ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former U.S. Air Force (USAF) contractor pleaded guilty today to engaging in a bribery scheme relating to a large technology contract awarded by the USAF. 

According to court documents, from late 2013 to late 2019, Juan Carlos Arevalo III, 44, of Occoquan, served as the chief technologies officer and senior technical consultant for a USAF component that focuses on intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and innovation. Arevalo worked closely with senior USAF officials in the Pentagon and helped them to design, develop, and deliver various military technologies.

Julio R. “Jace” Sotomayor was a retired USAF colonel who was the owner of two consulting firms – Eagle Market Group (EMG) and Federal Security Agency (FSA) – and the minority owner of a government contracting firm. As alleged, beginning in late 2013, Sotomayor and the contracting firm’s majority owner sought to provide services to the USAF to support various technology projects and initiatives. As part of this objective, Arevalo and Sotomayor agreed to engage in a corrupt, multi-year scheme in which Sotomayor, through EMG, paid $185,000 to Arevalo using his relative as a pass-through intermediary. In exchange for these payments, Arevalo agreed to perform and did perform official acts, and sought to influence other officials, to benefit Sotomayor, the firm, and the firm’s majority owner. 

Beginning in late 2014, Sotomayor also engaged in a similar pass-through bribery scheme with a former federal contracting officer, Diane Sturgis, by using EMG to pay $150,000 to Sturgis’s relative in exchange for official assistance regarding the same USAF technology contract. Through early 2020, the firm had received approximately $51.6 million from the USAF of which at least $5.9 million was paid to Sotomayor.

Arevalo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Sotomayor and Sturgis have pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their various schemes.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Elisabeth Kaminsky of the Department of State Office of Inspector General (State OIG), made the announcement after U.S District Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr., accepted the plea.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Sullivan is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-162.

            WASHINGTON — A South Carolina man pleaded guilty today two felony charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

            Tyler Bradley Dykes, 26, of Bluffton, South Carolina, pleaded guilty two felony counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and agreed that his use of a police riot shield constituted a dangerous weapon. U.S. District Court Judge Howell scheduled a sentencing hearing for July 19, 2024.

            According to court documents, leading up to January 6, 2021, Dykes subscribed to several public Telegram groups that discussed the 2020 Presidential election, alleged voter fraud, the Electoral College Certification, and anticipated events related to the certification that were going to take place on January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. One such Telegram group appeared to be associated with then-President Trump, another Telegram group appeared to be called “Britain First Party – Britain First – Taking Our Country Back,” while a third Telegram group to which Dykes subscribed called for violence and government overthrow by force, quoting Adolf Hitler, among other things.

            Then, on the morning of January 6, 2021, Dykes attended former President Trump’s rally at the Ellipse and walked from the rally to the United States Capitol Building and grounds. As Dykes approached the Capitol, he saw snow fencing and bicycle rack barricades with “AREA CLOSED” signs, but removed the snow fencing and moved the metal bicycle rack barricades, allowing other rioters to more easily enter the restricted area.  On the east side of the Capitol, by approximately 2:05 p.m., the violent mob successfully pushed the outnumbered U.S. Capitol Police officers backwards from their posts near the bicycle rack barricades. Dykes was one of the people near the front of that mob, which forced officers to continue retreating backwards up the East Rotunda steps. Within minutes, hundreds of rioters had flooded and overtaken the platform area outside the East Rotunda doors, forcing the small number of officers all the way backwards. With their backs against the East Rotunda doors, the officers were attempting to prevent rioters from getting inside the Capitol building through those doors.

            By approximately 2:35 p.m., Dykes pushed his way to the front of the mob in front of the doors, where he forcibly, voluntarily, and intentionally grabbed hold of one U.S. Capitol Police Officer’s riot shield. Dykes then continued forcibly, voluntarily, and intentionally using his body and hands to pull the shield away from the officer, who was attempting to maintain control of the shield. Eventually, Dykes overcame the officer and succeeded in breaking the officer’s shield free from the officer’s hands, leaving the officer off balance and vulnerable. Other members of the mob then deployed pepper spray in the direction of the officer from whom Dykes had stolen the shield, and the small number of officers surrounding that officer, who continued attempting to protect the East Rotunda doors. The mob then re-engaged with the line of officers, violently pushing them, throwing things at them, and continuing to pepper spray them, among other things. Dykes, among them, began using the shield to forcibly push other rioters ahead of him, who pushed against the line of officers. He also used the riot shield to obstruct and intimidate the police officers defending the Capitol. Once inside the U.S. Capitol Building, Dykes entered the Capitol’s Rotunda, where he continued carrying the stolen police riot shield.

            By 2:48 p.m., Dykes joined a group of rioters in the secondfloor main hallway, north of the Small Senate Rotunda. There, the rioters were confronting a line of Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) officers that had formed to prevent the angry mob from getting closer to the Senate Floor. The group was loudly and repeatedly chanting “Whose house? Our house!” and then “You serve us!” As the mob began pushing the line of officers, a number of rioters were yelling orders to “push!” Dykes first pushed his way from the rear to the front of the group of rioters. Then, still using the same riot shield he stole from the U.S. Capitol Police Officer outside the Building, Dykes used the police riot shield to obtain leverage while he and others forcibly, voluntarily, and intentionally pushed the line of MPD officers backwards, resisting and opposing their attempts to stop the group from moving closer to the Senate Chamber. Dykes and other rioters successfully impeded and interfered with the police line: the officers were forced to retreat further down the hallway. As they forced the officers back, the rioters began chanting, “USA, USA, USA!” Dykes also continued holding the shield and using it to obstruct and intimidate the police officers defending that hallway.

            This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Virginia and the District of South Carolina.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington and Columbia, South Carolina Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 39 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,387 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including nearly 500 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

HOUSTON – A 68-year-old resident of Seabrook has entered a guilty plea to receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Ocal John Miller is a former law enforcement officer, having served as chief of police in Martinsville, West Virginia; and city councilman and mayor pro tem for Seabrook.

Miller came to the attention of law enforcement in June 2016 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) sent multiple cybertips to the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The investigation revealed Miller was using Skype to receive and distribute child pornography images to others via the internet. Miller also used Dropbox and Kik Messenger to obtain and store child pornography. Based on information gathered during the investigation, authorities executed a federal search warrant for Miller’s home in Seabrook March 30, 2017. At that time, they seized a computer, iPhone and several digital storage devices. Forensic examination resulted in the discovery of more than 1,300 images and 1,000 videos containing child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett accepted the plea today and set sentencing for Dec. 12. At that time, Miller faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years for receipt as well as a maximum of 10 years for possessing it. Miller will also have to register as a sex offender and abide by special conditions limiting his use of the internet and interactions with persons under the age of 18. He also faces up to a $250,000 fine.              

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and police departments in Webster and Pearland conducted the investigation as part of the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack is prosecuting 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 – The leader in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud has been ordered to federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

MD Azad, 26, an Indian national who illegally resided in Houston, pleaded guilty Aug. 15, 2022, admitting he participated in a fraud ring from 2019-2020 which operated out of various cities including Houston.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt has now ordered Azad to serve 188 months in federal prison. Azad, a citizen of India, is expected to face removal proceedings following the prison term. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that described Azad as the U.S.-based ringleader working with a call center in India. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the many letters and victim impact statements it had read showing the financial devastation to elderly and vulnerable victims throughout the United States because of this fraud scheme.

“The victims in this case were devastated, financially and otherwise,” said Hamdani. “This fraud ring repeatedly preyed on elderly and vulnerable people in the United States who spoke of threats of bodily harm if they did not comply with demands for more money. Our hope, and that of many of the victims, is deterrence so as to stop others who would think of doing similar harm in our community and beyond.”

The scheme targeted elderly victims throughout the United States and elsewhere.

The ring tricked and deceived victims using various ruses and instructed them to send money via wire through a money transmitter business such as Western Union or MoneyGram, by buying gift cards and providing to the fraudsters or by mailing cash to alias names via FedEx or UPS.

Part of the scheme involved fraudsters contacting victims by phone or via internet sites for computer technical support and directing victims to a particular phone number. Once victims contacted the fraudsters, they were told various stories such as they were communicating with an expert that needed remote access to their computer in order to provide technical support services. The fraudsters then gained access to victims’ personal data and bank and credit card information.

Victims typically paid a fee to conspirators for the fake technical support but were later told they were due a refund. Through paying for “technical support” or through the “refund” process, the ring gained access to the victim’s bank account(s) and credit cards and manipulated the accounts to make it appear the victim was paid too large a refund due to a typographical error. Victims were then instructed to reimburse the ring by various means.

Victims were sometimes re-victimized multiple times and threatened with bodily harm if they did not pay.

Indian citizen Anirudha Kalkote, 26, also pleaded guilty in relation to the conspiracy as did Sumit Kumar Singh, 26, Himanshu Kumar, 26, and MD Hasib, 27, all also Indian nationals who illegally resided in Houston. They are pending sentencing.

All five individuals will remain in custody.

The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States including the Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office of Augusta County, Virginia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Quincy Ollison prosecuted the case. 

The case is brought as a part of the Elder Justice Initiative. Its goal is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults.

In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice launched National Elder Fraud Hotline to help combat fraud against older Americans and provide services to victims. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder fraud, we encourage you to call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 (833–372–8311).

The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time. Services are available for speakers of English, Spanish and other languages. 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former Colombian military intelligence official was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine for importation into the United States. This defendant was the fifth to be sentenced in a multi-year investigation that lead to three indictments charging officials in the Colombian Army, Air Force, and National Police.

According to court documents, from August 2017 through April 2018, Fabian Humberto Tovar Caicedo, 41, a sergeant in Colombian Army Intelligence, helped organize a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that conspired to send multi-thousand-kilogram shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico for eventual importation into the United States. Tovar Caicedo also offered various corrupt services to the DTO. He found a corrupt member of the police in the Port of Santa Marta willing to facilitate the export of cocaine in exchange for payment; he suggested buying the same phones that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) uses for security; he offered to use his military training to encrypt those phones for additional security; and he attempted to sell a list of DEA cooperators to the DTO.

Tovar Caicedo and his co-conspirators plotted to send multiple shipments, starting at 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, but moving up to as many as 10,000 kilograms of cocaine per shipment. A member of the DTO traveled to Mexico to negotiate the receipt of the cocaine with a corrupt, high-ranking Mexican military official.

One of the defendant’s co-conspirators was Fabian Andres Leyton Vargas, a Colombian Air Force officer, whom the defendant met at a military training in the United States. Leyton Vargas used his position in the Colombian Ministry of Defense to identify and contact security and law enforcement officials in the Port of Santa Marta to be targeted for bribes. Once these officials received their corrupt payments, they would ensure that cocaine-laden cargo containers passed uninspected through the port. Using this method, on July 27, 2017, Leyton Vargas, along with co-defendants Antonio Aldemar Avila Acevedo and Jose Mauricio Castaneda Garzon, attempted to ship 1,773 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Guatemala en route to the United States. Additionally, on March 27, 2018, the same defendants conspired to ship 2,081 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico en route to the United States. Colombian law enforcement seized both shipments before they could depart the port.

As part of this multi-year investigation targeting corruption in Colombia’s ports, a fifth defendant, Jose Maria Fragoso D’Acunti, admitted to using his former position in the Colombian National Police, along with familial and other connections, to identify and bribe security and law enforcement officials in the port of Cartagena, Colombia, to aid his organization’s cocaine trafficking. The defendant and his co-conspirators planned to traffic multi-hundred kilogram quantities of cocaine, valued at millions of United States dollars, to Europe by causing such cocaine to be secreted aboard commercial shipping containers. On November 29, 2018, in the port of Savannah, Georgia, U.S. law enforcement seized 516 kilograms of cocaine sent by Fragoso D’Acunti’s DTO from Colombia, that were destined for Belgium. The cocaine was comingled with pineapples in a shipping container. On December 15, 2018, again in the port of Savannah, Georgia, U.S. law enforcement seized an additional 205 kilograms of cocaine sent by Fragoso D’Acunti’s DTO from Colombia that were also destined for Belgium. The cocaine was comingled with limes in a shipping container. In support of the conspiracy, Fragoso D’Acunti paid 1 billion Colombian Pesos, equivalent to more than $300,000 US Dollars, in bribe money to a port security officer.

Defendants Fragoso D’Acunti, Fabian Andres Leyton Vargas, and Antonio Aldemar Avila Acevedo were sentenced to 12 years in prison. Co-conspirator José Mauricio Castaneda Garzon was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison.

These prosecutions are part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott of the DEA Louisville Division made the announcement.

The DEA’s Louisville Field Division and Cartagena Resident Office investigated this case, with substantial assistance from the DEA’s Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit, the DEA’s Special Operations Division and Special Operations Division – Bilateral Investigations Unit, as well as DEA’s offices in Cartagena, Bogota, Panama, Guatemala City, San Jose (Costa Rica), Brussels, Mexico City, Madrid, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Rome, The Hague, Vienna, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Savannah, Detroit, Tampa – PANEX, and New Orleans. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - National Targeting Center also provided substantial assistance. The Colombian National Police, the Belgian Federal Police, the German Zolfahndungsamt, the National Police of the Netherlands, and the Italian Guardia di Finanza also provided critical support.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony T. Aminoff and Trial Attorneys Douglas Meisel and Janet Turnbull of the Department of Justice’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section prosecuted case 1:20-cr-181.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony T. Aminoff and Trial Attorney Teresita Mutton of the Department of Justice’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section prosecuted case 1:19-cr-282.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony T. Aminoff  (then with the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section), Katherine Rumbaugh, and David Peters prosecuted case 1:18-cr-74.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Judicial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of the defendants listed above.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-181, 1:19-cr-282, and 1:18-cr-74.

HOUSTON – All people charged in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud have been ordered to federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Indian citizens MD Azad, 26, Sumit Kumar Singh, 30, Himanshu Kumar, 26, MD Hasib, 28, and Anirudha Kalkote, 26, admitted they participated in a fraud ring from 2019-2020 which operated out of various cities including Houston. All illegally resided in Houston. 

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt has now ordered Hasib to serve 78 months in federal prison. The court previously sentenced Singh, Kumar and Kalkote each also to 78 months, while Azad, the highest ranking member of the conspiracy in the United States, received 188 months. Not U.S. citizens, all are expected to face removal proceedings following the prison terms. 

At the respective hearings, the court heard evidence from victim impact letters that described the suffering that almost 200 victims, many of whom were elderly, had endured because of this fraud. Some victims lost their life savings. Others were threatened when they refused to continue to pay and described continuing fear and ongoing anxiety after being watched through the video cameras on their home computers. In handing down the sentences, the court noted that the victim letters sounded like a “horror show.” 

“Anxiety, fear, humiliation and devastating financial loss are what these victims endured,” said Hamdani. “The criminals were relentless, preying on the elderly, often revictimizing their targets. These scammers from India didn’t care what impact their scheme had; all they cared about was money and a lot of it. Thankfully, the court imposed a just sentence for each of these ruthless fraudsters, bringing the victims peace and closure.”

“The sentences imposed for the defendants in this case should serve as a harbinger for anyone attempting to defraud and manipulate  our nation’s elderly. Prison awaits you,” said Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of IRS Criminal Investigation (CI). “This was an effort that combined the investigative skills of multiple law enforcement agencies that  partnered together to uphold our commitment to the Elder Justice Initiative. We will continue to protect our seniors.”

The scheme targeted elderly victims throughout the United States and elsewhere.

The ring tricked and deceived victims using various ruses and instructed them to send money via wire through a money transmitter business such as Western Union or MoneyGram, by buying gift cards and providing to the fraudsters or by mailing cash to alias names via FedEx or UPS.

Part of the scheme involved fraudsters contacting victims by phone or via internet sites for computer technical support and directing victims to a particular phone number. Once victims contacted the fraudsters, they were told various stories such as they were communicating with an expert that needed remote access to their computer in order to provide technical support services. The fraudsters then gained access to victims’ personal data and bank and credit card information.

Victims typically paid a fee to conspirators for the fake technical support but were later told they were due a refund. Through paying for “technical support” or through the “refund” process, the ring gained access to the victim’s bank account(s) and credit cards and manipulated the accounts to make it appear the victim was paid too large a refund due to a typographical error. Victims were then instructed to reimburse the ring by various means.

Victims were sometimes re-victimized multiple times and threatened with bodily harm if they did not pay.

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

The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS CI conducted the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States including the Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office of Augusta County, Virginia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Quincy Ollison prosecuted the case. 

The case is brought as a part of the Elder Justice Initiative. Its goal is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults.

In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice launched National Elder Fraud Hotline to help combat fraud against older Americans and provide services to victims. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder fraud, we encourage you to call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 (833–372–8311).

The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time. Services are available for speakers of English, Spanish and other languages.

HOUSTON – A 65-year-old resident of Seabrook has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Ocal John Miller is a former law enforcement officer, having served as chief of police in Martinsville, West Virginia; and city councilman and mayor pro tem for Seabrook. He pleaded guilty Oct. 3, 2019. 

Today, U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ordered Miller to serve 120 months on each count to run concurrently. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that it should send a message to society. Judge Bennett further commented that unfortunately Miller is not the first nor will he be the last to stand before him having committed child pornography-related offenses. The court imposed a $50,000 fine as well as a $10,000 special assessment per the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Miller will also be required to pay restitution in an amount to be determined later and will serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He must also register as a sex offender.

Miller came to the attention of law enforcement in June 2016 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) sent multiple cybertips to the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The investigation revealed Miller was using Skype to receive and distribute child pornography images to others via the internet. Miller also used Dropbox and Kik Messenger to obtain and store child pornography. Based on information gathered during the investigation, authorities executed a federal search warrant for Miller’s home in Seabrook March 30, 2017. At that time, they seized a computer, iPhone and several digital storage devices. Forensic examination resulted in the discovery of more than 1,300 images and 1,000 videos containing child pornography.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and police departments in Webster and Pearland conducted the investigation as part of the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack is prosecuting 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 - The five leaders and eight other co-conspirators have been sentenced for their roles in one of the largest synthetic cannabinoids distribution networks in the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick. The sentences ranged from 140 months in federal prison for a leader to probation for an hourly wage clerk who sold the drugs. 

The defendants were sentenced for their involvement in the manufacture, possession and distribution of synthetic cannabinoids commonly, but mistakenly, referred to as synthetic marijuana.

Today, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ordered Khader Fahed Tanous, 52, of Manassas, Virginia, who distributed large amounts of synthetic cannabinoids to Houston area distributors, to 121 months imprisonment. Earlier this week, Judge Miller sentenced Muhammad Shariq Siddiqi, 48, of Sugar Land, to 140 months in prison. Siddiqi was a major manufacturer and distributor in the Houston area.

Also sentenced today was Ayisha Khurram, Siddiqi’s partner in manufacturing and distributing synthetic cannabinoids as was the de facto owner of the Smoke Zone Khalil Munier Khalil, 43, of Spring. The Smoke Zone was the most prolific distribution store front in the country for synthetic cannabinoids. Khalil was sentenced to a 135-month prison term while Khurram received a 95-month term of imprisonment.

Today, Judge Miller further sentenced Sayed Ali, 53, of Sugar Land; Abdalnour Izz, 33, of Houston; Steve Amira, 61, of Richmond; Mohammed Rafat Taha, 29, of Spring; and Frank Muratalla, 25, of Downey, California.

Siddiqi paid Ali to dilute, mix and apply the chemicals he supplied to the plant material. Izz delivered the drugs and collected payments for Tanous. Amira was the owner of Houston Beverage and a synthetic cannabinoids distributor. Ali received a sentence of 50 months, while Izz and Amira were each sentenced to 36 months.  

Muratalla, who worked for out of state manufacturers of synthetic cannabinoids here in Houston, and Taha, a clerk at Smoke Zone, who sold packages of synthetic cannabinoids were both sentenced to four-year-terms of probation.

Also sentenced this week were other distributors and managers involved in the distribution of synthetic cannabinoids in the Houston area. Those included Salem Fahed Tannous, 58, of Houston (Khader Tanous’s brother who collected money for him from synthetic narcotics sales), Ali Tafesh, 37, of Houston, who owned and distributed the drugs from a store named Azell Cell Phones, Hazim Hisham Qadus, 34, a permanent resident alien who resided in Houston and distributed drugs from a store named Moon Mart and Azell Cell Phones and Nagy Ali, 61 of Spring, the manager of Smoke Zone. Tannous was ordered to serve 49 months in prison, while Tafesh, Qadus will both serve sentences of 97 months. Nagy Ali received a 120-month-prison term for his role.

Throughout the three days of hearings and the handing down of these sentences, the court’s repeated theme was its concern that the dangerous drugs these defendants were manufacturing were being marketed and distributed to juveniles.

Siddiqi and Qadus are not U.S. Citizens and are expected to face deportation proceedings following the completion of their prison terms.

Omar Maher Alnasser, a 37-year old resident of Sugar Land and former University of Houston professor, was previously sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for aiding and abetting an unlicensed money transmitting business.  He had admitted he was paid to wire more than $200,000 in U.S. currency from a bank in the United States to accounts in the country of Jordan.

The dismantling of this organizations and the convictions are the result of a multi-year, multi-agency federal investigation into one of the largest synthetic distribution networks in the nation and operated in the Houston area dubbed “We Can Hear You Now.” 

All 13 defendants sentenced this week were convicted of conspiring to distribute a variety of synthetic cannabinoids, all Schedule I controlled substances.  In committing the offense, several co-conspirators were accused in a scheme to defraud by marketing their products as though they were safe labeled the drugs as “potpourri” or “incense,” with some labels including false information such as “100% legal,” “lab certified” or “not for human consumption,” when in fact these products were dangerous drugs.

There are no standards for making synthetic cannabinoids which contain hazardous chemicals often imported from China that, when smoked or ingested, could have serious (sometimes deadly) side effects. Frequently, as in this case, various “brands” are mixed together in the same cement mixer, so two packets of a brand-named product may have the identical chemicals. Often, the same cement mixers are used for multiple batches of synthetic cannabinoids, so the “final” products may also be contaminated with other drugs or toxic chemicals from previous batches.

The amounts of synthetic cannabinoid in packages may also vary even within the same batches because the product is not mixed uniformly within the cement mixers. Therefore, “hot packages” with a higher concentration of the applied chemical are a common danger. According to the Center for Disease Control, synthetic cannabinoids may cause hallucinations, delusions, psychosis, suicidal thoughts and violent behavior.  The health problems associated with the drug include heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, breathing problems and muscle damage.

The drugs the defendants admitted to having distributed were all Schedule I drugs – substances or chemicals with no currently accepted medical use, have a high potential for abuse, are the most dangerous drugs of all scheduled drugs and have potential for severe psychological or physical dependence. The packaging was also typical of synthetic cannabinoids - contained colorful illustrations that targeted not only drug abusers, but also children and adolescents.

In connection with this case, authorities are still seeking Ziad Mahmoud Alsalameh, 56, of Pearland, and Aqil Khader, 33, of Houston. They are considered fugitives and warrants remain outstanding for their arrests. Anyone with information about their whereabouts are asked to contact DEA at 713-693-3000.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Houston Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and IRS – Criminal Investigation conducted the four-year investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Conroe Police Department, sheriff’s offices in Harris and Polk counties, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Jocher and Nancy Herrera prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has appointed U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani to serve on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC).

The AGAC was created in 1973 and advises the Attorney General on matters of policy, procedure and management impacting the offices of the U.S. Attorneys and elevates the voices of U.S. Attorneys on essential matters facing the Department of Justice.

“U.S. Attorneys work every day throughout the country to advance our mission of upholding the rule of law, keeping our country safe, and protecting civil rights,” said Garland. “I am grateful for the perspective the newest members of the committee will provide on behalf of federal prosecutors across the country and the communities they serve.”

“It is an honor to be chosen to serve on the AGAC,” said Hamdani. “I look forward to learning from and serving with my fellow AGAC members as we advise the Attorney General and the Department of Justice’s leadership.”

U.S. Attorney Hamdani will serve alongside chair Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York, vice chair Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona and newest members Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico, Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York, Kenneth Parker for the Southern District of Ohio, Natalie K. Wight for the District of Oregon, Eric G. Olshan for the Western District of Pennsylvania and Christopher R. Kavanaugh for the Western District of Virginia as well as Ryan Buchanan of the Northern District of Georgia, Gregory K. Harris of the Central District of Illinois, Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota and Darcie N. McElwee of the District of Maine.  

President Biden nominated Hamdani to serve as U.S. Attorney for this district Nov. 14, 2002, upon the recommendation of U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. The full Senate unanimously confirmed his appointment Dec. 6, 2022. He was sworn in Dec. 12, 2022.  

As U.S. Attorney, Hamdani is the chief federal law enforcement officer in the Southern District of Texas (SDTX), responsible for prosecuting and defending the interests of the United States in the seventh largest district in the nation.

Hamdani has been with the Department of Justice since 2008. Most recently, he has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) with the SDTX, primarily responsible for the investigation and prosecution of national security and official corruption crimes. From 2010 to 2014, Hamdani served in the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, holding the position of deputy chief from 2012 to 2014. Prior to that, he was an AUSA in the Eastern District of Kentucky.

The SDTX typically prosecutes more cases against more defendants than most other U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide, representing 43 counties and nine million people and covering 44,000 square miles. This district currently comprises seven U.S. District Court divisions with federal district courts in Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo. The U.S. Attorney's office, headquartered in Houston, has branch offices in all seven divisions.

DAYTON, Ohio -- A federal grand jury has indicted four Ecuadorian nationals with crimes related to stealing jewelry and Apple products at retail centers in multiple states to then resell the items on the black market.

Those charged include Alexander Wilson Diaz-Remache, 39; Jonathan Eduardo Remache-Diaz, 33; Alvaro Oswaldo Loaiza-Alvarez, 27; and Gustavo Daniel Vinueaza-Bueno, 36. The defendants are scheduled to appear in federal court today.

“This office will seek to hold accountable anyone stealing from and endangering the hard-working men and women who deliver our goods and mail. Whether it be UPS, FedEx, the U.S. Postal Service, or any other deliverer, we will not tolerate attacks against individuals simply doing their jobs,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker.

According to the indictment, between January and September 2023, the defendants conspired to steal interstate shipments and transported stolen goods in interstate commerce.

It is alleged three of the defendants entered the United States on travel visas and established California as a base of their illegal activities with Diaz-Remache. From their California base, the coconspirators would allegedly travel by plane and car to other states, including Ohio, Virginia and Maryland, in search of malls and retail centers housing Apple stores, jewelry stores and other businesses.

The defendants would allegedly establish surveillance at these retail centers and track deliveries from UPS, FedEx and other common carriers to learn their delivery patterns. The men then allegedly stole the goods on the delivery vehicles, repackaged them, and mailed them back to California to eventually resell them on the international black market. After saturating an area with thefts of interstate shipments, the coconspirators relocated their efforts, often moving from state to state.

In the Southern District of Ohio, the men allegedly performed surveillance of a FedEx delivery truck at the Greene Town Center in Beavercreek on Sept. 19. One defendant allegedly attempted to distract the delivery driver in a hallway while the other three forced entry into the delivery truck, stealing 300 Apple watches.

A few days later, on Sept. 22, the four defendants allegedly began surveillance of a UPS truck at the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek with the intent to steal the interstate shipment within it.

Other thefts alleged in the indictment include approximately $300,000 in diamonds and other jewelry from a UPS truck in Rockville, Maryland, and thousands of dollars in jewelry from a UPS truck in Fairfax, Virginia.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Beavercreek Police Chief Jeff Fiorita. Deputy Criminal Chief Brent G. Tabacchi is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

HOUSTON – The final of four charged in connection with the theft of $200,000 from a bank in Houston and allegedly transferred to New York has turned herself in to authorities, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Janem Gibbs, 50, Missouri City, is expected to make her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew M. Edison at 2 p.m. today.

Arrested Friday, Feb. 24, were Munson P. Hunter III aka Paul Hunter, 48, Rosedale, New York, Gregory Thurman, 52, Richmond, and Travis Deon Wright, 51, Missouri City.

Hunter was arrested in New York where he made his appearance, while Thurman and Wright appeared in Houston.

Hunter, Thurman, Wright and Gibbs are charged with the theft of $200,000. The charges allege Gibbs was a former assistant branch manager at Capital One N.A. in Houston. She allegedly wire transferred money from a customer’s account at Capital One without his knowledge to an account at a New York City bank.

Hunter, Thurman and Wright were also charged with wire fraud for moving the stolen money through a series of other accounts at banks in New York, Virginia and Texas. The accounts were opened using fictitious names, according to the charges.

All four are charged with bank fraud. All but Gibbs are also charged with two counts of wire fraud. If convicted, each faces up to 30 years in prison and a possible $1 million maximum fine on each count.

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

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has settled False Claims Act allegations against dental management company Benevis LLC (formerly known as NCDR LLC) and more than 130 of its affiliated Kool Smiles dental clinics for which Benevis provides business management and administrative services.  Under the agreement, Benevis and the Kool Smiles clinics will pay the United States and participating states a total of $23.9 million, plus interest, to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted false claims for payment to state Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary dental services performed on children insured by Medicaid.       

“Billing Medicaid programs for dental procedures that are not necessary contributes to the soaring costs of healthcare,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “When healthcare providers put vulnerable patients at risk by performing medically unnecessary procedures to achieve financial goals, we will take action.”   

The United States alleged that between January 2009 and December 2011, Benevis and Kool Smiles clinics located throughout 17 states knowingly submitted false claims to state Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary pulpotomies (baby root canals), tooth extractions, and stainless steel crowns, in addition to seeking payment for pulpotomies that were never performed.  The United States alleges that Kool Smiles clinics routinely pressured and incentivized dentists to meet production goals through a system that disciplined “unproductive” dentists and awarded “productive” dentists with substantial cash bonuses based on the revenue generated by the procedures they performed.  According to the government’s allegations, Kool Smiles clinics ignored complaints from their own dentists regarding overutilization.  In addition, the United States further alleged that Kool Smiles clinics located in Texas knowingly submitted false claims to the Texas Medicaid Program for First Dental Home (FDH), a program intended to provide a comprehensive package of dental services aimed at improving the oral health of children under three years of age.  These clinics are alleged to have submitted false claims for FDH services that were not fully provided.  

Of the $23.9 million to be paid by Benevis and its affiliated Kool Smiles clinics, the federal government will receive a total of $14,244,073.49, plus interest, and a total of $9,655,926.51, plus interest, will be returned to individual states, which jointly funded improper claims submitted to state Medicaid programs.     

"The allegations in these cases are particularly egregious because they involved medically unnecessary dental services performed on children,” said U.S. Attorney John H. Durham for the District of Connecticut.  “Exploiting needy children for financial gain is inexcusable.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut is committed to aggressively pursuing health care providers that submit fraudulent claims to government health care programs.”

The government’s investigation was initiated by five lawsuits filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private citizens to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery.  These cases are currently pending in the District of Connecticut and the Western District of Texas.  As part of today’s resolution, three of the whistleblowers—former Kool Smiles employees Adam Abendano, Poonam Rai, and Robin Fitzgerald—will receive payments totaling more than $2.4 million from the federal share of the settlement. 

“When providers accept federal funds for reimbursement, they have a duty and responsibility to provide the best care possible to the patient, especially when their patients are economically disadvantaged children,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick for the Southern District of Texas. “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas will aggressively prosecute healthcare providers who fail to provide care as required when it adversely affects the taxpayers.”

“The conduct of Kool Smiles reached across state lines to impact many patients, many of them vulnerable children,” said U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their tireless effort and dedication in bringing about this nationwide resolution.”

“Today’s settlement sends a very clear signal:  Fraud in the federal healthcare system will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney John F. Bash for the Western District of Texas. “Especially when that fraud involves performing unnecessary procedures on kids—here, unnecessary baby root canals and tooth extractions, among other procedures—we will not hesitate to use every tool at our disposal to punish those who break the law.”

“It is intolerable when health care companies seek to boost profits by defrauding Medicaid and exploiting children," said Special Agent in Charge Phillip M. Coyne, HHS-OIG. "Systematically performing and billing for medically unnecessary dental procedures undermines the well-being of these young patients, corrupts the impartiality of medical decision-making, and diverts money from taxpayer-funded health care programs designed to pay for legitimate medical needs.”

The settlement with Benevis and its affiliated Kool Smiles clinics was the result of a collaborative effort among federal and state agencies.  The Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Connecticut, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Virginia, and Western District of Texas handled the cases, with substantial assistance from the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU).  The Civil Division and NAMFCU coordinated the nationwide investigation, which was conducted by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and NAMFCU.          

The cases are captioned United States, et al., ex rel. Abendano v. NCDR, LLC, et al., 3:10-cv-1100 (JBA) (D. Conn.); United States, et al., ex rel. Greenwald v. Kool Smiles Dentistry PC, et al., 3:10-cv-1100 (JBA) (D. Conn.); United States, et al., ex rel. Rai, et al. v. Kool Smiles Dentistry PC, et al., 3:17-cv-834 (JBA) (D. Conn.); United States, et al., ex rel. Bowne v. KS-VAP, PC, et al., 3:16-cv-369 (JBA) (D. Conn.); and United States, et al., ex rel. Alves, et al. v. NCDR, LLC, et al., SA-13-CV-0760H (W.D. Tex.).  The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.  

            WASHINGTON – A father and son from Virginia both pleaded guilty today to felony charges related to their actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Their actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

            Farhad Azari, 63, and Farbod Azari, 32, both of Richmond, VA, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to one count of civil disorder and one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Farhad is the father of Farbod Azari. U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth will sentence the pair on May 21, 2024.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, the two men traveled from Richmond, VA, to Washington, D.C., to protest Congress' certification of the Electoral College vote. The two made their way to the West Front and West Plaza of the Capitol grounds and moved to the front of a group of rioters. At approximately 1:13 p.m., while other rioters dismantled sections of the fencing at the foot of the steps, Farbod approached a section of the fencing, gestured at the line of police officers, spat in their direction, and retreated into the crowd. Several seconds later, Farbod approached the fencing again and threw a water bottle at the officers.

            Meanwhile, Farhad engaged with officers defending the police line multiple times. First, he threw a water bottle at officers in the police line. Shortly after that, at about 1:14 p.m., he rushed police as Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived on the scene to reestablish the police line broken earlier by rioters. Farhad kicked a bike rack and then joined with other rioters in pushing the rack back against police officers in a clear attempt to break the newly established line.

            At approximately 1:18 p.m., Farbod joined other rioters in dismantling a section of the black fencing at the base of the West Plaza steps by kicking and pulling at it, using his foot to kick at and stomp on the gate until it was flat on the ground.

            Approximately 30 minutes later, Farhad confronted a line of police officers on the north side of the West Plaza, near the foot of a set of stairs leading to the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol. Farhad had begun to yell at the officers and attempted to kick an object on the ground in the direction of the police. When that failed, Farhad picked up a flagpole and hurled it at the line of officers. Shortly after he threw the flagpole, Farhad obtained an air horn and threw that, too, toward officers.

            At about 2:00 p.m., Farbod joined a crowd of rioters under the scaffolding erected over the Northwest stairs—a set of steps leading from the north side of the West Plaza of the Capitol to the north side of the Upper West Terrace. As other rioters attempted to break through the metal bike-rack barricades guarded by United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers, Farbod waved a flag and used it to jab at the line of USCP officers, making physical contact with one officer's arm. At about 2:09 p.m., the rioters breached the barricades and surged up the Northwest stairs towards the Capitol. Farbod, at the front of the group, chased retreating officers up the stairs.

            At approximately 2:14 p.m., Farhad entered the U.S. Capitol building via the Senate Wing Doors through a broken window. Farhad was one of the first rioters to enter the Capitol during the first breach of the Senate Wing Doors. Farhad proceeded toward the Crypt and, while inside, attempted to direct rioters to rush the police line that had formed there to prevent further incursion into the Capitol. He exited the building at approximately 2:35 p.m. via the same broken Senate Wing Door window from which he entered.

            At about 2:46 p.m., Farhad reentered the Capitol building via the Parliamentarian Doors and entered an office. He then exited via the Parliamentarian Doors at about 2:50 p.m. On his way out, Farhad encouraged other rioters to enter the Parliamentarian Door.

            Meanwhile, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Farbod rushed to the north side of the Upper West Terrace, where police officers had formed a line between rioters and the building. Farbod attempted to break through the line of officers by pushing his shoulder into an officer standing between him and the Capitol building. An officer pushed Farbod back into the crowd, and Farbod threw a water bottle at the line of officers. Moments later, Farbod picked up a flagpole, raised it behind his head, took several steps towards the line of police officers, and swung it towards the officers. He then retreated several feet and held the flagpole like a spear before he threw it at the line of officers.

            FBI agents arrested the pair on Jan. 18, 2023, in Virginia.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI's Richmond and Washington Field Offices, which identified Farbod Azari as #187 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 36 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,265 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 62-year-old man pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle two Iranian citizens into the country, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Gholamreza Hosseinpour, Fairfax, Virginia, pleaded guilty to two counts of transporting illegal aliens within the United States.

As part of his plea, he admitted that on Dec. 19, 2021, he flew from his home state to Texas. He rented a vehicle in San Antonio and drove to McAllen to pick up two individuals that had crossed into the United States from Mexico. Hosseinpour then drove them north to the Javier Vega Jr. Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint located near Sarita.

There, law enforcement conducted an initial inspection, at which time the two individuals could not answer questions about their citizenship. Authorities ultimately determined each individual was from Iran and illegally present in the United States.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales will impose sentencing June 9. At that time, Hosseinpour faces up to five years of imprisonment and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.

BP conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis Robinson and Molly Smith are prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – A 34-year-old Missouri City man has been ordered to federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Emmanuel Babajide Awolaja pleaded guilty Nov. 3, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. has now ordered Awolaja to serve 138 months for the conspiracy as well as another 24 months for the aggravated identity theft which must be served consecutively. The total 162-month prison term will be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $263,955.73 in restitution to the victims which included local merchants.

At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that determined Awolaja was responsible for more than $1.5 million in losses. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Awolaja’s criminal history dated back almost 20 years with this being his 13th felony offense. Judge Werlein noted how the previous sentences have not deterred him from criminal activity, and the court was imposing this sentence to protect the public from his continued criminal recidivism. 

Awolaja and Tia Nicole Chavis came into possession of credit card information for numerous Chase Bank customers along with personal identifying information of various individuals.

From February 2021 until October 2023, Chavis agreed to help Awolaja use the unlawfully obtained credit card information to purchase expensive jewelry, hotel rooms, rental cars, meals and various other goods or services. 

When they would first attempt to use the cards, the charges would be denied. However, Awolaja and Chavis persuaded merchants to manually enter the card numbers which typically resulted in approval, ultimately causing substantial loss for the merchants. 

The investigation revealed Awolaja used the stolen account information to make purchases in Iowa, Virginia and several other states. 

The scheme unraveled May 19, 2021, when they attempted to fraudulently purchase a $14,000 watch at Tomball Pawn and Jewelry. Law enforcement then worked with merchants throughout the country to identify Chavis and Awolaja from store video in other transactions. 

Chavis, 32, Houston, also pleaded guilty and it set for sentencing April 12.

Both have been and will remain in custody.

The Secret Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman prosecuted the case.

HOUSTON – Three Romanian men have been ordered to prison for their roles in the placement of card skimmers on ATMs and stealing money from bank accounts, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Cristian Viorel Ciobanu, 31, Bogdan Mirel Constantin, 34, both of Romania, pleaded guilty Oct. 27, 2017. A third defendant – Daniel Marius Muraretu, 40, also of Romania – entered his plea Jan. 26, 2018.

Ciobanu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Today, U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. ordered him to serve 42 months for the fraud in addition to another two years for the identity theft which must be served consecutively for a total of 66 months in federal prison.

Constantin pleaded guilty to theft aggravated identity theft and received a mandatory two years in prison, while Muraretu received 37 months for his conviction of the conspiracy charge. They were all also ordered to pay restitution of $390,487.64

At the hearing, Ciobanu told the court he had made a mistake. In handing down Ciobanu’s sentence, Judge Werlein noted that he had committed one crime after another after another in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas and then California. “You did not just make a mistake. This was not just a matter of you bumping into someone,” Werlein said. “You claim you are a good man – but this is not the mark of a good man.”

Ciobanu, Muraretu and Constantin were part of a group that traveled to the United States and then to Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas to steal money from victims’ bank accounts. Further, after fleeing arrest in 2016, Ciobanu was arrested in 2017, apparently committing the same crimes in California. 

In each state, the co-conspirators used card skimmers to steal ATM card numbers as customers inserted their cards into the machines. They also used hidden cameras to record customers as they entered their PINs.  Armed with this stolen data, they then made their own fake ATM cards. They then used those fake cards and stolen PINs to withdraw at least $390,495.84 from customer accounts. Constantin joined the group in Houston. 

All have been and 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Chu is prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – Two Romanian men have pleaded guilty for traveling to Houston to place card skimmers on ATMs and stealing money from bank accounts, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.

 

Crisian Viorel Ciobanu, 30, of Romania, was part of a group that traveled to Pennsylvania, Virginia and Texas to steal money from victims’ bank accounts. In each state, Ciobanu and his co-conspirators used card skimmers to steal ATM card numbers as customers inserted their cards into the machines. They also used hidden cameras to record customers as they entered their PINs.

 

Armed with this stolen data, they then made their own fake ATM cards. They then used those fake cards and stolen PINs to withdraw at least $390,495.84 from customer accounts. Bogdan Mirel Constantin, 40, of Romania, joined the group in Houston.

 

Ciobanu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. He faces up to 7.5 years for the conspiracy as well as a mandatory two years for the identity theft which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Constantin pleaded guilty to theft aggravated identity theft and faces the same two mandatory years in federal prison. The charges also carry a possible $250,000 maximum fine. They have agreed to pay full restitution. 

 

Ciobanu’s sentencing has been set for Jan. 8, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein, while Constantin is set for Jan. 26, 2018. They will both remain in custody pending that hearing.

 

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Chu is prosecuting the case.

HOUSTON – A 24-year-old Indian citizen has been taken into custody on charges related to a large nationwide conspiracy to commit mail fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Anirudha Kalkote is set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Hanovice Palermo at 2 p.m. He was incarcerated in Virginia and brought to Texas June 9 to face the charges.

The 12-count superseding indictment charges Kalkote with conspiracy and mail fraud. Also named in the indictment is MD Azad, 25, an illegal resident of Houston, who was originally charged in August 2020. He will appear again in court on the new charges in the near future. 

The superseding indictment, returned June 9, accuses Azad and Kalkote of participating in a fraud ring from 2019-2020 which operated out of various cities including Houston. The scheme allegedly targeted elderly victims throughout the United States and elsewhere.

According to the charges, the ring tricked and deceived victims using various ruses and instructed them to send money via wire through a money transmitter business such as Western Union or MoneyGram, by buying gift cards and providing to the fraudsters or by mailing cash to alias names via FedEx or UPS.

One such scheme allegedly involved the claim of providing computer technical support services. The indictment alleges that the scheme generally worked because fraudsters contacted victims by phone or via internet sites directing them to a particular phone number. Once victims contacted them, they were told various stories such as they were communicating with an expert that needed remote access to their computer in order to provide technical support services. The fraudsters then allegedly gained further access to their personal data and bank and credit card information.

Victims typically paid a fee to conspirators for the alleged technical support but were later told they were due a refund, according to the charges. Through paying for “technical support” or through the “refund” process, the ring gained access to the victim’s bank account(s) and credit cards and manipulated the accounts to make it appear the victim was paid too large a refund due to a typographical error. Victims were then instructed to reimburse the ring by various means.

The indictment alleges victims were sometimes re-victimized multiple times and threatened with bodily harm if they did not pay.

Upon conviction, each faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.

Three others have already pleaded guilty in relation to the scheme and are awaiting sentencing - Sumit Kumar Singh, 24, Himanshu Kumar, 24, and MD Hasib, 26 are Indian nationals who illegally resided in Houston.

All five individuals remain in custody pending further criminal proceedings.

The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States including the Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office of Augusta County, Virginia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Quincy Ollison are prosecuting the case. 

The case is brought as a part of the Elder Justice Initiative. Its goal is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults.

In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice launched National Elder Fraud Hotline to help combat fraud against older Americans and provide services to victims. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder fraud, we encourage you to call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 (833–372–8311).

The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time. Services are available for speakers of English, Spanish and other languages.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 40-year-old resident of Brownsville has been ordered to federal prison following his role in trafficking more than 1000 kilograms of cocaine involving $26 million in drug proceeds, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours before convicting Rafael Villanueva Jan. 28, following a six-day trial.

Today, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., who presided over the trial and sentencing, ordered Villanueva to serve the rest of his life in federal prison. The court also ordered Villanueva to pay a $1,193,070 money judgment as repayment for the drug money he illegally laundered.

“This sentencing is the result of a long-term complex investigation lead by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who continue to serve and protect our public and national security said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Timothy Tubbs of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “HSI and our counterparts will continue to protect our nation from transnational criminal organizations that seek to bring harm to our communities and our nation.”

“The sentencing of Villanueva demonstrates how we focus investigative resources against drug trafficking organizations that import large shipments of hard drugs from Mexico then deliver them to cities throughout the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “DEA and our partners remain determined to identify, dismantle and destroy drug trafficking organizations that import and spread their poison in cities across our nation.”

During trial, the jury heard from approximately 21 witnesses. They detailed Villanueva’s role as head of a drug transportation group that moved cocaine from the Rio Grande Valley and on to cities throughout the United States. He had customers in Mexico who needed transportation for cocaine to areas throughout the United States, including Houston; Chicago, Illinois; Jackson, Mississippi; as well as locations in South and North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

He also provided transportation for drug proceeds sold throughout the United States back to the Rio Grande Valley. The commercial vehicles were outfitted with special compartments to hide the cocaine and drug proceeds.

Several witnesses testified Villanueva hired them to move the cocaine north and the drug proceeds south. Villanueva paid them by the kilogram to transport the drugs and a percentage of the drug money coming south. Fellow drug traffickers also testified Villanueva borrowed their line of transport for the cocaine when commercial drivers he hired got arrested with loads of cocaine.

One of the witnesses was a young male who was only 16 when he started working for Villanueva.

The jury also heard about the search of Villanueva’s house where authorities found five guns and numerous documents showing his lavish lifestyle as well as several Lone Star cards. 

The defense attempted to convince the jury the witnesses were all liars and authorities did poor work.

The jury ultimately found him guilty as charged for possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and conspiracy to do so, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, bulk cash smuggling and international money laundering.

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

Several others have also been convicted for their respective roles.

HSI and DEA conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation known as La Camelia. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Betancourt, Jody Young and Paul Marian prosecuted the case. 

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A federal jury has returned guilty verdicts on all counts against a 40-year-old Brownsville man for his role in trafficking more than 1000 kilograms of cocaine involving $26 million in drug proceeds, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours before convicting Rafael Villanueva following a six-day trial.

During trial, the jury heard from approximately 21 witnesses. They detailed Villanueva’s role as head of a drug transportation group that moved cocaine from the Rio Grande Valley and on to cities throughout the United States. He had customers in Mexico who needed transportation for cocaine to areas throughout the United States, including Houston; Chicago, Illinois; Jackson, Mississippi; as well as locations in South and North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

He also provided transportation for drug proceeds sold throughout the United States back to the Rio Grande Valley. The commercial vehicles were outfitted with special compartments to hide the cocaine and drug proceeds.

Several witnesses testified Villanueva hired them to move the cocaine north and the drug proceeds south. Villanueva paid them by the kilogram to transport the drugs and a percentage of the drug money coming south. Fellow drug traffickers also testified Villanueva borrowed their line of transport for the cocaine when commercial drivers Villanueva hired got arrested with loads of cocaine.

One of the witnesses was a young male who was only 16 when he started working for Villanueva.

The jury also heard about the search of Villanueva’s house where authorities found five guns and numerous documents showing his lavish lifestyle as well as several Lone Star cards. 

The defense attempted to convince the jury the witnesses were all liars and authorities did poor work.

The jury ultimately found him guilty as charged for possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and conspiracy to do so, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, bulk cash smuggling and international money laundering.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. presided over the trial and set sentencing for May 4, 2020. At that time, Villanueva faces up to life in prison. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.

Several others have also been convicted for their respective roles.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation known as La Camelia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Betancourt, Jody Young and Paul Marian are prosecuting the case.

McALLEN, Texas – A South Carolina man and a Georgia woman have been ordered to prison following their conviction of smuggling drugs through McAllen, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Joseph Gray, Jr., 47, pleaded guilty Sept 12, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute meth, while Jasmine Cecelia Dorsey, 28, entered here plea Feb. 1, 2022, to importing meth.  

Today, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez a 360-month term of imprisonment for Gray, while Dorsey received 64 months. Gray and Dorsey must also serve five and three years, respectively, of supervised release following the sentences. At the hearing, the court heard Gray’s trafficking organization smuggled drugs throughout parts of the eastern seaboard including Georgia, the Carolinas, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The court also heard that after Gray was released from state custody for robbing and killing a person and from federal custody for trafficking crack cocaine, he continued to engage in drug trafficking crimes that led to a series of supervised release revocations and an additional drug trafficking conviction. In handing down the prison terms, Judge Alvarez noted that Gray was given many chances to change his life but did not do so.

Two others were previously convicted and sentenced for their role in the conspiracy. Iyana De’Kyra Carter received a 78-month-term of imprisonment, while Keith Anthony Murray was ordered to serve 182 months.

On July 31, 2021, Dorsey and Carter traveled from Mexico and attempted to enter the United States through Hidalgo, Texas, port of entry with approximately 18 kilograms of pure meth concealed in the gas tank.

Further investigation revealed Gray directed Murray to hire drug mules. Dorsey and Carter drove from Atlanta, Georgia, to Monterrey, Mexico, loaded the vehicle with meth and attempted to bring the narcotics back to Georgia for further distribution. Gray coordinated extensively with Mexican and Panama narcotics traffickers to ensure the meth was received safely.

Gray will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Dorsey was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender at a later date.  

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jongwoo Chung prosecuted the case.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man pleaded guilty today to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on March 29, 2023, officers of the Richmond Police Department responded to a call of an active shooting near the intersection of Williamsburg Road and Government Road. Units arrived at that location within minutes of receiving the report and went to the parking lot of the Krispie’s Chicken restaurant, which was near the intersection where the shooting reportedly occurred. When they arrived, they saw Devon Martin, 30, wearing a hoodie which appeared to have a heavy, L-shaped object in the right pocket of the hoodie. As the officers approached Martin, he got into the passenger side of a vehicle. The officers ordered Martin to exit the vehicle and then conducted a pat down of his person. They found in Martin’s possession a Taurus, 9mm firearm in the pocket of his hoodie.

Martin was previously convicted in 2019 in the Eastern District of Virginia for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Martin is scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Rick Edwards, Chief of Richmond Police, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Summer L. Speight accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen E. Anthony is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-96.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Honduran national pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.

According to court documents, from approximately 2008 through June 2014, Mario Urbina, 41, conspired to import cocaine into the United States. Urbina was a lieutenant in the Los Valles international drug trafficking organization based in Honduras, which is a major transit country for South American cocaine. Urbina was personally responsible for coordinating the trafficking of ton quantities of cocaine and the collection of millions of dollars in cocaine proceeds. The Los Valles cartel maintained an arsenal of firearms to protect and further their operation and relied on violence, including kidnapping and murder, as a means of intimidation.

Urbina is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and David Geist, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bibeane Metsch is prosecuting the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia expresses its appreciation to the Virginia State Police, FBI Sacramento Field Office, the Sacramento OCDETF Strike Force, DEA and FBI Tegucigalpa Country Offices, and the Honduran National Police for their significant assistance in this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance. 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-cr-135.

Former Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) Lieutenant Michael Anderson, 52, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for violating the civil rights of an inmate by showing deliberate indifference to the inmate’s serious medical needs, resulting in his death. 

“People held in jails and prisons are at the mercy of correctional officials when it comes to fair treatment and basic necessities like healthcare, especially when they are experiencing a medical emergency,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Correctional officials have a constitutional duty to ensure that those experiencing a health crisis or medical emergency are not ignored but instead are treated like human beings and provided basic life-sustaining care. The Justice Department will not stand by idly when officials inside jails and prisons deny people confined in their custody access to basic healthcare, leaving them to suffer grave injury or death. We will hold correctional officials accountable when their callous actions, or failure to act, violate our federal civil rights laws or the Constitution.”

“This inmate’s death was not the result of inadvertence or a lapse in judgment,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “His death was the completely preventable result of the deliberate choices made by the defendant, who knew he had the constitutional duty to provide medical care. Inmates are entitled to basic human dignity.”

“Anderson’s appalling indifference resulted in the needless loss of life,” said Special Agent in Charge Russell W. Cunningham of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region. “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that correctional officers who disregard their responsibility to provide a humane environment for inmates will be held accountable.”

According to court documents, Anderson admitted that on Jan. 9 and 10, 2021, he was working as an FBOP lieutenant at the Federal Correctional Institution at Petersburg, Virginia. In that capacity, Anderson was the second-highest ranking officer at the prison and was responsible for the care of federal inmates. On Jan. 9, 2021, a correctional officer notified Anderson that a 47-year-old inmate, W.W., was experiencing symptoms of an apparent medical emergency and asked the defendant to help W.W. obtain medical care. Anderson personally observed W.W.’s symptoms and stated that he would get medical help for W.W. The defendant nevertheless failed to notify medical staff, obtain a medical assessment, contact the facility’s on-call physician or notify any other staff members of W.W.’s condition. 

The next day, a correctional officer notified Anderson that W.W. had fallen to the ground in his cell. Even with this information, Anderson failed to obtain any assistance for W.W. whatsoever. W.W. laid on the ground, dead or dying, for over an hour and a half before any correctional or medical staff entered his cell. When they finally did so, life-saving efforts failed, and W.W. was later pronounced dead.

The Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General investigated the case. 

Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert and Trial Attorney Matthew Tannenbaum of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Garnett for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

The Justice Department announced today a settlement agreement with the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, to ensure that individuals with disabilities, including Veterans, have equal access to city buildings and other civic programs. The agreement is part of the department’s commitment to ensure that civic institutions comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Virginia Beach has a large population of Veterans, active-duty military service members, retirees and their families.

“The ADA mandates equal access to civic life for people with disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring that cities and other public entities eliminate physical, communication and other barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in community life. We commend Virginia Beach for its commitment to work with the Civil Rights Division to ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities, including Veterans.”

“Ensuring that individuals who have disabilities are afforded equal access to local government programs and services is required by the ADA and a high priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We are pleased that the City of Virginia Beach has agreed to take numerous steps to ensure that individuals with disabilities, including Veterans, have equal access to vital public services, including emergency services and the City’s website.”

Under the agreement announced today, Virginia Beach will remove accessibility barriers to buildings such as police stations, libraries, technology centers, community centers and places of recreation. The agreement requires Virginia Beach to ensure that parking, routes into buildings, entrances, restrooms, signage, service counters and drinking fountains are accessible to people with disabilities, and that assembly areas, such as the Giant Screen Theater at the Aquarium, provide the required wheelchair and companion seating. The agreement also requires Virginia Beach to ensure effective communication for individuals with hearing and vision disabilities through methods such as sign language interpreters, real-time transcription services, Braille or large print documents and accessible electronic formats. The city will also provide access to emergency shelters, provide accessible websites, train employees on the requirements of the ADA, make sidewalks and curb cuts accessible and appoint an ADA coordinator.

The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. If you believe you’ve been discriminated against, you may file a complaint online at www.civilrights.justice.gov/.

WASHINGTON – Three Nigerian citizens were extradited from the United Kingdom (UK) and arrived in the United States in relation to their alleged participation in multimillion-dollar cyber-enabled business email compromise (BEC) fraud schemes in the Western District of North Carolina, Southern District of Texas and Eastern District of Virginia. The scams allegedly perpetrated by the defendants and their co-conspirators targeted unsuspecting victims including universities in North Carolina, Texas and Virginia, and attempted to cause more than $5 million in losses.

BEC, also known as “cyber-enabled financial fraud,” is a sophisticated scam often targeting employees with access to company finances, businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments. The same criminal organizations that perpetrate BEC also exploit individual victims, often real estate purchasers, the elderly, and others, by convincing them to make wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the criminals. This is often accomplished by impersonating a key employee or business partner after obtaining access to that person’s email account or sometimes done through romance and lottery scams. BEC scams may involve fraudulent requests for checks rather than wire transfers; they may target sensitive information such as personally identifiable information (PII) or employee tax records instead of, or in addition to, money; and they may not involve an actual “compromise” of an email account or computer network. Foreign citizens perpetrate many BEC scams. Those individuals are often members of transnational criminal organizations, which originated in Nigeria but have spread throughout the world.

Western District of North Carolina

Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo aka John Edwards and John Dayo, 43, a Nigerian citizen and UK resident, and Donald Ikenna Echeazu aka Donald Smith and Donald Dodient, 40, a dual UK and Nigerian citizen, are charged with wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft for defrauding a North Carolina university (the University) of more than $1.9 million via a business email compromise scheme. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in the Western District of North Carolina on April 17, 2019, and was unsealed yesterday following Echeazu’s initial appearance in federal court in Charlotte.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, from Aug. 30, 2016, to Jan. 12, 2017, Adeagbo and Echeazu conspired with other individuals to obtain information about significant construction projects occurring throughout the United States, including an ongoing multi-million-dollar project at the victim University. To execute the scheme, the defendants allegedly registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the University’s project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company. Using the fake email address, the co-conspirators allegedly deceived and directed the University to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of defendants. Upon receiving the payment, the co-conspirators allegedly laundered the stolen proceeds through a series of financial transactions designed to conceal the fraud.

The wire fraud conspiracy charge and the money laundering conspiracy charge each carry a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence consecutive to any other term imposed.

The FBI Charlotte Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Billings of the Western District of North Carolina is prosecuting the case.

Southern District of Texas

Oludayo Kolawole John Adeagbo aka John Edwards and John Dayo, 43, a Nigerian citizen and UK resident, is also charged in the Southern District of Texas with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. A federal grand jury returned the indictment March 30, 2022, which was unsealed on Aug. 3, 2022 before he was extradited to the United States. 

From November 2016 until July 2018, Adeagbo allegedly conspired with others to participate in cyber-enabled business email compromises in an attempt to steal more than $3 million from victims in Texas, including local government entities, construction companies and a Houston-area college. The indictment alleges Adeagbo and his co-conspirators registered domain names that looked similar to legitimate companies. They then sent emails from those domains pretending to be employees at those companies, according to the charges. The conspirators allegedly sent emails to clients or customers of the companies they impersonated and deceived those customers into sending wire payments to bank accounts they controlled.

Adeagbo faces up to 20 years in prison, if convicted on the charges.

The FBI Houston Cyber Task Force conducted the investigation with the assistance of the FBI Cyber and Criminal Investigative Divisions. The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police Service, City of London Police and Crown Prosecution Service also provided substantial assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rodolfo Ramirez for the Southern District of Texas is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).

Eastern District of Virginia

Olabanji Egbinola, 42, is charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to a criminal complaint issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, from Sept. 26, 2018, to Dec. 26, 2018, Egbinola is alleged to have conspired with others to defraud a Virginia-based university. Egbinola and co-conspirators created and used a fraudulent email account that incorporated the name of a construction company that had a large, ongoing contract with the university. Using this email account, Egbinola and co-conspirators deceived the university into transferring $469,819.49 to a bank account controlled by Egbinola and co-conspirators. That money was quickly laundered and transferred overseas through numerous transactions. Evidence obtained during the investigation showed that Egbinola repeatedly accessed the email account used to defraud the Virginia university.

The FBI Richmond Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hood of for the Eastern District of Virginia is prosecuting the case.

All three defendants were arrested April 23, 2020, by UK authorities at the request of the United States and ordered extradited on Sept. 3, 2021. All three defendants filed appeals, all of which were rejected by the UK High Court on July 12, 2022.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of all three defendants.

Victims are encouraged to file a complaint online with the IC3 at bec.ic3.gov. The IC3 staff reviews complaints, looking for patterns or other indicators of significant criminal activity, and refers investigative packages of complaints to the appropriate law enforcement authorities in a particular city or region. The FBI provides a variety of resources relating to BEC scams through the IC3, which can be reached at www.ic3.gov. For more information on BEC scams, visit: https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise.

The charges contained in an indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

GALVESTON, Texas - A 56-year-old legal permanent resident from Mexico has been sentenced in a cocaine and heroin conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

A federal jury convicted Juan Gonzalez-Cardebas following an 11-day trial in August 2022. He was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and one or more kilograms of heroin as well as possession with intent to distribute 18 kilograms of cocaine.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown has now ordered him to serve a total of 120 months in federal prison. He could also lose his status to reside in the United States.

The investigation focused upon a group of distributors and their associates, primarily citizens of the Dominican Republic, who used common sources of drugs in Mexico to supply their customers in numerous states other than Texas. This group of distributors sold cocaine and heroin throughout the United States but operated out of the Houston area.

Gonzalez worked within the drug trafficking organization by transporting cocaine from the Dallas and Houston areas to other states such as Virginia. He received shipments of cocaine and used his son-in-law’s moving company to deliver the cocaine to drug customers.

The defense attempted to convince the jury that he was an honest hard-working man trying to provide for his family and that his son-in-law set him up. They did not believe those claims and found Gonzalez guilty as charged.  

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

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation dubbed “Wrecking Ball” with the assistance of the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Cusick is prosecuting the case.

OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.

A federal grand jury in Charleston, West Virginia, returned an indictment today charging five former correctional officers — Mark Holdren, 39; Cory Snyder, 29; Johnathan Walters, 35; Jacob Boothe, 25; and Ashley Toney, 23 — in connection with an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., All five correctional officers, as well as a former lieutenant, Chad Lester, 33, were also charged for covering up of the use of unlawful force.

The indictment alleges that, on March 1, 2022, Holdren, Snyder and Walters conspired with other officers at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, to use unlawful force against Q.B. to retaliate for his earlier attempt to leave his assigned pod. The indictment further alleges that Holdren, Snyder and Walters struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained and handcuffed, and that Boothe and Toney failed to intervene in the unlawful assault, resulting in Q.B.’s death.

The indictment alleges that all six defendants conspired to cover up the use of unlawful force by omitting material information and providing false and misleading information to investigators. The indictment also charges each defendant individually with engaging in misleading conduct toward another person to hinder, delay or prevent the communication of information of the possible commission of a federal offense. Further, the indictment alleges that Walters, Holdren, and Boothe submitted incident reports that contained false and misleading information, as well as omitted the fact that officers had assaulted Q.B. The indictment also charges Lester, Holdren, Snyder, Toney and Boothe with making false statements to the FBI about the circumstances surrounding Q.B.’s death. 

The maximum penalties are life in prison for each of the civil rights offenses, five years in prison for each of the false statement offenses, and twenty years in prison for each of the remaining offenses. 

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney William S. Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia and FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case.

Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Matthew Tannenbaum of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Coleman for the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.





indictment_holdren_et_al_11.29.23.pdf

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NORFOLK, Va. – A Baltimore, Maryland man was sentenced today to ten years in prison for possessing fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl, a synthetic fentanyl analog, which he intended to deliver to a co-conspirator in Chesapeake, Virginia.

According to court documents, on November 30, 2022, the Chesapeake Police Department executed a search warrant at the residence of Dorman Winston Mewborn, 36, of Chesapeake, and recovered various substances containing fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Through further investigation, law enforcement determined that Clyde Desmond Ringgold, Jr., 37, of Baltimore, had been supplying Mewborn with narcotics since early 2022.

On December 21, 2022, law enforcement agents conducted surveillance on Ringgold after he arrived on a flight from Baltimore to Norfolk International Airport. Ringgold later drove to Mewborn’s residence, intending to collect on a prior drug debt owed by Mewborn to Ringgold, as well as to deliver two ounces of heroin to Mewborn for $4,000. Once Ringgold arrived outside Mewborn’s residence, officers arrested and searched Ringgold, who was found to possess approximately 40 grams of fentanyl and para-flurofentanyl, along with $2,000 and a cell phone containing multiple pictures of kilograms of controlled substances.

Ringgold previously was convicted in federal court in Baltimore for distribution of heroin, and he was sentenced to serve five years in prison in January 2014. As a result of Ringgold’s criminal record, he qualifies as a career offender under the federal sentencing guidelines.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Mark G. Solesky, Chief of Chesapeake Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. Comstock prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-58.

HOUSTON – A 25-year-old Indian citizen has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Anirudha Kalkote admitted he participated in a fraud ring from 2019-2020 which operated out of various cities including Houston. The scheme targeted elderly victims throughout the United States and elsewhere.

The ring tricked and deceived victims using various ruses and instructed them to send money via wire through a money transmitter business such as Western Union or MoneyGram, by buying gift cards and providing to the fraudsters or by mailing cash to alias names via FedEx or UPS.

Part of the scheme involved fraudsters contacting victims by phone or via internet sites for computer technical support and directing victims to a particular phone number. Once victims contacted the fraudsters, they were told various stories such as they were communicating with an expert that needed remote access to their computer in order to provide technical support services. The fraudsters then gained access to victims’ personal data and bank and credit card information.

Victims typically paid a fee to conspirators for the fake technical support but were later told they were due a refund. Through paying for “technical support” or through the “refund” process, the ring gained access to the victim’s bank account(s) and credit cards and manipulated the accounts to make it appear the victim was paid too large a refund due to a typographical error. Victims were then instructed to reimburse the ring by various means.

Victims were sometimes re-victimized multiple times and threatened with bodily harm if they did not pay.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt accepted the plea and set sentencing for June 26. At that time, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Four others have already pleaded guilty in relation to the scheme and are awaiting sentencing April 20. MD Azad, 26, Sumit Kumar Singh, 25, Himanshu Kumar, 25, and MD Hasib, 27 are Indian nationals who illegally resided in Houston.

All five individuals remain in custody pending sentencing.

The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States including the Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office of Augusta County, Virginia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Quincy Ollison are prosecuting the case. 

The case is brought as a part of the Elder Justice Initiative. Its goal is to support and coordinate the Department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect and financial fraud and scams that target our nation’s older adults.

In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice launched National Elder Fraud Hotline to help combat fraud against older Americans and provide services to victims. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder fraud, we encourage you to call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 (833–372–8311).

The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time. Services are available for speakers of English, Spanish and other languages.

A bodybuilding coach was arrested today in Charlottesville, Virginia, for multiple child exploitation offenses. 

According to court documents, between 2013 and April 2020, Elliott Simon Atwell, 33, of Charlottesville, allegedly enticed and coerced at least six minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct in order to produce recordings of the conduct. Atwell also allegedly enticed a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and possessed images of minors – including prepubescent minors and minors under 12 years of age – who were engaged in sexually explicit conduct. 

Atwell is charged with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of enticement of a minor, and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to life in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh for the Western District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI Richmond Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Smith for the Western District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.

Any individuals who believe they or someone they know may have been victimized by Atwell are encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A federal grand jury in Virginia returned a superseding indictment yesterday charging 12 members and associates of La Mara Salvatrucha, aka MS-13, with a variety of offenses based on their alleged involvement in a series of murders, racketeering and drug trafficking crimes.

Those charged in the indictment are:



Name





Age





Gang Moniker(s) / Nickname(s)





From





Marvin Menjivar Gutiérrez





29





Astuto





New York





Melvin Canales Saldana





29





Demente





New York





Mario Antonio Guevara Rivera





26





Blue, Azul, Telele





Woodbridge





Cristian Ariel Arevalo Arias





26





Serio





Woodbridge





Carlos Jose Turcios Villatoro





23





Oculto





Woodbridge





Abner Jose Molina Rodriguez





24





Rino, Tecolote





Woodbridge





Manilester Andrade Rivas





32





Mani, Tandori, Conejo, Coqueto





Woodbridge





Jairo Gustavo Aguilera Sagastizado





26





Coy, Maruchan, Psicólogo





New York





Walter Jeovanny Rubio Lemus





27





Caskillo





Woodbridge





Juan Carlos Hernández Landaverde





23





Chele





Annandale





Karen Estefany Figueroa Alfaro





29





N/A





Woodbridge





Juan Manuel Vasquez Reyes





40





Güero





Manassas



According to the indictment, the defendants were members/associates of the Sitios Locos Salvatrucha clique (STLS) of MS-13.The indictment alleges that since at least in and around 2017, MS-13 members and associates regularly travelled to and from Long Island, New York, for the purpose of obtaining cocaine and transporting it to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where they and other gang members would sell it primarily, in restaurants and night clubs. 

The indictment also charges eight of the defendants with several offenses stemming from their alleged involvement in four murders that occurred in Eastern Prince William County between June 22, 2019, and Sept. 24, 2019. Specifically, the indictment charges:

Guevara, Arevalo and Turcios with the June 2019 double-murder of M.B.L. and J.G.M., and Vasquez with helping them after they committed the murders;

Canales and Andrade with the August 2019 murder of E.L.T.; and

Guevara, Molina and Aguilera with the September 2019 murder of A.K.S.



Defendants in this case are charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering, accessory after the fact to murder in aid of racketeering, witness tampering, using a firearm during a crime of violence causing death, possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and violations of the Controlled Substances Act, among other crimes. The statutory penalties for the charged offenses range from a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison to capital punishment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Chief Peter Newsham of Prince William County Police Department made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Blanchard, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Roberts and Trial Attorney Matthew Hoff from the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). 

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) public affairs officer was sentenced today to seven years in prison for defrauding at least a dozen companies of over $4.4 million by posing falsely as a covert officer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; CIA Acting Inspector General Christine Ruppert; Acting Inspector General Thomas A. Monheim of the Intelligence Community; Brig. Gen. Terry L. Bullard, Commander of the Office of Special Investigations for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force; Inspector General Cardell Richardson for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit; Special Agent in Charge Stanley A. Newell of the Transnational Operations Field Office of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); Special Agent in Charge Alison Zavada of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Washington Field Office; and Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz for the Department of Justice, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Liam O'Grady.

According to court documents, Garrison Kenneth Courtney, 44, of Tampa, Florida, falsely claimed to be a covert officer of the CIA involved in a highly-classified program or “task force” involving various components of the U.S. Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense.  According to the false story told by Courtney, this supposed classified program sought to enhance the intelligence gathering capabilities of the U.S. government. In truth, Courtney had never been employed by the CIA, and the task force that he described did not exist.

“The fraud committed by Garrison Courtney harmed the U.S. intelligence community, individual contractors, and private companies working hard to protect our nation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Rabbitt.  “By claiming to be a covert CIA officer involved in a bogus classified ‘task force,’ Courtney defrauded his victims out of over $4.4 million.  But his elaborate scheme could have caused far more damage if the Department of Justice and our investigative partners had not successfully intervened.”

“Courtney – along with his five aliases – will now spend the next seven years in federal prison for his deceitful and felonious criminal conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Terwilliger.  “Courtney’s brazen and salacious fraud was centered on the lie that he was involved in a highly-classified intelligence program, and that he was a covert CIA officer engaged in significant national security work.  In fact, Courtney never worked for the CIA, the supposed classified program did not exist, and Courtney invented the elaborate lie to cheat his victims out of over $4.4 million.  I want to commend the trial team and their extraordinary efforts in untangling this complex fraud, and thank our many law enforcement partners who helped bring Courtney to justice.”

“Courtney wove an expansive web of lies by posing as a covert CIA officer working on a classified program. Courtney’s brazen scheme and manipulation was fueled by his own greed, all while invoking the secrecy of ‘national security’ to hide his lies,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge D’Antuono. “Today’s sentencing would not have been possible without our valued law enforcement, intelligence community, and military partners. I would also like to thank the men and women of the FBI who work diligently every day, and for years on this investigation, to root out fraud, uphold the Constitution and protect the American people.”

“The sentence handed down today should serve as a warning to those who would seek to cheat the American taxpayers and pervert the federal procurement system for their own ill-gotten gain,” said DCIS Special Agent in Charge Newell.  “In a scheme that sounds like something out of the movies, this adept con-artist hid behind a veil of phony classified programs, concocted a fake identity for himself as a government spy, and duped unsuspecting victims out of millions of dollars – all in the name of the U.S. Government.  The DCIS and our investigative partners will tirelessly root out this sort of egregious fraud, and bring those responsible to justice.”

To accomplish the fraud, Courtney approached numerous private companies with some variation of this false story, and claimed that the companies needed to hire and pay him to create what Courtney described as “commercial cover,” i.e., to mask his supposed affiliation with the CIA.  Courtney also fraudulently claimed that the companies would be reimbursed in the future for these salary payments, sometimes by the award of lucrative contracts from the United States government in connection with the supposedly classified program.

Courtney went to extraordinary lengths to perpetuate the illusion that he was a deep-cover operative. Among other things, he falsely claimed that his identity and large portions of his conduct were classified; directed victims and witnesses to sign fake nondisclosure agreements that purported to be from the U.S. government and that forbade anyone involved from speaking openly about the supposedly classified program; told victims and witnesses that they were under surveillance by hostile foreign intelligence services; made a show of searching people for electronic devices as part of his supposed counterintelligence methods; demanded that his victims meet in sensitive compartmented information facilities to create the illusion that they were participating in a classified intelligence operation; and repeatedly threatened anyone who questioned his legitimacy with revocation of their security clearance and criminal prosecution if they “leaked” or continued to look into the supposedly classified information.  Courtney further created fake letters, purporting to have been issued by the Attorney General of the United States, which claimed to grant blanket immunity to those who participated in the supposedly classified program.

As a further part of the scheme, Courtney created a fraudulent backstory about himself, claiming that he had served in the U.S. Army during the Gulf War, had hundreds of confirmed kills while in combat, sustained lung injuries from smoke caused by fires set to Iraq’s oil fields, and that a hostile foreign intelligence service had attempted to assassinate him by poisoning him with ricin.  All of these claims were false.

Courtney also convinced several real governmental officials that he was participating in this “task force,” explained that they had been selected to participate in the program, and then used those officials as unwitting props falsely to burnish his legitimacy. For example, he directed his victims to speak with these public officials to verify his claims, and separately instructed the government officials as to exactly what to say.  Courtney thereby created the false appearance to the victims that the government officials had independently validated his story, when in fact the officials merely were echoing the false information fed to them by Courtney.  At times, Courtney also convinced those officials to meet with victims inside secure government facilities, thereby furthering the false appearance of authenticity.

Through the scheme, Courtney also fraudulently gained a position working as a private contractor for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC), a branch of the NIH that provides acquisition support services to federal agencies.  Once he had installed himself at NITAAC, Courtney gained access to sensitive, nonpublic information about the procurements of other federal agencies being supported by NITAAC.  Courtney thereafter used that information to attempt to corrupt the procurement process by steering the award of contracts to companies where he was then also on the payroll, and used the false pretext of national security concerns to warp the process by preventing full and open competition.  When law enforcement disrupted his scheme, Courtney actively was seeking to corrupt over $3.7 billion in federal procurements.

Courtney also sought to use the actual and apparent power of the government to execute and protect his scheme, and to attempt to defeat law enforcement’s investigation.  Among other things, Courtney caused a public official to attempt to prevent a private company from responding to a grand jury subpoena; caused a civilian attorney with the Air Force to contact one of the prosecutors on the case in an attempt to read that prosecutor in to the bogus program, thereby freezing the investigation; caused a public official to threaten FBI agents investigating this case with themselves being prosecuted if they did not drop the investigation; falsely told victims who had questioned his legitimacy that they were about to be arrested by the FBI for supposedly leaking classified information; used unwitting public officials to feed the names of innocent witnesses to the FBI, in the hopes that the FBI would seek to prosecute those innocent persons for supposedly leaking classified information, thereby diverting attention from himself; and sought to have real public officials issue and sign a “classification guide” for the bogus program, a document that would have set forth the rules and standards by which information acquired as a part of a governmental program is classified.

The Justice Department’s Office of Enforcement Operations provided assistance with the investigation.

Deputy Chief Todd Gee of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Heidi Boutros Gesch, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh prosecuted the case.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

A Maryland man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to communicate restricted data related to the design of nuclear-powered warships to a person he believed was a representative of a foreign nation.

Jonathan Toebbe, 43, of Annapolis, was arrested on Oct. 9, 2021, after he placed an SD card at a pre-arranged “dead drop” at a location in West Virginia. According to court documents, at the time of his arrest, Toebbe was an employee of the Department of the Navy who served as a nuclear engineer and was assigned to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, also known as Naval Reactors. He held an active national security clearance through the Department of Defense, giving him access to “Restricted Data” within the meaning of the Atomic Energy Act. Restricted Data concerns design, manufacture or utilization of atomic weapons, or production of Special Nuclear Material (SNM), or use of SNM in the production of energy – such as naval reactors. Toebbe worked with and had access to information concerning naval nuclear propulsion including information related to military sensitive design elements, operating parameters and performance characteristics of the reactors for nuclear powered warships.

“Among the secrets the U.S. government most zealously protects are those related to the design of its nuclear-powered warships. The defendant was entrusted with some of those secrets and instead of guarding them, he betrayed the trust placed in him and conspired to sell them to another country for personal profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. The Department of Justice will vigilantly protect the American people and our nation’s security by investigating and prosecuting those who violate their Constitutional oath and abuse their positions for personal gain.”

“The agents and prosecutors handling this matter are to be commended for their efforts,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II for the Northern District of West Virginia. “They are talented and tenacious, and their work in this case has helped to make our country safer.”

“There’s a message here for anyone who would sell out America’s secrets,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler, Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “The FBI and its partners will use all our investigative techniques to bring you to justice.”

“The FBI is relentless in its efforts to uncover those who seek to do our nation harm by targeting our most valuable secrets,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office. “This case is an example of the hard work and diligence of the FBI and our federal partners to neutralize and hold accountable those people who threaten our national security.”

“Today Jonathan Toebbe admitted that he violated federal law when he conspired with his wife to sell sensitive government information to a foreign power,” said U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and hold accountable those who would pursue financial gain at the expense of their solemn duty to protect our country’s closely held secrets.”

“The overarching mission of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is to prevent terrorism, reduce crime and protect secrets, with a very high priority on protecting vital information such as the design and operation of nuclear-powered warships,” said Special Agent in Charge Michelle Kramer of the NCIS Office of Special Projects. “It’s this kind of technology that provides the Department of the Navy with capabilities unmatched by any of America’s adversaries. NCIS remains committed to protecting that information to ensure the readiness of the US Navy and Marine Corps.”

According to his plea, in April 2020, Toebbe sent a package to a foreign government, listing a return address in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, containing a sample of Restricted Data and instructions for establishing a covert relationship to purchase additional Restricted Data. Toebbe began corresponding via encrypted email with an individual whom he believed to be a representative of the foreign government. The individual was really an undercover FBI agent. Toebbe continued this correspondence for several months, which led to an agreement to sell Restricted Data in exchange for thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency.

On June 8, 2021, the undercover agent sent $10,000 in cryptocurrency to Toebbe as “good faith” payment. Shortly afterwards, on June 26, Toebbe serviced a dead drop by placing an SD card, which was concealed within half a peanut butter sandwich and contained military sensitive design elements relating to submarine nuclear reactors, at a pre-arranged location. After retrieving the SD card, the undercover agent sent Toebbe a $20,000 cryptocurrency payment. In return, Toebbe emailed the undercover agent a decryption key for the SD Card. A review of the SD card revealed that it contained Restricted Data related to submarine nuclear reactors. On Aug. 28, Toebbe made another “dead drop” of an SD card in eastern Virginia, this time concealing the card in a chewing gum package. After making a payment to Toebbe of $70,000 in cryptocurrency, the FBI received a decryption key for the card. It, too, contained Restricted Data related to submarine nuclear reactors. The FBI arrested Toebbe and his wife on Oct. 9, after he placed yet another SD card at a pre-arranged “dead drop” at a second location in West Virginia.

Toebbe pleaded guilty to count one of the indictment charging him with conspiracy to communicate Restricted Data which carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to life in prison, a fine up to $100,000, and term of supervised release not more than five years. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Toebbe will serve a minimum of 151 months, or 12 and a half years, in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI and NCIS are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Matthew J. McKenzie and S. Derek Shugert of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jarod J. Douglas and Lara Omps-Botteicher of the Northern District of West Virginia and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Lieber Smolar for the Western District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case.

Airbus U.S. Space & Defense Inc., formerly known as Airbus Defense and Space Inc. (ADSI), has agreed to pay to the United States $1,043,475 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing impermissible fees in contracts with a number of federal agencies. 

“Government contractors have a responsibility to bill the government both accurately and transparently,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Companies that knowingly inflate their costs or otherwise improperly bill the government will be held accountable.”

“This settlement underscores the important role that whistleblowers continue to serve in protecting critical taxpayer resources,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We encourage individuals who uncover suspected misconduct regarding federal contracts to come forward and report their observations.”

“Government contractors who deliberately inflate profits at the expense of our military and taxpayer will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Mid-Atlantic Field Office for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “This civil settlement reflects DCIS’ commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to tenaciously investigate those alleged to have overcharged the Department of Defense.”

The settlement resolves allegations that from January 2016 through January 2017, ADSI submitted proposals for contracts that included an unapproved cost rate to which ADSI was not entitled. ADSI referred to this as the “Orlando Factor.” The government further alleged that on certain contracts, during 2013 through 2020, ADSI charged federal government agencies an additional fee from its affiliates on top of ADSI’s own fee for parts ADSI acquired from its affiliates, but did not accurately disclose this affiliate fee to the government. Finally, the government alleged that ADSI charged a third-party contractor an excessive monthly storage fee to store a radar system purchased to support a contract with the U.S. Navy. The contractor passed along the full storage fees charged by ADSI to the U.S. Navy. However, ADSI did not disclose that they paid only a portion of those storage fees to store the radar system.    

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by a former ADSI employee. The False Claims Act permits private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Kmec v. Airbus Defense and Space, Inc., et al., No. 1:19-cv-660 (E.D. Va.). The former ADSI employee will receive $157,220 of the False Claims Act settlement.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, with investigative support from the DCIS and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.

The matter was handled by Trial Attorney Richard Hagner of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Krista Anderson of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Related court documents and information from the civil lawsuit can be accessed on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cv-660 (E.D. Va.).

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia returned an indictment today charging an Evansville, Indiana man with one count of conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of receipt of child pornography.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Chief Michael L. Brown of the Alexandria Police Department, made the announcement. 

Bradley Robert Segert, 30, is charged with one count of conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of receipt of child pornography.  According to the indictment, between January 2015 and August 2015, Segert allegedly administered a private chat group on Kik Messenger, a mobile messaging application, dedicated to sharing and trading images and videos of child pornography.  During this period, Segert and another administrator living within the Eastern District of Virginia allegedly required Kik users interested in becoming members of the group to send them images and videos of child pornography in order to gain admission.  Additionally, the indictment alleges that Segert knowingly distributed and received child pornography in interstate commerce, including to and from the Eastern District of Virginia.    

FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, specifically the Alexandria Police Department, is investigating the case. The Task Force is comprised of agents of the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and detectives from the Prince William County Police, Fairfax County Police, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Metropolitan Police, Alexandria City Police, Arlington County Police, Leesburg Police, Virginia State Police and the Offices of Inspector General of several federal agencies.  Trial Attorneys James E. Burke IV, Gwendelynn Bills and William Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case. 

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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.justice.gov/psc.

Reynaldo B. Regis, 53, of Fort Washington, Maryland, and a former CIA contractor, pleaded guilty today to unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials, and making material false statements to federal law enforcement officers.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick for the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady accepted the plea.

According to court documents, Regis is a former employee of a government contractor who was assigned to the CIA between August 2006 and November 2016.  During his time at the CIA, Regis conducted unauthorized searches in classified databases and copied classified information into personal notebooks, which he removed from his workspace at the CIA and stored in his home without authorization.  When initially interviewed by federal law enforcement, Regis lied about having done so.  During a search of his home, FBI agents recovered approximately 60 notebooks containing classified information.  The classified information contained in the notebooks included information relating to highly sensitive intelligence reports, disclosure of which could cause serious damage to the national security.

Regis faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  Regis is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 21.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes.  The sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Danya E. Atiyeh of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting this case.

A U.S. national was deported from Mexico to the United States and arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint charging him with the attempted murder of a diplomat stationed at the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Director Bill A. Miller of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) made the announcement.

Zia Zafar, 31, of Chino Hills, California, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of attempted murder of an internationally protected person. Zafar made his initial appearance in federal court today and is scheduled for a detention hearing on Jan. 13, 2017, before U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson of the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 6, 2017, Zafar disguised himself and followed the Vice Consul of the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara through a parking garage to his vehicle. After the Vice Consul got into his car and drove towards the garage exit, Zafar allegedly shot him once in the chest and fled. The Vice Consul was taken to a local hospital, where he currently remains. Zafar was subsequently detained by Mexican authorities.

The charges in the criminal complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI and DSS are investigating the case in close cooperation with Mexican authorities and with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Trial Attorney Jamie Perry of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney William M. Sloan of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

The Department of Justice gratefully acknowledges the government of Mexico, to include the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Procuraduria General de la Republica, Fiscalia del Estado de Jalisco and Instituto Nacional de Migracion for their extraordinary efforts, support and professionalism in responding to this incident.

Walmart Inc. (Walmart), a U.S.-based multinational retailer and its wholly owned Brazilian subsidiary, WMT Brasilia S.a.r.l. (WMT Brasilia), have agreed to pay a combined criminal penalty of $137 million to resolve the government’s investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  WMT Brasilia pleaded guilty today in connection with the resolution.   

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director Robert Johnson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division and Special Agent in Charge Kelly Jackson of IRS Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. office made the announcement.

“Walmart profited from rapid international expansion, but in doing so chose not to take necessary steps to avoid corruption,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “In numerous instances, senior Walmart employees knew of failures of its anti-corruption-related internal controls involving foreign subsidiaries, and yet Walmart failed for years to implement sufficient controls comporting with U.S. criminal laws.  As today’s resolution shows, even the largest of U.S. companies operating abroad are bound by U.S. laws, and the Department of Justice will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute foreign corruption.”

“Walmart violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act because it failed to implement the internal controls necessary to ferret out corrupt conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Terwilliger.  “For more than a decade, Walmart experienced exponential international growth but failed to create safeguards to protect against corruption risks in various countries.  This resolution is the result of several years of steadfast work by the prosecutors and our law enforcement partners at the FBI and IRS-CI.”

“The FBI will hold corporations responsible when they turn a blind eye to corruption," said FBI Assistant Director Johnson. "If there is evidence of violations of FCPA, we will investigate. No corporation, no matter how large, is above the law."

“Walmart’s guilty plea is another step in IRS-CI’s ongoing effort to pursue corporations that engage in corruption that prevents fair competition around the world,” said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Jackson.  “Through our efforts, we delved through layers of transactions and uncovered the bribery of foreign officials.  Today’s announcement is a statement that no company, even one as large as Walmart, is above the law.” 

According to Walmart’s admissions, from 2000 until 2011, certain Walmart personnel responsible for implementing and maintaining the company’s internal accounting controls related to anti-corruption were aware of certain failures involving these controls, including relating to potentially improper payments to government officials in certain Walmart foreign subsidiaries, but nevertheless failed to implement sufficient controls that, among other things, would have ensured: (a) that sufficient anti-corruption-related due diligence was conducted on all third-party intermediaries (TPIs) who interacted with foreign officials; (b) that sufficient anti-corruption-related internal accounting controls concerning payments to TPIs existed; (c) that proof was required that TPIs had performed services before Walmart paid them; (d) that TPIs had written contracts that included anti-corruption clauses; (e) that donations ostensibly made to foreign government agencies were not converted to personal use by foreign officials; and (f) that policies covering gifts, travel and entertainment sufficiently addressed giving things of value to foreign officials and were implemented.  Even though senior Walmart personnel responsible for implementing and maintaining the company’s internal accounting controls related to anti-corruption knew of these issues, Walmart did not begin to change its internal accounting controls related to anti-corruption to comply with U.S. criminal laws until 2011.

The internal controls failures allowed Walmart foreign subsidiaries in Mexico, India, Brazil and China to hire TPIs without establishing sufficient controls to prevent those TPIs from making improper payments to government officials in order to obtain store permits and licenses.  In a number of instances, insufficiencies in Walmart’s anti-corruption-related internal accounting controls in these foreign subsidiaries were reported to senior Walmart employees and executives.  The internal control failures allowed the foreign subsidiaries in Mexico, India, Brazil and China to open stores faster than they would have with sufficient internal accounting controls related to anti-corruption. Consequently, Walmart earned additional profits through these subsidiaries by opening some of its stores faster. 

In Mexico, a former attorney for Walmart’s local subsidiary reported to Walmart in 2005 that he had overseen a scheme for several years prior in which TPIs made improper payments to government officials to obtain permits and licenses for the subsidiary and that several executives at the subsidiary knew of and approved of the scheme.  Most of the TPI invoices included a code specifying why the subsidiary had made the improper payment, including: (1) avoiding a requirement; (2) influence, control or knowledge of privileged information known by the government official; and (3) payments to eliminate fines.

In India, because of Walmart’s failure to implement sufficient internal accounting controls related to anti-corruption, from 2009 until 2011, Walmart’s operations there were able to retain TPIs that made improper payments to government officials in order to obtain store operating permits and licenses.  These improper payments were then falsely recorded in Walmart’s joint venture’s books and records with vague descriptions like “misc fees,” “miscellaneous,” “professional fees,” “incidental” and “government fee.”

In Brazil, as a result of Walmart’s failure to implement sufficient internal accounting controls related to anti-corruption at its subsidiary, Walmart Brazil, despite repeated findings in internal audit reports that such controls were lacking, Walmart Brazil continued to retain and renew contracts with TPIs without conducting the required due diligence.  Improper payments were in fact paid by some of these TPIs, including a construction company that made improper payments to government officials in connection with the construction of two Walmart Brazil stores in 2009 without the knowledge of Walmart Brazil.  Walmart Brazil indirectly hired a TPI whose ability to obtain licenses and permits quickly earned her the nickname “sorceress” or “genie” within Walmart Brazil.  Walmart Brazil employees, including a Walmart Brazil executive, knew they could not hire the intermediary directly because of several red flags.  In 2009, the TPI made improper payments to government inspectors in connection with the construction of a Walmart Brazil store without the knowledge of Walmart Brazil.  WMT Brasilia was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walmart and was a majority-owner of Walmart Brazil, Walmart’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Brazil, and the majority-owner of retail stores operating as Walmart Brazil.

In China, Walmart’s local subsidiary’s internal audit team flagged numerous weaknesses in internal accounting controls related to anti-corruption at the subsidiary between 2003 and 2011, sometimes repeatedly, but many of these weaknesses were not addressed.  In fact, from 2007 until early 2010, Walmart and the subsidiary failed to address nearly all of the anti-corruption-related internal controls audit findings.

Walmart entered into a three-year non-prosecution agreement and agreed to retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for two years.  The $137 million penalty reflects a 20 percent reduction off the bottom of the applicable U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range for the portion of the penalty applicable to conduct in Mexico and 25 percent for the portion applicable to the conduct in Brazil, China and India.  Walmart fully cooperated with the investigation in Brazil, China and India.  Walmart cooperated with the investigation in Mexico, but did not timely provide documents and information to the government and did not de-conflict with the government’s request to interview one witness before Walmart interviewed that witness.  Walmart did not voluntarily disclose the conduct in Mexico and only disclosed the conduct in Brazil, China and India after the government had already begun investigating the Mexico conduct.  The $137 million penalty includes forfeiture of $3.6 million and a fine of $724,898 from WMT Brasilia.

In a related resolution with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Walmart agreed to disgorge $144 million in profits.

The FBI’s International Corruption Squad in Washington, D.C. and IRS-CI are investigating the case.  Assistant Chiefs Tarek Helou and Lorinda Laryea and Trial Attorney Katherine Raut of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamar Walker of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case. 

The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided significant assistance by obtaining key evidence in this case, as have public authorities in, among other countries, Mexico and India.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters.  Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

A federal jury convicted three men for conspiring to participate in La Mara Salvatrucha, a transnational criminal enterprise, commonly known as MS-13, through a pattern of racketeering activity, including murder, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, and witness tampering.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Luis Flores-Reyes, aka Maloso, aka Lobo, 41, of Arlington, Virginia; Jairo Jacome, aka Abuelo, 40, of Langley Park, Maryland; and Brayan Contreras-Avalos, aka Anonimo, aka Malia, aka Humilde, 27, of Langley Park, Maryland, ran a protection scheme with MS-13 in and around Langley Park, extorting local businesses by charging them “rent” for the privilege of operating in MS-13 “territory.”

MS-13 is organized into a series of sub-units or “cliques” that operate in specific geographic locations. Jacome was the highest-ranking member in a local clique called Langley Park Salvatrucha, or LPS. Flores-Reyes and Contreras-Avalos were leaders within the powerful Sailors Clique, which held territory in Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and El Salvador.

“MS-13 terrorizes communities throughout the United States and abroad, using fear, violence, and intimidation,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This conviction demonstrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to dismantling this violent criminal organization.”

Flores-Reyes, Jacome, and Contreras-Avalos also participated in at least six murders during the period of the conspiracy, mostly of victims who they believed to be gang rivals. In June 2016, members of MS-13, including Contreras-Avalos, stabbed to death two homeless individuals, who were believed to be members of the 18th Street gang, in Hyattsville, Maryland.

The gang also trafficked in illegal drugs, including marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. A large share of the proceeds of the gang’s illegal activities were sent to gang leadership in El Salvador to further promote the illicit activities of the gang, using structured transactions and intermediaries to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.

“These defendants wreaked havoc within our communities through drug trafficking, extortion, fear, and murder – now they will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland. “We will relentlessly prosecute those who terrorize our communities with intimidation and violence.”

In March 2017, a member of the Sailors Clique, who was hiding from law enforcement in the Lynchburg, Virginia-area, had a dispute with a local high school student over marijuana. In response, Flores-Reyes commanded a squad of MS-13 members drive to Lynchburg and murder the high school student. The gang members kidnapped the student from his front lawn and cut his hand off before killing him. After the murder, Flores-Reyes helped to hide and protect the killers from law enforcement.

Among the most important rules of MS-13 is the prohibition against talking to law enforcement, embodied by the maxim ver, oir, y callar – see, hear, and say nothing. The gang enforced this rule by placing a “green light” – an order to kill – on any member of MS-13 who was thought to be informing on the gang. In December 2016, Jacome directed and participated in the murder of a 14-year-old member of MS-13 who was suspected of talking to the police. The boy’s remains were discovered 18 months later in the woods outside of Germantown, Maryland.

“Members of MS-13, including Flores-Reyes, Jacome, and Contreras-Avalos, sow fear and violence in local communities through murder, extortion, drug trafficking, and witness tampering,” said Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D'Antuono of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Today's convictions represent some of the finest work the FBI and its partners undertake to hold violent gang members to account for the irreparable harm they have inflicted on humanity. The investigation and its results should also serve as yet another reminder of the consequences to be faced by those who traffic in violence. We and our partners remain committed to working together to aggressively pursue and dismantle these criminal enterprises who continue to threaten the residents of our communities.”

“Today’s conviction highlights HSI’s commitment to protecting public security and the keeping our communities safe,” said Acting Executive Associate Director Steve K. Francis of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “We will continue working with our  local, state, and federal partners to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations such as MS-13.”

Flores-Reyes, Jacome, and Contreras-Avalos were each convicted of racketeering conspiracy. Flores-Reyes and Jacome were additionally convicted of murder in aid of racketeering and extortion conspiracy, and Flores-Reyes and Contreras-Avalos were convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. No sentencing date has been set. Flores-Reyes and Jacome face a mandatory penalty of life in prison. Contreras-Avalos faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Washington Field Office, HSI Baltimore, DEA New York Field Division, DEA Baltimore District Office, Prince George’s County Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Virginia State Police, Lynchburg Police Department, Prince William County Police Department, and Bedford County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office also provided valuable assistance.

Trial Attorney Alexander Gottfried of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Hagan and Christopher Sarma for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case.

Zen Solutions Inc., a Virginia-based company, has agreed to pay approximately $31,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by obtaining more than one Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in 2020. Zen Solutions also agreed to repay the duplicative PPP loan in full to its lender, relieving the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) of liability to the lender for the federal guaranty of approximately $192,000 on the improper loan.   

“PPP loans were intended to provide critical relief to small businesses so that they could pay employees and maintain operations,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to pursuing those who knowingly violated the requirements of the PPP or other COVID-19 assistance programs and obtained relief funds to which they were not entitled.”

“PPP funds were set aside by Congress to aid Americans in desperate need as a result of the global pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Abusing these funds prevents them from going to those truly in need and wastes public funding at the expense of the American taxpayers. As a result, pursuing PPP loan fraud is a high priority for our office.”

“The continual commitment of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is to shield SBA funds intended to support the nation’s robust small business community,” said Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite of SBA OIG. “OIG remains committed to rooting out bad actors and protecting the integrity of SBA programs. I want to thank the U.S. Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and pursuit of justice.”

Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide emergency financial support to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses struggling to pay employees and other business expenses. Throughout 2020, PPP loan applicants were required to certify that they would not receive more than one PPP loan prior to Dec. 31, 2020. This settlement resolves allegations that Zen Solutions applied for and received a second, duplicative PPP loan in 2020.

Zen Solutions provides staffing services in the fields of information technology, data analytics, cyber security and litigation support. The settlement with Zen Solutions resolved a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuit was filed by J. Bryan Quesenberry. As part of this resolution, he will receive a share of the recovery.  

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.

This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Jared S. Wiesner of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristin Starr and William Hochul of the Eastern District of Virginia.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

A former U.S. Department of State employee pleaded guilty today to engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place.

According to court documents, Dean Edward Cheves, 63, was serving at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines from 2017 to 2021, during which time he met multiple minors over the internet. From December 2020 to March 2021, Cheves communicated online with a then 15 to 16-year-old Philippine minor, who he paid to produce and send to him sexually explicit images of the minor. Additionally, in February 2021, Cheves engaged in sex acts on two separate occasions with a second 16-year-old Philippine minor who he met online, using his government-issued cell phone to film himself doing so on at least one of those occasions. The child sex abuse material that Cheves produced and received of these minors were found on devices seized from Cheves’s embassy residence in the Philippines. Cheves knew the ages of both minors at the time he engaged in the conduct.

Cheves is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement.

The U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Office of Special Investigations investigated the case with valuable assistance provided by the DSS Regional Security Office and the Homeland Security Investigations Attaché’s Office in the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Pomerantz Halper and Zoe Bedell for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

A Virginia man was indicted today on child pornography charges, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle of the Western District of Virginia.

Richard Alan Wellbeloved-Stone, 57, of Charlottesville, Virginia, was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia on three counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Charlottesville Police Department, the Virginia State Police and the Albemarle County Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Leslie Williams Fisher of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Healey.

The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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

A Chicopee, Massachusetts man was sentenced to 210 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release for production of child pornography based on his participation in a website that was operated for the purpose of coercing and enticing minors as young as eight years old to engage in sexually explicit conduct on web camera. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia; and Section Chief John J. Brosnan of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section (VCACS) made the announcement.

Edward Parson, 46, was charged on April 4, 2016, and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia on April 14. 

According to admissions made in connection with the plea agreement, members of the conspiracy created false profiles on social networking sites popular with children, posing as young teenagers to lure children to two websites they controlled. Once on the conspirators’ websites, Parson admitted that members of the conspiracy showed the children pre-recorded videos of prior minor victims, often engaging in sexually explicit conduct, to make the new victims think that they were chatting with another minor. Parson further admitted that conspirators used these videos to coerce and entice children to engage in sexually explicit activity on their own web cameras, which could be viewed live by other members without the victim’s knowledge and which the website automatically recorded and made available for download later. Parson admitted that he chatted with minors in furtherance of the conspiracy. The defendant also admitted that one of the websites ranked the efforts of the members to successfully coerce and entice children to engage in sexually explicit conduct on live web camera. Both websites have been disabled.

This case was investigated as part of Operation Subterfuge, a multinational investigation coordinated by members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) International Task Force. VCAC special agents led the investigation with the assistance of the FBI’s Operation Rescue Me and the FBI’s Digital Analysis and Research Center and the Office of Victim Assistance. The South Africa Police Service, Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses, Gauteng; Royal Canadian Mounted Police, National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre; the Dutch Police Service Agency, KLPD; and the Australian Federal Police, Child Protection Operations, Sydney were active partners in Operation Subterfuge.  To date, over 320 minor victims have been identified as part of this operation.

Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Russell of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc..

A Danville, Virginia, resident was sentenced to 30 months in prison for aiding and assisting in the preparation of fraudulent tax returns, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle for the Western District of Virginia.

 

According to documents filed with the court, Timothy Harris, 49, owned and operated TNA Tax Services and TNT Tax Services, which were located in Danville and Rocky Mount. Harris used these businesses to prepare false tax returns for clients that claimed bogus business losses in order to seek refunds to which his clients were not entitled.  After the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revoked Harris’s Electronic Filing Identification Number (EFIN) in December 2012, he used another person’s EFIN to continue filing tax returns.  Harris admitted that his fraudulent conduct caused a tax loss of more than $250,000.

 

In addition to the term of prison imposed, Senior U.S. District Judge Jackson L. Kiser ordered Harris to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $335,389 in restitution to the IRS.  Harris pleaded guilty in July 2017 to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.

 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Mountcastle commended special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys William M. Montague and Michael C. Boteler of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

 

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the division’s website.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging an Alexandria man with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization operating in Somalia.

According to court documents, Liban Haji Mohamed, 34, a Somali-born naturalized United States citizen, allegedly left the United States in July 2012 with the intent to join al-Shabaab in East Africa. Al-Shabaab is a Somali-based insurgent and terrorist group that has claimed responsibility for many bombings in Somalia and Uganda and is known to have recruited Westerners. According to court documents, Mohamed allegedly attempted to recruit an undercover agent to travel to Somalia to provide combat training to al-Shabaab fighters.  Mohamed also allegedly planned to use his own media skills to improve al-Shabaab’s propaganda machine, which it has used to recruit Westerners.  Mohamed was a close associate of convicted terrorist Zachary Chesser, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to al-Shabaab.

In July 2012, Interpol, the world’s largest international police organization, issued a red notice seeking Mohamed as a wanted fugitive.  In January 2015, the FBI announced the addition of Mohamed to the “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, and is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Mohamed.

Mohamed is charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.  If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Individuals with information concerning Mohamed are asked to contact the FBI or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Tips can be submitted anonymously at https://tips.fbi.gov. Additional information regarding Mohamed, including a poster with his picture, and the FBI’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” list can be found at: http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/fugitives.htm.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Larissa L. Knapp, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Counterterrorism Division, made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys James P. Gillis and John T. Gibbs, and Trial Attorney Rebecca A. Magnone for the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an accusation.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Este día, en Central Islip, Nueva York, se presentó una acusación contra 14 de los líderes de mayor rango de la MS-13 en el mundo, conocidos como la Ranfla Nacional, la cual funcionaba como la Junta Directiva de la Organización y dirigió la violencia y la actividad delictiva de la MS-13 en todo el mundo durante casi dos décadas.

Concretamente, según el acta presentada, se les acusa de conspiración para prestar y ocultar apoyo material a terroristas, conspiración para cometer actos de terrorismo que trascienden las fronteras nacionales, conspiración para financiar el terrorismo y conspiración de narcoterrorismo en relación con la dirección de los acusados de la organización delictiva transnacional durante las últimas dos décadas en El Salvador, Estados Unidos, México y otros lugares.

El acusado Borromeo Enrique Henríquez, alias “Diablito de Hollywood,” es ampliamente reconocido como el miembro más poderoso de la Ranfla Nacional. Tres de los acusados, Fredy Iván Jandres-Parada, alias “Lucky de Park View” y “Lacky de Park View;” César Humberto López-Larios, alias “El Greñas de Stoners” y “Oso de Stoners” y Hugo Armando Quinteros-Mineros, alias “Flaco de Francis,” siguen en libertad y deben ser considerados como armados y peligrosos. Se exhorta a los ciudadanos que tengan información sobre su paradero que se pongan en contacto con la línea telefónica gratuita de información MS-13 del Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI), 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), o con el Servicio de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional (HSI) del Servicio de Inmigración y Aduanas de los Estados Unidos, en el (866) 347-2423, o en https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form. Juntos, el FBI y HSI han ofrecido $20,000 en recompensa por información que lleve al arresto y condena de cada uno de los tres fugitivos. Henríquez y otros 10 acusados están en custodia en El Salvador. Estados Unidos, en conjunto con el Gobierno de El Salvador, estudiarán las opciones para su extradición a los Estados Unidos.

El fiscal general en funciones, Jeffrey A. Rosen; el fiscal en funciones del Distrito Este de Nueva York (EDNY), Seth D. DuCharme; el director de la Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta Vulcano (JTFV), John J. Durham; el director del FBI, Christopher A. Wray, y el director ejecutivo asociado de HSI, Derek Benner, anunciaron la acusación.

El fiscal general en funciones Rosen dijo, “La acusación anunciada hoy es la más amplia y de mayor alcance que se ha hecho en la historia de los EE.UU. contra la MS-13 y su estructura de mando y control. Cuando el fiscal general Barr anunció la creación de la JTFV en agosto de 2019, previó un enfoque transversal que combinaría herramientas procesales ya probadas con estrategias innovadoras diseñadas específicamente para eliminar la capacidad de los líderes de la MS-13 de operar la banda y dirigir su actividad terrorista. Esta acusación refleja un importante paso hacia el logro de ese objetivo. Al trabajar codo a codo con nuestros socios de la aplicación de la ley de EE. UU. y con nuestros socios en El Salvador, hemos acusado a los líderes de más alto rango de la MS-13 de operar una organización criminal transnacional que utiliza el terror para imponer su voluntad en los barrios, negocios y sobre civiles inocentes en Estados Unidos y América Central.”

“La MS-13 es responsable de una ola de muerte y violencia que ha aterrorizado a las comunidades, dejando a los barrios de Long Island y a todo el Distrito Este de Nueva York inundados de sangre,” dijo el fiscal en funciones del Distrito Este de Nueva York (EDNY), Seth D. DuCharme. “Incluso desde la cárcel, la Ranfla Nacional continuó dirigiendo las operaciones globales de la MS-13, reclutando nuevos miembros en la MS-13, incluyendo niños, y orquestando asesinatos y caos en todo el mundo. La innovadora acusación de hoy busca demoler la MS-13 apuntando a su estructura de mando y control y haciendo responsable a la Junta Directiva de la MS-13 por sus acciones terroristas.”

“El FBI está comprometido a combatir todas las formas de terrorismo que amenazan al pueblo estadounidense así como a nuestros socios internacionales,” dijo el director del FBI, Christopher Wray. “En colaboración con nuestros socios federales, estatales, locales e internacionales, tomamos medidas agresivas para atacar y perseguir algunos de los más altos niveles de liderazgo de la MS-13. Esta operación es una clara señal para otros que participan en este tipo de actividad delictiva transnacional: el FBI trabajará incansablemente para llevarlos ante la justicia dondequiera que tengan su base.”

“Por más de una década, HSI se ha mantenido firme en nuestra resolución de desmantelar las pandillas transnacionales como la MS-13,” dijo el director ejecutivo asociado de HSI, Derek Benner. “Como una de las organizaciones criminales más violentas y peligrosas, la MS-13 y la Ranfla Nacional fueron directamente responsables de una violencia y actividad criminal impensables en comunidades a lo largo de los Estados Unidos y Centroamérica. Como resultado de la ardua labor y los considerables recursos dedicados a la Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta Vulcano por nuestros socios en la aplicación de la ley, tanto nacionales como internacionales, esta acusación tendrá un efecto negativo duradero en las futuras actividades ilícitas mundiales de esta organización delictiva transnacional.”

Como se alega en la acusación, la Ranfla Nacional comprende el más alto nivel de liderazgo del MS-13.  Aproximadamente en 2002, los acusados y otros dirigentes del MS-13 comenzaron a establecer una estructura de mando y control altamente organizada y jerárquica como medio para llevar a cabo sus decisiones y hacer cumplir sus órdenes, incluso mientras estaban en prisión.  Dirigieron actos de violencia y asesinato en El Salvador, Estados Unidos y otros lugares; establecieron campamentos de entrenamiento de tipo militar para sus miembros y obtuvieron armas militares como rifles, pistolas, granadas, artefactos explosivos improvisados (IED) y lanzacohetes. Como líderes de la MS-13, los acusados controlaban franjas de territorio y participaban en actividades de relaciones públicas en nombre de la organización delictiva transnacional. Además, los acusados utilizaban la gran cantidad de miembros de la MS-13 en los Estados Unidos para participar en actividades delictivas, como el tráfico de drogas y la extorsión para recaudar fondos en apoyo de las actividades terroristas de la MS-13 en El Salvador y en otros lugares, y dirigían a sus miembros en los Estados Unidos a cometer actos de violencia, incluidos asesinatos, para promover sus objetivos. 

Como se alega también en la acusación, un tema central de las normas aplicadas por la Ranfla Nacional era el requisito de lealtad a la MS-13, o al “barrio.”  El requisito de lealtad era fundamental en todos los aspectos de la vida de los miembros del MS-13.  Los miembros que desobedecían las reglas, mostraban deslealtad a la banda o a sus líderes, cooperaban con las fuerzas del orden o faltaban al respeto a otros miembros eran sometidos a severos castigos, incluso la muerte. Las normas establecidas por la Ranfla Nacional permitieron que la banda prosperara en algunas partes de los Estados Unidos, incluso dentro del EDNY, donde, bajo el mando de los acusados, la MS-13 ha cometido numerosos actos de violencia, entre ellos asesinatos, intentos de asesinato, asaltos, secuestros, tráfico de drogas, extorsión de personas y empresas, obstrucción de la justicia y envío de las cuotas y el producto de la actividad delictiva por transferencia electrónica a los líderes de la MS-13 en El Salvador. 

Como se expone más adelante en el acta de acusación, la Ranfla Nacional ha ejercido su poder sobre el Gobierno de El Salvador cometiendo actos de violencia e intimidación contra funcionarios del gobierno, los organismos de represión y la población de El Salvador en general.  Al hacerlo, el Ranfla Nacional ha ordenado el asesinato de funcionarios de los organismos de represión y del Gobierno de El Salvador, así como la “luz verde”, o el asesinato, de un agente especial del FBI destacado en El Salvador que investigaba la MS-13 y sus miembros. Además, al controlar el nivel de violencia del MS-13, la Ranfla Nacional ejerció influencia sobre el Gobierno de El Salvador. Por ejemplo, como se alega en el acta de acusación, desde aproximadamente 2012 hasta aproximadamente 2015, la Ranfla Nacional entró en una “tregua” con el entonces Gobierno de El Salvador.  Como parte de ese acuerdo, la Ranfla Nacional ordenó a la MS-13 que redujera los homicidios en El Salvador a cambio de mejores condiciones carcelarias, prestaciones y pagos en efectivo. En 2015, cuando este acuerdo se derrumbó, la Ranfla Nacional culpó a los Estados Unidos, creyendo que el gobierno de los Estados Unidos presionó al gobierno de El Salvador para que pusiera fin a la “tregua” como condición para recibir fondos de cooperación. A partir de entonces, a principios de 2016, la Ranfla Nacional comenzó a planificar una importante campaña de violencia coordinada en El Salvador en represalia por las medidas más severas impuestas a sus miembros tras el fin de la “tregua.”  Como se alega en la acusación, los acusados ordenaron a todas las clicas de El Salvador que crearan una unidad especializada de miembros de la MS-13 para atacar a los agentes de policía, los militares y los funcionarios gubernamentales de El Salvador. Estos miembros se sometieron a entrenamiento militar en los campamentos de entrenamiento militar de la MS-13 en El Salvador.  Los acusados también ordenaron a todas las clicas, incluidas las de los Estados Unidos y el EDNY, que proporcionarán los beneficios de sus actividades delictivas relacionadas con la MS-13 para que se utilizaran en la compra de armas para los ataques previstos contra la policía en El Salvador. En total, los acusados recaudaron más de $600,000 para este fondo que se utilizó para comprar armas, incluyendo ametralladoras M-16 y M-60, granadas, IED y lanzacohetes.  Además, los acusados ordenaron un aumento de la violencia, incluyendo asesinatos, en el EDNY y en otras partes de los Estados Unidos, que vieron un dramático aumento de la violencia con las MS-13 en 2016 y 2017. 

Por último, como se alega en la acusación, la Ranfla Nacional dirigió la expansión de las actividades de la MS-13 en todo el mundo, sobre todo en México, donde se envió a varios dirigentes de alto rango para que organizaran operaciones. En México, los líderes de la MS-13 establecieron conexiones para obtener narcóticos y armas de fuego, hicieron negocios con los cárteles mexicanos de la droga, como los Zetas, el Cártel del Golfo, el Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) y el Cártel de Sinaloa, y se dedicaron a la trata y el contrabando de personas.

En agosto de 2019, el fiscal general William P. Barr creó la JTFV para llevar a cabo las recomendaciones del Subcomité MS-13 formado en el marco del Grupo de Trabajo del fiscal general sobre la Delincuencia Organizada Transnacional. El Grupo de Tarea del fiscal general fue el resultado de la Orden Ejecutiva del presidente Donald J. Trump, de febrero de 2017, en la que se ordenaba a los Departamentos de Justicia, Estado y Seguridad Nacional y a la Oficina del Director de Inteligencia Nacional que coordinaran un enfoque de todo el gobierno para desmantelar las organizaciones delictivas transnacionales, como la MS-13, y aumentar la seguridad del pueblo estadounidense.

Desde su creación, la JTFV ha aplicado con éxito un enfoque de todo el gobierno para combatir la MS-13, que incluye el aumento de la coordinación y la colaboración con asociados extranjeros en la aplicación de la ley, entre ellos El Salvador, México, Honduras y Guatemala; la designación de programas, camarillas y líderes de la MS-13 prioritarios, que tienen el mayor impacto en los Estados Unidos, para enjuiciamientos selectivos; y la coordinación de acusaciones importantes de la MS-13 en las oficinas de los fiscales de los Estados Unidos en todo el país, incluido el primer uso de cargos de seguridad nacional contra los líderes de la MS-13.

La JTFV ha estado compuesta por miembros de la División de Seguridad Nacional y de la División Penal del Departamento de Justicia, así como de la División de los Estados Unidos Fiscalías de todo el país, incluyendo el EDNY; el Distrito de Nueva Jersey; el Distrito Norte de Ohio; el Distrito de Utah; el Distrito Este de Virginia; el Distrito de Massachusetts; el Distrito Este de Texas; el Distrito Sur de Nueva York; el Distrito de Alaska; el Distrito Sur de Florida; el Distrito Sur de California; el Distrito de Nevada, y el Distrito de Columbia. Además, todos los organismos de aplicación de la ley del Departamento de Justicia participan en el esfuerzo, incluidos el FBI, la Administración de Lucha contra las Drogas de los Estados Unidos, la Oficina de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos, el Servicio de Alguaciles de los Estados Unidos y la Oficina de Prisiones de los Estados Unidos.  Además, HSI también desempeña un papel fundamental en el JTFV.

El fiscal general, en funciones, Jeffrey A. Rosen, expresó su sincero agradecimiento al fiscal general de El Salvador, Raúl Melara, por la asistencia de su oficina, así como a los investigadores de la Policía Nacional Civil de El Salvador, unidad del Centro Transnacional Antipandillas, por su inestimable cooperación. Además, numerosos componentes del Departamento de Justicia contribuyeron a esta acusación, entre ellos: la Sección de Lucha contra el Terrorismo de la División de Seguridad Nacional; la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del Departamento de Justicia; la Oficina de Desarrollo, Asistencia y Capacitación del Ministerio Público en el Extranjero de la División Penal; la Sección de Lucha contra la Delincuencia Organizada y las Pandillas; y la Oficina Ejecutiva de los Grupos de Tareas para la Lucha contra la Delincuencia Organizada contra las Drogas. Por último, en consonancia con la Orden Ejecutiva del presidente Trump y el enfoque de todo el gobierno del fiscal general, el Departamento de Estado ha prestado un apoyo fundamental a la misión de la JTFV.

Los cargos anunciados hoy son acusaciones y los acusados se presumen inocentes a menos y hasta que se demuestre su culpabilidad más allá de toda duda razonable en un tribunal de justicia.  Si son declarados culpables, los acusados se enfrentan a una sentencia máxima de cadena perpetua.

El caso del gobierno está siendo procesado por los fiscales adjuntos James Donnelly, Matthew Shepherd y Stewart Young de JTFV, y los fiscales adjuntos Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci y Megan E. Farrell de la División Criminal de Long Island del EDNY.

Para saber más sobre los esfuerzos del Departamento de Justicia en la lucha contra la MS-13 de 2016 a 2020, véase el informe en: https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1329776/download.

Una copia de la acusación y los carteles de buscados en español haciendo clic en: acusación, Fredy Ivan Jandres-Parada póster buscado en español, Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios póster buscado en español, y Hugo Armando Quinteros-Mineros Wanted póster buscado en español.

Los Acusados:

BORROMEO ENRIQUE HENRIQUEZ (“Diablito de Hollywood”)

Edad: 42 años

ELMER CANALES-RIVERA (“Crook de Hollywood”)

Edad: 44 años

EFRAIN CORTEZ (“Tigre de Park View” y “Viejo Tigre de Park View”)

Edad: 51 años

RICARDO ALBERTO DIAZ (“Rata de Sotavento” y “Ratón de Sotavento”)

Edad: 47 años

EDUARDO ERAZO-NOLASCO (“Colocho de Western” y “Mustage de Western”)

Edad: 48 años

EDSON SACHARY EUFEMIA (“Speedy de Park View”)

Edad: 46 años

JOSE FERNANDEZ FLORES-CUBAS (“Cola de Western”)

Edad: 46 años

FREDY IVAN JANDRES-PARADA (“Lucky de Park View” y “Lacky de Park View”)

Edad: 45 años

LEONEL ALEXANDER LEONARDO (“El Necio de San Cocos”)

Edad: 40 años

CESAR HUMBERTO LOPEZ-LARIOS (“El Greñas de Stoners” y “Oso de Stoners”)

Edad: 42 años

JOSE LUIS MENDOZA-FIGUEROA (“Pavas de 7-11” y “Viejo Pavas de 7-11”)

Edad: 56 años

HUGO ARMANDO QUINTEROS-MINEROS (“Flaco de Francis”)

Edad: 48 años

SAUL ANTONIO TURCIOS (“Trece de Teclas”)

Edad: 42 años

ARISTIDES DIONISIO UMANZOR (“Sirra de Teclas”)

Edad: 42 años

A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging an alleged MS-13 member residing in Arlington, Virginia with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion. 

The indictment was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan; Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen M. Schenning for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Andre Watson of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Karl C. Colder of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA); Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks; Chief Douglas Holland of the Hyattsville Police Department; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

Luis Arnoldo Flores-Reyes, aka Maloso and Lobo, 37, is charged in a four-count superseding indictment that alleges that from at least 2015 through January 2018, he was a member and associate of the Sailors Clique of MS-13 and that he engaged in a racketeering conspiracy that included extortion, drug trafficking, murder and a conspiracy to commit murder. The defendant is also charged with drug trafficking conspiracy and conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion. Flores-Reyes is in custody. 

According to the indictment, MS-13 is a national and international gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants from El Salvador. Branches or “cliques” of MS-13, one of the largest street gangs in the United States, operate throughout Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Maryland. Eleven other individuals were previously charged in this case with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking conspiracy and conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion.

For a period of time beginning at least in 2015 through in or about 2017, members of the Sailors Clique, including Flores-Reyes, are alleged to have extorted owners of illegal businesses in the Langley Park and Wheaton areas of Maryland, with the extortion proceeds being sent to El Salvador to benefit MS-13. In addition, between 2015 and 2018, members of the Sailors clique, including Flores-Reyes, are alleged to have trafficked narcotics, including marijuana and cocaine in Langley Park, Maryland, with the proceeds benefiting the gang. 

More specifically, in January 2018, Flores-Reyes gave directions to members of MS-13 in Houston, Texas that they should purchase a gun and shoot rival gang members who were believed to have killed a member of MS-13. On or about Jan. 28, 2018, members of MS-13 in Houston, Texas shot at and attempted to kill suspected rival gang members while Flores-Reyes and other MS-13 members, including MS-13 members in El Salvador, monitored the shooting by phone. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Trial Attorney Catherine K. Dick of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys William D. Moomau and Daniel C. Gardner of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland are prosecuting this case.

A federal court unsealed a two-count indictment today against Monongalia County, West Virginia, Deputy Sheriff Lance Kuretza, 38, for depriving an individual of his civil rights by using excessive force and for writing a false report to cover it up.

According to the indictment, on Jan. 20, 2018, while on duty, Kuretza subjected the victim to excessive force by punching and elbowing him in the face and, after the victim was handcuffed, spraying him with pepper spray and striking him. The offense resulted in bodily injury and included the use of a dangerous weapon. The indictment further alleges that Kuretza falsified his use of force report by claiming he used pepper spray before the victim was handcuffed, and by omitting any documentation of post-handcuffing force.

Kuretza was arrested earlier this morning and is scheduled to make his initial court appearance later this morning. If convicted, Kuretza faces up to 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation and up to 20 years in prison for falsifying the report.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld for the Northern District of West Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office announced the indictment.

The FBI is investigating the case, with the support of the Monongalia County Sheriff's Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Wagner for the Northern District of West Virginia and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.