The defendant discarded the firearm on school grounds

A Miami resident pled guilty in federal court on July 28, 2017, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Katherine Fernandez Rundle, State Attorney, Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office; Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD); and Ian A. Moffett, Chief, Miami-Dade Schools Police Department, made the announcement.

Frederick Frazier, 22, pled guilty to being in possession of a firearm while a convicted felon. Frazier faces a maximum statutory sentence of ten years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro on October 13, 2017.

According to the court record, including the agreed upon factual proffer, on April 20, 2017, Frazier fled from law enforcement officers and discarded a loaded firearm on the property of Holmes Elementary School. The firearm was recovered by law enforcement. The defendant was a convicted felon and as such was legally prohibited from being in possession of the firearm.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of the MPD and Miami-Dade Schools Police Department. Mr. Greenberg also thanked the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for their assistance. This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marianne Curtis from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

          The owner of a now defunct real estate escrow firm was indicted last month by a federal grand jury on ten counts of bank fraud, and one count each of mail and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. LORI LYNN ANDREW, 48, of Cashmere, Washington, the owner of Hartman Escrow, Inc., was arrested and arraigned on the indictment August 3, 2017. The Washington State Department of Financial Services arranged for a receiver to take over the Tukwila, Washington escrow company in 2012 after finding evidence of fraud. ANDREW had her license to act as an escrow agent suspended in 2013 and her license has since been revoked.

          According to the indictment, beginning in about January 2011, and continuing until July 2012, ANDREW used a variety of means to defraud financial institutions and individual home buyers and sellers who were involved in various real estate transactions. ANDREW made, or had others make, false settlement statements on the transactions listing false or inflated fees and charges to hide the fact that she was embezzling money. ANDREW forged signatures on various statements and created false invoices, statements and bills; she altered and deposited checks to her company account that should have gone to others; she took funds from her trust account and transferred them to her personal account for her own use. ANDREW used the money for casino payments, credit card bills and other personal expenses. ANDREW defrauded individual customers as well as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank, Chase and GMAC.

          In all the indictment alleges ANDREW defrauded the financial institutions and other customers of approximately $2 million.

          The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

          Each count of bank, mail or wire fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

          The case was investigated by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, the FBI, the Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG).

          The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Hugo Torres and Assistant United States Attorney Norman Barbosa. Mr. Torres is a Senior King County Deputy Prosecutor specially designated to prosecute financial fraud cases in federal court.

Two Miami-Dade brothers pled guilty in federal court, on July 28, 2017, for their involvement in a drug trafficking scheme.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Katherine Fernandez Rundle, State Attorney, Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office; Peter J. Forcelli, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division; and Juan J. Perez, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), made the announcement.

Michael Palermo, 29, pled guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises, possessing with the intent to deliver controlled substances, possessing a firearm while a convicted felon, and possessing of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison.

According to the court record, including the agreed upon factual proffer, between February 25, 2017 and April 13, 2017, Michael Palermo used his residence to manufacture and sell controlled substances. On April 13, 2017, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered narcotics, United States currency, and multiple loaded firearms. Michael Palermo, a convicted felon, is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Michael Palermo’s brother, Anthony Palermo, 27, pled guilty to tampering with documents or proceedings. Prior to law enforcement’s execution of the search warrant at Michael Palermo’s residence, video surveillance captured Anthony Palermo attempting to destroy evidence by flushing narcotics down the toilet. Anthony Palermo faces a maximum statutory sentence of twenty years in prison.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Ursula Ungaro on October 13, 2017.

Mr. Greenberg commends the investigative efforts of ATF and MDPD in relation to this matter. Mr. Greenberg also thanked the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office for their assistance. This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marianne Curtis from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Mission, South Dakota man convicted of Conspiracy to Manufacture a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, and a Parmelee, South Dakota woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, were sentenced on July 31, 2017, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange. 

Meddore Maurice Douville, age 46, was sentenced to 30 months in custody and 3 years of supervised release on each count, to run concurrently, a fine of $1,000, forfeiture of $2,281.91 in United States currency, and a mandatory special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200.

Teeana Shannon Two Eagle, age 25, was sentenced to 9 months in custody, 2 years of supervised release, a fine of $500, forfeiture of $2,281.91 in United States currency, and a mandatory special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Douville and Two Eagle were indicted by a federal grand jury on December 20, 2016.  They both pled guilty on May 3, 2017.

Douville admitted to knowingly and intentionally conspiring with others to manufacture and distribute marihuana, a Schedule I Controlled Substance, within the District of South Dakota between September 1, 2015, and December 20, 2016.  Two Eagle admitted to knowingly and intentionally conspiring with others to distribute marihuana within the District of South Dakota between January 1, 2016, and December 20, 2016.

During the course of the conspiracy, Douville received distributable quantities of marihuana from others and manufactured and distributed some of that marihuana in South Dakota.  The individuals who provided Douville with the marihuana knew that he intended to engage in further manufacturing and distribution of it.  Two Eagle participated in Douville’s manufacturing and distribution operation.  
On December 6, 2016, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services Officers executed a search warrant on Douville’s residence in Mission, South Dakota.  Present in the residence at the time of the search warrant were Douville, Two Eagle, two of their young children, and one of Douville’s adult sons.  Two Eagle was pregnant at the time with twins. 

During the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement seized numerous items from Douville’s home, garage and storage shed, including over 46 total pounds of marihuana and marihuana cigarettes, in bulk and already packaged for sale, $2,281.91 in United States currency which was proceeds from the sale of marihuana, and equipment to grow, cultivate, process, and distribute marihuana like drying racks, planting pots, burlap sacks, sodium lights, industrial fans, plant food, grinders, cases of rolling papers and small plastic baggies.
Douville was employed at the St. Francis Indian School in St. Francis, South Dakota, from 2001 to 2008, and from 2011 until August of 2015.  For part of that time, Douville was a special education teacher at the school.  

Although Douville admitted he was unemployed after August of 2015, from December of 2015 until late November of 2016, Douville and Two Eagle traveled at least monthly, and often twice a month, to Colorado to buy marihuana to manufacture and distribute in South Dakota, staying in lavish hotels such as the Ritz Carlton or Sheraton in Denver, and spending money on marihuana paraphernalia, concerts, Colorado Rockies baseball games, or other supplies and entertainment.  For example, on November 27, 2016, Douville bought $900 worth of marihuana rolling papers from a paraphernalia shop in Denver.  During that same time, Douville reloaded over $30,000.00 on his Walmart debit card, reloading $5,000.00 in just five transactions during a ten-day window in November of 2016.  

Both Douville and Two Eagle admitted that Douville was in charge of the manufacturing and distribution operation conducted in and out of his residence in Mission, South Dakota.

This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney SaraBeth Donovan prosecuted the case.

Douville and Two Eagle were immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.    

BOSTON – A Dominican national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to drug trafficking charges.

Luis Jose Mejia Arias, 24, pleaded guilty to eight counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.  On eight occasions between September 2015 and May 2016, Mejia Arias distributed heroin, cocaine, and/or fentanyl to an undercover officer in Waltham.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Mejia Arias will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence.  Sentences are imported by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Miranda Hooker and Susan Winkler of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. 

Carlos Morillo, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to two years in prison. Morillo will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In April 2016, Morillo pleaded guilty to three counts of passport fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. 

Between 2007 and 2012, Morillo submitted at least six United States passport applications under three different identities.  The State Department denied all of the applications.  Investigators identified Morillo as the person responsible after he was arrested on drug charges in 2012. 

Morillo will serve the two-year sentence consecutively to a five-to-six-year state prison sentence he is currently serving as a result of the 2012 arrest. 

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm of Weinreb’s Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Chelsea man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for distributing crack cocaine.

Jose Muniz, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Mark L. Wolf to five years in prison and four years of supervised release. In April 2017, Muniz pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and distribution of cocaine base and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and cocaine.

In 2015 and 2016, a federal investigation identified a network of street gangs, which had created alliances to traffic weapons and drugs throughout Massachusetts and generate violence against rival gang members. Based on the investigation, 53 defendants were indicted in June 2016 on federal firearms and drug charges, including defendants who are allegedly leaders, members, and associates of the 18^th Street Gang, the East Side Money Gang and the Boylston Street Gang. These gangs operated primarily in the East Boston, Boston, Chelsea, Brockton, Malden, Revere and Everett areas. During the course of the investigation, over 70 firearms, cocaine, cocaine base (crack), heroin and fentanyl were seized.

During the investigation, Muniz sold cocaine base to a cooperating witness in Chelsea on two separate occasions in July and August of 2015. On Feb. 18, 2016, Muniz was stopped by law enforcement officers in Chelsea, who subsequently seized cocaine base, cocaine, other drugs, and a 9mm handgun from Muniz.

Muniz is one of 13 defendants to plead guilty.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Maura Healey, Attorney General of Massachusetts; Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes; and Brockton Police Chief John Crowley made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also acknowledges the assistance of the Suffolk and Middlesex County Sheriff Departments and the Malden, Revere and Everett Police Departments.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations and the remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

LAREDO, Texas – A 50-year-old Calgary, Alberta, Canada, man has entered a guilty plea to using a false Israeli passport, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.

On May 30, 2017, Alexander Fiodor Levin aka Alexander Berezovski approached the Lincoln-Juarez International Bridge in Laredo. At that time, he presented a false Israeli passport under the name of Alexander Berezovski to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. During a subsequent inspection of Levin’s luggage, authorities discovered multiple Belarus passports, a perforating machine, a laminating machine, stamps and other blank documents which could be used to manufacture passports.

Sentencing has been set for Nov. 27, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo. At the time, Levin faces up to 10 years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The Department of State - Diplomatic Security Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of CBP. Assistant U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A member of the Latin Kings street gang pleaded guilty today to distributing drugs in the City of New Bedford.

Jonathan Garcia, a/k/a “Philly,” 28, of New Bedford, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Oct. 25, 2017.

In March 2017, federal authorities charged Garcia along with Rafael Reyes, Virgilio Adorno, and Avimael Ortiz in a series of cases brought following a long-term investigation into drug trafficking in the New Bedford area. Among other things, the investigation revealed that the Bonneau Court area of New Bedford had been overwhelmed by drug dealing and violent crime. Latin Kings gang members and associates were observed regularly using a section of Bonneau Court known as “The Pit” as a site for drug trafficking and other illegal activity. As part of the investigation, Garcia was caught selling crack cocaine to a cooperating witness and undercover officer in the Bonneau Court area.

Reyes and Adorno have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial. Ortiz has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

The charge of distribution of cocaine base provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro; and Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Glenn A. MacKinlay and Kunal Pasricha of Weinreb’s Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations and the remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

          A 28-year-old enrolled member of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to eight years in prison and twenty years of supervised release for molesting a young child, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. GARY CLYDE WELLMAN, JR., of Kingston, Washington pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact in May 2017. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan ordered WELLMAN JR. to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

          According to records filed in the case, both the victim and WELLMAN JR. are members of the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. WELLMAN JR. was a close friend of the victim’s parents and was viewed by the family as an uncle to their children. In October 2016, the victim disclosed to a trusted relative that WELLMAN JR. had molested the child while he was a guest in the family’s home. The abuse began when the child was as young as 6 or 7, and some sexual abuse occurred on Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribal Trust land.

          WELLMAN JR. has been in custody since his arrest in October 2016. He was charged in Kitsap County Superior Court in connection with the molestation that occurred off Tribal lands. Those charges were resolved with the federal charges for which he was sentenced today.

           The case was investigated by the FBI and the Port Gamble S'Klallam Department of Public Safety. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Cohen. Ms. Cohen serves as a Tribal Liaison for the United States Attorney’s Office.

         LOS ANGELES– A Beverly Hills man who has a long history of swindling investors and admitted most recently to participating in a scheme involving bogus gold contracts – and giving fake gold bars as “collateral” to victims – has been sentenced to 96 months in federal prison.

         Mark Ross Weinberg, 63, was sentenced on Monday by United States District Judge Manuel Real. In addition to the prison term, Judge Real ordered Weinberg to pay $2,982,181 in restitution to his victims.

         The sentencing followed Weinberg’s guilty pleas in May to conspiracy and wire fraud charges.

         A second man charged in relation to the scheme – Dale Washam Talbert, 63, also of Beverly Hills – was sentenced by Judge Real in June to five years in federal prison, which was the statutory maximum sentence for the conspiracy count to which he pleaded guilty.

         The victim who sustained the largest losses in the scheme, a lifelong friend of Talbert, was induced to invest $2.4 million and lost nearly all of that money. After this victim referred the scheme to the FBI, which seized some of the defendants’ assets, Weinberg and Talbert solicited the other six victims in the Los Angeles area and convinced them to invest more than $645,000.

         Weinberg and Talbert, who scheme ran from mid-2013 through the end of 2015, participated in a scheme in which they claimed to be traders of gold options in an account maintained in Japan. The two men told victims that they would use invested funds on a short-term basis to lock in and liquidate gold trading contracts they had previously acquired. Investors were promised substantial returns on their investments, after being shown fabricated account statements that falsely reflected multi-million balances and given gold bullion bars as collateral that were in fact fake. These and other claims made by Weinberg and Talbert – such as their being represented by an international law firm and major accounting firm – simply were false.

         During the time of the gold investment scam, Weinberg was on supervised release after serving a 33-month federal prison sentence stemming from his 2006 conviction for defrauding investors by using counterfeit bank checks. Weinberg’s criminal history also includes California and Nevada state convictions and prison sentences resulting from his defrauding investors in the 1990s.

         This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

         This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard E. Robinson of the Major Frauds Section.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Demario Bernard Austin, 29, of Charlotte, was sentenced yesterday to 103 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for robbing a convenience store and a bank, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to court documents and information presented during the sentencing hearing, on March 25, 2016, Austin robbed the Kangaroo Express convenience store, located at 8008 Harris Boulevard in Charlotte. Austin entered the convenience store wearing a bandana over his face and brandishing what appeared to be a firearm. Austin pointed the firearm at the cashier and demanded money from the register. The cashier handed Austin approximately $100 in Kangaroo Express cash and Austin fled in his vehicle.

On April 17, 2017, court records show that Austin, armed with what appeared to be the same firearm, entered the BB&T bank branch located at 6609 Marshville Boulevard in Marshville, pointed the handgun at one bank teller and demanded money. While the teller was putting the cash in Austin’s bag, Austin threatened to shoot the teller. Then, Austin turned to a second bank teller, pointed the firearm at her, and demanded more money. Austin fled the bank with approximately $3,273 in cash. Court records indicate that law enforcement arrested Austin a short time later. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that Austin’s firearm was an Airsoft BB gun.

Austin pleaded guilty to one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of bank robbery. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Rose thanked the FBI, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, the Marshville Police Department, and the Union County Sheriff’s Office for investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Arrowood, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is in prosecuted the case.

SAN JOSE – A federal grand jury in San Jose indicted five Salinas residents, charging them with conspiracy to submit fraudulent tax returns to the IRS, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Batdorf.

According to the indictment, issued on July 13, 2017, and unsealed yesterday, Jorge Vissani, Jacqueline Ramos, Ana Bajo, Norma Morfin, and Antonio Ahumada stole money from the United States by filing false tax returns which claimed fraudulent income tax refunds. The indictment alleges that the defendants directed the IRS to send the fraudulent tax refunds to addresses or bank accounts the defendants controlled.  Once the defendants received fraudulent tax refund checks, they cashed or deposited the checks at financial institution and businesses in Northern California.  The scheme resulted in the issuance of fraudulent tax refunds worth approximately $9,000,000 during 2011 and 2012.  Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to submit false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286.  Ramos and Ahumada were also charged with bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344.

Ramos, Bajo, Morfin, and Ahumada were arrested yesterday in Salinas.  They made their initial appearance in federal court in San Jose before the Honorable Nathanael M. Cousins, U.S. Magistrate Judge.  The next hearing in the case is scheduled for August 4, 2017 at 1:30 PM before Judge Cousins.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The maximum penalty for conspiracy to file false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 286, is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  The maximum penalty for bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344, is 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.  

Assistant United States Attorney Michael G. Pitman and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Gregory Bernstein are prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. 
 

PITTSBURGH - Three residents of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, and a resident of New Jersey pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of criminal contempt of court, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.

Khayri Battle, 36, of Newark, New Jersey, Shane Brooks, 30, Victoria Morgan, 32, and Bobby Rodgers, 48, all of Duquesne, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to one count each before United States District Judge Reggie B. Walton.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Battle, Brooks, Morgan and Rodgers refused to testify at the trial of Anthony Pryor and Lance Yarbough, for charges that included conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin, despite a written order compelling them to testify pursuant to a grant of immunity from United States District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton.

Judge Walton scheduled sentencings for all four of the defendants for September 8, 2017. The law provides for an indeterminate prison sentence, an indeterminate fine, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the prosecutions of Battle, Brooks, Morgan and Rodgers.

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Wilfredo Sanio, 52, of Georgia, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who is handling the case, stated that between May 2010 and May 2012, the defendant concealed the fraudulent activities of co-defendants Ann Nichols and Donnie Heilig. Heilig and Nichols, both of whom resided in the state of Oklahoma, utilized a business entity known as CED Computer Services (CED)  fraudulently to obtain loans for clients in the form of equipment “leases.” Wilfredo Sanio operated a business in Georgia known as SCF Funding, which acted as a broker and brought clients to CED Computer Services. 

Sanio knew that Heilig and Nichols falsely advised lease finance companies that CED was selling new equipment to clients and prepared fraudulent invoices for new equipment when, in fact, no equipment or inferior equipment was actually being provided.  Upon receipt of the funding from the finance companies, defendant Nichols gave a commission to Heilig, herself, and Sanio, from the lease proceeds and sent the majority of the remaining proceeds to the client.

Ann Nichols and Donnie Heilig have been convicted of wire fraud and are awaiting sentencing. 

Today’s plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S. Cohen.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 13, 2017, at 12:00 p.m. before Judge Arcara.

PRESS CONFERENCE

INDIANAPOLIS-United States Attorney Josh Minkler will hold a press conference tomorrow, August 7, 2017, at 10am in the Plainfield Town Courtroom, 1075 W. Main Street, Plainfield, Indiana.

Minkler will be discussing charges in the 2015, Plainfield-area cyber threats case which resulted in school and shopping center closures. Minkler will be joined by Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott, from the Indianapolis FBI Office, Superintendent Doug Carter, Indiana State Police and officials from the Plainfield and Brownsburg Police Departments.

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TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Teona N. Rodgers, 28, of Tampa, was sentenced today, after being convicted after a jury trial on May 3 of theft of government funds, possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices, use of unauthorized access devices, aggravated identity theft, and false claims. Rodgers was sentenced to 75 months in prison and ordered to pay $151,577 in restitution. The sentence was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

While on a track and field scholarship at Florida State University, Rodgers participated in a scheme to file fraudulent income tax returns during the 2011 and 2012 tax years by using other people’s personal information. The scheme was discovered in November 2013, when two notebooks and 12 debit cards in other people’s names were discovered in the Tallahassee apartment Rodgers had recently vacated.

The notebooks contained handwritten names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, tax refund amounts, account numbers, and other personal data of more than 150 individuals. The notebooks also included notations such as “rejected” and “filed,” and detailed instructions on how to file a return reporting $47,196 of interest income. This amount was used on multiple tax returns in this scheme (including Rodgers’s own 2011 and 2012 returns). Investigators determined that the returns had been filed from IP addresses linked to Rodgers and that the false returns had funded the debit cards. Rodgers used these debit cards to make purchases. In total, the information contained in the notebooks was used to file 64 fraudulent tax returns, seeking $465,948 in refunds.

This case resulted from an investigation by the Emerald Coast Financial Crimes Task Force, comprised of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the United States Secret Service and the Tallahassee Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Gary Milligan prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

For more information, contact:
Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, amy.alexander@usdoj.gov

DALLAS — Following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay, today a federal jury convicted Laroy Damont Johnson, 37, of Dallas, of drug and firearm offenses, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, Johnson was convicted of one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, namely, heroin, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The drug count carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and a $1,000,000 fine. The felon-in-possession count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The firearm-in-furtherance count carries a mandatory five-year term of imprisonment that must run consecutively to all other counts. Sentencing is set for December 4, 2017.

According to evidence presented at trial, Johnson was staying at a hotel room in Dallas that he used to sell heroin. Law enforcement searched the room and found Johnson sitting on the couch next to three cell phones and nearly $5,000 cash; distribution quantities of heroin in the fridge; a table covered in what appeared to be heroin residue, along with Xanax pills in a plastic baggie, cocaine, a digital scale, and a razor blade; and a loaded firearm wedged between the mattress and the box spring of the bed. The government presented other evidence suggesting that Johnson had been staying in the room for several days distributing drugs.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Irving Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Wirmani and Jamie L. Hoxie prosecuted the case.

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Tampa, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew has sentenced Victoriano Ruyan-Juarez (36), a Guatemalan national, to 18 months in federal prison for illegal reentry after deportation for a felony, and for failure to register as a sex offender, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Ruyan-Juarez pleaded guilty on April 27, 2017.

According to court documents, in April 2014, Ruyan-Juarez was convicted in Manatee County for traveling to entice a child to commit a sex act, as well as using a computer to do the same. Following the completion of his state sentence in February 2015, immigration officials deported him to Guatemala. He illegally reentered the United States in August 2015, settling in Florida, but he failed to register as a sex offender as required by state and federal law.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and the U.S. Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.

Tampa, Florida– Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that Anthony Sanchez (25, Bradenton) today pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute carfentanil and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, Sanchez sold an undercover agent a stolen Sig-Sauer 9mm caliber pistol and ammunition at theDesoto Square Mall, in Bradenton, Florida. He also sold the agent 10.85 grams of carfentanil. During the sale, Sanchez possessed a loaded .22 caliber revolver.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Murray.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, along with Daryl R. McCrary, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.