MONROE, La. –Acting U.S.Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Lake Providence woman was sentenced last week to 18 months in prison for stealing more than $52,000 from a housing development by falsifying receipts for work that was never performed.

Stephanie R. Threats, 46, of Lake Providence, La., was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of conspiracy to commit federal program theft. She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release. According to the June 1, 2017 guilty plea, Threats worked for an Oak Grove, La., elderly housing apartment company, which received funds from the Office of Housing and Urban Development through Section 202 of the Federal Housing Program. From July 2009 until July 2012, Threats stole $52,241.69 from the program by creating false invoices for work performed for the benefit of the apartments and the HUD program recipients, when in reality no work had been performed.

The Office of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown prosecuted the case.

NEWARK, N.J. – The assistant purchasing manager for a company that manufactured military parts for the U.S. Navy today admitted soliciting and receiving kickbacks in return for providing subcontract work to a Cherry Hill, New Jersey, company, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Christopher Sanchirico, 55, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback act. He was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

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

Sanchirico was the assistant purchasing manager for an entity identified in the information as “Subcontractor 1,” which was located in Philadelphia and manufactured shock-hardened circuit breakers and switchgears for installation on U.S. Navy surface ships, submarines, and aircraft carriers. Subcontractor 1 performed work on multiple U.S. Navy and Defense Logistics Agency maritime contracts as a first-tier subcontractor to a prime contractor working for the United States. 

In July 2013, Sanchirico made an agreement with an entity identified in the information as “Subcontractor 2,” a machine shop in Cherry Hill, through Subcontractor 2’s president, identified in the information as “Individual 1.” In return for his assistance in securing a manufacturing contract between Subcontractor 1 and Subcontractor 2, Sanchirico received between five and 10 percent of the gross revenue from circuit breaker and switchgear components that Subcontractor 2 provided to Subcontractor 1. Subcontractor 2’s secretary, identified in the information as “Individual 2,” maintained records of the payments and sometimes made bank withdrawals for the kickbacks when Individual 1 was unable to do so. 

From 2013 to 2016, Sanchirico received approximately $150,000 in cash kickbacks from Subcontractor 2.

Sanchirico faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2018.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited agents of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leo S. Lamont in Newport, Rhode Island, and agents of the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, under the direction of Acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen, for its assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joyce M. Malliet of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit in Newark. 

Defense counsel: Michael Drossner Esq., Philadelphia

BISMARCK – Christopher C. Myers announces that on October 6, 2017, former Cannonball Tribal Councilman ROBERT FOOL BEAR, age 55, was sentenced before Chief Judge Daniel L. Hovland on three Counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child and one Count of Incest. Fool Bear was sentenced to serve 30 years imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, and was further ordered to pay a total of $400 to the Crime Victims’ Fund.

This case came to the attention of law enforcement after the victim reported to law enforcement that Fool Bear had been sexually abusing her for approximately seven years, including on one occasion kicking her in the ribs. The investigation was conducted by agents from the FBI, as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gary Delorme.
 

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAVID VALENTIN, 38, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for heroin and firearm offenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on January 29, 2016, VALENTIN was arrested after Hartford Police officers conducted a court-authorized search of his Congress Street residence and seized 2,684 wax folds of heroin, 15.1 grams of raw heroin, and a loaded .380 caliber pistol that had been reported stolen.

On April 18, 2017, VALENTIN pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

VALENTIN’s criminal history includes 10 felony convictions.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Hartford Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.

BOSTON – Tuan Dinh Nguyen, 29, a Vietnamese national living in Melbourne, Australia, appeared in federal court in Boston today on charges that he participated in an international scheme to use stolen payment card data and personally identifiable information to purchase and re-sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of consumer goods. 

In August 2015, a federal grand jury in Boston indicted Nguyen on one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of money laundering conspiracy, 13 counts of money laundering and aiding and abetting, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Nguyen was arrested in Australia in June 2017, and on Oct. 5, 2017, he was extradited to the United States.

According to the indictment, between December 2007 and December 2013, Nguyen and at least three others conspired to use stolen payment card data and personally identifiable information to purchase consumer goods online and to re-sell those items on auction websites, including Amazon, eBay, and Buy.com; they then wired the proceeds overseas. 

It is alleged that Nguyen and his co-conspirators created fraudulent accounts on multiple auction websites, or used stolen usernames and passwords to take over subscribers’ legitimate accounts.  They then posted popular goods for sale at a discounted price, including Apple merchandise, electronics, personal care items and books. However, Nguyen and his co-conspirators did not own or otherwise have these goods to sell.  Instead, when customers of the auction websites purchased and paid for these items, Nguyen and his co-conspirators used stolen payment card and personally identifiable information to buy the items from Walmart.com or other e-commerce websites, and then shipped the items to the auction website customers, who never knew that the items they received had been purchased with stolen credit cards and re-sold to them at discounted prices. 

To obtain the proceeds of the scheme, Nguyen and his co-conspirators allegedly recruited U.S. residents to withdraw and wire overseas the money that the unwitting customers had paid through the auction websites.  In total, Nguyen and his coconspirators stole and re-sold approximately $500,000 in consumer goods.

The charges of wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and money laundering conspiracy provide for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, forfeiture and restitution.  The wire fraud charge carries a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the conspiracy’s gain or loss to any victim; and the money laundering conspiracy charge carries a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the amount of the money laundered.  The aggravated identity theft charge provides for a mandatory two-year sentence to be served consecutively to any sentence imposed for the wire fraud conspiracy charge.  Sentences are imposed by a U.S. district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Matthew J. Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and U.S. Marshal John Gibbons for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement today. Australia’s Attorney-General’s Department, the Australian Federal Police, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance in securing Nguyen’s extradition to the United States.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto of Weinreb’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

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

FRESNO, Calif. — Christina Hernandez, 39, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty today to embezzlement from a health care benefits program, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. 

According to the plea agreement, Hernandez was a provider relations specialist at the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health, which was responsible for administering mental health service benefits for Fresno County’s Medi-Cal beneficiaries. As a provider relations specialist, Hernandez was responsible for reviewing and approving claim forms from private mental health care providers who provide services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries in Fresno County. To steal funds from Fresno County, Hernandez submitted claim forms for medical services that were never provided. She then took the payment checks for those fake services and cashed the checks at check-cashing stores in Fresno for her personal benefit. In addition, Hernandez stole payment checks written to doctors for actual medical services provided. She also cashed those checks at convenience stores in Fresno for her personal benefit  In total, Hernandez stole approximately $98,560 from the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Services.          

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Grant B. Rabenn is prosecuting the case.

Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on January 8, 2018. Hernandez faces a maximum statutory penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Stacy B. Middleton, age 47, of Goose Creek, South Carolina, was sentenced in federal court in Charleston, South Carolina, on two felony counts of Willfully Preparing and Filing a False Income Tax Return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(2). Senior United States District Court Judge Patrick Michael Duffy sentenced Middleton to 41 months imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release. 

According to court documents and in statements made during court hearings, Middleton owned and operated a tax preparation business in Charleston named MBM Tax & Accounting Services, LLC (“MBM”).  For calendar years 2009, 2010, and 2011, Middleton prepared and electronically filed over 1,300 false and fraudulent income tax returns for his clients without their knowledge in order to increase their refunds. The income tax returns contained overstated, duplicated or fictitious deductions, fictitious Schedules C to maximize Earned Income Tax Credits, fabricated expenses for Schedules A, C and E, fraudulent refundable credits, and fictitious Forms 1099. Middleton admitted that his scheme caused a tax loss of $3,500,000.

Ms. Drake stated that the case was investigated by agents of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Dean H. Secor of the Charleston Office prosecuted the case.       

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – A Burlington resident pleaded guilty on October 4, 2017, in United States District Court before the Honorable N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., to controlled substance offenses and other crimes, announced Sandra J. Hairston, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.

HEATHER SMITH ELLIOTT, 41, of Burlington, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to charges in relation to a scheme to fraudulently obtain over 8,000 10-325 mg hydrocodone pills from CVS pharmacies in Alamance and Guilford Counties through use of forged and fraudulent prescriptions appearing to be issued by a Duke University Medical Center neurosurgeon. ELLIOTT pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining hydrocodone pills, a Schedule II controlled substance, by use of forged and fraudulent prescriptions, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843, one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.

Documents filed with the Court show that ELLIOTT forged and counterfeited approximately 132 prescriptions for hydrocodone. Each of these forged and counterfeit prescriptions bore the name and DEA number of a neurosurgeon at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. ELLIOTT made use of altered actual Duke University Medical Center prescription forms to create fraudulent prescriptions for hydrocodone appearing to be issued by the Duke neurosurgeon for herself, as well as for friends and family members of ELLIOTT including an ex-boyfriend, a former employee, her former husband, her son, and a neighbor. Neither ELLIOTT nor any of these persons were patients of the Duke neurosurgeon, nor had he prescribed any medications to them. ELLIOTT retained and converted the hydrocodone pills to her own use and purpose. ELLIOTT also made use of a fraudulently obtained Bank of America credit card in the name of her former boyfriend to pay for at least one of the false prescriptions.

Obtaining a controlled substance through use of a fraudulent prescription is punishable by up to four years in federal prison. Wire fraud is punishable by up to twenty years in federal prison. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by two years in federal prison consecutive to any other prison sentences imposed by the court. ELLIOTT also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release of not less than three years. Sentencing is scheduled for January 18, 2018, at 9:30 a.m. in Greensboro, Courtroom #2.

The United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Treasury Office of Inspector General Task Force, and the City of Burlington Police Department participated in the investigation. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kennedy Gates and Assistant United States Attorney Frank Joseph Chut, Jr. prosecuted the case.

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Acting United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker of the District of Minnesota and Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division today announced the conviction of a former employee of Canadian Pacific Railway for causing intentional damage to Canadian Pacific’s computer network. CHRISTOPHER VICTOR GRUPE, 46, was charged on April 11, 2017, with one count of intentional damage to a protected computer and on October 6, 2017, following a five-day trial, was found guilty by a federal jury in Minneapolis, Minn. A sentencing date has not been set.

“IT professionals with both substantial technical skills and trusted high-level access to the computer systems on which they work can cause significant and potentially catastrophic damage to businesses and critical infrastructure, and so when they use their skills and access to commit crimes there should be real consequences,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Rank. “This guilty verdict, which was the result of a thorough investigation by the FBI, demonstrates that there will be. I am grateful to the jury for their time and service.”

As proven at trial, from September 2013 until December 2015, GRUPE was employed as an IT professional by Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), a transcontinental railroad company headquartered in Alberta, Canada, with US headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On December 15, 2015, following a twelve-day suspension, GRUPE was notified by CPR management that he was going to be fired due to insubordination. However, at his request, GRUPE was instead allowed to resign, effective that same day. In his resignation letter, GRUPE indicated that he would return all company property, including his laptop, remote access device, and access badges, to the CPR office.

However, on December 17, 2015, before returning his laptop and remote access device, GRUPE used both to gain access to the CPR computer network’s core “switches” – high-powered computers through which critical data in the CPR network flowed. Once inside, GRUPE strategically deleted files, removed administrative-level accounts, and changed passwords on the remaining administrative-level accounts, thereby locking CPR out of these network switches. GRUPE then attempted to conceal his activity by wiping the laptop’s hard drive before returning it to CPR.

On January 6, 2016, while trying to address a networking problem, the CPR network staff discovered that they were unable to access the main network switches. After CPR IT staff was able to regain access to the switches through a risky, but successful, rebooting procedure, they discovered evidence in logging data stored in the memory of the switches connecting the damage to GRUPE. CPR hired an outside computer security company to identify the source and scope of the intrusion as well as conduct an incident analysis, which also connected the damage to GRUPE. In total, CPR experienced a financial loss of approximately $30,000 as a result of GRUPE’S conduct.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Digital Forensic Laboratory of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

Assistant United States Attorney Timothy C. Rank of the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorney Aaron R. Cooper of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case.

Defendant Information:

CHRISTOPHER VICTOR GRUPE, 46

Minneapolis, Minn.

Convicted:

• Intentional damage to a protected computer, 1 count
   

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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                    at (410) 209-4885

Baltimore, Maryland – Detective Jemell Lamar Rayam, age 37, of Owings Mills, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to one count of racketeering conspiracy including multiple robberies, and overtime fraud. 

The guilty plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

Rayam joined the Baltimore Police Department on July 12, 2005 and was later assigned to the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF,) a division of the Baltimore Police Department. According to the plea agreement, Rayam schemed to steal money, property, and narcotics by detaining victims, entering residences, conducting traffic stops, and swearing out false search warrant affidavits. In addition, Rayam prepared and submitted false official incident and arrest reports, reports of property seized from arrestees, and charging documents. The false reports concealed the fact that Rayam and his co-conspirators had stolen money, property, and narcotics from individuals.

According to his plea agreement, beginning in 2009, Rayam robbed civilians he detained and in some cases arrested and stole money and drugs from them.  Rayam shared the proceeds with co-defendants Momodu Gondo, Wayne Jenkins, Daniel Hersl, Marcus Taylor, and others, and on other occasions, he kept all of the proceeds for himself.  Rayam also sold, through associates of his, drugs that Jenkins stole from detainees and arrestees, gave them to Rayam, and split the proceeds of those sales with his co-defendant. 

Rayam participated in 15 robberies from June 2014 through October 2016. Rayam admitted that he was armed with his BPD service firearm during the robberies, that individual victims of the robberies were physically restrained to facilitate the commission of the offense, and that he authored false and fraudulent incident reports and other official documents in some cases in order to conceal his criminal conduct and otherwise obstruct justice.

Rayam also robbed detainees and arrestees with another police officer, who was not a member of the GTTF.  Rayam and this other police officer would falsely represent that they had a search warrant, when they did not, in order to gain access to someone’s home and would then steal money and other things of value.  In addition, Rayam had an associate who would inform him when a drug dealer had a significant amount of cash in his home and when the associate knew that the drug dealer would not be in the home.  Rayam would then rob the drug dealer’s home with the assistance of other associates of his who were not police officers. 

On October 5, 2016, Rayam and his co-conspirators robbed a drug dealer after he and Gondo placed a tracking device on the victim’s car without court authorization so that they could rob his apartment when he was not home.  Rayam and Glen Kyle Wells entered the victim’s apartment.  Rayam was wearing a ski mask and was armed with a BPD-issued firearm. Rayam and Wells stole a Rolex watch, a firearm, $12,000 to $14,000 in cash, and at least 800 grams of heroin.  After the robbery, Rayam and his co-conspirators split the money they had stolen.  Wells took the drugs and money, and Wells sold some of the drugs and gave Rayam a portion of the proceeds.  Wells then gave Rayam a quantity of drugs that he had been unable to sell, which Rayam in turn sold through an associate. 

On June 27, 2014, Rayam and his co-defendants executed a search and seizure warrant at a store that sold birdseed.  No illegal contraband or firearms were found at the location.  The storeowners, a married couple, had $20,000 in cash at the store that they intended to use to pay off tax liabilities they owed on two homes. Rayam later contacted two associates and agreed to rob the home of the storeowners.  The associates presented themselves as police officers and stole $20,000, while Rayam remained in the car so he could intercept the police officers that responded to the incident by pretending to respond to the incident himself.  Rayam split the proceeds with his associates.

On March 11, 2015, Rayam, Gondo and Sergeant A, as well as Sergeant A’s son, who was not a police officer, searched a residence and discovered a large quantity of cash.  Rayam, Gondo and a BPD Sergeant each took some of the cash.  Rayam took between $8,000 and $10,000.  Sergeant Thomas Allers has been charged in a separate indictment with Racketeering Conspiracy and Racketeering.  Allers is detained pending trial.

On July 8, 2016, Rayam and his co-defendants Hersl and Gondo detained two victims after a car stop.  Rayam stole money from one of the victims. At Jenkins’s direction, Hersl, Rayam, and Gondo transported the two victims to a BPD office to interrogate them.  Jenkins told his co-conspirators to treat him like he was the U.S. Attorney.  After speaking with one of the individuals, Jenkins, Hersl, Gondo, and Rayam then transported both of the victims to their home and robbed them of $20,000.  Jenkins, Hersl, Rayam, and Gondo divided the $20,000.  Rayam authored a false incident report to conceal the stolen money, which Jenkins approved.

In the fall of 2016, Jenkins approached Rayam and asked him to sell drugs that Jenkins had stolen from detainees.  Rayam agreed and sold the drugs Jenkins gave him and shared the proceeds with Jenkins.  Jenkins maintained that Rayam owed him money for drugs that Jenkins had given him.  After seizing a firearm and marijuana, Jenkins told Rayam to sell the firearm and marijuana in order to pay Jenkins for money that Jenkins believed Rayam owed him.  Gondo subsequently arranged for an associate of his, who was a drug dealer, to buy the firearm and marijuana.  That associate of Gondo’s gave Rayam money for the sale of the firearm and marijuana. 

According to the plea agreement, Rayam also admitted that he routinely submitted false and fraudulent individual overtime reports defrauding the Baltimore Police Department and the citizens of the State of Maryland.  On these reports, Rayam falsely certified that he worked his entire regularly assigned shifts, when he did not, and that he worked additional hours for which he received overtime pay, when he had not worked all and in some cases any of those overtime hours.  Rayam also admitted that he submitted false and fraudulent overtime reports on behalf of his co-defendants.

Lastly, Rayam admitted to obstructing law enforcement by alerting his co-defendants about potential investigations of their criminal conduct, coaching each another to give false testimony to investigators from the Internal Investigations Division of the BPD, and turning off his body cameras to avoid recording encounters with civilians. 

Rayam faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. 

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Wise and Derek E. Hines, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

"Wilmington Trust Company (WT) has been a fixture in this community for more than 100 years. This is why the bank’s decline and the fire sale acquisition by M&T Bank was such a significant development in this community; and why this office has invested substantial time, energy and resources in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

The United States Attorney’s Office fort the District of Delaware has reached a resolution with WT. The key terms, from our perspective, are as follows:

• WT admits that it agreed to submit Monthly Regulatory Reports to the Federal Reserve between October 2009 and July;

• Those reports included past due loan information.
   
• The past due loan numbers submitted to the Federal Reserve did not include past due loans that WT chose to “waive.”

We say that those monthly reports were false. These facts and those set forth in the Civil Forfeiture Complaint filed earlier today, provide a basis to forfeit the proceeds of this unlawful activity.

• As a result, WT and the USAO have agreed to a total settlement amount of $60,000,000, which credits WT with its prior payment to the SEC in the amount of $16,000,000, and requires an additional forfeiture payment of $44,000,000.
   
• Further, WT agrees to cooperate with the USAO moving forward. In return, the USAO has agreed to dismiss all criminal charges pending against WT, and the parties have agreed to exchange mutual releases.

To function effectively, our financial markets require accurate disclosures—and regulators need to receive accurate information.

That didn’t happen here.

We believe today’s resolution accomplished three important objectives. First, we secured a substantial payment for victims who sustained losses as a result of what transpired. Second, WT accepted responsibility for its actions. And third, if possible, we wanted to avoid the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction for the bank, which could have resulted in the loss of jobs and revenue for our community."

CHICAGO — A lawyer licensed to practice in Illinois has been convicted on federal fraud charges for scheming to provide falsified documents to prevent foreclosure on a nearly $2 million parcel of land in Aurora.  The fraud left an elderly couple out of $300,000.

The jury in federal court in Chicago convicted ROBERT JON SCHLYER, 47, of Portage, Ind., of two counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and one count of bank fraud. 

Schlyer’s fraud scheme occurred while representing two clients, co-schemers KEVIN LEBEAU and BRIAN BODIE, in connection with a foreclosure lawsuit.  Evidence at trial revealed that Schlyer provided false and fraudulent documents to an elderly couple and Amcore Bank in order topostpone foreclosure on the Aurora property. 

The jury returned the guilty verdicts on Oct. 6, 2017, after a four-day trial.  U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve set sentencing for Jan. 31, 2018, at 9:15 a.m.  Each count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

The conviction was announced by Joel R. Levin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and John P. Selleck, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to evidence at trial, in 2004 Amcore Bank received a mortgage on the 10.4-acre property in Aurora after issuing a $1.9 million loan for the refinancing and redevelopment of the property.  Lebeau and Bodie executed a full personal guarantee for the loan.  By the fall of 2005, Lebeau and Bodie had failed to make the required payments, the loan was in default, and the bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit to seize the property.

During the scheme, Schlyer, who acted as Lebeau’s and Bodie’s attorney in the foreclosure suit, obtained $300,000 from an elderly retired couple by providing them with fake documents that made it seem like they were making a safe investment in the redevelopment and that it would be secured by a trust.  Schlyer also claimed to be the trustee of the purported trust.  In reality, there was no trust and Schlyer was not a trustee.  Schlyer and his co-schemers also concealed from the elderly couple the foreclosure suit and LeBeau’s and Bodie’s inability to pay the bank debt.  A portion of funds obtained from the elderly couple through the fraud was used to pay down the bank loan.

Together with his co-schemers, Schlyer furnished fraudulent and fabricated documents to the bank, including forged documents that made it appear that investors had committed approximately $1.5 million to the redevelopment of the property.  Eventually the foreclosure occurred, and the property was sold in 2010 at a significant loss to the bank. 

LeBeau, of Aurora, and Bodie, of Chicago, were previously convicted in the case and are awaiting sentencing before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kartik K. Raman and Amarjeet S. Bhachu.

SALT LAKE CITY -- In a new, collaborative effort, Utah federal, state and local government officials established the Financial Fraud Institute and will hold a multi-agency seminar designed to educate Utah investors and consumers on how to recognize and avoid financial and consumer fraud, announced U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regional Director Richard R. Best and U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John W. Huber. 

The free seminar is open to the public and will be held in St. George on Nov 2.  Follow us on Twitter at #StopFraudUtah.

Officials from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Utah Attorney General’s Office, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Utah Division of Securities, Utah Division of Consumer Protection, FBI, IRS and the Washington County Attorney’s office will participate in the seminar.

John Huber, United States Attorney for the District of Utah, will be the keynote speaker at the seminar. This is the third in a series of seminars as a part of the Financial Fraud Institute initiative.

The seminar will provide information on key questions to ask before making investment decisions, where to find free and unbiased information, how to spot financial scams, and how to report suspected fraud. 

WHO:  National and local experts from federal and state law enforcement and financial regulatory agencies

WHAT:  Financial Fraud Institute Seminars to educate investors and consumers on how to recognize and avoid fraud

WHEN:  November 2, 2017

                4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (See agenda here)

WHERE:  The Dixie Center

                   1835 Convention Center Drive

                   St. George, UT

Those interested in attending the seminar must register at:  www.utfraud.com, or call 801-579-6191. For more information, visit www.utfraud.com. 

The seminar is open to the press.  Press interested in attending the event should contact Melodie Rydalch of the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office on 801-243-6475 or melodie.rydalch@usdoj.gov.

Anchorage, Alaska - Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that, on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, the group responsible for ATM thefts at several Anchorage banks were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.

Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess sentenced Adrian Turnbow, Christi Cozzetti, Jerd Thacker, and Jordan Cook for their roles in ATM thefts from banks in early 2017.  All had previously pleaded guilty to the crime of possession of stolen bank property.

Turnbow used front end loaders stolen from local construction sites to remove ATMs from Anchorage banks.  Turnbow was involved in thefts or attempted thefts that occurred at an Alaska USA branch on Dec. 25, 2016, at Denali Federal Credit Union on Feb. 6, and at two First National Bank branches on March 1, and March 6, 2017. 

Cozzetti, Thacker, and Cook participated in the March 1, 2017, theft.  On that date, Turnbow used a front end loader to remove an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) from a First National Bank branch located near the intersection of Old Seward Highway and Dimond Boulevard in Anchorage.  Turnbow then contacted Jerd Thacker, who assisted him in transporting the ATM to the Wasilla area.  While Turnbow was inside a heavy equipment rental business in Wasilla, Thacker stole Turnbow’s truck that contained the stolen ATM, then he, Cozzetti, and Thacker travelled to Big Lake where they attempted to open the ATM. 

Adrian Turnbow, 26, of Anchorage, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  In addition, Turnbow was ordered to pay a total of $452,933 in restitution to the following businesses: Alaska Federal Credit Union, Titan LLC, Denali Federal Credit Union, BC Excavating, and First National Bank.  Turnbow also agreed to abandon any interest he had in a blue Chevrolet truck that was purchased with money from one of the stolen ATMs and was used to facilitate the theft of another ATM.  Judge Burgess noted at Turnbow’s sentencing that his crimes were serious and caused ripples of problems across the community, as customers could not use the ATMs at their banks and banks lost customers.

Cristi Cozzetti, 29, of Anchorage, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and 200 hours of community work service.  Judge Burgess noted at Cozzetti’s sentencing that she had a “terrible” criminal history and that this sentence would protect the public from her future crimes. 

Jerd Thacker, 28, of Anchorage, was sentenced to 12 months and one-day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and 200 hours of community work service.  Thacker and others possessed a stolen ATM on March 1, 2017, and attempted to open it after it had been stolen from an Anchorage bank by Turnbow.  Judge Burgess noted that there was “no honor among thieves” with regard to Thacker stealing Turnbow’s truck that he knew contained a stolen ATM. 

Jordan Cook, 29, of Anchorage, was sentenced to seven months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and 200 hours of community work service.    

Judge Burgess ordered community work service as a condition for Cozzetti, Thacker, and Cook so they may contribute something positive to the community after they have served their sentences.  

Acting U.S. Attorney Schroder commended the diligence and hard work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Anchorage Police Department, and the Alaska State Troopers for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Turnbow, Cozzetti, Thacker, and Cook.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that DAVID ADAMS, 56, of Old Saybrook, pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to a six-count superseding indictment charging him with various tax offenses.  A trial in this matter was scheduled to start today.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the early 1980s, and then continuing from 1996 onward, ADAMS was substantially delinquent in filing his tax returns and paying amounts owed to the IRS.  Starting at least as early as 1998, ADAMS repeatedly engaged with IRS collections officers tasked with trying to get ADAMS into compliance with the tax laws.  Although IRS collections officers repeatedly advised ADAMS about his obligations to pay estimated taxes, he continually failed to pay those taxes on time or in sufficient amounts. 

As part of this tax fraud scheme, ADAMS engaged the services of a certified public accountant to prepare his personal tax returns beginning in approximately 1993, and then repeatedly failed to give the accountant complete, accurate information.

In 2002, ADAMS sold an online floral business, which accounted for a significant portion of more than $6 million in taxable income he claimed on his 2002 tax return.  Although ADAMS represented to the IRS in August 2003 that he was enclosing payment of $1,250,000, no such payment was enclosed and ADAMS never made the payment.

In June 2011, ADAMS sold his partnership interest in another online floral business and received $4,708,419.20 wired into his personal bank account as part of the net proceeds owed to him as a result of the sale.  Although he knew that he owed substantial taxes on that amount, ADAMS engaged in a number of affirmative acts to conceal and attempt to conceal this income in order to evade the assessment of a tax including:  (1) failing to tell his accountant about the $4,708,419.20 in income ADAMS received in 2011; (2) providing the accountant with false information about ADAMS’s estimated tax payments for the year, telling the accountant that he had paid $220,000 when in fact, ADAMS knew he had only paid $100,000 in estimated taxes for 2011; (3) causing the accountant to prepare his 2011 tax return with false and fraudulent information; and (4) representing to an IRS revenue officer who was responsible for collecting ADAMS’s delinquent tax payments and securing ADAMS’s overdue tax returns, that he had hoped to have funds to pay down his back tax liability (including tax liability associated with the 2002 sale), but that nothing had been “panning out.”  ADAMS failed to disclose to the revenue officer that he had received $4,708,419.20 in cash less than three weeks earlier.

In June 2012, ADAMS received an additional $1,320,609.59 into his personal bank account as net proceeds of the 2011 sale.  Although he knew that he owed substantial taxes on that amount, ADAMS failed to disclose the income to his accountant, and failed to declare it on his tax return for that year.

In total, ADAMS engaged in a more than 16-year effort to inhibit the IRS’s efforts to collect back taxes from him.  Among other things, ADAMS bounced checks to the IRS; told IRS collections officers that payment had been sent when it had not; promised to pay delinquent tax liabilities in full and then delayed payment, made only partial payment, failed to pay at all, or paid off one liability while leaving another liability unpaid; claimed that he lacked funds to pay his delinquent tax but failed to disclose that he had access to enough cash to fully pay back his tax liabilities; filed false and fraudulent returns with the IRS; overstated the amounts of estimated taxes paid to the IRS, and failed to declare more than $6 million in income to the IRS.

ADAMS was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on April 14, 2016.

On December 6, 2016, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging ADAMS with two counts of tax evasion, three counts of making and subscribing a false tax return, and one count of attempting to interfere with the administration of the IRS laws.  Each tax evasion offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, each count of filing a false tax return carries a maximum term of imprisonment three years, and the interference charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years.

ADAMS is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant on January 11, 2018.

As of October 2016, ADAMS owed more than $4.7 million in back taxes, interest and penalties for tax years 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012.  Interest and penalties have continued to accrue since that time.

ADAMS is released on a $500,000 bond pending sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Susan L. Wines and Jennifer R. Laraia.

SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Derek Mountz, age 33, pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo, to participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and methamphetamine in Schuylkill and Berks Counties.  

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Mountz admitted to conspiring with others to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin (which is equivalent to more than 4,000 retail bags of heroin) and more than 50 grams of methamphetamine during April through October of 2016.

Mountz was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2017, as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and local police in Schuylkill County. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

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.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 40 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. There is also a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment for the offense. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Dennis Lee Artis, of Youngstown, Ohio was sentenced today to 15 months incarceration for distributing cocaine, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Artis, age 52, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Cocaine Base within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location” in September 2017. Artis admitted to selling cocaine near Allison Elementary School in Hancock County on April 5, 2017.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Hancock/Brooke/Weirton Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. 
 
Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr. presided.

TOPEKA, KAN. – A Junction City man who took part in a woman’s kidnapping that led to her murder was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Christopher Pugh, 33, Junction, City, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping. In his plea, he admitted participating in the kidnapping of Amanda Clemons, a 24-year-old woman whose body was found in February 2014 in Geary County, Kan.

In his plea, Pugh admitted that on Feb. 7, 2014, he was one of the defendants who met the victim, who was a prostitute, at a hotel in Junction City and kidnapped her. The defendants beat the victim in retribution for comments she had made on social media. During the beating, the defendants demanded the victim pay $300. They took the victim to another hotel room in an unsuccessful attempt to get the money, after which they transported her to a residence on Fort Riley where two of the defendants lived.

While at the residence, the defendants allowed the victim to call her young son and her mother. The victim’s mother realized the victim was in danger and called Junction City Police. When police called the victim’s number to check on her, the defendants listened to the call on speakerphone. At that time, Pugh left the house alone and did not take part in the murder.

Fearing that police were coming to arrest them, defendants Drexel Woody, Larry L. Anderson and Marryssa Middleton took the victim to a bridge in a remote part of Geary County. Once there, Anderson and Middleton resumed the beating and attacked the victim with a knife. The victim broke free and jumped off the bridge, falling 15 feet and breaking her ankle. Anderson and Middleton found the victim in the snow beneath the bridge and resumed the assault during which they cut her throat and killed her.

Co-defendants include:

Larry L. Anderson of Manhattan, Kan., who was sentenced to 28 years.

Marryssa M. Middleton of Fort Riley, Kan., who was sentenced to 28 years.

Drexel A. Woody, 27, of Fort Riley, who was sentenced to 16 years.

Shantrell D. Woody of Fort Riley, Kan., who is set for sentencing Nov. 20.

Beall commended the Junction City Police Department, the Grandview Plaza Police Department, the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, the Riley County Police Department, the Fort Riley Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag and Geary County Attorney Steven Opat for their work on the case.

Danville, VIRGINIA – The former owner and chief executive officer of an armored vehicle company with offices in Danville and Canada, was found guilty yesterday evening in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Danville of all federal charges levied against him, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

William R. Whyte, 72, of Ontario, Canada, was found guilty yesterday following a two-week jury trial on three counts of major fraud against the United States, three counts of wire fraud and three counts of false claims.

“Today’s jury verdict was the result of the outstanding teamwork among the United States Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It represents another step in the battle against fraud on the Department of Defense.  The defendant put his personal financial interests ahead of the safety of our brave men and women in uniform who risked their lives serving in Iraq,” Acting United States Attorney Mountcastle said. “I commend the outstanding work of AUSA Carlton, Trial Attorney Cottingham, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service remains vigilant to detect and disrupt the contamination of the military supply chain with defective parts and equipment. The fraud perpetrated in this matter could have resulted in the death or injury of American service members, impacting military operations in Iraq.  Along with our investigative partners, DCIS continues to aggressively pursue those who place our warfighters at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr, DCIS Mid-Atlantic Field Office

“Stealing from taxpayers by defrauding the government is bad enough.  Doing it in a way that imperils our warfighters and delivers to them equipment which is faulty or insufficient - that's a special kind of despicable,” Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division said today.  “Whyte exposed our heroes and knew his Armet Armored Vehicles weren't up to the task of protecting them.  I hope this case sends a message to those who contract with the government to provide essential equipment to our troops in support of their critical mission; the FBI will be on your trail if you betray them this way and steal from the taxpayers who fund them.  I want to thank our partners at DCIS, the Department of Justice, and the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia for today's outcome in this case.”

According to evidence presented at trial by AUSA Heather L. Carlton and Trial Attorney Caitlin Cottingham, Whyte was the owner and chief executive officer of Armet Armed Vehicles, Inc. Armet entered into a $4.8 million contract in April 2006 to provide the Department of Defense with 24 armored vehicles for use in Iraq.  In June 2006, Armet entered into a second contract, valued at $1.6 million, to deliver an additional eight armored vehicles. These vehicles were to be used as security vehicles to Iraqi “Tier 1” dignitaries, who were part of the then-newly elected government to replace Saddam Hussein and who regularly traveled by motorcade through a “hostile and dangerous environment.”

Both contracts included specific requirements for the armoring of the vehicles, including that each vehicle be reinforced to a standard at which an armor-piercing bullet could not penetrate the passenger compartment and ceiling. In addition, the contracts required the undercarriage of each armored truck have mine plating protection that could withstand explosions underneath the vehicles. Finally, the contracts required the armored vehicles to have run-flat tires, so they could continue to operate should their tires be shot out or otherwise damaged.

Despite the requirement in the contract that the first 24 armored gun trucks be delivered by July 31, 2006, Whyte and Armet failed to ship a single vehicle by that deadline. Armet ultimately supplied six armored vehicles after the contract deadline and was paid $ 2,019,454, including an approximately $824,000 progress payment requested by Whyte.  The prosecutors also presented evidence that Whyte intentionally misrepresented other issues to United States military officers about the contracts and vehicles.

None of the armored trucks delivered by Armet and Whyte met the ballistic and blast protection requirements of the contracts, despite the defendant’s claims that the vehicles met the standards. Whyte knew that each of the six armored trucks failed to meet the required standards and that they were intentionally under armored.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Heather L. Carlton and Department of Justice Fraud Section Trial Attorney Caitlin Cottingham.  

Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that JOHN C. GALLAGHER JR., the former Director of Environmental Services for the City School District of New Rochelle, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas in White Plains federal court to bribery in connection with a scheme to solicit bribes from an outside contractor to channel school district business to the contractor’s company.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said:  “As he admitted today, John Gallagher demanded and received more than $150,000 in cash bribes from a contractor for the school district where Gallagher worked.  As a school district employee, Gallagher was a public servant, whose job it was to do what was in the best interest of schoolchildren and taxpayers.  Instead, Gallagher corruptly did what was in his own interests, lining his pockets with bribes.  Combatting public corruption at all levels in government remains one of the Office’s top priorities.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment charging GALLAGHER and in the Information to which Mauro Zonzini pled guilty on May 9, 2017, as well as statements made in related court filings and proceedings:

The City School District of New Rochelle (the “School District”), which receives federal benefits significantly in excess of $10,000 each year, has a Buildings and Grounds Department.  It is responsible for, among other things, maintenance and repair of facilities used by the School District to educate the children.  To do certain maintenance and repair work, the School District uses outside contractors. 

Among the outside contractors used by the School District are companies with specialties – in, for example, masonry, electrical work, plumbing, and carpentry – sometimes referred to as “bid vendors” or “time and materials” contractors.  These contractors bid annually, using set rates, and if awarded contracts, are paid by the School District to handle any projects within the contractors’ specialties that do not exceed a certain threshold cost.  (As of 2009, that amount, per New York State law, was $35,000.)  A more costly project that exceeds the threshold is offered for bid and awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, unless the project is deemed a health and safety emergency (i.e., a major plumbing leak during the school year), in which case, the time and materials vendor may be asked to do the job, regardless of the cost.

GALLAGHER, the defendant, was the School District’s Director of Environmental Services, overseeing the School District’s buildings and grounds.  To fill this position, the School District contracted with a company that provided, among other things, management services (“Company-1”).  GALLAGHER, as an employee of Company-1, was thereby made the School District’s Director of Environmental Services, and worked full-time in the School District, as its agent, with authority to act on its behalf.  GALLAGHER, as Director of Environmental Services, had influence over which contractors were awarded work by the School District, and over whether, when, and how contractors were assigned work and paid for work. 

Mauro Zonzini owned and wholly controlled a construction company in Westchester County (the “Company”).  The Company contracted with the School District to do masonry work, and was hired each year by the School District as its time and materials contractor for masonry work.

From in or about 2009 through in or about 2013, GALLAGHER engaged in a corrupt, criminal scheme, in which he solicited, demanded, and accepted bribes in the form of cash payments, intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with the School District’s business and transactions with the Company.  The bribe payments that GALLAGHER solicited, demanded, and accepted were paid by Zonzini.  Routinely, after the School District paid the Company for work performed, GALLAGHER met in person with Zonzini in a parking lot, where Zonzini provided GALLAGHER with a kickback in the amount of 10 percent of the payment the Company had received from the School District.  In this way, GALLAGHER received dozens of cash bribe payments from Zonzini, over the course of at least approximately four years, which together amounted to more than $150,000.  GALLAGHER solicited, demanded, and accepted the bribe payments intending to be influenced in and rewarded for the School District’s decisions to award the Company contracts for masonry work, to assign masonry projects to the Company, and to make timely payment to the Company.

To avoid detection of his corrupt scheme, GALLAGHER concealed the cash bribe payments he received from Zonzini.  GALLAGHER did so, as he admitted during a secretly recorded conversation, by keeping the payments “in my car or in my trunk.”  In some instances he used the cash to make payments directly toward living expenses, without depositing it in his bank account.  For example, during the corrupt scheme, GALLAGHER used the bribe money to make credit card payments, car payments, and, as he admitted during the secretly recorded conversation, “I paid for some college.”

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GALLAGHER, 53, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, pled guilty to one count of bribery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(1)(B), which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

GALLAGHER’s sentencing is scheduled for January 9, 2018, at 2:00p.m.,before Judge Karas.      

Zonzini is scheduled to be sentenced on February 16, 2018, at 10:30 a.m., before Judge Nelson S. Román.

 Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Office’s criminal investigators.  He also thanked the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General for its assistance. 

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Martin and Benjamin Allee are in charge of the prosecution.

GALLAGHER’s sentencing is scheduled for January 9, 2018, at 2:00p.m.,before Judge Karas.          

Zonzini is scheduled to be sentenced on February 16, 2018, at 10:30 a.m., before Judge Nelson S. Román.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the Office’s criminal investigators.  He also thanked the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General for its assistance. 

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Martin and Benjamin Allee are in charge of the prosecution.