United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced today that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, woman pleaded guilty to wire fraud and federal program fraud in federal court in Pierre, South Dakota.

Tally Colombe, 42, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Wire Fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Program Fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Each count of conviction also carries a possible maximum fine of $250,000, a period of supervised release of 3 years, an assessment of $100, and restitution.

According to plea documents filed with the Court, beginning on or about June 1, 2015, through and including October 1, 2016, in the District of South Dakota and elsewhere, Tally Colombe, having devised a scheme and artifice to defraud by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, caused to be transmitted by means of electronic wire communications in interstate commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme and artifice to defraud.

It was part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendant, while serving as the Executive Director of Hunkpati Investments, used a debit card belonging to Hunkpati Investments to make personal purchases from several businesses, all without knowledge and authorization from Hunkpati Investments.

Beginning on or about June 1, 2015, through and including October 1, 2016, Colombe, as an agent of Hunkpati Investments, which was an organization and agency that received in each of the calendar years of 2015 and 2016 benefits in excess of $10,000 under a federal program involving a grant, contract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, and other form of federal assistance, did knowingly and intentionally embezzle, steal, obtain by fraud, and otherwise without authority knowingly convert to the use of persons other than the rightful owner, and intentionally misapply property worth at least $5,000 which was owned by and was under the care, custody and control of Hunkpati Investments.

Hunkpati Investments (Hunkpati), located in Fort Thompson, South Dakota, is a Native Community Development Financial Institution established to provide financial opportunities to stimulate economic development on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation. Hunkpati services include a savings incentive program and lending for credit builder and small business loans. Hunkpati is funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Northwest Area Foundation, and several other small foundations. In 2015, Hunkpati received in excess of $30,000 in grants from federal agencies.

Hunkpati is governed by a Board of Directors (Board). Defendant served as an agent, that is, Executive Director, of Hunkpati from May of 2015, to approximately November of 2016, and reported to the Board. Prior to becoming the Executive Director, Defendant also served on the Board as a Board Member. As Executive Director, Defendant was responsible for advising the Board on the financial status of Hunkpati as well as maintaining compliance for Hunkpati’s spending pursuant to the federal grant requirements.

The unlawful purchases, and therefore the wire transfers, were made without authorization from the Board. Defendant did not disclose the purchases to the Board. The amount of identified suspicious expenditures and embezzled funds totals at least $15,001. The amount of embezzled funds could be as high as approximately $90,912.04.

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman is prosecuting the case.

The case was brought pursuant to The Guardians Project, a federal law enforcement initiative to coordinate efforts between participating agencies, to promote citizen disclosure of public corruption, fraud, and embezzlement involving federal program funds, contracts, and grants, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for adversely affecting those living in South Dakota’s Indian country communities. The Guardians Project is another step of federal law enforcement’s on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination, and positive action on behalf of tribal communities. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the participating agencies include: Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Offices of Inspector General for the Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Agriculture, Transportation, Education, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspector Service; U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.

For additional information about The Guardians Project, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office at (605)330-4400. To report a suspected crime, please contact law enforcement at the federal agency’s locally listed telephone number.

FORT WAYNE – The Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Clifford D. Johnson, announces that Stephan Davis, age 30, of Waterloo, Indiana, was sentenced before United States District Court Judge Theresa Springmann to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Davis was sentenced to 72 months imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release.

According to documents filed in this case, on or about May 20, 2016, Davis possessed a .40 caliber firearm and eight rounds of ammunition in Kendallville, Indiana after having prior felony convictions in Dekalb County, Indiana.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Kendallville Police Department and was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey R. Speith.

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 62-year-old resident of Los Fresnos, has been sentenced to federal prison for possession of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Isaac Gonzalez pleaded guilty April 4, 2017.

Today, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera handed Gonzalez a sentence of 78 months in federal prison. Gonzalez will also spend the rest of his life on supervised release, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

The investigation into Gonzalez began as authorities were looking into persons utilizing peer-to-peer software to exchange and view child pornography. Federal agents executed a search warrant at Gonzalez’s residence on Feb. 15, 2017, which led to the discovery of 1,650 images of child pornography on his laptop. These images contained depictions of prepubescent minors, including one video depicting the sexual abuse of a toddler.

Gonzalez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Corley and Ana Cano, was 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 visitwww.usdoj.gov/psc.For more information about internet safety education, please visitwww.usdoj.gov/pscand click on the tab "resources."

            WASHINGTON – Urlick Evans, 41, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a prison term of 102 months for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Andrew Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Evans pled guilty in March 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to a charge of first-degree child sexual abuse. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon 102-month prison term. The Honorable Reggie B. Walton accepted the plea today and sentenced Evans accordingly. Following his prison term, Evans will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years.

            According to a statement of offense submitted during the plea proceedings, at the end of July 2015, the 15-year-old victim ran away from her residence in Baltimore. Once in Washington, D.C., she made contact with her estranged father, and stayed with him for approximately one week until she met Evans.

            Evans, who was 39 at the time, asked the girl how old she was and she initially told him that she was 18. He invited her to his apartment in Southeast Washington. Once there, he sexually abused the girl. Shortly thereafter, he was contacted by members of the girl’s family and informed that she was only 15. Specifically, on Aug. 20, 2015, the girl’s parents contacted Evans to inquire about the whereabouts of their daughter. The father requested that Evans return the girl to him. Evans, however, told the parents that she no longer was living with him and that he did not know where they could find her.

            After this conversation, the girl continued to live with Evans at his apartment in Washington, D.C. Also, according to the statement of offense, over the course of the next several weeks and up until Evans’s arrest on Sept. 22, 2015, he continued to sexually abuse the girl.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from MPD’s Youth Division and the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Criminal Investigator John Marsh and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea L. Hertzfeld and Lindsay J. Suttenberg, who prosecuted the matter.

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Rollie C. Poynter, Jr., 51, of Grafton, West Virginia, was sentenced today in federal court to 105 months, 11 day incarceration for illegal possession of a firearm, Acting United States Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Poynter, who had previously been convicted of felony offenses in West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, admitted to having in his possession a .38 caliber revolver in Taylor County, West Virginia in April 2016. Poynter pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Possession of a Firearm” in May 2017. 

Poynter’s sentence will run concurrently with the state’s sentence presently being served.
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney Traci M. Cook prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, and Grafton City Police Department investigated. 
 
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Megan Eileen Dunigan, 29, of Mount Clare, West Virginia, was convicted today in federal court of possession and distribution of an illegal substance, Acting United States Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Dunigan pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with Intent to Distribute MAM2201 and Buprenorphine.” She admitted to having conspiring with others to distribute illegal substances in Harrison County, West Virginia from April 2014 to April 2016. 

Dunigan faces up to 10 years incarceration and a fine of up to $500,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Cogar prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, The West Virginia State Police, and the Greater Harrison Drug & Violent Crime Task Force investigated. 
 
U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.

          CONCORD, N.H. – Ernesto L. Reyes, 26, of Massachusetts, pleaded guilty today to possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute, announced Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley.

          According to court documents and statements made at today’s change of plea hearing, Reyes committed a series of traffic violations while driving a motor vehicle on the evening of November 11, 2016, on Route 125 in Plaistow, New Hampshire. As a result of these violations, Reyes was stopped by the New Hampshire State Police. When Reyes exited the vehicle, a New Hampshire State Trooper observed a package wrapped in green colored plastic wrap containing a powder that appeared to be heroin. The package was located on the floor along the left side of the driver’s seat. Later testing performed by the State Police Forensic Laboratory confirmed that the package found in the vehicle contained nearly 100 grams of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl.

          Reyes scheduled to be sentenced on October 19, 2017.

          “The trafficking of heroin and fentanyl continues to have a grave impact on our community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with all of our law enforcement partners to target those who are distributing these deadly drugs in our state. While those suffering from addiction need treatment, those who are profiting from the distribution of opioids will be prosecuted aggressively.”

          The case was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen Burzycki.

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          CONCORD, N.H. – Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today that William Soltan, 34, of Suffolk County, New York, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison after pleading guilty to failing to register as a sex offender as required by the federal Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

          According to documents that were filed and statements made in court, Soltan left New Hampshire sometime after July 2014 for a temporary visit to New York. At the time he left, Soltan was obligated to return to New Hampshire not later than December 30, 2014. Soltan did not return to New Hampshire, did not register in New Hampshire in 2015, and did not register in New York in 2015. Under SORNA, a person who is required to register must register in each jurisdiction where he resides, is employed or is going to school. SORNA gives an individual three days in which to register.

          Soltan, who previously pleaded guilty, was also sentenced to serve five years of supervised release after he is released from prison.

          The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service with the assistance of the Manchester Police Department, the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, the New Hampshire State Police, and the Suffolk County, New York, Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Feith.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Kanawha County man was sentenced today to six months in federal prison for possessing stolen mail, announced United States Attorney Carol Casto. Jason Lee Spradling, 34, of Pinch, was also ordered to pay $4,489.32 in restitution.

Spradling admitted that he possessed a large quantity of stolen mail, and that he knew the mail in his possession had been stolen. Spradling admitted that in December 2015, he stole a box of checks from a mailbox and attempting to cash one of the checks. Spradling also admitted that in July 2015, he was found in possession of hundreds of pieces of mail stolen from the Elkview area. Law enforcement found the stolen mail in a car Spradling was driving. Spradling further admitted that he had no legal right to possess the mail, nor to cash any checks contained within the stolen mail.

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is in charge of the prosecution. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr., imposed the sentence.

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          CONCORD, N.H. – Andrew McKenzie, 28, of Brookfield, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty today to one count of manufacturing child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley.

          According to documents on file and statements made during the change of plea hearing, in October 2016 the defendant began an instant messenger conversation through Kik with an undercover agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The defendant agreed to send the undercover agent sexually explicit photographs of a minor child. The investigation determined that the images sent by the defendant were of a minor child known to the defendant.

          The defendant has agreed to serve a sentence of 262 months in federal prison under the terms of a plea agreement with the United States to be followed by five years of supervised release. If the Court decides to reject the agreement, the defendant will have the right to withdraw his guilty plea. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 19, 2017.

          The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rochester Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Helen White Fitzgibbon and Donald Feith.

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Earlier today, the United States filed a civil complaint to forfeit thousands of cuneiform tablets and clay bullae. As alleged in the complaint, these ancient clay artifacts originated in the area of modern-day Iraq and were smuggled into the United States through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, contrary to federal law. Packages containing the artifacts were shipped to Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (“Hobby Lobby”), a nationwide arts-and-crafts retailer based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and two of Hobby Lobby’s corporate affiliates. The shipping labels on these packages falsely described cuneiform tablets as tile “samples.”

The government also filed a stipulation of settlement with Hobby Lobby, in which Hobby Lobby consented to the forfeiture of the artifacts in the complaint, approximately 144 cylinder seals and an additional sum of $3 million, resolving the civil action. Hobby Lobby further agreed to adopt internal policies and procedures governing its importation and purchase of cultural property, provide appropriate training to its personnel, hire qualified outside customs counsel and customs brokers, and submit quarterly reports to the government on any cultural property acquisitions for the next eighteen months.

The complaint and stipulation of settlement were announced by Bridget M. Rohde, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York.

“American collectors and importers must ensure compliance with laws and regulations that require truthful declarations to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, so that Customs officers are able to scrutinize cultural property crossing our borders and prevent the inappropriate entry of such property,” stated Acting United States Attorney Rohde. “If they do not, and shippers use false declarations to try to clandestinely enter property into the United States, this Office and our law enforcement partners will discover the deceit and seize the property.” Ms. Rohde thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection for its role in intercepting shipments and safeguarding the seized antiquities.

“The protection of cultural heritage is a mission that HSI and its partner U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) take very seriously as we recognize that while some may put a price on these artifacts, the people of Iraq consider them priceless,” stated Special Agent-in-Charge Melendez.

According to the complaint and stipulated statement of facts filed with the court, in or around 2009, Hobby Lobby began to assemble a collection of historically significant manuscripts, antiquities and other cultural materials. In connection with this effort, Hobby Lobby’s president and a consultant traveled to the UAE in July 2010 to inspect a large number of cuneiform tablets and other antiquities being offered for sale (the “Artifacts”). Cuneiform is an ancient system of writing on clay tablets that was used in ancient Mesopotamia thousands of years ago.

In October 2010, an expert on cultural property law retained by Hobby Lobby warned the company that the acquisition of cultural property likely from Iraq, including cuneiform tablets and cylinder seals, carries a risk that such objects may have been looted from archaeological sites in Iraq. The expert also advised Hobby Lobby to review its collection of antiquities for any objects of Iraqi origin and to verify that their country of origin was properly declared at the time of importation into the United States. The expert warned Hobby Lobby that an improper declaration of country of origin for cultural property could lead to seizure and forfeiture of the artifacts by CBP.

Notwithstanding these warnings, in December 2010, Hobby Lobby executed an agreement to purchase over 5,500 Artifacts, comprised of cuneiform tablets and bricks, clay bullae and cylinder seals, for $1.6 million. The acquisition of the Artifacts was fraught with red flags. For example, Hobby Lobby received conflicting information where the Artifacts had been stored prior to the inspection in the UAE. Further, when the Artifacts were presented for inspection to Hobby Lobby’s president and consultant in July 2010, they were displayed informally. In addition, Hobby Lobby representatives had not met or communicated with the dealer who purportedly owned the Artifacts, nor did they pay him for the Artifacts. Rather, following instructions from another dealer, Hobby Lobby wired payment for the Artifacts to seven personal bank accounts held in the names of other individuals.

With Hobby Lobby’s consent, a UAE-based dealer shipped packages containing the Artifacts to three different corporate addresses in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Between one and three shipments arrived at a time, without the required customs entry documentation being filed with CBP, and bore shipping labels that falsely and misleadingly described their contents as “ceramic tiles” or “clay tiles (sample).” . After approximately 10 packages shipped in this manner were received by Hobby Lobby and its affiliates, CBP intercepted five shipments. All of the intercepted packages bore shipping labels that falsely declared that the Artifacts’ country of origin was Turkey. No further shipments were received until September 2011, when a package containing approximately 1,000 clay bullae from the same purchase was received by Hobby Lobby. It was shipped by an Israeli dealer and accompanied by a false declaration stating that the bullae’s country of origin was Israel.

In executing the stipulation of settlement, Hobby Lobby has accepted responsibility for its past conduct and agreed to take steps to remedy the deficiencies that resulted in its unlawful importation of the Artifacts. Hobby Lobby has agreed to the forfeiture of all of the Artifacts shipped to the United States.

The government’s case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Karin Orenstein and Ameet B. Kabrawala.

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CV-3980 (LDH) (VMS)

Exhibit A
Sample Images of the Defendants in Rem

Cuneiform Tablet

Cuneiform Tablets

Clay Bullae

United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced today that a former executive board member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe was sentenced in federal court to 20 months of imprisonment.

Thomas Adams, 46, and of the Old Agency District, was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $151,477, and to serve three years of supervised release after serving his prison sentence.

According to court documents, beginning on or about January 20, 2011, and continuing through March 9, 2013, in the District of South Dakota and elsewhere, Thomas Adams formed an agreement with others to embezzle, steal, and knowingly convert to their own use, funds from the Old Agency District of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Sioux Tribe ("Tribe"), an Indian tribal organization. Adams joined the agreement knowing its illegal purpose. The Old Agency District ("District") is a subdivision of the Tribe.

Adams, among others, were elected executive board members of the District. During the relevant time period, the District's executive board members were entitled to receive a monthly stipend for their service. From approximately January 2011 through March 2013, Adams and others stole money from the District by writing checks to themselves for payroll, stipends, assistance, travel, and other miscellaneous reasons. As part of his plea agreement, Adams stated that his co-defendants stole a total of $415,499 from the District. The Defendant received $164,477 of the stolen funds and used the funds for his own purposes.

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman is prosecuting the case.

The case was brought pursuant to The Guardians Project, a federal law enforcement initiative to coordinate efforts between participating agencies, to promote citizen disclosure of public corruption, fraud, and embezzlement involving federal program funds, contracts, and grants, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for adversely affecting those living in South Dakota’s Indian country communities. The Guardians Project is another step of federal law enforcement’s on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination, and positive action on behalf of tribal communities. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the participating agencies include: Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Offices of Inspector General for the Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Agriculture, Transportation, Education, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspector Service; U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.

For additional information about The Guardians Project, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office at (605) 330-4400. To report a suspected crime, please contact law enforcement at the federal agency’s locally listed telephone number.

United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced today that a Fort Thompson, South Dakota, woman pleaded guilty to wire fraud and federal program fraud in federal court in Pierre, South Dakota.

Tally Colombe, 42, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.

Wire Fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Program Fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Each count of conviction also carries a possible maximum fine of $250,000, a period of supervised release of 3 years, an assessment of $100, and restitution.

According to plea documents filed with the Court, beginning on or about June 1, 2015, through and including October 1, 2016, in the District of South Dakota and elsewhere, Tally Colombe, having devised a scheme and artifice to defraud by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, caused to be transmitted by means of electronic wire communications in interstate commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme and artifice to defraud.

It was part of the scheme and artifice to defraud that the defendant, while serving as the Executive Director of Hunkpati Investments, used a debit card belonging to Hunkpati Investments to make personal purchases from several businesses, all without knowledge and authorization from Hunkpati Investments.

Beginning on or about June 1, 2015, through and including October 1, 2016, Colombe, as an agent of Hunkpati Investments, which was an organization and agency that received in each of the calendar years of 2015 and 2016 benefits in excess of $10,000 under a federal program involving a grant, contract, subsidy, loan, guarantee, insurance, and other form of federal assistance, did knowingly and intentionally embezzle, steal, obtain by fraud, and otherwise without authority knowingly convert to the use of persons other than the rightful owner, and intentionally misapply property worth at least $5,000 which was owned by and was under the care, custody and control of Hunkpati Investments.

Hunkpati Investments (Hunkpati), located in Fort Thompson, South Dakota, is a Native Community Development Financial Institution established to provide financial opportunities to stimulate economic development on the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation. Hunkpati services include a savings incentive program and lending for credit builder and small business loans. Hunkpati is funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Treasury, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Northwest Area Foundation, and several other small foundations. In 2015, Hunkpati received in excess of $30,000 in grants from federal agencies.

Hunkpati is governed by a Board of Directors (Board). Defendant served as an agent, that is, Executive Director, of Hunkpati from May of 2015, to approximately November of 2016, and reported to the Board. Prior to becoming the Executive Director, Defendant also served on the Board as a Board Member. As Executive Director, Defendant was responsible for advising the Board on the financial status of Hunkpati as well as maintaining compliance for Hunkpati’s spending pursuant to the federal grant requirements.

The unlawful purchases, and therefore the wire transfers, were made without authorization from the Board. Defendant did not disclose the purchases to the Board. The amount of identified suspicious expenditures and embezzled funds totals at least $15,001. The amount of embezzled funds could be as high as approximately $90,912.04.

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman is prosecuting the case.

The case was brought pursuant to The Guardians Project, a federal law enforcement initiative to coordinate efforts between participating agencies, to promote citizen disclosure of public corruption, fraud, and embezzlement involving federal program funds, contracts, and grants, and to hold accountable those who are responsible for adversely affecting those living in South Dakota’s Indian country communities. The Guardians Project is another step of federal law enforcement’s on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination, and positive action on behalf of tribal communities. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the participating agencies include: Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Offices of Inspector General for the Departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, Agriculture, Transportation, Education, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Postal Inspector Service; U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.

For additional information about The Guardians Project, please contact the United States Attorney’s Office at (605)330-4400. To report a suspected crime, please contact law enforcement at the federal agency’s locally listed telephone number.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Springfield, Mo., man who led a state trooper on a 107-miles-per-hour chase on Highway 65, pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing a firearm.

Clinton J. Haynes, 27, of Springfield, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Haynes has remained in federal custody since his arrest.

Haynes was arrested on Feb. 2, 2017, following a high-speed pursuit on U.S. Highway 65 by a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper. The trooper attempted to stop Haynes’s vehicle, a gold Chevrolet Impala with expired plates and an illegally tinted driver’s side window. When the trooper activated his lights and siren, Haynes accelerated to 107 miles per hour. The trooper pursued Haynes as he overtook 31 vehicles, ignored a red stop light and passed a vehicle on the acceleration ramp.

Haynes’s vehicle eventually stopped on the shoulder of U.S. Highway 65 near Evans Road. Haynes fled on foot across the highway with the trooper in pursuit. Haynes then returned to his vehicle and sat in the driver’s seat. The trooper, with his service pistol drawn, ordered Haynes to get out of the vehicle, but Haynes refused. The trooper removed Haynes from the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs.

While checking the path that Haynes fled, in the grass of the median, the trooper found a loaded Jimenez 9mm semi-automatic pistol. The trooper also searched Haynes and found a plastic bag containing 45.64 grams of marijuana in his pants.

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

Under federal statutes, Haynes is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nhan D. Nguyen. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - A Kansas man pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbing a bank in Kansas City, Kan., U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Andre U. Randle, 37, Kansas City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. In his plea, he admitted that on Feb. 1, 2017, he robbed the U.S. Bank at 10959 Parallel Parkway, in Kansas City, Kan.

According to court documents, he gave a clerk a note saying, “I have 2 guns. Don’t make me use them,” before leaving the bank with stolen cash in a purple pillow case. Officers of the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department stopped his car in the 6900 block of Troop and arrested him.

Sentencing is set for Sept. 11. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.

Beall commended the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley for their work on the case.

Kristen Petersen Morrison, 44, pleaded guilty today to four counts of wire fraud, after being charged with defrauding customers of her former employer, Century II, announced Jack Smith, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

Morrison was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 30, 2016.

According to the charging document and plea agreement, Century II handles payroll and other human resource needs for small businesses in middle Tennessee. Morrison worked as a payroll specialist with Century II and set up payroll disbursements for Century II customers, including Absolute Wireless, a Nashville-based cell phone service retailer.

From March 2014 to May 2016, Morrison added several former and nonexistent employees to the Absolute Wireless payroll without the company’s knowledge or consent. She also arranged for payments to these fictitious employees to be made to check cards that Morrison set up and controlled. Morrison then used the check cards to pay for her personal expenses. During the two-year scheme, Morrison stole approximately $300,000 from Absolute Wireless.

Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Morrison will be sentenced by United States District Judge Aleta Trauger on October 6, 2017. Her sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and applicable federal statutes.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis.

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning a U.S. Magistrate Judge sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., found probable cause to support a criminal complaint charging Vincent P. Luciani, 25, a non-Indian man from Albuquerque, with assaulting a federal officer. Luciani was released pending trial under pretrial supervision and other conditions of release, including the condition that he reside in a halfway house.

Luciani was arrested on July 3, 2017, and was charged by criminal complaint with assaulting an officer of the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department, who is commissioned as a Special Law Enforcement Officer by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services. According to the complaint, Luciani allegedly assaulted the officer by threatening the officer with a firearm following a routine traffic stop. Luciani allegedly committed the offense on June 30, 2017, on Laguna Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.

If convicted of the charge in the complaint, Luciani faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was investigated by the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two men were indicted by a federal grand jury today for their roles in a $7 million conspiracy to distribute marijuana in Pettis, Cooper, Boone, Morgan, Pulaski and Jackson counties.

Zachary Scott Nutt, also known as “Tuna,” 35, of Los Angeles, Calif., and Sedalia, Mo., and Nicholas Anders Glaholt, 34, of Independence, Mo., were charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces federal criminal complaints that were filed against Nutt and Glaholt on June 14, 2017.

The federal indictment alleges that Nutt and Glaholt participated in a conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana in Pettis, Cooper, Boone, Morgan, Pulaski and Jackson counties from Oct. 5, 2001, through June 13, 2017.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Nutt and Glaholt – who have leadership roles in the conspiracy – obtained marijuana from multiple sources, including a grow operation in California. They have directly supervised and executed the transportation and distribution of the marijuana obtained from California, the affidavit says. Business and financial records establish that, since early 2010, Nutt and Glaholt have travelled between California and Missouri on commercial flights and/or in rented vehicles.

On Aug. 18, 2016, the affidavit says, investigators seized approximately eight pounds of marijuana supplied by the defendants and others. On Nov. 6, 2016, investigators seized approximately 40 pounds of marijuana supplied by the defendants and others. On Nov. 7, 2016, investigators seized approximately four pounds of marijuana supplied by the defendants and others. On Dec. 15, 2016, investigators seized approximately four pounds of marijuana supplied by the defendants and others.

According to the affidavit, investigators learned that another person transported approximately $73,700 to Nutt for the purchase of marijuana in California for distribution in Missouri. On April 5, 2017, investigators in California observed Nutt loading a vehicle with what was believed to be marijuana. On April 8, 2017, Nutt flew back to Kansas City and Glaholt picked him up at Kansas City International Airport. Nutt and Glaholt drove directly to Glaholt’s residence, where the “load” vehicle arrived from California shortly thereafter. On June 5, 2017, investigators seized approximately 11 pounds of marijuana supplied by the defendants and others. A person arrested by investigators in the aftermath of the seizure of marijuana reported that the person had received approximately 440 kilograms of marijuana from Nutt over a period of approximately two years.

Nutt and Glaholt were arrested on June 13, 2017. Glaholt was found to be in possession of approximately two pounds of marijuana in his vehicle. Nutt was in possession of approximately two ounces of marijuana in his vehicle.

Law enforcement officers executed search warrants at Glaholt’s residence and another residence in Kansas City, Mo., on June 13, 2017. At Glaholt’s residence they seized approximately $20,000 believed to be drug proceeds, several individual packages of marijuana, marijuana wax, digital scales, vacuum sealers, ledgers, computers, tablets and notes. At the Kansas City residence investigators seized approximately 261 pounds of marijuana (including packaging), cell phones, digital scales, drug packaging equipment, eight empty duffel bags, .22-caliber ammunition and drug ledgers from a safe.

Today’s indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Nutt and Glaholt to forfeit to the government $7 million, which represents the total amount of money involved in the conspiracy.

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

This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Sedalia, Mo., Police Department, the Cooper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the East Central Drug Task Force and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Columbia, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for attempting to entice an undercover officer, whom he believed was a 14-year-old girl, to meet for illicit sex.

Darren Wade Lasley, 28, of Columbia, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jefferson City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Lasley on June 22, 2017.

The federal indictment alleges that Lasley attempted to entice a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity between June 14 and June 21, 2017.

According to an affidavit that was filed in support of the original criminal complaint, a detective with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department posted an undercover online advertisement in an attempt to seek out potential sexual predators. On June 14, 2017, the decoy began receiving e-mails from Lasley. The decoy told Lasley she was 14 years old and they exchanged photographs.

In e-mail exchanges over the course of the next several days, the affidavit says, Lasley described his plans for a sexual encounter with the decoy. Lasley allegedly proposed visiting the decoy’s residence while her mother was at work or out of town. On June 21, 2017, Lasley asked the decoy if she could sneak out of her house to meet him for a sexual rendezvous. When Lasley arrived at the arranged meeting location, he was arrested.

Larson cautioned that the charge contained in this indictment is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt.