Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the Police Department for the City of New York (“NYPD”), Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”), and James J. Hunt, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced charges today against 25 members and associates of the “Hooly Gang,” a crew operating primarily in the vicinity of Fox Street and Leggett Avenue in the Bronx, New York. The defendants are charged with narcotics conspiracy in Superseding Indictment S1 17 Cr. 449 (KPF).
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “The defendants are charged with narcotics conspiracy. What they allegedly did was annex a residential neighborhood, including two playgrounds, and make it a virtual open-air bazaar for dangerous and potentially lethal drugs. We commend our partners at the NYPD, HSI, ATF, and DEA for working together to restore our neighborhoods to the law-abiding people who deserve to live without fear of gangs and the violence they often bring.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “As alleged, the defendants in this case plied their poison, including heroin and oxycodone, across two Bronx playgrounds, endangering the lives of many in the neighborhood. Our focus on crime—and violence—is unwavering. And it is exhibited clearly in today’s action. I am thankful for the efforts of detectives, agents, and prosecutors whose work resulted in the arrest of dozens this morning and the unsealing of this superseding indictment.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez said: “The individuals arrested during this operation are alleged to sell crack and heroin around playgrounds. They have a clear disregard for law enforcement and clearly no regard for the communities in which they live. HSI and its law enforcement partners will continue to arrest and remove gang members, like those today, off our city streets.”
ATF Special-Agent-in-Charge Ashan M. Benedict said: “The Hooly Gang and its members, as alleged, turned playgrounds into open air drug markets where narcotics were more common than the sights and sounds of children laughing and playing. Thank you to all of the federal, state and local partners that helped create a force multiplier effect to help rid the streets of violent narcotics traffickers thus sending a message to the community that the rule of law runs the streets. I would like to extend my gratitude to the United States Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting the case.”
DEA Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt said: “Allegedly, the Hooly Gang was a feared drug supplier in the Longwood section of the Bronx. Their products - ranging from crack, heroin, marijuana, and oxycodone - invited gang wars into the surrounding communities and enabled drug addiction. This unique law enforcement partnership, targeting gang violence in our city, led to today’s arrests.”
According to the Superseding Indictment[1] unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and other publicly filed documents:
The Superseding Indictment arises from a joint investigation, beginning in 2017, by the NYPD, HSI, DEA, and ATF into a crew operating in the vicinity of Fox Street and Leggett Avenue in the Bronx called the “Hooly Gang.” Members and associates of the Hooly Gang operated an open-air drug market in this residential neighborhood – including within and around two playgrounds – and sold, among other things, crack, heroin, oxycodone, and marijuana. In order to protect its drug turf and advance its aims, members and associates of the Hooly Gang also committed acts of violence, including shootings.
* * *
Defendants arrested in New York yesterday and early this morning will be presented later this afternoon in Manhattan federal court. Defendant MELVIN ALSTON is presently in custody on state charges and will be transferred to federal custody. Defendants ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ, a/k/a “Ant,” ROBERTO JORGE, and GIOVANNI TORRES are already in federal custody on related charges.
Each defendant is charged with one count of narcotics conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by the judge.
The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD’s Bronx Gang Squad, HSI’s Violent Gang Unit, ATF’s Joint Firearms Task Force, and the New York Field Division of the DEA, as well as the United States Marshals’ Service and the New York State Division of Parole for their assistance in today’s arrests. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Department of Investigation for their support in the investigation of this matter.
The Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit is overseeing the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Maimin, Jessica Feinstein, and Danielle Sassoon are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the descriptions of the Superseding Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), James P. O’Neill, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and Walter M. Arsenault, Executive Director of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, announced today the filing of a Superseding Indictment charging 19 members and associates of the Luchese Family of La Cosa Nostra with racketeering, murder, narcotics, and firearms offenses.
The Superseding Indictment builds on charges previously filed against Luchese soldier CHRISTOPHER LONDONIO and Luchese associate TERRENCE CALDWELL, who were charged in February 2017 with racketeering offenses, including the murder of Michael Meldish, a Luchese associate who was killed in the Bronx on November 15, 2013.
The Superseding Indictment charges MATTHEW MADONNA, the alleged street boss of the Luchese Family, STEVEN CREA SR., the alleged underboss of the Family, and STEVEN CREA JR., LONDONIO’s alleged captain in the Family, with ordering the murder of Meldish. The Superseding Indictment also contains additional racketeering charges against MADONNA, CREA SR., and CREA JR., as well as the alleged consigliere of the Luchese Family, JOSEPH DiNAPOLI, and numerous other members and associates of La Cosa Nostra.
Fifteen of the defendants charged were taken into custody today. CHRISTOPHER LONDONIO, TERRENCE CALDWELL, and VINCENT BRUNO were already in federal custody on other charges. MATTHEW MADONNA was already in custody on state charges and was transferred today to federal custody. All defendants arrested today will be presented in White Plains federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy this afternoon. The case is assigned to United States District Judge Cathy Seibel, who will hold an initial conference on Thursday, June 1, 2017, at 2:00 p.m.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “As today’s charges demonstrate, La Cosa Nostra remains alive and active in New York City, but so does our commitment to eradicate the mob’s parasitic presence. We have charged 19 members and associates of the Luchese Crime Family, including its entire administration – the street boss, underboss and consigliere – with serious racketeering offenses. The defendants allegedly used violence and threats of violence, as the mob always has, to make illegal money, to enforce discipline in the ranks, and to silence witnesses. The mob members and associates charged today will answer for their alleged misdeeds in a court of law.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Organized crime families believe their way of life is acceptable and continue to show through their criminal behavior that they don’t plan to stop. Their crimes aren’t victimless, and this case proves they’re willing to use murder and many other violent tactics to enforce their dominance. The FBI/NYPD Joint Organized Crime Task Force and our other law enforcement partners, who have done exceptional work in this case, don’t plan to stop our pursuit of these crime families because they have a direct negative impact on communities and neighborhoods where they operate.”
HSI Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez said: “The Luchese Family and its associates are alleged to be linked to guns, drugs, racketeering, and murder. They are also alleged to have used their criminal enterprise to launder money, tamper with witnesses and extortion. It is clear that this ‘family’ business is of no benefit to its community or to this great city. HSI will continue to strengthen its partnership with the FBI and NYPD to ensure that alleged criminals like the Luchese Family face the consequences of their actions.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “The allegations and extent of the criminal behavior are extraordinary. The Luchese Family operated with seeming impunity, allegedly carrying out murder, robberies, extortion, among a myriad of other charges unsealed today. We will not stop until violence has been eradicated – be it from a street gang or the mob.”
Waterfront Commission Executive Director Walter M. Arsenault said: “The Waterfront Commission will continue to work with all of its law enforcement partners to eliminate Organized Crime wherever it is found.”
According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment[1], which was filed in White Plains federal court on May 24, 2017, and was unsealed today:
La Cosa Nostra or “the Mafia” is a criminal organization composed of leaders, members, and associates who work together and coordinate to engage in criminal activities.
La Cosa Nostra operates through entities known as “Families.” In the New York City area, those families include the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese, Bonanno, Colombo, and Decavalcante Families. Each Family operates through groups of individuals known as “crews” and “regimes.” Each “crew” has as its leader a person known as a “Caporegime,” “Capo,” “Captain,” or “Skipper,” who is responsible for supervising the criminal activities of his crew and providing “Soldiers” and associates with support and protection. In return, the Capo typically receives a share of the illegal earnings of each of his crew’s Soldiers and associates, which is sometimes referred to as Atribute.@
Each crew consists of “made” members, sometimes known as “Soldiers,” “wiseguys,” “friends of ours,” and “good fellows.” Soldiers are aided in their criminal endeavors by other trusted individuals, known as “associates,” who sometimes are referred to as “connected” or identified as “with” a Soldier or other member of the Family. Associates participate in the various activities of the crew and its members. In order for an associate to become a made member of the Family, the associate must first be of Italian descent and typically needs to demonstrate the ability to generate income for the Family and/or the willingness to commit acts of violence.
At most times relevant to the charges in the Superseding Indictment, MATTHEW MADONNA was the street boss of the family – that is, the individual who managed the affairs of the Family on behalf of the formal boss, who is serving a life sentence in federal prison. STEVEN CREA SR., a/k/a “Wonder Boy,” was the Underboss of the Luchese Family, and JOSEPH DINAPOLI was the Consigliere of the Luchese Family. Additionally, STEVEN CREA JR., DOMINIC TRUSCELLO, JOHN CASTELUCCI, a/k/a “Big John,” and TINDARO CORSO, a/k/a “Tino,” were Captains or Acting Captains in the Luchese Family. JOSEPH VENICE, JAMES MAFFUCCI, a/k/a “Jimmy the Jew,” JOSEPH DATELLO, a/k/a “Big Joe,” a/k/a “Joey Glasses,” PAUL CASSANO, a/k/a “Paulie Roast Beef,” and CHRISTOPHER LONDONIO were Soldiers in the Luchese Family.
The Superseding Indictment alleges that from at least in or about 2000 up to and including in or about 2017, MATTHEW MADONNA, STEVEN CREA SR., JOSEPH DINAPOLI, STEVEN CREA JR., DOMINIC TRUSCELLO, JOHN CASTELUCCI, TINDARO CORSO, JOSEPH VENICE, JAMES MAFFUCCI, JOSEPH DATELLO, PAUL CASSANO, CHRISTOPHER LONDONIO, TERRENCE CALDWELL, a/k/a “T,” VINCENT BRUNO, BRIAN VAUGHAN, CARMINE GARCIA, a/k/a “Spanish Carmine,” RICHARD O’CONNOR, ROBERT CAMILLI, and JOHN INCATASCIATO, along with other members and associates of La Cosa Nostra, committed a wide array of crimes in connection with their association with the mafia, including murder, attempted murder, assault, robbery, extortion, gambling, narcotics trafficking, witness tampering, fraud, money laundering, and trafficking in contraband cigarettes.
Of particular significance, on or about November 15, 2013, MADONNA, CREA SR. CREA JR., LONDONIO, and CALDWELL murdered and procured the murder of Michael Meldish in order to maintain or increase their status in La Cosa Nostra.
The Superseding Indictment also alleges the following additional violent incidents:
In late 2012, PAUL CASSANO and VINCENT BRUNO, acting at the direction of CREA SR. and CREA JR., attempted to murder a mafia associate who had shown disrespect toward CREA SR.
As charged in the initial Indictment, on May 29, 2013, TERRENCE CALDWELL attempted to murder a Bonanno Soldier in the vicinity of First Avenue and 111th Street, in Manhattan.
In or about October 2016, STEVEN CREA SR. and JOSEPH DATELLO attempted to murder a witness who had previously provided information regarding the activities of La Cosa Nostra to state and federal law enforcement.
* * *
A chart containing the ages, residency information, and charges against the defendants, as well as the maximum penalties they face, is attached.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Organized Crime Task Force, which comprises agents and detectives of the FBI, NYPD, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, the New York County District Attorney’s Office, the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Inspector General's Office, the Chesterfield County (VA) Police Department, and the Guardia Civil (Spain). He added that the investigation is continuing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Hartman, Hagan Scotten, and Jacqueline Kelly are in charge of the prosecution. The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit and White Plains Division.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States v. Mathew Madonna, et al., S1 17 Cr. 89 (CS)
DEFENDANT
AGE
CITY OF RESIDENCE
CHARGES
MAX SENT.
Madonna, Matthew
81
Incarcerated
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 924(j)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Crea, Sr., Steven
69
Crestwood, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 924(j)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
DiNapoli, Joseph
81
Bronx, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Crea, Jr., Steven
45
New Rochelle, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 924(j)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Truscello, Dominic
83
Staten Island, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Castelucci, John
57
Staten Island, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Corso, Tindaro
56
Staten Island, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Venice, Joseph
56
Yonkers, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Maffucci, James
69
Manhattan, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
21 U.S.C. § 846
Life
Datello, Joseph
66
Staten Island, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
21 U.S.C. § 846
Life
Londonio, Christopher
43
Incarcerated
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 924(j)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
21 U.S.C. § 846
Life
Cassano, Paul
38
Yonkers, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Caldwell, Terrence
59
Incarcerated
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 924(j)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Bruno, Vincent
33
Incarcerated
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
Life
Vaughan, Brian
51
Matawan, NJ
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
21 U.S.C. § 846
Life
Garcia, Carmine
65
Hawthorne, NJ
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
21 U.S.C. § 846
Life
O’Connor, Richard
63
Staten Island, NY
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
21 U.S.C. § 846
Life
Camilli, Robert
60
Briarcliff Manor, NY
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
20 Years
Incatasciato, John
42
Elmsford, NY
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
20 Years
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Dermot F. Shea, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), John B. Devito, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), and Geraldine Hart, the Commissioner of the Suffolk County Police Department (“SCPD”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging 17 defendants with committing various racketeering, narcotics, and firearms offenses in Manhattan and the Bronx. Ten of the defendants were arrested today and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses in Manhattan federal court. Three of the defendants are already in state custody and will be presented at a later date. Four defendants remain at large. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged in the indictment, the defendants in this case include high-ranking members of a violent set of the Latin Kings gang. They are alleged to have engaged in acts of violence, robberies, narcotics trafficking, and the use of firearms. Thanks to the efforts of our partners at the FBI, NYPD, ATF, and SCPD, the defendants now face federal charges for these very serious crimes.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Rounding up these alleged gang members is more than just removing violent criminals from the streets they believe they control. They’re pushing and selling drugs that are killing thousands of people each year in our country, adding to the epidemic tearing apart families and communities. Our work today, and the work we will continue to do tomorrow on our FBI Metro Safe Streets Gang Task Force, is vital to combating the spread of these drugs, and crucial to saving people’s lives.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge John B. Devito said: “The defendants are alleged to have conspired on, threatened and committed numerous acts of violence to influence and control their members and enforce the territorial boundaries of their illegal narcotics operations. Thankfully through the diligent efforts of our law enforcement partners this operation has been disrupted and dismantled. We will stand with all of our local, state and federal partners to see that these violent gangs are eradicated from our communities. I would like to thank the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case.”
SCPD Commissioner Geraldine Hart said: “More than a dozen alleged violent gang members are now off the streets thanks to the collaborative efforts with our law enforcement partners. As alleged, these criminals have zero consideration for the well-being of anyone, inside or outside their gang, distributing narcotics and possessing firearms in an attempt to instill fear in our communities. We will continue to work together with our partner agencies to rid our communities of violent street gangs.”
NYPD Commissioner Dermot F. Shea said: "Targeting and dismantling gangs and crews, and preventing the violence so often associated with their illegal activities, continues to be among the highest priorities for the NYPD. We continue to relentlessly with our law enforcement partners to identify, arrest, and build the strongest possible cases to hold to account anyone who involves themselves in such behavior."
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and statements made in court[1]:
CARMELO VELEZ, a/k/a “Jugg,” CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ, a/k/a “Taz,” LUIS SEPULVEDA, a/k/a “Red,” ANGEL LOPEZ, a/k/a “SB,” CHRISTOPHER LUM, a/k/a “Un,” EMMANUEL BONAFE, a/k/a “Eazy,” CHRISTOPHER NELSON, a/k/a “Hype,” JOSIAH VELAZQUEZ, a/k/a “Siah,” ALBERTO BORGES, a/k/a “AB,” JUAN HERNANDEZ, a/k/a “Goldo,” HEINNER SOLIS, a/k/a “Juelz,” EZEQUIEL OSPINA, a/k/a “Izzy,” RAIMUNDO NIEVES, a/k/a “Dobule-R,” DEESHUNTEE STEVENS, a/k/a “Kay,” HECTOR BONAPARTE, a/k/a “June,” and MICHAEL GONZALEZ, a/k/a “Wisdom,” are members and associates of a racketeering enterprise known as the “Black Mob,” which operates in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Long Island. The Black Mob is a set, or “tribe,” of the nationwide Latin Kings gang. In order to enrich the enterprise, protect and expand its criminal operations, enforce discipline among its members, and retaliate against members of rival gangs, members and associates of the Black Mob committed, conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence; distributed and possessed with intent to distribute narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, and crack; committed robberies; and obtained, possessed, and used firearms.
VELEZ, 30, RODRIGUEZ, 34, SEPULVEDA, 27, LOPEZ, 34, LUM, 28, BONAFE, 27, NELSON, 28. VELAZQUEZ, 22, BORGES, 29, JUAN HERNANDEZ, 31, JESUS HERNANDEZ, 26, SOLIS, 25, and OSPINA, 23, are each charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison.
Those 13 defendants, as well as NIEVES, 46, STEVENS, 46, BONAPARTE, 37, and GONZALEZ, 33, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute: (i) one kilogram and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of heroin, (ii) 400 grams and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, (iii) 280 grams and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of crack cocaine, (iv) five kilograms and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of cocaine, (v) oxycodone, (vi) alprazolam, and (vii) marijuana, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
All of the defendants except GONZALEZ are also each charged with possessing, carrying, and using firearms in relation to, and in furtherance of, the narcotics conspiracy, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.
* * *
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 the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, NYPD, ATF, and SCPD. Mr. Berman also thanked the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for its assistance in the case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Hobson and Elinor Tarlow are in charge of the prosecutions.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Richard Conway, Chief of the Port Chester Police Department, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging CRISTIAN FERNANDEZ, JOHNNY FERNANDEZ, JESUS GONZALEZ, JUAN HERNANDEZ, JUAN PABLO RENDON-INZUNZA, NICOLE MAISONET, GABRIEL ORTIZ, a/k/a “Bebe,” MARIA ROLON, EDGARDO RUIZ, a/k/a “Roro,” HECTOR SANCHEZ, a/k/a “Tito,” GILBERT TORRES, FABIOLA VEGA, and JOHN VIEIRA, a/k/a “John-John,” with firearms and narcotics offenses. The defendants have been charged as a result of their membership and participation in a transnational criminal organization that trafficked in firearms and narcotics, including heroin and methamphetamine. Nine defendants were arrested or taken into federal custody on these charges today in various locations throughout the United States, namely Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. ORTIZ, who is in custody on state charges in Rochester, New York, will be transferred to federal custody as soon as possible. ROLON, GONZALEZ, and INZUNZA have not been arrested to date.
Six of the defendants – CRISTIAN FERNANDEZ, JOHNNY FERNANDEZ, JUAN HERNANDEZ, GILBERT TORRES, FABIOLA VEGA, and JOHN VIEIRA – were arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Lisa Margaret Smith this afternoon in White Plains federal court. Three other defendants –EDGARDO RUIZ, NICOLE MAISONET, and HECTOR SANCHEZ – will be presented today in federal courts in Maryland and Massachusetts.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, these defendants operated a nationwide drug distribution network to push heroin and methamphetamine onto U.S. streets. Thanks to the dedicated work of the FBI and Port Chester Police, these defendants are behind bars and face significant prison time for their alleged crimes.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “The members of this criminal organization created a spider web of illegal drug sales, moving their drugs from south of the border and crisscrossing the states allegedly attempting covering their tracks. These are the types of operations contributing to the deadly epidemic of overdoses in our country, indiscriminately killing people of all ages and races. The FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and our law enforcement partners have created such a vital working relationship that we are having a significant impact in stopping the flow of illegal drugs at the source.”
Port Chester Police Chief Richard Conway said: “I'm very proud our Department’s role in this investigation, which is perhaps the largest scale operation we have ever undertaken. Today’s arrests represent an example to us all of what can be accomplished when agencies work together.”
According to the Indictment[1] unsealed today in White Plains federal court:
From 2017 to 2018, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, CRISTIAN FERNANDEZ, JOHNNY FERNANDEZ, JESUS GONZALEZ, JUAN HERNANDEZ, JUAN PABLO RENDON-INZUNZA, NICOLE MAISONET, GABRIEL ORTIZ, MARIA ROLON, EDGARDO RUIZ, HECTOR SANCHEZ, GILBERT TORRES, FABIOLA VEGA, and JOHN VIEIRA participated in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. The criminal organization trafficked in both heroin and methamphetamine. As part of the criminal organization, CRISTIAN FERNANDEZ and FABIOLA VEGA possessed firearms in furtherance of their narcotics trafficking and, together with co-defendants HERNANDEZ, RUIZ, and TORRES, participated in a conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license between 2017 and 2018.
* * *
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided in the attached table for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the Port Chester Police Department. Mr. Berman also thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Westchester County Police Department, and the Peekskill Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Olga Zverovich and Sam Adelsberg 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.
United States v. Cristian Fernandez, et al.
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAXIMUM PENALTIES
Count One
Narcotics Conspiracy
CRISTIAN FERNANDEZ
JOHNNY FERNANDEZ
JESUS GONZALEZ
JUAN HERNANDEZ,
JUAN PABLO RENDON-INZUNZA
NICOLE MAISONET
GABRIEL ORTIZ, a/k/a “Bebe”
MARIA ROLON
EDGARDO RUIZ, a/k/a “Roro”
HECTOR SANCHEZ, a/k/a “Tito”
GILBERT TORRES
FABIOLA VEGA
JOHN VIEIRA a/k/a “John-John”
As to defendants CRISTIAN FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ, INZUNZA, ORTIZ, RUIZ, SANCHEZ, VEGA:
Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
As to defendants JOHNNY FERNANDEZ, HERNANDEZ, MAISONET, ROLON, TORRES, and VIEIRA:
40 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison
Count Two
Conspiracy to Deal in Firearms without a License
CRISTIAN FERNANDEZ
JUAN HERNANDEZ
EDGARDO RUIZ, a/k/a “Roro” GILBERT TORRES
FABIOLA VEGA
Five years in prison
Count Three
Firearms Offense
FABIOLA VEGA
Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison
Count Four
Firearms Offense
CRISTIAN FERNANDEZ
Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Darcel D. Clark, the Bronx County District Attorney, James O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), and James J. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), today announced the unsealing of two Indictments charging 49 members of two Bronx-based drug distribution organizations, with various narcotics, robbery, and firearms offenses, including the murder of Jose Morales on December 11, 2016.
Fifteen defendants associated with a drug distribution organization operating primarily on East 175th Street and Monroe Avenue in the Bronx are charged in United States v. James Felton, et al., which has been assigned to U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley. The defendants taken into federal custody today were presented before Magistrate Judges Barbara C. Moses and Henry B. Pitman. Three defendants, JAMES FELTON, JAMES DIAZ, and ANDRE FELTON, are currently incarcerated in federal custody on related charges and will be arraigned on the Indictment before Judge Pauley on March 23, 2017.
Thirty-four defendants associated with a drug distribution organization operating primarily on Weeks Avenue and East 176th Street in the Bronx are charged in United States v. Edwin Romero, et al., which has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska. The defendants taken into federal custody today were presented before Magistrate Judges Barbara C. Moses and Henry B. Pitman.
Manhattan Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Dozens of alleged members of two drug distribution organizations have been charged with peddling potentially lethal drugs. Many are also charged with committing violent crimes, including four who allegedly murdered Jose Morales in furtherance of their drug business. All New Yorkers are entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of their homes, free from the devastating effects of drugs and the violence that can accompany drug trafficking. Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to work to return the neighborhoods of the Bronx to the law-abiding people who live in them.”
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark said: “This case crystallizes how drug dealing’s attendant violence devastates our neighborhoods. These two organizations held the Mount Hope area in a vise grip of numerous street shootings, including at least one murder. In our fight against heroin and other drugs, we must always remain focused on the community residents who are victimized by these vicious traffickers.”
Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “Today’s arrests are the latest example of drug dealing that led to violence, including armed robberies and a murder in the Bronx, as alleged. This type of precision policing is leading to further reductions in crime beyond last year’s all-time low. Many thanks to the detectives, agents, and the prosecutors in the Southern District we so often work with and whose diligence resulted in the leveling of these serious drug trafficking charges today.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez said: “Today the law enforcement community in New York struck a serious blow to violent drug distribution organizations that operate in our city. Two such organizations allegedly flooded the community of Mount Hope in the Bronx with heroin, crack cocaine, fear and death. This is yet another step in our efforts to bring peace and hope to our communities by removing the alleged leadership and rank-and-file members of these organizations, putting an end to their menacing criminal conduct.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division James J. Hunt said: “Guns, violence and turf wars plague neighborhoods that drug dealers have turned into battlefields. Today, law enforcement has reclaimed the Mount Hope section of the Bronx by arresting dozens of alleged members of two drug trafficking organizations. DEA Agents working with HSI, NYPD, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the SDNY U.S. Attorney’s Office identified and dismantled these crews allegedly responsible for fueling drug addiction and drug-related violence.”
The Indictments[1] arise from a joint investigation by HSI, the DEA, and the NYPD into two violent drug trafficking organizations that operated in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx. Members of these drug trafficking organizations sold crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, and they possessed and used firearms to further their drug trafficking activities.
Count One of the Indictment in U.S. v. James Felton, et al., unsealed today in Manhattan federal court, charges JAMES FELTON, JAMES DIAZ, ANDRE FELTON, EZEKIEL BURLEY, URIAH BROWN, BRADFORD CANNON, WILLIE REEVES, HAROLD FIELDS, ROBERT BRENT, DASHAUN MCDONALD, MATTHEW TORRES, TYRONE TURNER, KENDRICK MCCRAY, GINGER DIAZ, and JOSE SANDOVAL with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
Counts Two charges JAMES FELTON, DIAZ, ANDRE FELTON, and BURLEY with the murder of Jose Morales, which occurred on December 11, 2016, in the vicinity of East 175th Street and Weeks Avenue, in the course of a narcotics conspiracy.
Count Three charges JAMES FELTON, DIAZ, ANDRE FELTON, and BURLEY with using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a narcotics conspiracy, resulting in the death of Jose Morales on December 11, 2016.
Count Four charges JAMES FELTON, DIAZ, and BURLEY with using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a narcotics conspiracy, on dates other than December 11, 2016.
Count Five charges BROWN, CANNON, REEVES, FIELDS, BRENT, MCDONALD, TORRES, TURNER, MCCRAY, DIAZ, and SANDOVAL with using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging firearms during and in relation to a narcotics conspiracy.
Count One of the Indictment in U.S. v. Edwin Romero, et al., unsealed today in Manhattan federal court, charges EDWIN ROMERO, RAFAEL ROMERO, FRANCIS PALUZZI, LUIS GONZALEZ, ANIBAL GONZALEZ, CARLOS MOTA, ELIMANUEL DIAZ, PEDRO OLIVO, ADRIAN SANCHEZ, DARYL SIMON, JEFFREY FERNANDEZ, JUAN VALDEZ, WILLIE TUCKER, KASAN NOBLE, DAMIAN SAUNDERS, DANIEL JEFFERSON, DERECK JEFFERSON, WAYNE SCOTT, ERIC RIVERA, MICHAEL MARTINEZ, MAXAMILLION MERCADO, KAREEM SIMMONDS, ALEXANDER PENA, ANTHONY CLASE, CARLOS ACOSTA, CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ, GABRIEL GONZALEZ, JESUS MATA, NANA OWUSU, ROBERTO RAMIREZ, WILPHER RODRIGUEZ, YAWILIS RODRIGUEZ, JESUS ABAD, and ANGEL GUANCE with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
Count Two charges EDWIN ROMERO, SANCHEZ, VALDEZ, TUCKER, and YAWILIS RODRIGUEZ with conspiring to commit robbery.
Count Three charges EDWIN ROMERO, RAFAEL ROMERO, FRANCIS PALUZZI, LUIS GONZALEZ, ANIBAL GONZALEZ, CARLOS MOTA, ELIMANUEL DIAZ, PEDRO OLIVO, ADRIAN SANCHEZ, DARYL SIMON, JEFFREY FERNANDEZ, JUAN VALDEZ, WILLIE TUCKER, KASAN NOBLE, DAMIAN SAUNDERS, DANIEL JEFFERSON, DERECK JEFFERSON, WAYNE SCOTT, ERIC RIVERA, MICHAEL MARTINEZ, KAREEM SIMMONDS, ALEXANDER PENA, ANTHONY CLASE, CARLOS ACOSTA, CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ, GABRIEL GONZALEZ, JESUS MATA, NANA OWUSU, ROBERTO RAMIREZ, WILPHER RODRIGUEZ, YAWILIS RODRIGUEZ, JESUS ABAD, and ANGEL GUANCE with using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a narcotics conspiracy.
Count Four charges EDWIN ROMERO with using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
* * *
Charts containing the names, ages, residences, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants are set forth below. 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 the respective judges.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD, HSI, and DEA, and expressed gratitude for the coordinated efforts of the NYPD’s Detective Bureau, including the Bronx Violent Crime Squad, the 46th Precinct Detectives Squad, and the Bronx Homicide Task Force. Mr. Kim also expressed gratitude to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for its partnership in this investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Frank Balsamello, Matthew Laroche, Anden Chow, and Michael Krouse, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Hellman (cross-designated from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office) are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States v. James Felton, et al., S2 17 Cr. 21 (WHP)
COUNT
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAX. PENALTIES
1
Narcotics conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 846
JAMES FELTON
JAMES DIAZ
ANDRE FELTON
EZEKIEL BURLEY
URIAH BROWN
BRADFORD CANNON
WILLIE REEVES
HAROLD FIELDS
ROBERT BRENT
DASHAUN MCDONALD
MATTHEW TORRES
TYRONE TURNER
KENDRICK MCCRAY
GINGER DIAZ
JOSE SANDOVAL
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
2
Murder while engaged in a narcotics conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A); 18 U.S.C. § 2
JAMES FELTON
JAMES DIAZ
ANDRE FELTON
EZEKIEL BURLEY
Life in prison or death
Mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison
3
Using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging firearms, causing death
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(j)(1) and 2
JAMES FELTON
JAMES DIAZ
ANDRE FELTON
EZEKIEL BURLEY
Life in prison or death
4
Using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging firearms
18 U.S.C.
§§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i), (ii), (iii), 924(c)(1)(C)(i), and 2
JAMES FELTON
JAMES DIAZ
EZEKIEL BURLEY
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison for DIAZ and BURLEY
Mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison for JAMES FELTON
5
Using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging firearms
18 U.S.C.
§§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i), (ii), and (iii), 2
URIAH BROWN
BRADFORD CANNON
WILLIE REEVES
HAROLD FIELDS
ROBERT BRENT
DASHAUN MCDONALD
MATTHEW TORRES
TYRONE TURNER
KENDRICK MCCRAY
GINGER DIAZ
JOSE SANDOVAL
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
DEFENDANT
AGE
RESIDENCE
JAMES FELTON
47
Bronx, New York
JAMES DIAZ,
a/k/a “Chunky”
24
Bronx, New York
ANDRE FELTON,
a/k/a “Dre”
39
Mount Vernon, New York
EZEKIEL BURLEY,
a/k/a “Ezekiel McCall”
a/k/a “Zeke”
a/k/a “Ziggy”
23
Bronx, New York
URIAH BROWN,
a/k/a “Scooter”
42
Bronx, New York
BRADFORD CANNON,
a/k/a “Brad”
46
Bronx, New York
WILLIE REEVES,
a/k/a “Willie Reed”
a/k/a “Willow”
30
Bronx, New York
HAROLD FIELDS,
a/k/a “Howie”
a/k/a “HD”
38
Bronx, New York
ROBERT BRENT,
a/k/a “Ready”
45
Brooklyn, New York
DASHAUN MCDONALD,
a/k/a “Dayday”
27
Bronx, New York
MATTHEW TORRES,
a/k/a “Mac Mittens”
a/k/a “Green Eyes”
33
Bronx, New York
TYRONE TURNER,
a/k/a “Skrap”
32
Bronx, New York
KENDRICK MCCRAY,
a/k/a “Kenny”
43
Bronx, New York
GINGER DIAZ,
a/k/a “George”
30
Bronx, New York
JOSE SANDOVAL,
a/k/a “Shorty”
41
Bronx, New York
United States v. Edwin Romero, et al., S1 17 Cr. 123 (LAP)
COUNT
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAX. PENALTIES
1
Narcotics conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 846
EDWIN ROMERO
RAFAEL ROMERO
FRANCIS PALUZZI
LUIS GONZALEZ
ANIBAL GONZALEZ
CARLOS MOTA
ELIMANUEL DIAZ
PEDRO OLIVO
ADRIAN SANCHEZ
DARYL SIMON
JEFFREY FERNANDEZ
JUAN VALDEZ
WILLIE TUCKER
KASAN NOBLE
DAMIAN SAUNDERS
DANIEL JEFFERSON
DERECK JEFFERSON
WAYNE SCOTT
ERIC RIVERA
MICHAEL MARTINEZ
MAXAMILLION MERCADO
KAREEM SIMMONDS
ALEXANDER PENA
ANTHONY CLASE
CARLOS ACOSTA
CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ
GABRIEL GONZALEZ
JESUS MATA
NANA OWUSU
ROBERTO RAMIREZ
WILPHER RODRIGUEZ
YAWILIS RODRIGUEZ
JESUS ABAD
ANGEL GUANCE
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
2
Robbery conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1951
EDWIN ROMERO
ADRIAN SANCHEZ
JUAN VALDEZ
WILLIE TUCKER
YAWILIS RODRIGUEZ
20 years in prison
3
Using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging firearms
18 U.S.C.
§§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i), (ii), and (iii), 2
EDWIN ROMERO
RAFAEL ROMERO
FRANCIS PALUZZI
LUIS GONZALEZ
ANIBAL GONZALEZ
CARLOS MOTA
ELIMANUEL DIAZ
PEDRO OLIVO
ADRIAN SANCHEZ
DARYL SIMON
JEFFREY FERNANDEZ
JUAN VALDEZ
WILLIE TUCKER
KASAN NOBLE
DAMIAN SAUNDERS
DANIEL JEFFERSON
DERECK JEFFERSON
WAYNE SCOTT
ERIC RIVERA
MICHAEL MARTINEZ
KAREEM SIMMONDS
ALEXANDER PENA
ANTHONY CLASE
CARLOS ACOSTA
CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ
GABRIEL GONZALEZ
JESUS MATA
NANA OWUSU
ROBERTO RAMIREZ
WILPHER RODRIGUEZ
YAWILIS RODRIGUEZ
JESUS ABAD
ANGEL GUANCE
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
4
Using, carrying, possessing, brandishing, and discharging firearms
18 U.S.C.
§§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i), (ii), (iii), 924(c)(1)(C)(i), and 2
EDWIN ROMERO
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison
DEFENDANT
AGE
RESIDENCE
EDWIN ROMERO,
a/k/a “Yones”
a/k/a “Yoni”
35
Bronx, New York
RAFAEL ROMERO,
a/k/a “Kodi”
34
Bronx, New York
FRANCIS PALUZZI,
a/k/a “Fetty”
27
Bronx, New York
LUIS GONZALEZ,
a/k/a “Tili”
a/k/a “Bori”
39
Bronx, New York
ANIBAL GONZALEZ,
a/k/a “Foli”
34
Bronx, New York
CARLOS MOTA,
a/k/a “Culebra”
a/k/a “Snake”
47
Bronx, New York
ELIMANUEL DIAZ,
a/k/a “Lima”
27
Bronx, New York
PEDRO OLIVO,
a/k/a “Pito”
24
Bronx, New York
ADRIAN SANCHEZ,
a/k/a “Pachi”
23
Bronx, New York
DARYL SIMON,
a/k/a “D-Money”
19
Bronx, New York
JEFFREY FERNANDEZ,
a/k/a “Jefe”
19
Bronx, New York
JUAN VALDEZ,
a/k/a “Sito”
21
Bronx, New York
WILLIE TUCKER,
a/k/a “Big Will”
a/k/a “BJ”
a/k/a “BG”
38
Bronx, New York
KASAN NOBLE,
a/k/a “Kay Kay”
40
Bronx, New York
DAMIAN SAUNDERS,
a/k/a “Floss”
37
Bronx, New York
DANIEL JEFFERSON,
a/k/a “Ace”
30
Bronx, New York
DERECK JEFFERSON,
a/k/a “Bang”
28
Bronx, New York
WAYNE SCOTT,
a/k/a “Punch”
37
Bronx, New York
ERIC RIVERA,
a/k/a “Chucky”
a/k/a “Chuck Dollarz”
24
Bronx, New York
MICHAEL MARTINEZ
26
Bronx, New York
MAXAMILLION MERCADO,
a/k/a “Bully”
24
Bronx, New York
KAREEM SIMMONDS,
a/k/a “Kareem Simmons”
a/k/a “Black”
40
Bronx, New York
ALEXANDER PENA,
a/k/a “Green Eyes”
20
Bronx, New York
ANTHONY CLASE,
a/k/a “Ant”
30
Bronx, New York
CARLOS ACOSTA,
a/k/a “Greg”
23
Bronx, New York
CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ,
a/k/a “Dread”
21
Bronx, New York
GABRIEL GONZALEZ,
a/k/a “Gabi”
a/k/a “Baldy”
40
Bronx, New York
JESUS MATA,
a/k/a “Junior”
a/k/a “Jay”
20
Bronx, New York
NANA OWUSU,
a/k/a “Africa”
19
Bronx, New York
ROBERTO RAMIREZ
29
Bronx, New York
WILPHER RODRIGUEZ
23
Bronx, New York
YAWILIS RODRIGUEZ,
a/k/a “Will”
22
Bronx, New York
JESUS ABAD,
a/k/a “Rojo”
26
Bronx, New York
ANGEL GUANCE,
a/k/a “Chico”
a/k/a “All In”
27
Bronx, New York
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictments, and the description of the Indictments set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE3
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SKYLAR DAVIS, a/k/a “S-Dot,” pled guilty today to involvement in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with his membership in “Southside,” a violent street gang that operated in the City of Newburgh, New York. DAVIS pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel to murdering Newburgh community member Samuel Stubbs during a robbery as Stubbs was playing cards on the sidewalk in front of a laundromat on Lander Street in Newburgh. The two other men Stubbs was playing with were shot and wounded in the gunfire.
As part of his guilty plea, DAVIS also admitted to committing or helping to commit an additional six nonfatal shootings of Southside’s gang rivals in Newburgh over an approximately nine-month period in 2015 and 2016.
U.S. Attorney Berman said: “Skylar Davis’s string of shootings terrorized the residents of Newburgh for far too long, and his cold-blooded actions tragically caused the death of Sammy Stubbs, a longtime Newburgh resident who was just playing a neighborhood card game. Davis now rightfully faces decades in jail for his crimes.”
According to the Indictment and other documents filed in the case, as well as statements made during the plea proceedings:
From at least 2014 through June 2017, the Southside gang was a criminal enterprise centered in and around the intersection of South Street and Chambers Street in an area of Newburgh known as the “Southside.” In order to gain funds for the gang, protect the gang’s territory, and promote the gang’s standing, members of Southside engaged in, among other things, narcotics trafficking, robbery, and acts involving murder. To that end, Southside members sold heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana in the gang’s territory, promoted their gang affiliation on social media sites such as Facebook, possessed firearms, and engaged in shootings as part of their gang membership.
DAVIS was a longtime member of Southside and one of the gang’s leaders. On August 13, 2015, DAVIS, along with others, decided to rob a high-stakes card game that Stubbs was playing, outdoors, near the intersection of Lander and Courtney Streets in Newburgh. DAVIS and a co-conspirator approached the three card players with guns drawn and then started firing. All three men were hit by the ensuing gunfire, and Stubbs, 67, died of his injuries.
The Stubbs murder was just one of many acts of violence DAVIS participated in as part of his leadership of the Southside gang. Beginning in the summer of 2015, Southside engaged in a series of retaliatory shootings with its primary rival gang in Newburgh, the Yellow Tape Money Gang, or “YTMG,” and with other Newburgh gangs allied with YTMG. As part of the plea entered today, DAVIS admitted to committing, assisting, and/or causing the following additional Newburgh shootings:
The attempted murder of rival gang member Gabriel Warren, a/k/a “Stacks,” in the late summer or early fall of 2015;
The attempted murder of rival gang member Armad Evans, a/k/a “Yellow,” on or about October 5, 2015;
The attempted murder of rival gang member Tyrin Gayle, a/k/a “Spazzo,” and other YTMG members on or about December 11, 2015;
The attempted murder of rival YTMG gang members on or about March 17, 2016;
Aiding and abetting the attempted murder of rival gang member Romeo Herring on or about April 3, 2016; and
The attempted murder of rival gang members in the vicinity of the 845 Lounge located at 778 Broadway on or about May 21, 2016.
* * *
DAVIS, 22, of Newburgh, New York, was arrested in June 2017 as a result of a multi-year investigation by the FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and the City of Newburgh Police Department into gang violence in Newburgh. DAVIS was previously serving a 16-year sentence for New York State weapon and controlled substance offenses. On June 14, 2017, Indictment 17 Cr. 364 (CS) was unsealed, charging 20 members and associates of Southside with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms charges. Superseding Indictment S1 17 Cr. 364 (CS), unsealed in January of 2018, charged DAVIS and three other Southside members with committing two separate murders as part of their involvement in Southside, including the murder of Stubbs.
DAVIS faces a maximum term of life in prison and a mandatory minimum prison term of 25 years. He will be sentenced before Judge Seibel later this year.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, and the City of Newburgh Police Department. Mr. Berman thanked the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for its invaluable ongoing assistance in the case. Mr. Berman also thanked the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the New York State Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Town of New Windsor Police Department, and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for their assistance in the case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Jacqueline Kelly, Allison Nichols, Maurene Comey, and Samuel Raymond are in charge of the prosecution.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James P. O’Neill, Police Commissioner of the City to New York (“NYPD”), today announced the unsealing of two Indictments charging DAVID ESPINAL, a/k/a “D-Block,” and MICHAEL CASTILLO, a/k/a “Squirrel,” with murder for hire and the March 10, 2011, murder of Hector Arias in the Bronx, New York.
ESPINAL was taken into custody this morning in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and will be presented in federal court in that District today. CASTILLO was taking into custody this morning in the Northern District of Texas and will be presented in federal court in that District today. This case is assigned to U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, eight years ago, David Espinal and Michael Castillo reduced the value of a man’s life to a dollar figure. Their arrests today show that the passage of time does not insulate alleged murderers from investigation, apprehension, and prosecution. We hope that brings some measure of relief to the family of Hector Arias.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “Mr. Espinal was so deadly serious about selling marijuana, he allegedly hatched a plan to kill a rival. He and the man he’s accused of hiring to carry out the murder have been on the run since 2011. They most likely believed they were in the clear, thinking no one was looking for them after all these years. The FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and our law enforcement partners don’t let time stand in the way of catching alleged murderers and bringing them to justice.”
Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “Today’s charges are evidence that NYPD investigators do not forget victims, and they do not ever forget the justice that is owed to those victims’ families. All New Yorkers deserve to be safe, and to feel safe. The NYPD and our colleagues at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District will stop at nothing until every street, in every neighborhood of New York City, is as safe as our safest streets are today.”
As alleged in the Indictments unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
In or around March 2011, ESPINAL hired CASTILLO to murder Hector Arias. On March 10, 2011, CASTILLO carried out the plan and murdered Arias by shooting him in the vicinity of 712 East Gun Hill Road in the Bronx, New York. ESPINAL paid CASTILLO for murdering Arias. The murder plot arose out of a conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
* * *
A chart containing the names of the defendants charged in the Indictments, and the charges and maximum and minimum penalties they face, is attached. The statutory maximum and minimum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI in this case. Mr. Berman also thanked the NYPD and the United States Probation Office for their assistance in the investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Jamie Bagliebter, Maurene Comey, Scott Hartman, and Jacqueline Kelly are in charge of the prosecutions.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States v. David Espinal, 19 Cr. 428
United States v. Michael Castillo, S1 19 Cr. 428
CHARGE(S)
DEFENDANT(S)
MAXIMUM PENALTIES
Murder for Hire
DAVID ESPINAL (age 44)
MICHAEL CASTILLO (age 36)
Life in prison or death
Mandatory minimum:
Life in prison
Murder through Use of a Firearm
DAVID ESPINAL
MICHAEL CASTILLO
Life in prison or death
Mandatory minimum:
5 years in prison
Travel Act Murder
DAVID ESPINAL
MICHAEL CASTILLO
Life in prison
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictments, as well as the descriptions of the Indictments set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE3
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Anthony A. Scarpino Jr., Westchester County District Attorney, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging MARKEL OVERTON, a/k/a “Kellz,” THOMAS BLANTON, a/k/a “LT,” MARQUIS COLLIER, a/k/a “Keise,” KADEEM DINHAM, a/k/a “Polo,” DONNIE DIXON, a/k/a “Scooter,” DAVID HARDY, a/k/a “Mooka,” JERMAINE HUGHLEY, a/k/a “Blacks,” RAHEEM JONES, a/k/a “Rah Trigger,” a/k/a “Trigga,” SINCERE SAVOY, a/k/a “Bitty,” JAMAAL SINCLAIR, a/k/a “Diggz,” NOEL SMITH, a/k/a “Georgie,” and ERNEST WEBB, a/k/a “Ern,” a/k/a “Ern Millz,” with various crimes relating to racketeering, murder, narcotics, and firearms offenses. The defendants have been charged as a result of their membership in the “Goonies” street gang that operated in the City of Mount Vernon, New York. Eight of the defendants were previously charged in United States v. Overton, et al., 17 Cr. 644 (NSR) (the “Indictment”). The Superseding Indictment, S1 17 Cr. 644 (NSR) (the “Superseding Indictment”), charges four additional defendants with racketeering charges and also charges the following two murders in Mount Vernon, New York:
DAVID HARDY, a/k/a “Mooka,” MARQUIS COLLIER, a/k/a “Keise,” JERMAINE HUGHLEY, a/k/a “Blacks,” and SINCERE SAVOY, a/k/a “Bitty,” with the December 31, 2016, murder of Shamoya McKenzie, a 13-year-old innocent bystander; and
ERNEST WEBB, a/k/a “Ern,” a/k/a “Ern Millz,” with the September 22, 2014, murder of Dean Daniels.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “When gangs flourish, neighborhoods suffer, parents grieve, and children die. It is as simple as that. Dreams like the ones Shamoya McKenzie must have had for herself — as she sat innocently in the car, next to her mother on New Year's Eve, coming from basketball practice — should be cultivated and allowed to flourish, not violently crushed, a tragic victim of an utterly senseless war between street gangs. Shamoya McKenzie deserved better. Dean Daniels deserved better. Mount Vernon deserves better. And that is why we, with our federal and local partners, have brought this prosecution. Today’s announcement is part of our Office’s ongoing and steadfast commitment to making the streets of Mt. Vernon, and the communities of Westchester safe.”
Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said: “For the better part of a decade, the Goonies have had a grip on neighborhoods in and around the City of Mount Vernon. Through intimidation and violence, they’ve jeopardized the safety and quality of life for the hard working residents of Mount Vernon. That violence turned deadly on at least two occasions when the lives of Shamoya McKenzie and Dean Daniels were cut short. While we were able to charge David Hardy for the senseless murder of Shamoya, our partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office and the FBI will now enable us to charge others who also participated in those crimes. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of federal, state and local law authorities, these defendants will all be held accountable for the crimes they now stand accused of.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “The new charges members of this criminal gang now face show just how badly they allegedly terrorized a community. They used violence to push illegal drugs and demonstrate how tough they were as a gang. They didn’t think about who was hit by their bullets, and in the end that disregard cost an innocent young girl her life. The FBI Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force won’t let up on their investigations into gangs that believe they act with impunity. They don’t and now they will face justice for their deadly actions.”
According to the Superseding Indictment[1] unsealed today in White Plains federal court, and prior proceedings in the matter:
From 2007 to 2017, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, OVERTON, BLANTON, COLLIER, DINHAM, DIXON, HARDY, HUGHLEY, JONES, SAVOY, SINCLAIR, SMITH, and WEBB were members or associates of a racketeering enterprise known as the “Goonies.” In order to fund the enterprise, protect and expand its interests, and promote its standing, members and associates of the Goonies committed, conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder and robbery; they conspired to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute narcotics; and they obtained, possessed, and used firearms, including by brandishing and firing them. BLANTON, COLLIER, DINHAM, DIXON, and JONES also conspired with one another, and certain other members of the Goonies, to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and marijuana.
The Goonies have been engaged in a long-standing and violent feud with several rival Mount Vernon street gangs, including, among others, the “Boss Playa Family,” the “Get Money Gangstas,” the “Gunnas,” and the “Much Better Gang,” among others. On December 31, 2016, the intended target of the shooting was a rival gang member. Shamoya McKenzie was in the front passenger seat of a car driving by the shooting location, in the vicinity of Tecumseh Avenue and Third Street in Mount Vernon, New York, and was struck in the head by a bullet, resulting in her death. As set forth in the Superseding Indictment, on or about September 22, 2014, in the vicinity of Park Avenue in Mount Vernon, Dean Daniels was shot to death.
OVERTON, BLANTON, COLLIER, DINHAM, DIXON, JONES, and SMITH were already in custody based on the charges in the Indictment. HARDY and HUGHLEY were already in custody on state charges, and were transferred to federal custody today. SAVOY was arrested this morning in New Rochelle. WEBB remains a fugitive. The defendants who are in custody will be arraigned before the Honorable Lisa Margaret Smith, United States Magistrate Judge, this afternoon in White Plains federal court. The case is assigned the United States District Judge Nelson S. Román.
* * *
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided in the attached table for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Kim thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, which comprises agents and detectives from the FBI, Yonkers Police Department, Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Westchester County Police Department, Peekskill Police Department, Mount Vernon Police Department, New York City Police Department, and U.S. Probation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Anden F. Chow, Sarah Krissoff, Olga Zverovich, Christopher Clore, and Special Assistant United States Attorneys John O’Rourke and Lauren Abinanti are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment and Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States v. Markel Overton, et al.
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAXIMUM PENALTIES
Count One
Racketeering Conspiracy
MARKEL OVERTON
a/k/a “Kellz”
THOMAS BLANTON
a/k/a “LT”
MARQUIS COLLIER
a/k/a “Keise”
KADEEM DINHAM
a/k/a “Polo”
DONNIE DIXON
a/k/a “Scooter”
DAVID HARDY
a/k/a “Mooka”
JERMAINE HUGHLEY
a/k/a “Blacks”
RAHEEM JONES
a/k/a “Rah Trigger”
a/k/a “Trigga”
SINCERE SAVOY
a/k/a “Bitty”
JAMAAL SINCLAIR
a/k/a “Diggz”
NOEL SMITH
a/k/a “Georgie”
ERNEST WEBB
a/k/a “Ern,”
a/k/a “Ern Millz”
Life in prison
Count Two
Firearms Offense
MARKEL OVERTON
THOMAS BLANTON
MARQUIS COLLIER
KADEEM DINHAM
DONNIE DIXON
DAVID HARDY
RAHEEM JONES
JAMAAL SINCLAIR
NOEL SMITH
Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
Count Three
Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering
DAVID HARDY
MARQUIS COLLIER
JERMAINE HUGHLEY
SINCERE SAVOY
10 years in prison
Count Four
Murder in Aid of Racketeering
DAVID HARDY
MARQUIS COLLIER
JERMAINE HUGHLEY
SINCERE SAVOY
Mandatory minimum: Life in prison
Maximum sentence: Death
Count Five
Use, Carrying, and Possession of Firearms, Resulting in Death
DAVID HARDY
MARQUIS COLLIER
JERMAINE HUGHLEY
SINCERE SAVOY
Mandatory minimum: 5 years in prison
Maximum sentence: Death
Count Six
Conspiracy to Commit Murder in Aid of Racketeering
ERNEST WEBB
10 years in prison
Count Seven
Murder in Aid of Racketeering
ERNEST WEBB
Mandatory minimum: Life in prison
Maximum sentence: Death
Count Eight
Use, Carrying, and Possession of Firearms, Resulting in Death
ERNEST WEBB
Mandatory minimum: 5 years in prison
Maximum sentence: Death
Count Nine
Narcotics Conspiracy
THOMAS BLANTON
MARQUIS COLLIER
KADEEM DINHAM
DONNIE DIXON
RAHEEM JONES
Life in prison with a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
DEFENDANT
AGE
MARKEL OVERTON
27
THOMAS BLANTON
24
MARQUIS COLLIER
26
KADEEM DINHAM
26
DONNIE DIXON
28
DAVID HARDY
22
JERMAINE HUGHLEY
25
RAHEEM JONES
29
SINCERE SAVOY
20
JAMAAL SINCLAIR
29
NOEL SMITH
34
ERNEST WEBB
29
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Indictment and Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and James O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging a total of 13 members and associates of the Blood Hound Brims gang (“BHB” or the “Gang”), a subset of the national Bloods street gang, with various racketeering, narcotics, and firearms offenses, including three attempted murders.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, the Blood Hound Brims gang was built for crime, with a leadership structure, subgroups known as ‘pedigrees,’ a system to impose discipline, and dues paid to cover prison guns, drugs, commissary funds, and lawyer fees. The Blood Hound Brims’ brand of havoc that allegedly included drugs, guns, and violence affected several neighborhoods in New York City and Westchester and reached as far as Pennsylvania. Thanks to the work of the FBI and NYPD, today we arrest and put federal charges on thirteen of this violent gang’s alleged members and associates, including its founder and leader.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney stated: “The violence that accompanies the drug trade doesn’t just impact the gang members who make the choice to pick up a firearm and aim it at their rivals, or allegedly in this case, at their fellow gang members. Many times innocent people get caught in the crossfire during turf wars. The FBI NY Metro Safe Streets Task Force works day in and day out to track these violent offenders and get them out of the communities they terrorize.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
The BHB was a criminal enterprise that operated principally in the greater New York area, from at least 2005 up to and including 2016. The BHB was a faction of the Bloods street gang, which operates nationwide, and is under the New York Blood Brim Army (“NYBBA”). The BHB operated within and around various locations in New York, including New York City, Westchester County, Elmira, and in Pennsylvania, as well as within and outside federal and state penal systems.
The BHB used a hierarchical structure that was organized, in part, by New York City borough, and that was maintained, in part, through the payment of dues. The founder and leader of the Gang was LATIQUE JOHNSON, and other members and associates of the BHB referred to JOHNSON as the “Godfather.” The Gang was divided into several “pedigrees,” each of which had its own leadership structure which was approved by JOHNSON. Leadership positions within the pedigrees included, among others, treasurers who collected dues from members of a particular pedigree, and individuals who performed security and disciplinary functions for the pedigree. In addition to JOHNSON, GREEN, SANCHEZ, MURRAY, MORTON, CHERRY, KAID, GRAYSON, ROSATIO and EVANS all held leadership positions within the Gang at different times.
Members of the BHB had regular meetings, sometimes called “pow wows” or “9-11s,” at which members were required to pay dues. Some of the meetings were among members of a particular pedigree, and other meetings were for all members of the Enterprise. Word of the meetings was disseminated via text message, word-of-mouth, and flyers. The BHB’s business, including rivalries with other gangs, shootings, the arrest of gang members, guns, and drugs, was regularly discussed at these meetings. “Kitty dues” – money that paid for commissary funds, lawyers, guns, and drugs, and that served as tribute to JOHNSON – were collected at these meetings. The BHB maintained its own rules and constitution that new members were required to learn. Members of the BHB also used code words and secret phrases to communicate with each other both while in prison and on the street in order to avoid detection by law enforcement.
One of the BHB’s principal objectives was to sell cocaine base, commonly known as “crack cocaine,” powder cocaine, and heroin, which members and associates of the BHB sold throughout the greater New York area and in Pennsylvania.
Members and associates of the BHB engaged in multiple acts of violence against rival gangs. These acts of violence included assaults and attempted murders, and were committed to protect the Gang’s drug territory, to retaliate against members of rival gangs who had encroached on the territory controlled by the BHB, and to otherwise promote the standing and reputation of the Gang vis-à-vis rival gangs. These acts of violence also included assaults and attempted murders against members and associates of the BHB itself, as part of internal power struggles within the Gang.
For example, on or about April 3, 2009 in Greenburgh, New York, CHERRY and MORTON attempted to murder KAID during a power struggle within the BHB, during which MORTON shot and injured KAID, who survived the shooting. Then, on or about January 28, 2012 in the Bronx, New York, JOHNSON and MURRAY attempted to murder two members of a rival gang when JOHNSON fired into a fried chicken restaurant, injuring two individuals who survived the shooting. The violence continued, and on or about September 26, 2012 in the Bronx, New York, JOHNSON, KAID and CANNON attempted to kill two other members of a rival gang at whom KAID fired gunshots.
Count One of the Indictment charges LATIQUE JOHNSON, BRANDON GREEN, INES SANCHEZ, DONNELL MURRAY, THOMAS MORTON, DAVID CHERRY, SAEED KAID, ERIC GRAYSON, MARQUES CANNON, MANUEL ROSARIO, MICHAEL EVANS, and TERRELL PINKNEY with participating in a racketeering conspiracy.
Count Two charges JOHNSON and MURRAY with assault and attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering in connection with the January 28, 2012 shooting at members of a rival gang.
Count Three charges JOHNSON, KAID and CANNON with assault and attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering in connection with the September 26, 2012 shooting at members of a rival gang.
Count Four of the Indictment charges JOHNSON, GREEN, MURRAY, MORTON, CHERRY, KAID, GRAYSON, CANNON, ROSARIO, EVANS, and PATRICK DALY with participating in a narcotics conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, powder cocaine and heroin.
Count Five of the Indictment charges GREEN, MURRAY, MORTON, CHERRY, KAID, GRAYSON, CANNON, ROSARIO, EVANS and PINKNEY, with firearms offenses in connection with the racketeering and narcotics conspiracies charged in Counts One and Four, respectively.
Counts Six and Seven of the Indictment charge JOHNSON with firearms offenses in connection with the racketeering and narcotics conspiracies charged in Counts One and Four, respectively, and with use of a firearm in connection with assault and attempted murder in aid of racketeering in connection with Count Two.
* * *
Nine of the 13 defendants, INES SANCHEZ, THOMAS MORTON, DAVID CHERRY, ERIC GRAYSON, MANUEL ROSARIO, MICHAEL EVANS, and TERRELL PINKNEY were taken into federal custody yesterday or this morning and will be presented before United States Magistrate Judge Henry Pittman later today. MARQUES CANNON was arrested in the Northern District of New York and was presented before a magistrate judge. PATRICK DALY was arrested in the Western District of New York and was presented before a magistrate judge. SAID KAID is currently incarcerated in state custody on other charges, and will be presented at a later date. LATIQUE JOHNSON is already in federal custody on prior charges and will be presented on the new charges at a later date. BRANDON GREEN and DONNELL MURRAY remain fugitives. The case of United States v. Latique Johnson, et al, S1 16 Cr. 281 (PGG) has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe.
Charts containing the names, ages, residences, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants are set forth below. 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 the judge.
Mr. Bharara thanked the FBI and the NYPD, as well as the Criminal Investigators at the United States Attorney’s Office, for their work on the investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Abigail S. Kurland, Jared Lenow and Max Nicholas 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.
17-003 ###
COUNT
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAX. PENALTIES
1
Racketeering conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
LATIQUE JOHNSON
BRANDON GREEN
INES SANCHEZ
DONNELL MURRAY
THOMAS MORTON
DAVID CHERRY
SAEED KAID
ERIC GRAYSON
MARQUES CANNON
MANUEL ROSARIO
MICHAEL EVANS
TERRELL PINKNEY
20 years in prison
2
Assault and attempted murder and Conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering activity
18 U.S.C. §§ 1959 & 2
LATIQUE JOHNSON
DONNELL MURRAY
10 years in prison
3
Assault and attempted murder and Conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering activity
18 U.S.C. §§ 1959 & 2
LATIQUE JOHNSON
SAEED KAID
MARQUES CANNON
10 years in prison
4
Narcotics conspiracy
21 U.S.C. § 846
LATIQUE JOHNSON
BRANDON GREEN
DONNELL MURRAY
THOMAS MORTON
DAVID CHERRY
SAEED KAID
ERIC GRAYSON
MARQUES CANNON
MANUEL ROSARIO
MICHAEL EVANS
PATRICK DALY
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
5
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
BRANDON GREEN
DONNELL MURRAY
THOMAS MORTON
DAVID CHERRY
SAEED KAID
ERIC GRAYSON
MARQUES CANNON
MANUEL ROSARIO
MICHAEL EVANS
TERRELL PINKNEY
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
6
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
LATIQUE JOHNSON
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
7
Using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)
LATIQUE JOHNSON
Life in prison
Mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison
DEFENDANT
AGE
RESIDENCE
LATIQUE JOHNSON
a/k/a “La Brim”
a/k/a “Straight 2 Business”
a/k/a “Breezy”
a/k/a “Boss Dog”
36
In Custody
BRANDON GREEN
a/k/a “Light”
a/k/a “Moneywell”
33
Bronx, NY
INES SANCHEZ
a/k/a “Meth”
36
Bronx, NY
DONNELL MURRAY
a/k/a “Don P”
37
Bronx, NY
THOMAS MORTON
a/k/a “10 Stacks”
40
Elmhurst, NY
DAVID CHERRY
a/k/a “Showtime”
35
Queens, NY
SAEED KAID
a/k/a “O-Dog”
36
In Custody
ERIC GRAYSON
a/k/a “Gistol”
33
Bronx, NY
MARQUES CANNON
a/k/a “Paper Boy”
31
Syracuse, NY
MANUEL ROSARIO
a/k/a “Top Dolla”
37
New York, New York
MICHAEL EVANS
a/k/a “Puff”
36
Bronx, New York
TERRELL PINKNEY
a/k/a “BX”
37
Bronx, New York
PATRICK DALY
54
Middleport, New York
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictments, and the description of the Indictments set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Ivan J. Arvelo, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Department of Homeland Security (“HSI”), announced charges in two separate Indictments against the founders and promoters of two cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes known as IcomTech and Forcount (and later known as Weltsys). United States v. David Carmona, et al., 22 Cr. 551 (JLR), charges DAVID CARMONA, MARCO RUIZ OCHOA, MOSES VALDEZ, JUAN ARELLANO, DAVID BREND, and GUSTAVO RODRIGUEZ with conspiracy to commit wire fraud based on their involvement with IcomTech from in or about mid-2018 until in or about the end of 2019. United States v. Francisley da Silva, et al., S1 22 Cr. 622 (AT), charges FRANCISLEY DA SILVA, JUAN TACURI, and ANTONIA PEREZ HERNANDEZ with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud based on their involvement with Forcount from in or about mid-2017 until at least in or about the end of 2021. SILVA and TACURI are also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, and HERNANDEZ is also charged with making false statements.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “With these two indictments, this Office is sending a message to all cryptocurrency scammers: We are coming for you. Stealing is stealing, even when dressed up in the jargon of cryptocurrency. Thanks to the efforts of federal, state, and international law enforcement, IcomTech and Forcount’s founders and promoters are being held to account.”
HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo said: “The excitement around cryptocurrency and the potential to make huge profits attracted would-be investors to the alleged schemes run by the individuals indicted today. With high end clothes and cars, these individuals are alleged to have presented a life of luxury to potential investors, but instead of a lucrative investment opportunity, the victims were fleeced of their savings and left with nothing to show for it. Homeland Security Investigations works tirelessly to uncover financial crimes and bring perpetrators to justice.”
As alleged in the Indictments:[1]
IcomTech and Forcount were both purported cryptocurrency mining and trading companies that promised to earn their respective victim-investors (“Victims”) profits in exchange for their purchase of purported cryptocurrency-related investment products. The founders and promoters of each scheme falsely promised their respective Victims, among other things, that profits from the companies’ cryptocurrency trading and mining would result in guaranteed daily returns on Victims’ investments and the doubling of those investments within six months. In reality, neither company was engaging in cryptocurrency trading or mining, and the founders and promoters of both schemes were using Victim funds to pay other Victims, to further promote the schemes, and to enrich themselves.
Both the IcomTech and Forcount defendants fraudulently induced their victims to invest in sham cryptocurrency activities using similar methods. The founders and promoters of the two schemes traveled throughout the United States and internationally where they hosted lavish expos and small community presentations aimed at luring Victims to invest in the schemes, including in the Southern District of New York. During larger-scale events, the schemes’ promoters would present the schemes’ investment products and compensation plan, encourage Victims to invest as a means of achieving financial freedom, and boast about the amount of money they were earning. The schemes’ promoters often showed up at larger-scale events in expensive cars and wearing luxury clothing as a way of exhibiting their purportedly legitimate success from the schemes. The atmosphere of these events was festive and designed to generate excitement about the schemes.
Victims invested in the IcomTech and Forcount schemes by purchasing investment products from promoters using cash, checks, wire transfers, and actual cryptocurrency. Following a Victim’s investment, they would be provided with access to an online portal where they could monitor their purported returns. While Victims saw “profits” accumulate on the schemes’ respective online portals, most Victims were unable to withdraw any of these so-called profits and ultimately lost their entire investments. By contrast, IcomTech and Forcount’s promoters siphoned off, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars in Victim funds, which they withdrew as cash, spent on promotional expenses for the schemes, and used for personal expenditures such as luxury goods and real estate.
At least as early as August 2018 with respect to the IcomTech scheme, and in or about April 2018 with respect to the Forcount scheme, Victims who attempted to withdraw money from their online portal accounts had difficulty doing so and, when they complained to promoters, they were met with excuses, delays, and hidden fees, if they were able to make any withdrawals at all. Despite these complaints, IcomTech and Forcount’s promoters, including the defendants, continued to promote their respective fraudulent schemes and accept Victims’ investments. As complaints mounted in both schemes, IcomTech and Forcount both began offering proprietary crypto-tokens for sale as a means of injecting liquidity into the schemes. Promoters of the schemes claimed that these tokens, known as “Icoms” in the IcomTech scheme and “Mindexcoin” in the Forcount scheme, would eventually be worth a significant amount of money when they were accepted by companies for payment for goods and services. This was false. In reality, they were essentially worthless and resulted in further financial loss to Victims. By in or about the end of 2019 with respect to IcomTech, and in or about 2021 with respect to Forcount, the schemes had stopped making payments to Victims and their chief promoters, including the defendants, stopped promoting the schemes, and, in some instances, stopped responding to Victims’ complaints altogether.
In addition to promoting the Forcount scheme, SILVA and TACURI also sought to conceal their fraud by laundering Victim funds through shell companies and making large personal expenditures on things like real estate and bulk cellphone purchases. On or about June 27, 2022, law enforcement officers with HSI stopped and interviewed HERNANDEZ as she was returning to the United States from Mexico. During the interview, HERNANDEZ falsely denied, among other things, being a Forcount promoter, recruiting investors, and taking money from them.
On November 8, 2022, United States v. David Carmona, et al., 22 Cr. 551 (JLR), was unsealed. As alleged in the Carmona indictment, CARMONA was the founder of IcomTech; OCHOA, VALDEZ, ARELLANO, and BREND were promoters of the scheme; and RODRIGUEZ was hired by CARMONA to build and maintain IcomTech’s website and online portal. On November 8, 2022, CARMONA was arrested in Queens, New York, and presented before United States Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave of the Southern District of New York; OCHOA was arrested in the District of New Hampshire; VALDEZ, ARELLANO, and RODRIGUEZ were arrested in the Central District of California; and BREND was arrested in the Middle District of Florida. The Carmona matter has been assigned to United States District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon.
On December 14, 2022, United States v. Francisley da Silva, et al., S1 Cr. 622 (AT), was unsealed. As alleged in the Silva indictment, SILVA was the founder of Forcount and TACURI and HERNANDEZ were promoters of the scheme. On December 14, 2022, TACURI was arrested in the Southern District of Florida. SILVA, a Brazilian national, has been in custody in Brazil since on or about November 3, 2022. HERNANDEZ remains at large. The Silva matter has been assigned to United States District Judge Analisa Torres.
* * *
A chart containing the names of the defendants who were charged today and the charges and maximum penalties they face is attached. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI, particularly HSI New York El Dorado Task Force/Securities Investigations Group, HSI Brasilia, HSI Tampa, and HSI Orlando; the New York City Police Department; the New York City Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Insurance Fraud, Property, and Casualty in the Division of Investigative and Forensic Services of the Florida Department of Financial Services; and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. Mr. Williams also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Brazilian Federal Police for their assistance.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A. Gianforti and Cecilia Vogel are in charge of the prosecution of the Carmona matter. AUSA Gianforti is also in charge of the prosecution of the Silva matter.
The charges contained in the indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is committed to protecting the rights of crime victims. If you believe you are a victim of the IcomTech and/or Forcount schemes, our Victim/Witness Unit can make sure that you are notified of important stages of these cases to help you exercise your rights. In addition, our Victim/Witness Unit is available to answer questions you might have about these cases and can refer you to available resources.
Wendy Olsen Clancy
Victim/Witness Coordinator
United States Attorney’s Office
One St. Andrew’s Plaza
New York, New York 10007
(866) 874-8900
Wendy.Olsen@usdoj.gov
United States v. David Carmona, et al., 22 Cr. 551 (JLR)
Defendant
Age
Charges
Maximum Penalties
DAVID CARMONA,
Queens, NY
39
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
20 years in prison
MARCO RUIZ OCHOA,
Nashua, NH
34
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
20 years in prison
MOSES VALDEZ,
Hesperia, CA
26
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
20 years in prison
JUAN ARELLANO,
Chino, CA
46
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
20 years in prison
DAVID BREND,
Tampa, FL
48
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
20 years in prison
GUSTAVO RODRIGUEZ,
North Hollywood, CA
46
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
20 years in prison
United States v. Francisley da Silva, et al., S1 22 Cr. 622 (AT)
FRANCISLEY DA SILVA, Curitiba, Brazil
37
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
Count 2: Wire fraud
Count 3: Conspiracy to commit money laundering
20 years in prison
20 years in prison
20 years in prison
JUAN TACURI,
Orlando, FL
44
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
Count 2: Wire fraud
Count 3: Conspiracy to commit money laundering
20 years in prison
20 years in prison
20 years in prison
ANTONIA PEREZ HERNANDEZ,
Tampa, FL
47
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
Count 2: Wire fraud
Count 4: False statements
20 years in prison
20 years in prison
Five years in prison
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictments and the description of the Indictments set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RAYMOND WHITE, a/k/a “John Raymond Anthony White,” a/k/a “Raymond Alexander White,” pled guilty yesterday to a scheme in which he defrauded the government by submitting fraudulent documents and false information about himself, his company’s business, and his company’s finances in order to obtain a $4.8 million contract to build a munitions load crew training facility at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland (“Andrews Air Force Base”), and to obtain a bond guarantee from the United States Small Business Administration (“SBA”) in connection with the contract. WHITE also committed aggravated identity theft by using another person’s signature and Social Security number. WHITE pled guilty before United States District Judge Edgardo Ramos.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Despite a prior conviction by this Office, Raymond White continued to lie and fabricate information in order to line his own pockets. This time, White defrauded the government, submitting fraudulent documents and false information to obtain a nearly $5 million construction contract and to obtain a bond guarantee from the SBA in connection with the contract. This Office will continue to prosecute recidivist fraudsters until the message is clear and they have learned their lesson: committing financial fraud will lead to significant penalties.”
According to the Complaint, Superseding Indictment, public court filings, and statements made in court:
From in or about May 2019 through in or about September 2020, WHITE submitted a bid and related documents to the District of Columbia Army National Guard (“National Guard”) on a contract (the “Contract”) to build a munitions load crew training facility at Andrews Air Force Base. Prior to obtaining the Contract, WHITE provided the National Guard with fraudulent documents about himself and his company, Kochendorfer Group USA Inc., (“Kochendorfer”). WHITE submitted similar information to the SBA to obtain a guarantee from the SBA that was a requirement for obtaining the Contract.
The fraudulent documents that WHITE submitted to the National Guard and the SBA included a doctored bank account statement, fake reports from an accounting firm that WHITE had invented, and falsified financials. These documents purported to show that Kochendorfer had significant cash assets. In fact, Kochendorfer had virtually no money. WHITE also submitted a false resume and firm dossier, which described fictitious construction jobs and provided fake references. WHITE claimed, among other things, that he had overseen the construction of a World Cup soccer stadium in Brazil from 2012 to 2014 when in fact, WHITE was in federal prison during that time frame, serving a prison term on a prior fraud conviction. WHITE also lied to the SBA by denying that he had any prior criminal convictions. In furtherance of this fraud on the National Guard and the SBA, WHITE forged the signature of an attorney on a Kochendorfer letter and used another individual’s Social Security number on his SBA guarantee application.
Based on WHITE’s misrepresentations, the National Guard awarded the Contract to Kochendorfer and the SBA issued a guarantee. The National Guard terminated the Contract after discovering WHITE’s fraud, and no construction work was ever performed on the site. As a result of the Contract’s termination, the SBA has fulfilled multiple claims pursuant to the guarantee provided by the SBA.
In 2011, WHITE was convicted following a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York under the name “John Raymond Anthony White” for engaging in major fraud, mail fraud, false statements, and witness tampering. United States v. John Raymond Anthony White, S1 10 Cr. 516 (SHS). WHITE’s prior conviction arose out of his fraud in the procurement of four government contracts, for a scheme in which he falsely represented that he was a disabled veteran. As a result of his 2011 federal conviction, WHITE and his prior construction company, Mitsubishi Construction Corporation, were excluded from government contracting for a period of five years. The name that WHITE used in connection with the Contract — Raymond White — was different from the name he had used in connection with the government contracts at issue in his prior federal conviction.
* * *
WHITE, 58, of New York, New York, pled guilty to one count of major fraud against the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; two counts of false statements and false writings, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. Sentencing is scheduled for May 23, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.
Mr. Williams praised the work of the Air Force Office of Procurement Fraud Investigations and Office of Special Investigations and the Army Major Procurement Fraud Unit in this investigation.
The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward C. Robinson Jr., Jessica Greenwood, and Frank Balsamello are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Maria Gatica.
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James J. Hunt, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), James P. O’Neill, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), George P. Beach II, the Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), and Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced today the arrest of CRISTIAN RODRIGUEZ, who distributed through the U.S. mail heroin, oxycodone and other prescription drugs that were illegally sold over the Internet and on “dark web” marketplaces. When RODRIGUEZ was arrested yesterday, the DEA and USPIS seized approximately 32 kilograms of prescription drugs that were in his apartment. The defendant was presented yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis in Manhattan federal court.
Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “As alleged, Cristian Rodriguez used the anonymity of the internet to peddle massive quantities of addictive pain killers without valid prescriptions. Hiding behind computers, Rodriguez and his co-conspirators allegedly sold and shipped multiple kilograms of highly addictive prescription drugs and potentially lethal opioids. Thanks to the outstanding work of our law enforcement partners, Rodriguez has been arrested and his dangerous business has been taken offline.”
DEA Special Agent-in-Charge James J. Hunt said: “Anonymity is a drug trafficker’s friend and law enforcement’s foe. Yesterday’s street corner dealer has been replaced by the dark web that enables criminal activity and drug addiction. Online illicit marketplaces challenge law enforcement, but this investigation demonstrates how joint efforts can lead to the arrest of an alleged major drug distributor based in New York City.”
USPIS Inspector-in-Charge Philip R. Bartlett said: “The opioid crisis has become a national emergency impacting the lives of so many unsuspecting families. Postal Inspectors, along with their law enforcement partners, are determined to put a stop to the distribution of illegal narcotics, safeguarding the American public.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “This defendant attempted to use the anonymity of the internet to peddle heroin, counterfeit oxycodone, and other prescription drugs to those battling serious addiction. Those who profit on at the expense of others’ well-being will be investigated and prosecuted, aggressively. Today’s arrest is the latest example of our continued commitment.”
NYSP Superintendent George P. Beach II said: “This arrest is another example of how dedicated police work and strong law enforcement partnerships are succeeding in keeping dangerous narcotics from infiltrating our neighborhoods. Criminals who illegally sell counterfeit prescription drugs are putting our communities as risk. These pharmaceuticals, when not taken under the supervision of a doctor, can be highly addictive and destroy lives. I commend the hard work of the Strike Force and all of our law enforcement partners as they fight to keep drugs off our streets and work to prevent prescription drug abuse.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel Melendez said: “These multi-agency task forces are essential in the fight against the illegal proliferation of potentially deadly and highly-addictive prescription drugs. The arrest of the defendant and the significant seizures announced today ensure that these drugs will never make it into our communities to do untold harm.”
According to the allegations in the Complaint and statements made in Manhattan federal court:[[1]]
Since at least May 2016, RODRIGUEZ and his co-conspirators anonymously sold and distributed controlled substances over the Internet via online marketplaces and “dark web” sites. RODRIGUEZ shipped various prescription drugs, including counterfeit oxycodone, which was actually made of heroin and other substances, to individuals across the United States. RODRIGUEZ maintained a stockpile of these drugs in his apartment in the Bronx, New York. A search of RODRIGUEZ’s residence at the time of his arrest uncovered, among other things, approximately 32 kilograms of prescription drugs, shipping supplies, drug paraphernalia, money transfer records, and electronics typically used in the operation of online narcotics distribution schemes.
* * *
RODRIGUEZ, 43, of the Dominican Republic, was charged with one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute heroin and oxycodone, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force. The Strike Force comprises agents and officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Police, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigative Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the New York National Guard, the Clarkstown Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Port Washington Police Department, and the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The Strike Force is partially funded by the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (“HIDTA”), which is a federally funded crime fighting initiative and part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDTEF”) program.
In an effort to help prevent prescription drug abuse and theft, the DEA and its local law enforcement, community, and tribal partners are offering the public its 14th opportunity in seven years to rid their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. This Saturday, October 28, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., individuals can take pills and other solid forms of medication to one of almost 5,000 collection sites manned by more than 4,000 partners nationwide. Individuals can find nearby collection sites at www.DEATakeBack.com. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Nicolas Roos is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the descriptions of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Field Division (“DEA”), Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), George Beach, the Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and George Beach, Superintendent, New York State Police, announced charges against five defendants for allegedly possessing and conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute over 2,000 kilograms of cocaine, in violation of the maritime drug enforcement laws of the United States. IVAN CORTES MOLINERO, FRANCISCO JAVIER OCHOA JOAQUIN, MIGUEL CHAVEZ DELGADO, ENEDINO GATAN VARGAS, and FERNANDO MORENO HERNANDEZ were transported to and arrived in the Southern District of New York on August 4, 2017, and are expected to be presented later today, before Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Ellis in Manhattan federal court.
Manhattan Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “These five defendants allegedly made a brazen attempt to ship nearly 5,000 pounds of cocaine to the U.S., packing the drugs in a speedboat and then trying to outrun authorities in the waters off of Mexico. I want to thank our law enforcement partners, who stopped this massive shipment of narcotics from arriving at our shores.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said: “From digging border tunnels to using go-fast boats, drug cartels will stop at nothing to get their illicit product into America. This seizure was a significant profit loss to the traffickers with a sobering effect to drug users in the U.S. I would like to thank our law enforcement partners in the U.S, Mexico and Colombia for their diligent work and collaboration on this investigation.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel Melendez said: “This team of perpetrators allegedly attempted to bring more than two tons of cocaine though U.S. borders. It is the collaborative effort with the DEA and other federal and local agencies that law enforcement was able to interdict this action and keep deadly drugs off American streets.”
NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill said: “As alleged, this criminal enterprise attempted to import a significant amount of cocaine to the United States by boat but law enforcement intercepted this shipment, five individual were taken into custody, and were subsequently charged. This investigation demonstrates the commitment of the NYPD to work alongside our federal partners to stop illegal drugs from entering our communities and hold responsible those who work to profit from illegal narcotics.”
State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II said: “We simply will not tolerate this type of alleged illegal drug trafficking activity in New York State. The valuable partnerships developed through the New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force were instrumental in these arrests and the seizure of these lethal narcotics. I want to thank our federal, state and local partners for their ongoing hard work and collaboration on this case, which has resulted in the arrests and removal of five alleged dangerous criminals who profit at the expense of our communities.”
As alleged in the criminal Complaint,[1] filed earlier this week in Manhattan federal court:
The DEA has been investigating a Colombian drug cartel (the “Cartel”) that sends shipments of cocaine to various points around the world by, among other methods, panga boats or “go-fasts.” Go-fasts are small boats, typically similar in size to speed boats, with hulls of approximately 20 to 50 feet and a maximum capacity of approximately five passengers.
On or about July 8, 2017, a United States Navy Aircraft (the “Aircraft”) was on routine patrol off the western coast of Mexico and approximately 590 nautical miles south of Mexico. While there, an occupant of the Aircraft observed what appeared to be a go-fast boat (the “Go-Fast”). The Aircraft communicated this information to the command of the United States Coast Guard (the “Coast Guard”), which dispatched a Coast Guard cutter (the “Cutter”) to intercept and board the Go-Fast.
The Cutter approached the Go-Fast and launched a helicopter and a patrol boat (the “Patrol Boat”), which proceeded to intercept the Go-Fast. Occupants of the Patrol Boat (the “Boarding Team”) boarded and gained control of the Go-Fast, where they found CORTES MOLINERO, OCHOA JOAQUIN, CHAVEZ DELGADO, GATAN VARGAS, and MORENO HERNANDEZ.
The Boarding Team observed numerous bales or large bundles wrapped in black plastic and brown tape on the deck of the Go-Fast. The bales were in plain sight and occupied a substantial portion of the deck of the Go-Fast.
The Boarding Team recovered approximately 107 bales and one loose brick from the Go-Fast. Two samples from the bales were field-tested, and tested positive for the presence of cocaine. In total, the contents of the 107 bales and brick weighed approximately 2,141 kilograms or approximately 4,720 pounds.
* * *
CORTES MOLINERO, 30, OCHOA JOAQUIN, 40, CHAVEZ DELGADO, 46, GATAN VARGAS, 51, and MORENO HERNANDEZ 31, are citizens of Mexico. Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiring to violate maritime drug enforcement laws and one count of violating maritime drug enforcement laws by possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine. Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment. The statutory maximum penalties and mandatory minimum penalties 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 the judge.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which is comprised of officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Police, and the U.S. Marshal Service, among other agencies. Mr. Kim also praised the outstanding efforts and assistance provided by the Coast Guard, United States Customs and Border Protection, the United States Navy, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Kim is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below are only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), and James J. Hunt, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced that DOMINICK SHERLAND, a/k/a “D-Nick,” was charged today in a Superseding Indictment with the murder of Jeffrey Delmore, who was stabbed to death on May 15, 2010, at the age of 15. SHERLAND, along with 62 others, was originally charged on April 27, 2016, with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms offenses in connection with his membership in the “Big Money Bosses” (“BMB”), a violent street gang that operated primarily on White Plains Road from 215th Street to 233rd Street in the Bronx.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “As alleged, Dominick Sherland mistook 15-year-old Jeffrey Delmore for a gang rival, and stabbed him to death in defense of gang turf. This brutal and senseless murder ended a young life. Thanks to the outstanding work of our law enforcement partners, we are one step closer to providing Jeffrey Delmore’s family with the justice they deserve.”
HSI SAC Angel Melendez said: “Dominick Sherland is already facing trial for a slew of charges including narcotics distribution and racketeering, and now he faces charges of murder for allegedly stabbing a 15-year-old boy to death as he pled for his life. The alleged heinous act of this individual certifies that our unrelenting efforts to crack down on gang activity and the ensuing violence are necessary, and HSI and its partners will not waiver in that resolve.”
ATF SAC Ashan M. Benedict said: “The members of BMB, including the defendant, terrorized the streets of the Northern Bronx, committing numerous wanton acts of violence. The alleged homicide of an innocent victim mistaken as a member of a rival gang highlights the depth of the defendant’s alleged depravity and the senselessness of the violence the defendant and his criminal associates allegedly brought to the streets. Today’s charges demonstrate that our investigation has not stopped, and that we will continue to hold these gang members accountable to ensure they face justice for all the crimes they are alleged to have committed.”
DEA SAC James J. Hunt said: “Drug trafficking and violent crime are synonymous with gang activity. It is not surprising that additional crimes were unearthed as a result of last year’s massive gang takedown targeting the 2Fly YGZ and the BMB. What are shocking and appalling are casualties of this gang war; including the murder of a teenage boy whose identity was mistaken.”
According to the Superseding Indictment[1] and other documents filed in the case, as well as public proceedings in this case:
BMB was a subset of the “Young Bosses,” or “YBz” street gang, which operates throughout New York City. Between 2007 and 2016, members and associates of BMB committed numerous acts of violence against rival gang members in the Bronx – including murders, attempted murders, and armed robberies – and sold crack cocaine and marijuana.
SHERLAND was a member of BMB. On May 15, 2010, SHERLAND and a group of other BMB members encountered a group of people in the vicinity of Gun Hill Road in the Bronx who the BMB members believed were members of the rival 2Fly YGz (“2Fly”) gang, which was based at the Eastchester Gardens public housing development. The BMB members mistook Delmore for a member of 2Fly. SHERLAND stabbed Delmore to death as Delmore pled for his life.
* * *
SHERLAND, 25, of the Bronx, New York, was arrested on April 27, 2016, and has been detained pending trial. In the Superseding Indictment, he is charged with murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison; possessing a firearm during the narcotics conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed; and discharging a firearm during the racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum of sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the judge. SHERLAND is scheduled for trial on November 6, 2017, before United States District Judge Alison J. Nathan.
SHERLAND was arrested in this case as a result of a multi-year investigation by the Bronx Gang Squad of the NYPD, the HSI Violent Gang Unit, the DEA, and the Joint Firearms Task Force of ATF into gang violence in the Northern Bronx. On April 27, 2016, Indictment S2 15 Cr. 95 (AJN) was unsealed, charging 63 members and associates of BMB, including SHERLAND, with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, narcotics distribution, and firearms charges. To date, 49 of these defendants have pled guilty. Also on April 27, 2016, Indictment S1 16 Cr. 212 (LAK) was unsealed, charging 57 members of 2Fly with the same offenses. To date, 54 of these defendants have pled guilty.
Mr. Kim praised the outstanding work of the NYPD’s 49th Precinct Detective Squad, the NYPD’s Bronx Gang Squad, HSI, DEA, ATF, and the Department of Investigation, NYCHA Inspector General’s Office. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their ongoing support in this investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Maimin, Micah W.J. Smith, Hagan Scotten, Jessica Feinstein, and Drew Johnson-Skinner are in charge of the prosecution.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the descriptions of the Indictment constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), George Beach, the Superintendent of the New York State Police (“NYSP”), Carl E. Dubois, the Sheriff of Orange County, and Daniel C. Cameron, Chief of the City of Newburgh Police Department, today announced the unsealing of two Indictments charging 10 members of two drug trafficking organizations based in Orange County, New York, with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Additionally, two other members were arrested on separate complaints. In a coordinated operation earlier today, federal, state, and local law enforcement officers arrested eight defendants in Orange County and the Bronx. One of the charged defendants had already been arrested and presented. Most of the defendants are expected to be presented in White Plains federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “The narcotics charges brought today strike at the heart of an entrenched group of alleged drug dealers operating out of Newburgh and the surrounding areas of Orange County. With today’s charges, made possible by the outstanding work of the FBI, ICE HSI, and our state and local law enforcement partners, we seek to help stem the flow of cocaine in Orange County.”
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. stated: “The ultimate goal in an investigation like this is to take out the leadership of these groups. It’s not just the drugs that take a toll on the communities where these subjects were operating, it’s the crime accompanying the drugs that impacts everyone. The FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and our law enforcement partners will continue to do all we can to stop the spread of the drug trade and the criminals who support it.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel Melendez said: “With many of the individuals arrested today facing up to 40 years in prison if convicted, we have sent a clear message to drug dealers in Orange County that they should immediately seek other employment. HSI will remain steadfast in its commitment to working with its law enforcement partners to dismantle these drug trafficking organizations that destroy our neighborhoods with their poison.”
NYSP Superintendent George P. Beach II said: “Today’s arrests are a result of an aggressive strategy to stop illegal drug trafficking and keep cocaine and other deadly substances off our streets. Together, with our partners in federal, local and state law enforcement, we can combat the infiltration of narcotics into our communities and continue to put dangerous individuals like these 11 criminals behind bars.”
Orange County Sheriff Carl E. DuBois stated: “These arrests prove once again that agencies cooperating with each other benefit the communities they serve. The FBI Safe Streets Task Force has been instrumental in dismantling drug networks in the Hudson Valley area, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is proud to participate with and support the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s office and other participating agencies.”
City of Newburgh Police Chief Daniel C. Cameron stated: “Collaborative efforts like this are critical to targeting high level narcotics traffickers who plague our cities. When we all work together in this capacity, we can truly improve the quality of life for the residents in Newburgh, Orange County, and across the state.”
As alleged in the Indictments unsealed today in White Plains federal court[1]:
RIGOBERTO DIAZ, JAIRO ESQUIVIAS, a/k/a “Jalisco,” JUAN ROMERO, SAUL GARZON, ANDRES RIOS, and JUAN SANCHEZ PEREZ are charged in an indictment with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams of cocaine, from 2013 to September 2016. DIAZ and his alleged co-conspirators distributed cocaine in and around the City of Newburgh, New York, and other locations in Orange County, New York.
ADAN SOLIS-TEYO, a/k/a “Adan Hernandez,” CHRISTOPHER POOL, LUIS SANCHEZ, a/k/a “Eito,” and LUIS MEJIA, a/k/a “Miguel Contreras,” are charged in an indictment with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams of cocaine, from 2014 to February 2017. SOLIS-TEYO and his alleged co-conspirators distributed cocaine in and around the City of Newburgh, New York, and in the Bronx, New York.
WILLIAM PERELDA, a/k/a “William Peralda,” a/k/a “Arturo Pelez-Gonzalez,” was charged by complaint and arrested on February 11, 2017. PERELDA is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine. PERELDA is also charged with five counts of distribution of cocaine based on sales of cocaine to a cooperating witness.
All of the defendants except SOLIS-TEYO and MEJIA were arrested today.
* * *
Charts containing the names of the defendants who were charged today, and the charges and maximum penalties they face, are attached. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by the respective judges.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, the New York State Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the City of Newburgh Police Department, and the Village of Port Chester Police Department.
These cases are being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Burns, Lauren Schorr, and Olga Zverovich are in charge of the prosecutions.
The charges contained in the Indictments and Complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
CHARGE(S)
DEFENDANT(S)
MAXIMUM PENALTIES
Narcotics conspiracy – Cocaine
(conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) & 841(b)(1)(B))
RIGOBERTO DIAZ, JAIRO ESQUIVIAS, a/k/a “Jalisco,” JUAN ROMERO, SAUL GARZON, ANDRES RIOS, and JUAN SANCHEZ PEREZ, ADAN SOLIS-TEYO, a/k/a “Adan Hernandez,” CHRISTOPHER POOL, LUIS SANCHEZ, a/k/a “Eito,” LUIS MEJIA, a/k/a “Miguel Contreras,” WILLIAM PERELDA, a/k/a “William Peralda,” a/k/a “Arturo Pelez-Gonzalez,”
40 years in prison
Mandatory minimum: Five years in prison
Narcotics distribution
(distribution of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) & 841(b)(1)(C))
WILLIAM PERELDA, a/k/a “William Peralda,” a/k/a “Arturo Pelez-Gonzalez”
40 years in prison
Narcotics distribution
(distribution of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) & 841(b)(1)(C))
WILLIAM PERELDA, a/k/a “William Peralda,” a/k/a “Arturo Pelez-Gonzalez”
40 years in prison
Narcotics distribution
(distribution of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) & 841(b)(1)(C))
WILLIAM PERELDA, a/k/a “William Peralda,” a/k/a “Arturo Pelez-Gonzalez”
40 years in prison
Narcotics distribution
(distribution of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) & 841(b)(1)(C))
WILLIAM PERELDA, a/k/a “William Peralda,” a/k/a “Arturo Pelez-Gonzalez”
40 years in prison
Narcotics distribution
(distribution of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) & 841(b)(1)(C))
WILLIAM PERELDA, a/k/a “William Peralda,” a/k/a “Arturo Pelez-Gonzalez”
40 years in prison
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictments and the descriptions of the Indictments set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), announced the arrest of ALFRED PABON, an Emergency Medical Technician with the Fire Department of the City of New York, stemming from his possession and receipt, as well as distribution of child pornography. PABON was arrested today and presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Alfred Pabon frequented online chat groups for the explicit purpose of finding children and child pornography. In one his chats, Pabon allegedly expressed interest in taking a trip to Mexico in search of ‘something teenish.’ Thanks to the work of Homeland Security Investigations, Pabon’s alleged predatory search for children and child pornography has been brought to an end.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel Melendez said: “Using online chat groups to post photos and videos of children being sexually exploited is a sickening crime made even more disturbing when it is committed by an individual who holds the public's trust as a member of the FDNY. Every day HSI agents stationed around the country, use innovative techniques to search the internet and chat rooms to bring these pedophiles to justice and keep our children safe.”
According to the Complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
From in or about November 2015, up to and including at least in or about January 2017, ALFRED PABON, an Emergency Medical Technician for the Fire Department of the City of New York, posted images and videos containing child pornography in chat groups of an online messaging application. The chat groups were used almost exclusively to trade child pornography, discuss child pornography, and/or discuss engaging in sexual activity with minors. In or about December 2015, PABON exchanged private messages through the online messaging application with an undercover HSI Special Agent (“UC-1”). Through these exchanges, PABON, using a particular account username (the “Pabon Account”) indicated to UC-1 that he was interested in a trip to Mexico and was looking for “something teenish.” PABON posted an image of two girls, who appear to be prepubescent minors, posing nude on a bed as an example of the type of girls in whom he was interested. In August 2016, a second undercover HSI Special Agent (“UC-2”) observed additional postings by PABON in another online chat room, at least one of which appeared to include an image of child pornography. UC-2 later used a link that PABON had posted to download approximately 33 videos, most of which contained child pornography.
PABON was arrested at his residence in the Bronx, New York. On the morning of his arrest, he admitted to law enforcement that he was the user of the Pabon Account and had used that account to copy and forward images and videos containing child pornography as recently as within the last month.
* * *
ALFRED PABON, 49, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Any individuals who believe they have information concerning ALFRED PABON that may be relevant to the investigation should contact HSI at its toll-free hotline: 1-866-DHS-2ICE; TTY for hearing impaired: (802) 872-6196. This hotline is staffed around-the-clock by investigators.
Mr. Bharara praised the efforts of HSI in this investigation. He added that the investigation is continuing.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz is in charge of the prosecution.
The allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that TROY YOUNG, a/k/a “Hollywood,” pled guilty today to involvement in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with his membership in “Southside,” a violent street gang that operated in the City of Newburgh, New York. YOUNG also pled guilty to murdering Gevontay Owens-Grant, a gang rival, after an altercation broke out at a Valentine’s Day-themed party at a Newburgh club. YOUNG and others were also injured during the shooting. YOUNG faces a maximum term of life in prison and will be sentenced before United States District Judge Cathy Seibel later this year.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Troy Young has admitted to shooting at gang rivals during a crowded Valentine’s Day party and to killing 21-year-old Gevontay Owens-Grant. This murder demonstrated a disregard for the value of human life that epitomizes these senseless gang rivalries. Young now faces a significant term in prison for this shooting, the type of tragic event that happens too often on our city streets.”
According to the Indictment and other documents filed in the case, as well as statements made during the plea proceedings:
From at least 2014 through June 2017, the Southside gang was a criminal enterprise centered in and around the intersection of South Street and Chambers Street in an area of Newburgh also known as the “Southside.” In order to gain funds for the gang, protect the gang’s territory, and promote the gang’s standing, members of Southside engaged in, among other things, narcotics trafficking, robbery, and acts involving murder. To that end, Southside members sold heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana in the gang’s territory, promoted their gang affiliation on social media sites such as Facebook, possessed firearms, and engaged in shootings as part of their gang membership.
YOUNG was a member of Southside. On February 12, 2017, YOUNG, aided and abetted by others, murdered Owens-Grant, who was from another part of Newburgh, after a fight broke out during a party at a club. Multiple other people fired guns inside and outside the club that night, and several others were injured, including YOUNG, who was partially paralyzed after being shot the same night he killed Owens-Grant.
* * *
YOUNG, 24, of Newburgh, was arrested in January 2018 as a result of a multi-year investigation by the FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and the City of Newburgh Police Department into gang violence in Newburgh. On June 14, 2017, Indictment 17 Cr. 364 (CS) was unsealed, charging 20 members and associates of Southside with racketeering conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, and firearms charges. Superseding Indictment S1 17 Cr. 364 (CS), unsealed in January of 2018, charged YOUNG, added additional firearms charges against certain defendants, and charged four defendants with committing two separate murders as part of their involvement in Southside, including the murder of Owens-Grant. To date, 18 defendants have pled guilty.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, and the City of Newburgh Police Department. Mr. Berman thanked the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for its invaluable ongoing assistance in the case. Mr. Berman also thanked the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the New York State Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Town of New Windsor Police Department, and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for their assistance in the case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Jacqueline Kelly, Allison Nichols, Maurene Comey, and Samuel Raymond are in charge of the prosecution.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, David M. Hoovler, the Orange County District Attorney, William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), Ashan M. Benedict, the New York Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), and Aaron Weaver, the Acting Chief of the City of Newburgh Police Department, today announced additional charges against 10 alleged members of a street gang known as “Southside,” in Newburgh, New York. All 10 defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy. Three of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine, and two of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin. In connection with the racketeering conspiracy, SKYLAR DAVIS and DAVONTE HAWKINS are charged with the August 2015 murder of Sammy Stubbs, who was shot in Newburgh. WILLIAM FENNELL and TROY YOUNG are charged with the February 2017 murder of Gevontay Owens-Grant, also shot in Newburgh. DAVIS, YOUNG, MICHAEL SIMMONS, DEMETRICE MCLEAN, and CALVIN LEMBHARD are charged with the use and discharge of a firearm in connection with and in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy. HAWKINS, FENNELL, ARDAE HINES, and DONTE NUGENT are charged with the use and discharge of a firearm in connection with and in furtherance of the racketeering conspiracy and narcotics conspiracy. DAVANTE NUGENT is charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Nine of the defendants were already in custody in connection with charges contained in a previous indictment related to this prosecution, which led to the arrests of 21 individuals in June 2017. YOUNG was arrested and presented in White Plains federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy yesterday. All of the defendants were arraigned this morning in White Plains federal court before United States District Judge Cathy Seibel.
As alleged in the Superseding Indictment filed today in White Plains federal court[1]:
From at least 2014 through June 2017, the Southside Gang was a criminal enterprise centered in and around the intersection of South Street and Chambers Street in an area of Newburgh known as the “Southside.” In order to gain funds for the gang, protect the gang’s territory, and promote the gang’s standing, members of Southside engaged in, among other things, narcotics trafficking, robbery, and acts involving murder. To that end, Southside members sold heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana in the gang’s territory, promoted their gang affiliation on social media sites such as Facebook, possessed firearms, and engaged in shootings as part of their gang membership.
As alleged in the Superseding Indictment, the violence perpetrated by the Southside gang turned deadly on two occasions in 2015 and 2017. On or about August 13, 20015, SKYLAR DAVIS and DAVONTE HAWKINS, aided and abetted by others, murdered Sammy Stubbs during a botched robbery of a card game in Newburgh. On or about February 12, 2017, TROY YOUNG and WILLIAM FENNELL, aided and abetted by others, murdered a rival from the other side of Newburgh, Gevontay Owens-Grant, after an altercation broke out at a Valentine’s Day-themed party in Newburgh. YOUNG and others were also injured during the shooting.
Several members of the Southside gang also participated in conspiracies to distribute narcotics in and around Newburgh. In particular, FENNELL, DONTE NUGENT, and DAVANTE NUGENT participated in a conspiracy with other individuals to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin and/or more than 280 grams of crack cocaine from at least in or about 2014 up to and including in or about June 2017. HAWKINS and HINES participated in the same narcotics conspiracy to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin. HINES also participated in separate a conspiracy to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine from at least in or about 2014 up to and including in or about June 2017.
Between in or about 2015 and in or about May 2017, DAVIS, HAWKINS, FENNELL, YOUNG, HINES, MCLEAN, SIMMONS, LEMBHARD, and DONTE NUGENT also possessed, used, brandished, and discharged firearms in furtherance of the Southside racketeering conspiracy in which they all participated, the narcotics conspiracy in which HAWKINS, FENNELL, HINES, and DONTE NUGENT participated, and the separate narcotics conspiracy in which HINES participated. On or about June 14, 2017, after being convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year, DAVANTE NUGENT was found in possession of ammunition.
* * *
Charts containing the names of the defendants who were charged today, and the charges and maximum penalties they face, are attached. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants would be determined by the respective judges.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, ATF, and the City of Newburgh Police Department. Mr. Berman thanked the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for its invaluable ongoing assistance in the case. Mr. Berman also thanked the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the New York State Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Town of New Windsor Police Department, and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for their assistance in the case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Maurene Comey, Jacqueline Kelly, and Allison Nichols are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States v. Skylar Davis, et al., S1 17 Cr. 364
DEFENDANT
AGE
CHARGES
MAXIMUM PENALTIES
SKYLAR DAVIS
20
Racketeering Conspiracy; Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Use of a Firearm Resulting in Death; Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering
Mandatory life in prison or the death penalty
DAVONTE HAWKINS
29
Racketeering Conspiracy; Murder in Aid of Racketeering; Narcotics Conspiracy; Use of a Firearm Resulting in Death; Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering and Narcotics Conspiracy
Mandatory life in prison or the death penalty
WILLIAM FENNELL
26
Racketeering Conspiracy; Narcotics Conspiracy; Use of a Firearm Resulting in Death; Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering and Narcotics Conspiracy
Life in prison or the death penalty
TROY YOUNG
23
Racketeering Conspiracy; Use of a Firearm Resulting in Death; Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering
Life in prison or the death penalty
ARDAE HINES
29
Racketeering Conspiracy; Narcotics Conspiracy (2); Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering and Narcotics Conspiracy
Life in prison; mandatory minimum 20 years in prison (10 years to run consecutive to any other sentence)
MICHAEL SIMMONS
26
Racketeering Conspiracy; Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering
Life in prison; mandatory minimum 10 years in prison to run consecutive to any other sentence
DEMETRICE MCLEAN
23
Racketeering Conspiracy; Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering
Life in prison; mandatory minimum 10 years in prison to run consecutive to any other sentence
CALVIN LEMBHARD
25
Racketeering Conspiracy; Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering
Life in prison; mandatory minimum 10 years in prison to run consecutive to any other sentence
DONTE NUGENT
24
Racketeering Conspiracy; Narcotics Conspiracy; Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of Racketeering and Narcotics Conspiracy
Life in prison; mandatory minimum 20 years in prison (10 years to run consecutive to any other sentence)
DAVANTE NUGENT
25
Racketeering Conspiracy; Narcotics Conspiracy; Felon in Possession of Ammunition
Life in prison; mandatory minimum 10 years in prison
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the descriptions of the Superseding Indictment set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JAMES ZHONG was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for committing wire fraud in September 2012 when he unlawfully obtained approximaely 50,000 Bitcoin from the Silk Road dark web internet marketplace. United States District Judge Paul G. Gardephe imposed today’s sentence.
As part of the ZHONG investigation, the Government has obtained final orders of forfeiture for, among other items, 51,680.32473733 Bitcoin, valued at over $3.4 billion at the time of seizure and over $1.57 billion today.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Back in 2012, James Zhong committed wire fraud by stealing 50,000 Bitcoin from Silk Road, and for the next 10 years, he managed to conceal what he had done and how he obtained his fortune. Zhong used a decentralized Bitcoin mixer, an overseas cryptocurrency exchange, and an impressive array of technological tools to frustrate tracing efforts. But thanks to the relentless and skillful efforts of law enforcement in following the money, the federal government uncovered Zhong’s scheme and obtained final orders of forfeiture for over 51,680 Bitcoin. Cyber-criminals should heed this message: we will follow the money and hold you accountable, no matter how sophisticated your scheme and no matter how long it takes.”
According to court filings and statements made in court proceedings:
ZHONG’s Scheme to Defraud
Silk Road was an online “darknet” black market. In operation from approximately 2011 until 2013, Silk Road was used by numerous drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute massive quantities of illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to many buyers and to launder all funds passing through it. In 2015, following a groundbreaking prosecution by this Office, Silk Road’s founder Ross Ulbricht was convicted by a unanimous jury and sentenced to life in prison. United States v. Ulbricht, 14-cr-68 (S.D.N.Y.).
In September 2012, ZHONG executed a scheme to defraud Silk Road of its money and property by (i) creating a string of approximately nine Silk Road accounts (the “Fraud Accounts”) in a manner designed to conceal his identity; (ii) triggering over 140 transactions in rapid succession in order to trick Silk Road’s withdrawal-processing system into releasing approximately 50,000 Bitcoin from its Bitcoin-based payment system into ZHONG’s accounts; and (iii) transferring this Bitcoin into a variety of separate addresses also under ZHONG’s control, all in a manner designed to prevent detection, conceal his identity and ownership, and obfuscate the Bitcoin’s source.
While executing the September 2012 fraud, ZHONG did not list any item or service for sale on Silk Road, nor did he buy any item or service on Silk Road. ZHONG registered the accounts by providing the bare minimum of information required by Silk Road to create the account; the Fraud Accounts were merely a conduit for ZHONG to defraud Silk Road of Bitcoin.
ZHONG funded the Fraud Accounts with an initial deposit of between 200 and 2,000 Bitcoin. After the initial deposit, ZHONG then quickly executed a series of withdrawals. Through his scheme to defraud, ZHONG was able to withdraw many times more Bitcoin out of Silk Road than he had deposited in the first instance. As an example, on September 19, 2012, ZHONG deposited 500 Bitcoin into a Silk Road wallet. Less than five seconds after making the initial deposit, ZHONG executed five withdrawals of 500 Bitcoin in rapid succession — i.e., within the same second — resulting in a net gain of 2,000 Bitcoin. As another example, a different Fraud Account made a single deposit and over 50 Bitcoin withdrawals before the account ceased its activity. ZHONG moved this Bitcoin out of Silk Road and, in a matter of days, consolidated them into two high-value amounts.
Nearly five years after ZHONG’s fraud, in August 2017, solely by virtue of ZHONG’s possession of the 50,000 Bitcoin that he unlawfully obtained from Silk Road, ZHONG received a matching amount of a related cryptocurrency — 50,000 Bitcoin Cash (“BCH Crime Proceeds”) — on top of the 50,000 Bitcoin. In August 2017, in a hard fork coin split, Bitcoin split into two cryptocurrencies, traditional Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (“BCH”). When this split occurred, any Bitcoin address that had a Bitcoin balance (as ZHONG’s addresses did) now had the exact same balance on both the Bitcoin blockchain and on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. As of August 2017, ZHONG thus possessed 50,000 BCH in addition to the 50,000 Bitcoin that ZHONG unlawfully obtained from Silk Road. ZHONG thereafter exchanged through an overseas cryptocurrency exchange all of the BCH Crime Proceeds for additional Bitcoin, amounting to approximately 3,500 Bitcoin of additional crime proceeds. Collectively, by the last quarter of 2017, ZHONG thus possessed approximately 53,500 Bitcoin of total crime proceeds (the “Crime Proceeds”).
The Government’s Seizure of Over 50,000 Bitcoin
On November 9, 2021, pursuant to a judicially authorized premises search warrant, law enforcement agents recovered approximately 50,491.06251844 Bitcoin of crime proceeds from ZHONG’s Gainesville, Georgia, house. Law enforcement located these crime proceeds in an underground floor safe and on a single-board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in a bathroom closet. In addition, law enforcement recovered $661,900 in cash, 25 Casascius coins (physical bitcoin) with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, 11.1160005300044 additional Bitcoin, four one-ounce silver-colored bars, three one-ounce gold-colored bars, four 10-ounce silver-colored bars, and one gold-colored coin. Photographs of the popcorn tin, single-board computer, underground floor safe, and some of the seized items are included below:
Beginning in or around March 2022, ZHONG began voluntarily surrendering to the Government additional Bitcoin that ZHONG had access to and had not dissipated. In total, ZHONG voluntarily surrendered 1,004.14621836 additional Bitcoin.
Using a conservative estimate of the lowest spot price of Bitcoin on the seizure dates, the total value of all Bitcoin seized for which the Government has obtained final orders of forfeiture is approximately $3.4 billion.
Forfeiture Actions
On February 7, 2023, in United States v. Ross Ulbricht, S1 14 Cr. 68 (S.D.N.Y.), District Judge Lorna G. Schofield entered a final order of forfeiture as to the below property seized from ZHONG, vesting all right, title, and interest in the below property in the United States:
50,491.06251844 Bitcoin seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
825.38833159 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on March 25, 2022; and
35.4470080 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on May 25, 2022.
On March 14, 2023, District Judge Gardephe entered a final order of forfeiture as to the below property, vesting all right, title, and interest in the below property in the United States:
ZHONG’s 80% interest in RE&D Investments, LLC, a Memphis-based company with substantial real estate holdings;
$661,900 in United States currency seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
Metal items, consisting of four one-ounce silver-colored bars, three one-ounce gold-colored bars, four 10-ounce silver-colored bars, and one gold-colored coin, all seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
11.1160005300044 Bitcoin seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
25 Casascius coins (physical Bitcoin) with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, collectively, seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
23.7112850 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 27, 2022;
115.02532155 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 28, 2022; and
4.57427222 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on June 8, 2022.
* * *
ZHONG, 32, of Gainesville, Georgia, and Athens, Georgia, previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud before Judge Gardephe.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation’s Western Cyber Crimes Unit of the Los Angeles Field Office. Mr. Williams also thanked the Athens-Clarke County Police Department in Athens, Georgia, for its support and assistance with the case.
The prosecution of this case is being overseen by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney David R. Felton is in charge of the case.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Raymond P. Donovan, the Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced today that charges have been filed in Manhattan federal court against Honduran congressman MIDENCE OQUELI MARTINEZ TURCIOS and, in a separate indictment, ARNALDO URBINA SOTO, CARLOS FERNANDO URBINA SOTO, and MIGUEL ANGEL URBINA SOTO. The charges in each indictment include conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and related weapons offenses involving the use and possession of machineguns and destructive devices. The United States is seeking the defendants’ extraditions from Honduras.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, these defendants include a Honduran congressman and a former Honduran mayor. All are charged with conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S. and conspiring to use and carry machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of cocaine importation. Politically connected defendants in Honduras allegedly working in league with violent drug cartels is a recipe for harm here in the U.S. We are committed to working with the DEA to police and prosecute such conduct.”
Special Agent in Charge Raymond P. Donovan said: “DEA and our partners continue to expose drug-related corruption across the world, which fuels violence and insurgency while upending the rule of law. These Honduran elected officials and their associates allegedly conspired with the Sinaloa Cartel and flooded American communities with huge amounts of deadly poison. DEA looks forward to their extradition to the United States to face American justice and answer for their many alleged crimes.”
As alleged in the Indictments unsealed in federal court:[1]
From at least in or about 2004, up to and including in or about 2014, multiple drug trafficking organizations in Honduras and elsewhere worked together, and with support from MARTINEZ TURCIOS, the Urbina Soto defendants, and others, to receive multi-hundred-kilogram loads of cocaine sent to Honduras via air and maritime routes from, among other places, Venezuela and Colombia. The cocaine shipments were transported westward within Honduras toward the border with Guatemala and eventually imported into the United States, often in coordination with high-ranking members of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.
MARTINEZ TURCIOS is a legislator, referred to as a diputado, in the National Congress of Honduras. MARTINEZ TURCIOS is the second Honduran congressman to be charged in connection with the DEA’s investigation of politically connected drug trafficking in Honduras. In January 2018, Honduran congressman Fredy Renan Najera Montoya was also charged with conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and related firearms offenses. See United States v. Najera Montoya, S1 15 Cr. 378 (PGG).
MARTINEZ TURCIOS was a member of a violent Honduran drug trafficking organization known as the Cachiros. Between in or about 2004 and in or about 2014, MARTINEZ TURCIOS received a total of over $1 million in bribes and other payments from the leaders of the Cachiros, which he used to, among other things, enrich himself and fund his campaign activities and political operations. MARTINEZ TURCIOS helped provide the appearance of legitimacy to the leaders of the Cachiros by virtue of his political position and authority, and by acting at times as a nominal partial owner of one of the organization’s money laundering front companies, Ganaderos Agricultores del Norte, S. de R.L. de C.V. MARTINEZ TURCIOS also provided direct support for violent drug trafficking activities by the Cachiros. For example, MARTINEZ TURCIOS personally escorted some Cachiros cocaine shipments as they were transported through Honduras, managed heavily armed security teams responsible for protecting large quantities of drugs, participated in weapons training provided to paid Cachiros assassins recruited from the gang known as Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and helped plan and participated in acts of violence perpetrated by members and associates of the Cachiros.
As alleged in a separate Indictment, between in or about 2005 and in or about 2014, ARNALDO URBINA SOTO, CARLOS FERNANDO URBINA SOTO, and MIGUEL ANGEL URBINA SOTO operated a drug trafficking organization based in Yoro, Honduras, where ARNALDO URBINA SOTO acted as mayor between in or about 2009 and in or about 2014. The Urbina Soto defendants capitalized on their power in the Yoro Department and aligned with other major Honduran criminal syndicates, such as the Cachiros and the Copan-based group led by Miguel Arnulfo Valle Valle and Luis Alonso Valle Valle, to receive cocaine-laden aircraft at various locations in Honduras, including clandestine airstrips in remote areas as well as public roads in the vicinity of Yoro. The Urbina Soto defendants coordinated – and at times personally joined – heavily armed security details that oversaw the unloading of the planes and the transportation of the illicit cargo in connection with importing massive quantities of cocaine into the United States.
* * *
MARTINEZ TURCIOS, 57, is charged in three counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, (2) using and carrying machineguns and destructive devices during, and possessing machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy, and (3) conspiring to use and carry machineguns and destructive devices during, and to possess machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy. If convicted, MARTINEZ TURCIOS faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count One, a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count Two, and a maximum term of 20 years in prison on Count Three.
The second Indictment charges CARLOS FERNANDO URBINA SOTO, 44, and MIGUEL ANGEL URBINA SOTO, 39, with violating the same statutes as MARTINEZ TURCIOS. ARNALDO URBINA SOTO, 37, is charged in two counts: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, and (2) conspiring to use and carry machineguns and destructive devices during, and to possess machineguns and destructive devices in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy. If convicted, CARLOS FERNANDO URBINA SOTO and MIGUEL ANGEL URBINA SOTO each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count One, a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count Two, and a maximum term of 20 years in prison on Count Three. If convicted, ARNALDO URBINA SOTO faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count One, and a maximum term of 20 years in prison on Count Three.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, New York Strike Force, and Tegucigalpa Country Office. Mr. Berman also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
These cases are being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III and Mathew J. Laroche are in charge of the prosecutions.
The charges contained in the Indictments are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment charging Martinez, and the separate Indictment charging Arnaldo Urbina Soto, Carlos Fernando Urbina Soto, and Miguel Angel Urbina Soto, as well as the descriptions of the Indictments set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE3
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Tyler Hatcher, the Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office (“IRS-CI”), announced today that JAMES ZHONG pled guilty to committing wire fraud in September 2012 when he unlawfully obtained over 50,000 Bitcoin from the Silk Road dark web internet marketplace. ZHONG pled guilty on Friday, November 4, 2022, before United States District Judge Paul G. Gardephe.
On November 9, 2021, pursuant to a judicially authorized premises search warrant of ZHONG’s Gainesville, Georgia, house, law enforcement seized approximately 50,676.17851897 Bitcoin, then valued at over $3.36 billion. This seizure was then the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice and today remains the Department’s second largest financial seizure ever. The Government is seeking to forfeit, collectively: approximately 51,680.32473733 Bitcoin; ZHONG’s 80% interest in RE&D Investments, LLC, a Memphis-based company with substantial real estate holdings; $661,900 in cash seized from ZHONG’s home; and various metals also seized from ZHONG’s home.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “James Zhong committed wire fraud over a decade ago when he stole approximately 50,000 Bitcoin from Silk Road. For almost ten years, the whereabouts of this massive chunk of missing Bitcoin had ballooned into an over $3.3 billion mystery. Thanks to state-of-the-art cryptocurrency tracing and good old-fashioned police work, law enforcement located and recovered this impressive cache of crime proceeds. This case shows that we won’t stop following the money, no matter how expertly hidden, even to a circuit board in the bottom of a popcorn tin.”
IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher said: “Mr. Zhong executed a sophisticated scheme designed to steal bitcoin from the notorious Silk Road Marketplace. Once he was successful in his heist, he attempted to hide his spoils through a series of complex transactions which he hoped would be enhanced as he hid behind the mystery of the ‘darknet.’ IRS-CI Special Agents are the best in the world at following the money through cyberspace or wherever our financial investigations lead us. We will continue to work with our partners at the US Attorney’s Office to track down these criminals and bring them to justice.”
According to the allegations contained in filings in Manhattan federal court and statements made during court proceedings:
ZHONG’s Scheme to Defraud
Silk Road was an online “darknet” black market. In operation from approximately 2011 until 2013, Silk Road was used by numerous drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute massive quantities of illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to many buyers and to launder all funds passing through it. In 2015, following a groundbreaking prosecution by this Office, Silk Road’s founder Ross Ulbricht was convicted by a unanimous jury and sentenced to life in prison.
In September 2012, ZHONG executed a scheme to defraud Silk Road of its money and property by (a) creating a string of approximately nine Silk Road accounts (the “Fraud Accounts”) in a manner designed to conceal his identity; (b) triggering over 140 transactions in rapid succession in order to trick Silk Road’s withdrawal-processing system into releasing approximately 50,000 Bitcoin from its Bitcoin-based payment system into ZHONG’s accounts; and (c) transferring this Bitcoin into a variety of separate addresses also under ZHONG’s control, all in a manner designed to prevent detection, conceal his identity and ownership, and obfuscate the Bitcoin’s source.
While executing the September 2012 fraud, ZHONG did not list any item or service for sale on Silk Road, nor did he buy any item or service on Silk Road. ZHONG registered the accounts by providing the bare minimum of information required by Silk Road to create the account; the Fraud Accounts were merely a conduit for ZHONG to defraud Silk Road of Bitcoin.
ZHONG funded the Fraud Accounts with an initial deposit of between 200 and 2,000 Bitcoin. After the initial deposit, ZHONG then quickly executed a series of withdrawals. Through his scheme to defraud, ZHONG was able to withdraw many times more Bitcoin out of Silk Road than he had deposited in the first instance. As an example, on September 19, 2012, ZHONG deposited 500 Bitcoin into a Silk Road wallet. Less than five seconds after making the initial deposit, ZHONG executed five withdrawals of 500 Bitcoin in rapid succession — i.e., within the same second — resulting in a net gain of 2,000 Bitcoin. As another example, a different Fraud Account made a single deposit and over 50 Bitcoin withdrawals before the account ceased its activity. ZHONG moved this Bitcoin out of Silk Road and, in a matter of days, consolidated them into two high-value amounts.
Nearly five years after ZHONG’s fraud, in August 2017, solely by virtue of ZHONG’s possession of the 50,000 Bitcoin that he unlawfully obtained from Silk Road, ZHONG received a matching amount of a related cryptocurrency — 50,000 Bitcoin Cash (“BCH Crime Proceeds”) — on top of the 50,000 Bitcoin. In August 2017, in a hard fork coin split, Bitcoin split into two cryptocurrencies, traditional Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (“BCH”). When this split occurred, any Bitcoin address that had a Bitcoin balance (as ZHONG’s addresses did) now had the exact same balance on both the Bitcoin blockchain and on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. As of August 2017, ZHONG thus possessed 50,000 BCH in addition to the 50,000 Bitcoin that ZHONG unlawfully obtained from Silk Road. ZHONG thereafter exchanged through an overseas cryptocurrency exchange all of the BCH Crime Proceeds for additional Bitcoin, amounting to approximately 3,500 Bitcoin of additional crime proceeds. Collectively, by the last quarter of 2017, ZHONG thus possessed approximately 53,500 Bitcoin of total crime proceeds (the “Crime Proceeds”).
The Government’s Seizure of Forfeitable Property
On November 9, 2021, pursuant to a judicially authorized premises search warrant (the “Search”), IRS-CI agents recovered approximately 50,491.06251844 Bitcoin of the Crime Proceeds from ZHONG’s Gainesville, Georgia, house. Specifically, law enforcement located 50,491.06251844 Bitcoin of the approximately 53,500 Bitcoin Crime Proceeds (a) in an underground floor safe; and (b) on a single-board computer that was submerged under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in a bathroom closet. In addition, law enforcement recovered $661,900 in cash, 25 Casascius coins (physical bitcoin) with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, 11.1160005300044 additional Bitcoin, and four one-ounce silver-colored bars, three one-ounce gold-colored bars, four 10-ounce silver-colored bars, and one gold-colored coin.
Beginning in or around March 2022, ZHONG began voluntarily surrendering to the Government additional Bitcoin that ZHONG had access to and had not dissipated. In total, ZHONG voluntarily surrendered 1,004.14621836 additional Bitcoin.
Forfeiture Actions
In connection with ZHONG’s guilty plea, on November 4, 2022, Judge Gardephe entered a Consent Preliminary Order of Forfeiture as to Specific Property and Substitute Assets/Money Judgment forfeiting ZHONG’s interest in the following property:
ZHONG’s 80% interest in RE&D Investments, LLC, a Memphis-based company with substantial real estate holdings;
$661,900 in United States currency seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
Metal items, consisting of four one-ounce silver-colored bars, three one-ounce gold-colored bars, four 10-ounce silver-colored bars, and one gold-colored coin, all seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
11.1160005300044 Bitcoin seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
25 Casascius coins (physical Bitcoin) with an approximate value of 174 Bitcoin, collectively, seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
23.7112850 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 27, 2022;
115.02532155 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on April 28, 2022; and
4.57427222 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on June 8, 2022.
Today, in United States v. Ross Ulbricht, S1 14 Cr. 68 (LGS), the Government filed a motion for entry of an Amended Preliminary Order of Forfeiture, seeking to forfeit approximately 51,351.89785803 Bitcoin traceable to Silk Road, valued at approximately $3,388,817,011.90 at the time of seizure, as follows:
50,491.06251844 Bitcoin seized from ZHONG’s home on November 9, 2021;
825.38833159 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on March 25, 2022; and
35.4470080 Bitcoin provided by ZHONG on May 25, 2022.
* * *
ZHONG, 32, of Gainesville, Georgia, and Athens, Georgia, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. ZHONG is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Gardephe on February 22, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation’s Western Cyber Crimes Unit of the Los Angeles Field Office. Mr. Williams also thanked the Athens-Clarke County Police Department in Athens, Georgia, for its support and assistance with the case.
The prosecution of this case is being overseen by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney David R. Felton is in charge of the case.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Letitia James, New York State Attorney General, and Eric Gonzalez, Brooklyn District Attorney, announced today the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging four members and two associates of the Genovese Organized Crime Family with racketeering.
The Superseding Indictment charges NICHOLAS CALISI and RALPH BALSAMO, alleged Captains in the Family, MICHAEL MESSINA and JOHN CAMPANELLA, alleged Soldiers in the Family, and MICHAEL POLI and THOMAS POLI, alleged associates of the Family, with racketeering conspiracy involving illegal gambling and extortion.
MESSINA was previously arrested and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang on April 12, 2022. BALSAMO, CAMPANELLA, MICHAEL POLI, and THOMAS POLI were arrested today and will be presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger this afternoon. CALISI was arrested in Boca Raton, Florida and presented before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Florida. The case is assigned to United States District Judge John G. Koeltl.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “From extortion to illegal gambling, the Mafia continues to find ways to prey on others to fill its coffers. Our office and our law enforcement partners remain committed to putting organized crime out of business.”
New York State Attorney General Letitia James said: “For years, members of the Genovese crime family have terrorized New York communities with violence and illegal businesses. These individuals allegedly made their money through illegal gambling and loan sharking — saddling victims with incredible debt that they cannot repay. Today’s indictment makes clear that we will continue to root out organized crime wherever it exists, and I thank U.S. Attorney Damian Williams and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez for their partnership in taking down these criminal enterprises.”
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said: “Organized crime, and the illegal conduct that flows from its activities, remain a problem in Brooklyn and beyond. My Office is committed to continue working together with our law enforcement partners to investigate these criminal organizations, as we’ve done in this case. I thank the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the New York State Office of the Attorney General for their partnership and cooperation.”
According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment, which was unsealed today[1]:
The Genovese Organized Crime Family is part of a nationwide criminal organization known by various names, including La Cosa Nostra (“LCN”) and the “Mafia,” which operates through entities known as “Families.”
Like other LCN Families, the Genovese Organized Crime Family operates through groups of individuals known as “crews”. Each “crew” has as its leader a person known as a “Captain” and consists of “made” members, known as “Soldiers.” Soldiers are aided in their criminal endeavors by other trusted individuals, known as “associates,” who sometimes are referred to as “connected” or identified as “with” a Soldier or other member of the Family. Associates participate in the various activities of the crew and its members. In order for an associate to become a made member of the Family, the associate typically needs to demonstrate the ability to generate income for the Family, and/or that the associate is capable of committing acts of violence.
A Captain is responsible for supervising the criminal activities of his crew, resolving disputes between and among members of the Family, resolving disputes between members of the Family and members of other Families and other criminal organizations, and providing Soldiers and associates with support and protection. In return, the Captain typically receives a share of the illegal earnings of each of his crew’s Soldiers and associates.
At times relevant to the charges in the Superseding Indictment, NICHOLAS CALISI and RALPH BALSAMO were Captains in the Genovese Family, MICHAEL MESSINA and JOHN CAMPANELLA were Soldiers in the Genovese Family, and MICHAEL POLI and THOMAS POLI were associates of the Genovese Family.
Members of the Genovese Family, including CALISI, BALSAMO, MESSINA, CAMPANELLA, MICHAEL POLLI, and THOMAS POLLI, engaged in or agreed that others would engage in certain crimes, including making extortionate extensions of credit, financing extortionate extensions of credit, collecting extensions of credit by extortion, extortion, operating illegal gambling businesses, and transmission of gambling information.
* * *
A chart containing the ages, residency information, and charges against the defendants, as well as the maximum penalties they face is attached. The maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Office of the New York Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its assistance in this investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Celia V. Cohen, Rushmi Bhaskaran, and Justin Rodriguez, as well as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela Murray, are in charge of the prosecution. The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.
The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
United States v. Michael Messina, et al., S1 22 Cr. 212 (JGK)
DEFENDANT
AGE
CITY OF RESIDENCE
CHARGES
MAX SENT.
Messina, Michael
69
New Fairfield, CT
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
20 years
Calisi, Nicholas
63
Boca Raton, FL
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
20 years
Balsamo, Ralph
51
Tuckahoe, NY
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
20 years
Campanella, John
47
Bronx, NY
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
20 years
Poli, Michael
37
Hawthorne, NY
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
20 years
Poli, Thomas
64
Bronx, NY
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
20 years
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that EDWARD DURANTE, a/k/a “Ted Wise,” a/k/a “Efran Eisenberg,” a/k/a “Yulia,” a/k/a “Ed Simmons,” was sentenced today to 216 months in prison for defrauding at least 100 investors of more than $15 million. DURANTE was also sentenced for his perjurious testimony during an SEC deposition. DURANTE pled guilty on August 23, 2016, to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and perjury. DURANTE was sentenced today by United States District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “The fraud scheme for which Edward Durante was sentenced today began while he was still in prison from a prior securities fraud conviction. Durante returned to what he knew best, lying to investors – many of whom were retirees who lost their life savings – about how their money would be used, and concealing his manipulation of the securities market. Edward Durante is now a twice-sentenced securities fraud felon.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictment filed against DURANTE and his co-conspirators, and statements made in related court filings and proceedings:
2001 Securities Fraud Conviction
In December 2001, DURANTE was convicted in federal court of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, as well as making false statements in connection with a market manipulation scheme in which the defendant also used the alias “Ed Simmons.” The defendant was sentenced to 121 months in prison and was released in or about 2009, the year he began the current scheme. In connection with that scheme, DURANTE was ordered to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling over $39 million. DURANTE was also barred from certain activities in connection with the securities industry, including the sale of securities.
Private Placement Securities Fraud Involving VGTL
After being released from prison, between 2009 and in or about March 2015, DURANTE and his co-conspirators fraudulently induced victims to invest in private shares of VGTL by, among other things, concealing from investors that DURANTE controlled the entities selling the shares; that DURANTE was prohibited from any association with the sale of securities; and that DURANTE was previously convicted of crimes related to a similar scheme to defraud. Furthermore, DURANTE and certain of his co-conspirators lied to investors by (a) representing that their investments would be used to fund the operations and growth of VGTL in connection with potential reverse mergers, when in reality no reverse mergers were ever consummated and investor funds were instead used primarily to benefit the defendants personally; and (b) representing that the investors would receive an eight percent dividend on their investments until their private shares could be sold at a promised premium on the public market, when, in reality, no interest payments were ever provided to the investors and many investors never obtained VGTL stock certificates or the ability to sell the stock. In order to fund his illegal scheme, DURANTE used a network of brokers, including co-conspirators Larry Werbel and Abida Khan, investment advisers in Cleveland, Ohio, and Los Angeles, California, respectively, to induce investors to buy shares of VGTL.
Manipulation of the Market for Shares of VGTL
DURANTE also engaged in a scheme to control and manipulate the publicly traded stock of VGTL in order to artificially inflate the stock price and trading volume so as to profit from his own sales of VGTL stock and to further induce investments in private shares of VGTL. To that end, through entities he controlled, DURANTE held a majority of the publicly traded stock of VGTL. DURANTE recruited co-conspirator Christopher Cervino, a broker, to open brokerage accounts associated with DURANTE-controlled entities and investors who were clients of Werbel and Khan, many of whom did not know that brokerage accounts under their names had been opened with Cervino. Werbel and Khan, along with DURANTE, induced their clients to purchase VGTL stock through Cervino – sometimes without the clients’ knowledge or permission – while DURANTE and Cervino ensured that many of these purchases were matched with sales of VGTL stock by DURANTE-controlled accounts. The result of these transactions was that DURANTE and his co-conspirators were effectively taking both sides of a single transaction in VGTL stock in order to artificially control VGTL’s stock price. The efforts of DURANTE and his co-conspirators to artificially inflate the market for VGTL increased the stock price from approximately $.25 per share in April 2012 to as much as $1.90, and dramatically inflated the trading volume, which increased DURANTE’s ability to raise private investments in VGTL. To compensate Cervino for his efforts to control and manipulate the market in VGTL, DURANTE made at least two cash payments to Cervino totaling $35,000. Moreover, DURANTE then laundered proceeds from the scheme to accounts controlled by him and his co-conspirators, concealing the true nature of these transactions by utilizing wire transfers among multiple accounts in the names of other individuals.
* * *
In addition to the 18-year prison term, DURANTE, 64, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $15,404,231.
Abida Khan and Christopher Cervino, each of whom was found guilty after trial of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud, and – with respect to Khan only – aggravated identity theft and investment adviser fraud, were sentenced on January 18, 2018. Khan was sentenced to 53 months in prison; Cervino was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Larry Werbel, who pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and to investment adviser fraud, does not have a final date for sentencing. Walter Reissman, another co-conspirator, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements to federal officers. Co-conspirator Kenneth Wise pled guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering. Reissman and Wise were sentenced, on February 23, 2018, and March 6, 2018, respectively, to time served.
Mr. Berman praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance. He added that the investigation is continuing.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea M. Griswold and Rebecca Mermelstein are in charge of the prosecution.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); Bryan DiGirolamo, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (“ATF”); Melvin Padilla, the Chief of the Bedford Police Department; and Terrance Raynor, the Acting Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, announced that DAMJAN STANIVUKOVIC and VLADAMIR RADUNOVIC were arrested on January 13, 2024, and each charged with one count of unlawful possession of a destructive device and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking. The Complaint charges that on or about January 11, 2024, the defendants transported a homemade destructive device to a neighborhood in Mount Kisco, New York, and dropped the destructive device off in the driveway of the victim’s residence, where it exploded. In addition, the Complaint charges that later that same day, as part of the conspiracy, the victim received a text message that this was his “final warning.” STANIVUKOVIC, the owner of a contracting company, is involved in a long-running legal dispute with the victim. When searching STANIVUKOVIC’s residence, law enforcement seized, among other things, multiple loaded firearms, items matching those used to make the destructive device, and written instructions on how to make explosives. The defendants were presented on January 13, 2024, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Victoria Reznik and detained without bail.
U.S. Attorney Damian William said: “The career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners stand ready to act around the clock when our communities are threatened. Damjan Stanivukovic and Vladamir Radunovic were in custody just two days after they allegedly planted a destructive device in the driveway of the victim’s residence. This case is a testament to the critical and effective work that our interagency collaborations accomplish on a daily basis. We have no tolerance for violence in the Southern District of New York.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said: “Damjan Stanivukovic and Vladamir Radunovic allegedly tried to resolve a contentious business relationship with threats of violence and a homemade bomb. While business deals aren’t always successful, neither are overt acts of violence that bring forth federal charges. Thankfully, in this case, no one was injured. The FBI will continue to ensure that anyone willing to solve personal grievances with threats and attempts of violence are punished to the fullest extent in the criminal justice system.”
ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bryan DiGirolamo said: “Perpetuating violence against others, under any context, is unacceptable behavior. The men and women of ATF NY Hudson Valley Field Office will continue to work alongside our partners at FBI and Bedford Police to address acts of violence in our communities.”
Bedford Police Chief Melvin Padilla said: “The safety and security of our residents is our primary focus, and thanks to the diligent work of our detectives and the cooperation and assistance from our federal partners, the defendants were quickly identified and apprehended.”
Westchester County Department of Public Safety Acting Commissioner Terrance Raynor said: “I commend all the agencies involved for their skillful and effective collaboration in bringing this investigation to a swift conclusion. This is yet another example of the value and importance of multi-agency partnerships, which help us keep Westchester safe.”
As alleged in the criminal Complaint:[1]
At approximately 5:11 a.m. on or about January 11, 2024, STANIVUKOVIC and RADUNOVIC traveled through Rockland County, New York, to Westchester County, New York, in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee and dropped a destructive device off at the victim’s residence in Mount Kisco, New York, where the destructive device exploded. Law enforcement recovered a box from the scene, which bore STANIVUKOVIC’s name and address, as well as a 2.5-gallon gasoline can, firework tubing, and firework residue.
Later that day, on or about 12:11 p.m., the victim received a text message from a particular phone number, which stated “Knock knock, show up and what do you think is next. This is your final warning.” Around the time that text message was sent, the cellphone associated with that particular phone number was located in the vicinity of STANIVUKOVIC’s business address and the black Jeep Grand Cherokee.
A search warrant executed at STANIVUKOVIC’s residence, where RADUNOVIC had been staying, recovered, among other things, gasoline canisters and fireworks matching those used to construct the destructive device, multiple loaded firearms, and a book titled “Make Fireworks and Explosives at Home – The Ultimate Instruction Manual for Beginners and Pyrotechnicians to Build Firecrackers, Fireworks and Explosives from Scratch.”
* * *
DAMJAN STANIVUKOVIC, 52, of Closter, New Jersey, and VLADAMIR RADUNOVIC, 47, of Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, are each charged with one count of unlawful possession of a destructive device, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force, the ATF, the Bedford Police Department, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, and the Closter, New Jersey Police Department.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Wheelock is in charge of the prosecution.
The allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –HORACE WASHINGTON (“WASHINGTON”), age 55, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on August 21, 2024 by United States District Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle for violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court records, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) received information from a confidential source that WASHINGTON, who had previously been convicted of a federal drug trafficking offense, was again dealing drugs. Through investigation, DEA agents learned that WASHINGTON was getting the drugs from sources near the Texas/Mexico border. These sources would fly to New Orleans, while another co-conspirator drove a car with the drugs to New Orleans. The agents eventually seized ten kilograms of cocaine that WASHINGTON’s coconspirator left in a car in a Westbank parking lot.
Judge Lemelle sentenced WASHINGTON to 121 months imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller, Senior Litigation Counsel and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced criminal charges against U.S. Bancorp (“USB”) consisting of two felony violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) by its subsidiary, U.S. Bank National Association (the “Bank”), the fifth largest bank in the United States, for willfully failing to have an adequate anti-money laundering program (“AML”) and willfully failing to file a suspicious activity report (“SAR”). The case is assigned to United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
Mr. Berman also announced an agreement (the “Agreement”) under which USB agreed to accept responsibility for its conduct by stipulating to the accuracy of an extensive Statement of Facts, pay a $528 million penalty, and continue reforms of its BSA/AML compliance program. Assuming USB’s continued compliance with the Agreement, the Government has agreed to defer prosecution for a period of two years, after which time the Government will seek to dismiss the charges. The Agreement is pending review by the Court. The penalty shall be collected through the Bank’s forfeiture to the United States of $453 million in a civil forfeiture action also filed today, with the remaining $75 million satisfied by the Bank’s payment of a civil money penalty assessed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”).
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman stated: “U.S. Bank’s AML program was highly inadequate. The Bank operated the program ‘on the cheap’ by restricting headcount and other compliance resources, and then imposed hard caps on the number of transactions subject to AML review in order to create the appearance that the program was operating properly. The Bank also concealed its wrongful approach from the OCC. As a result, U.S Bank failed to detect and investigate large numbers of suspicious transactions. With today’s resolution, the Bank has accepted responsibility for its criminal conduct and committed to completing the reform of its AML program.”
The OCC, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (”FRB”) have also reached agreements with the Bank to resolve related regulatory actions. For purposes of its action, which was also filed today, FinCEN is represented by this Office’s Civil Division. FinCEN’s agreement with the Bank requires the Bank to pay an additional $70 million for civil violations of the BSA, and it includes further admissions by the Bank, including that the Bank filed more than 5,000 currency transaction reports with incomplete and inaccurate information, which impeded law enforcement’s ability to identify and track potentially unlawful behavior. FinCEN’s agreement with the Bank is pending review by the Court.
According to the documents filed today in Manhattan federal court:
USB’s Failure to Maintain an Adequate AML Program
From 2009 and continuing until 2014, USB willfully failed to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate AML program. Among other things, USB capped the number of alerts generated by its transaction monitoring systems, basing the number of such alerts on staffing levels and resources, rather than setting thresholds for such alerts that corresponded to a transaction’s level of risk. The Bank deliberately concealed this from the OCC, the Bank’s primary regulator.
USB was well aware that these practices were improper, were resulting in the Bank missing substantial numbers of suspicious transactions, and were placing the Bank at risk of regulatory action. Bank documentation from as early as 2005 acknowledged that alert limits were based on staffing levels and, as a result, a risk item for the bank. For example, in a December 1, 2009,F memo from the Bank’s then AML Officer (the “AMLO”) to the then Chief Compliance Officer (the “CCO), the AMLO explained that while the Bank was experiencing significant increases in SAR volumes, the Bank’s staff was “stretched dangerously thin” and warned that a “regulator could very easily argue that this testing should lead to an increase in the number of queries worked.” The Bank conducted below-threshold testing (“BTT”), which consisted of investigating a limited number of transactions that fell outside alert limits to see if thresholds should be adjusted so that more alerts would be investigated. The Bank’s BTT regularly found that SARs should have been filed on more than 25 percent, and as much as 80 percent, of the tested transactions. Rather than increase resources and lower thresholds to detect such suspicious activity, as repeatedly requested by the responsible AML employees, the Bank instead decided to stop conducting BTT altogether.
An OCC examiner assigned to the Bank repeatedly warned USB officials, including the AMLO, of the impropriety of managing the Bank’s monitoring programs based on the size of its staff and other resources. Knowing that the OCC would find USB’s resource-driven alert limits to be improper, Bank officials, including the CCO, deliberately concealed these practices from the OCC. For example, a Bank employee deliberately excluded references to resource limitations from the minutes of an internal Bank meeting for fear that the OCC would disapprove of the Bank’s practices, and in order to protect himself and his supervisor from adverse consequences. Indeed, the AMLO described USB’s AML program to another senior manager as an effort to use “smoke and mirrors” to “pull the wool over the eyes” of the OCC.
USB also failed to monitor Western Union (“WU”) transactions involving non-customers of the Bank that took place at Bank branches. The Bank processed WU transactions involving non-customers even though they would not be subject to the Bank’s transaction monitoring systems. Even when Bank employees flagged specific non-customer transactions raising AML-related concerns, the transactions went uninvestigated. It was not until July 1, 2014, that the Bank implemented a new policy that prohibited WU transactions by non-customers.
In the course of this investigation, the Bank analyzed the impact of its deficient monitoring practices. For just the six months prior to taking steps to remedy the practices, the Bank’s analysis resulted in the generation of an additional 24,179 alerts and the filing of 2,121 SARs.
USB’s Failure to Timely File Suspicious Activity Reports Relating to Scott Tucker
From October 2011 through November 2013, the Bank willfully failed to timely report suspicious banking activities of Scott Tucker, its longtime customer, despite being on notice that Tucker had been using the Bank to launder proceeds from an illegal and fraudulent payday lending scheme using a series of sham bank accounts opened under the name of companies nominally owned by various Native American tribes (the “Tribal Companies”). From 2008 through 2012, Tucker’s companies extended approximately five million loans to customers across the country, while generating more than $2 billion in revenues and hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. Most of this money flowed through accounts that Tucker maintained at the Bank.
USB employees responsible for servicing Tucker’s ongoing account activity disregarded numerous red flags that Tucker was using the tribes to conceal his ownership of the accounts. For example, Tucker spent large sums of monies from accounts in the names of Tribal Companies on personal items, including tens of millions of dollars on a vacation home in Aspen and on Tucker’s professional Ferrari racing team. USB also received subpoenas from regulators investigating Tucker’s businesses. In September 2011, after news organizations published reports examining Tucker’s history and questionable business practices, the Bank reviewed Tucker’s accounts, and an AML investigator reported to supervisors, among other things, that “it looks as though Mr. Tucker is quite the slippery individual” who “really does hide behind a bunch of shell companies.” Based on its findings, the Bank closed the accounts in the names of the Tribal Companies but failed to file a SAR.
The Bank also left open Tucker’s non-tribal accounts and opened new ones, allowing over $176 million more from his illegal payday business to flow into the Bank. Despite also learning of an April 2012 Federal Trade Commission lawsuit against Tucker and the Tribal Companies, the Bank did not file a SAR regarding Tucker until served with a subpoena by this Office in November 2013.
On October 13, 2017, Tucker was convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York of various offenses arising from his payday lending scheme. The Government intends to recommend that the amounts forfeited by USB be distributed to victims of Tucker’s scheme, consistent with the applicable Department of Justice regulations, through the ongoing remission process.
* * *
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents at the United States Attorney’s Office and thanked the OCC for its assistance with the investigation. Mr. Berman also thanked FinCEN for its partnership with this Office.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Niketh Velamoor and Jonathan Cohen are in charge of the prosecution. The Office’s Civil Frauds Unit is handling the regulatory action on behalf of FinCEN. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Harwood and Caleb Hayes-Deats are in charge of the matter.
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Keechant L. Sewell, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today that LENNY REYES was charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition during a shooting that occurred on the afternoon of March 8, 2023, near the intersection of East 167th Street and Sherman Avenue in the Bronx. REYES was transferred to federal custody this morning and was presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Lenny Reyes fired at a group of individuals outside a bodega in the Bronx, provoking a gunfight and endangering the lives of his intended victims and other bystanders. Thanks to the swift action of the prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, the defendant is now being held accountable for his reckless actions.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll said: “As alleged, Reyes recklessly endangered the lives of others when he fired a gun in the direction of another individual in the Bronx on March 8, 2023. As a previously convicted felon, Reyes was not permitted to possess ammunition, and, as today’s action demonstrates, the FBI and our NYPD partners will continue to hold accountable those who put others’ lives at risk and violate our firearms laws.”
NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said: “The alleged violent and dangerously reckless actions of this defendant will never be tolerated in New York City. Illegal guns are a grave threat to our public safety, and the NYPD works tirelessly to ensure that the people who carry and shoot them are held accountable. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the New York Field Office of the FBI, and everyone else who aided in this investigation and arrest.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint:[1]
On or about March 8, 2023, REYES ran toward a group of people assembled on the sidewalk near 1217 Sherman Avenue in the Bronx. Video footage from the scene shows REYES running towards the group with a handgun pointed at them. The group began to flee. REYES fired the handgun in the direction of an individual located behind a car parked on the side of Sherman Avenue. A still image of REYES firing the shot is below:
REYES’s gun then appeared to malfunction, and he fled the scene as another individual fired six shots at him.
A shell casing discharged by REYES’s gun was recovered from the ground at the scene of the shooting. REYES was not permitted to possess ammunition because of prior felony convictions.
* * *
LENNY REYES, 43, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with possessing ammunition after a felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The statutory maximum penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the FBI and NYPD. Mr. Williams also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this case.
The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Ross is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the United States has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against EQUITY RESIDENTIAL and its affiliate ERP OPERATING L.P. (together, “EQUITY RESIDENTIAL”) to require them to remedy conditions at 170 Amsterdam Avenue, a large rental complex in Manhattan that was completed in 2015, to make the building accessible to people with disabilities and to ensure that EQUITY RESIDENTIAL will take steps to make accessible the multiple rental complexes that it is currently developing.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “With today’s lawsuit, we seek to ensure that a national developer, Equity Residential, not only will fix the inaccessible conditions at 170 Amsterdam Avenue, but also do what is necessary to ensure accessibility at its ongoing construction projects. This is one of more than a dozen suits this Office has brought in recent years to fulfill the Fair Housing Act’s promise of accessibility for people with disabilities.”
The Fair Housing Act’s (“FHA”) accessible design and construction provisions require multifamily housing complexes constructed after January 1991 to have basic features accessible to persons with disabilities. According to the allegations in the Complaint, EQUITY RESIDENTIAL has engaged in a pattern and practice of FHA violations by designing and constructing numerous rental buildings that contain inaccessible conditions, including 170 Amsterdam Avenue as well as earlier constructions like the 1210 Mass Apartments in Washington, D.C., and The Veridian in Silver Spring, Maryland.
According to the Complaint filed today in Manhattan, in 2015, EQUITY RESIDENTIAL designed and constructed 170 Amsterdam Avenue, a 236-unit rental complex on the upper west side of Manhattan, with inaccessible conditions similar to those present at the 1210 Mass Apartments and The Veridian. As alleged, the inaccessible conditions at 170 Amsterdam Avenue include excessively high thresholds from individual apartments to private gardens, insufficiently wide doorways within individual apartments, and insufficient clear width at the entrance to the on-site fitness center. The Complaint also alleges that EQUITY RESIDENTIAL currently is actively involved in designing and constructing several other rental buildings, including in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.
In the Complaint, the United States seeks a court order requiring EQUITY RESIDENTIAL to make appropriate retrofits at 170 Amsterdam Avenue and to take steps necessary to ensure that the rental buildings EQUITY RESIDENTIAL is currently developing will be designed and constructed in compliance with the FHA’s accessibility requirements.
EQUITY RESIDENTIAL was previously sued in 2006, in Maryland, for not complying with the FHA in constructing rental buildings like the 1210 Mass Apartments and The Veridian. In March 2016, the court presiding over the Maryland lawsuit issued a decision finding that EQUITY RESIDENTIAL had violated the FHA’s accessibility requirements in constructing seven rental buildings, including the 1210 Mass Apartments and The Veridian. In December 2016, EQUITY RESIDENTIAL settled the Maryland lawsuit and agreed to remedy inaccessible conditions at the 1210 Mass Apartments and The Veridian and the other five rental buildings. However, the settlement of the Maryland lawsuit did not address the lack of accessible features at 170 Amsterdam Avenue, which was designed and constructed even while the Maryland suit was pending.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Li Yu, Jacob Lillywhite, Jessica Jean Hu, and Natasha Teleanu are in charge of the case.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that RICHARD LAUGEL was sentenced to 121 months in prison for detonating a pipe bomb in the Bronx on March 2, 2016, along with firearms and narcotics offenses. LAUGEL pled guilty on November 8, 2018, before United States District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who also imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Richard Laugel’s dangerous attempt to harm his neighbor by detonating a car bomb was, thankfully, unsuccessful. His cache of weapons was also seized, and his narcotics businesses ended thanks to the extraordinary work of our law enforcement partners, making New York City streets safer. Now Laugel will serve a lengthy prison sentence for his crimes.”
According to the Information, other filings in Manhattan federal court, and evidence presented in court at sentencing:
On March 2, 2016, LAUGEL placed an improvised explosive device (“IED”) under the rear tire well of his neighbor’s car, which was parked near their apartment building in the Bronx, New York. LAUGEL, a former United States Marine, had constructed the IED using a metal pipe bomb, which he packed with nails and explosives and attached to a butane canister to increase the potential lethality of the device. LAUGEL used a remote-detonation device to activate the bomb after his neighbor entered the car and drove several blocks away. The force of the explosion blew out the airbags in the car and buckled the car doors. The neighbor was not injured by the explosion.
On May 22, 2018, agents with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), officers with the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) executed a search warrant at LAUGEL’s home in the Bronx. Law enforcement recovered from LAUGEL’s home and garage, among other items:
575 rounds of assorted ammunition
8 silencers and 32 silencer parts
5 home-made pistols
2 commercially manufactured pistols, one of which had an obliterated serial number
2 “switches” to convert pistols into fully automatic weapons
1 bump stock
During a subsequent search of LAUGEL’s apartment located near his home, law enforcement recovered evidence consistent with the manufacturing of alprazolam for distribution to customers online, including a powder mixing machine, pill press dies to stamp pills, and boxes of alprazolam packaged for shipment to customers.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, LAUGEL, 39, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of ATF, the NYPD, and HSI.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Alison Moe and Jacob Warren are in charge of the prosecution.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that RICHARD LAUGEL was arrested yesterday and charged with firearms and narcotics offenses. LAUGEL will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker in Manhattan federal court.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Richard Laugel had accumulated an arsenal of dangerous weapons in his Bronx apartment, including a grenade launcher and an assault rifle. Thankfully, the local and federal law enforcement officers were able to arrest Laugel without incident, and his trove of dangerous weapons has been seized.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez said: “It is important to note the collaborative efforts that went into locating and apprehending this individual. And from what was found during this investigation, he appears to be a threat to public safety and someone we don’t want on the streets. This collaboration, brought together by HSI’s Border Enforcement Security Taskforce, is paramount to finding the criminals who bring in goods from abroad to support their criminal activity in our local communities.”
ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan M. Benedict said: “Laugel’s alleged conduct once again demonstrates the dangerous intersection between the distribution of narcotics, the illicit possession of firearms, and violent crime. Laugel’s alleged conduct presented an extreme danger to the community, and we are grateful that he will now face prosecution in the Southern District of New York. I would like to express my appreciation to our law enforcement partners for their work on this investigation.”
As alleged in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
On May 22, 2018, HSI and the NYPD executed a search warrant at LAUGEL’s home in the Bronx in connection with an alleged illegal operation to distribute controlled substances. During the search, law enforcement officers recovered from LAUGEL’s home and garage, among other items, firearms silencers, a grenade launcher, an AR-15 Rifle, three handguns, two of which had defaced serial numbers, plastic molds used to make the lower receiver of handguns, firearms barrels, drill press and milling machines, ammunition, and a teddy bear that contained approximately 30 grams of cocaine.
* * *
LAUGEL is charged with the unlawful possession of firearms silencers, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; possession with intent to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and the unlawful possession of firearms with defaced serial numbers ,which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI, ATF, and the NYPD.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Alison Moe and Jacob Warren are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: Case type associated with a magistrate case if the current case was merged from a magistrate case
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The docket number originally given to a case assigned to a magistrate judge and subsequently merged into a criminal case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a magistrate case
Format: A3
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE3
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fourth highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE4
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE4
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fifth highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE5
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE5
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE5
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE5
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Angel M. Melendez, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Ashan M. Benedict, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”), and James P. O’Neill, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that RICHARD LAUGEL was arrested yesterday and charged with firearms and narcotics offenses. LAUGEL will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker in Manhattan federal court.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As alleged, Richard Laugel had accumulated an arsenal of dangerous weapons in his Bronx apartment, including a grenade launcher and an assault rifle. Thankfully, the local and federal law enforcement officers were able to arrest Laugel without incident, and his trove of dangerous weapons has been seized.”
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez said: “It is important to note the collaborative efforts that went into locating and apprehending this individual. And from what was found during this investigation, he appears to be a threat to public safety and someone we don’t want on the streets. This collaboration, brought together by HSI’s Border Enforcement Security Taskforce, is paramount to finding the criminals who bring in goods from abroad to support their criminal activity in our local communities.”
ATF Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan M. Benedict said: “Laugel’s alleged conduct once again demonstrates the dangerous intersection between the distribution of narcotics, the illicit possession of firearms, and violent crime. Laugel’s alleged conduct presented an extreme danger to the community, and we are grateful that he will now face prosecution in the Southern District of New York. I would like to express my appreciation to our law enforcement partners for their work on this investigation.”
As alleged in the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court[1]:
On May 22, 2018, HSI and the NYPD executed a search warrant at LAUGEL’s home in the Bronx in connection with an alleged illegal operation to distribute controlled substances. During the search, law enforcement officers recovered from LAUGEL’s home and garage, among other items, firearms silencers, a grenade launcher, an AR-15 Rifle, three handguns, two of which had defaced serial numbers, plastic molds used to make the lower receiver of handguns, firearms barrels, drill press and milling machines, ammunition, and a teddy bear that contained approximately 30 grams of cocaine.
* * *
LAUGEL is charged with the unlawful possession of firearms silencers, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; possession with intent to distribute narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and the unlawful possession of firearms with defaced serial numbers ,which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI, ATF, and the NYPD.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Alison Moe and Jacob Warren are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY
Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2
Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3
Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5
Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2
Description: Case type associated with a magistrate case if the current case was merged from a magistrate case
Format: A2
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18
Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15
Description: The docket number originally given to a case assigned to a magistrate judge and subsequently merged into a criminal case
Format: A7
Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a magistrate case
Format: A3
Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1
Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2
Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2
Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE3
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fourth highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE4
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE4
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE4
Format: A3
Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fifth highest severity
Format: A20
Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE5
Format: N2
Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE5
Format: A4
Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE5
Format: A4
Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE5
Format: A3
Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5
Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8
Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1
Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1
Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10
Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2
Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD
Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the United States has resolved its investigation into complaints alleging that the New York State Education Department (the “NYSED”) violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134, and related regulations by refusing to permit parent and guardian involvement in the adjustment of a child’s diabetes medication, with the approval of the child’s doctor, during school or at school-sponsored events.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Parents of children with diabetes have a right to play a role in the treatment of their children while at school. We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the New York State Education Department that will help students with diabetes receive during school the same adjustments to their medication that they receive outside of school, as their doctors direct.”
This Office’s investigation found that, in September 2015, the NYSED issued Guidelines for Medication Management in Schools that caused schools to reject certain types of orders issued by physicians treating children with diabetes authorizing parents and guardians to be involved in the adjustment of their child’s diabetes medication administered by the school healthcare team. The rejected orders included model orders developed by national diabetes organizations such as the National Diabetes Education Project and the American Diabetes Association by which a physician could authorize a parent or guardian to direct a school healthcare professional to adjust, within limits, the dosage and timing of correction doses of insulin, insulin-to-carbohydrate ratios, and fixed insulin doses. As these model orders reflect, it is common for parents and guardians of children with diabetes to have particularized knowledge with respect to their child’s recent activities, food intake, reaction to medication, and the like, and, through training and experience, to develop expertise regarding the adjustment of the dosage and timing of their child’s diabetes medication, information that is essential to the provision of necessary medical care for children with diabetes at all times, including at school. The investigation found that the Guidelines were hindering the communication of this vital information and in certain instances preventing necessary adjustments to diabetes medication from occurring at school. This Office detailed its conclusions in a Letter of Findings dated January 18, 2017.
In response to the investigation, the NYSED agreed to amend the Guidelines. The NYSED has also agreed to provide a model form for a physician to use to authorize the involvement of the parents/guardians in adjustment decisions where appropriate. The final decision with respect to the dosage and timing of diabetes medication shall remain with the school nurse as a matter of the nurse’s exercise of professional judgment, which will include consideration of the information communicated by the parent or guardian.
Specifically, under the resolution, NYSED has agreed to take the following actions: (i) amend the provisions of the Guidelines that were identified by the investigation as causing concerns; (ii) include additional language in the Guidelines explaining the respective roles of the school nurse and the parents/guardians who have been authorized to recommend adjustments of their child’s diabetes medication within specified limits; and (iii) provide a link to a model form through which physicians can provide such authorization to the parent/guardian (provided that the student’s Diabetes Medical Management Plan also includes authorization of the school nurse to make adjustments within the same range(s) as a matter of the nurse’s professional judgment). These changes, which resolve the issues addressed in the Letter of Findings, are explained in more detail in the attachments to the Office’s resolution letter. An amended version of the Guidelines reflecting these changes appears on the NYSED website at the following address: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/sss/schoolhealth/schoolhealthservices/.
Mr. Kim also thanked NYSED for its cooperation. The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Byars is in charge of the matter.
United States Attorney Steven A. Russell announced that Victoria Bindas, 43, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on April 6, 2023, by United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Bindas received a sentence of 121 months’ imprisonment with a five-year term of supervised release to follow. There is no parole in the federal system.
Beginning in mid-2018, a Drug Enforcement Administration task force started investigating the methamphetamine distribution operation of David Duane Short, based out of the Omaha, Nebraska, metro area. This investigation included a court ordered Title III interception of phone calls and text messages, allowing agents to identify the scope of the conspiracy and its’ members. Bindas was intercepted on numerous occasions contacting Short and was obtaining mutli-ounce quantities of methamphetamine. These deals between Short and Bindas were monitored by law enforcement. Bindas was ultimately held responsible for her in buying at least 1200 grams of methamphetamine from Short to distribute.
In addition to Bindas, several members of this multi-state drug trafficking organization have now been sentenced. Edward Glen Summers (Council Bluffs) was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment, Kaden Henry (Wisner, Nebraska) was sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment, Rose Ellen Points (Council Bluffs) was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment, Chelsea Leigh Short (Omaha) was sentenced to 132 months’ imprisonment, Christian Gonzalez-Gardea (El Paso, Texas) was sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment, Rex Lee Kmiecik (Omaha) was sentenced to 132 months’ imprisonment, Robert Root (Council Bluffs) was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment, and David Duane Short (Omaha) was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment.
This effort was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Omaha Police Department, Nebraska State Patrol, IRS’s Criminal Investigations, and the Pottawattamie County (Iowa) Sheriff’s Office.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DJONIBEK RAHMANKULOV was sentenced today to 121 months in prison for laundering millions of dollars in criminal proceeds obtained from computer hacking, healthcare fraud, and Small Business Administration loan fraud, as well as operating an international unlicensed money transmitting business. The defendant was convicted at trial on September 1, 2022, of money laundering conspiracy, bank fraud, and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams imposed today’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Djonibek Rahmankulov laundered money for a living. He exploited the financial system to launder millions of dollars from multiple fraudulent schemes and repeatedly lied to banks to operate his illegal enterprise. Once caught — and even after he was convicted — the defendant continued to show that he believed he was above the law by threatening a witness and submitting false information to the Court. Today’s sentence reflects that this Office will find and prosecute those who seek to abuse the U.S. financial system to launder dirty money.”
According to the superseding Indictment, evidence at trial, and statements made in Court:
Between 2017 and September 2020, RAHMANKULOV operated a network of shell companies that were used to launder millions of dollars of criminal proceeds from multiple types of criminal activity. RAHMANKULOV worked with computer hackers who fraudulently gained control of the bank accounts of victims located throughout the United States and executed millions of dollars in fraudulent wire transfers into bank accounts opened by RAHMANKULOV and his co-conspirators. RAHMANKULOV received wire transfers into bank accounts he created and bank accounts he instructed others to create and laundered these proceeds through multiple additional bank accounts to prevent the victims and the banks from recovering the stolen funds.
In addition, RAHMANKULOV worked with a network of pharmacies engaged in Medicare and Medicaid fraud. These pharmacies submitted millions of dollars of fraudulent billing for HIV medications that they did not dispense or obtained illegally, including by repurchasing medications from HIV patients who were Medicaid recipients. RAHMANKULOV created companies to receive these criminal proceeds from the pharmacies and laundered them through a variety of means, including by using them to fund an unlicensed money transmitting business that illegally moved money to and from multiple countries, including Iran.
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, RAHMANKULOV filed fraudulent applications for COVID relief loans from the Small Business Administration for multiple companies he controlled. He laundered the proceeds of loans and grants through these companies. RAHMANKULOV also made a number of materially false statements to financial institutions in connection with his money laundering schemes, both when opening bank accounts and when executing financial transactions with those bank accounts.
RAHMANKULOV sought to obstruct justice during the pendency of his case. In the months before trial, RAHMANKULOV instructed a witness to lie to law enforcement. When the witness later informed RAHMANKULOV that the witness would tell the truth to law enforcement, RAHMANKULOV threatened the witness, stating, among other things, that if he went to prison, “I will drag all of you with me, and once you are there, then I will have my revenge.” Nonetheless, the witness testified at trial. RAHMANKULOV continued seeking to obstruct justice after his conviction. In advance of his sentencing, he submitted multiple letters to the Court purporting to show support from members of the community, but two of these letters were in fact fraudulent and had not been written by the purported authors.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, RAHMANKULOV, 35, of Queens, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. RAHMANKULOV was further ordered to pay a forfeiture of $5,413,278 and a $40,000 fine.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Money Laundering Investigation Squad.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cecilia Vogel, Thane Rehn, and Samuel Raymond, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Nerlande Pierre, are in charge of the prosecution.
Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that GORDON FREEDMAN, a doctor who practiced in New York, New York, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to 121 months in prison for participating in a scheme to receive bribes and kickbacks in the form of fees for sham educational programs (“Speaker Programs”) from pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing millions of dollars’ worth of Subsys, a potent fentanyl-based spray manufactured by Insys, among other offenses (the “Insys Bribery Offenses”). FREEDMAN was convicted of the Insys Bribery Offenses following a jury trial. FREEDMAN was also sentenced to 210 months in prison, to run concurrently to the other sentence, for distributing oxycodone and fentanyl to a patient for no legitimate medical purpose (the “Diversion Offense”). That patient ultimately died of a fentanyl overdose from drugs FREEDMAN illegally prescribed him. FREEDMAN pled guilty to the Diversion Offense in December 2019.
FREEDMAN was sentenced by United States District Judge Kimba M. Wood.
U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Dr. Gordon Freedman, a prominent Manhattan physician, allowed his medical judgment to be corrupted by hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes that he accepted from Insys in return for prescribing Subsys, a potent fentanyl painkiller. These payments were made to appear like legitimate speaker program fees, but as the evidence at Freedman’s trial revealed, the speaker programs were a sham and were simply a way for Insys to line Freedman’s pockets. In addition, Freedman prescribed excessive quantities of oxycodone and fentanyl to one of his patients for no legitimate medical purpose. The patient overdosed and died from fentanyl prescribed by Freedman. Freedman will now be serving a long prison sentence for accepting bribes and prescribing medically unnecessary opioids.”
According to the allegations contained in the Indictments against FREEDMAN, the evidence presented in Court during the trial related to the Insys Bribery Offenses, and filings in related proceedings:
Insys manufactured Subsys, a powerful painkiller approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approved Subsys only for the management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients. Prescriptions of Subsys typically cost thousands of dollars each month, and Medicare and Medicaid, as well as commercial insurers, reimbursed prescriptions written by the defendants. In or about August 2012, Insys launched a “Speakers Bureau,” purportedly aimed at educating practitioners about Subsys. In reality, however, Insys used its Speakers Bureau to induce doctors to prescribe large volumes of Subsys by paying them Speaker Program fees. At each Speaker Program, speakers were supposed to conduct a slide presentation for other health care practitioners regarding Subsys. However, many of the Speaker Programs led by the speakers paid by Insys were predominantly social affairs where no educational presentation occurred. Attendance sign-in sheets for the Speaker Programs were frequently forged by adding the names and signatures of health care practitioners who had not actually been present.
FREEDMAN, a doctor certified in pain management and anesthesiology, owned a private pain management office on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and was an associate clinical professor at a large hospital in Manhattan (“Hospital-1”). FREEDMAN received approximately $308,600 in Speaker Program fees from Insys in exchange for prescribing large volumes of Subsys.
In March 2013, a Regional Sales Manager for Insys sent an email to FREEDMAN informing him that he would receive more Speaker Programs in the coming months because Insys wanted prescriptions of Subsys to increase, and urging FREEDMAN to put more patients on Subsys. FREEDMAN responded, in part, “Got it,” and significantly increased his Subsys prescriptions in the following months, during which he received approximately $33,600 in Speaker Program fees.
In 2014, FREEDMAN’s prescriptions of Subsys rose even further, and he was the fourth-highest prescriber of Subsys nationally in the final quarter of 2014, accounting for approximately $1,132,287 in overall net sales of Subsys in that quarter. During 2014, FREEDMAN was the highest-paid Insys Speaker in the nation, receiving approximately $143,000.
During the period in which FREEDMAN was receiving kickbacks from Insys, he was also distributing powerfully addictive prescription drugs to a particular patient (“Patient-1”) with no legitimate medical purpose. From in or about 2013 through in or about May 2017, FREEDMAN prescribed enormous quantities of oxycodone and fentanyl to Patient-1. For example, in 2013 alone, FREEDMAN prescribed Patient-1 approximately 85,427 oxycodone pills – an average of approximately 234 oxycodone pills per day – containing a total of approximately 2,422,435 mg of oxycodone. On or about April 13, 2017, FREEDMAN gave Patient-1 prescriptions for approximately 150 doses of a drug containing fentanyl, and for approximately 950 oxycodone pills containing approximately 30 mg of oxycodone per pill. On or about May 4, 2017, Patient-1 died of a fentanyl overdose after ingesting a quantity of the drug prescribed by FREEDMAN on or about April 13, 2017.
* * *
In addition to the prison sentence, FREEDMAN, 61, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to forfeit $308,600 and ordered to pay a total fine across the two cases of $75,000.
FREEDMAN was one of five Manhattan doctors convicted for participating in the Subsys bribery conspiracy. Todd Schlifstein was convicted upon a guilty plea and sentenced by Judge Wood on October 28, 2019, principally to a term of two years in prison. Alexandru Burducea was convicted upon a guilty plea and sentenced by Judge Wood on January 27, 2020, principally to a term of 57 months in prison. Dialecti Voudouris was convicted upon a guilty plea and sentenced by Judge Wood on March 5, 2020, principally to time served. Jeffrey Goldstein was convicted upon a guilty plea and sentenced by Judge Wood on June 16, 2021, principally to a term of 57 months in prison.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and thanked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General for its participation in the investigation.
The cases are being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Noah Solowiejczyk, David Abramowicz, and Katherine Reilly are in charge of the prosecutions.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that OSCAR RIOS, a/k/a “Oski,” was sentenced to 115 months in prison for his coordination of an August 29, 2020 armed home invasion robbery in the Bronx, New York. RIOS pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery on October 6, 2021 before U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan, who imposed today’s sentence.
RIOS’s co-defendants, SHAWN GARCIA, a/k/a “Ralph Porter,” and SUTHA TAYLOR, a/k/a “Sutha Colon,” carried out the robbery and also pled guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery. GARCIA and TAYLOR were previously sentenced to 96 months and 121 months in prison, respectively.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Oscar Rios coordinated a violent home invasion robbery that resulted in one victim being shot and another victim being threatened at gunpoint. The sentences imposed in this case send a clear message that those who plan and carry out such violent crimes will pay a heavy price.”
According to public filings and statements made in court:
On or about August 29, 2020, RIOS orchestrated an armed home invasion robbery of an apartment in the Bronx, New York (the “Apartment”), which co-defendants GARCIA and TAYLOR, along with a third co-conspirator (“CC-3”), carried out. Shortly before the robbery took place, RIOS communicated with other uncharged co-conspirators to lure a resident (“Victim-1”) out of the Apartment. Once RIOS learned that Victim-1 was about to leave, he informed GARCIA and TAYLOR via text message to commit the robbery.
When Victim-1 opened the door to the Apartment, GARCIA, TAYLOR, and CC-3 ran into the Apartment and physically assaulted Victim-1, including by striking Victim-1 in the head several times with at least one firearm. During this time, RIOS remained in a nearby building to serve as a lookout. While the assault on Victim-1 was in progress, another resident of the Apartment (“Victim-2”) was thrown into the bathroom and ordered to remain there. Victim-1 was then shot in the buttocks. After the shooting, one of the robbers placed a dark garment over Victim-2’s head and demanded to know where Victim-1 kept his safe, which contained proceeds from Victim-1’s marijuana sales. Shortly thereafter, RIOS texted GARCIA and TAYLOR to inform them that the area was clear for them to flee. GARCIA, TAYLOR, and CC-3 then fled the Apartment, stealing a safe with cash proceeds from Victim-1’s marijuana sales, as well as other items found in the Apartment.
As a result of the assault and shooting, Victim-1 was hospitalized for several days.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, RIOS, 28, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the ATF and NYPD, in particular, the Strategic Patterned Armed Robbery Technical Apprehension (“SPARTA”) Task Force, which is composed of agents and officers of the ATF and the NYPD.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney David J. Robles is in charge of the prosecution.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that on October 4, 2024, U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon imposed a sentence of 121 months in prison on DAVID CARMONA, the founder of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme IcomTech.U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “David Carmona masterminded the IcomTech cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, which preyed upon working-class people by promising them complete financial freedom in exchange for parting with their hard-earned money. Carmona claimed that his victims’ money would be invested in cryptocurrency trading and mining, and that profits from those activities would result in victims doubling their money within six months. In reality, IcomTech was doing no such thing. It was all a lie. And when the scheme came crashing down, Carmona’s victims were left with nothing. Carmona’s days of scamming honest people are at an end, and he now faces substantial time in prison.”According to the allegations in the Indictment, public court filings, and statements made in public court proceedings:CARMONA started IcomTech in approximately 2018 with other co-conspirators. IcomTech was a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company that promised to earn its victim-investors (“Victims”) profits in exchange for their purchase of purported cryptocurrency-related investment products. CARMONA and the other promoters of IcomTech falsely promised their respective Victims, among other things, that profits from the companies’ cryptocurrency trading and mining would result in guaranteed daily returns on Victims’ investments and doubling their money within six months. In reality, IcomTech did not engage in cryptocurrency trading or mining for its Investors, and CARMONA and Icomtech’s other promoters used Victim funds to pay other Victims, to further promote the schemes, and to enrich themselves.Icomtech promoters, including CARMONA, traveled throughout the United States and internationally where they hosted lavish expos and small community presentations aimed at luring Victims to invest in the schemes, including in the Southern District of New York. During larger-scale events, IcomTech promoters presented on purported investment products and the compensation plan, encouraged Victims to invest as a means of achieving financial freedom, and boasted about the amount of money they were earning. IcomTech promoters often showed up at larger-scale events in expensive cars and wearing luxury clothing as a way of exhibiting their purportedly legitimate success from IcomTech. The atmosphere of these events was festive and designed to generate excitement about the schemes.Victims invested in IcomTech by purchasing investment products from promoters using cash, checks, wire transfers, and actual cryptocurrency. Following a Victim’s investment, a Victim would be provided with access to an online portal where the Victim could monitor the purported returns. While Victims saw “profits” accumulate on IcomTech’s legitimate-looking online portal, most Victims were unable to withdraw any of these so-called profits and ultimately lost their entire investments. By contrast, IcomTech’s promoters, including CARMONA, siphoned off, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars in Victim funds, which they withdrew as cash, spent on IcomTech promotional expenses, and used for personal expenditures such as luxury goods and real estate.At least as early as August 2018, Victims who attempted to withdraw money from their online portal accounts had difficulty doing so, and when they complained to promoters, they were met with excuses, delays, and hidden fees, if they were able to make any withdrawals at all. Despite these complaints, IcomTech promoters, including CARMONA, continued to promote IcomTech and accept Victims’ investments. As complaints mounted, IcomTech began offering a proprietary crypto-token for sale as a means of injecting liquidity into IcomTech. Promoters of the schemes claimed that these tokens, known as “Icoms,” would eventually be worth a significant amount of money when they were accepted by companies for payment for goods and services. This was false. In reality, “Icoms” were essentially worthless and resulted in further financial loss to Victims. By in or about the end of 2019, IcomTech stopped making payments to Victims and IcomTech collapsed.* * *In addition to the prison term, CARMONA, 41, of Queens, New York, was sentenced to 3 years of supervised release.Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of Special Agents from Homeland Security Investigations’ El Dorado Task Force. Mr. Williams also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for their assistance.This case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A. Gianforti, Michael D. Maimin, T. Josiah Pertz, and Cecilia Vogel are in charge of the prosecution.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that today SKYLAR DAVIS, a/k/a “S-Dot,” was sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with his robbery and participation in the murder of Samuel Stubbs, a community member in the City of Newburgh, New York, and DAVIS’s membership in and leadership of “Southside,” a violent street gang that operated in Newburgh. DAVIS previously pled guilty to racketeering and murder charges before United States District Cathy Seibel, who also imposed today’s sentence. Besides his gang leadership and his participation in the murder of Samuel Stubbs, DAVIS also committed or helped commit six additional nonfatal shootings of Southside’s gang rivals in Newburgh over an approximately nine-month period in 2015 and 2016.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “On a summer night in 2015, Southside gang leader Skylar Davis participated in the murder of Samuel Stubbs. Davis also committed or participated in more than half a dozen other attempted murders over the ensuing year. Now he will spend many years in federal prison for his reign of violence.”
According to the various Indictments filed in this case, other documents filed, as well as statements made in open court:
From at least 2014 through June 2017, the Southside Gang was a criminal enterprise centered in and around the intersection of South Street and Chambers Street in an area of Newburgh known as the “Southside.” In order to gain funds for the gang, protect the gang’s territory, and promote the gang’s standing, members of Southside engaged in, among other things, narcotics trafficking, robbery, and acts involving murder. To that end, Southside members sold heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana in the gang’s territory, promoted their gang affiliation on social media sites such as Facebook, possessed firearms, and engaged in shootings as part of their gang membership. Southside members participated in numerous shootings of rival gang members and innocent bystanders, including two murders.
DAVIS was a longtime member of Southside and one of the gang’s leaders. On August 13, 2015, DAVIS, along with others, decided to rob a high-stakes card game that Stubbs was playing outside, near the intersection of Lander and Courtney Streets in Newburgh. DAVIS and a co-conspirator approached the three card players with guns drawn and then started firing. All three men were hit by the ensuing gunfire, and Stubbs, 67, died of his injuries.
The Stubbs murder was only one of many acts of violence DAVIS participated in as part of his leadership of the Southside gang, including numerous violent crimes after DAVIS participated in Stubbs’s murder. Beginning in the summer of 2015, Southside engaged in a series of retaliatory shootings with its primary rival gang in Newburgh, the Yellow Tape Money Gang, or “YTMG,” and with other Newburgh gangs allied with YTMG. DAVIS committed, assisted, and/or caused the following additional Newburgh shootings:
The attempted murder of rival gang member Gabriel Warren, a/k/a “Stacks,” in the late summer or early fall of 2015;
The attempted murder of rival gang member Armad Evans, a/k/a “Yellow,” on or about October 5, 2015;
The attempted murder of rival gang member Tyrin Gayle, a/k/a “Spazzo,” and other YTMG members on or about December 11, 2015;
The attempted murder of rival YTMG gang members on or about March 17, 2016;
Aiding and abetting the attempted murder of rival gang member Romeo Herring on or about April 3, 2016; and
The attempted murder of rival gang members in the vicinity of the 845 Lounge located at 778 Broadway on or about May 21, 2016.
DAVIS bragged about his violence, his drug dealing, and his firearms possession on Facebook, which helped further fuel the violent rivalry between Southside and YTMG.
DAVIS, 22, of Newburgh, was arrested in June 2017 as a result of a multi-year investigation by the FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and the City of Newburgh Police Department into gang violence in Newburgh. DAVIS was previously serving a lengthy sentence for New York state weapon and controlled substance offenses. The Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and the City of Newburgh Police Department had previously arrested members of YTMG in 2016; every charged member of YTMG was sentenced by Judge Seibel in 2017 and 2018.
Davis is the thirteenth member of Southside to be sentenced by Judge Seibel. Judge Seibel has imposed substantial periods of incarceration on each:
Name
Convictions:
Sentence
Skylar Davis
Racketeering Conspiracy
Murder in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking
Murder Through Use of a Firearm
Ardae Hines
Racketeering Conspiracy
Narcotics Conspiracy
180 months
Michael Simmons
Racketeering Conspiracy
Possessing Firearms During and in Relation to Drug Trafficking
111 months
Demetrice McLean
Racketeering Conspiracy
Possessing Firearms During and in Relation to Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering
180 months
Christopher Davis
Racketeering Conspiracy
Narcotics Conspiracy
126 months
Diamante Frazier
Narcotics Conspiracy
Brandishing Firearms During and in Relation to Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering
120 months
Ditavious Williams
Racketeering Conspiracy
Narcotics Conspiracy
121 months
Donte Nugent
Racketeering Conspiracy
Narcotics Conspiracy
108 months
Davante Nugent
Racketeering Conspiracy
Narcotics Conspiracy
60 months
Calvin Lembhard
Discharging Firearm in Furtherance of Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering
120 months
Paradise Branch
Racketeering Conspiracy
Narcotics Conspiracy
120 months
William Fennell
Racketeering Conspiracy
Narcotics Conspiracy
Discharging Firearms in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking
240 months
Troy Young
Racketeering Conspiracy
Using a Firearm in Furtherance of Murder in Aid of Racketeering
180 months
* * *
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, and the City of Newburgh Police Department. Mr. Berman thanked the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for its invaluable ongoing assistance in the case. Mr. Berman also thanked the Town of Newburgh Police Department, the New York State Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Town of New Windsor Police Department, and the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for their assistance in the case.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Jacqueline Kelly, Allison Nichols, Maurene Comey, and Samuel Raymond are in charge of the prosecution.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that the Madoff Victim Fund established by the Department of Justice began the distribution of $695.4 million in funds forfeited to the United States Government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”) fraud scheme. These funds will be sent to more than 27,000 victims worldwide, the third in a series of payments from the Madoff Victim Fund to victims of the BLMIS fraud that will ultimately total more than $4 billion. Another $5 billion in assets recovered by the U.S. Attorney’s Office are being separately paid to Madoff victims through the BLMIS Customer Fund administered by the Securities Investor Protection Act Trustee.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “Bernie Madoff committed history’s largest Ponzi scheme. This Office prosecuted Madoff and others who helped perpetrate his fraud, and we assisted in recovering billions of dollars in proceeds from the fraud. Today’s payment of more than $690 million is this Office’s third installment in a series of distributions that represent our ongoing commitment to find relief for victims of Madoff’s heinous crimes.”
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said: “Bernie Madoff’s scheme devastated retirement and pension funds, charitable organizations, and thousands of individual investors spread across 49 States, the District of Columbia, and 121 other countries. The payments announced today could not have happened without the prosecutors’ relentless pursuit of proceeds of Madoff’s fraud through civil forfeiture – and, as a result of their efforts and those of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, victims who would not have seen a dime in other compensation programs will now recover more than half of their losses.”
FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said: “While today’s distribution of funds is indeed significant in scope, we understand no amount of money could ever restore the damage done by Madoff as a result of his selfish behavior and unforgivable financial crimes. To all of his many victims and their families, we realize this gesture may not provide the consolation necessary to remove the pain and suffering you have been brought to bear, but we are hopeful it provides some sense of relief, and we remain committed to achieve justice for all victims of inexcusable financial crimes.”
Since the early 1970s, BERNARD L. MADOFF (“MADOFF”) used his position as Chairman of BLMIS, the investment advisory business he founded, to steal billions from his clients. On March 12, 2009, MADOFF pled guilty to 11 federal felonies, admitting that he had turned his wealth management business into the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, benefitting himself, his family, and select members of his inner circle. On June 29, 2009, United States District Judge Denny Chin sentenced MADOFF to 150 years in prison for running the largest fraudulent scheme in history. Judge Chin ordered MADOFF to forfeit $170,799,000,000 as part of MADOFF’s sentence.
The Madoff Victim Fund is funded through recoveries by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in various criminal and civil forfeiture actions, and is overseen by Richard Breeden, the former Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, in his capacity as Special Master appointed by the Department of Justice to assist in connection with the victim remission proceedings. The two prior distributions from the Madoff Victim Fund have already returned nearly $1.3 billion to Madoff victims, and this third distribution will increase that total to almost $2 billion.
Of the approximately $4.05 billion that will ultimately be made available to victims through the Madoff Victim Fund, approximately $2.2 billion was collected as part of the civil forfeiture recovery from the estate of deceased MADOFF investor Jeffry Picower. An additional $1.7 billion was collected as part of a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. for MADOFF-related Bank Secrecy Act violations. Additional funds were collected through criminal and civil forfeiture actions against MADOFF and his co-conspirators, and certain MADOFF investors.
Mr. Berman praised the work of the FBI and the Madoff Victim Fund, and thanked the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division for their assistance.
For more information about the Madoff Victim Fund, compensation to victims of BLMIS, eligibility criteria, and payment information, please visit www.madoffvictimfund.com.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Louis A. Pellegrino is in charge of the case.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former U.S. Department of State employee was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.
According to court documents, Dean Edward Cheves, 63, served at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines from 2017 to 2021. From December 2020 to March 2021, Cheves used a messaging application installed on his cell phone to chat with a 15- to 16-year-old Philippine minor, whom he paid to create and send to him sexually explicit images of the minor. Additionally, in February 2021, Cheves engaged in sex acts on two separate occasions with another 16-year-old Philippine minor, whom he met online. Cheves used his government-issued cell phone to film the sex acts on at least one of those occasions. The child sex abuse material that Cheves produced was found on the phone after it was seized from Cheves’ embassy residence in the Philippines. Cheves knew the ages of both minors at the time he engaged in the conduct.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
The U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Office of Special Investigations investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the DSS Regional Security Office, Homeland Security Investigations Attaché’s Office in the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Pomerantz Halper and Zoe Bedell for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills for the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-177.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RICHARD ZEITLIN, the owner of a telemarketing call center business, was sentenced to 121 months in prison for his leadership role in a scheme to defraud donors of certain political action committees (“PACs”) through false and misleading fundraising calls. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan following the defendant’s guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on September 10, 2024. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Richard Zeitlin’s actions represent a profound breach of trust, as represented by today’s sentencing. The integrity of donor contributions is essential, and this Office will continue to pursue justice against those who undermine it.”According to the allegations in the Indictment, court filings, and statements made in Court:PACs are entities registered with the Federal Election Commission that may be tax-exempt and collect money to advocate on behalf of or against certain causes and political candidates. By contrast, charities, unlike PACs, typically provide direct services to communities or causes. From at least in or about 2017 up to and including in or about 2020, ZEITLIN used his telemarketing call center business and various associated entities to defraud numerous donors of millions of dollars by providing misleading and false information about how the donors’ money would be spent and the nature of the organizations to which they were giving. Specifically, ZEITLIN directed his employees to alter the call scripts used when calling potential donors on behalf of certain PACs in order to mislead potential donors into believing that they would be giving to a direct-services organization (i.e., a charity), rather than to a political advocacy organization (i.e., a PAC). ZEITLIN directed that these lies, misleading statements, and misrepresentations be made so that donors would be more likely to give money, thereby increasing the funds raised and profits for his businesses – which typically received approximately 90% of the funds donated. In some instances, ZEITLIN’s businesses retained 100% of the funds donated with none of the money going to the causes described in telemarketing calls to donors. When one PAC treasurer confronted ZEITLIN with complaints from donors that solicitation calls falsely represented a PAC as a charity, ZEITLIN falsely denied that the calls were being made, acknowledged that such calls would be inappropriate, and refused to give the treasurer any call recordings that would have revealed his fraud. ZEITLIN lied under oath to conceal his fraud. In December 2020, while testifying under oath during a deposition in connection with a federal civil matter, ZEITLIN falsely stated, in substance and in part, that neither he nor his employees provided input as to the call scripts used by ZEITLIN’s telemarketing call centers when making fundraising calls on behalf of PACs. In truth and in fact, ZEITLIN and his employees frequently provided input on and changed call scripts, including by adding false and misleading statements into the call scripts. In March 2022, in a declaration filed under penalty of perjury to a federal judge, ZEITLIN falsely stated that, among other things, he was not associated with and did not direct, supervise, or control certain business entities relating to ZEITLIN’s telemarketing business when, in truth and in fact, ZEITLIN controlled all of the entities by exercising ultimate authority over managerial, operational, and financial decisions, including at the time he signed this declaration. In or about May 2022, after ZEITLIN learned that he and his businesses were under federal investigation, ZEITLIN directed his employees to delete electronic messages relating to his businesses. * * *In addition to the prison sentence, ZEITLIN, 54, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $8,906,760.00, which represents ZEITLIN’s proceeds from the crime, and restitution in the amount of $8,906,760.00.Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jane Kim, Emily Deininger, and Rebecca T. Dell are in charge of the prosecution.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of three indictments charging ten individuals with engaging in a long-running “pump-and-dump” stock manipulation scheme involving the stocks of numerous companies traded on United States-based stock exchanges. The scheme spanned the globe and the ten defendants charged were residents of Canada, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Spain, Monaco, Turkey and the Bahamas. RONALD BAUER was arrested in the United Kingdom. CURTIS WILLIAM LEHNER, COURTNEY VASSEUR, and JULIUS CSURGO were arrested in Canada. ANTHONY KORCULANIC was arrested in Spain. PETAR MIHAYLOV was arrested in Bulgaria. Finally, DOMENIC CALABRIGO was arrested in the Bahamas. The United States intends to seek the extradition of BAUER, LEHNER, VASSEUR, CSURGO, KORCULANIC, MIHAYLOV, and CALABRIGO to the United States. CRAIG AURINGER, a citizen of Canada and resident of the United Kingdom, HASAN SARIO, a citizen and resident of Turkey, and DANIEL FERRIS, a citizen of the United Kingdom and resident of Monaco, were also charged and remain at large.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, for years, the defendants, collectively, made over $100 million by orchestrating ‘pump-and-dump’ stock manipulation schemes of publicly traded shares of U.S.-based issuers. These pernicious ‘pump-and-dump’ schemes made the defendants rich while causing real harm to ordinary, retail investors who were left swallowing the losses. These defendants used a web of nominee entities and shell companies located all over the world attempting to disguise their own orchestration of these schemes. Today’s charges should send a clear message to all of those who think they can make millions running ‘pump-and-dump’ schemes --- no matter where in the world you are located, and no matter how many fake accounts and offshore shell companies you try to hide behind, our Office will vigorously pursue and prosecute you.”
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “Stock manipulation schemes such as the one charged here today serve to undermine confidence in our financial markets and create a playing field designed to illegally benefit a greedy few fraudsters at the expense of many honest investors. As alleged, the 10 charged defendants operated a global scheme that reaped more than $100 million in illicit proceeds. Our action today should serve as a reminder of our commitment to insure free and fair markets for all investors.”
As alleged in the three Indictments unsealed in Manhattan federal court[1]:
The Defendants
United States v. Ronald Bauer et al., 22 Cr. 155
RONALD BAUER, CRAIG AURINGER, PETAR MIHYALOV, and DANIEL FERRIS participated in a conspiracy that, collectively, involved “pump-and-dump” stock manipulation schemes of the securities of at least 12 United States-based issuers, resulting collectively in at least approximately $75 million in total proceeds.
RONALD BAUER, a/k/a “Patek,” a citizen of Canada and the United Kingdom who resided in the United Kingdom, orchestrated numerous “pump-and-dump” schemes. BAUER controlled the various aspects of the schemes.
CRAIG AURINGER, a citizen of Canada who resided in the United Kingdom, participated in multiple “pump-and-dump” schemes including by coordinating stock promotion campaigns and by providing funding in furtherance of the stock manipulation schemes.
PETAR MIHAYLOV, a/k/a “Petar the Bulgarian,” a/k/a “PDM,” a citizen and resident of Bulgaria, participated in multiple “pump-and-dump” schemes by coordinating stock manipulation promotion campaigns and providing funding in furtherance of the stock manipulation schemes.
DANIEL FERRIS, a citizen of the United Kingdom who resided in Monaco, participated in multiple “pump-and-dump” stock manipulation schemes including by opening accounts that were then used to trade shares and transfer funds in furtherance of the schemes and by taking various actions necessary to prepare the publicly traded companies that were used as the vehicles for the stock manipulation schemes. FERRIS also served as the Chief Executive Officer of at least one of the companies whose shares the group thereafter manipulated.
United States v. Curtis Lehner et al., 21 Cr. 121
CURTIS LEHNER, COURTNEY VASSEUR, HASAN SARIO, and DOMENIC CALABRIGO participated in a conspiracy that, collectively, involved “pump-and-dump” stock manipulation schemes of the securities of at least 9 United States-based issuers, resulting collectively in at least approximately $35 million in total proceeds.
CURTIS LEHNER, a/k/a “Santa,” a citizen and resident of Canada, and COURTNEY VASSEUR, a/k/a “Black Water Resource Management,” a/k/a “Black Water,” a/k/a “Cyrill Vetsch,” a/k/a “Arctic Shark,” a/k/a “Oscar Devries,” a citizen and resident of Canada, both orchestrated numerous “pump-and-dump” schemes.
HASAN SARIO, a/k/a “Ali,” a/k/a “H,” a citizen of Germany and Turkey who resided in Turkey, furthered the stock manipulation schemes by, among other things, acting as a designated “trading specialist” who directed the group’s stock trading across various nominee entity accounts that the group controlled. SARIO also utilized a network of nominee entities and nominee entity bank accounts that he controlled in order to both trade shares and transfer funds in furtherance of the schemes.
DOMENIC CALABRIGO, a/k/a “Raider,” a citizen of Canada who resided in the Bahamas, furthered the stock manipulation schemes by, among other things, coordinating stock promotion campaigns.
United States v. Julius Csurgo and Anthony Korculanic, 22 Cr. 190
JULIUS CSURGO and ANTHONY KORCULANIC participated in a conspiracy that collectively, involved “pump-and-dump” stock manipulation schemes of the securities of at least 19 United States-based issuers, resulting collectively in at least approximately $35 million in total proceeds.
JULIUS CSURGO, a/k/a “Gyula Karoly Csurgo,” a citizen of Canada and Hungary who resided in Canada, orchestrated numerous “pump-and-dump” stock manipulation schemes. In connection with the schemes, CSURGO owned and operated an entity called Antevorta Capital Partners, Ltd. (“Antevorta”), which CSURGO used as a vehicle for the “pump-and-dump” schemes. CSURGO, directly and through Antevorta, furthered the schemes by purchasing and selling numerous stocks in connection with the scheme and funding certain fraudulent stock promotion campaigns that were used to drive up the share prices as CSURGO and his co-conspirators sold off the shares that they controlled.
ANTHONY KORCULANIC, a/k/a “Remy,” a/k/a “Viper,” a citizen of Canada and Croatia who resided, at certain relevant times, in Spain, participated in multiple “pump-and-dump” schemes including by coordinating stock promotion campaigns and by providing funding in furtherance of the stock manipulation schemes.
Overview of the “Pump-and-Dump” Stock Manipulation Schemes
As alleged, the defendants participated in “pump-and-dump” schemes that followed a typical pattern. First, the defendants and their co-conspirators secretly amassed control of the vast majority of the stock of certain publicly traded companies that were traded on the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market in the United States. Second, the defendants and their co-conspirators then manipulated the price and trading volume for these stocks, causing the share price and trading volume to become artificially inflated, through coordinated trading and false and misleading promotional campaigns that they funded. Third, and finally, the defendants sold out of their secretly amassed positions at these inflated values at the expense of the investing public.
In furtherance of the scheme, the defendants used a network of nominee entities to trade shares and funnel proceeds of these schemes back to the defendants and their co-conspirators. Holding the shares through the network of nominee entities allowed the defendants and their co-conspirators to conceal the fact that, in reality, they controlled the vast majority of the shares of the issuer.
The securities that the defendants and their co-conspirators sought to manipulate were issued by small companies, were thinly traded, and typically traded at less than $2 per share. These publicly traded shell companies frequently had few, if any, actual assets or actual business operations. While on paper the defendants and their co-conspirators had no connection to these companies, in reality they exercised substantial control, including installing management at the companies, financing the companies’ operations, and funding payments for attorneys in order to prepare public filings with OTC Markets Group, Inc. and the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In order to attract investor interest, the defendants and their co-conspirators, at times, caused private businesses to be merged or “vended” into the publicly traded shell companies. The private businesses were often in industries likely to attract the investing public’s interest.
In connection with the scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators frequently engaged in manipulative trading activity in order to artificially increase the trading volume and share price of the stocks. This manipulative trading included, at times, coordinated “match” trades in which the defendants and their co-conspirators caused one nominee entity or other brokerage account subject to their control to sell a certain quantity of shares while causing another nominee entity or brokerage account subject to their control to buy a similar quantity of shares that same day. These match trades, which often occurred on days when there was low trading volume, had the effect of artificially increasing the share price and trading volume of the stock.
As part of the “pump-and-dump” schemes, the defendants and their co-conspirators financed and coordinated promotional campaigns through which promotional materials touting the stocks were distributed to the investing public. These stock promotional materials frequently contained false and misleading claims about the issuer, as well as omitting material information, with the objective of inducing retail investors to purchase the shares of the issuer, which allowed the defendants and their co-conspirators to sell of their substantial positions for a profit. The defendants and their co-conspirators often expended hundreds of thousands of dollars on these stock promotion campaigns. Furthermore, certain of the defendants used a “boiler room” to solicit investors, including investors based in the United States, to purchase shares of certain of the companies. These “boiler rooms” involved multiple individuals working in a coordinated effort to contact potential investors, often through unsolicited “cold calls,” and providing investors with false, misleading, unfounded, and/or exaggerated information about the relevant issuer in order to induce the potential investors to purchase shares.
The defendants and their co-conspirators profited from the scheme by selling their shares into the market at the artificially high prices they had created through their manipulative activities. By selling their shares while the share price was artificially inflated, the defendants and their co-conspirators were able to realize millions of dollars in illicit profits. Once the defendants and their co-conspirators had sold off their shares and ceased the stock promotion campaign and their manipulative trading tactics, the share price of the relevant companies typically dropped precipitously. The defendants and their co-conspirators then laundered the proceeds of the schemes back to themselves in a manner designed to conceal the source of the funds and/or the identity of the recipients. Such laundering was frequently accomplished through the use of fabricated invoices, contracts and agreements.
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Each of the defendants is charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. Each of the defendants is further charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Each of the defendants is further charged with multiple counts of securities fraud pursuant to Title 15 of the United States Code, which carry a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison per count. Each of the defendants is further charged with wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Finally, each of the defendants is charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The statutory maximum sentences 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 investigative work of the FBI. He further thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division, as well as authorities in the United Kingdom (in particular the National Extradition Unit), Canada (in particular the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Alberta Securities Commission, and the Toronto Police Service Fugitive Squad), Spain (in particular the Spanish National Police), Bulgaria (in particular the National Police Service), and the Bahamas (in particular the Royal Bahamas Police Force). Finally, Mr. Williams also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission, which initiated civil proceedings against nine of the ten defendants today.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant United States Attorneys Noah Solowiejczyk, Jason Richman, and Vladislav Vainberg are in charge of the prosecution.
The allegations in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictments, and the description of the Indictments set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
