BOSTON – A lawsuit was settled today involving an electrical cable beneath Boston Harbor that runs across two shipping channels that the government alleged was not placed at the required depth when it was installed in 1990. The settlement will allow the Boston Harbor Deep Draft Navigation Improvement Project to continue and ensure that modifications will come at no cost to the United States or Massport.

NSTAR Electric Company d/b/a Eversource Energy (NSTAR), NSTAR subsidiary Harbor Electric Energy Company (HEEC), and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) have entered into an agreement to settle a lawsuit filed against them by the United States in connection with a submarine electrical cable that lies beneath Boston Harbor and runs across two federal shipping channels. The government’s complaint alleged that the cable was not installed as deep as required by a permit issued by the New England District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

“This settlement will allow the Deep Draft project to proceed as planned,” said William D. Weinreb, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. “The Deep Draft project is necessary to keep the Port of Boston and its shipping facilities competitive with other East Coast ports. The settlement also means there will be no interference with the provision of electricity to the Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, which is critical to keeping Boston Harbor clean. This is a victory for both the local economy and the environment.”

“The settlement will remedy the Clean Water Act and River and Harbors Act permit violations,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The permit violations in connection with the electric cable running under Boston Harbor will be resolved, so that the Deep Draft Project can proceed as scheduled. In addition, the settlement shows the commitment we place on upholding the integrity of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge-and-fill permits, and the work the Corps does to protect our Nation’s waterways and highways of commerce.”

The cable, installed in 1990, extends from an NSTAR electrical substation in South Boston to Deer Island. Its purpose was to provide electricity to power the construction and operation of the Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant, which is run by the MWRA. The permit required the cable to be embedded at least 25 feet below the bottom of two shipping channels that it crosses, the Reserved Channel and the Main Ship Channel.

The improper installation of the cable took on urgency in 2014, when Congress authorized the deepening of Boston Harbor, including the channels crossed by the cable. The $310 million project to deepen the shipping channels will provide increased depth between Massachusetts Bay and Conley Container Terminal to accommodate the new generation of larger container ships. The harbor deepening project, known as the Deep Draft project, is being led by the USACE in partnership with Massport, which operates Conley Container Terminal. USACE determined that the existing depth of the cable was likely to interfere with the dredging operations of the Deep Draft project, putting the entire project at risk.

The government’s complaint alleged that the permittees – NSTAR, HEEC, and the MWRA – violated two federal laws under which the permit was issued, the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and the Clean Water Act. Massport intervened in the lawsuit, siding with the United States.

Under the terms of the settlement, HEEC will lay a new electrical cable across Boston Harbor from South Boston to Deer Island – but outside the Reserved Channel and out of the way of the Deep Draft project – by the end of 2019. HEEC will then remove the existing cable. Neither the United States nor Massport will bear any of the cost to install or maintain the new cable or remove the existing cable.

Acting U.S. Attorney Weinreb, Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood, and Colonel Christopher Barron, District Engineer and Commander of the USACE New England District, made the announcement today. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of Weinreb’s Civil Division.

BOSTON – An alleged member of MS-13 pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to an immigration charge.

Elenilson Gonzalez-Gonzalez, a/k/a “Siniestro,” 31, a Salvadoran national, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien.  U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for April 5, 2018.   

Following a lengthy investigation, Gonzalez-Gonzalez was one of 61 defendants named in a superseding indictment targeting the activities of alleged leaders, members, and associates of the transnational criminal organization, La Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13.  Gonzalez-Gonzalez is the 27th defendant to plead guilty in this case. 

In December 2015, during the course of the investigation, law enforcement encountered Gonzalez-Gonzalez near Deer Island National Park in Winthrop.  Further investigation revealed that in May 2012, Gonzalez-Gonzalez had been apprehended by U.S. Customers and Border Patrol agents illegally entering the United States near Mission, Texas.  At that time, Gonzalez-Gonzalez admitted that he was a Salvadoran national who had entered the country illegally and was attempting to make his way to the Boston area.  He was subsequently removed from the United States in 2012 on an expedited basis.  Gonzalez-Gonzalez later re-entered the United States and was charged with illegal reentry after deportation. 

The charging statute provides for a sentence of no greater than two years in prison, one year of supervised release, and up to a fine of $250,000.  Gonzalez-Gonzalez will also be subject to deportation upon the completion of his federal sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; Somerville Police Chief David Fallon; and Herndon (VA) Police Chief Maggie A. DeBoard made the announcement.

BOSTON – An MS-13 member was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in the murder of a 16-year-old boy in East Boston.  

Jairo Perez, a/k/a “Seco,” 27, a Salvadoran national, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 35 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Perez will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. In May 2018, Perez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy. Perez admitted that his racketeering activity involved the Jan. 10, 2016, murder of a 16-year-old boy in East Boston. 

After a multi-year investigation, Perez was one of dozens of alleged leaders, members, and associates of MS-13 named in a superseding indictment unsealed in January 2016 that targeted MS-13’s criminal activities in Massachusetts.

The investigation revealed that Perez was a member of MS-13’s Trece Loco Salvatrucha clique. On Jan. 10, 2016, Perez and three other MS-13 members—Edwin Gonzalez a/k/a “Sangriento,” Edwin Diaz, a/k/a “Demente,” and Rigoberto Mejia, a/k/a “Ninja”—murdered a 16-year-old boy whom they believed to be a member of a rival gang. Perez, Gonzalez, and Diaz used machetes to strike the victim dozens of times, while Mejia shot the victim. The murder occurred late at night on the sidewalk of a residential street in East Boston. 

A few days after the murder, law enforcement used a cooperating witness to capture Perez on tape admitting to his involvement in the murder. Perez was also recorded burying the knives used to murder the victim in a park on Deer Island in Winthrop. The murder weapons were later recovered by law enforcement.

Perez, Gonzalez, Diaz, and Mejia are four of 49 defendants who have been convicted on federal charges as part of the ongoing prosecution. Sixteen of those defendants—including Perez, Gonzalez, Diaz, and Mejia—have been held responsible for racketeering conspiracy involving murder. Forty of the 49 convictions, including Mejia, were the result of guilty pleas prior to trial.  Nine other defendants, including Gonzalez, were convicted after trial.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement today. The U.S. Marshals Service has provided crucial assistance with the case.

BOSTON – An MS-13 member pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to racketeering conspiracy involving the murder of a 16-year-old boy in East Boston.  

Jairo Perez, a/k/a “Seco,” 27, a Salvadoran national, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy. Perez admitted that his racketeering activity involved the Jan. 10, 2016, murder of a 16-year-old boy in East Boston. 

Under the terms of the proposed plea agreement, Perez will be sentenced to 35 years in prison.  At today’s hearing, the Court accepted the defendant’s guilty plea but deferred acceptance of the plea agreement until the sentencing hearing.  Perez will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence.  U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11, 2018.

The investigation revealed that Perez was a member of MS-13’s Trece Loco Salvatrucha (TLS) clique. Evidence showed that on Jan. 10, 2016, Perez and other MS-13 members murdered a 16-year-old boy whom they believed to be a member of the rival 18th Street gang. The victim was stabbed and shot multiple times.  A few days after the murder, Perez was caught on tape admitting to stabbing the victim multiple times, and he was arrested soon thereafter. Perez was also recorded burying the knives used to murder the victim in a park on Deer Island in Winthrop.

After a multi-year investigation, Perez was one of dozens of alleged leaders, members, and associates of MS-13 named in a superseding indictment unsealed in January 2016 that targeted MS-13’s criminal activities in Massachusetts. Perez is the 48th defendant to be convicted as part of that ongoing prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.  To date, all eight defendants who have gone to trial have been convicted, and 40 other defendants have pleaded guilty.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Peter Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner Thomas Turco of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections; Essex County Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger; Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Thompkins; Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett; Boston Police Commissioner William Evans; Chelsea Police Chief Brian A. Kyes; Everett Police Chief Steven A. Mazzie; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Revere Police Chief James Guido; and Somerville Police Chief David Fallon made the announcement.

The remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

 

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, United States District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Bloods gang member Lawrence Lewis, also known as “L Boogs,” to life plus 22 years imprisonment following his conviction for the July 29, 2017 murder of John Birt, the 2014 forcible rape and sex trafficking of a Suffolk County woman, narcotics possession and distribution and witness tampering, as well as various firearms charges.  Lewis was convicted by a federal jury in November 2021 following a four-week trial.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Raymond A. Tierney, Suffolk County District Attorney, Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI),  Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), and Rodney K. Harrison, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the sentence.

“A mandatory life sentence is a fitting punishment for Lewis, a gang member who committed murder, rape, sex trafficking, and pushed drugs in our community,” stated Unites States Attorney Peace.  “Through his allegiance to the Bloods, the defendant caused considerable harm to others, and that decision has now permanently cost him his freedom.  I commend our prosecutors, and federal and local law enforcement partners for their collaborative work that has made Suffolk County safer as a result of the arrest and prosecution of this violent criminal.”

"The terror and violence this defendant unleashed on to Suffolk County is deplorable. Defendant Lewis's greed and thirst for power prompted him to commit murder, spread dangerous drugs throughout our communities and exploit those who owed him money by sex trafficking," stated Suffolk County District Attorney Tierney.  "Thanks to our strong partnership with U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and our local and federal law enforcement partners, the public will be protected from this defendant for life." 

“Today’s life sentence assures that Lawrence Lewis’ violent criminal behavior that plagued Long Island communities has been brought to a definitive conclusion,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo. “While nothing can erase the pain and suffering endured by his victims, no one else will be harmed by this unrepentant individual who has shown a wanton disregard for human life. I am especially grateful to the HSI special agents and task force officers, the FBI, SCPD, and the prosecutorial team whose dedication and professionalism ensured that justice prevailed in this case.

“Lewis is a career criminal, who committed heinous acts without remorse, and caused irreparable damage to victims and their families," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison said. "The Suffolk County Police Department will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure perpetrators like Lewis never see freedom again and I commend Eastern District of New York for this result.”

Between January April 2004 and June 2019, Lewis utilized his membership in the Bloods street gang to distribute large quantities of cocaine base and heroin in Suffolk County.  In order to protect his supply of narcotics, and secure his ability to distribute his narcotics, Lewis possessed a number of firearms, including an AR-15 assault rifle, a pistol-grip 12-gauge shotgun, a Mossberg .22 caliber rifle and a Ruger .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. 

Lewis also engaged in acts of extreme violence on the gang’s behalf.  In 2021, Lewis forced a Suffolk County woman into prostitution, forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts until she repaid a debt to him.  During the same period of time, Lewis forcibly raped the same woman.  In addition, on July 29, 2017, Lewis shot and killed John Birt, a member of the Crips gang, at the Illusions Gentlemen’s Club in Deer Park, New York.  While Birt and several friends posed for pictures inside the club.  Lewis and a fellow Bloods gang member approached, and Lewis’ associate attempted to display a Bloods hand signal.  An argument ensued.  Lewis produced a .25 caliber firearm and fatally shot Birt in the abdomen.  Following the shooting, Lewis confessed to the murder to a number of close acquaintances, even sending text messages stating that he was “sleeping good” and would “do it again.”  In the lead-up to his federal trial, Lewis and others acting on his behalf, made efforts to prevent several witnesses from testifying against him through the use of veiled and implicit threats of violence.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher C. Caffarone, Mark E. Misorek, Anthony Bagnuola and Special Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen A. Kearon are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Samantha Schroder. 

The Defendant

LAWRENCE LEWIS (also known as “L Boogs”)

Age:  41

Residence: Calverton, New York  

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-187 (S-1) (JS)

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Frank Parasmo, a former medical doctor, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack to 36 months in prison for his conviction on 32 counts of unlawfully distributing oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription painkiller, to 18 patients without a legitimate medical purpose. As part of the sentence, Parasmo also received 3 years of supervised release.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), announced the verdict.

“Today’s sentence demonstrates that there are significant consequences for doctors who act as drug dealers,” stated U.S. Attorney Peace. “This Office remains committed to using all tools available to address the damage the opioid crisis does to our communities.”

“DEA’s investigative and regulatory focus is to keep the public safe and healthy,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Tarentino.  “Parasmo’s actions were irresponsible to his patients and endangered theirs and others’ safety and well-being; his disregard of pertinent information such illicit drug use and the diversion of highly addictive opioid prescriptions was egregious.  I commend the DEA’s Long Island District Office-Tactical Diversion Squad and the Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office for their tenacious work on this investigation.” 

As proven at trial, between January 2014 and February 2015, Parasmo provided prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone pills to 18 of his patients without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the course of a professional medical practice. Parasmo issued prescriptions to patients who had just left detox treatment in rehabilitation facilities, as well as patients who had just been discharged from a hospital following an overdose. In addition, Parasmo issued prescriptions to many patients he knew were taking illegal drugs or who he suspected were addicts. There is a significant risk of an overdose when oxycodone is taken with heroin and cocaine.

In several instances, Parasmo continued to write prescriptions for individuals who he had been warned were not taking their pills as prescribed and, in some instances, possibly reselling them on the streets. From 2010 to 2015, Dr. Parasmo prescribed over 1.5 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills, making him one of the top prescribers of those painkillers in New York State during that period. Notably, after learning that the DEA was investigating his prescribing practices, Parasmo cut in half the number of oxycodone prescriptions he issued annually.

This case was investigated by the DEA’s Long Island District Office Tactical Diversion Squad, comprising agents and officers of the DEA, Nassau County Police Department, Suffolk County Police Department, Port Washington Police Department, and Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Maffei and Charles P. Kelly are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

FRANK PARASMO

Age: 76

Deer Park, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-1 (JMA)

Earlier today, following four weeks of trial, a federal jury in Central Islip, New York, returned a guilty verdict against Bloods gang member Lawrence Lewis, also known as “L Boogs,” for the July 29, 2017 murder of John Birt, the forcible rape and sex trafficking of a Suffolk County woman, racketeering, multiple firearms offenses, narcotics possession and distribution and witness tampering.  The trial was held before United States District Judge Joanna Seybert.  When sentenced, Lewis faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison for the murder. 

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Timothy D. Sini, District Attorney, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Ricky J. Patel, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Michael J. Driscoll,  Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI),  and Stuart Cameron, Acting Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the verdict.

“Lewis’s conviction today ensures that he will never  again be able to terrorize our community with his senseless acts of gang-related violence,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “I commend the prosecutors in this Office, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the special agents and detectives whose hard work and persistence led to Lewis being held accountable for his long record of reprehensible crimes.”

“With extreme violence and indifference to human life, Lawrence Lewis with the Bloods street gang reigned terror over neighborhoods in Suffolk County, Long Island for over a decade.  With today’s verdict finding Lewis guilty of heinous crimes to include murder, rape, and sex trafficking, a clear message has been sent to these violent gang members that they will be held accountable for their actions,” stated HSI Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Patel.  “HSI New York’s Long Island Transnational Violent Gangs Task Force, working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, will continue to tirelessly pursue the most dangerous offenders and bring them to justice.”

“Today’s verdict shows Mr. Lewis has very little regard for human life and demonstrates how truly  detrimental his presence has been to society. He will now face the consequences of his actions. The outstanding work being done by our Long Island Gang Task Force continues to take these violent criminals of our streets and out of our communities so they can longer terrorize our neighbors,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.

“As a member of a violent street gang, Lewis’ involvement in illegal activity ran the gamut,” stated SCPD Acting Commissioner Cameron. “He was willing to do whatever it took to further his criminal activities and attempt to evade authorities. I applaud the hard work of all the agencies involved to hold Lewis accountable for his heinous actions.”

As proven at trial, between April 2004 and June 2019, Lewis, as a member of the Bloods street gang, distributed large quantities of cocaine base and heroin in Suffolk County.  In order to protect his supply of narcotics, and secure his ability to distribute his narcotics, Lewis possessed a number of firearms, including an AR-15 assault rifle, a pistol-grip 12-gauge shotgun, a Mossberg .22 caliber rifle and a Ruger .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. 

Lewis also engaged in acts of extreme violence on behalf of the Bloods gang.  For example, in 2014, as retaliation for a theft of guns, Lewis forced a woman into engaging in prostitution until she repaid her debt to him.  During the same period of time, Lewis forcibly raped the woman.  On July 29, 2017, Lewis shot and killed John Birt, a member of the Crips gang, at the Illusions Gentlemen’s Club in Deer Park, New York.  While Birt and several friends posed for pictures inside the club, Lewis and a fellow Bloods gang member approached the group.  Lewis’ associate attempted to display a Bloods hand signal and Birt began arguing with Lewis, who then shot and killed him.  Later, Lewis texted a number of close acquaintances about the murder, stating that he was “sleeping good” and would “do it again.” 

Prior to the trial, Lewis and others acting on his behalf made efforts to prevent witnesses from testifying against him, through the use of veiled and implicit threats of violence.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher C. Caffarone, Mark E. Misorek and Anthony Bagnuola are in charge of the prosecution. 

The Defendant

LAWRENCE LEWIS (also known as “L Boogs”)

Age: 38

Calverton, New York  

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-187 (S-1) (JS)

A federal jury in Central Islip returned a guilty verdict this afternoon against Frank Parasmo, a medical doctor with an office in Deer Park, on 31 counts of unlawfully distributing oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription painkiller, and one count of unlawfully distributing hydrocodone without a legitimate medical purpose.  The verdict followed four weeks of trial before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack.  When sentenced, Dr. Parasmo faces up to 20 years in prison.

Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ray Donovan, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), announced the verdict.

“By prescribing painkillers in the absence of any recognized medical need, the defendant not only betrayed his oath as a physician to do no harm, he also endangered the lives of vulnerable patients and contributed to the spread of the opioid epidemic by peddling dangerous drugs,” stated Acting United States Attorney Kasulis.  “As today’s verdict demonstrates, this Office will continue to hold accountable medical professionals like the defendant who misuse their advanced education, specialized training and access to prescription painkillers to exploit drug dependency in our communities.”

“The egregious prescribing records detailed in court proceedings outlined clearly how the defendant disregarded his patients’ health, and instead, risked their lives while they suffered from substance abuse,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Donovan.  “There is no excuse for a doctor, an individual who is given great trust and responsibility, to put their patient’s lives and the public’s health, in jeopardy.  I commend the DEA Long Island District Office Tactical Diversion Squad and the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of New York for their diligent work throughout this investigation.”

 As proven at trial, between January 2014 and December 2015, Dr. Parasmo provided prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone pills to 18 of his patients without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the course of a professional medical practice.  Parasmo issued prescriptions to patients who had just completed detox treatment in rehabilitation facilities, as well as patients who had just been discharged from the hospital following an overdose, In addition, Parasmo issued prescriptions to many patients he knew were taking illegal drugs or who he suspected were addicts.  There is a significant risk of an overdose when oxycodone is taken with heroin and cocaine.  From 2010 to 2015, Dr. Parasmo prescribed over 1.5 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills making him one of the top prescribers of the painkiller in New York State during that time period.

This case was investigated by the DEA’s Long Island District Office Tactical Diversion Squad comprising agents and officers of the DEA, Nassau County Police Department, Suffolk County Police Department, Port Washington Police Department, and Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General. 

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Maffei and Charles P. Kelly are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

FRANK PARASMO

Age:  75

Great River, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-1 (JMA)

One year ago, the Department of Justice announced the revitalization and enhancement of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made the centerpiece of the Department’s nationwide violent crime reduction strategy.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in communities and to develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally-based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

“Project Safe Neighborhoods is a proven program with demonstrated results,” Attorney General Sessions said in marking the anniversary.  “We know that the most effective strategy to reduce violent crime is based on sound policing policies that have proven effective over many years, which includes being targeted and responsive to community needs.  I have empowered our United States Attorneys to focus enforcement efforts against the most violent criminals in their districts, and directed that they work together with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and community partners to develop tailored solutions to the unique violent crime problems they face.  Each United States Attorney has prioritized the PSN program, and I am confident that it will continue to reduce crime, save lives and restore safety to our communities.”

“Over the past year, the Eastern District of New York has arrested and prosecuted dozens of gang members, gun traffickers and other violent offenders who have committed hundreds of serious crimes in our District.  The charged crimes include racketeering, murders, aggravated assaults, armed robberies, drug trafficking, firearms trafficking, and the possession of firearms by convicted felons and illegal aliens.  These prosecutions are a testament to the Project Safe Neighborhoods targeted enforcement strategies, which we have pursued with our federal and local law enforcement partners,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “We and our partners remain completely committed to identifying those who are most responsible for violence in our District and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law, while continuing to support vital outreach programs for young people at risk.”

The PSN efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York over the last year include:

MS-13 Enforcement

Over the last year, this Office has continued its decade-long enforcement efforts against the MS-13 street gang.  For example, in 2018, more than two dozen Long Island MS-13 gang members were charged in a single superseding indictment with racketeering offenses, including 16 murders and numerous attempted murders.  Additional racketeering charges were brought against other Long Island MS-13 defendants in additional indictments throughout the year.  Numerous defendants, including juvenile defendants, have already pleaded guilty to serious charges, including several murders.  The investigations that led to those indictments were conducted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Long Island Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department (NCSD), the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD) and other partners.

Also, in August of 2018, four MS-13 gang members were charged with murder conspiracy and attempted murder in Queens.  Those MS-13 defendants are charged with aiding and abetting co-conspirators who shot and paralyzed a 16-year-old suspected rival gang member.  The investigation was conducted with the FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Forces in Queens and on Long Island, which includes the FBI, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and other partners.

Coney Island Gang Enforcement

The Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section has increased its enforcement efforts in the Coney Island area.  The number of shooting victims in the NYPD’s 60th Precinct is down 70 percent year-to-date, and the number of shooting incidents is down 66 percent year-to-date, according to the NYPD. 

In June 2018, a Brooklyn gang member was convicted of racketeering and two murders.  The defendant, a member of the Coney Island-based Rival Impact gang, gunned down the victims in a gang war with the Thirty-O gang.  The investigation was conducted with the FBI and the NYPD.

In November 2017, five members of a Coney Island street gang were indicted for murder, racketeering conspiracy and unlawful use of firearms.  Three of the defendants are charged with a fatal shooting outside the Mermaid Houses in Brooklyn.  The investigation was conducted with the FBI, the New York City Department of Investigation and the NYPD.

Other Street Gang Enforcement

In April 2018, four 18th Street gang members and associates were indicted for murder conspiracy and the murder of an MS-13 gang rival in Queens.  The investigation was conducted with the Queens County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI’s New York Metro Safe Streets Task Force, including the NYPD.

Also in April 2018, a Long Island Bloods gang member was indicted for murder and racketeering.  The defendant is charged with fatally shooting a victim at the Illusions Gentlemen’s Club in Deer Park.  The investigation was conducted with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI’s Long Island Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department (NCSD), the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD) and other partners.

In March 2018, three members and associates of the 18th Street gang were indicted for the murder of a fellow gang member they suspected of being an informant.  The defendants video recorded the murder and mutilation of the victim before burying the corpse in Turkey Point State Forest in Saugerties, New York.  A fourth defendant is charged with helping a co-defendant evade capture by law enforcement authorities after the murder.  The investigation was conducted with the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI.

Since October of 2017, the Office has prosecuted over more than two dozen felon in possession of a weapon cases and more than 30 Hobbs Act robbery cases.

Firearms Trafficking Enforcement

In September 2018, two defendants were arrested for trafficking firearms from Virginia to Queens and Long Island.  The defendants are charged with selling an assault rifle, high-caliber handguns and several other firearms.  The investigation was conducted with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI and the NCPD.

In June 2018, three defendants were arrested for trafficking firearms from Virginia to New York.  The defendants allegedly used Facebook to market and sell firearms illegally obtained by straw purchasers.  The investigation was conducted with the ATF and the NYPD.

Additional Federal Prosecutors Assigned

In June 2018, Attorney General Sessions announced 311 new Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) positions throughout the country.  This was the largest increase in AUSAs in decades and, as part of that increase, the Attorney General allocated nine new prosecutors to the EDNY to focus on violent crime, civil enforcement and immigration crimes.

In addition, in January 2018, Attorney General Sessions selected the EDNY to receive two new AUSA positions to combat violent crime on Long Island.  The two additional federal prosecutors enhanced the Office’s ability to prosecute violent crimes committed by members and associates of MS-13 and other violent gangs such as the Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings, 18th Street gang and Outlaw motorcycle gangs, all of which have a significant presence in the district.

Community Partnerships and Grants

PSN funding has also been made available to provide direct support to local law enforcement agencies as well as prevention, education and awareness programs for at-risk young people and parents.  Presentations regarding gang awareness, internet safety and monitoring your child’s electronic devices all provide students and parents with necessary tools to more effectively avoid the dangers of violent crime. 

In September 2018, a federal award of $1,036,044 was granted to Suffolk County to oversee and implement various violent crime reduction strategies in Suffolk County, Nassau County and throughout the district.  Resources will be dedicated to enforcement and prevention efforts including, but not limited to, funding for prosecutors and police, providing technical training, promoting community outreach efforts and supporting existing gun and gang violence reduction programs.  

In addition, in October 2017, the Justice Department awarded a $500,000 grant to the Suffolk County Police Department for a violent gang and gun crime reduction program.  The grant supported enforcement strategies targeting individuals responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime and expanded community outreach programs for at-risk youth.

Charges in complaints and indictments are allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Harvey Ulfers, 64, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, has been ordered to serve 33 months (2 years, 9 months) in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering. U.S. District Judge Sara Darrow sentenced Ulfers late yesterday. In addition, Judge Darrow ordered Ulfers to pay a fine of $111,602 plus pay restitution in the amount of $259,132 to his former employer, the victim of his offenses. Ulfers was ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on July 17, 2017, to begin serving his sentence.

 

On Nov. 17, 2016, Ulfers pled guilty to the eight counts of the indictment which charged him with wire fraud, money laundering, and money laundering conspiracy. From about 2004 to January 2013, Ulfers defrauded his former employer, Deere & Company, headquartered in Moline, of at least $250,000. Using his position at Deere’s foundry facility in Waterloo, Iowa, Ulfers caused the creation and approval of fraudulent internal documents that allowed significantly undervalued scrap metal to leave the facility. Ulfers conspired with others to obtain the excess value of the scrap after it was sold at scrap yards like Alter Metal Recycling, using a third entity to launder the fraudulent proceeds and provide cash payments to Ulfers.

 

Ulfers’s co-conspirator, Patrick Williams, 47, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, a former employee of Alter Metal Recycling, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy on April 14, 2016. Judge Darrow sentenced Williams on April 13, 2017, to 27 months in federal prison. Williams was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $259,132.97 to Deere & Company, jointly and severally with Ulfers.

 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith DeCarlo and Donald Allegro, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Noll assisting with recovery of restitution. The charges were investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The matter initially came to light following internal investigations by Deere & Company and Alter Metal Recycling.

Baltimore, Maryland –After a seven-day trial, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts yesterday convicting Wayne I. Kacher, Jr., age 51, of Harford County, Maryland, on federal charges of conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery, honest services wire fraud, and bribery involving federal funds. 

The guilty verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office.

As detailed in trial testimony, the Maryland Broadband Cooperative, Incorporated (“MdBC”) was a not-for-profit corporation whose purpose was to work with internet service providers to offer broadband internet service to under-served and un-served areas in Maryland.  For a fee, public and private entities could join the cooperative and gain access to the broadband infrastructure that MdBC installed.  MdBC’s office was located in Salisbury, Maryland.  William Patrick Mitchell worked as the President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of MdBC.

Defendant Wayne Kacher (“Kacher”) was the president and owner of Bel Air Underground, Inc. (“BAU”), a company that is principally located in Baltimore County, Maryland.  BAU frequently acted as a subcontractor on projects for MdBC.  Kacher was also the president and owner of Pro Comm Engineering and Locating Services, LLC (“Pro Comm”), which was principally located in Baltimore, County Maryland.  Pro Comm also acted as a subcontractor on projects for MdBC.

From 2014 to 2018, MdBC paid Kacher’s company, BAU, more than $11 million for broadband network related work.  Of that amount, approximately $7.9 million was for work on installing and improving a fiber optic broadband connection from NASA Wallops Island to Patuxent River Naval Air Station (hereafter “Pax River”) in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, to enhance the communications capacity between those locations. 

The trial evidence showed that from at least 2014 to 2018, Kacher provided Mitchell with financial benefits, including cash payments, and payments for an all-terrain vehicle and a John Deere Gator owned by Mitchell.  Kacher also paid for renovations and improvements to Mitchell’s residence, including paying for the construction of a pole building on Mitchell’s property.  Kacher gave these things to Mitchell because of and in exchange for the work that MdBC was subcontracting to BAU and Pro Comm. 

At sentencing, not yet scheduled by the court, Kacher faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for conspiracy; twenty years in federal prison for honest services wire fraud; and a maximum of ten years in prison for federal program bribery. 

On May 10, 2024, William Patrick Mitchell, age 58, previously pleaded guilty to Counts One and Two of the Superseding Indictment, which charged Mitchell with Conspiracy and Honest Services Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 1346.  Judge Gallagher will sentence Mitchell on October 4, 2024. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended DCIS and the FBI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Phelps and Christine Goo, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Baltimore, Maryland – Today, U.S. District Stephanie A. Gallagher sentenced Wayne I. Kacher, Jr., 52, of Harford County, Maryland, to 20 months in federal prison for conspiracy, honest services wire fraud, and federal program bribery.  A federal jury found Kacher guilty on May 21, 2024, after a seven-day trial.Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) – Mid-Atlantic Field Office.As detailed in trial testimony, the Maryland Broadband Cooperative, Incorporated (MdBC) was a not-for-profit corporation whose purpose was to work with internet-service providers to offer broadband internet service to underserved and unserved areas in Maryland.  Public and private entities could join the cooperative and gain access to the broadband infrastructure that MdBC installed for a fee.  William Patrick Mitchell served as president and chief executive officer of MdBC, which was located in Salisbury, Maryland.Kacher was the president and owner of Bel Air Underground, Inc. (BAU), a company that was principally located in Baltimore County, Maryland.  BAU frequently acted as a subcontractor on projects for MdBC.  From 2014 to 2018, MdBC paid BAU more than $11 million for broadband network-related work.  Approximately $7.9 million of the $11 million was for work installing and improving a fiber-optic broadband connection from NASA Wallops Island to Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, to enhance the communications capacity between those locations.The trial evidence showed that from at least 2014 to 2018, Kacher provided Mitchell with financial benefits, including cash payments, and payments for an all-terrain vehicle and a John Deere Gator owned by Mitchell.  Kacher also paid for renovations and improvements to Mitchell’s residence, including for the construction of a pole building on Mitchell’s property.  The defendant gave these items to Mitchell in exchange for the work that MdBC was subcontracting to BAU.On October 7, 2024, Judge Gallagher sentenced Mitchell to one year and one day for his role in the scheme.U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and DCIS for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Christine Goo who prosecuted the federal case.For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.# # #

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 43-year-old Houston man has been ordered to prison after fraudulently purchasing two expensive vehicles using information purchased on the dark web, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Jay Patrick Morgan pleaded guilty Oct. 21, 2021.

Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ordered him to serve a 24-month sentence to be immediately followed by one year of supervised release. Morgan was also ordered to pay $31,409.37 restitution to compensate for damages and the diminished value of the recovered property. 

“Today’s sentencing is a reminder that the Secret Service is committed to aggressively investigating and pursuing financial crimes,” said Resident Agent in Charge Brian J. Gibson. “Identity theft investigations remain a top priority for us in our mission to protect this nation’s financial intuitions. The success in this case demonstrates the investigative capabilities of the Secret Service and the collaborative efforts with our law enforcement partners.”

On March 8, 2019, Morgan purchased a 2015 Ford F250 Platinum Edition

pickup truck, valued at more than $59,000. The following week, he also purchased a 2019 Rockwood 5th Wheel recreational vehicle (RV), valued at more than $57,000 from a dealer in the Corpus Christi area. In both instances, Morgan financed the total value of each vehicle by falsely providing the Social Security number and other identifying information of another individual with a similar name.

The victim later contacted authorities after discovering numerous credit inquiries and several new credit accounts he had not requested, including those used to purchase the pickup truck and RV. The investigation confirmed the victim had not opened any of the credit accounts and no payments had been made on any of the accounts. Both the pickup truck and the RV were listed as solen vehicles.   

In August 2019, local authorities conducted a traffic stop on the stolen pickup. Morgan was driving.

He admitted he acquired the pickup truck using a Social Security number he had purchased with Bitcoin currency from a site on the dark web. Morgan also admitted to fraudulently using the same information to purchase an RV which he had subsequently sold to another individual.

Morgan has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Secret Service conducted the investigation with the assistance of police departments in Corpus Christi and Deer Park. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert D. Thorpe Jr. prosecuted the case.

BILLINGS  — A Busby man who admitted hitting and injuring his dating partner on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation was sentenced today to two years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Weston Francis Littlewhiteman, 31, pleaded guilty in August to assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a dating or intimate partner.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court document that on Oct. 30, 2022, Littlewhiteman and the victim, identified as Jane Doe, were drinking at a house in Busby, on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. They argued, and Littlewhiteman left the home. Later that night. Jane Doe woke up and Littlewhiteman hit her in the face. Jane Doe was treated for injuries at the Indian Health Service in Lame Deer. At the time of the assault, Jane Doe and Littlewhiteman were dating partners.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and FBI conducted the investigation.

XXX

HOUSTON – A 65-year-old Texas man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in his connection to stealing millions from a Deer Park oil corporation, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

James Arthur Camp, New Braunfels, admitted that from April 1998 through November 2017, he defrauded Lubrizol Corporation of $9,256,712.54. During the scheme, Camp submitted fraudulent invoices for laboratory services from two companies he owned, knowing they had not been performed.

Specifically, Camp admitted that one of those fraudulent laboratory charges included one from his company Bay Area Analytical in the amount of $2,774.06. Camp inputted the data into Lubrizol’s accounting system, causing it to be transmitted electronically from Deer Park to company headquarters in Wycliffe, Ohio. That fraudulent charge was then bundled with other similar charges and paid via electronic funds transfer to Bay Area Analytical’s bank account at J P Morgan Chase Bank in the amount of $12,294.23.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas accepted the plea and set sentencing for August. At that time, Camp faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Braddock is prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – A 66-year-old Texas man has been ordered to federal prison after he admitted to wire fraud in his connection to stealing millions from a Deer Park corporation, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

James Arthur Camp, New Braunfels, pleaded guilty June 4.

Today, U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas ordered Camp to serve a 48-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard from the company’s chief legal officer who detailed how Camp was to obtain approval for the fraudulent invoices he submitted. In handing down the sentence, Judge Atlas noted Camp made grievous mistakes in setting up his scheme and letting it get so big for long. The court ordered he pay restitution in the amount of $11,256,712.54.

“For 19 years, Camp took advantage of his employer by embezzling more than  $10 million, separate from his paycheck,” said Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI. “Today's sentencing demonstrates the ramifications of a man's years-long commitment to greed, deception and selfishness. This case should remind citizens that every action has a consequence, as Camp will now be held accountable for his actions.”

At the time of his plea, Camp admitted that from April 1998 through November 2017, he defrauded Lubrizol Corporation of $9,256,712.54. During the scheme, he submitted fraudulent invoices for laboratory services from two companies he owned, knowing they had not been performed.

Specifically, Camp admitted that one of those fraudulent laboratory charges included one from his company Bay Area Analytical in the amount of $2,774.06. Camp inputted the data into Lubrizol’s accounting system, causing it to be transmitted electronically from Deer Park to company headquarters in Wycliffe, Ohio. That fraudulent charge was then bundled with other similar charges and paid via electronic funds transfer to Bay Area Analytical’s bank account at J P Morgan Chase Bank in the amount of $12,294.23.

Camp was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined later. 

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Braddock prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Inc. (DuPont) pleaded guilty and has been sentenced for criminal negligence in connection with a 2014 accident that left four company employees dead, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

On Nov. 15, 2014, DuPont released approximately 24,000 pounds of a highly toxic, flammable gas called methyl mercaptan (MeSH) into the air. In addition to killing the four, the chemical release injured other DuPont employees and travelled downwind into the surrounding areas.

The company pleaded guilty today along with Kenneth Sandel, 52, Friendswood, unit operations leader of the Insecticide Business Unit (IBU) where the accident occurred.

U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ordered DuPont to pay a $12 million penalty. The company must also serve two years of probation during which time the company must give the U.S. Probation Office full access to all of its operating locations. Judge Rosenthal also ordered Sandel to serve one year of probation. At the hearing, the court asked DuPont’s corporate representative whether the company had to publicly disclose their conviction, noting the importance of that fact.

They will also make a $4 million community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to address the harm they caused by funding  projects that benefit air quality in and around areas adjacent to the western shores of Galveston Bay.

As a result of this case and other related civil cases tied to the explosion, DuPont will have paid a total of $19.26 million for its unlawful conduct.

“Four employees are dead because of DuPont’s criminal negligence,” said Hamdani. “The sentence imposed today sends a clear message of my office’s dedication to holding managers at industrial facilities, and the corporations that own and operate those facilities, accountable for violations of federal criminal laws; laws meant to protect the safety of workers and nearby communities.”

“The failure to follow required chemical safety procedures at Dupont’s La Porte facility resulted in the deaths of four employees,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case demonstrates the importance of holding chemical facilities accountable for implementing chemical safety requirements that are designed to protect workers and neighboring communities.”

DuPont is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, and owns chemical manufacturing plants around the world including a facility in La Porte. As part of its operations, the facility produces pesticides called Lannate and Vydate among other products.

The release of the MeSH on Nov. 15, 2014, resulted in the introduction of the pesticides into the air which travelled downwind into the city of Deer Park and beyond. In addition to killing the four employees, several others were injured.

The fatal accident occurred after an employee inadvertently left open a piping valve which caused a slushy material to block the flow of liquid MeSH into the Lannate process. To melt it, DuPont day shift employees began applying hot water to the outside of the blocked piping and opened other valves to vent MeSH gas into a waste gas system. However, the MeSH piping was still blocked at the end of the day.

As the IBU leader, Sandel was responsible for ensuring shift supervisors, operators and engineers understood and complied with government safety, health and environmental regulations. Specifically, Sandel was responsible for implementing a safety procedure at the IBU by making sure employees understood and followed the procedure’s requirements and did not release toxic chemicals inappropriately to the environment.

Sandel and other employees failed to provide sufficient instructions to the oncoming shift for how to safely clear remaining blockage. It finally cleared early the next morning, and a large volume of liquid MeSH began flowing into the waste gas system. At that time, an employee mistakenly believed the waste gas system only contained materials present during normal operations and opened valves that resulted in the release of the toxic gas. 

Records indicate employees at DuPont’s LaPorte plant disregarded a federally mandated safety procedure when opening those valves on the waste system. Sandel should have known operators did not have a safe and effective way to drain the vent system and should have prevented it from happening. 

As part of the pleas, DuPont and Sandel admitted to negligently releasing an extremely hazardous substance into the ambient air. The company also acknowledged negligently placing a person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury in violation of the federal Clean Air Act.

The IBU has since been demolished.

The charges against DuPont and Sandel are part of an EPA initiative titled Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical Facilities. EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Texas conducted the investigation with assistance from the Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA) John R. Lewis and Belinda Beek and Special AUSA Kristina Gonzales are prosecuting the case with assistance from the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

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From the outset of Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the Department of Justice has prioritized enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed alongside our global partners. Today, the Department continues that work through significant enforcement actions in five separate federal cases against sanctioned oligarchs and facilitator networks supporting the Russian regime.

Today’s actions coincide with the approaching two-year mark of Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine. Read more about the Justice Department’s efforts to hold Russia accountable here.

“The Justice Department is more committed than ever to cutting off the flow of illegal funds that are fueling Putin’s war and to holding accountable those who continue to enable it,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “That is why today we are announcing several additional enforcement actions that the Justice Department has taken to bring prosecutions against and seize assets of sanctioned enablers of the Kremlin and Russian military.”

“Since the onset of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the Justice Department has used every tool in our arsenal – including our international partnerships – to target the criminal actors and activity propping up Vladimir Putin, his henchmen, and his illegal war,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Over the last two years, our Task Force KleptoCapture has restrained, seized, and obtained judgments to forfeit nearly $700 million in assets from Russian enablers and charged more than 70 individuals for violating international sanctions and export controls levied against Russia. The charges we announce today against oligarchs, facilitators, and money launderers are the next chapter: so long as Russia's aggression continues, so too will our resolve to hold its enablers accountable. We stand firmly with the people of Ukraine.”

“It has been two years since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the FBI continues to go after the Russian criminals who finance and enable Russia’s war,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “To the people of Ukraine fighting for their freedom: The FBI remains steadfast in our efforts to disrupt and hold accountable the criminals supporting the Russian War, and we will continue to stand with you to fend off Russian aggression for as long as it takes.”

In the Southern District of New York, the Department unsealed charges against three people, including sanctioned oligarch Andrey Kostin and two of his U.S.-based facilitators. The facilitators, Vadim Wolfson, aka Vadim Belyaev and Gannon Bond, were arrested today.

In the Middle District of Florida, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Sergey Vitalievich Kurchenko, a sanctioned pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch, in a years-long scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions by receiving funds from and doing approximately $330 million in business with U.S. persons.

In the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta-based dual national Feliks Medvedev pleaded guilty to his role in laundering over $150 million through bank accounts and shell companies on behalf of Russian clients. Separately, on Feb. 13, KSK Group – a sanctioned Russian company which assists Russian citizens with international money movements – and two overseas Russian nationals, including one sanctioned individual, were indicted for money laundering.

In the Southern District of Florida, the United States filed a civil forfeiture complaint against two Miami luxury condominium properties owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Perevalov. The properties are allegedly connected to a conspiracy to maintain and transfer real estate for the benefit of Perevalov. Located at the Ritz Carlton in Bal Harbour, the properties are valued at approximately $2.5 million.

Lastly, in the District of Columbia, a superseding indictment was unsealed today charging Vladislav Osipov with bank fraud in connection with a criminal scheme to facilitate the operation of the Motor Yacht (M/Y) Tango, a 255-foot luxury yacht that the Justice Department has previously stated is owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. 

United States v. Kostin et al., Southern District of New York

Today, the United States unsealed an indictment charging Andrey Kostin, a sanctioned Russian oligarch and the President and Chairman of a Russian state-owned bank with participating in two schemes to violate U.S. sanctions and arrested two U.S.-based co-conspirators for their role in facilitating one of the schemes.

As alleged in the indictment, Kostin participated in a scheme to evade sanctions and launder funds to support two superyachts, collectively worth over $135 million. Kostin and two U.S. persons also allegedly engaged in a scheme to evade sanctions related to a luxury home in Aspen, Colorado. Facilitators Vadim Wolfson, aka Vadim Belyaev, 56, of Austin, Texas, and a legal permanent resident of the United States, and Gannon Bond, 49, a U.S. citizen of Edgewater, New Jersey, were arrested earlier today.

Kostin is a Russian oligarch who was sanctioned by OFAC on April 6, 2018, pursuant to Executive Order 13661 for being an official of the Government of the Russian Federation. From at least on or about April 6, 2018, through at least on or about March 2, 2022, Kostin and others, including at times Wolfson and Bond, allegedly participated in schemes to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), through the provision of funds, goods, and services, including U.S. financial services and U.S. dollar transactions, to and for Kostin’s benefit. The indictment alleges that Kostin also engaged in a scheme to commit money laundering to promote IEEPA violations.

According to the indictment, before and after OFAC sanctioned Kostin, he beneficially owned and controlled, through various shell companies, several assets worth tens of millions of dollars, including two superyachts identified as the Sea Rhapsody and Sea & Us, valued at over $135 million. Kostin and others allegedly violated IEEPA on numerous occasions, including by causing U.S. dollar payments to be made for the maintenance, operation, and improvement of the Sea Rhapsody and Sea & Us for the benefit of Kostin and without an OFAC license, which is required for U.S. persons to transact with a sanctioned person. In causing these U.S. dollar payments to be made, Kostin and others also allegedly committed international money laundering.

The indictment alleges that Kostin also owned a luxury home in Aspen, Colorado, that he purchased for $13.5 million in 2010. From at least on or about April 6, 2018, through at least in or about September 2019, Kostin, Wolfson, Bond, and others participated in a scheme to violate the IEEPA by providing funds, goods, and services for the benefit of Kostin, whose property and interests in property, including the Aspen home, were blocked as a result of the OFAC sanctions against him. Specifically, notwithstanding having been sanctioned by OFAC, Kostin and his conspirators allegedly schemed to operate, maintain, and improve Kostin’s Aspen residence in a manner designed to conceal Kostin’s continued ownership of this luxury asset. In addition, in or about September 2019, Kostin, Wolfson, Bond, and others allegedly committed additional sanctions violations by dealing in and transferring Kostin’s blocked property. Specifically, the conspirators allegedly arranged to sell the Aspen home and provide Kostin with approximately $12 million resulting from the sale.

Kostin, 67, of Russia, remains at large and is believed to be in Russia. KOSTIN is charged with two counts of conspiracy to violate IEEPA, two counts of violating IEEPA, and one count of conspiracy to commit international money laundering, all of which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Wolfson is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate IEEPA and two counts of violating IEEPA, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Bond is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate IEEPA and two counts of violating IEEPA, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The FBI’s Washington Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Deininger and David Felton for the Southern District of New York’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit, and Trial Attorneys Derek Shugert of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Oleksandra Johnson of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are prosecuting the case.

United States v. Kurchenko, Middle District of Florida

Pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Sergey Vitalievich Kurchenko, 38, currently believed to be living in Moscow, Russia, is charged with violating the IEEPA and U.S. sanctions on Russia in connection with a years-long scheme to do business in the United States, in violation of U.S. sanctions. Kurchenko was sanctioned by OFAC in 2015 for his role in misappropriating state assets of Ukraine or of an economically significant entity in Ukraine.

As alleged, between in or about July 2017 through in or about February 2022, Kurchenko and others used a network of shell companies that Kurchenko owned and controlled to sell metal products – including pig iron, wire rods, and steel billets – to individuals and entities in the United States, including a U.S. company identified as Company A in court documents. The metal products included items produced in factories in the Donbas region of Ukraine that were owned and controlled by Kurchenko. As alleged, Kurchenko committed money laundering by transferring funds into and out of the United States in connection with the scheme and his IEEPA violations.

To facilitate the unlawful transactions described above, Kurchenko allegedly met with U.S.-based purchasers in Moscow to negotiate metal transactions between entities that he owned and controlled and U.S. persons, including Company A and its representatives. As alleged, Kurchenko willfully engaged in transactions involving the sale and shipment of products valued at more than $330 million to individuals and companies in the United States.

Kurchenko is charged with conspiracy to violate the IEEPA and U.S. sanctions against Russia, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The FBI Tampa Field Office, Orlando Resident Agency, and Washington Field Office, International Corruption Unit, are investigating the case, with valuable assistance provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chauncey Bratt for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Sean O’Dowd of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Section and Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

United States v. Feliks Medvedev and United States v. KSK Group et al., Northern District of Georgia

On Feb. 7, Feliks Medvedev, 42, a Russian citizen residing in Buford, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business in connection with using shell companies to make more than 1,300 financial transfers totaling over $150 million into bank accounts controlled by the defendant.

According to court documents, Medvedev registered eight shell companies in the state of Georgia between July 2019 and July 2020, for which he was the sole agent and signatory on relevant bank accounts. Medvedev’s purported business purposes for these companies included, among others, “computer software wholesaler,” “professional equipment,” and “coal / mineral wholesaler.” Court documents note that these companies did not have any employees, or expenditures for payroll, rent, equipment, or other business-related costs.

As stated in documents filed with the court, throughout the scheme, there were over 1,200 transfers totaling over $150 million into the bank accounts for these companies, which were controlled by Medvedev. Over $150 million was then transferred out of these accounts in over 1,300 transactions. Medvedev retained over $500,000 from the funds transferred into accounts he controlled.

Medvedev pleaded guilty to one count of conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Medvedev is scheduled to be sentenced on May 7.

Relatedly, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment on Feb. 13, alleging that Alexey Chubarov, 42, of Russia, and Lev Solyannikov, 31, of Russia, and their company KSK Group, conspired with Medvedev in the transfer of these funds and then laundered the illegal proceeds.

According to the indictment, KSK Group is a business consulting firm in Moscow, Russia, and Chubarov and Solyannikov both worked for KSK Group. Chubarov and Solyannikov allegedly informed Medvedev about incoming wires and then directed Medvedev concerning the outgoing transfers he should make, including transferring certain funds to the Singapore Precious Metal Exchange (Exchange) to purchase gold bullion. According to the indictment, Medvedev’s companies transmitted at least $65 million to purchase gold from the Exchange.

On Sept.14, 2023, OFAC added Chubarov and KSK Group to the list of Specially Designated Nationalss and Blocked Persons, pursuant to Executive Order 14024, for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy.

Chubarev and Solyannikov are charged with conspiracy to conduct an unlicensed money transmitting business and conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each count; conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; and money laundering which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison; and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison.

The FBI’s Atlanta Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber, Norman L. Barnett, and Sekret T. Sneed for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

Forfeiture of Real Properties Belonging to Viktor Perevalov, Southern District of Florida

Today, the United States filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the Southern District of Florida alleging that two Bal Harbour condominiums are subject to forfeiture based on violations of IEEPA, OFAC sanctions, and federal money laundering statutes.

As alleged in the complaint, Viktor Perevalov and Valeri Abramov were co-founders of VAD, AO, a Russia-based construction company responsible for constructing the Tavrida Highway in the Russian-occupied Crimea region of Ukraine. On Jan. 26, 2018, pursuant to Executive Order 13685, OFAC sanctioned Victor Perevalov, Valeri Abramov, VAD, AO, and others following the Russian invasion of Crimea, effectively blocking all of their property or interests in property in the United States from being transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in.

According to the complaint, soon after the sanctions, R.S., a Miami real estate agent retained to manage the properties, worked to transfer the two condominiums owned by Perevalov, Units 1616 and 1617 located at 10295 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour, Florida, 33154 (the Defendant Properties) to an LLC in violation of the sanctions. The Defendant Properties have a combined value of approximately $2.5 million. On April 10, 2018, R.S. and others, including a law firm, formed 1616 Collins LLC., and named R.P., a Perevalov family member who was a minor at the time, the entity’s purported sole beneficial owner. On June 14, 2018, the title of the Defendant Properties was transferred to 1616 Collins LLC in violation of the sanctions. R.S. served as Perevalov’s power of attorney for the transfer. After the transfer, R.S. continued to lease the Defendant Properties, collected proceeds derived from the Defendant Properties, and used those proceeds to maintain the Defendant Properties including by making property tax payments.

FBI’s Miami Field Office is investigating the case with support from the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marx P. Calderón and Eli Rubin for the Southern District of Florida, Trial Attorneys Sinan Kalayoglu and Lindsay Gorman of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Trial Attorney Joshua E. Kurland of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting this civil action.

United States v. Osipov, District of Columbia

A superseding indictment, unsealed today, charges Vladislav Osipov, 52, a Russian national who resides in Switzerland, with five new counts of bank fraud in connection with the operation of a 255-foot luxury superyacht that the Department has stated is owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.

The indictment states that Vekselberg’s luxury superyacht is the Tango, which was registered in the Cook Islands. The Tango was the first superyacht belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime to be seized at the request of the U.S. government following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Osipov remains at large. Today, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Previously indicted in November 2022, Osipov is now charged with 17 counts for crimes including bank fraud, punishable by up to 30 years in prison; violating U.S. sanctions punishable by up to 20 years in prison; conspiring to defraud the United States, punishable by up to five years in prison; and money laundering, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office is investigating the case, with valuable assistance provided by the Spanish Ministry of Justice and the Spanish Guardia Civil.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Chris M. Cook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance provided by Paralegals Brian Rickers and Jorge Casillas, and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick.

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The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in all of these cases.

These cases were coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

An indictment and a criminal complaint are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation that money or property was involved in or represents the proceeds of a crime. These allegations are not proven until a court awards a judgment in favor of the United States.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 57-year-old Brownsville woman has been ordered to federal prison following her conviction of sex trafficking of a 10-year-old girl, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Maria Candelaria Losoya pleaded guilty Aug. 1, 2017, in Corpus Christi federal court.

Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ordered Losoya to serve the mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard a statement from the minor victim and her guardian detailing the impact the crime had on the victim’s life. In handing down the sentence, Judge Ramos noted that Losoya provided valuable testimony at the trial of co-defendant David Keith Wills. Losoya will also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim and will serve five years of supervised release following completion of her prison term, during which time she will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict her access to children and the internet. She will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

At the time of her plea, Losoya admitted she was responsible for the continued sexual assault of a then 10-year-old victim which began in Brownsville in 2012. Later, she traveled with the victim so that the assault could continue. She further admitted she did so in exchange for money. 

Wills, a 67-year-old businessman previously from Rockport and South Padre Island, went to trial in October. The federal jury convicted the aquaculture company owner following the 10-day-trial.

The jury heard that from 2012 to 2015, Losoya conspired with Wills to traffic the minor female for sex until the victim reported it in April 2015. Losoya and Wills used their cell phones to arrange meetings at several different locations where Wills would sexually assault the girl. These included Wills and Losoya’s respective residences as well as hotels and motels in the greater Corpus Christi area. 

The jury heard testimony from Losoya and others that Wills promised to provide financial support if he was allowed to sexually assault the young girl. Wills also reimbursed Losoya for gifts to the victim and expenditures she would otherwise not have been able to afford. These included an iPad, Bose headphones, a flatscreen TV, Apple laptop, trampoline, swimming pool and a school trip to Washington D.C. 

Losoya was allowed to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The court has not yet set a sentencing date for Wills. At that time, he faces up life in prison.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Brownsville Police Department and the Texas Rangers conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zahra Jivani Fenelon, Richard Bennett and Stephanie Bauman prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood(PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.

HOUSTON - A former Webb County Commissioner and a former city councilman have entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Braley announced today along with FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs.

Former Webb County Commissioner Jaime Alberto Canales, 51, and John “Johnny” Amaya, 70, owner of JAUC Services Inc. and a former Laredo City Councilman, pleaded guilty in Houston federal court today. Both reside in Laredo.

Canales admitted at least in or about January 2015 through in or about January 2017, an individual gave and agreed to give things of value in order to influence and reward him for his official acts as a Webb County commissioner and Laredo Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) representative. Canales accepted these things of value, intending to be influenced and rewarded for his official assistance. These things of value, which included checks disguised as campaign contributions and personal loans, use of a co-conspirator Padre Island condominium and meals and entertainment, were provided in connection with business and transactions of Webb County and the Laredo MPO well in excess of $5,000.

Amaya owned and controlled JAUC Service Inc. A co-conspirator employed Amaya as a consultant for Corporation A, as listed in the indictment, from in or about January 2011 through in or about April 2017. In this role, Amaya met and spoke with various Webb County and City of Laredo officials to direct them to take actions that benefitted the co-conspirator and corporation. Amaya maintained close contact with officials who could help the conspirator and corporation by setting up meetings and passing messages to and from the conspirator. Amaya admitted  he acted as a middleman between the conspirator and public officials. At the conspirator direction, Amaya provided cash payments, personal checks disguised as campaign contributions and meals and entertainment to these officials, including Canales.

All of the payments were reimbursed with the corporation’s corporate funds, either directly or indirectly. At the conspirator direction, Amaya also supported specific candidates in the November 2016 election cycle by providing rental cars, drivers and gas cards for those rental vehicles to transport voters to the polls, all for which the corporation paid.

U.S. District Judge Sim Lake accepted the pleas today and has set sentencing for Feb. 14, 2019. At that time, Canales and Amaya face up to five years in federal prison. They were permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing. 

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Ferko and John Pearson are prosecuting the case.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Jorge Costilla-Sanchez has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana as well as two counts of assault on a federal officer, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. 

 

Costilla-Sanchez, 46, was the head of the Gulf Cartel (CDG) for some of the years following the arrest of Osiel Cardenas in 2003 and before Costilla-Sanchez’s arrest in September 2012. Since the 1990s, the CDG has been the lead transnational narcotics trafficking and money laundering organization in Northern Tamaulipas, Mexico.

 

During his association with the CDG, Costilla-Sanchez was responsible for making strategic decisions and trying to manage various factions within the CDG. From 1998-2012, Costilla-Sanchez helped provide leadership to the CDG which resulted in the importation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine and marijuana into the United States. CDG narcotics enter the country at the Ports of Entry in Hidalgo and Cameron County, along the Rio Grande River and through lanchas arriving along the National Seashore at Padre Island. Once imported into the U.S., traffickers here would transport the narcotics to various cities throughout the United States. Profits from the sale of narcotics were returned to the CDG in Mexico. Money laundering efforts to promote this scheme included bulk cash currency smuggling to Northern Mexico, the use of funnel accounts to wire money into banking accounts for eventual repatriation to the CDG and the purchase of assets to disguise the illicit nature of these drug proceeds.

 

Other key parts of the CDG drug trafficking organization were the promotion of public corruption as well as the collection of a “piso” or tax from business owners, illegal alien smugglers and independent narcotics traffickers in Mexico which would allow them to operate. 

 

During his guilty plea today, Costilla-Sanchez acknowledged his participation in a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute kilogram amounts of cocaine and marijuana.    

 

He also admitted his involvement in the assault of two federal officers. In November 1999, Costilla-Sanchez was with Cardenas when two U.S. federal agents were seen near a CDG residence. Cardenas called out on a two-way radio to his security team and ordered them to stop the agents. The CDG had at least four vehicles deployed to force the U.S. agents to stop in broad daylight on a heavily traveled street in Matamoros. Costilla-Sanchez also arrived at the stop and carried a pistol to the encounter. Several CDG members also pointed AK-47s at the agents who felt in fear of losing their lives. Cardenas and another co-defendant - Juan Carlos De La Cruz Reyna – also pleaded guilty to the assault and were both sentenced to prison.

 

Costilla-Sanchez’s sentencing has been set for Jan. 4, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle. At that time, Costilla-Sanchez faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. He is also subject to a money judgement regarding the proceeds he obtained during his participation in the conspiracy. That amount will be determined at the time of sentencing.

 

The FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Cameron County Sheriff’s Office and Brownsville Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jody Young, Toni Trevino and Karen Betancourt are prosecuting the case.

 

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DOMINICK ANTHONY VALOTTA (“VALOTTA”), age 38, a resident of Harahan, Louisiana, was sentenced by United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey to 200 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of children, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a). VALOTTA was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release following  imprisonment and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.  VALOTTA must register as a sex offender.  Judge Zainey scheduled a restitution hearing in this matter for November 5, 2024.



According to court documents, based on a 2022 complaint by a minor resident in Rhode Island, law enforcement authorities executed search warrants on social media accounts, electronic devices, and a residence in Harahan, Louisiana, belonging to VALOTTA.  A review of the items seized revealed that throughout 2022 and early 2023, VALOTTA met at least three (3) minor females on social media applications on which VALOTTA created a false persona.  When chatting with the minors, VALOTTA typically engaged in sexually charged correspondence.  His pattern included, and culminated in, VALOTTA requesting sexually explicit images, videos and depictions from minors.  VALOTTA often offered to take and transmit sexually explicit pictures of himself to the minors to encourage them to do the same for him.   VALOTTA also sent messages to the minors seeking to arrange in-person sexual liaisons.  VALOTTA’s victims included a North Carolina resident born in August 2007 (Victim 1), an Ohio resident born in July 2008 (Victim 2), and a North Carolina resident born in March 2008 (Victim 3). 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.





U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, was in charge of the prosecution.

HOUSTON – A 56-year-old Needville man has been ordered to federal prison for his role in an illegal kickback scheme and a commodities insider trading scheme involving natural gas futures contracts.

Matthew Clark pleaded guilty March 15 to honest services wire fraud, commodities insider trading and prohibited commodities transactions.

U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks has now ordered Clark to serve a total of 78 months in prison. He must also pay $7,709,509 in restitution and forfeit $6,532,360. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hanks noted Clark made the calculated choice to commit these offenses despite the risk of being caught, and in doing so “gambled and lost.”

According to court documents, Clark conspired with others to direct his employer’s trades to Houston-based Classic Energy LLC, a brokerage firm Matthew Webb, 54, Tiki Island, owned and operated, in exchange for illegal kickbacks. As part of his prohibited trading, Clark conspired with John Ed James, 54 Katy, and Peter Miller, 49, Puerto Rico. Clark received more than $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks for his trades. 

Webb pleaded guilty in June 2021 to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and wire fraud and to violate various provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act. James pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and commodities fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced July 1, while Miller admitted to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and is set for sentencing June 20.

In two other related cases, Marcus Schultz, 44, Houston, and Lee Tippett, 64, Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty in July 2020 and August 2021, respectively. Schultz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to violate various provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act and is scheduled to be sentenced July 1. Tippett pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and honest services wire fraud and was previously sentenced to 33 months in prison.

Clark was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined at a later date.

The FBI conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace Murphy prosecuted the case along with Assistant Chief Leslie S. Garthwaite and Trial Attorneys Della Sentilles and David Hamstra of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Providence man found to be in possession of more than twenty-two kilos of heroin within hours of having sold two kilos while under law enforcement surveillance in November 2018, was sentenced today to seven years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Jose Figueroa Rosales, 50, pleaded guilty on April 17, 2023, to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of more than 100 grams of heroin.

According to information presented to the court, in November 2018, while being surveilled by members of the Rhode Island Drug Enforcement Administration Drug Task Force, Figueroa sold an individual two kilograms of heroin. Later that same day, agents and officers executed a court-authorized search of Figueroa’s residence and seized more than twenty-two kilograms of heroin, valued at the time in excess of one million dollars.

The seizure of more than twenty-four kilos of heroin from Figueroa is among the single largest seizures in Rhode Island by law enforcement.

At sentencing today, U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith sentenced Figueroa to 84 months of incarceration to be followed by four years of federal supervised release.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul F. Daly, Jr.

The matter was investigated by the Rhode Island DEA Drug Task Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Rhode Island State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, and the Providence Police Department.

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HOUSTON - The former president of a Texas energy company has pleaded guilty to an illegal kickback scheme and a commodities insider trading scheme involving natural gas futures contracts.

Matthew Clark, 56, Needville, entered his plea March 15, admitting he conspired with others to direct his employer’s trades to Classic Energy LLC in exchange for illegal kickbacks. Specifically, Clark accepted more than $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks, which were generated from commission fees his employer paid to Classic Energy. Classic Energy is a brokerage firm Matthew Webb, 54, Tiki Island, owned and operated.



“Matthew Clark made millions trading in natural gas commodities, but unlike most Houston traders, he made his money illegally through the use of kickback schemes involving associates, relatives and his employer’s proprietary insider information,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. “The natural gas futures contract market is an integral part of Houston’s economy, and to preserve the integrity of that system, it is important that commodity traders who buy and sell those contracts not engage in illegal and unfair practices. That’s why my office is committed to holding those accountable, like Clark, who use kickbacks and inside information to enrich themselves at the expense of the public’s trust in the U.S. markets.”



“Matthew Clark steered his company’s commodities trading business to a broker in exchange for over $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks. He also misappropriated confidential information about his company’s planned commodities trades and used that information to enrich himself and his co-conspirators,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “When corporate insiders engage in insider trading and other deceptive trade practices for their own financial gain, they don’t just harm the company—they undermine the integrity of our financial markets. This groundbreaking investigation was the first to result in criminal convictions for commodities insider trading. It will not be the last.”

Clark also misappropriated his employer’s material nonpublic information and engaged in prohibited commodities transactions. Webb, through Classic Energy, brokered Clark’s natural gas futures trades with counterparties who were identified in advance of executing the trades. The predetermined counterparties included John Ed James, 54, Katy, and Peter Miller, 49, Puerto Rico. Clark, Webb, James and Miller then shared the net profits generated from these illegal prearranged trades.

“The FBI and its partners will continue to relentlessly pursue those who engage in illegal kickback schemes,” said Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “This plea should make it known to others that participate in illicit activity that threatens the integrity of our financial systems that there are consequences to your actions.”

Clark pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, one count of prohibited commodities transaction and one count of commodities insider trading. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 24 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the honest services wire fraud conspiracy count and 10 years in prison on each of the prohibited commodities transaction and insider trading counts.

Webb pleaded guilty in June 2021 to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and wire fraud and to violate various provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act, while James admitted in February 2021 to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and wire fraud. Miller entered his plea in February 2022 to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud. Miller is set for sentencing June 20, while Webb and James are scheduled for July 1.

In two other related cases, Marcus Schultz, 44, Houston, and Lee Tippett, 64, of Jacksonville, Florida, were convicted in July 2020 and August 2021, respectively. Schultz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to violate various provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act. Tippett entered his plea to conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and honest services wire fraud and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.

The FBI conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace Murphy is prosecuting the case along with Assistant Chief Leslie S. Garthwaite and Trial Attorneys Della Sentilles and David Hamstra of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. 

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A Corpus Christi resident has entered a guilty plea to bank robbery, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.

 

On Dec. 20, 2016, law enforcement officers responded to a bank robbery at the navy Army Community Credit Union in the 9500 block of South Padre Island Drive in Corpus Christi. After entering the bank, a male - later identified as Johnathan Samuel Borden, 32 - handed the teller a black bag and demanded money.

 

During the investigation, agents were able to link Borden to an additional robbery that occurred on Jan. 6, 2017, at the Texas Bridge Credit Union in the 3100 block of Holly in Corpus Christi.

 

Senior U.S. District Judge John Rainey accepted the plea today and has set sentencing for Feb. 20, 2018. At that time, Borden faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

 

In federal custody since his arrest, Borden will remain in custody pending that hearing. 

 

The FBI and the Corpus Christi Police Department conducted the investigation.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 43-year-old Corpus Christi man has been ordered to federal prison for robbing American Bank in Corpus Christi and brandishing a firearm during the robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Anthony Dwayne Carrington pleaded guilty Jan. 4.

Today, U.S. District Judge David S. Morales handed Carrington a 51-month term of imprisonment for the robbery. He also received 84 months for the firearms charge which must be served consecutively to the other sentence imposed. The total 135-month prison term will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the extremely serious and dangerous series of events that led up to apprehension.

On Aug. 8, 2022, Carrington entered the American Bank – Corpus Christi South branch on South Padre Island Drive in Corpus Christi. He approached the teller station while holding a silver pistol in his hand, pointed it directly at a bank employee and demanded he give Carrington all the money from the drawer. Carrington further warned the employee not to press the alarm or make a scene. Fearing for his life, the teller complied with Carrington’s demands.

Further investigation revealed two shootings that occurred a short distance from the bank within 45 minutes of the robbery - an attempted murder in a private residence and a homicide at P.F. Chang’s restaurant.

Authorities apprehended him after conducting a traffic stop later the same day. Carrington discarded the firearm used during the robbery and both shootings. The firearm was recovered by authorities in an empty grass lot.  

Carrington will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marck prosecuted the case.