title: North Chesterfield insurance agent sentenced for defrauding employer and clients

component: USAO - Virginia, Eastern

body_text: RICHMOND, Va. – A North Chesterfield insurance and annuities agent was sentenced today to one year and three months years in prison for mail fraud after swindling his employer and clients in multiple schemes. According to court documents, from August 2017 through March 2020, Joseph O’Carroll III, 52, scammed his employer for commissions and incentives by writing insurance policies for individuals without their consent or knowledge. O’Carroll used the personal identifying information (PII) of clients, including their names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and bank account numbers, to apply for fraudulent life insurance policies in their names and forged their signatures on the applications. O’Carroll created and maintained email addresses purportedly belonging to his clients, which he then listed on the insurance applications to facilitate communications with the insurance companies. For one client, O’Carroll listed his own BB&T checking account from which the issuing insurance company was to automatically withdraw the premiums on applications for the policies. For other clients, O’Carroll listed the clients’ bank accounts. When the policies were issued, the insurance companies began withdrawing and attempting to withdraw premium payments from the listed bank accounts. While attempts to withdraw payments from O’Carroll’s bank account were unsuccessful, resulting in the cancellation of those policies, premiums were withdrawn from other client accounts, resulting in thousands of dollars being taken from them. On at least one policy, O’Carroll listed himself as the beneficiary. During an Aug. 4, 2020, interview with the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance, O’Carroll admitted that the client was “out of it” at the time due to the death of the client’s wife, and ultimately admitted that he wrote that policy and others to assist himself in winning a 2019 incentive trip to the Riviera Maya in Mexico from his employer. In addition to applying for fraudulent life insurance policies in that client’s name, O’Carroll obtained most of the balance of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) account belonging to the client with the promise to reinvest the funds in another qualified retirement account. After gaining access to the client’s ESOP account portal, a request was submitted directing the ESOP servicer to remit two checks on December 31, 2019: one to Equitable Financial Group at O’Carroll’s home address in the amount of $57,659.28, and a second in the amount of $4,627.92 to the client’s home address. O’Carroll deposited the $57,629.28 check into a bank account he controlled, and kept and used the funds for his own personal expenses without the client’s knowledge or consent. O’Carroll pled guilty on Jan. 18. Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ajay Lall, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak. The U.S. Attorney thanks the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance for their assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kashan Pathan and Mike C. Moore and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin G. Cooke prosecuted the case. The Central Virginia Financial Crimes Task Force, created in 2022, is a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and representatives of local financial institutions. Co-chaired by the Richmond Field Office of the United States Secret Service and the Washington Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Task Force utilizes the knowledge and experience of its many partners to develop intelligence and pursue investigations into crimes that target or involve financial institutions located throughout the Central Virginia region. 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. 3:24-cr-3.


title: Eureka Resident Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Possession Of Child Pornography

component: USAO - California, Northern

body_text: SAN FRANCISCO – William Wood has been sentenced to 120 months in prison following his conviction on a charge of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was imposed by the Hon. Trina L. Thompson, United States District Judge, on May 17, 2024. Wood, 62, of Eureka, California, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) and (b)(2). He was originally indicted on that charge by a federal grand jury in December 2022. According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, the defendant possessed more than 300 images and videos depicting child pornography on his electronic devices, including approximately 24 images depicting infants or toddlers and hundreds more depicting prepubescent children. The government further argued in its sentencing papers that the defendant used social media to send child pornography to another individual, including images depicting infants or toddlers and prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In addition to sentencing Wood to prison, Judge Thompson ordered the defendant to serve five years of supervised release to begin after his prison term is completed and to pay $35,000 in restitution. Assistant United States Attorney Kelsey Davidson is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Sara Slattery. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, with assistance from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.


title: Window Rock Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – A Window Rock man was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to abusive sexual conduct that occurred 20 years prior. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, in 2021, Jane Doe reported that Tom Tso , 85, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, had sexually abused her approximately 20 years earlier when she was between 15 and 17 years old while she was asleep at Tso 's home. Jane Doe stated that she woke up to find Tso 's hand inside her pants. She kicked him away, locked herself in the bathroom, and he tried to unlock the door to get to her before leaving. The FBI interviewed Tso , a Navajo medicine man and Native American Church Road Man, in December 2021 and March 2022. Tso admitted to touching Doe inappropriately, but he denied penetrating her. He claimed that she had initiated sexual contact. Jane Doe explained that the delay in reporting was due to fear, and that she reported these years later because, "There are children/women still in his reach" as a medicine man and road man. After completing his term of imprisonment, Tso will be required to serve five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today. The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander F. Flores is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/. # # #


title: Indian National Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud Conspiracy For Stealing Over $37 Million By Spoofing Coinbase's Website

component: USAO - North Carolina, Western

body_text: CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chirag Tomar, 30, a citizen of the Republic of India, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan C. Rodriguez today and pleaded guilty to federal charges for stealing more than $37 million through a spoofing scheme of the Coinbase website, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Tomar was arrested at the Atlanta airport on Dec. 20, 2023, upon entering the United States, and remains in federal custody. Jason Byrnes, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement. According to filed court documents and today’s plea hearing, in or about June 2021, Tomar and his co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to steal millions in cryptocurrency from hundreds of victims located worldwide and in the United States, including in the Western District of North Carolina. Tomar and his co-conspirators executed the fraud by “spoofing” the Coinbase website. Coinbase is one of the largest virtual currency exchanges in the world, that allows customers to buy, sell or trade cryptocurrencies. Coinbase users can also store their cryptocurrencies in their virtual exchange wallets. Upon logging in, users are able to quickly access their wallets and transfer the cryptocurrencies to other wallets or other outside linked accounts. Coinbase operated a “Pro” version of its exchange, which was found at the URL “Pro.Coinbase.Com.” According to court documents, Tomar and his co-conspirators spoofed the Coinbase Pro website by using a similar fake URL, CoinbasePro.Com. In order to deceive unsuspecting users into believing they were accessing the legitimate Coinbase webpage, the fraudulent website was crafted to mimic the authentic website. Once victims entered their login credentials into the fake website, an authentication process was triggered. In some instances, victims were tricked into providing their login and authentication information of the real Coinbase website to fraudsters. Other times, victims were tricked into allowing fake Coinbase representatives into executing remote desktop software, which enabled fraudsters to gain control of victims’ computers and access their legitimate Coinbase accounts. The fraudsters also impersonated Coinbase customer service representatives and tricked the users into providing their two-factor authentication codes to the fraudsters over the phone. Once the fraudsters gained access to the victims’ Coinbase accounts, the fraudsters quickly transferred the victims’ Coinbase cryptocurrency holdings to cryptocurrency wallets under the fraudsters’ control. In February 2022, a victim located in the Western District of North Carolina attempted to log into his Coinbase account through the fraudulent website. The spoof website immediately notified the victim that his account was locked and prompted the victim to use a number provided to call a fake Coinbase representative. The fake representative tricked the victim into providing his two-factor authentication information, ultimately gaining access into the victim’s real Coinbase account. Using the information, fraudsters stole cryptocurrency from the victim’s Coinbase wallet worth over $240,000. As Tomar admitted in court today, Tomar controlled several cryptocurrency wallets that received hundreds of transactions of cryptocurrency stolen from victim accounts at Coinbase, totaling tens of millions of dollars. After Tomar received the stolen cryptocurrency, he would quickly convert it to other forms of cryptocurrency or move the funds amongst many wallets controlled by Tomar and others. Ultimately, the cryptocurrency was converted into cash which was then distributed to Tomar and his co-conspirators. According to court documents, Tomar used the victims’ funds to pay for his lavish lifestyle, including to purchase a Rolex and other expensive watches, to buy luxury vehicles like Lamborghinis and Porsches, and to make trips to Dubai, Thailand and elsewhere. Tomar pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date has not been set. U.S. Attorney King commended the U.S. Secret Service for their investigation of the case and thanked the FBI in Nashville for their invaluable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Warren of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.


title: Justice Department Leadership Honors Service and Sacrifice of Nation’s Law Enforcement for Police Week

component: Office of the Attorney General

body_text: Last week, in recognition of National Police Week, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer joined law enforcement partners to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to our nation. According to the FBI’s most recent statistics , 60 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in 2023. As of April 29, 19 law enforcement officers have lost their lives in the line of duty this year. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of America’s law enforcement community. This year, police week ran May 12 – 18. Attorney General Garland, Deputy Attorney General Monaco, and Acting Associate Attorney General Mizer began the week by visiting the National Law Enforcement Memorial and laying a wreath in honor of the men and women who have died in the line of duty. Throughout the week, to recognize not only Justice Department employees who died in the line of duty but also their surviving family members and friends, Attorney General Garland and Deputy Attorney General Monaco attended memorial services for the Justice Department’s four law enforcement components: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Marshall Miller also delivered remarks at a memorial service to honor fallen federal correctional officers from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, during National Correctional Officers Week, which ran May 5 – 11. Attorney General Garland and Deputy Attorney General Monaco also attended the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)’s National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service. Additionally, Attorney General Garland attended the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund’s annual candlelight vigil honoring the officers who lost their lives over the past year, where the Attorney General joined senior officials to read the names of the fallen. On Thursday, Attorney General Garland, Deputy Attorney General Monaco, and Acting Associate Attorney General Mizer also convened the Justice Department’s law enforcement components and external law enforcement associations with whom they regularly meet to discuss the Justice Department’s continued partnership with state and local law enforcement.


title: Life sentence imposed for murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation

body_text: Francis James Acebo Jr., age 34, of Arapaho, Wyoming, was sentenced to life imprisonment for first-degree murder and causing death with a firearm; followed by a 10-year term of imprisonment for discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on May 16. Acebo was convicted by a federal jury on Feb. 16. The trial lasted five days and was held in Cheyenne before Judge Johnson. The defendant had been indicted by a grand jury and pleaded not guilty to the charges in May 2023. According to evidence presented at trial and witnesses to the crime, Acebo entered the victim’s Riverton residence in the early morning of Mar. 25, 2023, and shot the victim in the back of the head. He fled the scene and later turned himself in to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. “The successful prosecution of homicides and other violent crimes on the Wind River Indian Reservation is one of our highest priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas Vassallo. “Mr. Acebo’s life sentence is the result of a well-coordinated investigation by the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and this office’s commitment to obtaining a first-degree murder conviction.” “FBI Denver takes seriously all major crimes on the Wind River Indian Reservation, with murders like this one getting our full attention,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “This sentence demonstrates the FBI's steadfast commitment to working with our tribal partners to solve MMIP cases and promote public safety on reservations across the country.” Special agents with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the FBI investigated this crime. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kerry J. Jacobson and Timothy J. Forwood prosecuted the case. Case No. 23-CR-00081


title: Memphis Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Possession of Methamphetamine and a Firearm in a Stolen Vehicle

component: USAO - Tennessee, Western

body_text: Memphis, TN – A federal judge recently sentenced a Memphis man to 12 years in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and methamphetamine. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentence today. According to information presented in court, on October 27, 2022, Memphis Police Department observed a black Dodge Charger driven by Jeffery Cervero , 27, in the parking lot of the Boulevard Apartments in the Hickory Hill community. The Dodge Charger was stolen, and it was bearing tags registered to a second vehicle previously stolen from the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Officers pulled in front of the Dodge Charger, but Cervero sped away. He was quickly disabled after he struck a MPD vehicle and a large rock. Cervero ran away from the vehicle but was caught after a brief foot pursuit. In Cervero’s pants, officers located a Glock 9mm pistol equipped with a Glock switch. In the vehicle, officers recovered a backpack with 46 grams of actual methamphetamine, digital scales, and assorted pills. MPD also located $14,432 in cash, approximately 4.3 kg of vacuum sealed marijuana, a Glock 9mm, a Glock .45, a 5.56 caliber rifle, 5 iPhones, and Cervero’s ID in the stolen vehicle. One of the passengers was also apprehended attempting to run from the disabled vehicle. On May 15, 2024, Cervero pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, and possession of a Glock 9mm in furtherance of drug trafficking and was sentenced. United States District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker sentenced Cervero to 144 months incarceration with the Bureau of Prisons, followed by 4 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives - Memphis Office and the Memphis Police Department. The Drug Enforcement Administration - Memphis Office and Nashville Laboratory, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and ATF Oklahoma provided additional assistance. United States Attorney Ritz thanked Assistant United States Attorney Gregory D. Allen, who prosecuted this case, as well as the law enforcement partners who investigated the case. ### For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov . Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.


title: Government Contractor Settles Claims That It Billed for Personnel Who Lacked Required Security Clearances

body_text: ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Deloitte Consulting LLP, located in New York, agreed to pay $220,885.77 to settle claims that it billed the Department of Health and Human Services, Program Support Center (HHS-PSC) for labor performed by personnel who did not possess the security clearances required by a government contract. Deloitte Consulting submitted a written contractor disclosure to HHS-PSC. Specifically, the disclosure stated that Deloitte Consulting was unable to validate the clearance status of seven employees who performed work on a contract awarded by HHS-PSC. As a result, Deloitte Consulting considered those employees not to have met the base clearance level in the contract. Following an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Deloitte Consulting agreed to pay the amounts billed for personnel whose clearance status could not be validated. Deloitte Consulting received full credit under the Department of Justice’s guidelines for taking disclosure, cooperation, and remediation into account: Justice Manual § 4-4.112 . The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia; the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of General Counsel; the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Fraud Field Office; and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service – Economic Crimes Field Office, Washington, DC. This matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Kapoor. The civil claims settled by this agreement are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.


title: Previously Convicted Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography

body_text: WASHINGTON – Victor Armando Simms, 54, a previously convicted sex offender who most recently lived in Southeast Washington D.C., pleaded guilty today to sexually abusing multiple young girls, recording many of the incidents, and amassing a library of 3,300 still images and over 250 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. The plea agreement was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Chief David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department. Simms, aka “Stacey Patrick Simms,” pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan in Washington D.C. to First Degree Child Sexual Abuse with Aggravating Circumstances, two counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse with Children, three counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children, and Possession of Child Pornography. Judge Chutkan scheduled sentencing for October 22, 2024. Simms faces a sentencing range of 37 years up to lifetime in prison on the seven counts to which he plead guilty. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. According to court documents, law enforcement was called on January 15, 2023, when a young girl discovered explicit images of child sexual abuse on an iPad belonging to Simms. The same day, Simms was formally placed under arrest and charged by complaint with one count of first-degree child sexual abuse in D.C. Superior Court. On January 17, 2023, the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force executed a search warrant at Simms’s residence and seized multiple electronic devices including an iPad and a one-terabyte external hard drive. In addition, law enforcement agents seized numerous pills and pill bottles, which were believed to be used to sedate the young victims. Many of the videos produced by Simms showed the young victims asleep during the sexual assaults. The forensic examination of the external hard drive revealed 3300 still images and 250 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, many of which included metadata indicating the date, time, and location where the file was initially produced. The metadata indicated that the minor female victims were sexually exploited and abused by Simms in Washington D.C., and at hotels in Maryland and Virginia. According to court documents, Simms is a previously adjudicated sex offender. He was convicted in North Carolina in 2005 of indecent liberties with a six-year-old child and a felony child sex act. This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents and detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn Bond, Sarah Folse, and Caroline Burrell.


title: Bakersfield Man Sentenced for Role in Sex Trafficking Enterprise at Desert Star Motel

component: USAO - California, Eastern

body_text: FRESNO, Calif. — A federal judge sentenced Roy Gene Drees, 48, of Bakersfield, today to four years in prison for use of facilities of interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, Jatin Bhakta purchased and began operating the Desert Star Motel at 516 South Union Avenue in Bakersfield in 2015. From 2015 through late 2020 the Bakersfield Police Department made numerous prostitution-related arrests and child rescues at the property. Drees lived and worked at the motel until a federal search warrant was executed on Jan. 22, 2021, at which time 15 prostitutes and three pimps were encountered along with Drees and Bhakta. While working at the motel, Drees intentionally helped the management and carrying on of the prostitution activity through various means, including through telephone calls, text messages, providing transportation, and making motel arrangements. One pimp, Darnell Edwards, who had forced two minor females to engage in prostitution at the Desert Star, was sentenced on May 1, 2023, to 19 years and seven months in federal prison. This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bakersfield Police Department, and the Parole Division of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Gappa prosecuted the case. 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.


title: Leader of Sophisticated Sinaloa Cartel Money Laundering Organization Sentenced to 120 Months

component: USAO - California, Southern

body_text: NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – May 20, 2024 SAN DIEGO – Luis Reinaldo Ramirez of Mesa, Arizona, was sentenced in federal court today to 120 months in prison for his role as a leader in a transnational criminal organization that laundered $16.5 million dollars in narcotics proceeds for the Sinaloa Cartel. Ramirez was also sentenced for his role in an extortion plot. Ramirez was one of 12 people indicted on charges ranging from money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and extortion as part of a two-year investigation by FBI and DEA. The investigation resulted in the takedown of the organization that laundered millions of dollars for the Sinaloa Cartel, and the rescue of two victims of an extortion plot in February of 2021. To date the investigation has resulted in the seizure of more than $1.3 million in illicit assets. According to his plea agreement, Ramirez played a key role in the day-to-day operations of the organization. He created a network of incorporated shell companies in Wyoming that were used to launder illicit bulk cash. Ramirez directed and facilitated employees of the money laundering organization to travel to cities throughout the United States to pick up bulk cash belonging to narcotics traffickers. The employees picked up the bulk cash in Chicago, Omaha, Boston, New York City, Baltimore, Charlotte, and Philadelphia. Narcotics traffickers delivered bulk cash in amounts of up to $200,000 to the employees in hotel rooms and parking lots. Following the delivery of the illegal monies, the criminal organization laundered the funds through the shell companies and transferred the monies to bank accounts in Mexico. To demonstrate the drug money connection, in November 2020 the FBI conducted surveillance on a bulk cash delivery from Idsel Valenzuela and Sugey Caro Salazar in Chicago. The operation led to a subsequent search of Caro and Valenzuela’s home and vehicle, which led to the discovery and seizure of 368 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 10 kilograms of heroin, and $97,390 in bulk cash. Earlier this year, several of Ramirez’s co-defendants were sentenced to prison, including Cristian Amaya Nava, 60 months; Christian Cruz Polanco, 30 months; Sugey Caro Salazar, 48 months; and Idsel Valenzuela, Cheliann Rivera Vazquez and Kimberly Reyes to probationary sentences. Additional co-defendants — Hector Vizcaino Moreno, Ricardo Torres, and Luis Armando Avila — are scheduled to be sentenced in the coming months. Three of Ramirez’s indicted co-defendants remain fugitives in Mexico, including the alleged former Mexico-based leader of the organization, Enrique Esparragoza Rosas of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. The FBI’s investigation, in partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office, pursued an aggressive strategy of asset seizures in order to disrupt the money laundering organization’s activities. In total, dozens of bank accounts used by the organization were targeted, resulting in the seizure of more than $1 million from U.S.-based bank accounts. Agents also conducted operations that resulted in the seizure of $197,430 in bulk cash and a Volvo tractor-trailer that was purchased with drug money. Agents also seized illicit funds that were used to purchase aircraft and aircraft engines for export to Mexico in several instances. The FBI’s efforts also resulted in a successful rescue of two victims who were being extorted by the money laundering organization in February 2021. Prior to the extortion, one of the victims, an employee of the money laundering organization, began stealing illicit funds from a bank account he controlled for the organization. In February 2021, when Esparragoza and Ramirez learned of the theft, they conspired to threaten and extort the pair to repay the funds. Esparragoza sent Cristian Amaya-Nava to threaten the men and their families. Amaya-Nava then drove the two men around Imperial and San Diego counties to collect money from accounts they controlled. Esparragoza also directly threatened the men and their families during several phone conversations that day, telling them that two truckloads of men from Tijuana would “take care of them” if they did anything stupid. Once the FBI learned of the ongoing extortion, they began tracking the victim’s and Amaya Nava’s movements. FBI agents coordinated with the National City Police Department to conduct a traffic stop wherein Amaya Nava was arrested and the two victims were rescued. “In cases like this we strike at the life blood of the drug trafficker,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “Money launderers provide the means for cartels to produce and import their deadly poison into the United States.” “The sentencing of Mr. Ramirez is a major step toward dismantling the Sinaloa Cartel,” said FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge, Stacey Moy. “We remain committed to working collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to disrupt and dismantle organized crime activity not only in San Diego, but wherever our investigations may lead.” “There is no place for drug trafficking in San Diego,” said DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Chrysanthis. “Drug trafficking is a violent crime that harms our citizens and weakens our communities. The DEA and our partners will continue to be vigilant in dismantling these operations.” This prosecution is 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. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Mellor. DEFENDANTS Case Number 22cr2185-BAS Luis Reinaldo Ramirez Age: 41 Mesa, Arizona SUMMARY OF CHARGES Money Laundering Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(h) Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine Hobbs Act Extortion - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1951(a) Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine INVESTIGATING AGENCIES Federal Bureau of Investigation Drug Enforcement Administration Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces *The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.


title: Buffalo man who killed two people going to prison for 20 years

component: USAO - New York, Western

body_text: Buffalo, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Brandon Jonas, 39, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, was sentenced to serve 240 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the case, stated that Jonas shot and killed Nelson and Miguel Camacho, who were brothers, inside a residence on Niagara Street on Buffalo’s West Side. Jonas, along with co-defendants Efrain Hidalgo and Misael Montalvo, received information that the brothers might have large amounts of money or drugs and would be good targets to rob. On November 11, 2004, defendant Montalvo drove Jonas and Hildalgo to the vicinity of the Niagara Street residence. Jonas was armed with an AK-47 style rifle and Hidalgo had a baseball bat. After surveilling the residence, Jonas and Hildalgo forced their way into the residence in an attempt to rob money and drugs from the brothers. During the robbery attempt, Jonas shot and killed the Camachos. Josue Ortiz served 10 years in state prison for the murders of Nelson and Miguel Camacho. In 2015, his conviction was vacated by an Erie County Court judge based on the findings of this federal investigation. The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Stanley Edwards, III, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller. # # # #


title: Oklahoma City Resident Sentenced For Theft In Indian Country And Failure To Register As A Sex Offender

component: USAO - Oklahoma, Eastern

body_text: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Nathan Kelly Graham, age 26, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment, with three years of supervised release, for one count of Failure to Register as Sex Offender, and a concurrent term of 15 months’ imprisonment, with three years of supervised release, for one count of Theft in Indian Country. The charges arose from an investigation by the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshals Service. On October 4, 2023, Graham pleaded guilty to one count of Theft in Indian Country, and one count of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. According to investigators, on January 26, 2023, Graham stole a fleet truck containing a GPS relay tracker from a Muskogee gas station. Muskogee deputies responding to the GPS location data discovered the truck stuck in the mud, and Graham attempting to attach a tow strap to the front bumper. Graham fled on foot. A K-9 unit tracked Graham and he was later arrested. On September 13, 2023, Graham was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. In 2015, Graham was convicted of Rape, Second Degree, and was required to register as a sex offender. On April 4, 2022, Graham registered with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. At the time of registration, Graham was advised that he must notify law enforcement at least three days before any change of address. An investigation by U.S. Marshals revealed that between July 4, 2022, and March 21, 2023, Graham failed to report any change of address despite residing at various residences in and around Indian Country in the Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma. The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearings. Graham was transferred into federal custody September 14, 2023, and will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve his sentence of incarceration. Assistant United States Attorneys Joshua Satter and Richard J. Lorenz represented the United States.


title: Lincoln Man Sentenced to 60 Years for Production and Possession of Child Pornography

component: USAO - Nebraska

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Amikhet En Maati, also known as Warren Coker, 53, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on May 20, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln for two counts of production of child pornography concerning two separate victims, two counts of committing production of child pornography while on the Sex Offender Registry, and one count of possession of child pornography. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Maati to a total of 720 months’ (60 years’) imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. He was further sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release following his release from prison. Additionally, Maati is ordered to pay $6,000 to a federal fund established to assist victims of child exploitation crimes. On September 9, 2022, Lincoln Police Department (LPD) received a report regarding the sexual abuse of a minor female where Maati was the subject. A search of the residence was conducted and a cellphone belonging to Maati was seized. Around that same time, LPD determined that Maati was also the subject of a recent tip made to the FBI. A forensic examination was completed on Maati’s cellphone. Law enforcement discovered multiple child exploitation videos of minor Victim 1 and one video of minor Victim 2. Maati uploaded and distributed these videos to a cloud-storage website where his friend, who was another registered sex offender, had access to them. Further review of Maati’s cloud-storage account revealed additional child exploitation videos of each of the victims. Maati was charged in April 2023 and proceeded to a bench trial before Senior District Judge Gerrard in February of this year. He was found guilty on all counts. Maati was previously convicted on or about January 2, 1997, for Attempted Sex Assault of a Child in Douglas County District Court, Nebraska, and on or about July 1, 1999, for one count of Second-Degree Sexual Assault and one count Sexual Assault of a Child in Sarpy County District Court, Nebraska. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department.


title: Tahlequah Resident Sentenced For Involuntary Manslaughter And Federal Firearm Crime

component: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

body_text: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Kiah John Pritchett, age 39, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 63 months for one count of Involuntary Manslaughter in Indian Country, and 63 months for one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The terms will run concurrently. The charges arose from investigations by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. On August 15, 2023, Pritchett pleaded guilty to one count of Involuntary Manslaughter, and one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. According to investigators, on July 4, 2021, Pritchett gave the victim a ride in his vehicle. An altercation broke out between Pritchett and his passenger along the route. During the altercation, Pritchett unlawfully shot and killed the victim. Pritchett, who had previously been convicted of a felony punishable by more than one year imprisonment, was prohibited at the time from possessing a firearm. The crimes occurred in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Boshek II said, “Our agents worked countless hours in the pursuit of justice for the victim and his family. ATF is committed to combatting violent crime in our communities no matter how long it takes. There is no amount of time in federal prison that will bring the victim back. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as we know Pritchett’s time in federal prison won’t ease their pain.” “I commend the work of law enforcement in compiling an extensive and thorough investigation which allowed the government to prosecute the defendant for unlawfully taking the victim’s life,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Pritchett will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration. Assistant United States Attorneys Jarrod Leaman and Patrick Flanigan represented the United States.


title: Newport Man Charged with Illegal Re-entry Into United States and Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

component: USAO - Rhode Island

body_text: PROVIDENCE, RI – A Guatemalan national, deported after his 2014 conviction in 2014 in Rhode Island state court on charges of second degree sexual assault, a conviction that required him to register as a sex offender, has been charged in federal court with illegally re-entering the United States after deportation and failing to register as a sex offender, announced United States Attorney Zachary Cunha. According to charging documents, after being deported following his 2014 conviction, it is alleged that Nelson Yocute, 34, returned to the United States illegally, and had been living and working in Newport for the last nine years. It is also alleged that Yocute failed to comply with his obligation to register as a sex offender, as mandated by his 2014 state court sentence. Mr. Yocute made an initial appearance in US district court on May 14 th , 2024, and was ordered detained in federal custody. A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Denise M. Barton. The matter was investigated by the Newport Police Department, with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Marshals Service. ### Note: This is an unattended email. Do not reply to this message. If you have questions, please use the contacts in the message.


title: Home Builder Pleads Guilty to Tax Conspiracy

component: Tax Division

body_text: A former Massachusetts home builder pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States and creating false documents to help one of his clients obtain a mortgage. According to court documents and statements made in court, Kent Pecoy owned and operated Kent Pecoy & Sons, Construction Inc., a West Springfield-based commercial and luxury home construction company. From 2009 through 2016, Pecoy conspired with others to conceal income from the IRS by dealing in cash. Specifically, Pecoy received $1,116,900 in cash payments from Kevin Kennedy, who was sentenced to prison last month for tax crimes , for the purchase and construction of custom-built homes in East Longmeadow and on Cape Cod. Pecoy did not deposit most of the cash into the businesses’ bank accounts, but rather distributed the cash directly to vendors and subcontractors. For example, Pecoy used approximately $135,700 of that cash to pay subcontractors under the table for work performed at the Cape Cod home. Pecoy also created and maintained separate ledgers documenting Kennedy’s cash payments, created and maintained false contracts and cover sheets and created false entries in the company’s accounting system to conceal the cash payments. For the payments Pecoy did deposit, he deposited the cash in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid the filing of currency transaction reports. For the East Longmeadow home, in January 2010, Kennedy and Pecoy created two contracts, one with the agreed-upon purchase price and one with a deflated purchase price. The latter contract listed a purchase price that was $160,000 lower than the contract price, which was the amount Kennedy had paid to Pecoy in cash as a down payment for the home. Kennedy then submitted the deflated home purchase contract to the bank to induce it to provide him a mortgage for part of the East Longmeadow home. In total, Pecoy caused a loss to the IRS of more than $250,000. Pecoy also obstructed the IRS after it opened an investigation. The IRS served a grand jury subpoena on Pecoy, to which he responded. However, when IRS special agents executed a search warrant at Pecoy’s construction business, they found dozens of documents responsive to the subpoena that Pecoy had not turned over to the government even though he was legally required to have done so. Pecoy is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States and 30 years in prison for making a false statement to a bank. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement. IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Assistant Chief Eric B. Powers of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Desroches for the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the case.


title: Chinese Citizen Sentenced for Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property

component: USAO - New York, Northern

body_text: ALBANY, NEW YORK – Wu Feng Zhang, age 54, a Chinese citizen residing in the Town of Colonie, New York, was sentenced yesterday to 25 months in prison for transporting stolen property across state lines. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement. As part of his prior guilty plea, Zheng admitted that between June and December 2022, he stole merchandise from home improvement stores in various states, including in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and New York, and transported those stolen items to his residence in Colonie. On January 11, 2023, HSI searched his residence and found about $100,000 in merchandise stolen from home improvement stores. Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes also imposed a 3-year term of post-imprisonment supervised release, ordered Zhang to pay $296,881.92 in restitution to the two home improvement store chains from which he stole, and ordered forfeiture of $3,257.76 seized from two bank accounts. HSI, with assistance from Colonie Police Department, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Wentworth-Ping prosecuted the case.


title: Richmond man pleads guilty to armed robbery

body_text: RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man pleaded guilty today after discharging a firearm as he robbed a convenience store. According to court documents, on July 3, 2023, Darryl Nathaniel Cole, 59, entered a 7-Eleven on Mechanicsville Turnpike and attempted to purchase tobacco products. When another customer entered the store, Cole briefly left and returned minutes later. Attempting the purchase again, Cole swiped his own debit card in the point-of-sale machine, but his account had insufficient funds for the transaction. Cole then produced a handgun from his waistband and pointed the gun at the store clerk. Cole demanded and took money from the register as he continued to point the handgun at the clerk. As Cole began to leave the store, the clerk took a hammer from a drawer near the cash register and moved toward the back of the store, away from the front door. When the clerk was near a gap in the counter, Cole fired one shot from his handgun in the clerk’s direction, which struck a nearby coffeemaker. Cole then fled from the store with the stolen money. Cole is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 26. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life 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. Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Rick Edwards, Chief of Richmond Police; and Eric D. English, Chief of Henrico County Police Division, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Hubbard, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia L. Norman are 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. 3:24-cr-33.


title: Two Defendants Sentenced to Federal Prison for Multimillion-Dollar Fraud Scheme Targeting Senior Citizens

component: USAO - Michigan, Western

body_text: GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that two defendants were sentenced for participating in an international fraud conspiracy that targeted senior citizens in several states, including Michigan. Jmyla Elaine Sha’Taria White, 29, of Thonotosassa, Florida, was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,224,549 in restitution to victims of the conspiracy that she defrauded. McKhaela Katelynn McNamara, 28, of Flint, Michigan, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $693,073 in restitution to victims. “Our seniors are being targeted by financial scammers at an alarming rate,” said U.S. Attorney Totten . “My office is committed to educating the public about financial schemes that inflict financial harm and defraud unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned money. We will continue working with our local, state, and federal partners to hold fraudsters accountable and secure a measure of justice for their victims.” White and McNamara were two of seven defendants charged last year with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Both pled guilty in January 2024. When imposing the sentences, U.S. District Judge Jane M. Beckering said, “This is one of the most reprehensible fraud schemes I have seen. This wasn’t just a theft of money. It was a theft of dignity, and a theft of security. This was a heinous crime that devastated people who worked hard their whole lives, and now their money is gone.” The fraud scheme began when victims received a message on their computers warning that a virus had infected their devices. The messages urged the victims to call a number to get help. When the victims called the number provided, they got a response from someone claiming to work for a tech company, such as Microsoft or Apple. In truth, they were scammers located in India, who scared the victims into giving money to the conspiracy with a variety of different ruses. In one version of the scam, victims were told that their bank accounts had been compromised and they needed to withdraw all their cash and give it to fake “federal agents” for safekeeping. In another version, victims were told that their computers had been infected by a virus and they needed to pay for technical support. In a third version, victims were told that they had been identified in a criminal investigation and needed to turn over money to clear their names. Regardless of which ruse was used, the result was the same: victims were convinced to give money to the scammers. Victims did this during in-person meetings with fake “federal agents,” by mailing boxes of cash to addresses provided by the scammers, by wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the scammers, or through gift cards they purchased at the direction of the scammers. According to court records, White and McNamara personally met with victims to collect packages of money from them, which they then passed on to higher-level members of the conspiracy. White also recruited others to join the conspiracy. A victim in West Michigan lost $398,000 to the conspiracy. “The defendants participated in an elaborate fraud conspiracy that targeted mostly elderly victims, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan . “Every day, fraudsters are becoming more clever and organized to steal citizens’ hard-earned money, so it is important to report these crimes to the FBI for help. If you believe you may have fallen victim to a scheme like this, you can file a report at ic3.gov or contact our office at 313-965-2323.” The Justice Department, FBI, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service recently announced the completion of “ The Money Mule Initiative ,” a national campaign to identify, disrupt, and criminally prosecute complex fraud schemes. These schemes often rely on “money mules” – people who receive fraudulent proceeds, retain a portion, and forward the remainder to a co-conspirator – to facilitate schemes that often originate overseas. Many “advance fee” fraud schemes target older Americans and use various false stories designed to manipulate victims to mail, wire, or hand money to “money mules” located in the United States. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan. Assistant United States Attorney Clay Stiffler prosecuted the case. The charges against the other members of the conspiracy who have not yet pled guilty are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. For more information on preventing elder fraud and help for victims, visit the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative website , which includes a list of Michigan-specific resources . The FBI Elder Fraud website also provides several resources, including the following tips to help seniors protect themselves: Recognize scam attempts and end all communication with the perpetrator. Search online for the contact information (name, email, phone number, addresses) and the proposed offer. Other people have likely posted information online about individuals and businesses trying to run scams. Resist the pressure to act quickly. Scammers create a sense of urgency to produce fear and lure victims into immediate action. Call the police immediately if you feel there is a danger to yourself or a loved one. Be cautious of unsolicited phone calls, text messages, mailings, and door-to-door services offers. Never give or send any personally identifiable information, money, jewelry, gift cards, checks, or wire information to unverified people or businesses. Make sure all computer anti-virus and security software and malware protections are up to date. Use reputable anti-virus software and firewalls. Disconnect from the internet and shut down your device if you see a pop-up message or locked screen. Pop-ups are regularly used by perpetrators to spread malicious software. Enable pop-up blockers to avoid accidentally clicking on a pop-up. Be careful what you download. Never open an email attachment from someone you don't know, and be wary of email attachments forwarded to you. Take precautions to protect your identity if a criminal gains access to your device or account. Immediately contact your financial institutions to place protections on your accounts, and monitor your accounts and personal information for suspicious activity. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish, and other languages are available. The Federal Trade Commission also provides a hotline at 877-FTC-HELP and a website at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov to receive consumer complaints. ###


title: The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee Recognizes National Police Week

component: USAO - Tennessee, Middle

body_text: NASHVILLE – As part of National Police Week, United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee recognize the service and sacrifice of federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement. National Police Week is observed Saturday, May 11 through Friday, May 17, 2024. “Members of law enforcement and their families make tremendous sacrifices and take considerable risks every day to serve and protect us,” said Henry C. Leventis, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. “I was reminded again this morning, at the Tennessee State Troopers Memorial, that far too many law enforcement officers are asked to make the ultimate sacrifice in service to their communities. National Police Week is a time to remember and honor those law enforcement officers that we have lost and a time to renew our commitment to supporting those who continue to serve in this noble profession.” “As our country recognizes National Police Week, the Justice Department joins families and communities in remembering the members of the law enforcement community who made the ultimate sacrifice protecting the public,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “Policing is difficult and dangerous, yet time and time again, law enforcement officers answer the call, showing up for their communities when they are needed the most. Their devotion to duty is matched only by that of their loved ones who make daily sacrifices to support them. The Justice Department is committed to doing everything in our power to help provide our law enforcement partners with the resources they need to carry out their noble work on behalf of the public.” In 1962, President Kennedy issued the first proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week to remember and honor law enforcement officers for their service and sacrifices. Peace Officers Memorial Day, which every year falls on May 15, specifically honors law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. Each year, during National Police Week, our nation celebrates the contributions of law enforcement from around the country, recognizing their hard work, dedication, loyalty and commitment to keeping our communities safe. On Monday, May 13, the names of more than 280 officers killed in the line of duty in 2024 who have been added to the wall at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial were read during a Candlelight Vigil at 8:00 p.m. EDT. To view a recording of this event, visit https://nleomf.org/memorial/programs/national-police-week-2024/candlelight-vigil/ . To learn more about National Police Week and the virtual candlelight vigil, please visit www.policeweek.org . # # # # #


title: Brooklyn Man and Cryptocurrency Personality "T.J. Stone" Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

component: USAO - New York, Eastern

body_text: Yesterday, in federal court in Brooklyn, Thomas John Sfraga, also known as “T.J. Stone,” pleaded guilty to an information charging him with wire fraud. The proceeding was held before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom. When sentenced, Sfraga faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, as well as restitution of over $1.33 million. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the guilty plea. “For years, Sfraga brazenly lied to friends, neighbors and investors to swindle over $1.3 million of their hard-earned life savings,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will continue to hold fraudsters accountable and achieve justice for victims throughout the Eastern District of New York and across the United States.” As set forth in the information and court filings, from at least 2019 to 2022, Sfraga held himself out as the owner and principal of multiple businesses, including Vandelay Contracting Corp. and Build Strong Homes LLC. In the television show “Seinfeld,” the character George Constanza falsely claimed to have interviewed for a job with the fictional company Vandelay Industries. The defendant held himself out as ‘T.J. Stone,’ a serial entrepreneur with experience in real estate development, media relations, podcasting and cryptocurrencies, including acting as the host or emcee of cryptocurrency events in New York. Sfraga defrauded over a dozen victims, including victims in Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island. Sfraga convinced victims to loan him monies for, or to invest in, multiple fraudulent investments including purchasing, renovating and “flipping” homes. On one occasion, Sfraga convinced a victim to lend him $100,000 in cash as start-up costs for a non-existent major construction project. On yet another occasion, Sfraga convinced a victim to invest in a fictitious cryptocurrency “virtual wallet.” He promised the victims returns on their investments as high as 60% in three months. In reality, however, Sfraga converted the monies to his own benefit, to pay expenses, and to pay earlier victims and business associates. The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorney John Vagelatos is in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Madison Bates. The Defendant : THOMAS JOHN SFRAGA (also known as “T.J. Stone”) Age: 55 Brooklyn, New York E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-194 (FB) (LB)


title: Naschitti Man Sentenced for Kidnapping and Killing Gallup Man

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – A federal judge handed down a 30-year prison sentence to a Naschitti man who pleaded guilty to conspiring to kidnap a victim who was lured to a location in Gallup under the false pretense of a meeting a female. The victim was then beaten and stabbed to death. There is no parole in the federal system. According to publicly available court records, on September 16, 2021, Elias Viola , 32 years old, and his then-girlfriend, Shannon Etsitty, devised a plan to lure John Doe to a location under the guise of a meetup with Etsitty. Viola sent a text message from Etsitty’s phone propositioning John Doe, who agreed to meet. Etsitty picked John Doe up from his residence and drove Doe to a location where Viola and a third man attacked Doe in the vehicle, beating Doe with baseball bat and stabbing him with a screwdriver. The group then hid John Doe’s body under nearby brush before returning hours later to move Doe to a field near Etsitty’s mother’s house. On September 23, 2021, after a weeklong community search, John Doe’s body was found by an unrelated civilian. The Office of the Medical Investigator determined John Doe’s manner of death was homicide caused by multiple injuries. Investigators reviewed John Doe’s text messages and determined Etsitty was the last person with whom Doe communicated. They also determined that shortly after those communications, she and Viola were involved in single-vehicle crash near John Doe’s apartment. However, the crash site was several miles from the location John Doe’s body was found. Investigators returned to the crash site and found one of Doe’s black shoes, which matched one found near Doe’s body. Police executed search warrants for Etsitty and Viola’s cellphone and Facebook records. After reviewing messages and confirming Viola was in the area where John Doe’s missing shoe was found, police tried to find the vehicle involved in the crash. On November 16, 2021, the FBI located the car in a tow yard. On November 30, 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant on the vehicle. The backseat was missing and the front-passenger seat, trunk, and the area beneath the backseat showed signs of blood staining. On April 1, 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Viola’s home. Inside, agents located the missing backseat from the vehicle. Through forensic testing, agents determined blood on the backseat matched John Doe. When Viola was interviewed by agents, he admitted to attacking John Doe. Viola pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping on September 18, 2023. Upon his release from prison, Viola will be subject to five years of supervised release. Etsitty also pled guilty to conspiring to kidnap John Doe. Her sentencing has not yet occurred. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today. The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations, the Gallup Police Department and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Jones is prosecuting the case. # # #


title: Two Foreign Nationals Arrested for Laundering At Least $73M Through Shell Companies Tied to Cryptocurrency Investment Scams

component: Criminal Division

body_text: An indictment was unsealed in the Central District of California yesterday charging two Chinese nationals alleging they played leading roles in a scheme to launder proceeds from cryptocurrency investment scams. Daren Li, 41, a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, and a resident of China, Cambodia, and the United Arab Emirates, was arrested on April 12 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and subsequently transported to the Central District of California. Yicheng Zhang, 38, a Chinese national and resident of Temple City, California, was arrested yesterday in Los Angeles. “Cryptocurrency investment scams exploit the borderless nature of virtual currency and online communications to defraud victims,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “While fraud in the crypto markets takes on many forms and hides in many far-off places, its perpetrators aren’t beyond the law’s reach. Today, we announce the arrests of two foreign nationals charged for leading a scheme to launder funds to the tune of at least $73 million tied to an international crypto investment scam. These arrests — made possible through the assistance of our international and U.S. partners — reflect the Justice Department’s ongoing commitment to disrupting the entire cybercrime ecosystem and stopping fraud across all financial markets.” According to court documents, Li, Zhang, and other conspirators allegedly managed an international syndicate that laundered proceeds of cryptocurrency investment scams, which are also known as “pig butchering.” Victims of the schemes under investigation were fraudulently induced into transferring millions of dollars to U.S. bank accounts opened in the names of dozens of shell companies whose sole apparent purpose was to facilitate the laundering of fraud proceeds. A network of money launderers then facilitated the transfer of those funds to other domestic and international bank accounts and cryptocurrency platforms in a manner designed to conceal the source, nature, ownership, and control of the funds. The fraud scheme involved more than $73 million laundered through U.S. financial institutions to bank accounts in The Bahamas, and converted to the virtual asset USDT, or Tether. A cryptocurrency wallet involved in the scheme received more than $341 million in virtual assets. “As alleged in the indictment, Li and Zhang helped launder millions of dollars obtained from victims of cryptocurrency investment scams,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Money laundering is critical to the success of these scams, allowing fraudsters to quickly move illicit proceeds and try to make them appear legitimate. The arrests announced today demonstrate the Criminal Division’s commitment to disrupting the sophisticated financial networks on which these scams depend and holding those involved accountable, no matter where they may be found.” “Sophisticated financial scams such as these are a dangerous threat to the financial wellbeing of all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “While my office will continue to root out and punish these deceitful schemes, I encourage everyone to educate themselves on pig butchering and other kinds of financial fraud to protect their families against such predatory activity. Vigilance is key.” Li and Zhang allegedly instructed co-conspirators in the laundering network to open bank accounts in the names of various shell companies. Once the victims sent funds to the shell companies, Li and Zhang monitored the lower-level co-conspirators who transferred the proceeds overseas to bank accounts at Deltec Bank in The Bahamas. One of the Deltec Bank accounts was operated with the financial assistance of Li. The funds were then allegedly converted into cryptocurrency and sent to virtual-asset wallets, including at least one controlled by Li. Zhang allegedly also directly received victim funds. Communications revealed extensive coordination to facilitate the international money laundering, including chats discussing the commission structure for the network, various shell companies used, victim information, and at least one video from a conspirator calling a U.S. financial institution. “Complex financial fraud schemes such as pig butchering present a clear and present threat to the financial infrastructure of the United States as countless numbers of Americans continue to be victimized by this predatory activity,” said Assistant Director of Investigations Brian Lambert of the U.S. Secret Service. “In 2023, the Secret Service with our partners recovered more than $1.1 billion in financial fraud and we are on pace to exceed that number this year. A special thank you to the special agents, support teams, and our prosecutorial partners for their exceptional work in bringing this case to justice.” Li and Zhang are both charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and six substantive counts of international money laundering. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. The U.S. Secret Service’s Global Investigative Operations Center is investigating the case. The Homeland Security Investigations’ El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, Dominican Republic National Drug Directorate Sensitive Investigative Unit and Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance. The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California are jointly prosecuting the case. CCIPS/NCET Trial Attorney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maxwell Coll for the Central District of California, CCIPS/NCET Trial Attorney Stefanie Schwartz, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nisha Chandran for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case. NCET was established to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Within the CCIPS, NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that enable the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. NCET also sets strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identifies areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and leads the Department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets. If you or someone you know is a victim of a cryptocurrency investment fraud, report it to IC3.gov . In your complaint, please reference “Pig Butchering PSA.” Include as much information as possible in your report, including names of investment platforms, cryptocurrency addresses and transaction hashes, bank account information, and names and contact information of suspected scammers. Maintain copies of all communications with scammers and records of financial transactions. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Mt. Lebanon Resident Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Western

body_text: PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A former resident of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court on May 15, 2024, to charges related to the sexual exploitation of children, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. Andrew Kalyl Foxx, a/k/a James Andrew Liles, a/k/a Andrew James Liles, 42, pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, on or about March 3, 2023, the defendant attempted to and did employ, use, persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a video of such conduct. On March 9, 2023, the defendant did knowingly possess this video file depicting child sexual exploitation. Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for August 6, 2024. The law provides for a total sentence of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000.00, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Pending sentencing, the Court continued Foxx’s detention. Assistant United States Attorney Heidi M. Grogan is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI-Pittsburgh Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, Allegheny County Police Department, and Mt. Lebanon Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Foxx. 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .


title: Guatemalan extradited to the Eastern District of Texas to face international drug trafficking charges

component: Criminal - Office of International Affairs

body_text: SHERMAN – A Guatemalan man has been extradited to the United States to face international drug trafficking charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. According to information presented in court, the Los Pochos drug trafficking organization (DTO), based in Guatemala and Mexico, supplies multi-ton quantities of cocaine to multiple high-level Guatemala- and Mexico-based heads of cocaine trafficking cells. The Los Pochos DTO supplies vast quantities of cocaine to Sinaloa Cartel leaders who have an existing transportation infrastructure to receive, consolidate, and transport the cocaine to markets in the United States. Juan Jose Morales Cifuentes, 33, also known as Pancho, a leader of the Los Pochos DTO since 2019, is a Guatemala-based cocaine distributor and transportation coordinator associated with the Sinaloa Cartel and the son-in-law of deceased significant foreign narcotics trafficker Erik Salvador Suñiga Rodriguez . Morales Cifuentes is notorious for using violence to resolve conflicts and has engaged in executions of former associates in furtherance of the Los Pochos DTO’s narcotics trafficking activities. Mexican traffickers pay taxes to Morales Cifuentes to store their narcotics in the Guatemalan border towns of Tecun Uman and San Marcos. The organization purchases approximately 4,000 kilograms of cocaine monthly, totaling approximately 48,000 kilograms yearly, and is responsible for supplying multiple high-level Guatemalan and Mexican drug traffickers, including Mexico-based cartel leaders. Morales Cifuentes was extradited from Guatemala to the United States on May 16, 2024. On June 15, 2023, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas charged Morales Cifuentes with multiple crimes, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, intending, knowing, and having reasonable cause to believe it would be unlawfully imported to the United States. 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. This case is being investigated by the North Texas Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) Strike Force Group Two; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Division; the DEA’s Guatemala City Country Office and the DEA’s San Jose (Costa Rica) Country Office; the FBI’s Dallas Field Office; the Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas and Guatemala Field Offices; the U.S. Marshals Service’s Dallas Field Office; and Customs and Border Patrol’s San Diego Field Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition to the United States. This individual is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Wynne. ###


title: Evansville Snapchat Fentanyl Dealer Responsible for at least Three Overdoses and Teen’s Death Sentenced to Twenty Years in Federal Prison

component: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

body_text: EVANSVILLE- Jeremial Lee Leach, 20, of Evansville, Indiana has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to one count of Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in Death, one count of distribution of fentanyl, and one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury. According to court documents, Leach is responsible for dealing fentanyl resulting in at least three overdoses, one of which resulted in the death of a 19-year-old. Leach advertised fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills over Snapchat to hundreds of recipients using the alias “Mel.” On June 25, 2022, at approximately 12:11 a.m., officers with the Evansville Police Department (EPD) responded to a residence on Wedeking Avenue in reference to the overdose of a woman. The woman was revived with naloxone. Later the same day, at approximately 10:55 a.m., EPD officers responded to the same residence for the overdose of another woman, just nineteen years old, who subsequently died. The coroner located a counterfeit oxycodone pill containing fentanyl on the deceased woman’s person. The cause of both overdoses was determined to be fentanyl intoxication. Investigators searched the deceased victim’s phone and found conversations between her and Jeremial “Mel” Leach in which they discussed a transaction for the purchase of pills they identified as “blues.” Leach gave her his address on Shanklin Avenue and confirmed the price for the sale of the pills. On August 20, 2022, at approximately 4:15 p.m., EPD officers were dispatched to a restaurant located on Hirschland Road concerning an overdose. Upon arrival, the officers located a woman sitting on the ground in the parking lot of the restaurant, not alert and beginning to lose consciousness. An officer administered naloxone and, a short time later, the woman began to regain consciousness. The woman advised first responders and medical personnel that she had taken a 30 mg tablet of oxycodone. The women’s companion identified Leach as the supplier of the pill and the location of the purchase as a residence on Shanklin Avenue. On October 11, 2022, investigators with the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force observed Leach conduct two apparent drug deals at his residence. The buyers left separately in a Kia Optima and a gold Hyundai Tucson. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement stopped both vehicles after observing traffic violations. During the stop of the vehicles, investigators located three blue pills marked “M30” inside the Kia and six blue pills marked “M30” inside the Tucson. One of the boys in the buyer’s car later stated that his dealer’s name was “Mel.” Later that day, officers executed a search warrant at Leach’s residence on Shanklin Avenue. Leach exited the front door of the home and was taken into custody by detectives. Some of the items located and seized during the search included 33 blue pills marked “30,” a digital scale, two 9mm pistols , and approximately $1,843 in cash. The pills seized during the two traffic stops and from Leach’s residence were submitted for laboratory analysis and tested positive for the presence of fentanyl. “This young woman should be alive today. Mr. Leach pushed deadly poison over social media, ending a teenager’s life far too early, and risking many more,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Fentanyl traffickers commit their crimes with utter disregard for the lives of our friends and neighbors or the harm they cause to families in our community. I commend the outstanding work of the DEA, the Evansville Police Department, the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force, and our federal prosecutors to secure some measure of justice for the victims of this fentanyl dealer. The sentence imposed here should serve as a warning: these poisons kill—and selling them will earn you decades in federal prison.” “The sentence imposed on Mr. Leach is righteous and justified. Mr. Leach utilized social media platforms to advertise the sale of fentanyl and continued distributing the poisonous fentanyl even though it had already caused fatal and near fatal overdoses. The DEA would like to extend their deepest condolences to the Duncan family and all families who have lost a loved one to a fentanyl poising,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Mike Gannon. “DEA remains committed to working hand in hand with our state, local and federal partners in order to keep our communities safe. DEA commends the outstanding work by the Evansville Police Department, The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force and the United States Attorney’s Office.” DEA, Evansville Police Department, and the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young. U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Kristian Mukoski and Todd S. Shellenbarger, who prosecuted this case. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal, depending on a person’s body size, tolerance, and past usage. One kilogram of fentanyl has the potential to kill 500,000 people. Laboratory testing indicates 7 out of every 10 pills seized by DEA contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. One Pill Can Kill : Avoid pills bought on the street because One Pill Can Kill . Fentanyl is a highly potent opioid that drug dealers dilute with cutting agents to make counterfeit prescription pills that appear to be Oxycodone, Percocet, Xanax, and other drugs. Fentanyl is used because it’s cheap. Small variations in the quantity or quality of fentanyl in a fake prescription pill can accidentally create a lethal dosage. Fentanyl has now become the leading cause of drug poisoning deaths in the United States. Fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl are usually shaped and colored to look like pills sold at pharmacies, like Percocet and Xanax. For example, fake prescription pills known as “M30s” imitate Oxycodone obtained from a pharmacy, but when sold on the street the pills routinely contain fentanyl. These particular pills are usually round tablets and often light blue in color, though they may be in different shapes and a rainbow of colors. They often have “M” and “30” imprinted on opposite sides of the pill. Do not take these or any other pills bought on the street – they are routinely fake and poisonous, and you won’t know until it’s too late. ###


title: Former Luxury Homebuilder Pleads Guilty to Fraud Conspiracy

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – The former owner of a now-defunct luxury home building business in West Springfield pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States and creating false documents to help one of his clients obtain a mortgage. Kent Pecoy, 66, of San Marco, Fla., previously of Wilbraham, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Aug. 20, 2024. Kent Pecoy was previously indicted in December 2019 along with his son, Jason Pecoy, and Kevin M. Kennedy, the former owner of a golf management company, for allegedly conspiring to defraud the United States by concealing cash payments for the construction of Kennedy’s two homes in East Longmeadow and West Dennis. The defendants were later charged in a superseding indictment in January 2020 . On April 24, 2024 , Kennedy was sentenced to 13 months in prison after being convicted by a federal jury for conspiracy to defraud the United States and making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. Jason Pecoy had pleaded not guilty and is pending trial. Kent Pecoy owned and operated Kent Pecoy & Sons, Construction Inc. (KPSC) – a West Springfield-based commercial and luxury home construction company – as well as Sturbridge Development, LLC (Sturbridge) and Legacy General Contractors, LLC (Legacy). KPSCI constructed two homes for Kennedy in East Longmeadow and West Dennis – for which Kennedy paid Kent Pecoy in cash. From 2009 through 2016, Pecoy conspired with others to conceal income from the IRS by dealing in cash. Specifically, Pecoy received $1,116,900 in cash payments from Kennedy for the purchase and construction of custom-built homes in East Longmeadow and on Cape Cod. Kent Pecoy failed to deposit most of the cash into business bank accounts, and instead distributed the cash directly to vendors and subcontractors. For the payments Kent Pecoy did deposit, he deposited the cash in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid the filing of currency transaction reports. Kent Pecoy also created and maintained separate ledgers documenting Kennedy’s cash payments, created and maintained false contracts and cover sheets and created false entries in KPSC’s accounting system to conceal the cash payments. Additionally, in January 2010, Kent Pecoy and Kennedy made false statements to Charles Schwab Bank on a loan to Kennedy and his wife for the construction of a residence in East Longmeadow in an attempt to conceal $160,000 cash down payment. These false statements included understating the sale price of the residence lot, the price of the construction and the deposit and earnest money paid by Kennedy. The charge of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The conspiracy charges provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven H. Breslow and Neil L. Desroches of the Springfield Branch Office are prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Eric B. Powers of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Lynchburg Man Arrested on Federal Firearms Charge

component: USAO - Virginia, Western

body_text: LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Lynchburg, Virginia man, implicated in a series of incidents involving the illegal possession of a firearm, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with a federal gun crime. Brandon Cole Webber, 27, was taken into federal custody this week and charged with one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on May 5, 2022, law enforcement officers were flagged down by a citizen on Fifth Street in Lynchburg after the citizen reported seeing a man fall out of a moving vehicle then shoot a firearm in the direction of the same departing vehicle. The citizen told police the man who shot at the vehicle- ultimately identified as Webber- then ran toward the Family Dollar on Federal Street in downtown Lynchburg. Two other individuals driving past the incident witnessed Webber fall out of the vehicle. Webber asked the witnesses for a ride and attempted to enter their vehicle as law enforcement arrived on scene. Police officers searched the vehicle and found a loaded 9 mm handgun, a white bag containing suspected methamphetamine, and a wallet belonging to an unidentified individual in the back seat where Webber had been sitting. In addition to the May 2022 incident, court documents filed today documents Webber’s involved in several other incidents. On November 29, 2023, members of the Lynchburg Fire Department responded to an overdose at the Lynchburg Grand Hotel. First responders observed a man- later identified as Weber- lying face down on the bathroom floor of room 627. Firefighters observed needles and a glass pipe in the room. When Lynchburg Police arrived, Webber fled the scene, running from officers before being apprehended outside of the hotel. Later in the evening, officers searched room 627and recovered a bag containing suspected methamphetamine and a loaded Glock 38 handgun. On November 30, 2023, Webber was charged with violating various state firearm statues. However, after receiving treatment for his overdose at a local hospital, law enforcement was unable to locate Webber. Law enforcement believes Webber fled Lynchburg with the help of Subject-1, a former City of Lynchburg Community Corrections and Pretrial Services Agency Officer. Webber and Subject-1 began a romantic relationship in August 2023 and Subject-1 had been allegedly providing Webber with non-public sensitive information. For example, on five separate occasions in December 2023, Subject-1’s credentials were used to view a search warrant executed at the Lynchburg Grand Hotel on November 29, 2023 in relation to Webber’s overdose incident. United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Lynchburg Police Department are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vito Iaia is prosecuting the case. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.