title: Mother Pleads Guilty To Illegal Possession Of A Gun In Case Related To The Accidental Discharge Death Of Her Two-Year-Old Child

body_text: GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Emma Huver, 26, of Lansing, pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. As part of her plea, Huver admitted that she had a purple 9-milimeter Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol in her car on October 24, 2023. She had previously been convicted of a felony drug offense in 2020. Sentencing is scheduled for September 16, 2024. “Today’s guilty plea is one step forward in our effort to achieve a measure of justice for this tragic loss of life,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten . “This case magnifies one of the grimmest statistics we live with in America today: that gun violence is now the #1 cause of death for our youngest, ages 0-19. We cannot accept this ‘new normal,’ but must do everything we can to prevent these deaths.” Two other Lansing residents are also charged in the indictment. Avis Coward, 44, and Gina Schieberl, 27, are charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence and tampering with evidence. Coward is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. As alleged, on October 24, 2023, Coward got out of a car at a Lansing gas station and went inside, leaving a two-year-old child and the child’s mother, Huver, in the car. Surveillance video showed that a minute later a bullet hole appeared in the car window. Huver got out of the car holding her child, who had blood on his face from a gunshot wound. As she did so, Coward’s gun fell out of the car. Huver handed the child to Coward, who then passed the child to a third person who took the victim into the gas station and attempted to control the bleeding until medical personnel arrived. Coward returned to the car, picked up the gun off the ground, and put it back in the car. The surveillance video also showed Coward use his hand to break out the front passenger window, which had the bullet hole. Coward then drove away. The child later died from his injuries. The tampering charges concern attempts by defendants Coward and Schieberl to hide or destroy evidence in this case, including the car, which was later found burned-out and abandoned in a field in Lansing, and a .45 caliber Springfield Armory semiautomatic pistol, the barrel of which was found disassembled and hidden in the wall of a house in Lansing. “This is yet another great example of how partnerships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan, and all who were involved, strive to bring justice and closure to those effected by senseless violence,” said Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee . “We are grateful to have U.S. Attorney Mark Totten and his office working with local police and our office to address gun offenses in our community,” said Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane . “This death is a preventable tragedy as we all too often see children having access to weapons or living in an environment where weapons aren’t stored or kept safely. Through legislative changes and collaborations, our office is dedicated to continuing to work together to hold individuals accountable and increase safety in our community.” Gun violence is an acute problem across the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the U.S. firearm homicide rate in 2021 was the highest documented since 1993. While the numbers have slightly declined since 2021, they remain high. Resources and information on the safe storage of firearms can be found by reviewing the U.S. Department of Justice Safe Storage of Firearms guide , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet , and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pamphlet . Anyone who possesses a gun must follow all local, state, and federal laws. This case was investigated by the Lansing Police Department, Michigan State Police, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. ###


title: U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects More Than $22 Million in Fiscal Year 2023

component: USAO - Mississippi, Southern

body_text: Jackson, MS - U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee announced today that in Fiscal Year 2023 the Southern District of Mississippi collected more than $22 million in criminal and civil matters. Of that amount, approximately $10,157,069 was collected in civil and criminal asset forfeiture actions, approximately $4,176,826 was collected in criminal debts owed to the United States and victims, and approximately $8,089,178 was collected through Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE). “The Department of Justice collected millions of dollars from criminals and civil litigants in Mississippi that will now be used to help victims get back on their feet, ensure law enforcement agencies have additional resources to fight crime, and restore to the government monies wrongfully procured through waste, fraud, abuse or failure to adhere to regulations,” said U.S. Attorney Gee. Out of the funds recovered by financial litigation, $2,025,799 was returned directly to victims of criminal activity in the district through restitution imposed in criminal cases. Moreover, nearly $400,000 of additional money was recovered and returned directly to victims of email fraud in the district through civil asset forfeiture cases. The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims. The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss. While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims Fund, which distributes the funds collected to federal and state victim compensation and victim assistance programs. The mission of the asset forfeiture program is to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crimes, including the assets purchased with those proceeds, and to disrupt criminal activity. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes. ACE cases allow recovery of tax payor dollars lost to fraud or other misconduct or to impose penalties for violations of Federal health, safety, civil rights, or environmental law. One of the primary tools used in ACE cases is the False Claims Act (FCA). The FCA allows recovery of up to three times the damages suffered by the United States, plus monetary penalties for each violation. Many of these cases result from whistleblower lawsuits, which allows individuals or entities who have inside information about fraudulent conduct to file qui tam lawsuits on behalf of the United States. Some of the areas where the office has successfully employed the FCA include fraud perpetrated on federal healthcare programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, the COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), the Department of Defense military programs and contracts, and federal grant programs. In the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, the asset forfeiture program and the financial litigation program are part of the office’s Asset Recovery Unit within the Criminal Division, which is coordinated by Assistant United States Attorney Clay B. Baldwin. Multiple Assistant United States Attorneys in the Civil Division handle ACE matters and cases.


title: Sixteen Defendants Charged in Connection with Transnational “Grandparent Scam” Operated from Dominican Republic

component: Civil Division

body_text: WASHINGTON – Sixteen individuals were charged in connection with a sprawling “grandparent scam” to defraud elderly Americans out of millions of dollars, the Justice Department announced today during a virtual announcement . Eleven men from the Dominican Republic are charged in a 19-count indictment with mail and wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering: Juan Rafael Parra Arias, also known as Yofre, 41; Nefy Vladimir Parra Arias, also known as Keko, 39; Nelson Rafael Gonzalez Acevedo, also known as Nelson Tech, 35; Rafael Ambiorix Rodriguez Guzman, also known as Max Morgan, 59; Miguel Angel Fortuna Solano, also known as Botija, and Boti, 41; Felix Samuel Reynoso Ventura, also known as Fili, and Filly The Kid, 37; Carlos Javier Estevez, 45; Louis Junior Rodriguez Serrano, also known as Junior, 27; Miguel Angel Vasquez, also known as Miguel Disla, 24; Jovanni Antonio Rosario Garcia, also known as Porky, and Chop, 45; and Jose Ismael Dilone Rodriguez, 34 According to the indictment, unsealed yesterday, in Newark, New Jersey, the defendants engaged in a long-running “grandparent” or “family in need of bail” scam against seniors in the United States. The scam was operated from call centers in the Dominican Republic. An additional five defendants were charged by complaint with wire fraud conspiracy as part of the same scheme: Endy Jose Torres Moran, 21, of Brooklyn, New York; Ivan Alexander Inoa Suero, 32, of New York City; Jhonny Cepeda, 27, of New York City; Ramon Hurtado, 43, of New York City, and Yuleisy Roque, 21, of the Bronx, New York. All five of the defendants charged by complaint are alleged to have acted as couriers who picked up cash from defrauded victims in New Jersey, New York and elsewhere. “The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue individuals who prey on vulnerable and elderly victims through fraudulent schemes,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Arun G. Rao of the Civil Division. “We will continue to identify perpetrators of these schemes and prioritize the pursuit of those who deliberately target vulnerable consumers, whether located in the United States or abroad.” “As alleged, these 16 defendants preyed upon grandparents’ familial love and devotion, cheating them out of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “In this ‘grandparents’ scam,’ the defendants allegedly impersonated grandchildren in distress, claiming, for example, they had been arrested after a car accident involving a pregnant woman who later miscarried, and they needed immediate cash for bail or a lawyer. The panic-stricken grandparents quickly paid — sometimes tens of thousands of dollars. My office is committed to protecting the rights of all victims, and we will relentlessly prosecute those who allegedly target vulnerable seniors to steal their hard-earned savings.” “Today’s announcement stems from the defendants’s alleged heartless targeting of elderly victims who were collectively tricked into handing over millions of dollars," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Darren B. McCormack of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. “For their own selfish gain, these accused individuals threatened innocent Americans’ livelihoods and robbed them of their precious time and any nest eggs they had secured for themselves. I commend HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force Cyber Intrusion Group, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the NYPD, the FBI, the Social Security Office of Inspector General and HSI Santo Domingo for their outstanding collaboration and coordination. This can truly happen to anybody, and while we will always be there to assist victims, we hope that raising awareness will give these criminal opportunists fewer chances to target the public.” “Fraud targeting the elderly has a uniquely harmful effect on a segment of the population that is often amongst society's most vulnerable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Bradley Parker of the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Boston New York Field Division. “SSA OIG is proud to join HSI, the FBI, the Justice Department and the NYPD in investigating these complex, international scams aimed at defrauding SSA beneficiaries.” “These charges underscore law enforcement’s commitment to protecting our older population from fraudsters and financial exploitation,” said Commissioner Edward A. Caban of the New York Police Department (NYPD). “The crimes outlined here are truly depraved in their nature: targeting our parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and others in an elaborate venture to bilk them of their hard-earned savings. I applaud our NYPD investigators and all of our federal partners involved in this important case for their tireless dedication to our shared public safety mission.” “The FBI and its partners are deeply committed to keeping our elderly population out of harm’s way,” said Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch. “Even when components of these grandparent scams are being perpetuated from beyond our borders, those who engage in illicit activity seeking to defraud the American people can be assured that their actions have consequences. If you or someone you know is a victim of elder fraud, please come forward and report it.” According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Juan Rafael Parra Arias, Nefy Vladimir Parra Arrias and Gonzalez Acevedo operated a sophisticated network of call centers in the Dominican Republic. Their alleged victims included elderly residents of several states, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The call centers victimized hundreds of Americans through fraud, stealing millions of dollars. Members of the conspiracy referred to as “openers” called elderly victims in the United States and impersonated the victims’ children, grandchildren, or other close relatives. The call centers used technology to make it appear that the calls were coming from inside the United States. Typically, the victim was told that their grandchild had been in a car accident, was arrested in connection with an accident, and needed help. Once openers tricked victims into believing their loved ones were in dire trouble, others working at the call centers, known as “closers,” allegedly impersonated defense attorneys, police officers or court personnel and convinced victims to provide thousands of dollars in cash to help their loved ones. According to charging documents, closers, including defendants Rodriguez Guzman, Fortuna Solano, Reynoso Ventura and Estevez typically told victims to give the cash to couriers who they sent to victims’ homes to collect their money. Other times, closers instructed victims to send the cash by mail. Once victims were convinced to give cash, call center “dispatchers,” including Rodriguez Serrano, Vasquez, Rosario Garcia, and Dilone Rodriguez, recruited and managed a network of U.S.-based couriers to obtain cash from the elderly victims across the northeastern United States. Those U.S.-based couriers, including the five charged by complaint, typically went to the elderly victims’ home to pick up the cash, often using false names and providing victims with fake receipts. The couriers then brought the cash to other members of the conspiracy, who sent the victims’ money to the Dominican Republic. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty 20 years in prison for each count, a maximum fine of $250,000 for each count of the mail and wire fraud charges and a maximum fine of $500,000 for each count of money laundering. Deputy Assistant Attorney Rao joined U.S. Attorney Sellinger, Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI’s Newark Division and Deputy Special Agent in Charge McCormack of Homeland Security Investigations New York made the announcement. HIS, SSA-OIG, NYPD, and the FBI are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance. Trial Attorneys Jason Feldman, Joshua Ferrentino and Emily Powers of the Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Silane for the District of Jersey are prosecuting the case. If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish, and other languages are available. More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov / or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: KC Man Sentenced for Armed Robbery, Carjacking During Illegal Drug Sale

component: USAO - Missouri, Western

body_text: KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for an armed robbery and carjacking that occurred during an illegal drug sale. Mykus Butler, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Monday, April 29, to 14 years and two months in federal prison without parole. On Aug. 30, 2023, Butler pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a robbery, aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence, and aiding and abetting a carjacking. Butler admitted that he contacted the victim of the robbery on March 10, 2020, and arranged to buy marijuana from him. The victim met Butler at a Kansas City, Mo., residence later the same day. However, instead of buying marijuana, Butler got into the back seat of the victim’s vehicle and pointed a firearm at him while taking the victim’s marijuana and firearm. Two armed associates of Butler joined the effort by pulling the victim, who was in the driver’s seat, and a front seat passenger out of the car. The victim was pistol whipped as he was pulled from the vehicle. After a brief confrontation, the victim ran away as one of Butler’s associates pointed and shot a firearm at him and the passenger. After the victim and the passenger ran away, Butler and his associates got into the victim’s car and drove it from the scene. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.


title: Rhode Island Beef Slaughterhouse Fined, Placed on Probation for Violating the Federal Meat Inspection Act

component: USAO - Rhode Island

body_text: PROVIDENCE – A Johnston, RI, beef slaughterhouse was fined $20,000 and placed on three years of federal probation today by U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy for fraudulently claiming that product they processed and suppled to customers had been federally inspected and passed as required under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) when, in fact, it had not, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. Rhode Island Beef and Veal and one of its owners, Michael A. Quattrucci, previously pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding customers by claiming that beef had been inspected under the FMIA, as well as preparing beef without complying with inspection requirements of the FMIA. Additionally, Rhode Island Beef and Veal pleaded guilty to a charge of defrauding customers by use of an official inspection mark of the Secretary of Agriculture without authorization. Micheal A. Quattrucci was sentenced on July 27, 2023, to one year of federal probation and ordered to pay a fine of $1,000. According to court documents and information presented to the court, on August 20, 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service served RI Beef and Veal with a notice of suspension and withdrew its inspector. Eight days after the suspension was imposed and the inspector was withdrawn, a USDA supervisor visited the plant and found employees packing various cuts of meat and fraudulently applying USDA marks of inspections to the meat. Additionally, packaged meat with USDA stickers attached was found stored in bins. No inspector was present, as is required by law for these marks to be applied. A day later, a USDA investigator visited the slaughterhouse and took photos of the illegally marked packages of beef that had been retained from the day before; he also noted 224 pounds of unmarked ground beef and a 594-pound half carcass of beef that had been freshly cut into primal parts for delivery to a customer in Connecticut who supplies meat products to restaurants. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah. The matter was investigated by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. ###


title: New York Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Unlawfully Export Dual-Use Electronics Used in Russian Military Drones

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: Nikolay Grigorev, 36, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States for his role in an illicit export control scheme to ship electronic components from the United States to companies affiliated with the Russian military. Co-defendants Nikita Arkhipov and Artem Oloviannikov remain at large. “In pleading guilty today, the defendant admitted he conspired to smuggle over $250,000 worth of sensitive American drone technology to Russian companies fueling Putin’s unlawful war against Ukraine,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Swift action by agents and prosecutors unraveled a web of fake orders and wire transfers to prevent over 11,500 electronic components from making their way to the Russian war machine. The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those who defy our sanctions and export controls to support Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine – whether they’re based in New York City or overseas.” “The FBI is relentless in its efforts to prevent sensitive, dual-use technology from being acquired by adversaries,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “The technologies in this case supported Russia’s war effort and poses a significant threat to the United States and its allies. The FBI continues to tirelessly pursue any illegal transfers that threaten national security and hold accountable those who violate the law.” “When I visited Ukraine last November, I saw firsthand the death and destruction that such drones and other Russian weapons of war have caused, and heard from our counterparts about the importance of stopping the illicit flow of technology to support the Russian war machine,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Today’s plea reinforces our commitment to hold accountable those who violate our laws and our determination to undermine the Russian government’s unjustified campaign of aggression against the Ukrainian people.” “Grigorev admitted today that he conspired to supply Russia with U.S.-sourced, dual-use technologies, knowing full well that his actions violated export controls and sanctions designed to stop those items from being sent to Russia and used in the production of drones like those found on the battlefields in Ukraine,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “Today’s guilty plea reaffirms that my office will pursue anyone who violates our export controls and threatens our national security.” “Today’s guilty plea is just the latest example of our unyielding efforts to reduce the flow of electronic components to the Russian military,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. “Criminal convictions await those who willfully circumvent U.S. export controls and aid the manufacture of Russian drones used against Ukraine.” As alleged in the indictment, Grigorev utilized a Brooklyn-based corporate entity, Quality Life Cue LLC (QLC), to facilitate the scheme. QLC was registered and controlled by Grigorev and Oloviannikov, with Arkhipov utilizing a QLC email account from Russia. Through QLC, the defendants procured dual-use electronic components for entities in Russia involved in the development and manufacture of drones for the Russian war effort in Ukraine. The most notable of these entities was SMT-iLogic, a Russia-based technology company that was sanctioned in May 2023 for its involvement in the supply chain for producing Russian military UAVs used in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Between Oct. 22, 2021, and Feb. 22, 2022, QLC accounts controlled by Grigorev received wire transactions from SMT-iLogic totaling approximately $272,830. These funds were used almost entirely to make payments to a Brooklyn-based electronics distributor (the “Brooklyn Company”) or to pay Grigorev’s credit cards, which he used to buy goods from the Brooklyn Company. In email and chat communications, the defendants explicitly discussed their efforts to circumvent U.S. export restrictions, including through the use of front companies in third countries, such as Kazakhstan, and they also forwarded invoices listing SMT-iLogic as the recipient of semiconductors and other electronic components purchased from the Brooklyn Company. In addition, in December 2022, in response to negative press coverage of SMT-iLogic, Grigorev forwarded a news article to his co-defendants and stated, “they are already writing about your (sic) guys in articles about how Russia is getting American components for drones.” In June 2023, a court-authorized search warrant of Grigorev’s residence in Brooklyn resulted in the successful seizure of over 11,500 electronic components that had been purchased from the Brooklyn Company and were awaiting unlawful export to Russia. As a result of today’s guilty plea, Grigorev faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Artie McConnell and Kate Mathews for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case. Natalya Savransky, formerly of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, provided valuable assistance. Today’s actions were coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force and the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states. Task Force KleptoCapture is an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.


title: Co-Owner of Mattapan Plumbing and Heating Supply Company Charged With Filing False Tax Returns and Using Unreported Receipts To Buy Gold Bars

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – The co-owner of a Mattapan plumbing and heating supply company was charged today with filing false tax returns in connection with a scheme to use millions of dollars of unreported receipts of the business to buy gold bars. Claudio Poles, 78, of Dorchester, was charged with four counts of filing false tax returns. According to the charging documents, Poles failed to accurately disclose the company’s gross business receipts to its tax preparer, who prepared the company’s tax returns using the false information Poles provided. Poles then used some of the unreported gross receipts to purchase more than $10 million of gold and silver bars for himself from bullion dealers. To conceal the nature of the purchases he made from the company’s bank accounts for his personal benefit, Poles allegedly described the purchases, in the memo section of the checks, as for “Boilers,” “Materials” and “P&H Supp.” The charging documents allege that between 2019 and 2022, Poles falsely and fraudulently reported losses on his individual tax returns and omitted personal income that he received from the business by purchasing the gold and silver bars. The charge of filing false tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, up to two 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’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie A. Queenin of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case. The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Flowood Man Sentenced to over 8 Years in Prison for Possession  of Thousands of Images of Child Pornography

body_text: Jackson, Miss. – A Flowood man was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for possession of abusive child pornography materials depicting minors, including some toddlers, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. According to court documents, Timothy Daniel Steele a/k/a Timothy Daniel Gantenbein, 26, possessed thousands of images and videos of child pornography depicting adult men engaging in sex with minor children. Steele was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 13, 2021, and pled guilty on July 7, 2023, to possession of child pornography. Steele was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $324,876.39 to his victims and pay $5000 under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Flowood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the 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 .


title: North Attleboro Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography and Distribution of Animal Abuse Video Charges

body_text: PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A North Attleboro, MA, resident today pleaded guilty in federal court in Rhode Island to distributing, receiving, possessing, and accessing with intent to view child pornography, and to distributing and transporting an animal crush video, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. Samuel Maigret, 28, pleaded guilty as charged in a six-count indictment with distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography, access with intent to view child pornography, distribution of an animal crush video, and transfer of obscene material (animal crush video). According to charging documents and information presented to the court, during a September 2021 court-authorized search of Maigret’s then Pawtucket residence and a cellphone located on his person, Homeland Security Investigations agents and members of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered a significant quantity of images and videos depicting images of child sexual abuse materials, including videos of adult males involved in sexual acts with infants. Additionally, a forensic review of Maigret’s digital storage devices revealed evidence that Maigret used online applications to distribute child sexual abuse materials and to distribute a video that depicts an individual causing serious injury to and what appears to be the death of a dog. Maigret is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19, 2024. The defendant’s sentences will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise M. Barton. 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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc . ###


title: Pharmacy Technician Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Hospital Pain Medication

component: USAO - Connecticut

body_text: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut; Fernando P. McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, announced that TIFFANY MOSS, 34, of Montville, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in Bridgeport federal court to a charge related to her tampering with pain medication at the hospital where she worked. According to court documents and statements made in court, Moss was employed as a pharmacy technician at Backus Hospital in Norwich. On January 11, 2024, she used her employee ID badge to access the secure storage area at the hospital. She then removed three bags that contained a solution of hydromorphone, took a portion of the hydromorphone solution from each bag for her own use, and replaced the portion she took with saline. She then returned the bags to the storage area in a location where they could be distributed for patient use. Moss pleaded guilty to tampering with a consumer product, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. A sentencing date is not scheduled. Moss is released on a $50,000 bond, and is prohibited from working in any location with access to narcotics while awaiting sentencing. This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigation; the DEA’s Hartford Diversion Control Division; the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Drug Control Division; and the Norwich Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.


title: Billings man admits possessing child pornography

body_text: BILLINGS — A Billings man admitted today to possessing images of child pornography that he exchanged with another man, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. The defendant, Nathan Allen Sayler, 47, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography as charged in a superseding information. Sayler faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and five years to a lifetime of supervised release. U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. A sentencing date will be set before U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sayler was released, pending a detention hearing scheduled for May 8. The government alleged in court documents that in September 2020, law enforcement in Texas arrested an individual who was believed to be exchanging child pornography on social media. Law enforcement reviewed those accounts and determined that, in September 2020, a user in Montana had sent and received child pornography. An investigation led to a phone number on a cellular phone and an internet provider address of Sayler’s ex-wife. On Dec. 16, 2020, law enforcement conducted a probation search of Sayler, and he denied possessing the phone. Sayler’s ex-wife informed law enforcement that she had purchased the phone for Sayler at his request. In a subsequent interview in December 2020, Sayler acknowledged he had received the cellular phone from his ex-wife but had thrown it into the Yellowstone River in September 2020. Law enforcement was never able to locate the phone. Following the interview, Sayler suggested to his ex-wife that he had the phone on Dec. 16, 2020, when law enforcement was looking for it, but discarded it after they left. In January 2024, investigators executed a search warrant on email accounts associated with Sayler and located child pornography on one of the accounts. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI, Billings Police Department and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . XXX


title: Four Individuals Convicted in Wide-Ranging, Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Scheme

body_text: PROVIDENCE, RI – Four Florida residents have been convicted in federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, for their individual roles in a wide-ranging conspiracy to use stolen personal identifying information (PII) of unsuspecting individuals to fraudulently obtain more than $4.8 million by defrauding banks and fraudulently obtaining benefits and payments from federal and state agencies in multiple jurisdictions, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. In pleading guilty, the four men admitted to a federal judge that they participated in a conspiracy that used stolen PII to obtain debit and credit cards, and to open bank accounts that were used to receive, deposit, and transfer fraudulently obtained government benefits and payments; to submit fraudulent applications to multiple state unemployment agencies, including the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, for pandemic-related benefits made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; and to submit fraudulent applications in the names of other persons to federal and state agencies to obtain tax refunds, stimulus payments, and disaster relief funds. Appearing today in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, James Legerme, 33, of Sunrise, Fl, and Allen Bien-Aime, 33, of Lehigh Acres, Fl, each pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; Junior Mertile, 35, of Miramar, Fl, and Tony Mertile, 33, of Miramar, FL, each pleaded guilty on April 12, 2024, to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft;. Junior Mertile and Tony Mertile are scheduled to be sentenced on August 26, 2024; James Legerme and Allen Bien-Aime are scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2024. The defendants’ sentences will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. According to plea agreements filed with the court, the defendants have each agreed, and the government will move, to forfeit $1,214,294.75 in funds that constitute proceeds of the conspiracy. The defendants have also agreed to forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Rolex watches and assorted jewelry, and over $1.1 million dollar in cash seized from the residences of Tony Mertile, Junior Mertile, and James Legerme at the time of their arrests, all of which is attributable to the fruits of the defendants’ criminal conduct. Each defendant also agrees that, separate from the money and items to be forfeited, each is jointly and several liable for $4,857,191 in restitution to be paid to agencies and financial intuitions that were defrauded. The case is being prosecuted in U.S. District Court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise M. Barton and Stacey A. Erickson and Rhode Island Assistant Attorney General John M. Moreira, chief of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit. The investigation was conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Rhode Island State Police, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, with substantial assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Secret Service, and United States Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General/Office of Investigations. United States Attorney Cunha, Rhode Island Attorney General Neronha, and FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen thank the Miami Division of the FBI, the Fort Myers Resident Agency of the FBI Tampa Division, the FBI’s Complex Financial Crimes Unit, and the U.S. Marshal Service in Florida for their assistance at the time the defendants were arrested and detained in Florida. United States Attorney Cunha also extends his gratitude to the United States Attorneys and to prosecutors in the Middle District of Florida and the Southern District of Florida for their assistance. Rhode Islanders who believe their personal identification has been stolen and used to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits from the RIDLT are urged to contact the Rhode Island State Police at financialcrimes@risp.gov or the FBI Providence office at (401) 272-8310. ###


title: Queens Investment Advisor Sentenced to 78 Months In Prison for Multi-Million Dollar Securities Fraud Scheme

component: USAO - New York, Eastern

body_text: Today, in federal court in Central Islip, Surage Roshan Perera, the founder and Executive Director of Janues Capital, Inc. in Bellerose, Queens, was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 78 months’ imprisonment for securities fraud in connection with running a Ponzi scheme in which the defendant used investor money to pay redemptions to prior investors and his personal expenses, and fund his highly speculative day trading. Perera pleaded guilty to the charge in October 2023. As part of his sentence, Perera was ordered to pay $6.3 million in restitution. 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 sentence. “Perera’s sentence is just punishment for causing more than $6 million in losses to the victims who are now saddled with debts, some who lost their life savings and others who have been forced to delay retirement all because of the lies he peddled to them about their investments,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “I commend the members of my Office and the FBI Special Agents for disrupting the defendant’s Ponzi scheme so that he could not wreak even more financial harm and holding him accountable for his criminal conduct.” Mr. Peace thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group for their assistance with the case. “Surage Perera pays the price for using his relationships with the victims to swindle them of over $6 million and casting several into a lifetime of debt. Today’s sentence reaffirms the FBI’s promise to uphold financial integrity and to pursue those who create fraudulent schemes for personal gain,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith. As alleged in the indictment and set forth in court filings, between February 2022 and March 2023, Perera abused his position of trust as an investment advisor to convince unsuspecting investors to part with their hard-earned money for what they believed were safe, well-performing investments. For example, Perara falsely told one victim (“Jane Doe”) that he had relationships with large institutions and could purchase stock in companies that traded on the NASDAQ and NYSE at discounted prices. He also told Jane Doe that her investment was low-risk and he would use her investment capital to purchase shares in those public-traded companies. As a result, Jane Doe gave Perera more than $4.2 million. In reality, Perera was operating a Ponzi scheme. Instead of investing as promised, Perera misappropriated those funds by, among other things, paying redemptions to prior investors, paying personal expenses and funding his day trading. To conceal his fraudulent scheme, Perera sent fraudulent confirmation notices and account statements to investors. In the end, Perera caused 15 victims, some of whom were his close friends, to lose approximately $6.3 million. The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Caffarone is in charge of the prosecution. The Defendant : SURAGE ROSHAN PERERA Age: 51 Bellerose, Queens E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-129 (GRB)


title: South L.A. Gang Member Who Led Meth and Cocaine Trafficking Ring from His Storefront Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison

component: USAO - California, Central

body_text: LOS ANGELES – A member of the Hoover Criminals Gang was sentenced today to 144 months in federal prison for leading a drug trafficking enterprise that distributed narcotics, including crack cocaine and methamphetamine, which were sold from his storefront in South Los Angeles. Andrew Tate, 56, a.k.a. “Batman,” of South Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. Tate pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in November 2020. Tate is the lead defendant in an indictment targeting the gang's members and associates as part of an investigation dubbed “Operation Hoover Dam.” He also is the final defendant to be sentenced in this case. In total, federal prosecutors secured 10 convictions in this matter. Tate owned a business named TNN Market and he sold methamphetamine, crack cocaine and powder cocaine from it. Tate and co-defendant Bobby Lorenzo Reed, 59, a.k.a. “Zo” and “Z,” who owned the South Los Angeles-based store H&E Smoke and Snack Shop, referred customers to one another, supplied one another, and directed their employees to engage in drug sales and referrals in dozens of narcotics transactions from June 2017 to May 2018. Reed is serving a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in June 2022 to federal narcotics charges in this case. “Tate participated in an extensive and long-running drug conspiracy to sell drugs, including methamphetamine and crack cocaine, in South Los Angeles,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Tate’s role in the drug conspiracy was significant; he was the head of the entire drug trafficking enterprise pumping drugs into a vulnerable area of Los Angeles.” The FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Jenna G. Williams of the Corporate and Securities Fraud Strike Force and Jason C. Pang of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.


title: Illinois Woman Sentenced for Transporting Drugs

component: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Jennilee Janae Velez, 22, of Addison, Illinois, was sentenced on April 29, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and a quantity of oxycodone. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Velez to 42 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Velez’s release from prison, she will begin a 2-year term of supervised release. On October 1, 2022, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper saw two nearly identical black Mercedes SUVs with Illinois plates traveling eastbound on I-80 in Seward County. A traffic stop was made on one SUV which was driven by Velez. Velez’s passenger was Mia Williams. The other SUV sped away and was later stopped by a Saline County deputy who was working with the Seward County Task Force. That SUV was driven by Samantha Francisco, and her sister, Julany Rivera, was her passenger. Both SUVs were searched after Williams and Francisco admitted having marijuana. In the SUV driven by Velez, more than 16 pounds of cocaine were found along with 393 oxycodone pills. In the other SUV, more than 24 pounds of cocaine and 66 oxycodone pills were found. Searches of Velez’s and Francisco’s phones showed the four women had traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles, where other persons loaded the drugs into the two SUVs. The four were headed back to Chicago at the time they were stopped. Williams, Francisco, and Rivera were all charged in the same indictment with Velez. Their case remains pending. This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol, the Seward County Sheriff’s Department, the Saline County Sheriff’s Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).


title: Owasso Man Sentenced After Being Ranked #1 in Oklahoma for Child Pornography Download

component: USAO - Oklahoma, Northern

body_text: TULSA, Okla. – Today, U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill sentenced Michael Joseph Moreland, 33, for Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography in Indian Country. Judge Hill ordered Moreland to serve 121 months imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release. Upon his release, Moreland will also be required to register as a sex offender. According to court documents, between Jun. 2022 and May 2023, Moreland knowingly received, distributed, and possessed at least 2,947 images and 50 videos of child pornography on his computer. These included images and videos depicting infant/toddler abuse, bestiality, and bondage of minor child victims. In the days leading up to Moreland’s arrest, he was frequently in the top five and often the number one downloader of child pornography in Oklahoma. A federal statute for victims of child pornography allows defendants found guilty of child pornography trafficking offenses to pay restitution to known victims. The court in this case ordered $15,000 in victim restitution. Moreland will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The Homeland Security Investigations, Edmond Police Department, and Owasso Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jiang prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page . For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page .


title: Recidivist Child Pornography Offender Who Sent Threatening Powder-Filled Letter To FBI Agent Sentenced To 130 Months In Prison

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that OKAMI LANDA was sentenced to 130 months in prison for possession of child pornography and for sending a threatening, powder-filled letter to a federal agent who previously investigated and arrested him. LANDA previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel, who imposed today’s sentence. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Okami Landa has twice been convicted in this District of possessing child pornography. Today’s sentence holds Landa accountable not only for his participation in the exploitation and victimization of young children, but also for his intolerable decision to retaliate against the FBI by sending a terrifying, powder-filled letter to the agent who investigated him. This Office stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the dedicated FBI agents who investigate crimes against children. Their work should never make them targets of reprisal.” According to court documents and statements made during court proceedings: [1] In November 2021, LANDA, who had previously been convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for possession of child pornography in 2016, mailed a threatening letter filled with white powder to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) agent (the “FBI Agent”) who was assigned to a squad responsible for investigating crimes against children. The FBI Agent had interviewed and arrested LANDA in connection with his previous child pornography conviction. The threatening letter, which the FBI Agent opened inside a forensic laboratory at an FBI office in Manhattan, contained a white powdery substance and a message that said, among other things: “Hope you and your ugly cracker children and family get what you deserved, a slow, painful and terminal disease to end your sorry life.” The letter and powder prompted an emergency response from the FBI’s weapons and mass destruction team, which sealed the forensic laboratory before examining the powder and determining that it was safe. The FBI Agent and other FBI personnel in the area were quarantined and hospitalized for medical evaluation. Through the FBI’s investigation, law enforcement examined the serial number of the stamp affixed to the threatening letter and learned that it was purchased using a credit card belonging to LANDA’s mother, who lived with LANDA at their residence in the Bronx. At the time, LANDA was on federal supervised release for his previous child pornography conviction and had previously made threatening statements about law enforcement, including about a desire to “blow up Federal Plaza because I hate the feds and they ruined my life.” Following an interview at his residence by FBI agents, the U.S. Probation Office conducted a search of LANDA’s residence, where they recovered multiple electronic devices, including a USB drive that contained 11 files with child pornography. The child pornography on LANDA’s USB drive included depictions of prepubescent minor females and adult males engaging in sex acts. * * * In addition to the prison term, LANDA, 41, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the New York City Police Department, and over 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas S. Bradley and Matthew J.C. Hellman are in charge of the prosecution. [1] Communications, conversations, and statements discussed and quoted herein are described in substance and in part.


title: U.S. Attorney Announces Available Resource on Fiscal Year 2024 Grant Funding

component: USAO - Wisconsin, Western

body_text: MADISON, WIS. - U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has numerous federal funding opportunities for fiscal year 2024. The attached document is an overview to help increase awareness about current grant opportunities and help make it easier for law enforcement and community groups to find and access needed information during the grant writing process. A copy of this document can also be found on the Office’s website, listed above. Attachment Grant Guidance Document .


title: Tampa Man Sentenced To Five Years’ Imprisonment For Distributing Methamphetamine

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Robert Jones IV aka “Klout” (24, Tampa) to five years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it. Jones entered a guilty plea on January 18, 2024. According to court documents, in February and March 2023, Jones sold methamphetamine to an undercover police officer. During each of the transactions, Jones hid the methamphetamine inside the gas cap of his vehicle. He then drove to a pre-determined meeting location in St. Petersburg, where the drugs were retrieved as Jones remained inside his vehicle. During a search of Jones’s residence, law enforcement officers recovered assorted drug paraphernalia, including a digital scale, plastic resealable bags, a heat seal, and distribution quantities of methamphetamine. Jones later admitted to selling drugs from his home and took ownership of the methamphetamine found in the residence. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David W.A. Chee and Michael Kenneth.


title: Brooklyn Resident Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Unlawfully Export Dual-Use Electronics Used in Russian Military Drones

body_text: BROOKLYN, NY - Today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Nikolay Grigorev pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States for his role in an illicit export control scheme to ship electronic components from the United States to companies affiliated with the Russian military. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis. When sentenced, Grigorev faces up to five years in prison. Co-defendants Nikita Arkhipov and Artem Oloviannikov remain at large. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Lisa O. Monaco, United States Deputy Attorney General; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; James Smith; Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (DOC-BIS-OEE), announced the guilty plea. “Grigorev admitted today that he conspired to supply Russia with U.S.-sourced, dual-use technologies, knowing full well that his actions violated export controls and sanctions designed to stop those items from being sent to Russia and used in the production of drones like those found on the battlefields in Ukraine,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s guilty plea reaffirms that my Office will pursue anyone who violates our export controls and threatens our national security.” “In pleading guilty today, the defendant admitted he conspired to smuggle over $250,000 worth of sensitive American drone technology to Russian companies fueling Putin’s unlawful war against Ukraine,” stated Deputy Attorney Monaco. “Swift action by agents and prosecutors unraveled a web of fake orders and wire transfers to prevent over 11,500 electronic components from making their way to the Russian war machine. The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those who defy our sanctions and export controls to support Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression in Ukraine – whether they’re based in New York City or overseas.” “When I visited Ukraine last November, I saw firsthand the death and destruction that such drones and other Russian weapons of war have caused and heard from our counterparts about the importance of stopping the illicit flow of technology to support the Russian war machine,” stated Assistant Attorney General Olsen. “Today’s plea reinforces our commitment to hold accountable those who violate our laws and our determination to undermine the Russian government’s unjustified campaign of aggression against the Ukrainian people.” “Nikolay Grigorev intentionally avoided export controls by masking his business’s production and shipment of technologies designed to support Russian military operations, especially its ongoing attacks in Ukraine,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith. “These sanction violations intentionally subvert those laws designed to protect international trade and illustrate the defendant’s malintent in this scheme. The FBI prioritizes all threats to our national security and will disrupt any entity attempting to covertly collaborate with our adversaries” “Deliberately circumventing U.S. export controls to enable production of drones that support Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the indiscriminate bombing of Ukrainian citizens and critical infrastructure will not be tolerated,” stated DOC-BIS-OEE Special Agent-in-Charge Carson. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the direct impact that OEE investigations have in supporting U.S. national security interests.” As alleged in the indictment , Grigorev utilized a Brooklyn-based corporate entity, Quality Life Cue LLC (“QLC”), to facilitate the scheme. QLC was registered and controlled by Grigorev and Oloviannikov, with Arkhipov utilizing a QLC email account from Russia. Through QLC, the defendants procured dual-use electronic components for entities in Russia involved in the development and manufacture of drones for the Russian war effort in Ukraine. The most notable of these entities is SMT-iLogic, a Russia-based technology company. On or about May 19, 2023, SMT-iLogic was also added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Person List (“SDN List”). According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, SMT-iLogic is known to be involved in the supply chain for producing Russian military drones used in Russia’s war against Ukraine. SMT-iLogic is associated with an entity known as the Special Technology Centre (“STC”). STC is a Russia-based entity that was added to the SDN List on or about December 29, 2016, for assisting the foreign military intelligence agency of Russia’s armed forces, commonly known by the acronym “GRU,” in conducting signals intelligence operations. On or about January 4, 2017, STC was added by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security to the Entity List for supporting the GRU. STC was involved the production of the “Sea Eagle Orlan 10 UAV,” a drone vehicle that has been involved in Russian military operations in Ukraine. STC’s largest customer is Russia’s Ministry of Defense, which paid STC the equivalent of nearly $99 million between February and August of 2022. Between October 22, 2021 and February 22, 2022, QLC accounts controlled by Grigorev received wire transactions from SMT-iLogic totaling approximately $272,830. These funds were used almost entirely to make payments to a Brooklyn-based electronics distributor (the “Brooklyn Company”) or pay Grigorev’s credit cards, which he used to buy goods from the Brooklyn Company. In email and chat communications, the defendants explicitly discussed their efforts to circumvent U.S. export restrictions, including through the use of front companies in third countries, such as Kazakhstan, and they also forwarded invoices listing SMT-iLogic as the recipient of semiconductors and other electronic components purchased from the Brooklyn Company. In addition, in December 2022, in response to negative press coverage of SMT-iLogic, Grigorev forwarded a news article to his co-defendants and stated, “they are already writing about your (sic) guys in articles about how Russia is getting American components for drones.” In June 2023, a court-authorized search warrant of Grigorev’s residence in Brooklyn resulted in the successful seizure of over 11,500 electronic components that had been purchased from the Brooklyn Company and were awaiting unlawful export to Russia. The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Artie McConnell and Kate Mathews are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Litigation Analyst Mary Clare McMahon. Natalya Savransky, formerly of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, also provided valuable assistance. Today’s actions were coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force and the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states. Task Force KleptoCapture is an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. The Defendant : NIKOLAY GRIGOREV AGE: 36 Brooklyn, New York E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-429 (NGG)


title: California Man Admits Methamphetamine Trafficking Charge

component: USAO - New Jersey

body_text: CAMDEN, N.J. – A California man today admitted his role in a narcotics conspiracy involving approximately 1.9 kilograms of a substance containing methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Aaron Joseph, 41, of Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb in Camden federal court to an information charging conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From October 2020 through July 2022, Joseph participated in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Joseph shipped packages from California to conspirators in Camden County, New Jersey. Joseph’s conspirators then distributed the methamphetamine in southern New Jersey. Joseph received payment via Cash App from a conspirator for the shipments. On Feb. 14, 2022, Joseph shipped a package containing 5,100 pills from California to New Jersey. The pills contained methamphetamine and weighed approximately 1.9 kilograms. The count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 3, 2024. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph McFarlane of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden. joseph.information.pdf


title: Former Godfather Of 59 Brims Gang Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison

body_text: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILLIE EVANS was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels to 20 years in prison for racketeering offenses related to his leadership role as the former godfather of the 59 Brims gang, a set of the violent Bloods street gang that operates throughout the U.S., including New York City. During his eight-year run as godfather of the 59 Brims, EVANS oversaw the gang’s day-to-day operations and supervised its most violent and dangerous crimes. EVANS was the last of 22 defendants in the 59 Brims case before Judge Daniels to have been convicted and sentenced. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Willie Evans’s sentencing marks a pivotal moment in our ongoing battle against organized crime. While the 59 Brims and other gangs may still linger, they do so on borrowed time. With each conviction, their power weakens, and we will continue to dismantle these networks piece by piece until our streets are safe for all.” According to the Indictments, public court filings, and statements made in court: The 59 Brims operated in and around Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, New York. Members of the 59 Brims engaged in a series of violent disputes with rivals, including those within the 59 Brims who they deemed disloyal. During these disputes, members and associates of the gang committed multiple murders, shootings, robberies, and assaults against their rivals and fellow members. Members of the 59 Brims sold heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and marijuana and committed, or attempted to commit, acts of violence to protect and expand their narcotics business. Among other crimes committed by the gang, the 59 Brims was responsible for the following: On November 29, 2018, after a victim was lured to JERLAINE LITTLE’s apartment building, JAMARR SIMMONS and other 59 Brims gang members, including MARKQUEL SIMMONS, MARKELL BOBIAN, TYRONE ERVIN, and SEAN GAMBRELL, robbed the victim at gunpoint and pistol-whipped the victim. On March 30, 2019, JAMARR SIMMONS and TIMOTHY COLEMAN committed a stabbing of a rival gang member outside of a bar at 145 East 149th Street in the Bronx. Surveillance video captured COLEMAN and JAMARR SIMMONS committing the stabbing. In July 2019, LITTLE was kicked out of the 59 Brims over a dispute with a fellow gang member. Shortly thereafter, LITTLE joined the Mac Baller Brims, a rival gang. EVANS ordered members of the 59 Brims to slash LITTLE. JAMARR SIMMONS and SYLVESTER WINT discussed having LITTLE slashed. Thereafter, members of the gang successfully slashed LITTLE on or about August 8, 2019. On August 24, 2019, EVANS conspired with WINT and SHAMARE REID to commit a shooting of rival gang members. Shortly after midnight on August 24, 2019, two victims were shot multiple times outside of a bodega in front of 755 East 216th Street in the Bronx (both victims survived). Surveillance video captured WINT and REID committing the shooting of the rival gang members. EVANS, as the godfather of the 59 Brims, subsequently criticized WINT for letting himself be caught on camera: “Why y’all was walking Back & forth like that Bammy [camera] kaught ya Face Good.” In the early morning hours of September 28, 2019, JAMARR SIMMONS and MARKQUEL SIMMONS told Bradford Mensah to come to Crotona Park in the Bronx to receive gang discipline from others, including EVANS, because Mensah had been seen hugging LITTLE after he had been kicked out of the gang. Sometime after Mensah arrived at Crotona Park, he was shot at point blank range in the back of the head and died. On January 11, 2020, JAMARR SIMMONS, DARON GOODMAN, JOSE RODRIGUEZ, DARNELL COOPER, and Jason Parris were together on the sidewalk near 1437 Webster Avenue in the Bronx. A rival gang member punched Jason Parris and a fight broke out that continued into the middle of the street on Webster Avenue. While the fight was ongoing in the middle of the street, GOODMAN fired a shot that errantly struck Parris in the throat, killing him. All 22 defendants in the 59 Brims case before Judge Daniels have been convicted and sentenced. In addition to EVANS’s sentence, Judge Daniels has imposed the following sentences, among others: JAMARR SIMMONS was sentenced to 20 years in prison; GOODMAN was sentenced to 12 years in prison; COLEMAN was sentenced to eight years in prison; and WINT, ERVIN, JAVARIS JENKINS, REID, and MARCUS AYALA were each sentenced to seven years in prison. * * * In addition to the prison term, EVANS, 32, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rushmi Bhaskaran and Peter J. Davis are in charge of the prosecution.


title: Federal Jury Finds Red Lake Woman Guilty of Child Neglect Following the Death of a Child on the Red Lake Reservation

component: USAO - Minnesota

body_text: DULUTH, Minn. – A federal jury found a Red Lake woman guilty of child neglect following the death of a child in her care, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. According to evidence presented at trial, Sharon Rosebear, 63, intentionally deprived a child, Minor A, of necessary food and health care over the course of 2022. The evidence at trial established that Minor A died in 2022 from the combined effects of starvation and infection. Rosebear and her co-defendant, Julius Fineday Sr., were both federally charged in 2023 following Minor A’s death: Rosebear was charged with felony child neglect resulting in substantial harm, and her co-defendant Julius Fineday Sr. was charged with second degree manslaughter. The evidence at trial established that Rosebear acted as one of Minor A’s caretakers in 2022. In accordance with Minnesota law, the jury was instructed that Rosebear’s lack of formal legal custody of Minor A did not alter her responsibility to the child. The evidence at trial established that Rosebear was reasonably able to provide for Minor A’s nutrition and healthcare—including evidence establishing that healthcare and transportation to healthcare is free within the Red Lake Nation, and that all of the adults and children involved in the case received nutritional and cash assistance adequate to meet their basic needs—and that Rosebear nonetheless intentionally deprived Minor A of those basic needs by withholding food, and by looking the other way while Minor A’s health deteriorated. The evidence at trial included evidence that Minor A died at the same weight she had been nearly three years earlier, and that while Rosebear was aware of Minor A’s severe lice infestation, Rosebear responded by keeping Minor A isolated rather than seeking medical attention for Minor A. Medical testimony at trial established that the type of infection Minor A had when she died could have entered Minor A’s body through scratches in her scalp related to her unaddressed lice. The medical testimony also established that Minor A’s prolonged starvation may have been an independently sufficient cause of death, or may have severely compromised Minor A’s immune system’s ability to fight infection. Following a six-day trial in U.S. District Court before Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, Rosebear was found guilty of felony child neglect. Rosebear’s co-defendant, Julius Fineday Sr., entered a guilty plea to his charge prior to trial on March 25, 2022. Their sentencing hearings will be scheduled at a later date. This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey E. Middlecamp and Rachel L. Kraker tried the case.


title: Central Florida man sentenced to prison for COVID-19 relief fraud, creating fictitious payroll that included his children

component: USAO - Florida, Southern

body_text: MIAMI — On April 25, a central Florida man was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 relief loans and grants under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief Program (EIDL); after previously pleading guilty to wire fraud. Jean Robert Dorcius, 68, of Kissimmee, submitted false and fraudulent applications for COVID-19 relief loans that included false revenue and payroll records and fraudulent IRS tax forms. Dorcius received approximately $440,515 in COVID-19 relief funds from the fraudulent scheme. Dorcius transferred $200,000 of the fraudulently obtained funds to his personal accounts. Dorcius also created fictitious payroll records that included himself, his children, and sister. U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola also ordered Dorcius to forfeit $109,900 to the United States and pay $440,515 in restitution. U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence. HSI Miami Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Bailyn prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika M. Miranda handled asset forfeiture. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov , under case no. 22-cr-20553. ###


title: Bergen County Man Admits Nearly Half Million Dollars in Overtime Fraud Involving Hudson Bergen Light Rail Projects

body_text: NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man today admitted more than $487,000 in overtime fraud involving projects on which he worked relating to the Hudson Bergen Light Rail (HBLR), U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Joseph Ferrara, 56, of North Arlington, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals in Newark federal court to one count of embezzling, stealing, and obtaining by fraud more than $487,000 of funds belonging to and under the care, custody and control of the HBLR. According to the documents filed in this case: From January 2018 through April 2020, Ferrara submitted fraudulent claims for compensation related to work performed on HBLR projects on which he had worked as an employee of a subcontractor specializing in electrical work. The HBLR maintains approximately two dozen stations throughout Hudson County and serves more than 50,000 passengers each weekday. Ferrara, who supervised numerous workers on HBLR projects, was compensated at a regular rate for normal workday hours, at an elevated overtime rate for work performed during non-regular weekday hours and Saturdays, and at a double time rate for work performed on Sundays. During a more than two-year period, Ferrara submitted claims for compensation covering hundreds of hours relating to work allegedly performed during regular, overtime and double time hours knowing that he had not actually performed that work for his employer or on HBLR projects. For example, Ferrara admitted that he spent approximately 10 days vacationing in Florida in both late December 2018 and late December 2019 during which he performed no work for his employer or upon HBLR projects. Nevertheless, Ferrara submitted fraudulent claims representing that he had worked more than 200 hours at regular, overtime and double time rates during those periods. In total, Ferrara admitted to receiving $487,899 in compensation for hours during which he performed no work. As part of his plea agreement, Ferrara agreed to forfeit this amount. The theft charge is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 5, 2024. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. McCarren of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark. ferrara.information.pdf


title: Justice Department Secures Agreement with Maryland Assisted Living Facility to Resolve Claims of Employment Discrimination

component: Civil Rights Division

body_text: The Justice Department announced today that it secured a settlement agreement with Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc. (Sunrise Senior Living), which operates the Sunrise at Fox Hill location in Bethesda, Maryland. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that Sunrise Senior Living violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against a worker granted asylum when checking whether she had ongoing permission to work. “The Justice Department will continue to hold employers accountable for unlawfully discriminating against workers because of citizenship, immigration status or national origin,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Employers that discriminate against workers by rejecting their valid documents or requiring that they show unnecessary documents to prove they can continue to work violate federal law.” After opening an investigation based on a worker’s complaint, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) concluded that Sunrise Senior Living discriminated against a worker granted asylum by rejecting the valid document she provided and unnecessarily demanding a different immigration document to prove she could continue to work in the United States. When she failed to provide that, Sunrise Senior Living placed her on indefinite unpaid administrative leave, according to IER. Federal law allows workers to choose which legally acceptable documentation to provide that verifies their identity and permission to work, regardless of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Employers cannotdemand more documents than are necessary or specify documentation they prefer to see as part of this process. Under the agreement, Sunrise Senior Living will pay a civil penalty to the United States, train its human resources staff on the INA’s requirements and be subject to department monitoring. Sunrise Senior Living previously removed the worker from indefinite unpaid leave and paid her lost wages, after the worker called IER’s worker hotline and requested assistance in addressing the situation. Each year, IER assists hundreds of workers whose employers are preventing them from working due to unnecessary document demands or rejections of valid work documentation. IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices ; retaliation; and intimidation . Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when verifying someone’s permission to work on IER’s website . Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video . Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge . The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email IER@usdoj.gov ; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe for email updates from IER.


title: El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo con un centro de vivienda asistida con sede en Maryland para resolver reclamos de discriminación en el empleo

body_text: El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo conciliatorio con Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc. (Sunrise Senior Living), la cual opera el centro Sunrise at Fox Hill ubicado en Bethesda, Maryland. El acuerdo resuelve la determinación del departamento que Sunrise Senior Living vulneró la Ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés) al discriminar a una trabajadora a quien se había otorgado asilo en el momento de comprobar si tenía permiso para trabajar vigente. «El Departamento de Justicia seguirá responsabilizando a los empleadores por discriminar ilegalmente a trabajadores debido a ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen», comentó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «Los empleadores que discriminan a trabajadores al rechazar sus documentos válidos o al exigir que presenten documentos innecesarios para comprobar que pueden seguir trabajando vulneran la ley federal». Después de iniciar una investigación con base en una queja de una trabajadora, la Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados (IER, por sus siglas en inglés) de la División de Derechos Civiles determinó que Sunrise Senior Living discriminó a una trabajadora a la que se había otorgado asilo al rechazar el documento válido que había presentado y exigirle innecesariamente otro documento migratorio para comprobar que podía seguir trabajando en los Estados Unidos. Cuando no pudo proporcionarlo, Sunrise Senior Living la puso en situación de baja administrativa indefinida no remunerada, según IER. La ley federal le permite a los trabajadores elegir la documentación legalmente aceptable que desean presentar para comprobar su identidad y permiso para trabajar, independientemente de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen. Los empleadores no pueden exigir más documentos de los necesarios ni especificar la documentación que prefieren ver como parte de este proceso. En virtud de los términos del acuerdo, Sunrise Senior Living pagará una sanción civil a los Estados Unidos, capacitará a su personal de recursos humanos en cuanto a los requisitos de la INA y se someterá a supervisión por parte del departamento. Sunrise Senior Living libró previamente a la trabajadora de la baja indefinida no remunerada y le abonó los salarios que había dejado de percibir, después de que la trabajadora llamara a la línea directa para trabajadores de la IER y solicitara ayuda para abordar la situación. Cada año, la IER ayuda a cientos de trabajadores cuyos empleadores les impiden trabajar por exigirles documentos innecesarios o rechazar documentación de trabajo válida. La IER es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, la ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía y nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión, prácticas documentales injustas y represalias e intimidación . Puede obtener más información sobre cómo los empleadores pueden evitar la discriminación al verificar el permiso para trabajar de alguien en el sitio web de la IER . Aprenda más sobre el trabajo de la IER y cómo conseguir ayuda mediante este vídeo corto . Aquellos aspirantes o empleados que creen que se ha discriminado en su contra por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify) o que han sido sujetos a represalias, pueden presentar una denuncia . El público también puede llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llamar a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); enviar un correo electrónico a IER@usdoj.gov ; inscribirse en un seminario en línea en vivo o ver una presentación cuando deseen; o visitar los sitios web de la IER en inglés y español . Inscríbase para recibir actualizaciones por correo electrónico desde la IER.


title: Inmate At FCI Schuylkill Pleads Guilty To Assaulting A Correctional Officer

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle

body_text: SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Carlos Rodriguez-Cruz, age 33, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill, in Minersville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on April 29, 2024, before U.S. District Court Judge Julia K. Munley, to the charge of assaulting a federal correctional officer. According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Rodriguez-Cruz, formerly of Puerto Rico, admitted to punching a correctional officer on October 6, 2023, at FCI Schuylkill, after an incident in which the officer conducted a search of the cell of Rodriguez-Cruz and removed items of contraband from the cell. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Service. Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case. The maximum penalty under federal law is up to 8 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. # # #


title: Three Gang Members Convicted for Their Roles in a Murder

body_text: A federal jury convicted three members of the Hoover Criminal Gang yesterday for their roles in the murder of a suspected rival gang member. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Markell Young, 32; Octavius Ferguson, 27; and Jordan Powell, 25, all of Gibson County, Tennessee, were members of a sub-set of the Hoover Criminal Gang known as the 83rd or Eight Tray. This violent criminal street gang operated throughout Tennessee, California, and elsewhere, and was engaged in racketeering activities including murder, robberies, and the trafficking of marijuana and cocaine. On Jan. 31, 2017, the defendants murdered a suspected member of the rival Gangster Disciples gang in Humboldt, Tennessee, in retaliation for a shooting against a member of the Hoover Criminal Gang. Young ordered Ferguson, Powell, and co-defendants Bakari Lenon and Monterio Ross to commit the murder, which they carried out by going to the victim’s home and shooting several firearms indiscriminately through the open front door, killing the victim. The jury convicted Young of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and Ferguson and Powell of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, murder in aid of racketeering, aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and causing death by use of a firearm during and relation to a crime of violence. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20. Young faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, and Ferguson and Powell each face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The two additional defendants, Lenon and Ross, pleaded guilty in October 2023 for their roles in the homicide and were each sentenced to 30 years in prison. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Nashville Field Division made the announcement. The FBI, ATF, West Tennessee Drug Task Force, Humboldt Police Department, and Tennessee Bureau of Investigations investigated the case. Trial Attorney César S. Rivera-Giraud of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary Parham for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.


title: Ohio Man Sentenced for Tax Fraud Conspiracy

component: Tax Division

body_text: An Ohio man was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States. According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2016 through 2022, Christopher Karasarides conspired with his father, Christos Karasarides Jr., to defraud the United States by helping his father conceal assets from the IRS. Christos Karasarides, who was convicted by a jury in January for related tax crimes, owed the IRS millions of dollars that it was trying to collect. To thwart those efforts, Christopher helped his father hide assets from the IRS by storing $239,000 of his father’s cash in a safety deposit box in Christopher’s name. Christopher also served as a nominee owner for his father’s businesses, signed and delivered false promissory notes and filed false tax returns. In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent for the Northern District of Ohio ordered Christopher Karasarides to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1.5 million in restitution to the United States. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio made the announcement. IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Treasury’s Office of Inspector General, Stark County Prosecutor’s Office, Ohio Casino Control Commission and Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission-Major Crimes Task Force investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Sam Bean and Hayter Whitman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case.


title: Middlesex County Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Stealing COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits

body_text: NEWARK N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for conspiring to illegally obtain over $400,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Christopher Valerio, 33, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Kirsch imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court. Valerio’s conspirator, Yanira Abreu of Keasby, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Sept. 12, 2023, on charges stemming from the same scheme and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2024. A third conspirator, Jose Tavares of New York, is charged by indictment and his case remains pending. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From July 2020 through February 2021, Valerio, Abreu and others submitted false and fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits to the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) through fictitious online profiles that they created using personally identifiable information, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, of other individuals without their consent. Once the NYDOL processed and approved the fraudulent applications, Valerio and his conspirators obtained debit cards with illegally obtained funds totaling $444,738, which they used for personal gain. In addition to the prison term, Judge Kirsch sentenced Valerio to two years of supervised release and ordered restitution and forfeiture, each in the amount of $444,728. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone, and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form . The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark. The charges and allegations against Tavares are merely accusations, and Taveras is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.