SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man pleaded guilty in federal court in San Antonio Wednesday to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death.

According to court documents, Patrick James Hall, 28, is charged with distribution of fentanyl resulting in the death of a 20-year-old woman.  The two met on Oct. 28, 2020, in a hotel room where he had been selling the drug in the form of a small round blue pill disguised as oxycodone.  Phone records indicate that the victim had been unconscious in Hall’s hotel room for an extended period before Hall returned a missed call to the victim’s friend using her cell phone. Hall notified the friend that she needed to pick up the victim from the hotel because she had overdosed.  He then left the location without calling for emergency services.  The victim’s friend, however, did alert emergency services and, upon their arrival, the victim was pronounced dead, noting she had been deceased for some time.  A toxicology report showed that the victim had an amount of fentanyl in her blood that exceeded 24 times a fatal dose. 

Hall was arrested on Nov. 19, 2020.  Text messages sent from his phone confirmed that he had been selling the pills to multiple individuals at the time of the victim’s death, and that he himself had overdosed on the pills one week prior to this instance.

Hall is scheduled to be sentenced on June 15 and faces a penalty of 20 years to life in prison. A Federal District Court Judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Daniel Comeaux of the Drug Enforcement Administration Houston Field Office made the announcement.

The DEA and SAPD are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Hail is prosecuting the case.

###

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man stands charged with distributing a controlled substance containing fentanyl that resulted in a person’s overdose death in October of last year. 

A four-count federal grand jury indictment returned this afternoon charges 27-year-old Patrick James Hall with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death; one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death; and two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.  

The indictment alleges that on October 28, 2020, the defendant possessed and sold fentanyl-laced pills to the victim who died after ingesting them.  The indictment also alleges that the defendant possessed with intent to distribute fentanyl on October 26, 2020 and November 19, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff and Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Houston Field Office made today’s announcement.

Upon conviction, Hall faces between 20 years and life in federal prison for the conspiracy and substantive charges alleging a result of death and up to 20 years in federal prison for each of the remaining two drug charges.

The DEA, with assistance from the San Antonio Police Department, investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Marie Hail is prosecuting this case.

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

###

TUCSON, Ariz. –Brandon Hall, 33, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 48 months in custody, followed by three years of supervised release. Hall was convicted of Assaulting a Federal Officer with a Deadly Weapon.

On July 8, 2022, United States Border Patrol agents received information that seven suspected undocumented non-citizens had entered a silver 2011 Ford Edge near Naco, Arizona. Agents responded to the area and located the vehicle suspected of transporting the group. After initially yielding to law enforcement, Hall, who was driving the Ford Edge, sped up and drove directly at a Border Patrol agent approaching on foot. Hall narrowly missed hitting the agent, as the agent had leapt onto his service vehicle’s hood. Hall then proceeded to drive at nearly 90 miles per hour on State Route 92, passing vehicles on the shoulder, driving through a stop sign, and barely avoiding colliding with other vehicles on the road. Border Patrol agents later found Hall and arrested him, along with his co-defendant, Martina Vega, who was riding in the vehicle’s front seat.

Vega, Hall’s co-defendant, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens for Profit While Placing in Jeopardy the Life of Another Person. Judge Zipps sentenced Vega on February 8, 2023, to 15 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           22-CR-01695-JGZ-BGM

RELEASE NUMBER:    2023-067_Hall  

# # #

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s Office, along with a special agent from the FBI, will participate in a telephonic town hall coordinated through the AARP to provide information to Arizona residents to help them identify and avoid fraudulent schemes, including scams related to COVID-19.

The telephonic town hall will happen on Tuesday, June 9 from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. PDT. During the event, an FBI special agent and two federal prosecutors will discuss various scams relating to COVID-19 and provide tips for avoiding them. A discussion about other scams targeting the elderly will also be highlighted.  Participants from Arizona will be allowed to ask questions during the presentation.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network is providing the infrastructure for the event. Approximately 100,000 AARP member households will receive a phone call Tuesday morning inviting them to participate in the town hall. Those who wish to receive an invitation can sign up on this AARP registration page: https://vekeo.com/aarparizona/#.

On June 9 at 10 a.m., participants can join the call by dialing 877-299-8493 and entering the following ID: 114737#. Participants can also join the town hall via Facebook by going to @aarparizona to listen.

During the current health crisis, federal investigators and prosecutors continue to fulfill their critical mission of protecting public safety. Federal officials have prioritized the disruption, investigation and prosecution of crimes related to COVID-19, including fraudulent schemes, unapproved treatments, and scams related to stimulus money. During the virtual town hall meeting, federal officials will discuss the types of schemes currently being seen, along with tips on how to avoid becoming a victim.

The FBI continues to warn the public about these schemes, some of which have already been seen in Arizona and other parts of the country:

Scammers are setting up websites, contacting people by phone and email, and posting disinformation on social media platforms.

 

Individuals and businesses selling fake cures for COVID-19 online.

 

Phishing emails from entities posing as the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

Malicious websites and apps that appear to share Coronavirus-related information to gain and lock access to your devices until payment is received.

 

Seeking fraudulent donations for illegitimate or non-existent charitable organizations.

 

Obtaining patient information for COVID-19 testing and then using that information to fraudulently bill for other tests and procedures.   

 

If you think you are a victim of COVID-19 fraud, immediately report it the FBI (visit ic3.gov, tips.fbi.gov, or call 1-800-CALL-FBI).

In addition, the public is urged to report suspected fraud schemes related to COVID-19 by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) hotline (1-866-720-5721).

To find out more about Department of Justice resources and information, please visit: www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

RELEASE NUMBER:    2020-056_AARP Town Hall

# # #

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

“Moments ago, a unanimous jury found Sung Kook ‘Bill’ Hwang and Patrick Halligan guilty of a massive market manipulation scheme via the private investment firm Archegos.  As the evidence at trial has shown, Hwang, founder and owner of Archegos, and Halligan, Archegos’s Chief Financial Officer, made false assurances and lied to Wall Street investment banks to induce them to provide capital to Archegos, which Hwang and Halligan then used to inflate the stock prices of several publicly traded companies.  Hwang and Halligan lied about Archegos’s positions in these companies and just about every other materially important metric investment banks would use in determining the firm’s creditworthiness.  In doing so, Hwang and Halligan were able to fraudulently inflate a $1.5 billion portfolio into a $36 billion portfolio.  This verdict should send a resounding message that this Office will continue to police the financial markets with an eagle eye and swiftly hold accountable those who think they can cheat the system.”

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that SUNG KOOK (BILL) HWANG, the founder and head of a private investment firm known as Archegos, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to 18 years in prison concurrently on each count charged for leading a criminal enterprise that manipulated the prices of multiple stocks and defrauded at least nine investment banks. In July 2024, HWANG was convicted following a nine-week jury trial of racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, market manipulation, and wire fraud.Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Bill Hwang weaponized his personal hedge fund, Archegos, to pursue financial fraud on a national scale.  For months on end, Hwang and his coconspirators used an array of lies and manipulative trading strategies to rig the stock market in Hwang’s favor.  Hwang’s crimes brought him to the brink of staggering wealth before his fraud collapsed and left investors, banks, and even Hwang’s own employees with billions of dollars in losses.  Today’s sentence sends a clear message that criminal manipulation schemes will be met with serious prison sentences.”As reflected in the Indictment, court filings, and the evidence presented at trial:Beginning in 2020, HWANG—along with his co-conspirators, including codefendant Patrick Halligan (Archegos’s Chief Financial Officer)—used the Archegos enterprise to pursue two interrelated criminal schemes, one involving manipulative trading in the marketplace and the other involving false and misleading statements to Archegos’s trading counterparties.  Although HWANG held himself out as an investor focused on company fundamentals with a three- to five-year investment horizon, which had been Archegos’s investment approach for years, by the fall of 2020, HWANG spent his time—and nearly all Archegos’s capital—on constant trading in the same core stocks.  HWANG began deploying strategies aimed to manipulate, control, and artificially affect the market for securities in Archegos’s portfolio.  Those techniques included purchasing or selling securities at particular times of day including marking the price of securities up at the close of trading to trigger payouts to Archegos and trading at times and in a manner to give the false impression of additional interest in the securities, transacting in certain securities in large amounts or high volume, and timing or coordinating certain transactions to maximize impact on the market.HWANG’s manipulative trading was sustained and furthered by lies and misrepresentations made to Archegos’s counterparties.  As HWANG’s trading led to large position sizes, Archegos’s counterparties started to impose limits on Archegos’s trading.  To enable HWANG to continue to trade the same names at larger sizes, HWANG, Halligan, and others conspired to make repeated, materially false and misleading statements to Archegos’s counterparties about Archegos’s portfolio of securities.  These false and misleading statements were designed to fraudulently induce the counterparties into trading with and extending credit to Archegos, enabling and facilitating the market manipulation scheme, and to hide the true risk of doing business with Archegos.By March 2021, HWANG’s manipulative trading scheme—which relied in part on continually increasing the size of Archegos’s positions in a handful of equities—had profoundly reshaped Archegos’s portfolio and risk profile. Now Archegos had concentrated its investments in a number of publicly traded stocks with markets that HWANG found he could distort, including of large companies, such as ViacomCBS and Discovery.  Archegos’s portfolio became highly vulnerable to external events that might deflate the artificial prices HWANG had created.  In late March 2021, the markets exposed HWANG’s price manipulation.  On March 22, 2021, ViacomCBS announced a seasoned equity offering.  Following that announcement, on March 23, 2021, HWANG directed nearly a billion dollars in additional purchases of stock in ViacomCBS and other companies whose stock HWANG had manipulated in a final effort to control the prices of those stocks and prevent them from declining and harming the value of his portfolio. On March 24, 2021, using what cash and trading capacity remained, HWANG made one final attempt to reverse market forces, but he failed.  When the markets closed, Archegos faced substantial margin calls that it could not meet, causing billions of dollars in losses to the counterparties that had financed HWANG’s trading.Ultimately, the market manipulation and fraud schemes, and the billions of dollars in losses that they caused, victimized a wide swath of market participants, including counterparties that engaged in loans and securities trading with Archegos based on lies and deceit, ordinary investors who purchased and sold the relevant securities at artificial prices, and securities issuers who made business decisions based on the artificial prices of their stocks.  The schemes also caused millions of dollars of losses to innocent Archegos employees who had been required to allocate to Archegos a substantial amount of their pay as deferred compensation.*                *                *In addition to the prison term, HWANG, 60, of Tenafly, New Jersey, was sentenced to three years of supervised release concurrently on each count and ordered to pay more than nine billion dollars in restitution.Halligan, who was convicted at trial alongside HWANG of racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2025.Mr. Kim praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Podolsky, Alexandra Rothman, Samuel P. Rothschild, and Andrew Thomas are in charge of the prosecution.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Deputy United States Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging SUNG KOOK (BILL) HWANG, the founder and head of a private investment firm known as Archegos, and PATRICK HALLIGAN, Archegos’s Chief Financial Officer, with racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud offenses in connection with interrelated schemes to unlawfully manipulate the prices of publicly traded securities in Archegos’s portfolio and to defraud many leading global investment banks and brokerages. Both defendants were arrested earlier today and will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis.  The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr..

Also unsealed today are the guilty pleas of SCOTT BECKER and WILLIAM TOMITA in connection with their participation in the conspiracy. BECKER pled guilty pursuant to an Information before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on April 21, 2022. TOMITA pled guilty pursuant to an Information before Judge Swain on April 21, 2022. Both are cooperating with the Government.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “We allege that these defendants and their co-conspirators lied to banks to obtain billions of dollars that they then used to inflate the stock price of a number of publicly-traded companies. The lies fed the inflation, and the inflation led to more lies.  Round and round it went. In one year, Hwang allegedly turned a $1.5 billion portfolio and pumped it up into a $35 billion portfolio.  But last year, the music stopped. The bubble burst.  The prices dropped. And when they did, billions of dollars of capital evaporated nearly overnight.”

Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said: “Today’s announcement demonstrates the department’s unwavering commitment to hold accountable individuals who distort and defraud our financial markets, including those who occupy the C-Suite. That is especially true for this kind of crime—the kind that leaves a financial crater in its wake.”

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll said: “As alleged, Hwang and his co-conspirators convinced major financial institutions to enter into agreements with them based on lies, the result of which ultimately led to a massive market manipulation scheme. We allege the defendants caused harm to U.S. financial markets and ordinary investors alike, causing significant losses to banks, market participants, and Archegos employees. Today’s charges highlight our commitment to making sure the investment arena remains free from fraudulent activity of all kinds.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]

SUNG KOOK (BILL) HWANG is the founder and owner of Archegos Capital Management and its related business entities, which are collectively known as Archegos. As alleged, HWANG, along with PATRICK HALLIGAN, SCOTT BECKER, and WILLIAM TOMITA lied to banks to obtain billions of dollars that they then used to artificially inflate the stock price of a number of publicly traded companies.

HWANG and his co-conspirators invested in stocks mostly through special contracts with banks and brokers called “swaps.” As alleged, these swaps allowed HWANG to cause massive buying of certain stocks, including at carefully selected days and times, to artificially pump up stock prices. HWANG, HALLIGAN, and their co-conspirators lied to banks and used a series of manipulative trading techniques to keep those prices high and prevent them from falling. The lies fed the inflation, and the inflation led to more lies. The scale of this alleged fraud was stunning.  In one year, Hwang turned a $1.5 billion portfolio and fraudulently pumped it up into a $35 billion portfolio.

Last year, the music stopped. The prices dropped and HWANG was unable to keep the prices propped up. When the prices fell, HWANG’s positions were sold off and he could no longer manipulate the prices, and billions of dollars of capital evaporated nearly overnight.

As alleged, the defendants committed this fraud in secret. Since 2014, HWANG has run Archegos as a private hedge fund or “family office,” meaning that Archegos, unlike other large hedge funds, was not required to tell regulators information about its holdings and debt that might have shined a light on the fraud and allowed the crisis to be averted.  

And because HWANG traded mostly through swaps, he was able to do the massive buying alleged in the Indictment without anyone knowing that Archegos was actually behind all the trading. Regular market participants, and even the companies themselves, were duped into thinking the price increases were caused by the normal interplay of supply and demand when, instead, as alleged, they were the artificial result of HWANG’s manipulative trading.

To take just one example, as alleged, by March 24, 2021, HWANG effectively controlled more than 50% of the freely trading shares of Viacom – and no one outside of Archegos knew about it—not investors purchasing Viacom in the market, or the executives at Viacom itself, or even the banks and brokerages who held the stock as part of the swaps. Because, as alleged, by using various banks and brokerages for his swaps, HWANG made sure that no single institution would have any idea that he was behind all of this trading.

The Indictment further alleges that in order to get the billions of dollars Archegos needed to sustain this massive market manipulation scheme, HWANG and his co-conspirators lied to and misled some of Wall Street’s leading banks. They lied about how big Archegos’s investments had become. They lied about how much cash Archegos had on hand. They lied about the nature of the stocks that Archegos held. And, as alleged, they told those lies for a purpose: so that the banks would have no idea what Archegos was really up to, how risky the portfolio was, and what would happen if the bubble burst one day.

As alleged, that day ultimately came. Just over a year ago, the market turned and the stock prices HWANG and his co-conspirators had artificially inflated crashed, causing immense damage to U.S. financial markets and ordinary investors. In a matter of days, the companies at the center of Archegos’s trading scheme lost more than $100 billion in market capitalization, Archegos owed billions of dollars more than it had on hand, and Archegos collapsed. Market participants who purchased the relevant stocks at artificial prices lost the value they believed their investments held, the banks lost billions of dollars, and Archegos employees, many of whom were required to invest 25% or more of their bonuses with Archegos as deferred compensation, lost millions of dollars.

*                *                *

A chart containing the names, ages, residences, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants is attached. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the FBI. Mr. Williams thanked the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section for its assistance. Mr. Williams further thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, each of which today filed a parallel civil action.

If you think you are a victim of the scheme alleged in this press release, beginning tomorrow, April 28th, you are encouraged to contact law enforcement at USANYS.ARCHEGOS@USDOJ.GOV.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew Thomas, Matthew Podolsky, and Alex Rossmiller are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 



Defendant





Age





Residence





Charges





Maximum Potential Sentence(s)





United States v. Sung Kook (Bill) Hwang and Patrick Halligan, 22 Cr. 240





HWANG





58

 





Tenafly, NJ





Racketeering Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (Count One)

 

Securities Fraud, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) & 78ff (Counts Two and Ten)

 

Market Manipulation, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78i & 78ff (Counts Two through Nine)

 

Wire Fraud,

18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Count Eleven)

 

 





20 years

 

 

 

20 years (on each count)

 

 

 

20 years (on each count)

 

 

 

20 years





HALLIGAN





45





Syosset, NY





Racketeering Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (Count One)

 

Securities Fraud, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) & 78ff (Count Ten)

 

Wire Fraud,

18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Count Eleven)

 

 





20 years

 

 

 

20 years

 

 

 

20 years

 





United States v. Scott Becker and William Tomita, 22 Cr. 231 (LTS)





BECKER





38





Goshen, NY





Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (Count One)

 

Securities Fraud, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) & 78ff (Count Two)

 

Wire Fraud,

18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Count Three)





20 years

 

 

 

 

20 years

 

 

 

20 years





TOMITA





38





Greenwich, CT





Racketeering Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (Count One)

 

Securities Fraud, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j(b) & 78ff (Counts Two and Four)

 

Market Manipulation, 15 U.S.C. §§ 78i & 78ff (Count Three)

 

Wire Fraud,

18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Count Five)

 

 





20 years

 

 

 

20 years (on each count)

 

 

 

20 years

 

 

 

20 years



 



[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth in this release constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Carlos Matchett, 30, of Atlantic City, NJ; Khalif Miller, 25, of Philadelphia, PA; and Anthony David Ale Smith, 29, of Philadelphia, PA, have been charged by Indictment for the arson of a Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) vehicle, and in a separate case, that Ayoub Tabri, 24, of Arlington, VA, has been charged by Indictment for the arson of a Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) vehicle. Both incidents occurred during violent civil unrest in Philadelphia on May 30, 2020.

Following peaceful protests in Philadelphia in the early afternoon of May 30, 2020 in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, civil unrest began to unfold later that afternoon that resulted in widespread looting, burglary, arson, destruction of property, and other violent acts.

On that day, PPD Civil Affairs Car C-109 was parked on the north side of City Hall near Broad and Market Streets. During the violent episodes that began in the vicinity of City Hall that afternoon, defendants Matchett, Miller, and Smith allegedly placed combustible materials into the vehicle, after a road flare placed in the vehicle started a fire. As a result of these acts, the PPD vehicle was destroyed. A grand jury charged each of the defendants with two counts of arson, and one count of obstructing law enforcement in the commission of their duties during a civil disorder.

On the same day and at roughly the same time, PSP troopers responded to the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets, a few blocks north of City Hall. PSP placed two patrol sport utility vehicles – marked as K1-7 and K1-17 – at the on-ramp for I-676 in an effort to prevent protestors from gaining access to the highway. Soon thereafter, a group of individuals began attacking the two vehicles. The windows of the vehicles were shattered and PSP equipment stored inside was stolen, including road flares, fire extinguishers, and “riot bags” containing additional PSP-issued equipment. Tabri allegedly threw a lit road flare into K1-17, igniting a fire that engulfed the SUV. A grand jury charged the defendant with two counts of arson, and one count of obstructing law enforcement in the commission of their duties during a civil disorder.

“I want to be clear that we at the U.S. Attorney’s Office support peaceful protest – indeed, it is part of our job to protect First Amendment freedoms. We take that responsibility very seriously. But violence is not speech. There is no right to riot, loot, rob, destroy or commit arson. If you engage in violent civil unrest and commit a federal crime in this District, we will come after you as hard as we can because residents deserve safe and secure neighborhoods, not mayhem.”

“The FBI remains committed to protecting the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment freedoms,” said Philadelphia Division Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Driscoll. “Violence and destruction of property jeopardize the rights and safety of all citizens, including peaceful demonstrators. Today’s indictments send the message that if you seek to hijack peaceful protests to pursue violent and extremist agendas, the FBI and its law enforcement partners will bring you to justice.”

“These individuals were not in the City to participate in a peaceful protest: instead, it appears they posed as protestors and allegedly set fire to a Pennsylvania State Police vehicle and a Philadelphia Police vehicle,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Arson is an extremely violent act which presents a tremendous threat to public safety. We will continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to seek justice during these tumultuous times.”  

“Thousands peacefully assembled and protested throughout Philadelphia following the killing of George Floyd in May of 2020,” said Brian A. Michael, Special Agent in Charge for HSI Philadelphia. “Today’s indictments demonstrate how law enforcement successfully works together to pursue violent opportunists who commit criminal acts that undermine the peaceful protestors’ message. HSI works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to investigate, identify and hold accountable individuals who commit malicious, destructive, unlawful acts.”

“The Pennsylvania State Police thanks all of the partnering local, state, and federal agencies that assisted with this investigation,” said Captain James Kemm, commander of the Pennsylvania State Police Troop K. “We respect the public’s right to peacefully protest, but violence and destruction of property will not be tolerated.”

If convicted, all four defendants face a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison, and a maximum possible sentence of 65 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $750,000.

The Matchett, Miller, and Smith case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Philadelphia Police Department; and the Philadelphia Fire Marshal’s Office; with assistance from the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. The Tabri case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the Pennsylvania State Police. Both cases are being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – An Aurora, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of methamphetamine in Barry County, Mo.

Brian E. Hall, 45, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

By pleading guilty today, Hall admitted he participated in the drug-trafficking conspiracy from Nov. 1, 2020, to April 28, 2022.

During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized multiple kilograms of methamphetamine from various members of the drug-trafficking organization, including Hall. Hall admitted that he was distributing large amounts of methamphetamine in the southwest Missouri region. Hall also admitted he has traveled to Arizona and Oklahoma numerous times to purchase 20 to 50 pounds of methamphetamine at a time and bring it back to Missouri.

A confidential informant assisted in the controlled buy of 413 grams (approximately one pound) of methamphetamine from Hall on June 16, 2021, for $1,400. A confidential informant assisted in the controlled buy of 431.27 grams of methamphetamine from Hall on June 22, 2021, for $3,500.

Investigators also interviewed a property owner who was involved in an owner-financed sale of a house and storage units to Hall for $10,000 per month, paid in cash. The property owner was aware that Hall sold methamphetamine and did not have legitimate income to purchase the properties. Hall met the property owner in February and in March 2022 to make the $10,000 payments, which were relinquished to the government.

On April 28, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hall’s residence. Officers seized seven pounds of methamphetamine, a stolen Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol that was found underneath Hall’s bed, approximately $57,000 in cash found inside a safe, and drug paraphernalia used for the packaging and sale of methamphetamine. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Hall must forfeit the $57,000 to the government.

Hall told investigators he was expecting a large delivery of methamphetamine that evening, and that he planned to give the courier the $57,000. At approximately 10 p.m., a black Toyota Camry arrived at Hall’s residence. The driver and a passenger were immediately arrested, and officers seized approximately 22 pounds (10 kilograms) of methamphetamine.

Under federal statutes, Hall is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Combined Ozark Multi-jurisdictional Enforcement Team (COMET), the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Barry County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team, and the Stone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Greene County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Bolivar, Mo., Police Department, the Cassville, Mo., Police Department, the Kimberling City, Mo., Police Department, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Nixa, Missouri, physician pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to making a false statement to Medicare to obtain insurance coverage for a fentanyl prescription and to conspiring with others to use his DEA registration number to issue Schedule II controlled substances to patients in his absence.

Randall Halley, 65, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush on Tuesday, Dec. 7, to one count of making a false statement related to healthcare and one count of conspiracy to use a registration number issued to another person in connection with the distribution of a controlled substance.

Halley, a licensed physician, was employed by Ozark Community Hospital - Christian County Clinic in Nixa from 2004 to June 2019. He also was employed from 2009 to 2017 as the medical director at Magnolia Square, a skilled nursing facility in Springfield, Mo.

By pleading guilty yesterday, Halley admitted that he prescribed Subsys, a fentanyl spray manufactured by Insys Therapeutics, to a patient. Halley submitted a request to Medicare for payment coverage of the prescription, falsely stating that the patient had a diagnosis of cancer. Halley knew that the patient did not have a diagnosis of cancer at that time, and was not being treated for breakthrough cancer-related pain – two conditions that Medicare required for payment coverage of Subsys. Due to Halley’s false statement, Medicare paid a total of $11,945 to cover the prescription and subsequent Subsys prescriptions.

Halley also admitted that he conspired with others at the clinic to use his registration number so they could provide prescription medication in his absence, including Schedule II controlled substances. Halley was scheduled to only be present at the clinic in Nixa on Mondays and Thursdays. Although he was often absent on those days, he still scheduled patients for appointments. In order for the clinic to continue issuing prescriptions in Halley’s absence, he directed others at the clinic to prepare prescriptions ahead of time so that he could sign them several days before the patients’ appointments.  On those days when Halley was absent, he directed others at the clinic to give the patients their prescriptions, including Schedule II controlled substances. Due to this illegal conduct, Medicare paid a total of $18,901 to cover the cost of those prescriptions.

Halley specifically admitted to conspiring with Susan Gail Morris, a nurse practitioner; Lily (Nga) Nguyen, a nurse practitioner; Amber Moeschler, a licensed practical nurse; and Kimberly Hoffer, a licensed practical nurse, to use his DEA registration number to distribute Schedule II controlled substances. Morris, Nguyen, and Moeschler have already pleaded guilty to crimes related to their conduct in this conspiracy.  Co-defendant Hoffer has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial in February 2022.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Halley will pay a $92,225 fine and $44,887 in restitution to Medicare. The government may seek up to $355,678 in additional restitution to Medicare at the time of Halley’s sentencing hearing for conduct relevant to his false statement involving Subsys prescriptions.  Additionally, Halley agreed to refrain from treating medical patients who may require the issuance of prescriptions for controlled substances, throughout the period of any post-sentencing supervision.

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

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Clark and Nhan D. Nguyen. It was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore announced today that the Western District of Missouri collected $7,691,991 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2022. Of this amount, $5,422,014 was collected in criminal actions and $2,269,977 was collected in civil actions.

Additionally, the Western District of Missouri worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $5,580,483 in cases pursued jointly by these offices. Of this amount, $45,732 was collected in criminal actions and $5,534,751 was collected in civil actions.

In total, the Western District of Missouri and partner agencies collected a combined total of $13,272,474 in criminal and civil actions and forfeitures in fiscal year 2022.

“The attorneys and support staff in our district’s Monetary Penalties Unit worked diligently to collect millions of dollars in restitution for victims of crime, and to seize the assets of those who sought to profit from their illegal activities,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. “In our Civil Division, attorneys and staff successfully recovered considerable funds owed to the government as a result of numerous civil judgments.

“Our collections and asset recovery programs, in both the civil and criminal divisions, hold defendants financially accountable for their conduct,” Moore added. “We are committed to ensure that these debts, both to the government and to the victims of crime, are paid in full.”

For example, the Monetary Penalties Unit recovered over $550,000 in criminal penalties from Randall Halley, a Nixa physician who pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to Medicare to obtain insurance coverage for a fentanyl prescription and one count of conspiracy to use his DEA registration number for his employees to issue controlled substances to patients in his absence. Halley took bribes from a drug manufacturer in exchange for prescribing its fentanyl drug to his patients so often that he ranked highest in the state in net sales of the product. Numerous patients received dangerous fentanyl medication they did not need, nor did they qualify for under Medicare, and Medicare was defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Monetary Penalties Unit also collected over $880,000 in a civil forfeiture action as part of a central Missouri case involving real and personal property that represented criminal proceeds from drug trafficking.

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 collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Western District of Missouri, working with partner agencies and divisions, collected $3,233,871 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2022. 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.

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced in a federal court in San Antonio today to 360 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in the death of 20-year-old Isabella Render.

According to court documents, Patrick James Hall, 29, met Render on Oct. 28, 2020, in a San Antonio hotel room located off I-10, where he had been selling the drug in the form of small round blue pills disguised as oxycodone.  Render had been unconscious in Hall’s hotel room for an extended period when Hall returned a missed call to Render’s friend.  Hall notified the friend that she needed to pick up Render from the hotel because she had overdosed.  He then left the location without calling for emergency services.  Render’s friend, however, did alert emergency services who pronounced Render dead upon their arrival.  She had been deceased for some time.  A toxicology report showed that Render had an amount of fentanyl in her blood that exceeded 24 times a fatal dose.

Hall was arrested on Nov. 19, 2020 on State charges.  Text messages sent from his phone confirmed that he had been selling the pills to multiple individuals at the time of the Render’s death, and that he himself had overdosed on the pills earlier in the month.  Hall was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts related to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

“Fentanyl has proven to be a very deadly drug that is being used to poison our communities and this sentence reinforces our position that those who traffic it will be held accountable for the harm they cause,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.  “My hope is that families of fentanyl victims—in this case, Isabella’s family—can see these sentences as progress and that they can find some measure of relief through our justice system.  I also thank our law enforcement partners at the Drug Enforcement Administration and the San Antonio Police Department for their successful investigative work in this case.”

“Today's sentencing of Patrick Hall represents the culmination of hard work by our local law enforcement partners and federal prosecutors," said Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux for the DEA’s Houston Division.  “I want to provide my most sincere condolences to the Bove family. While we realize nothing eliminates the pain and grief they have endured, we hope the knowledge that Hall is being held accountable for the death of their daughter, Isabella Render, and his inability to harm others will bring them some comfort.”

The DEA and SAPD investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Hail prosecuted the case.

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GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On March 14, 2018, Dr. Abdelrahman Mohamed, 64, and Cecilia Manacsa, 59, both of Morristown, Tennessee, were sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge, to serve 36 months and 16 months respectively in federal prison.  In addition to his prison sentence, Mohamed also paid $730,000 in restitution.

Mohamed and Manacsa both pleaded guilty in September 2017, to an 11-count information charging them with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 10 counts of health care fraud. 

Mohamed was the owner and operator of Hamblen Neuroscience Center (HNC), a neurology and pain management facility located in Morristown, Tennessee.  Manacsa, his wife, worked at HNC as a supervisor of various employees, including the employee responsible for submitting bills to Medicare and Medicaid (known as TennCare in the state of Tennessee). A detailed account of their offenses is included in the information and plea agreements on file with the U.S. District Court.

Mohamed, who was the only physician on staff at HNC, provided medical treatment to a variety of patients, most of whom sought treatment for chronic pain and had health insurance provided by TennCare or Medicare.  Between January 2012 and September 2016 Mohamed and Manacsa developed a scheme to schedule far more patients per day than could be attended to by Mohamed.  On average, they scheduled between 40 and 60 pain management patients per day, during the estimated six-hour period that Mohamed worked.  To deal with the high volume, on many occasions staff members were instructed to line up the patients in the hallway outside of Mohamed's office, escort the first patient into the office for a one to two minute open-door meeting, then hand Mohamed a partially completed prescription for an opiate pain management medication, which he signed and gave to the patient. This process was repeated until all waiting patients had received a prescription for a controlled substance.  Each patient was then scheduled for another appointment the following month at which time the process was repeated. 

Mohamed admitted that during the fraud he issued thousands of prescriptions for opiate controlled substances and frequently did so on a recurring monthly basis, often for years.  He also admitted that when he issued such prescriptions he was doing so outside of the scope of ordinary medical practice. 

After these visits, Mohamed and Manacsa instructed HNC staff members to submit fraudulent bills to TennCare and Medicare claiming that they were owed approximately $1,538,000 for services they had not actually provided to these patients.  This fraud resulted in Medicare and TennCare paying approximately $733,000 to HNC.

“This case sends a clear message to physicians and other health care providers in the Eastern District of Tennessee that investigating and prosecuting healthcare fraud related to prescription opioids is a top priority for the Department of Justice as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said J. Douglas Overbey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.  “Our district’s participation in the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit will provide us with the resources necessary to effectively investigate and prosecute medical providers, such as Mohamed and Manacsa, who are contributing to this epidemic by unlawfully diverting or dispensing opioids outside the scope of acceptable professional practice,” added U.S. Attorney Overbey.

“These defendants enriched themselves at the expense of taxpayers by defrauding Medicare and TennCare,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “Their actions risked the health and safety of patients by prescribing opioids without a comprehensive physical exam.  This sentence sends a strong message

that this type of behavior will be dealt with seriously,” added Jackson.

This case was investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General. Assistance was provided by the Tennessee Department of Health as well as District Attorney General Dan Armstrong and the District Attorney’s Office for the Third Judicial District.  Assistant U.S. Attorney T.J. Harker represented the United States.

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