BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for her role in a heroin and fentanyl trafficking ring operating in southeastern Massachusetts.

Maria Elena Ocasio, 57, a Dominican national residing in Providence, R.I., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Ocasio will be subject to deportation upon completion of her sentence. In March 2017, Ocasio pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl.

Ocasio was part of a drug trafficking organization led by her brother, Dedwin Cruz-Rivera. Through use of wiretaps and physical surveillance, the investigation established that Cruz-Rivera obtained large quantities of heroin and fentanyl from local drug suppliers, which he distributed in and around Fall River, Mass., and Providence, R.I. Cruz-Rivera and other co-defendants used Ocasio’s apartment to receive and distribute the heroin. Ocasio also purchased small quantities of heroin for distribution.

The investigation culminated with the arrests and charges of Ocasio and 24 others in connection with Cruz-Rivera’s heroin trafficking operation; an April 2016 superseding indictment brought the number of defendants charged in the case to 26.

More than half of the conspirators charged have pleaded guilty, and eight of the defendants have already been sentenced. Cruz-Rivera pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Ferguson, Thomas E. Kanwit, Karen Beausey and Ann Taylor of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the cases.

Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, today announced that SHALOM LAMM pled guilty to conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process, in connection with an election in Bloomingburg, New York. LAMM pled guilty earlier today before United States District Judge Vincent Briccetti in White Plains federal court.

Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “As he has now admitted, Shalom Lamm conspired to advance his real estate development project by corrupting the democratic process, specifically by falsely registering voters. The integrity of our electoral process must be inviolate at every level; our democracy depends on it.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment, as well as statements made in related court filings and proceedings:

Starting in 2006, SHALOM LAMM, a real estate developer, sought to build and sell real estate in Bloomingburg, New York. From these real estate development projects, LAMM and others hoped for and anticipated making hundreds of millions of dollars. But by late 2013, the first of their real estate developments had met local opposition, and still remained under construction and uninhabitable. When met with resistance, rather than seek to advance their real estate development project through legitimate means, LAMM and others instead decided to corrupt the democratic electoral process in Bloomingburg by falsely registering voters and paying bribes for voters who would help elect public officials favorable to their project.

Specifically, in advance of an election in March 2014 for Mayor of Bloomingburg and other local officials, LAMM and others, and people working on their behalf, developed and worked on a plan to falsely register numerous people who were not entitled to register and vote in Bloomingburg because they actually lived elsewhere. Those people included some who never intended to live in Bloomingburg, some who had never kept a home in Bloomingburg, and indeed, some who had never set foot in Bloomingburg in their lives. LAMM and others took steps to cover up their scheme to register voters who did not actually live in Bloomingburg by, among other things, creating and back-dating false leases and placing items like toothbrushes and toothpaste in unoccupied apartments to make it seem as if the falsely registered voters lived there.

LAMM and others also bribed potential voters by offering payments, subsidies, and other items of value to get non-residents of Bloomingburg to register unlawfully and vote there.

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LAMM, 57, of Bloomingburg, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

LAMM's sentencing is scheduled for September 28, 2017, at 10:00 a.m.

Co-defendant Kenneth Nakdimen pled guilty on May 25, 2017, to one count of conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process. His sentencing is scheduled for September 9, 2017, at 2:00 p.m.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI-Hudson Valley White Collar Crime Task Force, the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office, the Sullivan County Sherriff’s Office, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Mr. Kim also thanked the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, Election Crimes Branch, for its assistance in the case.

This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Kathryn Martin, Benjamin Allee, and Perry Carbone are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the remaining charged defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Juan Carlos Maldonado, 22, pleaded guilty today to the armed robbery of a U.S. mail carrier, participation in a bank fraud scheme, and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on June 21, 2016, Maldonado and others used a sport utility vehicle with its plates removed and followed a U.S. letter carrier in a Rancho Cordova neighborhood. They pulled alongside the postal truck and when the carrier stepped out to deliver mail, Maldonado wielded a pistol at the carrier and robbed him at gunpoint. During the robbery, Maldonado and his associates raided the postal truck, stealing over 800 items of U.S. Mail. Following the robbery, they rifled through the stolen mail for personal identification and financial information, which Maldonado used and provided to others for use to defraud financial institutions.

On June 30, 2016, Maldonado was arrested by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office at the Red Hawk Casino while attempting to access proceeds from credit cards stolen during the June 21, 2016 robbery.

San Francisco Division Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez stated: “Working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our partners in law enforcement, Postal Inspectors arrested this individual for the armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service Letter Carrier. Protecting postal employees from harm is the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s top priority.”

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotic and Economic Crimes Investigations Task Force (NECI) with assistance from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, and the Rancho Cordova Police Department. NECI is a partnership between local and federal law enforcement to combat theft and unlawful use of the U.S. Mail. The Placer County District Attorney’s Office and Sutter County Sheriff’s Office have each dedicated law enforcement personnel to the task force. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

Maldonado is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on September 12, 2017. Maldonado faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for bank fraud, a mandatory two years in prison consecutive to any other term for aggravated identity theft, and up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for robbery of a U.S. mail carrier. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

NEW BERN – United States Attorney John Stuart Bruce announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced JOSHUA LYNN GONDERMAN, 23, from Lumberton, N.C., to 168 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release for the Receipt of Child Pornography (CP). GONDERMAN pled guilty to the charge on February 16, 2017.

In March 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Fayetteville discovered that GONDERMAN had received CP from a target of another FBI investigation out of state. During their investigation they also learned that GONDERMAN was employed as a correctional officer at the NC Department of Public Safety Lumberton Correctional Institution.

On May 31, 2016, a search warrant was executed on GONDERMAN’s residence and multiple storage devices were seized. A preliminary review of the seized items uncovered CP and GONDERMAN was arrested on state charges. As determined by the investigation, GONDERMAN used a smartphone to receive and store images and videos of CP. He possessed 4,712 images of CP. Several of the images depicted the sexual exploitation of infants and portrayed sadistic and masochistic conduct.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fayetteville Office and the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. The federal prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes.

This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

CHICAGO – The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the City of Des Plaines to resolve allegations that the City violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) when it denied a rezoning application to allow The Society of American Bosnians and Herzegovinans (SABAH), a Bosnian Muslim religious organization, to use a vacant building as a mosque.

The agreement resolves a lawsuit the Department filed in September 2015, after conducting an investigation into the City’s zoning and land use practices. A separate agreement resolving a similar lawsuit brought by SABAH has also been reached.

“Religious freedom is a fundamental right, and we will not tolerate the unlawful use of zoning or land use restrictions to infringe on that right,” said Joel R. Levin, Acting United States Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to safeguard the rights of religious groups to establish houses of worship without fear of discriminatory zoning or land use practices.”

“Religious freedom is a fundamental right that belongs to all persons and religious groups in the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will remain vigilant in its enforcement of federal law protecting the rights of religious communities to build and use property for religious worship.”

The United States’ complaint alleged that the City discriminated against SABAH on the basis of religion or religious denomination by treating land use applications by non-Muslim religious groups better than it treated SABAH’s application on the basis of parking requirements and tax-exempt status, and that the City departed from its normal practices and procedures in the treatment and denial of SABAH’s request. The United States also alleged that the City’s denial imposed a substantial burden on SABAH’s religious exercise without serving a compelling governmental interest using the least restrictive means and that the City treated SABAH on less than equal terms with similarly situated non-religious groups, including a school and cultural center.

On Feb. 26, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled that the United States’ claims could proceed to trial. The Court found that the City misapplied its zoning laws by imposing higher parking standards on SABAH than on non-Muslim religious groups, and that the City did not use the least restrictive means to address purported concerns it had with SABAH’s request.

As part of the settlement agreement, the City of Des Plaines will abide by RLUIPA in its determinations involving religious land use requests. The City has agreed to provide training on the requirements of RLUIPA to its officials and employees, and to publicize its non-discrimination policies, among other remedial measures.

RLUIPA prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion in land use and zoning decisions. Persons who believe they have been subjected to such discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may contact the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division at (800) 896-7743. In the Northern District of Illinois, they may also call the U.S. Attorney’s Office's Civil Rights Hotline at (855) 281-3339.

Lynchburg, VIRGINIA – A citizen of Mexico, who on four occasions was removed from the United States only to return later without lawful permission, was sentenced this morning on a federal immigration charge, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

Adolfo Castaneda-Garcia, 45, a native of Mexico, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Lynchburg to 21 months in federal prison. Castaneda-Garcia previously pled guilty to one count of illegally reentering the United States without obtaining express consent of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to reapply for admission.

According to evidence presented at a previous hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day, Castaneda-Garcia was first encountered by Immigrations officials at or near Denver, Colorado in February 1996 while serving a state prison sentence for possession of a controlled substance. The defendant was sentenced to four years in prison for this conviction and later removed to Mexico. Over the next decade, Castaneda-Garcia was arrested, incarcerated, removed from the United States and encountered by Border Patrol officers at least four times in Arizona, California and Texas.

On June 17. 2016, officials with the Rockbridge Regional Jail in Lexington, Va., contacted officials with Immigrations and Customs and Enforcement officers and informed them that Castaneda-Garcia was arrested in Buena-Vista on state drug charges.

DALLAS— Christina Renee Caveny, 37, of Dallas, appeared in federal court this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Caveny faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Restitution could also be ordered. Caveny will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for September 18, 2017.

A federal grand jury in Dallas returned an indictment in December 2016 charging Caveny and three others with felony offenses stemming from a “foreclosure rescue scheme” they ran from approximately February 2012 through January 2013. Mark Demetri Stein, 36, of Carrollton, Texas, and Richard Bruce Stevens, 51, of San Antonio, Texas, are scheduled to begin trial on August 28, 2017. Bruce Kevin Hawkins, 52, of Desoto, Texas, is scheduled to plead guilty on June 20, 2017.

According to plea documents in Caveny’s case, Stein operated Real Estate Solutions, Stevens used Texas Real Estate Services, and Hawkins formed ERealty Mortgage Group, LLC, as foreclosure rescue companies. The conspirators used third parties to contact homeowners and offer them an opportunity to get out of their present home loans and receive a new home loan with a reduced interest payment and reduced monthly payment. Caveny and other conspirators falsely represented to homeowners that they had “investors” standing by who were ready to quickly purchase the homeowner’s present loan from the lender holding the current mortgage. They also falsely represented that they would use investors to purchase the homeowner’s loan from the original lender at a greatly reduced price through a “short sale” process.

Furthermore, Caveny and other conspirators falsely represented to the homeowners that the homeowners had the legal authority to transfer their homeowner’s deed to the defendants.

As part of the scheme, the conspirators fraudulently required homeowners to start making all future loan payments to them based on fraudulent so-called “loans,” and they also told homeowners to ignore late payment notices sent by lenders. As part of the scheme, the conspirators conducted a fraudulent “closing” for each homeowner where they caused the homeowner to pay them a large down payment on the new “loan,” and they also had the homeowner sign fraudulent documents, such as a promissory note, deed of trust, special warranty deed, and/or a so-called “land trust.”

Further, according to plea documents, the conspirators falsely represented to homeowners that the conspirators could “sell” their property back to the homeowner with a new loan, when the conspirators well knew they did not legally own the property. The conspirators also told homeowners to ignore notices of nonpayment from their present lender as they continued to unlawfully collect monthly so called “mortgage payments” from homeowners. In fact, conspirators instructed several homeowners to file for bankruptcy but to not follow up with the bankruptcy process as an additional means to delay foreclosure and conceal the conspirators’ criminal conduct. Conspirators concealed that all down payment and monthly mortgage payments fraudulently collected from homeowners was spent for their own personal benefit.

The defendants recruited at least 70 distressed and vulnerable homeowners who were facing the imminent threat of foreclosure on their homes and fraudulently collected a total of at least $242,000 from them.

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas. With the charges in this indictment, 26 defendants have been charged as part of that initiative. Nineteen have been convicted, one resulted in a mistrial, and six are pending trial.

The Dallas FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis is in charge of the prosecution.

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DALLAS— Rudolf Suter, 66, formerly of Dallas, appeared in federal court this morning and pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney, to one count of perjury in federal proceeding under oath. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

In March 2016, Suter failed to show up for a contempt hearing. Suter was then found guilty of civil contempt of court and a civil contempt warrant was issued for his arrest by United States District Judge David C. Godbey. Suter, a citizen of Switzerland, was arrested in December 2016 on Judge Godbey’s civil contempt warrant when he attempted to re-enter the United States. Suter has remained continuously in custody since his arrest. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 5 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for September 18, 2017 before United States District Judge David Godbey.

According to the plea documents, on January 17, 2014, Suter filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Suter concealed his true financial condition when he filed several bankruptcy related documents. In his plea documents, Suter admitted to making a false statement under penalty of perjury in his filed Statement of Financial Affairs, in which Suter concealed several banks accounts which he recently closed. Some of the concealed bank accounts were closed in December 2013, the month before he filed for bankruptcy. After remaining a fugitive outside the United States for approximately nine months, on December 11, 2016, Suter was arrested as he attempted to re-enter the U.S. at JFK International Airport in New York City.

This case is one of several felony prosecutions of bankruptcy-related crimes generated by the Bankruptcy Fraud Initiative in the Northern District of Texas. Suter is the 26^th defendant to have been charged as part of that initiative; 18 have been convicted, 1 resulted in a mistrial, and 7 are pending trial.

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation was in charge of the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis is in charge of the prosecution.

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Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SCOTT LIFF, 47, of East Williston, New York was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to 18 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for selling guns in exchange for drugs.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 18, 2012, New Haven Police officers arrested an individual for criminal possession of a weapon. The individual said he purchased the firearm from an individual on the streets of Bridgeport. The gun was registered to LIFF. On December 24, 2013, Norwalk Police officers arrested an individual for a shooting. This individual also possessed a firearm registered to LIFF. Officers then interviewed LIFF, who falsely told them that the firearms had been stolen and that he had not reported their theft.

The investigation revealed that LIFF had a crack cocaine addiction during the time at which he owned the firearms. LIFF subsequently admitted to law enforcement that he had sold as many as 10 guns, including an assault rifle, to drug dealers in Bridgeport and elsewhere in exchange for crack cocaine.

On July 27, 2015, LIFF pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive, Norwalk Police Department and New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Richards.

SAN JUAN, P.R. – Today, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, met with Raúl Cervantes Andrade, Attorney General for Mexico, Alberto Elías Beltrán, Head of the Deputy Attorney General’s Office for Legal and International Affairs, and Beatriz Navarro Parada, Appointed Consul from the Mexican General Consulate in San Juan, US Attorney’s Office announced. The following joint statement was issued after the meeting:

We, the Attorney General of México and the United States Department of Justice, having gathered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 6th of June 2017, intend to increase our efforts tocombat jointly transnational organized crime through the strengthening of our justice institutions, including by:

• Recognizing that transnational criminal organizations and their illicit activities pose a common threat to the region;

• Implementing policies to increase the effectiveness and capacity of law enforcement, prosecuting agencies, and justice sector leadership, particularly as Mexico transitions to an accusatorial justice system; and

• Improving coordination and information sharing to more effectively dismantle transnational criminal organizations.

Raúl Cervantes Andrade, Mexico’s Attorney General and Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

          CONCORD, N.H.– Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today that Dairon Julio Jimenez Roja, 26, of Austin, Texas, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to aggravated identity theft in connection with a credit card fraud scheme.

          According to court documents, Roja and others traveled from Austin, Texas to New Hampshire in late December 2015 and early January 2016. Once they arrived in New Hampshire, they began purchasing gift cards at various retail stores in the area, including the Sam’s Club store in Hudson, New Hampshire. The group obtained credit card information for various individuals, including numerous New Hampshire residents, by downloading the information from a skimmer that was hidden in a gas pump at a store in Londonderry, New Hampshire. After downloading the information, the group used it to make counterfeit credit cards that were used at the self-checkout counters at retail stores to purchase gift cards in the amount of $200. The total estimated loss is approximately $29,000.

          On January 12, 2016, the Hudson Police Department were notified that the group was in the store purchasing gift cards. The police responded to the store and pursued the group into Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, where they were arrested by the Tyngsborough Police. Numerous cards and a skimming device were found in the vehicle.

          The case was investigated by the Hudson Police Department, the Londonderry Police Department, the Manchester Police Department, the Tyngsborough Police Department and the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory. Numerous other departments and the staffs at various Sam’s Club stores assisted in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Feith.

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Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Precias K. Freeman., age 35, of Lyman, South Carolina, pled guilty today in federal court in Anderson, to a conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute hydrocodone, a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846.  United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain, of Anderson, accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that beginning on October 2014 Freeman created fraudulent prescriptions and passed them in local pharmacies throughout the upstate of South Carolina.  The investigation revealed that Freeman usually tried to fill three prescriptions per day. Freeman's prescriptions were almost exclusively for 120 tablets of 10mg hydrocodone per prescription and were sold for $4 per pill. 

Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty Freeman can receive is a fine of $1,000,000 and/or imprisonment for 20 years, plus a special assessment of $100.

The case was investigated by agents of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.

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ALBANY, NEW YORK – Justin Brooks, age 28, of Rensselaer, New York, was sentenced today to 3 years of probation, with 6 months of home detention, for conspiring to distribute oxycodone in Albany County.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt, New York Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Senior United States District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy also imposed a fine of $1,000 and ordered that Brooks forfeit $3,326 in drug proceeds.

As part of his December 13, 2016 guilty plea, Brooks admitted that he obtained oxycodone tablets from a co-conspirator for resale in Albany County.

This case was investigated by the DEA and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Coffman.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for illegally possessing a firearm that he brought into the federal courthouse.

Joshua D. Hughes, 42, of Kansas City, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Hughes on May 26, 2017.

The indictment alleges that Hughes was in possession of a Sig Sauer .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun on May 26, 2017.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Hughes entered the lobby of the U.S. District Court, 400 E. 9th Street, at approximately 10:27 a.m. on May 26, 2017. A Kansas City police detective noticed that Hughes was obviously impaired as he walked up the steps to the courthouse, the affidavit says, and believed Hughes was under the influence of PCP. Hughes, who was carrying a black backpack, made contact with court security officers and stated, “I’m a felon in possession.” Hughes was frisked, the affidavit says, and officers found the loaded handgun in his boxer shorts.

The backpack Hughes had been carrying was placed in the x-ray scanner. Security officers observed several items which they believed to be contraband, the affidavit says, so they opened the backpack and located a bottle of suspected PCP. Hughes was placed under arrest and transported to an area hospital for treatment due to his level of impairment.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition.

Larson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Caine. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

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

Elliott Williams, age 66, pled guilty to one count of “Mail Fraud.” Williams admitted to staging a vehicle theft, and filing a false insurance claim. The crime happened between December 2016 and February 2017 in Harrison County.

Williams faces up to 20 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 Greater Harrison Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Charles Wright, 37, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was convicted of heroin distribution, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen, announced.

Wright admitted to traveling between Maryland and West Virginia to aid in a heroin distribution operation in March 2016.

Wright pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting Interstate Travel in Aid of Racketeering.” He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. 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 prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated.

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

DALLAS— Albert Shih-Der Chang, the former Lead Systems Engineer for a Dallas technology company known as One Technologies, appeared in federal court this morning and pleaded guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney, to one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Chang, 36, of Fairview, Texas, will remain on bond pending sentencing. The date for the sentencing hearing has not yet been set. Chang faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years imprisonment for the mail fraud count and 10 years imprisonment for the money laundering count. Each count provides for the possibility of a fine of up to $250,000. An order of restitution is mandatory under the law, and will be determined at sentencing. The indictment also included a forfeiture allegation that would require the defendant, upon conviction, to forfeit any property that constitutes or was derived from proceeds traceable to the fraud, including his residence in Fairview.

In his Plea Agreement, Chang also agreed to relinquish any ownership interest in property seized from his residence in July 2016, to include several dozen devices such has hard drives, laptops, thumbdrives, servers, and cell phones.

According to the plea documents, from approximately October 4, 2004, through August 15, 2014, Chang worked for One Technologies, initially as its Network/Systems Administrator and later as its Lead Systems Engineer. From approximately July 2008 through August 2014, Chang devised and ran a scheme to defraud One Technologies by causing the company to pay more than $2.4 million as a result of his false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. Chang caused One Technologies to transfer funds, based on material representations, to financial accounts he controlled, and Chang caused One Technologies to purchase products, purportedly for the company’s use, that Chang later converted to his own use.

To carry out his scheme, Chang allegedly created fictitious companies for which he opened bank accounts or PayPal accounts. He rented mailboxes and contracted for virtual offices with mail forwarding services for the fictitious companies. He also created and submitted fictitious purchase requisitions, orders, invoices, and receipts that One Technologies paid.

According to plea documents, Chang acknowledged that the government could prove that he directly caused a loss of at least $2,152,035.60. Also, from approximately April 15, 2013, until May 30, 2013, Chang wired-transferred nearly $300,000 from his joint account at Chase Bank to a title company to purchase a residence on Stone Hinge Drive in Fairview, and that funds transfer involved the proceeds of the fraud.

The FBI was in charge of the investigation and the Fairview Police Department assisted with the arrest. Assistant U.S. Attorney C.S. Heath is in charge of the prosecution.

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ATLANTA – Federal inmate Deldrick D. Jackson and his fiancée Kelly M. Bass pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist inmates to escape from the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia. Jackson and Bass conspired to provide escaped inmates with transportation to and from USP Atlanta in exchange for a fee.

“Although hard to believe, federal inmate Deldrick Jackson and his fiancée Kelly Bass ran a for-profit taxi service that transported escaped federal prisoners to local hotels and restaurants,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “Their guilty pleas represent the end of the road for their scheme.”

“These guilty pleas in federal court sends a very clear message that those assisting in the escape of federal inmates and the movement of contraband items into these prisons will be facing federal charges along with the inmates involved. Much of the criminal activities seen in this investigation relied largely on the federal inmates’ access to illegally obtained smart phones, a fact that the FBI has seen before in other similar cases. The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in ensuring that inmates stay in prison and cell phones and other contraband items stay out,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, (“USP Atlanta”) is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. USP Atlanta also has a detention center for pre-trial inmates and a satellite prison camp for minimum-security male inmates.

In May 2010, Jackson was convicted in federal court of conspiring to distribute cocaine and conspiring to launder money. From July 2016 to April 2017, Jackson was assigned to USP Atlanta. Prison visitation records showed that Bass is Jackson’s fiancée.

From approximately November 2016 to April 2017, Jackson and Bass conspired to provide escaped inmates with transportation from USP Atlanta to nearby restaurants, hotels, or residences in exchange for a fee. For example, on January 28, 2017, Bass picked up Jackson and other escaped inmates from outside USP Atlanta, drove them to a nearby hotel, and hours later, returned Jackson and the other inmates to USP Atlanta. The escaped inmates paid Jackson and Bass for the rides via a cell phone payment app. Financial records show that Bass received approximately $4,000 from accounts associated with USP Atlanta inmates or the inmates’ families.

On April 13, 2017, Jackson again escaped from USP Atlanta, after which Bass picked him up and drove him to a local fast food restaurant. Soon afterward, law enforcement officers stopped Bass’s SUV and arrested Bass and Jackson. After searching the SUV, officers recovered two cell phones, 83 packs of cigarettes, and eight bottles of Canadian whiskey.

On April 25, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Deldrick D. Jackson, 41, of DeKalb County, Georgia, and Kelly M. Bass, 38, also of DeKalb County, on conspiratorial and substantive escape charges. Bass pleaded guilty to both counts of the Indictment.

On May 16, 2017, Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to escape from federal custody.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Atlanta Police Department are investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Timothy H. Lee are prosecuting the case.

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.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Collingswood, New Jersey, man today admitted conspiring with his former girlfriend to produce sexually explicit images of two children, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Alexander Capasso, 43, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle to Count One of an indictment charging him with conspiring with Janine Kelley, 36, of Audubon, New Jersey, to engage in the sexual exploitation of children.

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

Capasso began a sexual relationship with Kelley in 2010. During that relationship, Capasso took, or allowed Kelley to take, recorded images of Capasso engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a child. Capasso also took, or allowed Kelley to take, recorded images of Kelley engaged in sexually explicit conduct with two children.

According to the terms of the plea agreement, if accepted by the court, Capasso will receive a term of between 15 and 20 years in prison as well as a lifetime of supervised release. He also faces a potential $250,000 fine and must pay full restitution to the victims. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 20, 2017. Capasso has been in federal custody since his July 20, 2015 arrest.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster, and the FBI Washington D.C., Field Office, under the direction of Assistant Director in Charge Andrew Vale, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diana Carrig and Sara Aliabadi of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.

Defense counsel: Terri Lodge Esq., Cinnaminson, New Jersey

Fayetteville, Arkansas – Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that James Lee Hill, age 47, of Dayton, Tennessee, was sentenced today to 100 months in federal prison followed by 20 years of supervised release for Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. The Honorable United States District Court Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in Fayetteville.

According to court records, in August 2016, the mother of a seventeen (17) year old female reported that her daughter’s cellular phone and other personal property were stolen near Dayton, Tennessee. Thereafter, the minor’s contacts, including other minors, began receiving obscene images and videos along with requests to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Law enforcement was ultimately able to trace the stolen cellular phone to Berryville, Arkansas. Carroll County Sherriff’s deputies ultimately arrested Hill, who was found in possession of the stolen phone. A federal grand jury indicted Hill in November 2016 for attempting to entice and coerce the 17 year old minor to produce sexually explicit images of herself in exchange for the return of her stolen property. Hill pleaded guilty in January 2017.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, the Collier County Florida Sherriff’s Department, and the Carroll County Sherriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case for the United States.

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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov