Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHN MAGNESS, 72, of Bristol, Maine, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $45,000 fine for scuttling several sailboats and motorboats between the Black Rock Harbor and the Pennfield Reef Lighthouse in Long Island Sound.  Judge Underhill also ordered Magness to perform 50 hours of community service while on supervised release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Magness, formerly of Southbury, Connecticut, was the owner of Bluefish Cove Marina in Bridgeport.  While preparing to sell the property in 2018, Magness and Peter Albrecht, who worked at the marina, engaged Carlos Santos to sink several abandoned vessels in the Long Island Sound without a permit.  Magness agreed to forgive Santos’ unpaid dockage fees in exchange for his help sinking the vessels.  Investigators identified as least five vessels as having been scuttled at Magness’ request between October 2018 and April 2019.

On November 2, 2020, Magness pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of navigable waters by sinking a vessel.  Albrecht, of Norwalk, and Santos, of Westbrook, each previously pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to a one-year term of probation.  Albrecht was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and Santos was ordered to pay a $500 fine.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren C. Clark.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced Andrivia Wells, 54, of Charlotte, today to 70 months in prison for tax fraud, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Wells, who also goes by the names Tina Smith, Tina Harris, Andrivia Smith, and Andrivia Harris, was also ordered to serve one year under court supervision and to pay $3,373,595 as restitution.

Mona Passmore, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), Charlotte Field Office, joins Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, beginning in at least 2011 and continuing through June 2019, Wells owned and operated Rush Tax Service, a return preparation business with multiple locations in Charlotte. Between 2013 and 2017, Wells prepared, or caused to be prepared, more than 6,000 tax returns that falsely claimed more than $3 million in refunds. Wells and Rush Tax Service received over $1.2 million in fees from her clients. The tax preparation fees were taken directly from the clients’ tax refunds and in many cases the clients were unaware of how much they were being charged, which was frequently more than $500.

Court records also show that Wells prepared income tax returns for clients for 2013 through 2018 that claimed false filing statuses, false American Opportunity and education credits, and false fuel tax credits, among others, in order to inflate refunds paid by the IRS. In addition to filing fraudulent income tax returns for her clients, Wells falsified her own income tax returns by underreporting the fees she earned in her tax preparation business for tax years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, and in 2018, she failed to file any tax return with the IRS.  In addition, her 2012 through 2017 tax returns also falsely claimed American Opportunity credits and fuel tax credits, and the incorrect filing status. 

On May 17, 2017, after being notified she was the subject of a criminal investigation and after being served a summons for records of Rush Tax Service, a fire was intentionally set at Rush Tax Service’s Beatties Ford Road location.  The fire destroyed client files, financial records, and computer hardware. Subsequently, a grand jury subpoena was served on Rush Tax Service for records. It was at a February 2019 grand jury appearance that the government was first alerted to the May 2017 fire. After the indictment was returned on June 20, 2019, Wells was arrested and detained. On June 30, 2019, a second fire was intentionally set destroying Rush Tax Service documents that were responsive to the grand jury subpoena. At today’s sentencing, the Court found that Wells obstructed the administration of justice with respect to the investigation and prosecution of the offense and stated that this was “one fire too many.” As a result, the Court also found that Wells did not accept responsibility for her crimes.

In announcing today’s sentence, Judge Conrad said Wells “showed a profound disrespect for the law” and that “the tax structure breaks down when taxpayers and tax preparers” file false tax returns.

Wells pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns and filing a false tax return.

Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer commended IRS-CI for their investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

ROCKFORD — Two Thomson Penitentiary inmates have been sentenced to additional prison time for assaulting another inmate.

U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. on Thursday sentenced JASON MACKENZIE, 40, to eight years in prison, and CHRISTOPHER D. BARROW, 39, to eight years and nine months.  These sentences must be served after their current sentences are completed.

The sentences were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincenza L. Tomlinson.

Barrow and Mackenzie admitted in plea agreements that on May 8, 2019, they punched, kicked, and stomped the head and body of another inmate multiple times, causing serious injuries.

A third defendant, BRADLEY SHELTON, also pleaded guity and admitted participating in the assault.  Shelton is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Tharp on March 15, 2022.

FRESNO, Calif. — Eugene Dajohn Marshall, 31, of Fresno, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to two years and eight months in prison, for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on Oct. 15, 2019, law enforcement officers were called to a domestic violence disturbance at Marshall’s home. Marshall, a previously convicted felon prohibited by law from possessing firearms and ammunition, was found to be in possession of a loaded firearm and additional rounds of ammunition.

This case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica A. Massey prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Brian J. Davis has sentenced Wayne Dale Epps, Jr. (36, Jacksonville) to 12 years in federal prison for using the internet to attempt to entice a 12-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Epps was also ordered to serve a life term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

Epps had pleaded guilty on June 10, 2021. 

According to court documents, on February 14, 2020, an undercover FBI agent who was posing online as the family member of a 12-year-old child was contacted by Epps using the screen name “ksaber2040.” Over the next several days, Epps and the undercover agent engaged in online conversation in which Epps expressed his desire to meet the “child.” Epps confirmed that he wanted to meet the “child” for sexual activity, stating “[t]his is a first for me I’m nervous but I’ve been wanting to try younger.” Epps provided the undercover agent with graphic details about how he intended to sexually abuse the “child.” He offered to use a “flavored condom” and requested pictures of the “child.”

On February 18, 2020, Epps drove to a prearranged location at a shopping center in Jacksonville to meet the “child” for sex and was arrested by FBI agents. During an interview, Epps stated that it was “possible that [he] would have followed through” and engaged in sex with the 12-year-old child, and further that he “should have never made that decision.”            

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Jacksonville. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

This 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer announced today that Bryan John Cohen, 46, of Indian Trail, N.C. was ordered to serve 42 months in prison and a year of supervised release for orchestrating an investment scheme. He was also ordered to pay $291,000 as restitution.

Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in North Carolina, joins Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer in making today’s announcement. 

According to filed court documents and the sentencing hearing, from 2015 to 2020, Cohen defrauded at least 10 victims of more than $385,000, by inducing them to invest money in his purported investment businesses, OTC Bully, Ascension Trading, and Recharge Investments, and in other business ventures. Court records show that Cohen falsely represented to victims, most of whom were Cohen’s friends and acquaintances, that he was a financially savvy investor with a successful track record in the financial industry, and that he would invest their funds using a computer algorithm called the “Dewey System.”

As Cohen previously admitted in court, to convince victims their investments were legitimate, Cohen provided them with bogus Investment Agreements that purported, among other things, that Cohen would not charge any investment fees, and that the money would be invested in a manner “expected of a reputable, experienced and competent professional investment manager.” To further lull victims into thinking their investments were safe, Cohen supplied them with fake profit and loss sheets on a monthly basis, which falsely indicated the victims’ investments were growing.

Contrary to claims Cohen made to his victims, court documents show that Cohen did not invest their money as promised. Rather, Cohen used the money to pay for personal expenses and to make Ponzi-style payments to older investors using new investors’ money. In November 2020, Cohen pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the FBI in Charlotte, and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Special Operations and Intelligence Unit, for their investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Vento, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Kansas City returned an indictment charging a Kansas City, Kansas man with one count of bank robbery and one count of use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. 

According to court documents, in September 2021, Davonte Chaney, 29, allegedly used a semi-automatic pistol to rob Truity Credit Union on West 31st Street in Lawrence, Kansas. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Lawrence, Kansas Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trent Krug is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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FRESNO, Calif. — Jose Mario Quintero Beltran, 31, a citizen of Mexico unlawfully residing in Bakersfield, was sentenced today to nine years in prison for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on March 31, 2021, Quintero Beltran arranged to meet a customer at a Bakersfield shopping mall and sell him 20,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl for $42,000. During their meeting, Quintero Beltran also offered to sell the customer methamphetamine. Afterwards, law enforcement officers searched Quintero Beltran’s vehicle and residence and located a total of 51,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, packages containing an additional 15 kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of cocaine, and approximately 1 pound of pure methamphetamine, all of which Quintero Beltran intended to distribute to others.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Baker prosecuted the case.

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on October 25, 2021, Robert Callahan, 37, of Proctor, Vermont, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III to serve 18 months in prison for possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a felony offense.  Judge Sessions also ordered Callahan to serve a two-year term of supervised release.  

According to court records and proceedings, on November 13, 2020, Rutland City Police Officers were searching for a man in Castleton related to a criminal investigation.  Officers located the man riding in Callahan’s vehicle.  After Callahan consented to a search of his vehicle, law enforcement discovered drugs and drug paraphernalia inside.  After Callahan was arrested, a search of his person revealed a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun in Callahan’s waistband.  Callahan was determined to be a felon, having been convicted in 2005 of conspiracy to distribute heroin.  

Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the efforts of the Rutland City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives in the investigation and prosecution of Callahan.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson handled the prosecution of Callahan.  Assistant Federal Public Defender David L. McColgin represented Callahan.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.  https://www.justice.gov/psn

HARRISBURG- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Tyquann Langston, age 26, and Donza Brown, age 58, both of Harrisburg, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner for selling crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl, and operating a drug involved premises in Harrisburg from 2019 to August 2019. 

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, on October 22, 2021, Langston was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for his role in a conspiracy to traffick crack cocaine and other drugs in Harrisburg.  On October 20, 2021, Brown was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment for selling crack cocaine and maintaining a drug involved premises at 1621 Market Street in Harrisburg. The location was the regular subject of drug trafficking, shootings and murders.  Donza Brown pled guilty to maintaining this drug involved premises and to trafficking crack cocaine from it.

Members of the conspiracy were affiliated with a music group named “Never Forget Loyalty” or “NFL.” As a part of their drug trafficking operation, the “NFL” posted videos on YouTube which were filmed in various Harrisburg locales. In the videos, members of the group brandished various weapons, flashed cash, and displayed drugs. In a yearlong investigation, ATF and local law enforcement conducted a series of searches. During these searches police recovered a machine gun, assault rifles, and various weapons with extended magazines.

Co-defendants Qushawn Brown, age 30, Wesley Garner, age 28, and Anderson Ortiz, age 22, have pled not guilty to their role in these offenses. They are scheduled for trial in December 2021.  Co-defendants Jaionne Miller, age 21, Adieas Johnson, age 33, and Kaleaf Brown, age 26, all of Harrisburg, entered guilty pleas to drug trafficking and weapons offenses and their sentences are pending before the court.

The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Harrisburg Bureau of Police, and the Pennsylvania State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio.

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

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

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A federal indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Providence on Friday charges three individuals with allegedly participating in a so called “Grandparent Scam” to defraud at least eleven elderly Rhode Island residents in nine communities of thousands of dollars, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus.

The indictment alleges that members of the conspiracy contacted Rhode Island senior citizens by telephone, posing as their grandchild, a lawyer, or other individual, and falsely claimed the grandchild had been in a car accident, had been arrested, and that cash was needed for bail and legal fees.

The indictment charges Bryan Valdez-Espinosa, 21, of Union City, NJ., with conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and Diego A. Alarcon, 22, of Union City, NJ, and Jason Hatcher, 39, of New York, NY, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Valdez-Espinosa, arrested by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents last week and arraigned on Friday, was released on unsecured bond. Federal arrest warrants have been issued for Alarcon and Hatcher. Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Alarcon or Hatcher are asked to contact the United States Marshals Service in Providence at (401) 528-5000.

According to the indictment and information presented to the court, an investigation by HSI determined that between June 9 and June 11, 2021, the three men allegedly participated in a scheme to contact elderly Rhode Islanders and pose as the person’s grandchild, claiming that they had been arrested and needed money for bail. The victims were instructed to gather the necessary funds in cash and provide the cash to a courier who would arrive at their home later that day. Several victims were contacted multiple times, in some instances by an individual claiming to be an attorney, seeking additional funds because, they claimed, the amount of cash bail had increased due to additional and more serious criminal charges being brought against their grandchild. The victims were instructed to provide the additional cash to a courier; to mail the cash to an address in Florida; or to electronically transfer the funds to an account in the Dominican Republic. Some victims were told that a “gag order” was in effect and that they were prohibited from telling anyone about the case or the cash payments.

Eleven of the twelve victims allegedly contacted by members of the conspiracy provided cash payments ranging from $6,000 to $99,225. Relatives of one person targeted by the scammers intervened and chased away a person who attempted to retrieve $9,500 in cash.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William F. Ferland.

Acting United States Attorney Myrus thanks the Barrington, Cranston, Coventry, Cumberland, East Providence, Hopkinton, Johnston, Smithfield, and Warwick Police Departments for their assistance in investigating and assisting residents in their community allegedly victimized by this scam.

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

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On October 25, 2021, Nelson Paul Replogle, 59, of Knoxville, Tennessee, entered a guilty plea to one count of Murder-For-Hire in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1959.  Replogle pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Leon Jordan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.  Sentencing has been set for February 22, 2022, at 10:15 a.m., in U.S. District Court at Knoxville, Tennessee.

As a result of his guilty plea, Replogle faces a term of up to ten years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release for a period of three years.

As part of the written plea agreement, Replogle waived indictment by a federal grand jury and agreed to plead guilty to an information.  According to documents filed in the case, Replogle admitted to using the Internet to contact a dark web entity that purported to arrange murders for hire.  Replogle provided the would-be killer with the intended victim’s name and address, a description of the victim’s vehicle, and a specific date, time, and place where the victim could be found and murdered.  In addition, Replogle asked that the killing appear as “road rage or [a] carjacking gone wrong.”  In exchange for the anticipated murder, Replogle used the Internet to transmit a payment of 0.2924549 Bitcoin which, on the day of payment, had the approximate value of $17,853.49.  Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) learned of the plot and intervened and arrested the defendant. The victim was not harmed as a result of the defendant’s attempt to have the victim murdered. 

This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.

Assistant United States Attorney Frank M. Dale Jr. represents the United States.

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MINNEAPOLIS – The Justice Department today announced that it has obtained a consent decree with Reese Pfeiffer and several other defendants to resolve allegations that Pfeiffer violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by subjecting 23 women to severe and repeated sexual harassment and retaliation at residential properties defendants own or manage in and around Minneapolis.

Under the consent decree, the defendants must pay a total of $736,000 in compensation to 23 victims of the alleged sexual harassment and retaliation, and a $14,000 civil penalty to the United States. Additionally, the consent decree permanently bars Reese Pfeiffer from property management and requires the retention of an independent property manager approved by the Department of Justice at specified Twin Cities properties. The defendants must also undergo education and training on the FHA, with specific emphasis on discrimination on the basis of sex and sexual harassment.

The defendants are property managers/owners Reese Pfeiffer, Jeanne Pfeiffer, Michael Fruen and Jeremy Martineau and business entities Fruen & Pfeiffer LLP (F&P) and M. Fruen Properties (MFP).

The consent decree, entered today by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, resolves a lawsuit that the department filed in Sept. 2020, as well as a related private lawsuit brought by Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid on behalf of three women who were subjected to Pfeiffer’s alleged sexual harassment.

“All people deserve to feel safe in their homes,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Sexual harassment in housing deprives individuals of that security. The Justice Department will not tolerate landlords who abuse their power by sexually harassing their tenants and will continue to work resolutely to hold such persons accountable and obtain relief for their victims.”

“The sexual harassment and discrimination of female tenants is unacceptable and a violation of federal law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk for the District of Minnesota. “This resolution helps restore the public safety of these female tenants. No one should be subjected to an environment of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation, especially in their own homes.”

The United States’ lawsuit alleged that Reese Pfeiffer, property manager for numerous rental properties in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs, subjected multiple female tenants and prospective tenants to sexual harassment. The complaint alleged that Reese Pfeiffer commented on female tenants’ looks and body parts, engaged in unwelcome touching, asked personal questions about their relationship status, made unwelcome sexual advances, discussed sexual topics without consent, entered their homes under the pretense of collecting rent to solicit sexual favors, and offered them rental benefits, such as excusing late or unpaid rent, in exchange for sexual favors. The complaint further alleged that Reese Pfeiffer’s co-defendants are vicariously liable for Pfeiffer’s discriminatory conduct because he acted as their agent when he sexually harassed tenants at properties in which they had an ownership interest.

This case is handled by the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General.

The Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative is led by the Civil Rights Division, in coordination with U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country. The goal of the initiative is to address and raise awareness about sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, loan officers, or other people who have control over housing. Since launching the Initiative in October 2017, the Department of Justice has filed 23 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered over $4.8 million for victims of such harassment.

If you think you are a victim of sexual harassment by a landlord, or other forms of housing discrimination, you may contact the Justice Department by submitting a report online or contact the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota at (612) 664-5600.

Reports also may be made by contacting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777 or by filing a complaint online.

[KANSAS CITY, KAN.]— The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas announced its partnership with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division as it launches the department’s new Combatting Redlining Initiative. 

Redlining is an illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing services to individuals living in communities of color because of the race or national origin of the people who live in those communities. The new Initiative represents the department’s most aggressive and coordinated enforcement effort to address redlining, which is prohibited by the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

“Lending discrimination runs counter to fundamental promises of our economic system.  When people are denied credit simply because of their race or national origin, their ability to share in our nation’s prosperity is all but eliminated,” said Attorney General Garland. “Today, we are committing ourselves to addressing modern-day redlining by making far more robust use of our fair lending authorities. We will spare no resource to ensure that federal fair lending laws are vigorously enforced and that financial institutions provide equal opportunity for every American to obtain credit.”

“This initiative is important to our community, and we stand ready to work with community stakeholders and the Civil Rights Division to investigate allegations of redlining and, when appropriate, hold those accountable who participate in illegal redlining practices,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard.

Redlining, a practice institutionalized by the federal government during the New Deal era and implemented then and now by private lenders, has had a lasting negative impact. For American families, homeownership remains the principal means of building wealth, and the deprivation of investment in and access to mortgage lending services for communities of color have contributed to families of color persistently lagging behind in homeownership rates and net worth compared to white families. The gap in homeownership rates between white and Black families is larger today than it was in 1960, before the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. 
 
This Initiative, which will be led by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in partnership with U.S. Attorney’s Offices, will build on the longstanding work by the Division that seeks to make mortgage credit and homeownership accessible to all Americans on the same terms, regardless of race or national origin and regardless of the neighborhood where they live. The initiative will:
 
•    Utilize U.S. Attorneys’ Offices as force multipliers to ensure that fair lending enforcement is informed by local expertise on housing markets and the credit needs of local communities of color.

•    Expand the department’s analyses of potential redlining to both depository and non-depository institutions.  Non-depository lenders are not traditional banks and do not provide typical banking services, but engage in mortgage lending and now make the majority of mortgages in this country.

•    Strengthen our partnership with financial regulatory agencies such as to ensure the identification and referrals of fair lending violations to the Department of Justice.

•    Increase coordination with State Attorneys General on potential fair lending violations.
Individuals may report lending discrimination by calling the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-833-591-0291, or submitting a report online.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The United States Attorney’s Office’s Emmy nominated documentary Circles and Silence, a powerful sixteen-minute film narrated by a diverse group of Rhode Island young adults who share their personal journey through drug dependency and recovery, made its Rhode Island school debut in Cumberland last week with presentations to approximately 150 high school students.

The film’s classroom debut, scheduled for early 2021, was delayed due to COVID restrictions.

Circles and Silence documents the distinct paths that led these young people to addiction, in some instances to prison, and their journeys to successfully managing their addiction and recovery to pursue healthy and productive lifestyles. Several of the individuals profiled in the film appeared in-person at Cumberland High School for the film’s debut and participated in open and frank discussions with the students.

“Substance abuse continues to take a tremendous toll on every aspect of our communities, on our friends, and our family members,” commented Acting U.S. Attorney Richard B. Myrus. “I commend these individuals’ courage and willingness to share their struggles with addiction, and their determination to find a path forward, with students across Rhode Island.”

In addition to presenting the film, the United States Attorney’s Office Circles and Silence outreach program provides audiences with critical information about substance abuse disorder and the many prevention, recovery, and social service programs available statewide through an expansive network of providers.

The United States Attorney's Community Outreach Office is available to provide the Circles and Silence program to Rhode Island students grades 7-12, and to community and not-for-profit organizations at no cost. To learn more about the Circles and Silence Program or to schedule a presentation contact United States Attorney’s Office Community Engagement & Crime Prevention Coordinator David Neill at (401) 709-5035 or at David.Neill@USDOJ.gov.

The documentary film Circles and Silence was produced collaboratively by the United States Attorney’s Office and three Rhode Island-based production companies, Left of Creative, with offices in South Kingstown and Los Angeles, CA, DK Communications in Providence, and Ocean State Video in Cranston. Video clips of the film may be viewed and/or downloaded at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/circles-and-silence.

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MOBILE, AL – A federal jury convicted a Mexican national last week for possessing with intent to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Gilberto Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 44, of Houston, Texas, was driving a flatbed truck from Houston to Atlanta, Georgia when he was stopped by a Baldwin County sheriff’s deputy for a traffic violation on Interstate 65. The jury heard evidence that on January 25, 2021, Gonzalez had driven the truck from Texas to Alabama while his passenger and codefendant, Daniel Eric Corona, slept. Gonzalez and Corona lacked proper paperwork for the load that they were purporting to haul and had no valid proof of insurance.

During a consent search of the truck, deputies pried open a locked compartment and found a duffel bag containing 16 individually wrapped bundles of cocaine weighing more than 35 pounds in total. According to expert testimony presented at trial, the cocaine had a wholesale value of more than $500,000 and a street value of more than $6 million. The jury also reviewed evidence from Gonzalez’s cell phone containing images of cocaine and WhatsApp messages discussing “kilos” and prices of cocaine. Gonzalez’s crime carries a potential sentence of ten years to life in prison. He will be sentenced by United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer in February 2022.

Corona pleaded guilty to a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy charge in September 2021. He also faces ten years to life in prison and will be sentenced by Judge Moorer on December 16, 2021.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and Deborah Griffin prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

RALEIGH, N.C. – On Friday, October 22, 2021, a Scotland Neck man was sentenced to 192 months in prison for narcotics and firearm violations while on post-release supervision for a prior federal felony.  On April 2021, Gerard Roderkus Fenner, 40, pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin, fentanyl, marijuana, and methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a felon.    

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on November 26, 2019, Rocky Mount Police Officers responded to the Days Inn after receiving a 911 call about a fight involving a firearm.  The caller said the fight was over drugs. 

Officers responded to the hotel room in question and found the door locked.  The occupant, eventually identified as Fenner, refused to open the door.  Concerned Fenner was tossing evidence out the third-story window, officers went to the outside window just in time to find Fenner jumping.  Landing hard on the ground after the thirty-foot jump, Fenner was immediately arrested. 

Officers found over $4,000 cash stuffed in Fenner’s underwear.  Back in the hotel room, officers discovered heroin and fentanyl mixtures, marijuana, over eight hundred methamphetamine pills, and a loaded firearm.  At the time of the incident, Fenner was serving a term of post-release supervision stemming from a federal firearm charge in 2013.    

In issuing a 168-month sentence for the conviction and a 24-month consecutive sentence for the revocation of supervision, the Court noted the danger posed by the narcotics and firearm involved in Fenner’s trafficking.

“Our mission here at the Rocky Mount Police Department is to improve the quality of life in the city of Rocky Mount by building partnerships to reduce crime.  We value our partnership with our Federal Law Enforcement agencies, who assist us in creating a safe environment for all citizens who reside and visit Rocky Mount, North Carolina.  The Rocky Mount Police Department will continue to work with Federal, State, and Local law enforcement agencies while providing the highest level of police services,” said the Rocky Mount Chief of Police Robert Hassell.

G. Norman Acker, III, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. Rocky Mount Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:12-CR-115 and 5:20-CR-85-D.

ST. THOMAS, USVI– U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today that the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands has received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice in support of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

The award from the DOJ’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART) supports the vital work of the Virgin Islands Department of Justice (VIDOJ) efforts towards the implementation of SORNA initiatives. SORNA requires convicted sex offenders to register in the states in which they live, work, or attend school, and it directs the Attorney General to issue regulations and guidelines to implement SORNA.

“Sex offender registrations and notification systems are critical in our efforts to diminish the continued victimization of children subjected to sexual abuse,” Shappert said. “Consistent with the law, convicted sex offenders are expected to comply with registration requirements.  This process helps law enforcement protect our communities.”      

Congress enacted SORNA as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 to strengthen the nation’s sex offender registration programs, which exist in every state, and to ensure that sex offenders are effectively tracked as they move among jurisdictions. SORNA includes requirements regarding the sex offenses for which registration is required and the information sex offenders must provide to registration authorities; reporting of changes in, and periodic verification of, residence and other information; and the required duration of registration for sex offenders in different classes. SORNA also requires sex offenders to report travel abroad, which addresses the global concern over international sex tourism and trafficking.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is a federal agency that provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. Its six program offices support state and local crime-fighting efforts, fund thousands of victim service programs, help communities manage sex offenders, address the needs of youth in the system and children in danger, and provide vital research and data. Learn more about the Sex Offender Notification Act at SORNA.  For more information about DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs, see www.ojp.gov/about.

CHICAGO — A newly filed federal indictment adds additional carjacking and firearm charges against a Chicago man accused of murdering a rideshare driver during a carjacking earlier this year. 

EDMOND HARRIS, 18, was initially charged with carjacking a Lexus GS sedan and fatally shooting the driver, rideshare worker Javier Ramos, on March 23, 2021, in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago.  The superseding indictment renews that charge and adds additional carjacking and attempting carjacking charges against Harris. 

JOSHUA WALKER, 21, of Chicago, is also charged in the new indictment with carjacking and firearm offenses.

According to the new charges, Harris and Walker conspired to carjack a Mitsubishi Outlander sport-utility vehicle in the Loop neighborhood of Chicago, and together committed that carjacking on Jan. 20, 2021.  The new indictment alleges that Harris on the same day attempted to carjack another vehicle – a Nissan Altima sedan – in west suburban Oak Park.

In addition to the carjacking offenses, the new indictment charges Harris and Walker with federal firearm violations that, if convicted, carry mandatory minimum sentences in federal prison.

Harris and Walker are both in federal custody.  Walker was arraigned last week in federal court in Chicago and pleaded not guilty to the charges.  He is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing Thursday at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert. 

Harris will be arraigned on the superseding indictment Friday at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland.

The superseding indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department; and LaDon Reynolds, Chief of the Oak Park Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle Kramer and Paige Nutini.

The charges against Harris carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 27 years in federal prison and a maximum of death.  The charges against Walker carry a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison and a maximum of life.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Miami, Florida – A 29-year-old man has pled guilty in federal district court in Miami to attempting to materially support terrorism, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339A. 

According to court documents, Samuel Baptiste attempted to provide material support to a terrorist act through the use of an explosive device by providing information on November 6, 2016 pertaining to the construction of explosive devices by posting internet links and portions of a manual containing specific instructions on the construction of explosives, to persons whom he believed were acting on behalf of ISIS. 

At sentencing, Baptiste faces a maximum statutory sentence of up to 15 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing has been scheduled for January 5, 2021 at 1:30pm in front of the Honorable Jose E. Martinez, in Miami, Florida.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami, announced the guilty plea.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc S. Anton and Michael Thakur.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number: 18-cr-20613.

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