprehended in the area soon after the attack by officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He made several statements to police indicating that he was involved in an altercation with Mr. Parker at the intersection.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). He also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Zekiah Wright and Kelly Blakeney, Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Willoughby, Jr., who investigated and prosecuted the matter.