PITTSBURGH, PA – Three residents of British Columbia, Canada, and the company they operated have been sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh on charges of conspiring to distribute wholesale quantities of misbranded prescription drugs made for the foreign market and money laundering, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon sentenced each of the defendants - Tony Lee, 41, of Vancouver, BC, Billy Lee, 43, of White Rock, BC, and Tarnjeet Uppal, 37, of Surray, BC, - to three years probation and a fine of $55,000. Judge Bissoon sentenced their company, Quantum Solutions, SRL, to a $150,000 fine and ordered it to forfeit of $4,235,000.
According to the information presented to the court, Tony Lee, Billy Lee and Tarn Uppal, all Vancouver, B.C. residents, operated Quantum Solutions, SRL (hereafter, Quantum), a company registered in Barbados. Quantum purchased prescription drugs made for foreign markets and sold wholesale quantities to three pharmacists in western Pennsylvania. Quantum purchased the drugs from suppliers located in Turkey, Great Britain and other countries. The defendants arranged for these misbranded drugs to be sent to a re-shipper in the United Kingdom (UK). The UK re-shipper was instructed to unpack the drugs, repack them in several small packages, put misleading labeling and shipping documentation on them and understate the dollar value of the contents in order to create the appearance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection that the drugs were health care products for the personal use of the addressee. The small packages were sent to Washington State and New York State re-shippers known to the U.S. Attorney, where they were once again unpacked and repacked for delivery in the United States. Wholesale quantities of these misbranded drugs intended for use in foreign markets were purchased by three pharmacists in western Pennsylvania. The wire transfers, checks and credit card payments from the pharmacists traveled from western Pennsylvania to Canada and Barbados. None of the re-shippers was licensed in the United States to conduct this business. None of the prescription drugs met FDA approval because they were made and labeled for use outside of the United States.
"Distributing prescription drugs produced and labeled for use outside of the United States within our borders not only violates federal law but also threatens the health and safety of our citizens," said U.S. Attorney Brady. "We are committed to investigating and prosecuting any drug company that illegally circumvents the regulated process for the distribution of prescription drugs."
"Criminals who distribute misbranded prescription drugs from outside the U.S. supply chain put the health of all U.S. consumers at risk," said Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Metro Washington Field Office. "Our skilled cybercrime investigators will continue to disrupt and dismantle illegal prescription drug distribution networks."
"The role of IRS-Criminal Investigation in a case like this is to follow the money, which in turn allows us to disrupt and dismantle the organization", said Guy Ficco, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. "The defendants who perpetrated this scheme put the American public at risk. By providing our financial expertise, IRS-CI is committed to working with our partners at the FDA and the US Attorney’s Office to see to it that criminals like this are stopped."
Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Attorney commended the United States Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Tony Lee, Billy Lee and Tarn Uppal, and Quantum Solutions, SRL.
Following a 26-day trial, a jury in Kansas convicted Kaaba Majeed, 50, Yunus Rassoul, 39, James Staton, 62, Randolph Rodney Hadley, 49, Daniel Aubrey Jenkins, 43, and Dana Peach, 60, of conspiracy to commit forced labor. The jury additionally convicted Kaaba Majeed of five counts of forced labor. Two other co-defendants, Etenia Kinard, 48, and Jacelyn Greenwell, 45, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forced labor.
According to the evidence presented in court during the course of the trial, the defendants were all former high-ranking members of the United Nation of Islam (UNOI), or were wives to the UNOI founder, Royall Jenkins.
“The United Nation of Islam and these defendants held themselves out as a beacon of hope for the community, promising to educate and teach important life skills to members, particularly children,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Instead, the defendants betrayed this trust, exploiting young children in the organization by callously compelling their labor. Prosecuting this case is a testament to the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to hold human traffickers accountable. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute parasitic criminals who target vulnerable victims to finance their lifestyles.”
”The bravery shown by victims of the United Nation of Islam is inspiring, because they spoke up about heinous atrocities committed against them as vulnerable children,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. “In childhood, they suffered physical and emotional abuse, were denied a proper education, and were subject to forced labor. As adults, these victims found the strength and courage to pursue justice and face their abusers.”
“Under the guise of false pretenses and coercion, these victims, some of whom were as young as eight years old, endured inhumane and abhorrent conditions,” said Special Agent in Charge Stephen Cyrus of the FBI Kansas City Field Office. “Today’s convictions should serve as a stark warning that forced labor will not be tolerated by the FBI.”
UNOI principles included many rules that members had to follow, required “duty” or unpaid labor and emphasized the negative eternal religious consequences of noncompliance. UNOI operated businesses in various cities around the United States, including Kansas City, Kansas; New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Cincinnati, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; and Atlanta, among other locations.
In their former leadership roles in UNOI, the defendants agreed to compel the labor and services of over a dozen victims, including multiple minors, some of whom were as young as eight years old, between October 2000 and November 2012. The victims worked in UNOI-owned and operated restaurants, bakeries, gas stations, laboratory and a clothing and sewing factory, often up to 16 hours a day. The victims also provided child care and domestic services inside defendants’ homes. None of the victims was ever compensated for the years of work they performed at UNOI businesses or at the behest of the defendants. The victims all lived in deplorable conditions, in overcrowded facilities often overrun with mold, mice and rats. In contrast, the defendants and their immediate families lived comfortably.
The evidence presented in court demonstrated that the defendants used a variety of coercive tactics to compel the victims’ labor and services. In essence, the defendants effectively controlled the victims by manipulating the UNOI rules originally created by the founder.
First, the defendants separated the minor victims from their parents and support network. UNOI enticed parents to send their children to Kansas by promising an education and development of life skills through work at UNOI-operated businesses. However, these promises were false. The minors did not receive an education from an accredited and licensed school but instead worked excessive hours for UNOI’s financial benefit. UNOI’s unlicensed and unaccredited school or “university” was little more than a vehicle for extracting unpaid labor and publicly humiliating victims who violated one of UNOI’s many rules.
Second, the defendants controlled (1) what the victims viewed and read; (2) how the victims dressed; (3) how the victims addressed the defendants and others; (4) with whom the victims communicated; (5) where the victims went; and (6) what the victims ate, to ensure that the victims, particularly the females, maintained a certain weight. The defendants restricted and monitored the victims’ communications with their families, members of the opposite sex and others. The defendants required some victims to undergo colonics, which is a procedure designed to cleanse the colon by streaming gallons of water through a tube inserted into the victims’ rectums. At the same time, the defendants rarely permitted victims to receive outside medical attention for illnesses or injuries.
Third, the defendants regularly punished the victims for violating the rules. The defendants withheld food, prohibited victims from speaking to others for over two weeks, locked them in a dark, frightening basement, imposed extra work and beat them, sometimes in front of others to create a climate of fear and intimidation. The defendants even held one victim upside down over train tracks because he would not admit to stealing food when he was hungry. Another victim drank water from a toilet because she was so thirsty after not being permitted to drink.
Finally, the defendants instilled a fear of noncompliance and of leaving the UNOI by depriving victims of any education or development of life skills. The defendants also told victims that they would burn in “eternal hellfire” if they left. Family members who remained at UNOI were required to shun as “detractors” any victim who left, and UNOI claimed credit for any negative consequence that occurred to members who left the organization.
Sentencing hearings are scheduled for Feb. 18, 2025. Kaaba Majeed faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison as well as mandatory restitution. The rest of the defendants each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Kansas City Field Office, with the assistance of the Department of Labor and New York State Department of Labor, investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas and Trial Attorneys Kate Alexander, Maryam Zhuravitsky and Francisco Zornosa of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
WASHINGTON — TD Bank N.A. (TDBNA), the 10th largest bank in the United States, and its parent company TD Bank US Holding Company (TDBUSH) (together with TDBNA, TD Bank) pleaded guilty today and agreed to pay over $1.8 billion in penalties to resolve the Justice Department’s investigation into violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and money laundering. TDBNA pleaded guilty to conspiring to fail to maintain an anti-money laundering (AML) program that complies with the BSA, fail to file accurate Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs), and launder money. TDBUSH pleaded guilty to causing TDBNA to fail to maintain an AML program that complies with the BSA and to fail to file accurate CTRs.TD Bank’s guilty pleas are part of a coordinated resolution with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), as well as the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).“By making its services convenient for criminals, TD Bank became one,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today, TD Bank also became the largest bank in U.S. history to plead guilty to Bank Secrecy Act program failures, and the first US bank in history to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. TD Bank chose profits over compliance with the law — a decision that is now costing the bank billions of dollars in penalties. Let me be clear: our investigation continues, and no individual involved in TD Bank’s illegal conduct is off limits.”“For years, TD Bank starved its compliance program of the resources needed to obey the law. Today’s historic guilty plea, including the largest penalty ever imposed under the Bank Secrecy Act, offers an unmistakable lesson: crime doesn’t pay — and neither does flouting compliance,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Every bank compliance official in America should be reviewing today’s charges as a case study of what not to do. And every bank CEO and board member should be doing the same. Because if the business case for compliance wasn’t clear before — it should be now.”“For nearly a decade, TD Bank failed to update its anti-money laundering compliance program to address known risks. As bank employees acknowledged in internal communications, these failures made the bank an ‘easy target’ for the ‘bad guys.’ These failures also allowed corrupt bank employees to facilitate a criminal network’s laundering of tens of millions of dollars,” said Principal Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. “U.S. financial institutions are the first line of defense against money laundering and illicit finance. When they participate in crime rather than prevent it, we will not hesitate to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” “TD Bank prioritized growth and convenience over following its legal obligations,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “As a result of staggering and pervasive failures in oversight, it willfully failed to monitor trillions of dollars of transactions – including those involving ACH transactions, checks, high-risk countries, and peer-to-peer transactions – which allowed hundreds of millions of dollars from money laundering networks to flow through the bank, including for international drug traffickers. The bank was aware of these risks and failed to take steps to protect against them, including for two networks prosecuted in New Jersey and elsewhere – one that dumped piles of cash on the bank’s counters and another that allegedly withdrew amounts from ATMs 40 to 50 times higher than the daily limit for personal accounts.”According to court documents, between January 2014 and October 2023, TD Bank had long-term, pervasive, and systemic deficiencies in its U.S. AML policies, procedures, and controls but failed to take appropriate remedial action. Instead, senior executives at TD Bank enforced a budget mandate, referred to internally as a “flat cost paradigm,” requiring that TD Bank’s budget not increase year-over-year, despite its profits and risk profile increasing significantly over the same period. Although TD Bank maintained elements of an AML program that appeared adequate on paper, fundamental, widespread flaws in its AML program made TD Bank an “easy target” for perpetrators of financial crime.Over the last decade, TD Bank’s federal regulators and TD Bank’s own internal audit group repeatedly identified concerns about its transaction monitoring program, a key element of an appropriate AML program necessary to properly detect and report suspicious activities. Nonetheless, from 2014 through 2022, TD Bank’s transaction monitoring program remained effectively static, and did not adapt to address known, glaring deficiencies; emerging money laundering risks; or TD Bank’s new products and services. For years, TD Bank failed to appropriately fund and staff its AML program, opting to postpone and cancel necessary AML projects prioritizing a “flat cost paradigm” and the “customer experience.”Throughout this time, TD Bank intentionally did not automatically monitor all domestic automated clearinghouse (ACH) transactions, most check activity, and numerous other transaction types, resulting in 92% of total transaction volume going unmonitored from Jan. 1, 2018, to April 12, 2024. This amounted to approximately $18.3 trillion of transaction activity. TD Bank also added no new transaction monitoring scenarios and made no material changes to existing transaction monitoring scenarios from at least 2014 through late 2022; implemented new products and services, like Zelle, without ensuring appropriate transaction monitoring coverage; failed to meaningfully monitor transactions involving high-risk countries; instructed stores to stop filing internal unusual transaction reports on certain suspicious customers; and permitted more than $5 billion in transactional activity to occur in accounts even after the bank decided to close them.TD Bank’s AML failures made it “convenient” for criminals, in the words of its employees. These failures enabled three money laundering networks to collectively transfer more than $670 million through TD Bank accounts between 2019 and 2023. Between January 2018 and February 2021, one money laundering network processed more than $470 million through the bank through large cash deposits into nominee accounts. The operators of this scheme provided employees gift cards worth more than $57,000 to ensure employees would continue to process their transactions. And even though the operators of this scheme were clearly depositing cash well over $10,000 in suspicious transactions, TD Bank employees did not identify the conductor of the transaction in required reports. In a second scheme between March 2021 and March 2023, a high-risk jewelry business moved nearly $120 million through shell accounts before TD Bank reported the activity. In a third scheme, money laundering networks deposited funds in the United States and quickly withdrew those funds using ATMs in Colombia. Five TD Bank employees conspired with this network and issued dozens of ATM cards for the money launderers, ultimately conspiring in the laundering of approximately $39 million. The Justice Department has charged over two dozen individuals across these schemes, including two bank insiders. TD Bank’s plea agreement requires continued cooperation in ongoing investigations of individuals.As part of the plea agreement, TD Bank has agreed to forfeit $452,432,302.00 and pay a criminal fine of $1,434,513,478.40, for a total financial penalty of $1,886,945,780.40. TD Bank has also agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years and to remediate and enhance its AML compliance program. TD Bank has separately reached agreements with the FRB, OCC, and FinCEN, and the Justice Department will credit $123.5 million of the forfeiture toward the FRB’s resolution.The Justice Department reached its resolution with TD Bank based on a number of factors, including the nature, seriousness, and pervasiveness of the offenses, as a result of which TD Bank became the bank of choice for multiple money laundering organizations and criminal actors and processed hundreds of millions of dollars in money laundering transactions. Although TD Bank did not voluntarily disclose its wrongdoing, it received partial credit for its strong cooperation with the Department’s investigation and the ongoing remediation of its AML program. TD Bank did not receive full credit for its cooperation because it failed to timely escalate relevant AML concerns to the Department during the investigation. Accordingly, the total criminal penalty reflects a 20% reduction based on the bank’s partial cooperation and remediation.IRS Criminal Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. The Morristown Police Department, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and New York City Police Department provided substantial assistance.Trial Attorneys D. Zachary Adams and Chelsea R. Rooney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark J. Pesce and Angelica Sinopole for the District of New Jersey prosecuted the case.MLARS’ Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system. Since its creation in 2010, the Bank Integrity Unit has prosecuted financial institutions for violations of the BSA, money laundering, sanctions, and other laws, imposing total penalties of over $25 billion.This effort is 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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced yesterday in federal court for her role in defrauding federally funded meal programs, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab sentenced Tanisha Jackson, 50, of Dallas, Texas, to 36 months’ incarceration following her guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Judge Schwab also ordered Jackson to pay restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the amount of $1,500,000 and to forfeit more than $427,000.
During Jackson’s plea hearing on May 18, 2022, she admitted, among other things, that she and co-conspirators Charles Simpson and Paige Jackson—Jackson’s daughter—operated HOIN, Inc. (HOIN), a Texas-based non-profit organization. Jackson caused HOIN (a/k/a Helping Others In Need) to enroll as a “sponsor” in two programs funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the purpose of providing meals to underprivileged youth—the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) (collectively, “the feeding programs”). CACFP funded after-school meal service during the school year, while SFSP operated in the summer months. In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PADOE) administered the USDA-funded feeding programs. Jackson also acknowledged that she previously had been excluded from participating in the same feeding programs in Texas and Arkansas.
As part of the conspiracy, Jackson admitted that she caused the submission of false enrollment documentation to PADOE on behalf of HOIN in connection with its participation in CACFP and SFSP between 2015 and 2019. Among other misrepresentations, HOIN’s applications to PADOE used aliases for Jackson and Simpson to obscure their involvement and falsely certified that none of the entity’s principals had been excluded from the feeding programs. Jackson further admitted causing HOIN to submit reimbursement claims for hundreds of thousands of meals that were never served to eligible children by either inflating the number of meals that, in fact, were served, or by seeking reimbursements for meals purportedly served on days on which the identified feeding site was not operating at all. To conceal their fraudulent conduct and justify HOIN’s claimed meal service, Jackson and Simpson submitted fabricated documents to PADOE in connection with periodic program reviews. On certain occasions, Jackson would impersonate her daughter Paige Jackson in interactions with PADOE.
Likewise, Paige Jackson used a fictitious name in dealings with PADOE. In total, PADOE issued reimbursement payments to HOIN in excess of approximately $4 million between 2015 and 2019.
In connection with the money laundering conspiracy, Jackson admitted that she and Simpson engaged in numerous financial transactions involving the proceeds of the fraud. Specifically, Jackson and Simpson spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in HOIN reimbursements on shopping sprees at high-end apparel stores, personal air travel and lodging, and the acquisition of at least nine luxury vehicles, including a Bentley, two Land Rovers, two Maseratis, two Mercedes, a Hummer, and a Porsche. Jackson and Simpson also withdrew cash from HOIN bank accounts in excess of $10,000 on more than a dozen occasions.
Simpson and Paige Jackson separately pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and were sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and three years’ probation, respectively. When announcing Jackson’s sentence, Judge Schwab rejected her claim that she was less culpable than Simpson, noting that Jackson had brought her own daughter, Paige Jackson, into the conspiracy.
Assistant United States Attorneys Eric G. Olshan and Nicole Vasquez Schmitt prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation of the defendants in this case.
PITTSBURGH – A Beaver County resident has been sentenced in federal court to four months’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release on his conviction of theft of government funds and social security fraud, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Gerald Black, 47, of Aliquippa, PA.
According to information presented to the court, Black received and converted approximately $19,743.00 in Supplemental Security Income benefits to which he knew he was not entitled. Additionally, Black concealed and failed to disclose changes to his minor child’s living arrangements with the intent to deceive the Social Security Administration (SSA) as well as knowingly and willfully making a false statement material to his minor child’s right to receive Supplemental Security Income benefits. As a result of Black’s false statements, the SSA distributed 31 checks to Black for his daughter, none of which he was entitled to because his daughter was in Allegheny County’s Office of Children, Youth and Families’ custody.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Bissoon stated that a sentence of imprisonment of four months is appropriate when taking a holistic view of the case. The court rejected Black’s request to be sentenced to probation, stating that Black “defrauded the government by using [his] daughter.” The Court expressed that in imposing a sentence of incarceration it considered deterrence to be a primary sentencing factor, coupled with Black’s lengthy criminal history and the serious nature of the offense.
Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Black.
PITTSBURGH, PA - Three residents of Texas have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of mail and wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and obstruction of justice, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
The three-count Indictment, returned on August 25, 2021 and unsealed yesterday, names Charles Simpson, 43, of Southlake, Texas, Tanisha Jackson, 49, and Paige Jackson, 29, both of Lancaster, Texas, as defendants. Charles Simpson and Paige Jackson were arrested yesterday in the Dallas area and will have their initial appearances today in the Northern District of Texas. Tanisha Jackson remains at large.
According to the Indictment, Simpson, Tanisha Jackson, and Paige Jackson controlled and operated HOIN, Inc. (“HOIN”), a Texas-based non-profit organization. The defendants allegedly caused HOIN (a/k/a “Helping Others In Need”) to enroll as a “sponsor” in two programs funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) for the purpose of providing meals to underprivileged youth—the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (“CACFP”) and the Summer Food Service Program (“SFSP”) (collectively, “the feeding programs”). CACFP funded after-school meal service during the school year, while SFSP operated in the summer months. In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (“PADOE”) administered the USDA-funded feeding programs.
As alleged, the defendants, each of whom was previously excluded from participating in the feeding programs in other states, caused the submission of false enrollment documentation to PADOE on behalf of HOIN in connection with its participation in CACFP and SFSP between 2015 and 2019. The Indictment alleges that, among other misrepresentations, HOIN’s applications to PADOE used aliases for Charles Simpson and Tanisha Jackson as a means to obscure their involvement and falsely certified that none of its principals had been excluded from the feeding programs. The Indictment further alleges that the defendants caused HOIN to submit reimbursement claims for hundreds of thousands of meals that were never served to eligible children by either inflating the number of meals that, in fact, were served or by seeking reimbursements for meals purportedly served on days on which the identified feeding site was not operating at all. To conceal their fraudulent conduct and justify HOIN’s claimed meal service, the defendants allegedly submitted fabricated documents to PADOE in connection with periodic program reviews, and on certain occasions Tanisha Jackson impersonated Paige Jackson, her daughter, in interactions with PADOE. In total, PADOE issued reimbursement payments to HOIN in excess of approximately $4 million between 2015 and 2019.
The Indictment further alleges that Simpson and Tanisha Jackson engaged in numerous financial transactions involving the proceeds of their alleged fraud. Specifically, Simpson and Tanisha Jackson allegedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in HOIN reimbursements on shopping sprees at high-end apparel stores, personal air travel and lodging, and the acquisition of at least nine luxury vehicles, including a Bentley, two Land Rovers, two Maseratis, two Mercedes, a Hummer, and a Porsche. The defendants also allegedly withdrew cash from HOIN bank accounts in excess of $10,000 on more than a dozen occasions.
In addition, Simpson is charged with obstruction of justice based on multiple lies he allegedly told federal law enforcement officers during a voluntary interview.
“The defendants allegedly created a nonprofit to provide meals to underprivileged children in our area, but instead billed and were reimbursed for services they never provided; they then used those ill-gotten funds for extravagant personal luxury purchases,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kaufman. “Submitting fraudulent claims equals stealing, and those who perpetrate financial fraud against the government will be vigorously prosecuted.”
USDA Office of Inspector General, Special Agent-in-Charge Bethanne M. Dinkins stated, “The Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program were created to provide food and nutrition to those who truly need this assistance. Those who are involved in fraud and abuse of USDA feeding programs will be investigated by our office to the fullest extent. Our joint investigation with the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation identified those who sought to profit from the CACFP through illegal schemes. The USDA Office of Inspector General will continue to dedicate investigative resources, working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, in order to protect the integrity of these programs and bring to justice those who commit fraud.”
“It is a crime to knowingly engage in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000 that is derived from a specified unlawful activity, such as mail fraud or wire fraud,” said Yury Kruty, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminalp Investigation. “IRS-CI is adept at tracing complex financial transactions and my office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to help unravel schemes such as this.”
“It’s very disappointing when greed and selfishness take over and deprive our youth of much needed funding to provide them with nutritious meals,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall. “To use a non-profit organization as a means to engage in fraud targeting USDA-funded feeding programs is unacceptable. It’s also insulting to the teachers and educators working every day to make a better future for our children.”
All three defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which imposes a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years and a fine not more than the greater of $250,000 or an alternative fine in an amount not more than the greater of twice the gross pecuniary gain to any person or twice the pecuniary loss to any person other than the defendant. Simpson and Tanisha Jackson are charged with money laundering conspiracy, which imposes a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years and a fine of not more than $250,000 or an alternative fine of not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction. Finally, the obstruction of justice charge as to Simpson imposes a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years and a fine of not more than $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant United States Attorneys Eric G. Olshan and Nicole Vasquez Schmitt are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
PITTSBURGH – A Greensburg physician was sentenced in federal court today for three counts of distribution of buprenorphine, a Schedule III controlled substance; one count of health care fraud; and one count of money laundering, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced.
Nabil Jabbour, 69, a physician who previously operated an addiction-treatment practice out of offices in Greensburg and Connellsville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to twelve months and one day in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Jabbour was also ordered to pay a $75,000 fine and a total of $40,000 in restitution to Medicare and the Pennsylvania Medicaid program. He will also forfeit approximately $17,000 in previously seized cash and casino chips.
"As a physician, Nabil Jabbour took an oath to uphold the ethical standards of his profession; instead, he operated a cash-only business that took advantage of vulnerable patients seeking help for their opioid addiction so that he could spend their money at casinos," said U.S. Attorney Brady. "We will continue our steady pursuit to bring drug-dealing doctors to justice."
"We trust our doctors to carefully and thoughtfully write prescriptions, not use their access to profit off of highly addictive medications meant to treat opioid addiction - an addiction that steals the lives of 12 Pennsylvanians a day," said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. "Dr. Jabbour admitted to unlawfully prescribing buprenorphine on multiple occasions for cash. My office and our partners in law enforcement will continue to hold individuals accountable who recklessly put the lives of others at risk for their own personal gain."
During his plea hearing on October 28, 2019, Jabbour admitted that on three occasions between July 2016 and December 2016 he unlawfully prescribed buprenorphine to undercover law enforcement officers. Buprenorphine is commonly used in the treatment of patients suffering from opioid addiction, and it is sold under the trade names Suboxone, Subutex, or Zubsolv. As Jabbour acknowledged, none of the undercover officers to whom he prescribed buprenorphine suffered from opioid use disorder or otherwise displayed symptoms of withdrawal. Jabbour further admitted that he did not accept insurance from his patients, requiring instead that they pay him in cash—typically $100 for an initial office visit and $80 for each subsequent visit. Although Jabbour did not accept insurance, he admitted that he caused Medicare and Pennsylvania Medicaid, two government-funded healthcare programs, to cover the costs of fraudulent buprenorphine prescriptions that he wrote for his patients. Finally, Jabbour also admitted to one count of money laundering based on a transaction he initiated at the Meadows Casino in July 2016 involving $13,960 in cash derived from his unlawful distribution of buprenorphine.
Pursuant to a written plea agreement, Jabbour also accepted responsibility for unlawfully distributing buprenorphine to undercover officers on fourteen additional occasions, maintaining his office locations in Greensburg and Connellsville as drug-involved premises, and laundering approximately $47,000 in cash from his buprenorphine practice during four additional trips to the Meadows Casino. Jabbour also agreed that he was responsible for between 10,000 and 20,000 dosage units of unlawful buprenorphine prescriptions.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, which combines personnel and resources from multiple federal and state agencies to combat the growing prescription opioid epidemic, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. The Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General – Narcotics Unit, Greensburg City Police, South Greensburg Police, and Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office also provided assistance during the investigation and prosecution of Jabbour.
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Butler County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to one year and one day incarceration on his conviction of conspiracy, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Gino Cordisco, 48, of Mars, Pennsylvania.
According to information presented to the court, the Pennsylvania Board of Pharmacy prohibits pharmacists from restocking medications that have left the pharmacy’s control. These medications must be destroyed. According to the FDCA, if a prescription or a container of stock drugs falsely describes the lot numbers, expiration dates or manufacturers, then the drugs are rendered/deemed misbranded. For example, when pills that left the pharmacy are returned and comingled with stock drugs instead of being destroyed, and the required labeling on stock containers does not accurately state the actual manufacturer, date of expiration and lot number, then the drugs in the stock container or prescription package are misbranded. Misbranded drugs are illegal contraband and cannot be sold.
Cordisco, a pharmacist, was the supervisor over a chain of several pharmacies known as MedFast Pharmacies. He reported directly to its owner, Doug Kaleugher, not a defendant herein. Most of the conduct that supports the charges occurred at MedFast Institutional Pharmacy, 2003 Sheffield Road, in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
MedFast Institutional Pharmacy supplied nursing home chains with individualized medication packages for the patients/residents. If the nursing home had unused pills from prescriptions filled by MedFast or other pharmacies from, for example, a resident passing or a change in medications, MedFast delivery drivers were instructed to collect the unused medications and return them to MedFast. Once these drugs were returned to MedFast, the drugs would be removed from their packaging and returned to stock. As a result, pills with different lot numbers, different expiration dates and different manufacturers were comingled. These comingled pills were thereafter used to fill new prescriptions. The defendant was the leader and organizer of this criminal conduct. The immediate supervisor of the MedFast Institutional Pharmacy, Correna Pfeiffer, who reported directly to the defendant, was responsible for carrying out this policy on a day-to-day basis. She was previously sentenced to a term of probation.
The Court was also made aware that in October 2011 the defendant arranged for a surveillance technician to focus a hidden camera on an employee suspected of stealing drugs. Upon reviewing the video and doing an inventory, the defendant realized that Jade Gagianas had stolen 100 Opana ER 40 mg. The defendant took Gagianas to a back room and questioned her about the theft. She eventually admitted to this theft as well as additional thefts that had taken place in the past. She told the defendant that she gave the Opana to her boyfriend, David Best. The defendant told Gagianas that he wanted the drugs back and told her to call Best to ask him to return them. Gagianas made the call, but Best would not bring them back for fear of getting arrested. The defendant told Best he would contact the police if Best did not agree to return the stolen Opana. After about two hours, Best showed up at the pharmacy but did not have the drugs in his possession. Best told Gagianas where he had hidden the drugs down the street. The defendant took Gagianas and drove to the location where Best said he had hidden the drugs. The drugs were recovered by Gagianas from a bush in front of a convent. The defendant took the Opana pill vial from Gagianas and observed that the seal had been broken on the prescription vial. He returned to the pharmacy with it. The drugs had been out of the possession of the pharmacy from between 2 and 6 hours. Knowing that the drugs had been stolen, had been in the hands of a drug dealer, that they were recovered from a bush after being gone from the pharmacy from between 2 and 6 hours, the defendant thereafter ordered another pharmacist to restock the Opana. The Schedule II log of the pharmacy reflected that 79 Opana pills were restocked. Jade Gagianas was fired that day by the defendant for stealing Opana.
The defendant was interviewed by DEA Special Agent Vijay Nemani on May 29, 2013. SA Nemani asked the defendant if there had ever been any diversion of pharmaceutical or disciplinary problems of any current or former employees. The defendant stated there were "none that he knew of." This statement was not true.
SA Nemani then asked the defendant about any former employees and he stated Jade Gagianas worked there as a Pharmacy Technician for a while and that her boyfriend had drug issues. The defendant stated Gagianas quit awhile back claiming she was "stressed out." The defendant stated Gagianas quit her job but was not fired or let go. This statement was not true.
SA Nemani asked the defendant pointedly if there were any instances of any current or former employees, at the Baden pharmacy, where the employee had stolen controlled substances and then was asked to return the controlled substances to the pharmacy. The defendant stated that he was not aware of any instances. This statement was not true.
SA Nemani also asked if there were any current or former employees that had been fired or asked to resign as a result of the diversion of controlled substances and the defendant stated, "no." This statement was not true.
The government had no evidence that any patient was harmed in any way as a result of any of the conduct described herein.
Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Attorney commended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-OCI, the Drug Enforcement Administration-Diversion Investigators and the U.S. Health and Human Services-OIG for the investigation that led to a successful prosecution of Gino Cordisco.
PITTSBURGH, PA - Two residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiring to defraud the United States, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
Thomas Mouton, age 34, and Sara Mouton, age 36, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Ranjan to conspiracy to defraud the United States and an agency thereof, specifically the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from a date uncertain in 2018 and continuing thereafter until around May 2019, Thomas Mouton along with his wife, Sara Mouton, who was active in the fitness and body-building industry, conspired with each other, and with other persons known and unknown to the United States Attorney, to distribute steroids to consumers in the United States, through the internet and through personal acquaintance, including drugs or performance enhancers that counteract the side effects of steroid abuse. None of the drugs the defendants distributed were approved by the FDA, and the defendants were not permitted to distribute the drugs without the approval of the FDA. Substances distributed by the defendants were misbranded and included misleading labeling that did not include accurate drug/active ingredient names, labeling that did not contain adequate directions for use, and labeling that did not contain the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor. The court was advised that the defendants acted with the intent to defraud the FDA, by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating the ability of the FDA to regulate the manufacturing, labeling, and distribution of drugs in the United States.
“Thomas and Sara Mouton began by distributing steroids to their associates in the fitness and body building industry, but their business ultimately expanded through word of mouth to serving a couple hundred clients,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kaufman. “Individuals who defraud the FDA will be held accountable for their crimes.”
“The requirements that prescription drugs are labeled appropriately and approved by FDA before they are marketed help ensure the health and safety of consumers,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark S. McCormack, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. "The FDA will continue to aggressively pursue those who place the public health at risk.”
Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for March 3, 2022. The law provides for a total sentence of not more than five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher M. Cook is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Postal Inspection Service, along with the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Thomas and Sara Mouton.
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Butler, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to one year of imprisonment, followed by three years’ supervised release, on her conviction of wrongfully disclosing the health information of another individual, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Linda Sue Kalina, 62, of Butler, PA. The court further ordered that Kalina have no contact with any of the individuals she victimized during the imposed terms of imprisonment and supervised release.
According to information presented to the court, Kalina worked, from March 7, 2016 through June 23, 2017, as a Patient Information Coordinator with UPMC and its affiliate, Tri Rivers Musculoskeletal Centers (TRMC) in Mars, Pennsylvania. During her employment, contrary to the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Kalina unlawfully accessed the individual health information of 111 UPMC patients, none of whom had been patients of TRMC and many of whom were coworkers, former classmates, and relatives. After her termination from TRMC, she gained employment with Allegheny Health Network, and worked, from July 24, 2017 to August 17, 2017, as a Patient Access Coordinator, where she again improperly accessed individual health information to which she was not entitled. On August 11, 2017, Kalina disclosed personal health information related to two individuals, with the intent to cause them embarrassment and mental distress. Kalina’s employment with AHN was terminated approximately six days later.
In imposing the maximum sentence called for under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Court offered that Kalina’s conduct was the most egregious of its kind.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Kalina.
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Butler, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of wrongfully disclosing the health information of another individual, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Linda Sue Kalina, 61, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Linda Sue Kalina worked, from March 7, 2016 through June 23, 2017, as a Patient Information Coordinator with UPMC and its affiliate, Tri Rivers Musculoskeletal Centers (TRMC) in Mars, Pennsylvania, and that during her employment, contrary to the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) improperly accessed the individual health information of 111 UPMC patients who had never been provided services at TRMC. Specifically, on August 11, 2017, Kalina unlawfully disclosed personal gynecological health information related to two such patients, with the intent to cause those individuals embarrassment and mental distress.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for June 25, 2019, at 10 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Kalina remains on bonding pending the sentencing hearing.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Kalina.
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
URBANA, Ill. –An Indianapolis woman, Ashantae Corruthers, 30, was sentenced on August 13, 2024, to four years of imprisonment for engaging in a conspiracy to illegally purchase and transfer a firearm and a conspiracy to engage in misleading conduct.
Corruthers had previously pleaded guilty and admitted that she conspired with co-defendant Regina Lewis and Darion M. Lafayette, now deceased, to purchase and transfer a firearm to Lafayette, who could not legally purchase a firearm himself because he was a convicted felon (commonly known as a “straw purchase”). On November 17, 2020, at the direction of Lafayette and Lewis, Corruthers purchased a Glock 48, nine-millimeter, semi-automatic pistol and Sellier & Bellot, nine-millimeter ammunition, from a federal firearms licensee (FFL) in Indianapolis. During the purchase, Corruthers falsely certified on an ATF form that she was the actual buyer of the firearm, when in fact, she purchased the firearm for Lafayette and transferred it to him.
Corruthers further admitted that she conspired with Lewis and Lafayette to cover up the discovery of their illegal purchase and transfer of the firearm by having Corruthers falsely report to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on April 26, 2021, that the Glock pistol was stolen from her around March of 2021. Approximately twenty-three days after Corruthers falsely reported the firearm stolen, Lafayette used the firearm to shoot Champaign Police Officers Christopher Oberheim and Jeffrey Creel in Champaign, Illinois, killing Oberheim. Corruthers admitted that she and Lewis continued the cover-up after Oberheim’s death by agreeing to have Corruthers falsely tell an ATF Special Agent investigating the officer-involved shooting that she purchased the gun for herself, that it was stolen from her in March of 2021, and that she did not know Lafayette.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce found that the United States Sentencing Guidelines recommended only 21 to 27 months of imprisonment, although the United States argued they recommended 97 to 121 months. Nonetheless, the United States requested an upward variance from the Court’s determined range to a sentence of nine years of imprisonment due to the nature and circumstances of the offense. Officer Oberheim’s widow and four daughters wrote letters in support of the requested upward variance, and retired Officer Creel personally addressed the Court.
Corruthers faced statutory penalties of up to five years in prison for conspiracy to illegally purchase and transfer a firearm and up to twenty years in prison for conspiracy to engage in misleading conduct. Each charge also carried a penalty of up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine. Co-defendant Lewis is currently serving 8 ½ years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons following her December 22, 2023, sentencing.
The case investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller represented the government in the prosecution.
PITTSBURGH – A resident of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania has pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh on charges of wire fraud and income tax evasion, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
Rocco Panucci, 53, of Greensburg, PA, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
According to the information presented to the court, the victim in this case is Chestnut Ridge Golf, L.P. ("Chestnut"), 132 Pine Ridge Road, Blairsville, Pennsylvania, 15717, a golf and resort conference center. In September 2007, Chestnut retained the defendant for an annual salary of $100,000, plus approximately $21,000 of benefits, to function as the chief executive and finance officer. Panucci was responsible for the day-to-day operations until he was dismissed on December 17, 2012, by reason of the conduct these charges are based upon. Panucci used his fiduciary position to cause Chestnut to incur a loss of approximately $354,072 to benefit himself and his family. For example, $20,740.92 of Chestnut monies were diverted for college tuition for Panucci’s children, and $139,183.62 was diverted for personal travel, leisure, dining and entertainment. Panucci directed that an American Express credit card in the name of Chestnut be sent to his home address so that none of the itemized statements were seen by anyone at Chestnut. When it was time to pay the American Express charges, Panucci provided the Chestnut in-house bookkeeper his handwritten lists of what appeared to be legitimate expenditures, which in truth were fabrications to cover what Panucci had charged on the card for personal items.
Judge Schwab scheduled the sentencing for April 4, 2018. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 40 years in prison, a fine of $1,250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the information in this case.
PITTSBURGH – A resident of Texas was sentenced in federal court for his role in defrauding federally-funded meal programs, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab sentenced Charles Simpson, 44, of Dallas, Texas, to 30 months’ incarceration following his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Judge Schwab also ordered Simpson to pay restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the amount of $1,500,000, and to forfeit an additional approximately $427,000.
During Simpson’s plea hearing on May 19, 2022, he admitted, among other things, that he and his co-conspirators, Tanisha Jackson and Paige Jackson, operated HOIN, Inc. (HOIN), a Texas-based non-profit organization. The co-conspirators caused HOIN (a/k/a Helping Others In Need) to enroll as a “sponsor” in two programs funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the purpose of providing meals to underprivileged youth—the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) (collectively, the feeding programs). CACFP funded after-school meal service during the school year, while SFSP operated in the summer months. In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PADOE) administered the USDA-funded feeding programs. Simpson also acknowledged having previously been excluded from participating in the feeding programs in other states.
As part of the conspiracy, Simpson admitted that he and Tanisha Jackson caused the submission of false enrollment documentation to PADOE on behalf of HOIN in connection with its participation in CACFP and SFSP between 2015 and 2019. Among other misrepresentations, HOIN’s applications to PADOE used aliases for Simpson and Tanisha Jackson as a means to obscure their involvement and falsely certified that none of its principals had been excluded from the feeding programs. Simpson further admitted causing HOIN to submit reimbursement claims for hundreds of thousands of meals that were never served to eligible children by either inflating the number of meals that, in fact, were served, or by seeking reimbursements for meals purportedly served on days on which the identified feeding site was not operating at all. To conceal their fraudulent conduct and justify HOIN’s claimed meal service, Simpson and Tanisha Jackson submitted fabricated documents to PADOE in connection with periodic program reviews. On certain occasions, Tanisha Jackson would impersonate Paige Jackson, her daughter, in interactions with PADOE. Likewise, Paige Jackson used a fictitious name in dealings with PADOE. In total, PADOE issued reimbursement payments to HOIN in excess of approximately $4 million between 2015 and 2019.
In connection with the money laundering conspiracy, Simpson admitted that he and Tanisha Jackson engaged in numerous financial transactions involving the proceeds of the fraud. Specifically, Simpson and Tanisha Jackson spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in HOIN reimbursements on shopping sprees at high-end apparel stores, personal air travel and lodging, and the acquisition of at least nine luxury vehicles, including a Bentley, two Land Rovers, two Maseratis, two Mercedes, a Hummer, and a Porsche. Simpson and Tanisha Jackson also withdrew cash from HOIN bank accounts in excess of $10,000 on more than a dozen occasions.
Tanisha Jackson and Paige Jackson have separately entered guilty pleas and will be sentenced on Oct. 20, 2022, and Nov. 2, 2022, respectively.
Assistant United States Attorneys Eric G. Olshan and Nicole Vasquez Schmitt are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation of the defendants in this case.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today that he will resign his position, effective 11:59 p.m. on January 19, 2025.“The dedicated public servants who walk the halls of our office are second to none in their clear-eyed and even-handed commitment to pursuing justice on behalf of the more than three million people who call the Western District of Pennsylvania home,” said U.S. Attorney Olshan. “Serving alongside this team of career civil servants—prosecutors, civil litigators, and professional staff alike—has been the privilege of my career. I am grateful to President Biden, Senator John Fetterman, and former Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey for their trust and faith in my ability to lead the office. I will always treasure the 17 years I have devoted to representing the United States and working to defend and uphold the rule of law on behalf of the Department of Justice and the American people.”During Olshan’s tenure as U.S. Attorney, the office continued its steadfast efforts to tackle violent crime and the most serious narcotics offenses, focusing on large-scale drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) and the offenders who drive violence in western Pennsylvania. Working side by side with dedicated federal, state, and local law enforcement partners throughout the district, the office brought charges against: 24 members and associates of the “Drizzy” street gang for cocaine trafficking (Pittsburgh); eight members and associates of the “Zhoove” street gang for fentanyl and cocaine trafficking (Pittsburgh); 19 defendants involved in an interstate DTO trafficking fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and oxycodone (New Castle); 35 members and associates of a cross-country and transnational DTO trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine (Johnstown area); 13 defendants involved in a DTO trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine (Altoona area); and 26 regional drug dealers trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine (Erie).Driving down the illicit sale and use of firearms likewise remained a priority, with the office securing convictions of three defendants, including a former police officer, who built and sold so-called “hit kits” containing untraceable privately made firearms (“ghost guns”), silencers, subsonic ammunition, and latex gloves. The office also brought charges against several extremely violent offenders, including an alleged methamphetamine dealer who orchestrated a targeted bombing resulting in the death of a woman who owed him a drug debt; an alleged fentanyl and heroin dealer who discharged a Glock equipped with a machinegun conversion device while fleeing from the police; a violent drug offender who allegedly shot at and attempted to kill a DEA agent; and a violent recidivist offender who allegedly committed multiple armed carjackings and robberies of Pittsburgh-area businesses. Notably, after experiencing a steady increase in homicides beginning in 2019, Pittsburgh—the district’s largest municipality—has seen more than a 40% decrease in homicides since 2022. Non-fatal shootings in the city similarly have dropped by more than 50% over the last three years after a four-year increase starting in 2018.Under Olshan’s leadership, the office focused on offenders who preyed upon the most vulnerable members of our communities. On the white collar front, prosecutors brought charges against the alleged perpetrators of a multi-million-dollar international “lottery” scam targeting the elderly, as well as a far-reaching “bail bond” scam, securing convictions and significant sentences against multiple co-conspirators and successfully extraditing the alleged masterminds from Panama. The office also continued its impressive track record of obtaining substantial justice for child victims, including cases against a defendant who engaged in the sextortion of multiple children (30 years in prison); a defendant who used the dark web to distribute child sexual abuse material (25 years); a Florida resident who transported and sexually exploited a child from Erie (20 years); a Pennsylvania State Trooper who surreptitiously recorded children (23 years); and a defendant who created “morphed” sexually explicit images of child actors (14 years).During Olshan’s tenure, the office strengthened its position at the forefront of complex cyber enforcement, working with domestic and international law enforcement partners to disrupt a Russia-based criminal enterprise through the seizure of web domains used to create more than 40,000 spoofed websites and store the personal information of more than a million victims. The office also coordinated a court-authorized operation that disrupted a worldwide botnet operated by Chinese state-sponsored hackers and shut down the illicit Rydox online marketplace where cyber criminals had access to over 300,000 cybercrime tools.The office further demonstrated its ongoing commitment to combatting the threat of domestic and international terrorism, obtaining convictions against two defendants who violently obstructed law enforcement during a protest on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh and bringing terrorism charges against an Upper St. Clair resident who traveled to Lebanon and Syria with a “master plan . . . to join Hezbollah and kill Jews.”Under Olshan’s leadership, the office cemented its reputation as a national leader in hate crime enforcement, including through the completion of a groundbreaking prosecution of two co-conspirators who committed violent assaults against over a dozen severely disabled residents at a Beaver County long-term care facility. The office also brought hate crime charges against two defendants, including a self-avowed Hamas adherent, who allegedly vandalized Jewish property in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood.Moreover, Olshan’s tenure saw the successful conclusion of the prosecution of the worst antisemitic mass shooting in United States history, resulting in the deaths of 11 Jewish worshippers from three congregations at the Tree of Life Synagogue on October 27, 2018.“This investigation and prosecution will forever be a part of the fabric of our office,” U.S. Attorney Olshan said. “There is no greater honor as a prosecutor than securing justice for crime victims, and I will always be grateful for the faith and trust of the victim community in this case. It was a gift our team of prosecutors, investigators, and victim-support staff worked each day to earn, and it sustained us throughout the years-long litigation.”Olshan also worked with office colleagues and law enforcement partners to enhance community outreach efforts around the district, including through participation in numerous United Against Hate educational programs, the Take Back the Night march at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, National Night Out police-community engagement events, Shon Owens Unity Week events in Beaver County, a “Bigs in Blue” event through Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Pride events, and the Allegheny County Anchored Reentry Annual Summit, which the office co-hosted. During Olshan’s tenure, the office coordinated multiple trainings for federal, state, and local law enforcement, including programs on strategic subject interviewing techniques, criminal use of artificial intelligence, criminal intelligence analytics, and First Amendment-protected activity.The office’s Civil Division additionally saw significant results in cases across multiple areas of enforcement under Olshan’s leadership. For example, the office filed a complaint against a nationwide insurer and its subsidiaries for falsely placing auto insurance on hundreds of thousands of car buyers; secured a $6.5 million False Claims Act judgment against a telecommunications company related to violations of an FCC subsidy program; entered into a consent decree with the Allegheny County Jail to ensure that inmates received prescribed medications for opioid use disorder under the Americans with Disabilities Act; obtained an injunction prohibiting Philips Respironics from manufacturing and distributing faulty sleep and respiratory devices; and resolved Clean Air Act claims against two oil and natural gas producers for over $5 million.The office’s affirmative civil enforcement, financial litigation, and asset forfeiture staff likewise continued to set the standard in financial recoveries, collecting more than $120 million in civil, criminal, and forfeiture actions in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.Upon Olshan’s resignation and pursuant to the Vacancies Reform Act, First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti, who has served the office for over 27 years, will become the Acting United States Attorney. Rivetti previously served as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the office prior to Olshan’s confirmation.***U.S. Attorney Olshan joined the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., through the Attorney General’s Honors Program in 2007 and spent a decade prosecuting public corruption offenses in federal courts around the country as a Trial Attorney and Deputy Chief in the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. Olshan became an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of Pennsylvania in 2017, and, prior to assuming his position as U.S. Attorney, most recently served as the Chief of the Economic, Cyber, and National Security Crimes Section. During his time in the office, Olshan also served as the Civil Rights Coordinator, Healthcare Fraud Coordinator, Public Corruption Coordinator, Environmental Crime Coordinator, and District Election Officer.Olshan was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on March 21, 2023, and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on June 8, 2023. As U.S. Attorney, he oversaw an office of approximately 130 prosecutors, civil litigators, and professional staff in three offices—Pittsburgh, Erie, and Johnstown. During his tenure, Olshan served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC), a select group of U.S. Attorneys who advise the Attorney General on matters of policy, procedure, and management. Olshan was also a member of the AGAC’s White Collar Fraud, Terrorism and National Security, Civil Rights, and Environmental Justice subcommittees.
PITTSBURGH – A Greensburg physician pleaded guilty in federal to three counts of distribution of buprenorphine, a Schedule III controlled substance, outside the usual course of professional practice; one count of health care fraud; and one count of money laundering, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Nabil Jabbour, 68, a physician who previously operated an addiction-medicine practice out of offices in Greensburg and Connellsville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
During his plea hearing, Jabbour admitted that on three occasions between July 2016 and December 2016 he unlawfully prescribed buprenorphine to undercover law enforcement officers. Buprenorphine is commonly used in the treatment of patients suffering from opioid addiction, and it is sold under the trade names Suboxone, Subutex, or Zubsolv. As Jabbour acknowledged, none of the undercover officers to whom he prescribed buprenorphine suffered from opioid use disorder. Jabbour further admitted that he did not accept insurance from his patients, requiring instead that they pay him in cash—typically $100 for an initial office visit and $80 for each subsequent visit. Although Jabbour did not accept insurance, he admitted that he caused Medicare and Medicaid, two government-funded health benefit programs, to cover the costs of fraudulent buprenorphine prescriptions that he wrote for his patients. Finally, Jabbour pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering based on a transaction he initiated at the Meadows Casino in July 2016 involving $13,960 in cash derived from his unlawful distribution of buprenorphine.
Pursuant to a written plea agreement, the defendant also accepted responsibility for unlawfully distributing buprenorphine on fourteen additional occasions, maintaining his office locations in Greensburg and Connellsville as drug-involved premises, and laundering cash from his buprenorphine practice, in the form of cash transactions exceeding $10,000, at the Meadows Casino during four additional trips to the casino. The defendant also agreed that he was responsible for between 10,000 and 20,000 doses of unlawful buprenorphine prescriptions, and that he caused losses to Medicare and Medicaid of up to $40,000.
Sentencing has been set for March 2, 2020, at 10 a.m.
Jabbour faces a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of $500,000 for each distribution count, a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the health care fraud charge, and a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the money laundering charge. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, which combines personnel and resources from multiple federal and state agencies to combat the growing prescription opioid epidemic, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. The Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General – Narcotics Unit, Greensburg City Police, South Greensburg Police, and Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office also provided assistance during the investigation and prosecution of Jabbour.
PITTSBURGH – A Greensburg physician has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of distribution of buprenorphine, a Schedule III controlled substance, outside the usual course of professional practice; using and maintaining a drug-involved premises; health care fraud; and money laundering, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
The 25-count indictment, returned yesterday, named Nabil Jabbour, 67, a physician who practices in Greensburg and Connellsville, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, between July 27, 2016, and December 13, 2016, Jabbour distributed buprenorphine—also known as Suboxone, Subutex, or Zubsolv—on a total of 17 occasions, outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. The indictment further alleges that between January 2014, and December 2016, Jabbour operated the two locations of his medical practice as drug-involved premises. Jabbour is also charged with defrauding Medicare and Medicaid through his illegal dispensing practices, which resulted in the health care programs covering costs associated with fraudulent buprenorphine prescriptions. Finally, the indictment charges Jabbour with money laundering based on cash transactions in excess of $10,000 that he initiated at the Meadows Casino in Washington, Pennsylvania, on five occasions between July 26, 2015, and July 25, 2016.
Jabbour faces a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $500,000 for each distribution count; a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $500,000 for each drug-involved premises charge; a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for the health care fraud charge, and a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 for each money laundering charge. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, which combines personnel and resources from the following agencies to combat the growing prescription opioid epidemic: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing. The Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General – Narcotics Unit, the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office and the Greensburg Police Department also provided assistance.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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
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Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
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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
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Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
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Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
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Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
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Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
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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
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Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
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Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
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Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
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Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
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Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
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Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
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Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the third highest severity
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Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE3
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Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE3
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Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE3
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Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the fourth highest severity
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Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE4
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Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE4
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Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE4
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Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
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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
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Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
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Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
PITTSBURGH, PA – Two residents of Texas and a resident of Tennessee pleaded guilty in federal court this week for their roles in defrauding federally funded meal programs, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Charles Simpson, 44, and Paige Jackson, 30, both of Dallas, Texas, as well as Tanisha Jackson, 49, of Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab. Simpson and Tanisha Jackson also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
During Simpson’s, Tanisha Jackson’s, and Paige Jackson’s plea hearings on May 18 and 19, 2022, the defendants admitted, among other things, that they controlled and operated HOIN, Inc. (HOIN), a Texas-based non-profit organization. The defendants caused HOIN (a/k/a“Helping Others In Need) to enroll as a “sponsor” in two programs funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the purpose of providing meals to underprivileged youth—the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) (collectively, the feeding programs). CACFP funded after-school meal service during the school year, while SFSP operated in the summer months. In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PADOE) administered the USDA-funded feeding programs. Each defendant further admitted having previously been excluded from participating in the feeding programs in other states.
As part of the conspiracy, Simpson and Tanisha Jackson caused the submission of false enrollment documentation to PADOE on behalf of HOIN in connection with its participation in CACFP and SFSP between 2015 and 2019. Among other misrepresentations, HOIN’s applications to PADOE used aliases for Simpson and Tanisha Jackson as a means to obscure their involvement and falsely certified that none of its principals had been excluded from the feeding programs. The defendants further admitted causing HOIN to submit reimbursement claims for hundreds of thousands of meals that were never served to eligible children by either inflating the number of meals that, in fact, were served, or by seeking reimbursements for meals purportedly served on days on which the identified feeding site was not operating at all. To conceal their fraudulent conduct and justify HOIN’s claimed meal service, Simpson and Tanisha Jackson admitted submitting fabricated documents to PADOE in connection with periodic program reviews, and Tanisha Jackson admitted that on certain occasions she would impersonate Paige Jackson, her daughter, in interactions with PADOE. Likewise, Paige Jackson admitted that she used a fictitious name in dealings with PADOE. In total, PADOE issued reimbursement payments to HOIN in excess of approximately $4 million between 2015 and 2019.
In connection with the money laundering conspiracy, Simpson and Tanisha Jackson also admitted engaging in numerous financial transactions involving the proceeds of the fraud. Specifically, Simpson and Tanisha Jackson admitted spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in HOIN reimbursements on shopping sprees at high-end apparel stores, personal air travel and lodging, and the acquisition of at least nine luxury vehicles, including a Bentley, two Land Rovers, two Maseratis, two Mercedes, a Hummer, and a Porsche. Simpson and Tanisha Jackson also withdrew cash from HOIN bank accounts in excess of $10,000 on more than a dozen occasions.
In connection with their guilty pleas, Simpson and Tanisha Jackson have agreed to pay restitution to USDA totaling $1,500,000, and Paige Jackson has agreed to pay restitution of approximately $190,000. Simpson and Tanisha Jackson have each also agreed to forfeit approximately $427,000.
Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud carries a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years and a fine not more than the greater of $250,000 or an alternative fine in an amount not more than the greater of twice the gross pecuniary gain to any person or twice the pecuniary loss to any person other than the defendant. Likewise, the money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years and a fine of not more than $250,000 or an alternative fine of not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the relevant transactions. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant United States Attorneys Eric G. Olshan and Nicole Vasquez Schmitt are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation of the defendants in this case.
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Butler County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
Gino Cordisco, 47, of Mars, PA, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that according to Pennsylvania Board of Pharmacy, pharmacists are not permitted to restock medications that have left the pharmacy’s control. These must be destroyed. According to the FDCA, if a prescription or a container of stock drugs falsely describes the lot numbers, expiration dates or manufacturers, then the drugs are rendered/deemed misbranded. For example, when pills that left the pharmacy are returned and comingled with stock drugs instead of being destroyed, and the required labeling on stock containers does not accurately state the actual manufacturer, date of expiration and lot number, then the drugs in the stock container or prescription package are misbranded.
The evidence would show that at all times relevant to the charges, Cordisco, a pharmacist, was the supervisor over a chain of about nine pharmacies known as MedFast Pharmacies. He reported directly to its owner, Kaleugher. Most of the conduct that supports the charges occurred at MedFast Institutional Pharmacy, 2003 Sheffield Road, Aliquippa, PA.
MedFast Institutional Pharmacy supplied nursing home chains with individualized medication packages for the patients/residents. If the nursing home had unused pills from prescriptions filled by MedFast or other pharmacies from, for example, a resident passing or a change in medications, MedFast delivery drivers were instructed to collect the unused medications and return them to MedFast. Once these drugs were returned to MedFast, the drugs would be removed from their packaging and returned to stock. As a result, pills with different lot numbers, different expiration dates and different manufacturers were comingled. These comingled pills were thereafter used to fill new prescriptions. This conduct was initially directed by the defendant. The immediate supervisor of the MedFast Institutional Pharmacy, Correna Pfeiffer, who reported directly to the defendant, was responsible for carrying out this policy on a day-to-day basis. The evidence would establish that the defendant was a leader and organizer of the criminal conduct under 3B1.1 (a) of the USSG.
In addition to the crime charged, the parties have agreed to a two-point enhancement under the guidelines for obstruction of justice, pursuant to Section 3C1.1. The government would prove that the defendant became aware that narcotic drugs were being stolen from the MedFast, and that Jade Gagianas was suspected of stealing the drugs and providing them to her boyfriend, a drug dealer named David Best. In October 2011 the defendant arranged for a surveillance technician to focus a camera in her area in an attempt to catch Gagianas stealing. A day after the camera was moved, the defendant reviewed the recording and did not see anything suspicious, but noted that Gagianas was the one who unpacked a shipment of drugs. Between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. that day, the defendant conducted an inventory and realized there was a shortage of Opana ER 40 mg. The defendant took Gagianas to a back room and questioned her about the theft. She eventually admitted to this theft as well as additional thefts that had taken place in the past. She told the defendant that she gave the Opana prescription to her boyfriend, David Best. The defendant told Gagianas that he wanted the drugs back and told her to call Best to ask him to return them. Gagianas made the call, but Best would not bring them back for fear of getting arrested. The defendant told Best he would contact the police if Best did not agree to return the stolen Opana. After about two hours, Best showed up at the pharmacy but did not have the drugs in his possession. Best told Gagianas where he had hidden the drugs down the street. The defendant took Gagianas and drove to the location where Best said he had hidden the drugs. The drugs were recovered by Gagianas from a bush in front of a convent. The defendant took the Opana pill vial from Gagianas and observed that the seal had been broken on the prescription vial and opened the vial to see that the cotton was still in the vial. He returned to the pharmacy with it. The drugs had been out of the possession of the pharmacy from between two and six hours. Knowing that the drugs had been stolen, had been in the hands of a drug dealer, that they were recovered from a bush after being gone from the pharmacy from between two and six hours, the defendant thereafter ordered another pharmacist to restock the Opana. The Schedule II log of the pharmacy relflects that 79 Opana pills were restocked. Jade Gagianas was fired that day by the defendant for stealing Opana.
The defendant was interviewed by DEA S.A. Vijay Nemani on May 29, 2013. S/A Nemani asked the defendant if there had ever been any diversion of pharmaceutical or disciplinary problems of any current or former employees. The defendant stated there were "none that he knew of." This statement was not true.
S/A Nemani then asked the defendant about any former employees and he stated Jade Gagianas worked there as a Pharmacy Technician for a while and that her boyfriend had drug issues. The defendant stated Gagianas quit awhile back claiming she was "stressed out." The defendant stated Gagianas quit her job but was not fired or let go. This statement was not true.
S/A Nemani asked the defendant pointedly if there were any instances of any current or former employees, at the Baden pharmacy, where the employee had stolen controlled substances and then was asked to return the controlled substances to the pharmacy. The defendant stated that he was not aware of any instances. This statement was not true.
S/A Nemani also asked if there were any current or former employees that had been fired or asked to resign as a result of the diversion of controlled substances and the defendant stated, "no." This statement was not true.
We have no evidence that any patient was harmed in any way as a result of any of the conduct described herein.
Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for April 16, 2018. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration-OCI, the Drug Enforcement Administration-Diversion Investigators, the Health and Human Service-OIG and the Office of Personnel Management-OIG conducted the investigation leading to the information in this case.
PITTSBURGH – Three Canadian residents and their company have been charged by Information in Pittsburgh with conspiring to distribute wholesale quantities of misbranded prescription drugs made for the foreign market and money laundering, Acting United States Attorney Soo C. Song announced today.
According to the Information, Tony Lee, Billy Lee and Tarn Uppal, all Vancouver, B.C. residents, operated Quantum Solutions, SRL (hereafter, Quantum), a company registered in Barbados with offices in the Vancouver, British Columbia area. Quantum purchased prescription drugs made for foreign markets and sold wholesale quantities to three pharmacists in Western Pennsylvania. Quantum purchased the drugs from suppliers located in Turkey, Great Britain and other countries. The defendants arranged for these misbranded drugs to be sent to a re-shipper in the United Kingdom (UK). The UK re-shipper was instructed to unpack the drugs, repack them in several small packages, put misleading labeling and shipping documentation on them and understate the dollar value of the contents in order to create the appearance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection that the drugs were health care products for the personal use of the addressee. The small packages were sent to Washington State and New York State re-shippers known to the U.S. Attorney, where they were once again unpacked and repacked for delivery in the United States. Wholesale quantities of these misbranded drugs intended for use in foreign markets were purchased by three pharmacists in Western Pennsylvania. The wire transfers, checks and credit card payments from the pharmacists traveled from Western Pennsylvania to Canada and Barbados. None of the re-shippers were licensed in the United States to conduct this business. None of the prescription drugs met FDA approval because they were made and labeled for use outside of the United States. The information against Quantum seeks forfeiture of $4,235,000.
Assistant United States Attorney Nelson P. Cohen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the filing of these Informations.
A criminal Information is an accusation.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The filing of an Information generally indicates that the defendant intends to enter a guilty plea.
ATLANTA – Thirteen individuals, including an Atlanta-area gynecologist and two pharmacists, have now been sentenced for their roles in operating an Atlanta-area “pill mill” network that supplied addicts and drug dealers with large amounts of dangerous prescription drugs through illegal prescribing and dispensing.
“These individuals showed no regard for the safety and well-being of our community when illegally distributing prescription drugs,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “We are resolute in our efforts to fight the opioid epidemic on all fronts, and licensed professionals who exploit and endanger the public with illicit drug operations for personal greed are no exception and will be held accountable.”
“Pharmaceutical products that are distributed for non-medical reasons can be just as deadly as illicit drugs,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “Dr. Mills distributed vast quantities of pharmaceutical products and had total disregard for human life. The moment he decided to illegally distribute drugs, he became nothing more than a drug trafficker.”
“As one of several members of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work side-by-side with other law enforcement partners to combat organized crime,” said Demetrius Hardeman, CI Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Field Office. “The sentence today signifies the end to an Atlanta area criminal operation. Criminal enterprises are on notice that their illegal activities will be investigated and forwarded to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Anthony Mills was a medical doctor, licensed to practice medicine in the State of Georgia since 1997, whose specialty was listed with the medical board as "Gynecology.” Since at least October of 2018, Dr. Mills operated a pill mill out of his personal home where he issued hundreds of prescriptions for controlled substances (such as large quantities of oxycodone) to addicts and drug dealing sponsors in exchange for cash. Dr. Mills did not obtain prior medical records of his patients, conduct physical exams, or do anything to establish a valid patient-physician relationship. Instead, he often issued prescriptions in the names of individuals he never met or evaluated. Some of the prescriptions that Dr. Mills issued were in the names of individuals whose identities had been stolen or who were incarcerated or deceased at the time Dr. Mills wrote the prescriptions.
A large percentage of the illegitimate prescriptions were filled by licensed pharmacist Raphael Ogunsusi through his pharmacies, Evansmill Pharmacy and Retox Pharmacy located in Stonecrest and Conyers, respectively. Ogunsusi knew that Dr. Mills’ prescriptions were illegal, but he nonetheless filled those prescriptions.
Ogunsusi accepted large cash payments in exchange for filling these illegal prescriptions, including as much as $900 to fill just one prescription for oxycodone and $500 to fill one prescription for Percocet. Ogunsusi knew these prices were well over the market value for legitimate controlled substance prescriptions. To disguise the significantly inflated prices that he was charging, Ogunsusi falsified the pricing information on his pharmacy computers to give the appearance that he had charged market prices for the prescriptions. Ogunsusi also required sponsors to purchase a battery of additional non-controlled substances, which he referred to as the “Shebang,” as a condition for filling illegal controlled substance prescriptions. The purpose of these non-controlled substances was to maximize his profits and to conceal that most of his customers only wanted to fill controlled substances at his pharmacies. Ogunsusi also directed his pharmacy employees, including another licensed pharmacist, to fill the illegal prescriptions.
In addition to Dr. Mills and Ogunsusi, numerous pill sponsors who obtained illegal prescriptions from Dr. Mills were charged and sentenced, with the most recent sentencing occurring on May 22, 2024. These sponsors obtained prescriptions from Dr. Mills and/or Ogunsusi and sold them to drug users.
U.S. District Judge William M. Ray, II sentenced the defendants in this case as follows:
Anthony Mills, M.D., 57, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to 11 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Raphael Ogunsusi, RPh, 71, of Conyers, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and money laundering and was sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison and one year of supervised release.
Moses Kirigwi, RPh, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to using a telephone in connection with the unlawful dispensing and distribution of prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to 90 days in prison and one year of supervised release with the first three months served in home detention.
Thomika Riley, 50, of McDonough, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to six years and six months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Brittany Tinker, 30, of Stonecrest, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to six years and six months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Natalie Jackson, 40, of East Point, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to four years and three months in prison and two years of supervised release.
Rogerick Smith, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Keandre Bates, 31, of Decatur, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to nine years and two months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Jeana Alston, 43, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to three years and one month in prison and two years of supervised release.
Chafulumisa Lisbon, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to nine years and two months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Javon Hamilton, 34, of Bluffton, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to nine years and two months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Marcena Jordan, 30, of Albany, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Travious Polain, 33, of Decatur, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to dispense and distribute prescription controlled substances and was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. The Rockdale County Sherriff’s Office, Rockdale County District Attorney’s Office, DeKalb County Police Department, DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, Richland County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Department, Saluda County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Office, Sandy Springs Police Department, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, and Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency also provided valuable assistance in this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. O’Neal and Laurel Boatright Milam prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is 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 by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at the following web site: www.justthinktwice.gov.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
PITTSBURGH – A complex transnational organized cybercrime network that used GozNym malware in an attempt to steal an estimated $100 million from unsuspecting victims in the United States and around the world has been dismantled as part of an international law enforcement operation. GozNym infected tens of thousands of victim computers worldwide, primarily in the United States and Europe. The operation was highlighted by the unprecedented initiation of criminal prosecutions against members of the network in four different countries as a result of cooperation between the United States, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Germany, Bulgaria, Europol and Eurojust.
United States Attorney Scott W. Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania made the announcement at Europol, located in The Hague, Netherlands, along with his international partners.
The operation was conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, along with the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia, Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Moldova, Public Prosecutor’s Office Verden (Germany), the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of Cassation of the Republic of Bulgaria, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, National Police of Ukraine, General Police Inspectorate of the Republic of Moldova, the Luneburg Police of Germany and the Republic of Bulgaria’s General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime with the significant assistance of Europol and Eurojust.
“International law enforcement has recognized that the only way to truly disrupt and defeat transnational, anonymized networks is to do so in partnership,” said U.S. Attorney Brady. “The collaborative and simultaneous prosecution of the members of the GozNym criminal conspiracy in four countries represents a paradigm shift in how we investigate and prosecute cybercrime. Cybercrime victimizes people all over the world. This prosecution represents an international cooperative effort to bring cybercriminals to justice.”
Earlier today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania unsealed an Indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh charging 10 members of the GozNym criminal network with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. An eleventh member of the conspiracy was previously charged in a related Indictment. The victims of these crimes were primarily U.S. businesses and their financial institutions, including a number of victims located in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
"This takedown highlights the importance of collaborating with our international law enforcement partners against this evolution of organized cybercrime," said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones. "Successful investigation and prosecution is only possible by sharing intelligence, credit and responsibility. Our adversaries know that we are weakest aloing the seams and this case is a fantastic example of what we can accomplish collectively."
According to the Indictment, the defendants conspired to:
infect victims’ computers with GozNym malware designed to capture victims’ online banking login credentials;
use the captured login credentials to fraudulently gain unauthorized access to victims’ online bank accounts; and,
steal money from victims’ bank accounts and launder those funds using U.S. and foreign beneficiary bank accounts controlled by the defendants.
The defendants reside in Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria. The operation was an unprecedented international effort to share evidence and initiate criminal prosecutions against members of the same criminal network in multiple countries.
At the request of the United States, Krasimir Nikolov, aka “pablopicasso,” “salvadordali,” and “karlo,” of Varna, Bulgaria, was searched and arrested by Bulgarian authorities and extradited to the United States in December 2016 to face prosecution in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Nikolov’s primary role in the conspiracy was that of a “casher” or “account takeover specialist” who used victims’ stolen online banking credentials captured by GozNym malware to access victims’ online bank accounts and attempt to steal victims’ money through electronic funds transfers into bank accounts controlled by fellow conspirators. Nikolov is named as a GozNym conspirator in the newly unsealed indictment, although he is charged in a related Indictment filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Nikolov entered a guilty plea in federal court in Pittsburgh on charges relating to his participation in the GozNym conspiracy on April 10, 2019. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 30, 2019.
Five of the named defendants reside in Russia and remain fugitives from justice. However, to overcome the inability to extradite the remaining defendants to the United States for prosecution, an unprecedented effort was undertaken to share evidence and build prosecutions against defendants in the remaining countries where they reside, including Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. The prosecutions are based on shared evidence acquired through coordinated searches for evidence in Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria, as well as from evidence shared by the United States and Germany from their respective investigations.
The GozNym network exemplified the concept of “cybercrime as a service.” According to the Indictment, the defendants advertised their specialized technical skills and services on underground, Russian-language, online criminal forums. The GozNym network was formed when these individuals were recruited from the online forums and came together to use their specialized technical skills and services in furtherance of the conspiracy.
According to the Indictment, Alexander Konovolov, aka “NoNe,” and “none_1,” age 35, of Tbilisi, Georgia, was the primary organizer and leader of the GozNym network who controlled more than 41,000 victim computers infected with GozNym malware. Konovolov assembled the team of cybercriminals charged in the Indictment, in part by recruiting them through the underground online criminal forums. Marat Kazandjian, aka “phant0m,” age 31, of Kazakhstan and Tbilisi, Georgia, was allegedly Konovolov’s primary assistant and technical administrator. Konovolov and Kazandjian are being prosecuted in Georgia for their respective roles in the GozNym criminal network.
Gennady Kapkanov, aka “Hennadiy Kapkanov,” “flux,” “ffhost,” “firestarter,” and “User 41,” age 36, of Poltava, Ukraine, was an administrator of a bulletproof hosting service known by law enforcement and computer security researchers as the “Avalanche” network. This network provided services to more than 200 cybercriminals, including Konovolov and Kazandjian, and it hosted more than 20 different malware campaigns, including GozNym. Kapkanov’s apartment in Poltava, Ukraine was searched in November 2016 during a German-led operation to dismantle the network’s servers and other infrastructure. Kapkanov was arrested for shooting an assault rifle through the door of his apartment at Ukrainian law enforcement officers conducting the search. Through the coordinated efforts being announced today, Kapkanov is now facing prosecution in Ukraine for his role in providing bulletproof hosting services to the GozNym criminal network.
Alexander Van Hoof, aka “al666,” age 45, of Nikolaev, Ukraine, was a “cash-out” or “drop master” who provided fellow members of the conspiracy with access to bank accounts he controlled that were designated to receive stolen funds from GozNym victims’ online bank accounts.
Eduard Malanici, aka “JekaProf,” and “procryptgroup, age 32, of Balti, Moldova, provided crypting services to cybercriminals. Malanici crypted GozNym malware in furtherance of the conspiracy to enable the malware to avoid detection by anti-virus tools and protective software on victims’ computers. Malanici, along with two associates, is being prosecuted in Moldova.
Victims of the GozNym malware attacks include:
An asphalt and paving business located in New Castle, Pennsylvania;
A law firm located in Washington, DC;
A church located in Southlake, Texas;
An association dedicated to providing recreation programs and other services to persons with disabilities located in Downers Grove, Illinois;
A distributor of neurosurgical and medical equipment headquartered in Freiburg, Germany, with a U.S. subsidiary in Cape Coral, Florida;
A furniture business located in Chula Vista, California;
A provider of electrical safety devices located in Cumberland, Rhode Island;
A contracting business located in Warren, Michigan;
A casino located in Gulfport, Mississippi;
A stud farm located in Midway, Kentucky; and
A law office located in Wellesley, Massachusetts;
Five Russian nationals charged in the Indictment who remain fugitives from justice include:
Vladimir Gorin, aka “Voland,” “mrv,” and “riddler,” of Orenburg, Russia. Gorin was a malware developer who oversaw the creation, development, management, and leasing of GozNym malware, including to Alexander Konovolov.
Konstantin Volchkov, aka “elvi,” age 28, of Moscow, Russia, provided spamming services to cybercriminals. Volchkov conducted spamming operations of GozNym malware on behalf of the conspiracy. The spamming operations involved the mass distribution of GozNym malware through “phishing” emails. The phishing emails were designed to appear legitimate to entice the victim recipients into opening the emails and clicking on a malicious link or attachment, which facilitated the downloading of GozNym onto the victims’ computers.
Ruslan Katirkin, aka “stratos,” and “xen,” age 31, of Kazan, Russia, resided in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, during the time frame of the charged conspiracy. Katirkin, like Krasimir Nikolov, was a “casher” or “account takeover specialist” who used victims’ stolen online banking credentials captured by GozNym malware to access victims’ online bank accounts and attempt to steal victims’ money through electronic funds transfers into bank accounts controlled by fellow conspirators.
Viktor Vladimirovich Eremenko, aka “nfcorpi,” age 30, of Stavropol, Russia, and Farkhad Rauf Ogly Manokhin, aka “frusa,” of Volgograd, Russia, were “cash-outs” or “drop masters” on behalf of the GozNym criminal network. Like Alexander Van Hoof, Eremenko and Manokhin provided fellow members of the conspiracy with access to bank accounts they controlled that were designated to receive stolen funds from GozNym victims’ online bank accounts. Manokhin was arrested at the request of the United States while visiting Sri Lanka in February 2017. Following his arrest, Manokhin was released on bail but was required to remain in Sri Lanka pending the outcome of his extradition proceedings to the United States. In December 2017, Manokhin unlawfully absconded from Sri Lanka and successfully fled back to Russia prior to the conclusion of the extradition proceedings.
Other agencies and organizations partnering in this effort include the United States Secret Service, the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) in Pittsburgh and the Shadowserver Foundation. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance throughout the investigation and spearheaded the efforts to enable the United States to request searches, arrests, and extraditions in the foreign countries as well as the sharing of evidence with those countries through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty requests.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles A. “Tod” Eberle, Chief of National Security and Cybercrime for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
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
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Varna, Bulgaria, was sentenced on December 16, 2019, in federal court in Pittsburgh to a period of time served after having served more than 39 months in prison following his conviction on charges of criminal conspiracy, computer fraud, and bank fraud for his role as a member of the GozNym malware cybercrime network, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Krasimir Nikolov, 47, of Bulgaria. Nikolov will be transferred into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and removed from the United States to Bulgaria.
At the request of the United States, Nikolov was arrested in September 2016 by Bulgarian authorities and extradited to Pittsburgh in December 2016 to face prosecution in the Western District of Pennsylvania. According to information presented to the court, Nikolov’s primary role in the conspiracy was that of a "casher" or "account takeover specialist." In that capacity, Nikolov used victims’ stolen online banking credentials captured by GozNym malware to access victims’ online bank accounts and attempt to steal victims’ money through electronic transfers into bank accounts controlled by fellow conspirators.
Nikolov conspired with fellow GozNym members charged in a related Indictment announced in May 2019 in The Hague, Netherlands by U.S. Attorney Brady and international partners from Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Germany, Europol, and Eurojust. The Indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh, charged 10 additional members of the GozNym criminal network with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to that Indictment, Alexander Konovolov, aka "NoNe," aka "none_1," of Tbilisi, Georgia, was the primary organizer and leader of the GozNym network who controlled more than 41,000 victim computers infected with GozNym malware. Konovolov assembled the team of elite cybercriminals charged in the Indictment, in part by recruiting them through underground online criminal forums. Marat Kazandjian, aka "phant0m," of Kazakhstan and Tbilisi, Georgia, was Konovolov’s primary assistant and technical administrator. Konovolov and Kazandjian were arrested and prosecuted in Georgia for their respective roles in the GozNym criminal network
In a related announcement today, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia announced the convictions and imposition of sentences against Konovolov and Kazandjian following a lengthy trial held in Tbilisi, Georgia. In an unprecedented level of cooperation, the Georgian trial included witness testimony from an FBI agent and a computer scientist from the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, as well as evidence obtained by the
FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office through their parallel investigation. The Georgian prosecution was based on violations of Georgian criminal laws perpetrated by Konovolov and Kazandjian against GozNym victims in the United States, including victims in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
"In announcing the prosecution of the GozNym international cybercrime syndicate with our law enforcement partners at Europol in May, I stated that borderless cybercrime necessitates a borderless response," said U. S. Attorney Brady. "This new paradigm involves unprecedented levels of cooperation with willing and trusted law enforcement partners around the world who share our goals of searching, arresting and prosecuting cyber criminals no matter where they might be. I want to congratulate and personally thank the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia for their dedication and hard work in securing these important convictions, and for their willingness to seek justice on behalf of GozNym victims in the United States and around the world."
"The FBI will not allow cyber criminals from any country to operate with impunity," said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Robert Jones. "For years, these cyber criminals believed they could steal millions from innocent victims. Through international cooperation with multiple agencies, we were able to target, takedown and bring to justice members of this criminal enterprise. We will continue to relentlessly pursue these cyber criminals who think they can conduct illicit activity from behind the perceived anonymity of a computer."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles A. Eberle prosecuted this case on behalf of the U.S. government.
In addition to extending his gratitude and appreciation to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia for their investigation and successful prosecution of Konovolov and Kazandjian, United States Attorney Brady commended the FBI for the investigation leading to the successful prosecutions of Nikolov, Konovolov and Kazandjian.
The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance with the extradition of Nikolov from Bulgaria as well as with the bi-lateral sharing of evidence with Georgia. Bulgaria’s General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime assisted in the arrest of Nikolov.
A California man and two Chinese nationals were sentenced today to 15, 10 and eight years in prison, respectively, for laundering gift cards purchased by telephone-scam fraud victims at Target stores across the United States.
According to court documents, Blade Bai, 35, of El Monte, Bowen Hu, 28, of Hacienda Heights, California, and Tairan Shi, 29, of Diamond Bar, California, were part of a network of individuals who laundered proceeds of fraud stored on Target gift cards. Telephone scammers fraudulently induced victims across the country to buy gift cards, often $500 each, and to provide the card numbers and access codes to the scammers. The scammers included government imposters falsely claiming to be police and other government personnel and retail and tech support impersonators falsely offering to fix nonexistent issues with the victims’ online account or computer.
The defendants acquired more than 5,000 gift card numbers and access codes from a group in the People’s Republic of China calling itself the “Magic Lamp,” and funneled the gift cards to “runners” to liquidate at Target stores in southern California. Those runners, at the defendants’ direction, would quickly use the cards to purchase high-value consumer electronics and conduct other transactions. The rapid transactions prevented Target from recouping the value on the cards for the original victim-purchasers.
A jury convicted the defendants of a money laundering conspiracy that spanned from approximately June 2019 to November 2020. The jury also convicted Bai of a second money laundering conspiracy, in which he enlisted an associate to help sell a batch of gift cards with fraudulent proceeds after his initial arrest in the case. One of the defendants’ main “runners,” Yan Fu, 61, of Chino Hills, California, pleaded guilty and was previously sentenced to 20 months in federal prison.
“Transnational fraud schemes typically rely on complicated networks designed to launder victim proceeds,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This case is a testament to the commitment of the department and our partners to ensuring that all those who knowingly facilitate fraud face justice.”
“These defendants were part of a sophisticated, transnational fraud operation that targeted mostly older adults to cheat them out of their savings,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “Protecting our most vulnerable community members is critically important, and we will hold accountable those who reach into our country to engage in these sorts of egregious fraud schemes.”
“The FBI and its partners are committed to going after networks that perpetuate fraud even when they are targeting the American people from thousands of miles away and over the phone,” said Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch. “Today’s sentencing should make it known to individuals that participate in this sort of illegal activity that they can expect to face the consequences of their actions.”
“HSI Los Angeles’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force will continue to aggressively target greedy criminals and organizations that seek to line their pockets by defrauding unsuspecting victims,” said Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang for HSI Los Angeles. “The defendants’ desire for easy money will lead to them doing hard time.”
Homeland Security Investigations’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force and the FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General and numerous local police departments across the United States, including the Brea Police Department, La Palma Police Department and Menifee Police Department. The El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force is part of HSI’s National El Dorado Task Force Initiative and is a multi-agency task force comprised of federal and state investigators focused on financial crimes in Southern California.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica E. Tait for the Central District of California and Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang and Meredith B. Healy of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.
More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
PITTSBURGH – U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady today announced that more than $52.8 million in Department of Justice grants is available to help communities address human trafficking. These funding opportunities are available for state and local government and law enforcement agencies, non-profit victim services providers, including housing stakeholders, task forces and other innovative local programs and solutions to combat human trafficking and serve adults and children who are victimized in trafficking operations.
"My office is firmly committed to preventing human trafficking, bringing traffickers to justice and assisting victims of his heinous crime," said U.S. Attorney Brady. "But we can’t do it alone. State and local law enforcement, local government agencies and community non-profits are key partners in the fight against sex trafficking. I encourage eligible entities to review and apply for these critical funding opportunities."
"Our nation is facing difficult challenges, none more pressing than the scourge of human trafficking. Human traffickers pose a dire threat to public safety and countering this threat remains one of the Administration’s top domestic priorities," said Katharine T. Sullivan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs. "The Department of Justice is front and center in the fight against this insidious crime. OJP is making historic amounts of grant funding available to ensure that our communities have access to innovative and diverse solutions."
The funding is available through OJP, the federal government’s leading source of public safety funding and crime victim assistance in state, local and tribal jurisdictions. OJP’s programs support a wide array of activities and services, including programs that support human trafficking task forces and services for human trafficking survivors.
A number of funding opportunities are currently open, with several more opening in the near future.
Missing and Exploited Children Training and Technical Assistance Program
For more information regarding all OJP funding opportunities, visit https://www.ojp.gov/funding/explore/current-funding-opportunities.
For resources and additional information on applying for OJP grant opportunities, please see the WDPA Grants Resource Page at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/grants.
