DALLAS - U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox announced today that the Northern District of Texas collected $350,706,916.75 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2017. Of this amount, $322,529,436.78 was collected in criminal actions and $28,177,479.97 was collected in civil actions. 

Additionally, the Northern District of Texas worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect another $2,668,204.90 in cases pursued jointly with these offices. Of this amount, $101,752.75 was collected in criminal actions and $2,566,452.15 was collected in civil actions.                  

Overall, the Justice Department collected just over $15 billionin civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2017. 

“The message in these numbers should be clear,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “This office will vigorously pursue all available enforcement remedies to recover assets for victims of crime and the federal treasury. It continues to be a critical aspect of our mission to pursue Justice on behalf of the citizens of the United States.”

Substantial collections in FY 2017 in the Northern District of Texas included:

• $287 million fine paid in the US v. ZTE Corporation terrorism financing case
• $16.3 million in forfeited assets restored to restitution to dozens of victims of wire fraud and money laundering in US v. Jeffrey David Gunselman
• $12.2 million settlement with International Tutoring Services, LLC et al., resolving allegations of improper kickbacks in association with healthcare claims
•  $8.45 million settlement with MB2 Dental resolving allegations of submission of false claims associated with dental services
• $7.4 million in restitution in US v. Richard Ferdinand Toussaint, Jr. for health care fraud
• $1.8 million to dozens of oil and gas investor victims in US v. Brian Polito
• $900,000 in civil damages for disabled workers in the US v. Kenneth Henry and Hill Country Farms forced labor case
• $700,500 in restitution to victims of insurance fraud in US v. Vincent Bazemore
• $645,000 in restitution to a victim of bank fraud in US v. Nick Daryanani
• $415,000 in restitution to a victim of embezzlement in US v. Pamela and Richard Abeyta

The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the U.S. and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.  The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.  While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $6,578,012 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2017.Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

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LAFAYETTE, La. –United StatesAttorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced today that a St. Martinville man was sentenced to five years in prison for drug distribution and firearm charges.

Clay Anthony Robertson, 31, of St. Martinville, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to five years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon.  He was also sentenced to four years of supervised release. According to the October 23, 2017 guilty plea, law enforcement agents searched Robertson’s former apartment in Lafayette on January 19, 2017. Law enforcement agents recovered more than 500 grams of cocaine, 31 grams of marijuana dipped in Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) wax and $64,280.  Law enforcement also recovered a .40 caliber pistol, a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, 30 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, and 41 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. Agents also discovered that the .40 caliber pistol was stolen, and that Robertson had previously been convicted of a felony controlled substance offense.

The DEA, ATF, Lafayette Metro Narcotics Task Force and the St. Martin Parish Narcotics Division of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. McCoy prosecuted the case.

PITTSBURGH – Walter Cody Tribble was sentenced to a prison term of 12 months and one day for escaping from federal custody following a prior federal felony conviction, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Chief United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Tribble, age 43, who formerly resided in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Tribble was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release following the expiration of his prison sentence.

Prior to imposing the sentence, the Court was informed that, in 2010, Tribble was sentenced to 110 months in federal prison for three armed bank robbery convictions. As of December 3, 2016, Tribble was in pre-release custody at the Renewal Center in Pittsburgh serving the last part of his federal prison sentence. On that date, Tribble was authorized to leave Renewal to go to a local business, but he was required to return by a particular time on that date. Tribble never returned to Renewal. On January 18, 2017, the United States Marshals Service arrested Tribble after tracking him down at a residence in Guys Mills, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.

Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The United States Marshals Service and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation leading to the conviction and sentence in this case.

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to eight years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, on his conviction of violating the federal drug laws, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Clinton Robinson, 33, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, from January 2016 to August 2016, Clinton conspired with others to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 700 grams but less than one kilogram of heroin. In addition, on August 22, 2016, Clinton attempted to possess with intent to distribute over 100 grams of heroin.

Assistant United States Attorney Amy L. Johnston prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. This prosecution was part of a federally administered Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that resulted in several federal indictments in August of 2016. The OCDETF task force was headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was comprised of members drawn from the FBI Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force including the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Wilkinsburg Police Department, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, and the Allegheny County Police Department. Substantial assistance was provided by FBI San Juan, Puerto Rico (St. Thomas Resident Agency, U.S. Virgin Islands) and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Numerous other FBI field offices, including Detroit, Cleveland, New York, and Atlanta, in addition to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, also assisted with this investigation. The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

United States Attorney Brady commended the agencies for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Clinton Robinson.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A Cambria County resident has been sentenced in federal court to three years’ probation, with the condition that the first six months of her probation be served by a term of home confinement, and was ordered to perform 300 hours of community service, as a result of her conviction of theft of mail, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Jennifer R. Miller, 29, of Patton, Pa.

According to information presented to the court, in Dec. 2011 Miller stole various pieces of mail from mail boxes.

Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr. prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Brady commended the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Miller.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Bedford, Pa. has been sentenced in federal court in Johnstown to one year probation on her conviction of conspiracy to distribute, possess with intent to distribute and distribution of quantities of various Schedule IV controlled substances, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Damaris Rispoli, age 56, of Bedford, Pa.

According to information presented to the court, from in and around Aug. 2014, to on or about May 20, 2015, Rispoli conspired with another to distribute and possess with intent to distribute quantities of Tramadol, Zolpidem, Clonazepam, Lorazepam, and Carisoprodol, and on or about May 20, 2015, Rispoli possessed with intent to distribute Carisoprodol, and distributed quantities of Tramadol, Zolpidem, Clonazepam, and Lorazepam.

Assistant United States Attorney John J. Valkovci, Jr., prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Brady commended the Department of Homeland Security for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Rispoli.

HOUSTON – A 47-year-old Rosharon woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. 

Sonja Martinez admitted she and her co-conspirators electronically submitted falsified vendor requests for payment to divert money to themselves from their former employer’s bank account.

Martinez worked at the Houston branch of a Florida-based security company that installed, tested and monitored fire and security systems. The Florida company had acquired the Houston branch from another company and she had worked at the predecessor company. 

The company used third party vendors to install its alarm systems. Martinez worked in the Accounting Department and was responsible for paying the vendors and noting in the company’s accounting system. From November 2011 until May 2016, Martinez and others participated in a scheme to divert approximately $1,661,163 to themselves and their family members. 

A computer in Texas was used to submit fraudulent vendor requests for payment to their employer’s out-of-state bank. Martinez and others then utilized an electronic bank token to release funds and transfer money from their employer’s account to their own bank accounts and the bank accounts of their relatives. 

U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison accepted the plea today and set sentencing for April 26, 2018, at which time Martinez faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine. At the hearing today, the court also entered a money judgment against Martinez for $739,450.36.

She was permitted to remain on bond pending her sentencing.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek is prosecuting the case. 

PITTSBURGH - An Allegheny County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and stealing firearms from a licensed firearms dealer, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Marquis Trammel, aka Marquis Botelho-Trammel, aka Marquis Motelho-Trammel, 20, formerly of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to two counts before Chief U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti.

According to information presented to the court, on December 20, 2016, Trammel and a juvenile stole five rifles from a display case they broke open and an unknown number of boxes of handgun ammunition from the drawer below the rifle case located inside the Dunham’s Discount Sports store located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Trammel was convicted on or about December 9, 2015, in the Court of Common Pleas, County of Allegheny, Criminal Division of the crimes of Robbery, Terroristic Threats, and Theft by Unlawful Taking, which are crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, and preclude him under federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

Judge Conti scheduled sentencing for May 31, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine not greater than $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Amy L. Johnston is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive and the West Mifflin Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Authorities executed multiple search warrants and arrested five Corpus Christi residents following enforcement actions resulting in criminal complaints for federal firearms and/or narcotics violations, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Those arrested today include Annabella Lynn Davila, 20, Carlos Virgilio Hernandez, 30, and John Rudy Hernandez, 27, and Abelardo Garza Jr., 33. All made their initial appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Janice Ellington, at which time they were ordered into custody pending a detention hearing set for Feb. 14 at 9:00 am. Travis Robert Hellman, 34, was taken into custody last night on unrelated charges and is expected to appear in federal court in the near future. 

Hellman and Davila are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, while Carlos and John Hernandez are charged with possession of a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Garza was taken into custody for allegedly being a felon in possession of a firearm. 

As part of an undercover operation, Special Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) Narcotics Division purchased multiple firearms from individuals operating out of the Touch of Ink tattoo parlor in Corpus Christi, according to the indictment. On each occasion, the individual selling the firearm was allegedly prohibited from possessing the firearm and/or ammunition under federal law.

Further, during one of the firearms purchases, Hellman agreed to sell methamphetamine that Davila delivered, according to the complaint.       

The possession of firearms charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Those charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances face up to 20 years of imprisonment and a possible $1 million maximum fine.

The ATF and CCPD conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the cases.

HOUSTON – Charges were unsealed today against six individuals for their alleged participation in an elaborate international advance fee and money laundering scheme. The scheme allegedly involved the impersonation of Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T) and JPMorgan Chase (Chase) executives, the fabrication of U.S. government documents, the creation of fraudulent investment agreements in the name of BB&T and Chase and the purchase of luxury vehicles to launder the proceeds of the scheme.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick of the Southern District of Texas, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office and Inspector General Steve A. Linick for the U.S. Department of State made the announcement.

Uju Okigbo, 48, of Richmond; Chioma Okafor, 28, of Houston; Marita Ranalan Underwood, 61, of Manila, Philippines; John Christian Rutledge, 64, of Yaphank, New York; and Osa May Martin, 68, of Carthage, Missouri, were charged in an indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of Texas. All five defendants were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Okigbo and Okafor were also charged with one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments as well as two counts each of wire fraud and two counts each of concealment money laundering. Okigbo is also charged with three counts of engaging in transactions with proceeds of specified unlawful activity and one count of aggravated identity theft for impersonating a U.S. banking executive. Underwood, Rutledge and Martin are also charged with one count of conspiracy to wrongfully use government seals.

Okigbo was already in custody as of today. Martin made her initial appearance this afternoon in front of a U.S. magistrate judge in Springfield, Missouri, and Rutledge is scheduled to make his initial appearance. 

A sixth individual, Tiffany Sourjohn, 47, of Miami, Oklahoma, was charged by an information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wrongful use of government seals, which was also unsealed today. Sourjohn made her initial appearance this morning and entered a guilty plea to the information in front of Senior U.S. District Court Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. of the Southern District of Texas.

According to the charging documents, the scheme involved fraudulent offers of investment funding by perpetrators primarily living in Nigeria who impersonated U.S. bank officials and financial consultants over the Internet and phone. Victims in various countries were deceived into believing they would receive millions of dollars of investment funding as part of joint ventures with U.S. banks, usually BB&T or Chase. The perpetrators utilized false domain names to make it appear that senders of emails were actually affiliated with BB&T or Chase. To convince victims the opportunities were authentic, the perpetrators recruited U.S. citizens to pose as bank “representatives” at in-person meetings with victims around the world and, if occurring abroad, utilized sham visits to the local U.S. embassy or consulate and fabricated U.S. government documents to make the victims believe the U.S. government was sponsoring the investment agreements. The victims were then allegedly induced to pay tens of thousands, and often hundreds of thousands, of dollars to U.S.-based bank accounts on the belief that such payments were necessary to effectuate their investment agreements. 

According to the charging documents, to ensure the proceeds made it back to Nigeria, after victims wired in funds, money movers who controlled the U.S. bank accounts liquidated the proceeds through outgoing wire transfers to exporters, cash withdrawals and purchases of vehicles, including luxury brands such as Land Rover and Mercedes Benz, which were then shipped to Nigeria. Okigbo and Okafor were primarily money movers in the scheme, while Underwood, Rutledge, Martin and Sourjohn were representatives, according to the charges.

The scheme allegedly resulted in losses of more than $7 million from victims in more than 20 countries. To date, a house in Richmond, a 2014 Land Rover Range Rover and approximately $200,000 in cash, all directly traceable to victims’ payments, have been seized.

The FBI and Department of State - Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Suzanne Elmilady is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney William E. Johnston of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. AUSA Kristine Rollinson is handling forfeiture matters.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.

A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

ALBUQUERQUE – In Aug. 2016, a multi-agency investigation led by the ATF concluded with the filing of 59 federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint charging 103 Bernalillo County residents with federal firearms and narcotics trafficking offenses.  To date, 84 of these defendants have been convicted, including 83 who have entered guilty pleas, and 60 of them have been sentenced.

The investigation was undertaken in support of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies collaborate with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution primarily based on their prior criminal convictions with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

This week two Albuquerque residents were sentenced in federal court for their convictions on drug trafficking charges.  Jesus Parra, 30, was sentenced on Feb. 5, 2018, to 63 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his methamphetamine trafficking conviction.  Timothy Dilley, 35, was sentenced today to 19 months in prison followed by six years of supervised release for his heroin and methamphetamine trafficking conviction.

Parra was charged in an indictment filed on June 30, 2016, with distribution of methamphetamine on May 12, 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  On June 12, 2017, Parra pled guilty to an information charging him with distribution of methamphetamine and admitted that on May 12, 2016, he distributed methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent. 

Dilley and co-defendant Jonathan Aragon, 38, were arrested in July 2016, based on an indictment alleging that they participated in a drug trafficking conspiracy, and distributed methamphetamine and heroin in June 2016, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  On Sept. 26, 2016, Dilley pled guilty to distributing heroin and methamphetamine on June 15, 2016.  In entering the guilty plea, Dilley admitted selling heroin and methamphetamine to an undercover ATF agent.  Aragon pled guilty on Jan. 20, 2017, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 5, 2018.

Sixteen of the defendants charged as the result of the ATF investigation have entered not guilty pleas.  Charges in indictments are merely accusations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.   Two defendants are fugitives and the charges against two defendants have been dismissed.

These cases were investigated by the Albuquerque office of ATF, and Parra and Dilley were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, has been sentenced in federal court to 74 months, followed by three years supervised release and ordered to pay $3,533.62 on his conviction of a health care fraud conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Barry Lee Dorsey, II, 26, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to information presented to the court, Dorsey operated a forged prescription ring. Prescriptions were forged with the names, DEA numbers, medical license numbers, and signatures of real medical doctors. The prescriptions, most of which were forged for oxycodone and Percocet, were filled at a large number of Western Pennsylvania pharmacies and primarily paid for with Medicaid funds. The fraudulently obtained prescription pills were then sold on the street for substantial profit.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Brentwood Police Department, Mt. Pleasant Police Department and Bellevue Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Dorsey.

St. Louis, MO – Todd Beckman was sentenced to 240 months in prison for his role in kidnapping a Maplewood man.             

According to court documents, on November 21, 2016, brothers Blake and Caleb Laubinger entered the victim’s residence and, when he arrived home, attacked and confined him with zip ties, threatening to kill him if he screamed. They transported the victim in a rental truck to Blake Laubinger’s residence, and held him in the basement in zip ties, handcuffs and duct tape. Todd Beckman and Kerry Roades arrived at the residence. Beckman and Roades beat the victim and pressed the barrel of a handgun to his head. They accused him of stealing from Blake Laubinger and demanded money. The next day, the Laubinger brothers told the victim if they did not get ransom money from his parents in Florida they would kill him. The victim was repeatedly beaten, tased, and assaulted by the kidnappers. The kidnappers made ransom calls to the victim’s parents demanding money in exchange for his life.

On November 22, Blake and Caleb Laubinger, and Todd Beckman, transported the victim in the rental truck to Todd Beckman’s property and confined him in a shipping container.  Beckman put a handgun to the victim’s head and threatened to kill him.

On November 23, the victim’s parents paid approximately $27,000 in ransom to Todd Beckman. Shortly after, the kidnappers removed the victim from the shipping container and threatened to kill him if he said anything to anyone. The kidnappers took the victim in a “St. Louis Tan Co.” van to Gravois Bluffs shopping center, where they released him.

Todd Beckman, 53 of Fenton, pled guilty on November 2 to one felony count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping.  He appeared today for sentencing in front of U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig.

This case was investigated the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maplewood Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorneys John T Davis and Stephen Casey are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

          A Tampa, Florida, man who assaulted crew and passengers on a Delta Airlines flight bound for China pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to four federal felonies in connection with the July 16, 2017 incident, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  JOSEPH DANIEL HUDEK IV, 24, is scheduled for sentencing by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on May 15, 2018.  The four federal felonies (interference with a flight crew and three counts of assault in a special aircraft jurisdiction) are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

            According to records in the case and the plea agreement signed today, HUDEK was seated in first class on the Delta flight. The aircraft had 210 passengers on board and 11 crew members.  The plane had just passed over Vancouver Island and was over the Pacific Ocean when HUDEK came out of the first class bathroom and in an agitated state attempted to raise the lever of the exit door of the aircraft. Two flight attendants attempted to stop HUDEK and he threw one to the floor and punched the other. When a passenger attempted to assist the flight attendants, HUDEK hit him over the head with a wine bottle. Ultimately, multiple passengers were required to restrain HUDEK, and one lowered the exit handle of the door as the aircraft returned to Seattle.

            In court filings HUDEK admits he ingested marijuana edibles before the flight.  In a pretrial ruling Judge Coughnour barred HUDEK from using a mental incapacity defense based on his voluntary consumption of marijuana.

            HUDEK has agreed to pay restitution to the injured passengers in an amount to be determined at the sentencing hearing.

            HUDEK remains out of jail on bond, but is prohibited from traveling on aircraft.

            The case was investigated by the FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs.

         LOS ANGELES– United States Attorney Nicola T. Hanna announced today that his office collected $219,179,887 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2017. Of this amount, nearly $56 million was collected in criminal cases, and more than $163 million was collected in civil actions.

        The United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect another $431,216,222 in cases that were pursued jointly with at least one other office. The vast majority of this money was collected in civil actions. Overall, the Justice Department collected just over $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in the 2017 fiscal year, which ended on September 30, 2017.

         Additionally, the United States Attorney’s office, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $34,749,352 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2017. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

         “Each and every year, this office is involved in the collection and recovery of tens of millions of dollars that are used to assist crime victims, as well as help fund important government programs,” said United States Attorney Hanna. “The United States Attorney’s Office is dedicated to recovering criminal restitution owed to the victims of federal crimes and recouping losses sustained by taxpayers as a result of fraud.”

         The United States Attorneys’ Offices, along with the Justice Department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States, as well as criminal debts owed to victims of federal crimes. Federal law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to victims, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

        Of the approximately $56 million collected in criminal cases this past year, approximately $44.6 million in restitution was collected and disbursed directly individuals and private entities, and $1.6 million was paid directly to the Crime Victims Fund. Most of the remaining $10 million was disbursed to federal agencies that suffered losses.

         The largest civil collections last year were from affirmative civil enforcement cases in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct, or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights and environmental laws. In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Education.

         During fiscal year 2017, prosecutors in the Central District of California recovered $42 million from a settlement with Pacific Alliance Medical Center to resolve allegations that the medical center had improper financial relationships with referring physicians.  Additionally, the Office recovered $26.5 million from a settlement with the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for environmental and property damage sustained as a result of the 2013 Powerhouse Fire, which scorched more than 30,000 acres in northern Los Angeles County and destroyed 58 structures.

         The United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California is based in Los Angeles and has branch offices in Santa Ana and Riverside. Currently, approximately 275 Assistant United States Attorneys serve nearly 20 million residents of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

         Assistant United States Attorney Indira Cameron-Banks is the Chief of the Financial Litigation Section in the Civil Division. The Financial Litigation Section coordinates efforts to collect criminal and civil debts owed to victims of federal crimes and the United States, including restitution, fines, civil settlements, penalties and defaulted federal loans. These efforts include locating debtors’ assets and initiating enforcement actions to secure collection on the outstanding debts.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Francisco Nicolas Lucas-Miranda, age 23, of Guatemala, was sentenced today to a term of imprisonment of time served (145 days) for misuse of an identification document, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Edward Payan, Acting Chief Patrol Agent, Buffalo Sector-U.S. Border Patrol.

Lucas-Miranda, a citizen of Guatemala, was found in Cazenovia on August 8, 2017, after he was stopped for suspicion of driving while intoxicated.  Investigation by United States Border Patrol Agents established that he was in possession of a Guatemalan passport bearing his name and he admitted that he entered the United States illegally.  Lucas-Miranda further admitted that he had previously been working at a farm in Fabius, New York, and had used a fraudulent permanent alien resident card and fraudulent social security card to procure that employment. 

Following the sentencing, Lucas-Miranda was remanded to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, which will place him into removal proceedings.

The case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol and the Village of Cazenovia Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Levine.

A man who farmed land in north central Iowa and made false statements to a bank and to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and committed bankruptcy fraud was sentenced on February 7, 2018, to more than a year in federal prison.

Clint Devries, age 36, from Lake City, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 26, 2017, guilty plea to two counts of making false statements to influence financial institutions and one count of bankruptcy fraud.

In a plea agreement, Devries admitted that, in 2013, 2014, and 2015, he lied to a bank about the amount of crops he had in storage and the value of other property he was using for collateral in order to obtain farm operating loans from the bank.  Devries ended up defaulting on more than $400,000 in farm loans he received from the bank.  Devries also admitted he lied to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation from 2012 to 2015.  Devries falsely understated the amount of crops he produced each year in order to obtain crop insurance proceeds to which he was not entitled.  During those years, defendant received more than $450,000 in crop insurance proceeds than he would have received but for his lies.  Finally, Devries admitted that, after filing for bankruptcy in October 2015, he lied to the bankruptcy case trustee regarding having sold some of his crops.   

Devries was sentenced in Sioux City by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Devries was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. 

A special assessment of $300 was imposed, and he was ordered to make $1,190,696.12 in restitution to the victims of his false statements.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Devries was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marsha; on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt. The case was investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Office of the United States Trustee in the Northern District of Iowa. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 17-cr-3041.

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DAYTON – Nicholas Gay, 37, of Dayton, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 120 months in prison for distributing fentanyl.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer and other members of the Sheriff’s Office RANGE Task Force announced the sentence handed by U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice.

According to court documents, Gay sold a confidential informant fentanyl on three occasions, totaling approximately 14 grams of the drug. A recorded conversation between Gay and the confidential informant included Gay giving instructions on how to dilute the drug in order to make a larger profit when reselling it.

When executing a search warrant at Gay’s home, investigators found an additional 200 grams of fentanyl and fentanyl/heroin mixture in a Crown Royal bag in plain view on a table, as well as $5,000 in cash.

Gay pleaded guilty in September 2017 to one count of distributing fentanyl.

“Gay had in his home more than 200 grams of various fentanyl mixtures – the equivalent of thousands of potential sales to drug addicts,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said. “After having previously served time for dealing cocaine, Gay will now will spend the next decade in prison for trafficking fentanyl. His removal makes the community safer.”

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the cooperative investigation by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office RANGE Task Force, as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Brent G. Tabacchi and Andrew J. Hunt, who are representing the United States in this case. 

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

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Pethrod Dunnigan, 40, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more or cocaine, and money laundering conspiracy before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life and a $20,000,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who is handling the case, stated that between 2012 and March, 2016, the defendant conspired with Jose Manuel Lua-Guizar, Gerardo Ballardo, Enrique Munoz, Max Riestra, and others, to distribute cocaine and hide the proceeds from the illegal drug sales.

Co-defendants Ballardo and Lua-Guizar received shipments from California and then sold the cocaine to Dunnigan and others. The defendant paid $35,000 for each kilogram of cocaine received and then took the kilograms of cocaine to an apartment building on Delaware Avenue and store them in an abandoned apartment. 

Most of the drug proceeds were sent back to California by structured deposits made under the $10,000 reporting requirement at Bank of America branches. Dunnigan made multiple structured deposits at different Bank of America branches. The defendant and his co-conspirators accounted for over $1,000,000.00 in structured deposits in Buffalo. A ledger for structured deposits was recovered from a stash house in California. In that stash house, law enforcement officers also recovered shipping materials, 21 kilograms of cocaine, and three kilograms of heroin. On at least one occasion, the defendant shipped about $500,000 in U.S. currency to California by hiding the cash in a small refrigerator within a crate. 

A total of seven defendants have been indicted in this sophisticated drug trafficking organization with ties to a Mexican drug cartel operating out of the Los Angeles, California area. The organization shipped drugs to various states including New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, and Ohio. To date, four defendants have been convicted. Charges are pending against the remaining defendants. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt, New York Field Division; Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of James D. Robnett, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Field Office. Additional assistance was provided by ICE-HSI in Los Angeles, California.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 8, 2018, at 3:00 p.m. before Judge Wolford.

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

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. announced today Richard Clarke, 49, a Canadian citizen residing in Buffalo, who was convicted of bulk cash smuggling out of the United States, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Adler, who handled the case, stated that on November 16, 2016, Clarke transported more than $10,000 in United States currency from the U.S. into Canada. However, the defendant failed to report the transportation of the currency, which he was legally required to do.

Clarke was charged in this case along with co-defendants Joshua Castro and Barrett Johnson. Castro has been convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for conspiring with others to possess and distribute “Molly,” a Scheduled I controlled substance. Charges are pending against Johnson. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly, and the Border Enforcement Security Taskforce which includes the Ontario Provincial Police, Niagara Regional Police, Peel Regional Police and Toronto Police Services.