AMARILLO, Texas— Oved David Valenzuela-Ortega, who admitted trafficking a large quantity of methamphetamine, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 324 months in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Valenzuela-Ortega, 36, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty in February 2017 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He has been in custody since the time of his arrest in October 2016. Valenzuela-Ortega will be deported after serving his sentence.

“Working with our state and local partners, as was done here, to drive up the cost of trafficking drugs is a top priority of this office,” said U.S. Attorney Parker.

According to documents filed in the case, on October 26, 2016, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper was working routine patrol on Interstate 40 in Carson County, Texas, when he stopped at the Loves truck stop in Conway, Carson County, Texas. The trooper observed a vehicle at the gas pumps, and that the driver of the vehicle was having difficulty operating the gas pumps.

The trooper made contact with the driver of the vehicle, Valenzuela, and offered to assist Valenzuela with the pumps. After noticing numerous indicators of possible criminal behavior the trooper asked for consent to search the vehicle. While searching the vehicle, the trooper discovered a duffle bag in the vehicle that contained five cellophane-wrapped bundles. The bundles contained 2,226 grams of methamphetamine.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Taylor prosecuted.

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RALEIGH– The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina John Stuart Bruce announces that today, in federal court, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced ROBBIE GLENN REVELS, 45, of Pembroke, North Carolina, to 54 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $1,806,734 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

On August 17, 2016, REVELS pled guilty to False, Fictitious, and Fraudulent Claims for Refunds and Aggravated Identity Theft.

“Just as the filing season has ended, today’s sentencing of Robbie Revels, for filing false tax returns and identity theft, is a powerful reminder of what can happen when you decide to steal from honest taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman, III. “IRS - Criminal Investigation’s Special Agents will continue their aggressive pursuit of those who attempt to defraud the United States Treasury, erode taxpayer’s confidence in the tax system and show blatant disregard for the victims of their schemes.”

In 2013, agents with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) received information that REVELS was filing false income tax returns. As a result, IRS CI initiated an investigation into the activities of REVELS. The investigation established that between January 2011 and January 2013, REVELS engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States government of millions of dollars by filing false income tax returns.

In 2009, REVELS opened Fashion Icons, a retail-clothing store, in Pembroke, North Carolina. REVELS had multiple employees and regular customers who frequented his store. REVELS was known in the community to prepare or assist others in the preparation of tax returns. In 2011, REVELS began filing false income tax returns for the 2010 tax year. REVELS recruited several employees from his store as well as family members to participate in the scheme by using their bank accounts to receive deposits of fraudulent refunds. According to these individuals, REVELS did not pay them for their services directly, but he (REVELS) bought them clothes, food, and provided other benefits for their participation in the offense.

REVELS typically filed returns claiming $4,000 to $5,000 in refunds. These returns contained falsified W-2 wages and withholdings, medical expenses, charitable donations, and job expenses. By falsifying the reported earnings and withholdings, REVELS was typically able to take advantage of the earned income tax credit, resulting in substantial refunds.

Agents determined that over $1.5 million from these returns went directly into REVELS’s employees’bank accounts. While some of the “taxpayers” whose names were used to file the returns may have been aware of the fraudulent returns being filed in their names, most of them did not.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation led the investigation of this case.

Assistant United States Attorney David Bragdon prosecuted the case and Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Kessler handled the sentencing for the government.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that HECTOR RAUL CINTRON, also known as “G” and “Big G,” 23, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin.

This matter stems from an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the morning ofMarch 19, 2016, Connecticut State Police and emergency medical personnel responded to a residence in East Haddam on the report of an “untimely death.” The victim, an 18-year-old male, was pronounced dead at the scene. At the scene, State Police seized the victim’s cell phone and multiple glassine bags containing powder residue. The investigation revealed that Kerry Scanlan, of Avon, arranged to purchase heroin from CINTRON in Hartford. On March 18, 2016, the victim drove to Avon, picked up Scanlan and then drove to Hartford to purchase heroin from CINTRON.

On April 4, 2016, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner issued a report listing the victim’s cause of death as “acute fentanyl intoxication.”

On two occasions in November 2016, CINTRON sold approximately 200 bags of heroin to an individual working with law enforcement.

CINTRON was arrested on December 15, 2016.

CINTRON is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on September 20, 2017, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. He is released on a $50,000 bond.

Scanlan pleaded guilty to a related charge and awaits sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force East, and East Haddam Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.

HAMMOND – The Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Clifford D. Johnson, announced that Adam Russell Hegyi, age 30, of Crown Point, Indiana was charged with transferring obscenity to a person under 16 and online stalking.

The complaint alleges that between on or about January 1, 2015 and June 2, 2017, Hegyi used a variety of social media applications to communicate with a minor child beginning when she was 12 years old. Through these applications, Hegyi sent photos of his genitals and coerced the child to send nude photos to him. Thereafter, Heygi caused the minor to take additional photos by threatening to release the photos she had already sent online.

The United States Attorney’s office emphasizes that a Complaint is merely an allegation and that all persons are presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty in court.

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

This complaint results from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in both Merrillville, Indiana and Charlotte, North Carolina, with the assistance of the Gary and Hammond Police Departments, the Indiana State Police, the Lake County, Indiana Sheriff’s Department and the Rowan County, North Carolina, Sheriff’s Office. This case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jill R. Koster.

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Earlier today, Joseph Valerio, of Smithtown, New York, was sentenced at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, to 60 years’ imprisonment for the production, transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography. The sentencing proceeding was held before United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco, who also ordered Valerio to serve a lifetime term of supervised release to follow his prison sentence. Valerio will be required to register as a sex offender.

The sentence was announced by Bridget M. Rohde, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Timothy D. Sini, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD).

“This lengthy prison sentence ensures that the defendant will never harm another child as long as he lives and serves as a warning to anyone who victimizes children,” stated Acting United States Attorney Rohde.

“As a parent, hearing details about the child pornography cases we are investigating is extremely hard, so it begins to boggle the mind when the victims are six and two-years-old,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. “These children can’t fight off their attackers because the abuse is at the hands of adults who are supposed to be feeding, clothing and sheltering them from the evil in the world. No child should ever have to endure this sort of pain, humiliation and abuse. The agents and task force officers on the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force won’t ever stop going after these predators with every tool we have.”

“The crimes committed by Joseph Valerio are despicable and this sentence of 60 years ensures the defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison for these heinous crimes,” stated SCPD Commissioner Sini.

The evidence at trial showed that Valerio paid a woman in Ukraine to produce custom-made videos of child pornography that he scripted. woman, Olena Kalichenko,[1] produced over 30 pornographic videos of a then two-year-old girl that she emailed to Valerio between April and November 2012. After FBI agents discovered Valerio and Kalichenko’s international child exploitation conspiracy, in January 2014, federal agents, joined by members of the Suffolk County Police Department, executed a search warrant at Valerio’s residence in Smithtown. During the search, investigators found several hidden cameras, computers and a stage. A forensic examination of computers and electronic devices recovered by investigators revealed that, in September 2010, Valerio had produced child pornography in the basement of his house involving a then six-year-old Long Island girl. Valerio has been in custody since February 2014.

This prosecution is 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, 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.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Ameet B. Kabrawala and Allen L. Bode are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

Joseph Valerio

Age: 50

Smithtown, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14 CR 94 (JFB)

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 180 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

ATLANTA – Federal inmate Justin B. Stinson has been sentenced to an additional one year and three months in prison for escaping from the United States Penitentiary’s minimum-security camp in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Stinson’s escapes were specifically designed to smuggle contraband back inside the prison camp,” said U. S. Attorney John A. Horn. “Prison contraband presents significant security risks to both inmates and guards while adding to the illicit economy.”

“Prison can be viewed by inmates as being either retributive or rehabilitative. For federal inmate Stinson, whose initial prison sentence began only in 2015, prison clearly shows no sign of being rehabilitative. While smuggled contraband within our prisons remains a concern for all of law enforcement due to its destabilizing influence on the inmate population, the FBI will continue to take a particularly keen interest in those inmates and others responsible for smuggling smart phones into a prison environment because of the vast harm and continued criminal conduct that they afford the inmates,” 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 United States 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. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and the Atlanta Police Department (“APD”) have been engaged in an investigation to combat instances when USP Atlanta inmates temporarily escape from the prison camp to obtain contraband to smuggle back into the prison or to visit nearby restaurants, hotels, and residences.

In March 2015, Stinson was sentenced to four years, three months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. From August 2016 to February 2017, Stinson was assigned to serve his time at USP Atlanta’s minimum-security camp.

On February 3, 2017, law enforcement officers conducted surveillance along the USP Atlanta’s prison fence line near New Town Circle. Just after 9:00 p.m., Stinson escaped from USP Atlanta by climbing through a hole in one prison fence and then climbing over USP Atlanta’s outer prison fence. Thereafter, Stinson retrieved a large black duffel bag from the occupant of a stopped car on New Town Circle and began walking back toward USP Atlanta. The FBI then arrested Stinson from a location outside of USP Atlanta’s confines. The FBI also recovered from Stinson a cellular telephone, a pair of scissors, two 1.75 liters of Jose Cuervo tequila, two cartons of Newport cigarettes, four boxes of Black and Mild cigars, and various food items.

On April 20, 2017, Stinson, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of escaping from federal custody. Stinson was sentenced to a one year and three month term of imprisonment (to be served after his current four year, three month prison term).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Atlanta Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis and Timothy Lee prosecuted 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

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that AURELLE HUCKABEE, 22, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 27 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl to an overdose victim. This matter stems from an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the early morning of July 7, 2016, Naugatuck Police and emergency medical personnel responded to a Naugatuck residence on a report of a suspected overdose. The victim, a 31-year-old male, was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Investigators seized two bags of suspected heroin and/or fentanyl, as well as the victim’s cellphone, from the scene.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner subsequently determined that the victim died as a result of “acute fentanyl intoxication.”

The victim’s cellphone contained hundreds of text messages between the victim and HUCKABEE. The text messages revealed that HUCKABEE regularly supplied heroin to the victimin the weeks preceding the victim’s death.

HUCKABEE has been detained since his arrest on January 4, 2017. On March 9, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of heroin.

This matter was investigated by the DEA’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad and the Naugatuck Police Department. The Tactical Diversion Squad includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden, Greenwich, Shelton, Bristol, Vernon, Wilton, Milford, Monroe and Fairfield Police Departments, and the Connecticut State Police.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick F. Caruso.

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 7, 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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jonathan Dan Clyde, 36, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Gallup, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to six months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his assault conviction.

Clyde was arrested in Feb. 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury on Jan. 21, 2017, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in McKinley County, N.M. According to the complaint, Clyde assaulted a Navajo woman by pushing her to the floor, kicking and punching her in the face, slamming her face into the floor, choking her, and kicking her left arm. The victim suffered serious injuries that required her to be transferred to the hospital in a medevac airplane.

On March 3, 2017, Clyde pled guilty to an information charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In entering the guilty plea, Clyde admitted that on Jan. 21, 2017, he assaulted the victim by striking and beating her face and body after an argument. Clyde further admitted that the assault resulted in serious bodily injury.

This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy B. Solimon. The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

AMARILLO, Texas — William James Peddicord, 31, Jammie Lee Moore, 45, John-Kiet Dinh Nguyen, 30, and Drew Kendall Frost, 38, were sentenced this week by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater for their roles in trafficking methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Peddicord was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in March 2017 to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Moore was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in February 2017. Nguyen was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in March 2017. Frost was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of a communications facility in February 2017. The defendants have been in custody since their arrest in December 2016.

According to plea documents filed relating to Moore, on August 18, 2015, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Moore’s residence located in Amarillo, Texas. Agents located 9 individual baggies of methamphetamine in the kitchen freezer, a baggie of methamphetamine on the kitchen table, and a plastic container with methamphetamine in the bedroom. Two pistols were located in the bedroom under the bed. The net weight of the methamphetamine found at Moore’s residence was 313.63 grams.

According to plea documents filed relating to Peddicord and Nguyen, on May 13, 2015, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Peddicord’s residence located in Amarillo, Texas. When agents entered the residence Nguyen and Peddicord ran out of the back door. Agents observed Peddicord throw a plastic baggie containing methamphetamine when he exited the back door of the residence. Both Peddicord and Nguyen were subsequently arrested. Agents also located several baggies of methamphetamine inside the residence and approximately 10 grams of methamphetamine in Nguyen’s front right pants pocket. A drug ledger was located next to baggies of methamphetamine. The net weight of methamphetamine recovered was 171.6 grams.

According to plea documents filed relating to Frost, on May 5, 2015, an Amarillo Police Department officer approached Frost and another individual who were near a vehicle at the Relax Inn. The officer noticed that Frost and the other individual appeared nervous and they were hiding something. The officer asked for consent to search the vehicle. The officer located a pistol inside the vehicle. Inside a hotel room at the Relax Inn, occupied by Frost, officers located a bag with 40.76 grams of methamphetamine on a night stand in plain view. In addition to the methamphetamine, officers located another pistol and a small amount of marijuana in the hotel room.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Randall County Sheriff’s Office and the Amarillo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto was in charge of the prosecution.

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ATLANTA - Quentin Pickett and Cornelius Henderson have been arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft. Pickett, Henderson, and three other individuals were indicted for, among other things, stealing credit cards from the baggage loading areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and using them to obtain cash advances throughout metro-Atlanta.

“Identity theft is a serious crime and the stakes only become higher when thieves organize themselves to execute larger-scale, systemic frauds,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “These defendants allegedly sought to exploit the airport’s baggage loading processes and prey on unsuspecting citizens who depend on the mail to receive their new cards.”

“Pickett and others devised a scheme to steal U.S. mail by taking advantage of the access given to them by their employer,” said David M. McGinnis, Inspector in Charge, Charlotte Division. “Postal Inspectors are committed to protecting the sanctity of the US Postal Service and will hold those accountable that steal from innocent victims and profit from these illicit schemes.”

“Pickett and his conspirators were creative in their scheme to steal victims’ credit cards and defraud them,” said Kenneth Cronin, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office. “The United States Secret Service will continue to arrest criminals who use their trustworthy positions to violate unsuspecting victims such as those in this case. We will work closely with prosecutors to ensure these criminals are put behind bars.”

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges, and other information presented in court: From December of 2015 until April of 2017, Pickett, Henderson and their co-defendants allegedly stole credit cards from the baggage loading areas of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and a private mail sorting facility. Henderson had access to the airport’s baggage loading areas, where he allegedly stole mail that contained credit cards. The stolen credit cards were being shipped via the U.S. Postal Service to the rightful accountholders, who were located throughout the United States. The indictment alleges that after stealing the credit cards, Pickett, Henderson, and their co-defendants used them to, among other things, obtain cash advances at ATMs and purchase high dollar electronics at a store.

Pickett, Henderson, and three other defendants were indicted on May 23, 2017. The other defendants are as follows:

• Brandon Foster, 24, of Stockbridge, Georgia, who was employed as a bank teller and allegedly used his employment to execute or attempt to execute cash advances using the stolen credit cards.

• LaSuhn Turner, 25, of Stockbridge, Georgia, who allegedly obtained cash advances at ATMs using the stolen credit cards.
• Treyevon Herring, 22, of Forest Park, Georgia, who was employed at a private mail sorting facility where he allegedly stole mail that contained credit cards.Pickett, 24, of Jonesboro, Georgia, and
• Cornelius Henderson, 23, of Riverdale, Georgia, were arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the U.S Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Secret Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at (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.

ALBUQUERQUE – Jesus Omar Morales-Anguiano, 35, of Hesperia, Calif., was sentenced today in Albuquerque, N.M., to 60 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for his narcotics trafficking conviction.

Morales-Anguiano was arrested in July 2015, after law enforcement officers found approximately 394.09 grams (.86 pounds) of heroin, 29.66 grams (.06 pounds) of cocaine and 28.46 grams (.06 pounds) of methamphetamine in his vehicle during a traffic stop. According to the criminal complaint, Maestas agreed to have a narcotics canine inspect his vehicle, and after the canine alerted to the presence of drugs, the officers located the wrapped packages concealed in the vehicle’s stereo unit.

Morales-Anguiano was subsequently indicted on Aug. 12, 2015, and charged with possession of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine with intent to distribute on July 21, 2015, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

Morales-Anguiano entered a guilty plea to the indictment on Dec. 20, 2016, and admitted that on July 21, 2015, he possessed heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine while he was driving to Albuquerque from California. Morales-Anguiano further admitted that he was to be paid when he arrived back in California.

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

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Joe J. Zambrano, 55, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to six months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for his conviction on a misdemeanor charge of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer in the performance of their official duties.

Zambrano was charged in a criminal complaint with assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers, and providing false information to law enforcement officers on Jan. 15, 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 15, 2017, Zambrano attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon against Park Rangers of the National Park Service during a routine traffic stop within the Petroglyph National Monument. Zambrano then provided a false name, birthdate and social security number to the Park Rangers in response to their request for Zambrano’s identification information.

Zambrano subsequently was charged by a misdemeanor information on Jan. 18, 2017, with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. On March 1, 2017, Zambrano pled guilty to the information. and admitted that on Jan. 15, 2017, he nearly struck a Park Rangers with his vehicle while attempting to flee from two Park Rangers. Zambrano further admitted that he ignored the Park Rangers’ verbal commands that he stop his vehicle.

This case was investigated by the National Park Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eva Fontanez.

ALBUQUERQUE – Robert T. Maestas, 25, an enrolled member of the Laguna Pueblo who resides in Pagueate, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an assault by strangulation charge.

Maestas was arrested on March 17, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with domestic assault by a habitual offender and assault of an intimate partner by strangulation. According to the complaint, on Feb. 10, 2017, in the Laguna Pueblo within Cibola County, N.M., Maestas assaulted the victim, a Laguna Pueblo woman, by holding her neck against a car door with his forearm prohibiting her from breathing, and by striking her on the chest and shoulder.

Maestas was indicted on March 28, 2017, and charged with domestic assault by a habitual offender and assault of an intimate partner by strangulation or suffocating. According to the indictment, Maestas was previously convicted in the Laguna Tribal Court of domestic violence in Dec. 2011 and Jan. 2012.

During today’s proceedings, Maestas pled guilty to Count 2 of the indictment charging him with assault of an intimate partner by strangulation. In entering the guilty plea, Maestas admitted that on Feb. 10, 2017, he brandished a shotgun at the victim and assaulted the victim by grabbing her throat with his hand and applying pressure to cause pain, striking her rib and chest area, and using his forearm to apply pressure to her neck prohibiting her from breathing. Maestas further admitted that the victim suffered physical pain as well as bruising and marks to her forearms, neck, chest and shoulder as the result of the assault.

At sentencing, Maestas faces a maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy B. Solimon is prosecuting the case pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

ALBUQUERQUE – Cornelia Tom Tapaha, 41, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced today in Santa Fe, N.M., to 24 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for her conviction on an assault charge.

Tapaha was arrested in June 2016, on an indictment charging her with assault with a dangerous weapon, a vehicle, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The indictment alleged that Tapaha committed the crimes on July 8, 2015, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.

A federal jury returned a verdict finding Tapaha guilty of assault and assault resulting in serious bodily injury on Dec. 12, 2016, after a five day.

The evidence at trial established that on the evening of July 8, 2016, Tapaha, the victim and another individual consumed alcohol while driving on the Navajo Indian Reservation. While Tapaha was driving and the victim was in the front passenger seat, Tapaha and the victim began arguing. Eventually Tapaha pulled over, and the victim and the other individual got out of the vehicle and began walking away. Tapaha remained in the vehicle and proceeded to run over the victim. As a result of this assault, the victim’s ribs, collar bone and ankle were broken and required surgical repair. The victim also suffered multiple lacerations requiring stitches.

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Spindle and Novaline D. Wilson prosecuted the case.

CHICAGO — A Chinese businessman was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison for attempting to provide military equipment to a Peruvian terrorist organization.

GUAN YING LI, also known as “Henry Li,” pleaded guilty in 2014 to one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to Shining Path, a terrorist organization whose original goal was to overthrow the government of Peru and replace it with a Maoist socialist system. In 2011 Li brokered several deals with a purported Chicago-area businessman to provide military equipment to Shining Path, knowing that the equipment was to be used to kill Peruvian and U.S. government personnel. Unbeknownst to Li, the purported Chicago-area businessman was actually an undercover law enforcement agent.

U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow imposed the 120-month prison term at a sentencing hearing in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by Joel R. Levin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; and Ryan Reihms, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Central Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General.

Li, 50, of Hong Kong, acquired and sold to the undercover agent five thermal batteries designed for use in the man-portable air-defense system known as MANPAD. These surface-to-air missiles would allow Shining Path members to shoot down helicopters, including those carrying U.S. personnel. According to Li’s plea agreement, Li caused the batteries to be shipped from Hong Kong to an address in Central America provided by the undercover agent.

Li also sold eight Paratrooper Assault Harnesses, eight Paratrooper backpacks, eight shovels, two VHF radios and four night-vision systems, the plea agreement states. Li caused this equipment to be shipped from China to an address in Elmhurst, Ill., provided by the undercover agent.

Pursuant to his plea agreement, Li agreed to cooperate in any matter in which he is called upon by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Hiller.

     PHOENIX – Yesterday, Jaime Villa, 45, of Maricopa, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake to over 132 years of imprisonment. Villa was found guilty by a federal jury on Dec. 7, 2016, of six bank robberies and six accompanying charges of using a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.

     The six armed bank robberies dated back to 2010. Each time, Villa brandished a firearm toward the tellers. Villa was caught on Aug. 24, 2015, the date of the last robbery, by the Chandler Police Department. During the pursuit, Villa fired his firearm at two uniformed Chandler Police Department officers. Under federal law, Villa faced a mandatory-minimum sentence of at least 132 years due to the presence of six firearm-related counts of conviction.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Chandler Police Department, the Mesa Police Department, the Tempe Police Department, the Apache Junction Police Department, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Phoenix Police Department, the Scottsdale Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Bank Robbery Task Force. The prosecution was handled by Gayle L. Helart, Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Brett A. Day, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER: CR-2:15-01149-NVW

RELEASE NUMBER: 2017-051_ Villa

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

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SAN FRANCISCO – Muzaffar Hussain was sentenced today to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $495,000 in restitution for his failure to account for and pay over trust fund taxes, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.   The sentence follows a guilty plea entered last year in which Hussain admitted he did not account for and pay over funds withheld from the wages of employees of Crossroads Home Health Care, Inc. (Crossroads).

Hussain, 69, of Pleasanton, Calif., and Houston, Texas, pleaded guilty on June 10, 2016, to failing to account for and pay over the trust fund taxes.   According to the plea agreement, Hussain was the Chief Financial Officer of San Francisco Bay Area-based Crossroads.  Hussain admitted that for each pay period between July 1, 2004, and February 27, 2008, he received a Payroll Summary showing wages that had been paid and the employment taxes due.  After receiving the Payroll Summary, the defendant transferred funds from Crossroads’ bank account in an amount equal, or close to, the amount of employment taxes, to bank accounts he controlled.  Hussain used the transferred monies, including the trust fund taxes, for his own personal use, including funding his other business interests.  Defendant also admitted that he intentionally caused a payroll service to prepare and file false Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns [Forms 941], informing the payroll service that Crossroads had paid fewer wages than it actually paid. 

Hussain, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 30, 2015.  He was charged with making or subscribing false tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1); willful failure to truthfully account for and pay over taxes, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7202; and structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements, in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324(a)(3).  Pursuant to his guilty plea, Hussain pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to truthfully account for and pay over taxes.  The remaining counts were dismissed.   

The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Jon Tigar, U.S. District Judge.  In addition to the prison term and restitution, Judge Tigar also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release.  Judge Tigar ordered the defendant to begin serving the sentence on or before August 2, 2017. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Stier is prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. 

     PHOENIX - On June 5, 2017, Jordan Lee Etzel, 25, of Fort McDowell, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake to 41 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He had previously pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon.

     The evidence showed that on Jan. 4, 2016, Etzel struck the victim repeatedly with a golf club, which broke during the assault. The victim’s wounds required immediate medical attention. The victim is an enrolled member of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation; Etzel is not.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Fort McDowell Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Gayle L. Helart, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER: CR-16-00918-NVW

RELEASE NUMBER: 2017-050_Etzel

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

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