title: More Than $319,000 Recovered in Disability Fraud Case

body_text: ST. LOUIS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has successfully recovered more than $319,000 in disability payments that a Columbia, Illinois man illegally obtained via disability fraud, U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced Wednesday. Gregory Vieth pleaded guilty in 2019 to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. He admitted paying a chiropractor to help him fraudulently qualify for monthly Social Security disability payments and a $100,000 long-term disability payment. At the direction of the chiropractor, Vieth underwent medically unnecessary tests to bolster his application for disability benefits. Vieth also falsely claimed on the application that he was unable to complete yardwork, lift, walk, reach, sit, bend and bathe without assistance, his plea agreement says. On February 21, 2023, U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White sentenced the 67-year-old to three years of probation and ordered him to pay $319,687 in restitution with required monthly installment payments of at least $500. By mid-April, Vieth had only made the minimum restitution payments to his victims, so the Financial Litigation Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office began enforcing the judgment by garnishing Vieth’s retirement account held at Fidelity Investments, which contained approximately $450,000. Vieth then attempted to block the collection action by arguing the minimum monthly payments precluded the government’s garnishment. Vieth also argued the garnishment should be limited to only 25% of the funds in his retirement account, and the garnishment would cause him to incur a large income tax liability, thereby essentially wiping out his life savings. Judge White disagreed with all of Vieth’s arguments, saying the court-ordered obligation to make minimum monthly installment payments did not bar the U.S. Attorney’s Office from initiating the garnishment, as the restitution was ordered due in full immediately at the time of sentencing. Judge White also ruled the garnishment was not capped at 25% and potential tax liability was not a valid defense. Judge White said Vieth had the assets to pay restitution, and “the public and private victims have a right to receive those funds now.” The U.S. Attorney’s office recently collected the full amount of the outstanding restitution owed to the victims in this case. “This case demonstrates that our Financial Litigation Unit will aggressively pursue and seize the assets of criminals to make their victims whole,” U.S. Attorney Fleming said. “In this case, Gregory Vieth falsely claimed he was unable to perform the basic functions of life in order to obtain disability payments that eventually totaled $319,687. In reality, he was able to do all of those things, including travel internationally. After pleading guilty, he fought to hold on to hundreds of thousands of dollars in a retirement account instead of immediately paying the restitution he owed to his victims.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Debre prosecuted the financial recovery and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry and Dorothy McMurtry prosecuted the criminal charges against Vieth, as well as the chiropractor and others linked to him. The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated the criminal case.


title: Beloit Woman Sentenced to 30 Months for Sale of Cocaine

component: USAO - Wisconsin, Western

body_text: MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Dominique Holsten, 35, Beloit, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 30 months in federal prison for distributing cocaine. This prison term will be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release. Holsten pleaded guilty to this charge on May 15, 2023. In the fall of 2021, Holsten’s husband, Depronce Burnett, distributed cocaine and methamphetamine, primarily out of the couple’s home in Beloit. Even after his arrest by Beloit Police on September 30, 2021, Burnett directed the further sale of cocaine and methamphetamine by calls from the jail to his wife, Dominique Holsten, with sales continuing until police executed search warrants at their Beloit home on October 27, 2021. There, officers found hidden stashes of illegal narcotics including more than 900 grams of cocaine, over 500 grams of methamphetamine, and $87,000 in U.S. currency. In deciding upon a sentence for Holsten, Judge Conley noted that Holsten had no previous history of any involvement in narcotics trafficking. Conley attributed her involvement in sales she performed to the control and direction of her husband. Burnett had a significant number of prior convictions for trafficking in narcotics over many years. Burnett was sentenced by Judge Conley on August 8, 2023, to an 11-year prison term for possessing for distribution the large amounts of drugs discovered in the search of the home, plus numerous documented drug sales. The charges against Holsten and Burnett were the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, the Beloit and Janesville Police Departments, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The prosecution of this case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Anderson.


title: Former Bank President Ashton Ryan Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Fraud that Ended First NBC Bank

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: NEW ORLEANS – On September 6, 2023, United States District Judge Eldon E. Fallon sentenced ASHTON J. RYAN, JR. , age 75, of Kenner, Louisiana, to a term of imprisonment of 170 months following RYAN’s convictions for bank fraud and making false statements in bank records, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. In February 2023, following a five-week trial, a jury convicted Ryan on all 43 counts against him. The charges related to RYAN’s tenure as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board at First NBC Bank (“Bank”), a now-defunct federally insured financial institution with its main branch in New Orleans, Louisiana. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, RYAN and others conspired to defraud the Bank through a variety of schemes, including by disguising the true financial status of certain borrowers and their troubled loans, and concealing the true financial condition of the Bank from the Bank’s Board, external auditors, and federal examiners. As RYAN ’s fraud grew, it included several other bank employees and businesspeople from around the Gulf South. Several of the borrowers who conspired with RYAN, used First NBC money to pay RYAN individually or fund RYAN ’s own businesses. Using Bank money this way helped RYAN conceal his use of such money for his own benefit. When the Bank’s Board, external auditors, and FDIC examiners asked about loans to these borrowers, RYAN and his fellow fraudsters lied about the borrowers and their loans, hiding the truth about the deadbeat borrowers’ inability to pay their debts without receiving new loans. As a result, the balance on the borrowers’ fraudulent loans continued to grow, resulting, ultimately, in the failure of the Bank in April 2017. This failure caused approximately $1 billion in loss to the FDIC and the loss of approximately 500 jobs. Judge Fallon sentenced RYAN to a term of imprisonment of 170 months as to each of the 43 counts of conviction to run concurrently, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. RYAN was ordered to pay restitution totaling over $214 million to the FDIC. Judge Fallon also ordered RYAN to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 per count. “Ashton Ryan’s years-long deceit caused at the time, one the biggest bank failure in America in over a decade,” said United States Attorney Duane A. Evans, “and with this sentence, he rightfully takes his place as one of the most notorious white-collar criminals in our district’s history. Ryan’s intelligence and charisma were outmatched by his hubris and vanity. Ryan and his accomplices spent years hiding their tracks, by using sophisticated means, all to maintain their house of cards. But this office, along with our federal law enforcement partners, doggedly combed through the wreckage of what was First NBC to uncover the inner - workings of this complex fraud and its prime architect, RYAN . I am proud of this entire team’s work in identifying RYAN as the central figure in this years-long scheme and bringing him to justice.” “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that individuals who engage in fraudulent schemes that impact the security of financial institutions will be held accountable. This should be a deterrent to others who would attempt to manipulate the nation's banking system,” said Douglas A. Williams, Jr., FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge. “We thank our partners at the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District, the FDIC Office of Inspector General and the Federal Reserve Board, Office of Inspector General.” “Today’s sentencing represents the hard work of many prosecutors, agents, analysts, and other staff in investigating and prosecuting those who defraud financial institutions, specifically individuals entrusted to oversee the operations of FNBC. The FDIC-OIG thanks the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for their dedication and effort in helping to bring Mr. Ryan to justice, ”said Anand Ramlall, Special Agent in Charge, Dallas Region, Office of Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. “Today’s sentencing of Ashton Ryan is a warning to bank executives that if you commit fraud and deceive bank regulators you will pay a price for your actions,” said Brian Tucker, Special Agent in Charge, Eastern Region, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “We commend the hard work and dedication of all those involved in this case that ultimately led to today’s result. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who undermine the safety and soundness of our banking institutions.” The Assistant United States Attorneys who handled the trial were Senior Litigation Counsel Matthew R. Payne, Nicholas D. Moses of the Financial Crimes Unit, and J. Ryan McLaren of the Appellate Unit.


title: Windsor Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Counterfeit Oxycodone Pills Containing Fentanyl

body_text: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ALEXANDER LEE, 22, of Windsor, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for trafficking counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. According to court documents and statements made in court, a DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of narcotics and the seizure of drugs that had been shipped through the U.S. Mail, revealed that Lee and others received thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, and other controlled substances, from a source of supply on the west coast of the U.S., and then distributed the drugs to various street-level distributors and numerous drug customers in Connecticut. In February 2022, Lee traveled to California and shipped a package back to his Windsor residence. The package, which was intercepted and searched pursuant to a federal search warrant, contained approximately 18,000 fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone. In May 2022, Lee again traveled to California and shipped a package to an associate in Bloomfield. A search of the package revealed 1,800 tablets of Alprazolam (Xanax) that appeared to be manufactured in Mexico. During the investigation, investigators also seized approximately 25 pounds of marijuana, seven firearms, and thousands of dollars in cash. Lee was arrested on June 29, 2022. On May 22, 2023, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. Lee, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on October 10. This matter has been investigated by the DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Connecticut State Police; East Central Narcotics Task Force; and the Windsor and Enfield Police Departments. The DEA Tactical Diversion Squad is composed of personnel from the DEA and the officers from the Bristol, East Windsor, Hamden, New Britain, West Haven, Newington, Manchester, Glastonbury, and Watertown Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and Stephanie T. Levick through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF .


title: Columbia Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegally Exporting Firearms to Ghana

component: USAO - Maryland

body_text: Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher sentenced Eric Nana Kofi Ampong Coker, age 41, of Columbia, Maryland today to 30 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for the illegal export of firearms to Ghana. The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dillard of the Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service - Mid-Atlantic Field Office (“DCIS”); and Stephen Maloney, Director of Field Operations for the Baltimore Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). According to his guilty plea, since 2017 Ampong Coker has purchased at least 81 firearms from three separate Maryland Federal Firearms Licensees (“FFLs”) and in 2019 received Regulated Firearms Collector status through the Maryland State Police, which waived the restriction on the number of firearms he could purchase during a 30-day period. Investigators also determined that prior to 2021 Ampong Coker had shipped passenger vehicles to Ghana. In May 2021, federal agents surveilled Ampong Coker as he retrieved firearms purchased from one of the FFLs and was then observed at a business that packaged and shipped items from the Port of Baltimore. A shipping vehicle was subsequently seen departing that location on May 27, 2021. On May 29, 2021, Ampong Coker was searched as he was departing the United States from Detroit, Michigan, bound for Ghana. Agents seized foam cutouts used for packaging and securing firearms in gun cases from his luggage. In early June 2021, HSI and CBP agents identified a shipping container scheduled to depart the Port of Baltimore for Tema, Ghana, on June 14, 2021. The listed contents of the container included a 2018 Toyota Corolla registered to Ampong Coker but did not include any firearms. On June 8, 2021, HSI, ATF, DCIS, CBP and other agents searched the contents of the shipping container. Within the trunk of the 2018 Toyota Corolla, which had Ampong Coker’s name on cardboard on top of the vehicle, the agents found a grey suitcase with five 9mm handguns previously purchased by Ampong Coker secreted in the lining of the suitcase. Law enforcement authorities identified another shipping container bound for Ghana containing other vehicles associated with Ampong Coker. The vessel on which this container was loaded was intercepted at sea in June 2021, and returned to the Port of Baltimore. On August 25, 2021, this container was searched and six 9mm handguns and 16 9mm pistol magazines were found in the vehicles associated with Ampong Coker. Ampong Coker admitted that all of the firearms and magazines were identified on the U.S. Department of Commerce Control List, and he had not obtained the required license or written approval to export the weapons to Ghana. U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the ATF, HSI, DCIS, and CBP for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorney P. Michael Cunningham, who prosecuted the case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach . # # #


title: Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Machine Gun While on  Bourbon Street During Mardi Gras

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

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – KEATON MANGHANE , age 24, a resident of Chattanooga, Tennessee, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance to possessing a machinegun in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(o) and 924(a)(2). According to court documents, MANGHANE was carrying a loaded handgun equipped with a Glock auto-sear in his pocket while walking on Bourbon Street just after 2:00 a.m. on February 21, 2023, Mardi Gras Day. The auto-sear device turned the semi-automatic firearm into a fully-automatic machine gun. After MANGHANE ’s arrest, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives function tested the firearm and confirmed that it functioned as a machine gun. MANGHANE faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crimes Unit.


title: Federal Prison Employee Pleads Guilty to Accepting Payments from High-Net-Worth Inmate

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – A Correctional Counselor for the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) assigned to Federal Medical Center Devens (FMC Devens) in Massachusetts pleaded guilty today to accepting payments from an inmate under his care, in violation of his duties as a public official. The defendant also pleaded guilty to lying to a bank about a loan he received from the inmate’s business associate and forging the associate’s signature to support this false claim. William S. Tidwell, 49, of Keene, N.H., pleaded guilty to receipt of payments by a public official in violation of his official duties, making false statements to a bank and identity theft. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Dec. 7, 2023. Tidwell was charged on July 24, 2023. Tidwell has been employed by the BOP since 2000 and has been working at FMC Devens since 2008. According to BOP’s rules and policies that govern the duties and conduct of its employees, employees may not receive any payments, gifts, or personal favors from inmates, give preferential treatment to any inmate in the performance of their duties, or engage in outside employment that conflicts with their duties. In approximately 2014, Tidwell began working as a Correctional Counselor at FMC Devens, a position that give him significant levels of contact with, and authority over, inmates. Among other things, Tidwell was responsible for monitoring inmate work assignments, assigning inmate housing assignments, arranging inmate legal calls and coordinating prison visits for inmates. One of the inmates for whom Tidwell served as a Correctional Counselor was Individual 1 – an ultra-high net worth individual who had been convicted on federal charges in another jurisdiction. Starting in approximately 2018, Individual 1 caused a stream of benefits to be paid to Tidwell. In November 2018, Tidwell supervised Individual 1, who directed a close friend and business associate (Individual 2) to wire $25,000 to Tidwell’s close family member. Thereafter, starting in 2019, Tidwell and Individual 1 entered into an agreement pursuant to which Tidwell received thousands of dollars as part of a property management agreement. Individual 2, the inmate’s close associate, made the payments to Tidwell. In total, between 2019 and 2020, Tidwell received over $65,000 in benefits as part of this property management agreement with Individuals 1 and 2. Tidwell’s receipt of payments and his employment relationship with an inmate or a close associate of an inmate violated his official duties as a BOP employee. Separately, in 2020, Tidwell sought to purchase a home. In connection with seeking financing for the home purchase, Tidwell received a $50,000 loan from Individual 2. Tidwell made multiple false statements to the bank in connection with his loan application, falsely telling the bank that the $50,000 was a gift from his employer. When the bank asked for written proof of this purported gift, Tidwell forged documents to support his earlier claim, including by unlawfully using Individual 2’s name and address, and forging Individual 2’s signature. The charge of receiving payments in violation of official duties provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of making false statements to a bank provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of identity theft provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $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; Jodi Cohen Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Ryan T. Geach, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General New York Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kunal Pasricha and Mark Grady of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.


title: Utah Businesswoman Sentenced to 18 Months Imprisonment Following $5M Securities Fraud Conviction

component: USAO - Utah

body_text: Salt Lake City, Utah – A Utah woman was sentenced yesterday to 18 months’ imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release for securities fraud after she defrauded investors in the District of Utah and elsewhere. According to court documents, from February 2015 through February 2020, Crystal A. Huang, 41, of Lehi, Utah, offered investments in her company, ProSky Inc., by providing false promises and information to potential investors. In June, Ms. Huang admitted that she devised a scheme intended to defraud investors and obtain money and property, under false pretenses to benefit her company, ProSky Inc. According to court documents, Huang would lull investor victims into a false sense of security about their investments by claiming her company, ProSky Inc., had millions in recurring revenue, when in fact it did not. She further supported her false claims by providing investors with falsified balance sheets, profit and loss statements, bank account statements and customer lists. During her scheme to defraud, Huang obtained over $5 million from approximately 13 investors and communicated via email, telephone and through an online database. On the day of her sentencing, Huang provided a check to the clerk of court for $300,000 and was ordered by the court to pay $1,200 per month in restitution. “Ms. Huang had every reason and opportunity not to engage in this type of criminal conduct, but chose to do so,” said Assistant United States Attorney Mark E. Woolf of the District of Utah. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute those who commit fraud within our communities.” “The information Ms. Huang provided to investors was just completely false,” said United States District Court Judge David Barlow. “These false statements didn’t just happen once or twice, but over a period of years.” “Fraudsters are masters of deception, and can scam even the most sophisticated investor,” said Special Agent in Charge Shohini Sinha of the Salt Lake City FBI. “Before handing over your hard-earned money, always independently and thoroughly research any opportunity, and report anything suspicious to the FBI.” The case was investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Provo Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark E. Woolf of the District of Utah prosecuted the case.


title: Second defendant pleads guilty to conspiracy to attack power substations in Pierce County

component: USAO - Washington, Western

body_text: Tacoma – A second defendant who joined in the attacks on power substations as part of a burglary scheme, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Jeremy Crahan, 40, admits he joined with 32-year-old Matthew Greenwood in a conspiracy to knock out power so they could rob ATM machines. Chief U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo scheduled sentencing for December 8, 2023. According to the facts in the plea agreement, Greenwood and Crahan hatched the scheme to disrupt power so they could break into ATMs and businesses and steal money. On December 25, 2022, they damaged four substations: Hemlock Substation in Puyallup, Washington, owned by Puget Sound Energy. Here, the two cut through a fence and Greenwood manipulated a switch damaging equipment and cutting power for 8,000 customers. Elk Plain substation in Spanaway, Washington, owned by Tacoma Power. The men cut padlocks on the gate and Greenwood manipulated breakers to damage equipment and cause an outage. Graham substation in Graham, Washington, operated by Tacoma Power. The men cut through a perimeter fence and Greenwood manipulated a switch to damage equipment. This outage, combined with the Elk Plain substation outage, caused more than 7,500 customers to lose power. Kapowsin Substation in Graham, Washington, operated by Puget Sound Energy. The men cut through a fence and Greenwood tampered with a switch causing sparks, flame, and a power outage. Crahan admits that he shared in the plannings and primarily served as a lookout during the attacks on the substations. Following the December 25, 2022, substation vandalism, the men spent time looking for additional ways to cause power outages by felling trees. The goal was to cut power so that they could burglarize businesses and steal from ATMs. Law enforcement arrested them before they could put the tree plan into action. The FBI is investigating the case with assistance from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Tacoma Police Department, the Washington State Department of Corrections, and the Federal Protective Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.


title: Man in Walker County sentenced for cyberstalking via social media

component: USAO - Texas, Southern

body_text: HOUSTON – A 25-year-old Huntsville resident has been ordered to federal prison for receiving child pornography as well as multiple counts of cyberstalking, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Kody Nicholas Bohac pleaded guilty Dec. 12, 2022. Today, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen sentenced Bohac to a total 121-month term of imprisonment. Bohac was further ordered to pay $5,170 in restitution to a known victim and will serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Bohac will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. At the hearing, the court also considered additional information including multiple victim impact statements detailing how Bohac’s conduct affected them. Portions of the statements included how Bohac even went so far as to threaten to rape and murder them if they didn’t comply with his demands. As a result of Bohac’s conduct, many victims suffer from anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, humiliation, ruined relationships, fear and have sought counseling. The court also heard how sextortion cases are an increasingly deadly type of crime that target young people. The perpetrators use several online mediums of communication, including social networking apps, messaging apps, video voice calls, email, dating and gaming apps. Victims often feel helpless, ashamed, guilty and embarrassed and are reluctant to report such conduct to law enforcement. “Bohac used social media accounts, smart phones and laptops as weapons to terrorize and humiliate young women, all for his sick amusement. Sextortion is ruining young people’s lives at an alarming rate, pushing some to suicide; deaths that are wholly preventable and completely tragic,” said Hamdani. “As the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, I, and the prosecutors in this office, are committed to bringing people like Bohac out of the shadows of internet platforms into justice’s bright light. And as a father, I’m thankful one more monster is off our streets.” “This is your typical sextortion case,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge David Martinez of the FBI Houston field office. “The individual behind this cyberstalking case took advantage of his young victims by tricking them into sending him compromising content of themselves. He then took pleasure in terrorizing them and shaming them personally. Unfortunately, we’re seeing more and more of these types of cases and too many victims of sextortion who succumb to the shame and take their own lives.” Bohac stalked an out-of-state woman over social media and threatened to post nude photographs of her on the internet if she did not contact him. She did not respond. Subsequently, Bohac posted the images on the internet. At the plea hearing, Bohac admitted to the stalking through social media and sending her nude images of herself and threatening to make them public if she did not contact him. He also said he offered to pay multiple females online for nude photos. When they complied, he refused to pay, demanded additional nude photos and threatened to post them online if they did not contact him. He ultimately admitted to stalking approximately 20 females on social media, demanding they send additional nude photos, wanting to meet them in person and to call him “daddy.” When they refused, he posted the already obtained nude photos online, threatened to ruin their lives, sent photos to their school, families and friends and created fake online accounts using their names with sexually explicit references. The investigation revealed multiple social media messages on his phone in which Bohac stalked numerous victims. They also found images and videos of child pornography on his cell phone which depicted minor females engaged in sexual acts on adult males. Bohac will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. The FBI-Bryan Resident Agency and the FBI-Philadelphia Field Office conducted the investigation with assistance from the Sam Houston State University Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard W. Bennett prosecuted this case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”


title: Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta Statement on Preliminary Injunction Ruling in U.S. v. Abbott et al.

component: Energy and Natural Resources Division

body_text: The Justice Department’s Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta made the following statement following a federal judge’s ruling on a motion for preliminary injunction by the Justice Department in the case U.S. v. Abbott et al . “Today, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction requiring Texas to remove its floating barrier from the middle of the Rio Grande and prohibiting Texas from constructing new barriers in the river. We are pleased that the court ruled that the barrier was unlawful and irreparably harms diplomatic relations, public safety, navigation, and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande.”


title: Henderson County Man Sentenced for Child Obscenity Violations

body_text: TYLER, Texas – The former mayor of Athens, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child obscenity violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today. James Monte Montgomery, 65, pleaded guilty to sending obscene materials to a minor on August 25, 2022, and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle. According to public information, on June 3, 2021, Montgomery was arrested after arriving at an undisclosed location after soliciting sex online with investigators posing as minors. In June of 2020, Montgomery, then the mayor of Athens, Texas, began communicating by text messaging with a person he believed to be a 15-year-old female. Montgomery sent messages to the child describing sexually explicit acts that he wanted to perform on the child and offering to pay the child if she would meet him and have sex with him. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Tyler Field Office, with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Collin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Austin Wells. ###


title: Mexican National Sentenced to Federal Prison for East Texas Drug Trafficking

component: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

body_text: TYLER, Texas - A Mexican national has been sentenced to federal prison for trafficking drugs through the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today. Leobardo Hernandez-Hernandez, 34, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 160 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle. According to information presented in court, in March 2022, Hernandez supplied more than 150 grams of methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana to drug dealers at a stash house located in Gregg County, Texas. Hernandez sourced the illegal drugs from wholesalers in California. Additionally, Hernandez possessed a shotgun in connection with his drug trafficking activities. Hernandez's co-conspirator, Joshua Lynn Craver, 35, of Longview, Texas was sentenced to 180 months in prison on November 3, 2022. This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Gregg County Sheriff's Office, and Longview Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek. ###


title: Oakhurst Man Sentenced for Excavating Native American Cultural Property

component: USAO - California, Eastern

body_text: FRESNO, Calif. — Vance Franklin Myers, 35, of Oakhurst, was sentenced Tuesday by United States District Judge Ana de Alba to 3 years probation and a $10,000 fine for unauthorized excavation and removal of archeological resources from public lands, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Additionally, Myers was ordered to pay $10,023.48 in restitution, perform 100 hours of community service, make a public statement concerning his offense, and he is banned from entering public lands for recreational purposes during the period of his probation. According to court documents, Myers entered upon public lands in Madera County that were administered by the United States Forest Service and unlawfully excavated Native American cultural artifacts and Native American human remains. Artifacts removed from the site included beads, manos, rosegates, and desert side notched points. This occurred between June 1, 2015 and September 3, 2015. Excavating, damaging, and removing archaeological resources from federal and Native American lands without proper authorization is a violation of Federal law. This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Forest Service. Assistant United States Attorney Laurel J. Montoya prosecuted the case.


title: Two Sentenced to 9 Years for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

body_text: Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Erika Lopez-Garcia, 28, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Gabriel Rubio-Quevedo, 25, of Omaha, Nebraska, were sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. During separate sentencing hearings, United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Lopez-Garcia and Rubio-Quevedo to 108 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After their release from prison, each defendant will begin a two-year term of supervised release. On August 31, 2022, officers with a Drug Enforcement Administration task force identified a suspicious package at the UPS facility in Omaha. A canine indicated to the odor of narcotics coming from the package. Officers obtained a search warrant for the package and found approximately 14 pounds of methamphetamine concealed inside of a guitar amplifier. The package was set for delivery to an Omaha address that was being rented as an Airbnb. Most of the methamphetamine was removed and the package was delivered by an undercover officer. Lopez-Garcia came outside of the residence and retrieved the package. Pursuant to a search warrant, officers searched the residence after Lopez-Garcia took the package inside. They found the delivered package along with another almost-identical package that contained another 14 pounds of methamphetamine. Rubio-Quevedo later arrived at the residence to pick up the packages and was arrested. Rubio-Quevedo told officers someone from Mexico had called him, asked him to pick up the packages and deliver them to a person in Norfolk, Nebraska. Rubio-Quevedo admitted he was going to be paid to deliver the packages. The total amount of methamphetamine seized amounted to 12,775 grams. A portion of the methamphetamine from each package was tested for purity, which returned results of 85.9 percent and 92.3 percent. This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Forensic laboratory testing was conducted by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department.


title: Bellevue Man Sentenced to 110 Months for Distributing Child Pornography

component: USAO - Nebraska

body_text: Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Robert A. Ryan, 35, of Bellevue, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha by United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher to 110 months’ imprisonment for distribution of child pornography. After his release from prison, Ryan will begin a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. On September 17, 2021, Kik, a social media application, identified at least two videos of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct that were distributed to others on the Kik application. Kik captured the Internet Protocol (IP) address that was used to distribute the videos as well as the Kik account name. Law enforcement obtained information related to the IP addresses, which ultimately identified Ryan as the subscriber and his residence in Bellevue, Nebraska. Law enforcement executed a search of Ryan’s residence and seized his cellular phone. Forensic analysis of the cellular phone found numerous images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. This case was investigated by the Omaha FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.


title: Omaha Man Sentenced for Bank Robbery Convictions

body_text: Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Traynell Toney, 30, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha after having previously pled guilty to two bank robberies. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Toney to 7 ½ years’ imprisonment on each bank robbery, to run at the same time, and ordered him to pay $13,485 in restitution. Toney will be on supervised release for three years after he is released from prison. There is no parole in the federal system. On December 20, 2021, Toney went into the First National Bank located in the Hy-Vee supermarket at 5150 Center Street in Omaha. He slid a note to the teller demanding he get all the money and that the teller should not use a dye pack or tracking device. The note also indicated that if the teller did not comply, Toney would kill the teller. He was given $3,312.00 and left the bank. On December 31, 2021, Toney went into the U.S. Bank located in the Baker’s grocery store at 17370 Lakeside Hills Plaza, in Omaha. He handed a similar note to the U.S. Bank teller demanding money or the teller would die. The teller handed Toney $10,173.00 after which he left the bank. Law enforcement was called to both scenes after the robberies occurred. Toney’s fingerprints were on the demand note he passed and left at the First National Bank. A check of his cell phone data showed he was in the area of the two banks at the time the robberies were committed. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations Violent Crime Task Force.


title: Omaha Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Conspiracy

body_text: Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Michael Blaine Lee, 38, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for his involvement in a methamphetamine conspiracy. United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Lee to 121 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, Lee will begin a five-year term of supervised release. In February 2022, the Omaha Police Department’s Narcotics Unit began investigating Lee and Jose Rumualdo-Gallardo for distributing methamphetamine. Rumualdo-Gallardo was Lee’s source of supply for methamphetamine, and it was determined that Lee was getting at least one to two ounces of methamphetamine every other day over a four-month period that he was then redistributing. A search warrant on Lee’s residence was executed on February 22, 2022, resulting in 44 grams of pure methamphetamine being recovered. Rumualdo-Gallardo was arrested on March 8, 2022, and was in possession of 242 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm. Rumualdo-Gallardo was sentenced on June 29, 2023, to 180 months’ imprisonment. This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department.


title: Indiana Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Interstate Violation of Protection Order and Transportation of Child Pornography

component: USAO - Arkansas, Western

body_text: HOT SPRINGS – An Indiana man was sentenced Friday, September 1, 2023, to 30 years in prison for violating an order of protection issued out of Lake County, Indiana by taking a minor listed in the order of protection across state lines, as well as transporting images of child pornography across state lines. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Hot Springs. According to court documents, Nathan Martin Curry-Fishtorn , age 26, of Saint John, Indiana was arrested in Arkansas in August 2019. On August 18, 2019, the Little Rock FBI Office was contacted by the FBI Indianapolis Field Office regarding a missing minor last seen two days before in Crown Point, Indiana. Law enforcement’s investigation led them to a residence in Malvern, Arkansas, where Curry-Fishtorn and the minor were located. Court documents show Curry-Fishtorn had previously been served an order of protection out of his home state of Indiana prohibiting him from having any contact with the minor. The minor told police Curry-Fishtorn had a gun during the twelve-hour drive and stated, “I have a gun, don’t try anything.” Also located in the vehicle was a SIM card from Curry-Fishtorn’s cellular phone. Forensic examination of the SIM card revealed images of child pornography. U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Hot Springs County Sheriff's Department and the Lake County Sheriff's Department, Crown Point, Indiana investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Marshall prosecuted the case. This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov


title: Department of Planning and Permitting Examiner Sentenced to Ten Months in Prison for Bribery Scheme

component: USAO - Hawaii

body_text: HONOLULU – Kanani Padeken, 38, of Kaaawa, was sentenced today in federal court by Chief United States District Judge Derrick K. Watson to ten months imprisonment, two years supervised release, and forfeiture of the $28,400 in bribes she took in exchange for expediting the approval of permits issued by the Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) of the City and County of Honolulu. The sentence reflects Padeken’s substantial assistance to the government in the investigation and prosecution of others. After a lengthy investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into corruption at the DPP, honest services wire fraud charges were filed against six individuals, including Padeken, arising out of schemes in which employees of the DPP took bribes in exchange for performing official acts at DPP. The other five defendants also entered guilty pleas and have been sentenced: • Wayne Inouye, 66, of Honolulu, a former Chief Building Inspector at DPP, was sentenced on May 24, 2023, to 60 months imprisonment, two years supervised release, and a $100,000 fine for taking more than $103,000 in bribes and for making false statements to federal investigators with intent to conceal his crimes, in Cr. No. 21-00034 LEK. Because Inouye returned the bribe money after learning of the government’s investigation, a fine, rather than forfeiture, was sought by the government. • Jennie Javonillo, 73, of Waipahu, a former Building Plans Examiner at DPP, was sentenced on June 27, 2022, to 30 months imprisonment, two years supervised release, a $5,000 fine, and forfeiture of the $58,000 in bribes she took, in Cr. No. 21-00038 DKW. • Jason Dadez, 45, of Honolulu, a former Building Inspector at DPP, was sentenced on July 6, 2022, to 18 months imprisonment, two years supervised release, and forfeiture of the $12,900 in bribes he took, in Cr. No. 21-00037 DKW. • William Wong, 73, of Honolulu, an architect, was sentenced on July 27, 2023, to 12 months and one day imprisonment, three years supervised release, and a fine of $5,000, for making bribes of more than $117,000 to DPP employees, in Cr. No. 21-00041 DKW. The sentence reflects Wong’s substantial assistance to the government in the investigation and prosecution of others. • Jocelyn Godoy, 60, of Pearl City, a former employee of the Data Access and Imaging Branch at DPP, was sentenced on August 30, 2023, to 60 days imprisonment and two years supervised release for taking more than $800 in bribes, in Cr. No. 21-00036 DKW. The sentence reflects Godoy’s substantial assistance to the government in the investigation and prosecution of others. According to information presented to the court, while employed by DPP as a Building Plans Examiner at DPP, Padeken solicited bribes from architects and others in exchange for expediting the approval of building permits by DPP. Those who paid bribes to Padeken had their permit applications sped through the DPP approval process ahead of other applications. From January 2017 to March 2020, Padeken solicited and accepted bribes of at least $28,400 from Wong. “This series of prosecutions exposed a pay-to-play system whereby public officials blithely violated their positions of trust for personal gain, and businesspersons readily bought an unfair advantage over their fellow law-abiding citizens,” said United States Attorney Clare E. Connors. “Because the people of Hawaii deserve honest and accountable public institutions, our office will vigorously pursue these types of integrity crimes and do our part to restore confidence in government.” “This sentence marks the end of these DPP employees scheming and accepting bribes, thus corrupting the system,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “Today’s sentence reinforces to the public that the FBI remains committed in investigating and holding those accountable as they deprived the people of Honolulu of the honest services to which they’re entitled.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that resulted in the convictions. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Nammar and Craig Nolan prosecuted the case.


title: International cocaine distribution scheme results in another conviction

body_text: HOUSTON – A 51-year-old Houston man has admitted his role in an ongoing cocaine distribution scheme that spanned more than nine years, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Leonel Mata Luna admitted he was a member of a drug trafficking organization while residing in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. His role was to oversee the receipt and packaging of cocaine in Mexico and coordinate its transportation to the U.S. border. There, it was smuggled into the United States in vehicles on a monthly basis during the course of the conspiracy. Luna received cocaine from members of the Gulf Cartel. The drugs eventually ended up in Houston where it was further distributed to others across the United States. In December 2015, law enforcement agents seized 176 kilograms of cocaine, two kilograms of meth and $3.5 million in drug proceeds after executing search warrants at three stash houses in Houston the organization controlled. Luna was a fugitive for seven years until his arrest in Monterrey, Mexico, in September 2022 as part of a joint Mexican-American law enforcement operation. He was subsequently removed from Mexico and transported to Houston for prosecution. To date, 15 have been convicted in relation to the conspiracy. Sentencing has been set for Dec. 11 before U.S. District Andrew S. Hanen. At that time, Luna faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison as well as a $10 million maximum fine. He will remain in custody pending that hearing. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Houston Police Department conducted the investigation. This Operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the Houston Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle the drug trafficking organizations that designated Consolidated Priority Organization or Regional Priority Organization Targets head with their affiliates and that impact Houston and south Texas. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey N. MacDonald and Anibal J. Alaniz are prosecuting the case.


title: Southern District prosecutes nearly $11 million in COVID fraud as part of national enforcement actions

body_text: SAVANNAH, GA: As part of a coordinated nationwide effort to fight COVID-19 fraud, the Southern District of Georgia has taken action against individuals who illegally obtained nearly $11 million in funds intended to help struggling small businesses during the global pandemic. As announced by U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg, and in conjunction with the Justice Department’s nationwide effort, the Southern District of Georgia conducted more than 20 enforcement actions from May through July 2023, involving a total of $10.9 million in alleged COVID-19 relief fraud. “Funding through the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided more than more than $650 billion to assist small businesses navigating the financial challenges of the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “Unfortunately, fraudsters tapped into this program for their own profit, and this nationwide effort seeks to hold them accountable for their widespread fraud.” The CARES act provided small business assistance primarily with grants and forgivable loans available through the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). The Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office, working with its law enforcement partners, conducted multiple enforcement actions during the May-June period including: Kamario Thomas , 42, of Augusta, Ga., was sentenced to 38 months in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Money Laundering. Thomas submitted more than 60 fraudulent loan applications for pandemic relief and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks for his fraud. Thomas was ordered to pay full restitution in the amount of $4,546,945. Bernard Okojie , 41, of McDonough, Ga., was convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Money Laundering after a three-day jury trial. As detailed during trial, Okojie used information for non-existent companies to file more than 20 fraudulent loan applications for pandemic relief aid, causing losses in excess of $3.5 million. He awaits sentencing. Jacqueline Somesso , 55, of Savannah, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for Bank Fraud and Misprision of a felony. Somesso submitted a fake pandemic relief loan application resulting in losses of $570,736.87. She was ordered to pay restitution in this amount and to forfeit a money judgment in that amount. The Court also entered a consent order forfeiting her interest in a certificate of deposit of $350,236.54 and a bank account of $3,520.91, both containing fraud money seized from her during the investigation. Kyle Waldron , 58, of Douglas, Ga., received service of a civil forfeiture complaint arising from his filing of numerous fraudulent loans applications for pandemic relief aid. The complaint seeks forfeiture of $326,461.33, the amount of fraud money seized from his bank account. A civil forfeiture complaint was filed and continues to be litigated concerning an Atlanta condominium on Peachtree Road Northwest. This property, valued at $328,000, was purchased with money obtained fraudulently through pandemic relief loans. 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 (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form . These cases were investigated by the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. The enforcement actions were prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew A. Josephson, Jennifer A. Stanley, Ryan C. Grover, Lindsay Berman-Hansell, J. Bishop Ravenel, Alex Hamner, Marcella Mateo, David H. Estes, and Senior Litigation Counsel Jennifer G. Solari.


title: Jackson County Woman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

component: USAO - West Virginia, Southern

body_text: CHARLESTON, W.Va. Vickie Lynn Parsons, 47, of Ravenswood, pleaded guilty today to four counts of wire fraud. Parsons admitted to a scheme that defrauded an elderly individual in her care of approximately $31,000. According to court documents and statements made in court, from on or about December 1, 2021, to on or about January 26, 2022, Parsons secretly gained access to the individual’s bank account information to fraudulently conduct numerous online transactions to pay for goods and services for herself and her friends. Parsons used the individual’s bank account to make numerous payments to an electric utility, Parsons’ credit card accounts, her wireless account, and another individual’s department store credit card. Parsons is scheduled to be sentenced on December 4, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine. Parsons also owes at least $31,000 in restitution. United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Erik S. Goes and Julie M. White are prosecuting the case. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-73. ###


title: Bronx Man Charged With Shooting Outside Of Deli

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Edward A. Caban, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging CHRISTOPHER SCOTT with firing a shot at a victim on a commercial street in the Bronx on August 6, 2023. SCOTT will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Christopher Scott conducted a targeted shooting of an individual on a summer night outside of a deli near the Pelham Parkway Houses in the Bronx. Thanks to the swift action of our law enforcement partners and the prosecutors of this Office, Scott is now facing justice for his alleged violent actions.” NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said: “The firing of a gun on a public street will never be accepted as a way of life in New York City. Such a grave act of violence demands accountability. I commend the work of our brave NYPD officers who go in harm’s way, removing illegal guns, and those who pull the trigger, from our communities. I am also grateful for our close alignment with the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York as we work together to build strong cases and hold the most violent offenders accountable.” According to the allegations in the Complaint: [1] On August 6, 2023, shortly before 10:30 p.m., SCOTT fired a gunshot at an individual (“Victim-1”) near Williamsbridge Road in the Bronx. Surveillance video captured SCOTT approaching Victim-1, brandishing a firearm, and firing a shot at Victim-1, then following Victim-1 inside a nearby building. A still image from the surveillance footage with SCOTT circled in red is below: Within minutes after SCOTT fired the shot at Victim-1, and shortly after SCOTT appears to have hidden the firearm used in the shooting under the wheel of a nearby vehicle, NYPD officers arrived at the scene of the shooting, and SCOTT proceeded to interact with the NYPD officers. After the NYPD officers left the scene of the shooting, one of SCOTT’s associates appears to have retrieved the firearm used in the shooting for SCOTT, and then SCOTT and that associate drove away from the location of the shooting in a grey SUV. Upon canvassing the scene of the shooting, NYPD officers recovered a shell casing. On August 14, 2023, shortly before 10:30 p.m., SCOTT was arrested in connection with the above-mentioned shooting. Around the time of his arrest, SCOTT was seen driving the same grey SUV he drove on the night of the shooting. During an inventory search of that SUV, a Springfield Armory model XDS-9 MOD2 OSP 3.3 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol (the “Firearm”) with eight live rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one live round in the chamber was recovered under the driver’s seat of the vehicle. The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found a preliminary correlation between the shell casing recovered at the scene of the shooting and the Firearm, indicating that the firearm that was used in the shooting was the same firearm found under the driver’s seat of SCOTT’s SUV. SCOTT was not permitted to possess ammunition or a firearm because of a prior felony conviction for attempted criminal possession of a weapon. * * * SCOTT, 26, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of possession of ammunition after a felony conviction and one count of possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, which each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD. Mr. Williams also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this case. This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith C. Foster is in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. U.S. v. Scott Complaint


title: Second Gunman Sentenced To 22 Years In Prison For August 11, 2018, Gang-Related Murder

component: USAO - California, Northern

body_text: SAN FRANCISCO –Jose Aguilar, aka Slim, was sentenced to serve 22 years in prison for his role in the August 11, 2018, murder of then-19-year-old Gerson Romero, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and San Francisco Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Vince Chhabria, United States District Judge. “We will not surrender the streets of San Francisco to violent street gangs,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsey. “Gang violence will not lead to personal profit. To the contrary; where appropriate we will seek severe, impactful sentences, such as the decades-long one imposed here.” “This sentencing sends a message to criminal gang members that they will face justice for menacing our communities through murder and other violent crime,” said Special Agent in Charge King. “This case has been hard fought by the men and women of HSI, the San Francisco Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, and we hope that this sentencing provides some solace for the senseless loss of loved ones.” Aguilar, 34, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to the charge on May 3, 2023. According to his plea agreement, Aguilar admitted that on the day of the murder, he was a member of the 19th Street/16th Street Sureños, a San Francisco street gang. He further admitted that the gang was an amalgamation of two gangs, one that claimed “territory” bounded by 19th Street to the South, 16th Street to the North, Folsom Street to the East, and Dolores Street to the West and the other that generally operated around 16th Street and Mission Street, in the Mission District of San Francisco. The gang also operated in Dolores Park and Franklin Square Park (also known as Bryant Park). Aguilar acknowledged that the street gang operated as a “racketeering enterprise” and that members of the gang sought to maintain control of designated neighborhoods by, among other things, committing crimes. In this case, the indictment described, and Aguilar admitted, how members of the 19th Street/16th Street Sureños committed acts of violence, sold narcotics, and engaged in robberies to meet the aims of the criminal enterprise. Aguilar admitted that on the day of the murder, he and fellow gang members were scouting for rival gang members to retaliate for an earlier drive-by shooting when they spotted Romero and several of his friends. Aguilar and his fellow gang members, including Jonathan Escobar, 24, of Richmond, Calif., concluded that Romero and the others were members of a rival gang. After two pedestrians passed by, Aguilar and his fellow gang members took aim and began firing. The bullets killed Romero. Aguilar and Escobar fired repeatedly, continuing to shoot even after Romero had fallen. Five other victims fled from the gunfire, three of them struck and wounded. On April 15, 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Aguilar and Escobar, charging each defendant with the murder (using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence resulting in death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(j)(1) and 2) and with an additional firearm charge (use and carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2). Aguilar pleaded guilty to the first count, and the second count was dismissed. On April 5, 2023, Escobar pleaded guilty to his role in the crime, and on June 28, 2023, Judge Chhabria sentenced him to 26 years in prison for that crime and two others committed while he was in pretrial detention. Aguilar and Escobar both have been in federal custody since their arrest on April 20, 2021. The case is being prosecuted by the Organized Crime Strike Force of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the San Francisco Police Department’s Gang Task Force and Homicide Unit.


title: 59 Charged with Illegal Trafficking, Possession, and Use of Firearms, Drug Trafficking, and Conspiracy as a Result of Summer Violent Crime Reduction Effort in Cleveland

body_text: CLEVELAND – Federal, county, and local law enforcement officials today announced that 59 individuals were charged and arrested in connection with firearms-trafficking, narcotics, conspiracy, or other firearms offenses after a three month, violent-crime-reduction initiative in Cleveland this summer. The vast majority were charged in United States District Court, while the remaining individuals were charged in state court. These individuals were apprehended in a series of coordinated arrests made during the last two weeks. United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko made the announcement earlier today. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) Director Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Marshal Peter J. Elliott, and Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb provided additional details relating to the initiative, as well as regarding larger firearms enforcement and violence-prevention efforts. "The Justice Department's work to disrupt and dismantle the criminal gun trafficking pipelines that flood our communities with illegal guns had never been more urgent than it is now," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "That is why our prosecutors and agents are working more closely than ever before with our local law enforcement partners to get illegal guns off of our streets and hold accountable those who put illegal guns in the hands of violent criminals." Indictments and complaints were recently unsealed in federal court. They detail a lengthy investigation, led by ATF, that focused on reducing firearms-related crime in several areas of Cleveland by studying data about areas with gun-crime violence, then identifying illegal firearms sellers to disrupt their trafficking. The investigation resulted in the seizure of over 240 firearms, 203 of which law enforcement purchased from illegal sellers and permanently removed from Cleveland’s streets. NIBIN data shows that a significant number of those firearms are connected to violent criminal activity, including homicides and felonious assaults, that took place in Cleveland and surrounding Northeast Ohio suburbs in 2022 and 2023. Of the purchased firearms, 17 are “ghost guns”—meaning, unserialized and untraceable firearms, typically assembled at home—and 28 are machinegun conversion devices or “switches”—a device that enables a firearm to fire in fully automatic mode. In one case, law enforcement purchased more than 50 firearms from a group of 7 people working together to sell firearms on Cleveland’s streets, even though none of the involved individuals holds a federal firearms license. Those firearms included stolen firearms, firearms with obliterated serial numbers, “switches,” already-loaded firearms, assault rifles, and firearms that had been previously used to commit violent crimes. Sometimes, these individuals also sold controlled substances to law enforcement officers at the same time. In two additional cases, law enforcement purchased, respectively, 33 firearms (including “switches”) and 23 firearms (including “switches”) from two other individuals who do not hold a federal firearms license. Many of these sales took place in public parking lots of business establishments during business hours or in recreational areas while nearby uninvolved, law-abiding citizens were engaged in their day-to-day errands or engaged in recreational activities. Also during this investigation, the ATF identified 5 individuals who were actively engaged in a conspiracy to conduct a home invasion and rob, at gunpoint, what they believed to be a “stash house” containing several kilograms of cocaine. Law enforcement intervened before these individuals could carry out their plan. Additionally, during this investigation, law enforcement purchased or seized almost 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, 215 grams of cocaine base, almost 3 kilograms of methamphetamine, 686 fentanyl pills, almost 1.5 kilograms of heroin/fentanyl mix, and 1,144 MDMA pills (otherwise known as Molly or Ecstasy). Some defendants were charged together, but several others were charged individually. In all cases, however, the charges stemmed from the extensive, targeted, and sustained effort this past summer, led by ATF and assisted by other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, to clamp down on the illegal firearms trafficking, use, and possession, as well as the associated distribution of drugs, in Cleveland. The following is a breakdown of the charges in United States District Court, according to court documents: MALACHI BERRY, 21, Cleveland, DARVELL JACKSON, 20, Cleveland, and STEVEN ARMSTRONG, 19, Cleveland, were charged together in a Conspiracy to Possess a Machinegun. JACKSON and ARMSTRONG were further charged with Illegal Possession of a Machinegun. In the same indictment, these individuals, along with NIMAR LINDER , 21, Cleveland, were also charged with Conspiracy to Engage in the Business of Dealing Firearms without a Federal Firearms License. ARMSTRONG and LINDER were charged as Felons in Possession of a Firearm. According to court documents, the following individuals have been indicted on Distribution of Drugs charges: CARLOS DUPREE, 43, Cleveland, DOMINIQUE GOLDSBY, 32, Cleveland, JESSE MCDADE, 41, Cleveland, NORMAN YOUNG, 37, Cleveland, MARTIN GOODSON, 41, Cleveland, LAJUAN ERWIN, 25, Mayfield Heights, CHEVEZ MOORER, 23, Cleveland, AARON WIMBLEY, 22, Garfield Heights, ALEXANDER DUNCAN, 19, Cleveland, DAMIEN BODY, 39, Cleveland, DERRICK DONALD, 41, Cleveland, NAHUM HOLMES, 31, Brook Park, AKIL EDMONDS, 39, Cleveland, WILLIE C. JACKSON, 36, Cleveland, and DEANDRE SMITH, 36, Cleveland. Indicted together were JOSEAN ORTIZ-STUART, 34, Cleveland, JESUS VEGA, 29, Cleveland, who were both charged with Distribution of Drugs. Also named in that indictment was GERALD MATOS, 38, Cleveland, who was charged with being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Indicted together were ELIAS PAGAN 32, Cleveland, IVAN SANTANA, 26, Cleveland, ANGEL SANTIAGO, 46, also of Cleveland. PAGAN also faces numerous charges for Distribution of Drugs, as well being a Felon in Possession of Firearms, and both PAGAN and SANTANA were also charged with Engaging in the Business of Importing, Manufacturing, or Dealing in Firearms Without a Federal Firearms License. SANTIAGO is also charged with Distribution of Drugs. AMBRAY UNDERWOOD, 25, Euclid, was charged in an indictment for Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs, and Drug Distribution. WILLIE EARL JACKSON, 26, Cleveland, and SHANE PLATS, 31, Ashtabula, were charged in the same indictment with Engaging in the Business of Dealing Firearms without a Federal Firearms License. WIILIE EARL JACKSON was also charged in that indictment with Trafficking in Firearms. DESHONN BROWN age, 19, Cleveland; DEMARIUS JEFFERSON, 18, Cleveland, were both charged with Illegal Possession of Machine guns. JACOB PLUMB, 40, Parma, was charged with Distribution of Drugs and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. ISAIAH OVERTON, 23, Cleveland, and CHARLES MORRIS, 33, East Cleveland, were charged in a single indictment with Distribution of Drugs. Additionally, OVERTON was charged with Using and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. CORTE’Z BUGGS, 29, Cleveland was charged in an indictment with Distribution of Drugs and Receipt of Firearm while Under Felony Indictment. MICHAEL MCPHERRAN, 38, Parma, Ohio, was charged with Conspiracy to Distribute Drugs, and Distribution of Drugs. HAROLD PEARL, 39, Cleveland, was charged with Distribution of Drugs and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Charged by complaint with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Drugs and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime were ALANTE HEARD, 33, Cleveland, ANTONIO SWEENEY, 24, Cleveland, MAURICE COMMONS, 22, North Randall, and MARKUS WILLIAMS, 33, Cleveland. Charged with being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm were MARQUIS HENSON, 38, Cleveland, DEON BROWN, 19, Cleveland, and CLARENCE PAYNE, 38, Cleveland. KENNETH SMITH, 23, East Cleveland, was charged with Engaging in the Business of Dealing Firearms without a Federal Firearms License, Illegal Possession of a Machinegun, and being a Felon in Possession of Firearms. ANDRE LEWIS, 35, Cleveland, was charged with Distribution of Drugs and Using and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime. DEVAUNTY LEWIS, 31, Cleveland, NICHOLAS JOHNSON, 33, Cleveland, were charged jointly in an indictment with Conspiracy to Engage in the Business of Importing, Manufacturing, or Dealing in Firearms without a Federal Firearms License, and Conspiracy to Engage in Firearms Trafficking. Both were individually charged with Engaging Business in Dealing with Firearms Without a License and Trafficking in Firearms. LEWIS was also charged with being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. JOHNSON was also charged with Engaging in the Business of Importing, Manufacturing, or Dealing in Firearms without a Federal Firearms License. The following were charged in an indictment with Conspiracy to Engage in the Business of Importing, Manufacturing, or Dealing in Firearms Without a Federal Firearms License: MAURICE STERETT, 39, Cleveland, ANTONIO CROSS, 22, Cleveland, MARVELL ROACH, 43, Willoughby, KENNETH TIMBERLAKE, 30, Cleveland, and TRAVIS WILLIAMS, 46, Cleveland. STERETT, CROSS, TIMBERLAKE, and WILLIAMS were further charged, individually, with Engaging in the Business of Importing, Manufacturing, or Dealing in Firearms Without a Federal Firearms License. STERETT, CROSS, ROACH, TIMBERLAKE, and WILLIAMS were also charged with Conspiracy to Engage in Firearms Trafficking and individual counts of Firearms Trafficking. STERETT, TIMBERLAKE, TRAVIS WILLIAMS, and ROACH were also charged with being a Felon in Possession of Firearms. STERETT was further charged with Distribution of Drugs. Finally, CROSS was also charged with Illegal Transfer of a Machinegun. DARION SHELTON, 20, Cleveland, was charged with Engaging in the Business of Dealing Firearms without a Federal Firearms License, and Trafficking in Firearms in connection with machinegun conversation devices or “switches.” He has also been charged with Illegal Possession of a Machinegun. The following is a breakdown of the charges in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, according to court documents: MARCEL BATTLE, 30, Canton, Drug Trafficking. AVANT WILSON, 22, Cleveland, Receiving Stolen Property (Motor Vehicle). NATHAN ROBY, 44, Cleveland, Drug Trafficking. RAYMOND CALLAHAN, 34, Cleveland, Drug Trafficking. RAPHAEL DEEN, 30, Cleveland, Drug Trafficking. TERRY LYONS, 33, Cleveland, Drug Trafficking. An indictment or complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum. The investigation preceding the indictments was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), with assistance from the Cleveland Division of Police (“CDP”), the United States Marshals Service (“USMS”), the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (“BCI”), the Ohio Adult Parole Authority (“APA”), the Ohio Investigative Unit (“OIU”), Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”), Air and Marine Division, the Ohio State Highway Patrol (“OSP”), and the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office. This Operation was also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative. The cases stemming from this investigation are being prosecuted by a team of AUSAs in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, led by AUSA Kelly Galvin, and by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.


title: United States Obtains Consent Decree Against Apex Building Company For Violating Lead Paint Safety Regulations

body_text: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Lisa F. Garcia, the Regional Administrator for Region 2 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), announced today that the United States filed a civil lawsuit against APEX BUILDING COMPANY, INC. (“APEX”) alleging violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) and EPA’s Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule (“RRP Rule”). The United States simultaneously entered into a Consent Decree resolving that lawsuit. The Consent Decree includes a $606,706 civil penalty, the second largest civil penalty ever imposed under the RRP Rule, and requires APEX to take steps to mitigate potential harms caused by its conduct. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Apex’s conduct threatened to expose people, including children, to toxic lead paint dust in communities that already suffer disproportionately from public health and environmental hazards. Through this lawsuit and consent decree, we are holding Apex responsible for its legal violations.” EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia said: “This company’s actions were inexcusable; they are also all too common, that is why EPA is partnering with state and local partners to crack down on improper renovation work that can expose our kids to toxic lead. There is no safe level of lead, and lead paint dust is the biggest source of lead exposure for children. As evidenced by this case, if companies think they can get away with endangering our kids, they are wrong.” The TSCA and the RRP Rule impose safety requirements to minimize the risk that young children, tenants, and renovation workers are exposed to toxic lead paint dust during renovations of residential buildings. Exposure to lead paint dust is the most common cause of lead poisoning, which can lead to severe, irreversible health problems, particularly in children. Lead poisoning can affect children’s brains and developing nervous systems, causing reduced IQ, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems. As alleged in the United States’ complaint filed in the district court: APEX is a general contractor that conducted renovation work in hundreds of apartment units between 2015 and 2021. In March 2016, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspected an APEX worksite and found that it had failed to contain lead dust, resulting in dust containing lead-based paint in excess of federal standards entering public hallways, in violation of the RRP Rule. The EPA determined that APEX also lacked required certifications, failed to train its workers on lead-safe work practices, and failed to inform the building owner and occupants of the risks of lead poisoning during that renovation. When APEX was informed of these issues, it provided the EPA with inaccurate information about its RRP Rule compliance. Rather than coming into full compliance with the law, APEX continued to violate the RRP Rule through at least 2021. These alleged violations occurred at low-income residential properties, where tenants are already disproportionately burdened by other environmental hazards. In the Consent Decree, APEX admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for the following conduct: Failing to adequately contain construction dust, including dust containing lead in excess of levels permitted under the RRP Rule at one renovation project. Failing to assign a certified renovator to oversee the project, in violation of the RRP Rule at one renovation project. Failing to provide on-the-job lead safety training to workers, in violation of the RRP Rule at one renovation project. Failing to post signs clearly defining its work area and warning occupants and other persons not involved in renovation activities to remain outside of the work area, in violation of the RRP Rule at one renovation project. Failing to provide a lead-hazard information pamphlet to the owner or occupants of the building before commencing work, in violation of the RRP Rule at one renovation project. Failing to ensure that a certified renovator regularly directed work being performed at these projects and to provide on-the-job training for APEX’s other workers, in violation of the RRP Rule at three projects. Failing to maintain documentation showing that it provided lead-hazard information pamphlets to the owners or occupants of the buildings or that it had posted warning signs in the buildings, in violation of the RRP Rule at three projects. * * * Pursuant to the Consent Decree, APEX will pay a penalty of $606,706, an amount based on the company’s documented inability to pay the full civil penalty for which it otherwise would be liable. Further, the Consent Decree requires APEX to comply with safe work practices and other RRP Rule requirements in the future and to conduct tenant and worker safety information sessions to mitigate potential harms it caused. Failure to comply with the Consent Decree will give rise to significant additional penalties. To provide public notice and afford members of the public the opportunity to comment on the Consent Decree, the Consent Decree will be lodged with the District Court for a period of at least 30 days before it is submitted for the Court’s approval. Mr. Williams thanked the attorneys and enforcement staff at EPA Region 2 for their critical work on this matter. This case is being handled by the Environmental Protection Unit of the Office’s Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mónica P. Folch and Zack Bannon are in charge of the case. U.S. v. Apex Complaint U.S. v. Apex Proposed Consent Decree


title: Former LASD Deputy Agrees to Plead Guilty to Depriving a  Falsely Imprisoned Victim of His Civil Rights Under Color of Law

component: USAO - California, Central

body_text: LOS ANGELES – A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has agreed to plead guilty to a federal felony offense for depriving a 23-year-old man of his civil rights in Compton in 2020, the Justice Department announced today. In a plea agreement filed this morning in federal court, Miguel Angel Vega, 33, of Corona, admitted that he falsely imprisoned the victim; engaged in a vehicle pursuit with the victim still unlawfully detained in an LASD SUV, resulting in a traffic collision that injured the victim; and then filed false reports to cover up the deputy and his partner’s unlawful conduct. Vega agreed to plead guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Vega is expected to formally plead guilty to the charge in the coming weeks. According to the plea agreement, on the afternoon of April 13, 2020, Vega and his then partner, Christopher Blair Hernandez, 37, were in uniform and on patrol in an LASD vehicle near Wilson Park in Compton as part of their official duties at LASD. Vega and Hernandez saw two young Black males, one of whom Vega believed was associated with a street gang, outside a skateboard park enclosed by a tall wrought-iron fence within Wilson Park. Vega and Hernandez got out of the SUV, approached the individuals, and ordered them to lift their shirts to search for firearms, which the individuals did not possess. At this point, from inside the enclosed skatepark, the victim – who is identified in court documents as “J.A.” – began yelling at Vega and Hernandez to leave the Black males alone. J.A. did not threaten Vega or Hernandez or any of the other approximately 10 to 15 people inside the skatepark, who likewise did not pose any danger to Vega or Hernandez. Vega began yelling back at J.A., and while they continued exchanging words, Vega challenged J.A. to a fight, according to the plea agreement. Shortly thereafter, Vega directed J.A. to come to an opening in the skatepark fence. Vega then grabbed J.A. and confined him in the back of the SUV as Hernandez looked on. Vega detained J.A. in the SUV because Vega was angry that J.A. had told Vega and Hernandez to leave the Black males alone and wanted to teach J.A. a lesson, according to the plea agreement. Although Vega and Hernandez had ample time to do so, J.A. was not handcuffed, his seatbelt was not secured, he never was told he was under arrest, nor was he informed of his rights at any time – all of this in violation of LASD policy. Throughout the ongoing false imprisonment, Vega knew that he and Hernandez did not have any lawful basis to detain J.A., the plea agreement states. After leaving the park, Vega, who was still driving the SUV with Hernandez in the front passenger seat and J.A. confined in the backseat, continued to taunt and threaten J.A., including telling J.A. that the deputies were going to drop off J.A. in gang territory where J.A. would receive a beating. According to the plea agreement, while in the vehicle, Vega and Hernandez ignored J.A.’s multiple questions as to why he was being detained. Vega decided to concoct a story that he and Hernandez were arresting J.A. for being under the influence of a stimulant as a pretext to justify their false imprisonment of J.A. To that end, Vega asked J.A. if he was taking any medications to signal to Hernandez that the deputies were going to fabricate and falsely allege that J.A. exhibited symptoms of being under the influence of a stimulant. In fact, Vega did not believe that J.A. was under the influence of a stimulant, and because this purported basis for the false detention and arrest was fabricated, Vega and Hernandez never took any steps to determine whether J.A. actually exhibited any signs of being under the influence of a controlled substance. While Vega and Hernandez continued driving with J.A. still confined in the back of the SUV, Vega saw a group of young males on bicycles, including one Vega believed had a look of surprise and fear on his face upon encountering the LASD deputies. Believing the young male may possess a firearm, Vega stopped the SUV to let Hernandez get out of the vehicle and proceed on foot, and Vega began pursuing the bicyclist down an alley. As Vega drove the SUV down the alley in pursuit, Vega crashed into a wall and another vehicle, causing J.A. to hit his head and sustain a cut above his right eye that later required stitches, the plea agreement states. Following the collision, Vega removed J.A. from the patrol vehicle and told him to leave. Hernandez responded on foot to the alley shortly thereafter, and Vega told his partner that he had released J.A. Soon after, J.A. walked out of the alley and tried to get help from strangers at a nearby house, court documents state. After the traffic collision, Vega reported over LASD radio that a person purportedly with a gun had fled through an alley, which prompted numerous LASD personnel to respond to the scene to set up a containment zone. Even though Vega also reported the traffic collision over LASD radio, neither Vega during the radio calls, nor Vega or Hernandez during a subsequent conversation with their supervising sergeant at the scene, initially disclosed that they had detained J.A. at the skatepark or that J.A. had been in the SUV during the collision in the alley. It was only after Vega learned that J.A. had been independently detained on a neighboring street by another LASD deputy as the purported gun suspect that Vega informed the other deputies and his supervising sergeant that J.A. had been in the SUV during the crash. When asked by the supervising sergeant why J.A. had been in the SUV at the time of the collision, Vega falsely told the sergeant that J.A. had been detained for being under the influence of a controlled substance. While J.A. was at a hospital later in the day to receive treatment for the injuries he sustained from the collision, Hernandez spoke with another deputy who had escorted J.A. to the hospital. Consistent with the plan concocted by Vega earlier in the day to fabricate a false basis for J.A.’s detention and arrest, Hernandez directed the deputy at the hospital to issue J.A. a citation for being under the influence of methamphetamine, even though Hernandez and Vega knew that this accusation was false, according to the plea agreement. The deputy followed Hernandez’s direction and issued the citation. Vega and Hernandez later authored two incident reports regarding the day’s events. They intentionally included false, misleading, and ambiguous information in the reports to justify, legitimize, and ultimately cover up their unlawful conduct, Vega admitted in the plea agreement. The first report falsely stated that J.A. appeared to be under the influence of a stimulant; that J.A. had threatened to harm people in the skatepark, as well as Vega and Hernandez; that a crowd of people were moving toward the LASD patrol vehicle as the defendants drove away after unlawfully detaining J.A; and that, following the crash in the alley, Vega checked J.A. for injuries and J.A. was placed in another patrol vehicle of an assisting LASD unit until paramedics arrived. The second report likewise falsely stated that Vega transferred J.A. to another patrol vehicle after the collision, which both Vega and Hernandez knew to be false. Hernandez pleaded guilty on July 24 to one count of conspiracy pursuant to a cooperation plea agreement. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 8, 2024, at which time he will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. The FBI is conducting the investigation into this matter. The LASD’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau and Internal Affairs Bureau provided substantial assistance. Assistant United States Attorneys J. Jamari Buxton and Brian R. Faerstein of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.


title: Columbus Woman Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Possessing  Child Sexual Abuse Material

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: COLUMBUS, Ga. –A Columbus, Georgia, resident who admitted to possessing photos and videos of children being sexual abused was sentenced to serve ten years in federal prison for her crime. Townes Ward Borum, 38, of Columbus, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 120 months in prison to be followed by ten years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Clay Land today after she previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Borum will also have to register as a sex offender for life upon her release from prison. Borum is not eligible for parole. “This case serves as a harsh reminder of the length child predators will go to meet their needs at the cost of innocent and trusting lives,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “In collaboration with our law enforcement and community partners, we will seek justice on behalf of sexually exploited children and do everything within our power to hold predators accountable.” “People like Borum, who sexually exploit children for monetary gain, do serious lasting harm and facilitate in the continued manufacturing and trading of child sexual abuse material,” said Rich Bilson, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent of FBI Atlanta’s Columbus office. “The FBI is committed to working with our partners to find such predators and lock them up so they can do no further harm.” “This case shows how low predators will go to profit from innocent lives. Working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners, the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit remains committed to diligently investigating individuals who exploit our children,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. According to facts presented at court, GBI was contacted by law enforcement in New Jersey on May 20, 2022, with information that an adult female in the Middle District of Georgia was distributing nude photos of a young child to a man in their jurisdiction. The initial Cybertip leading to the New Jersey man came from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and a subsequent investigation found digital files of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the man’s cell phone. The man told authorities that Borum was providing him with the CSAM material, and that they had been communicating on the Whisper app and by text message. The man said he paid Borum’s rent and other expenses in exchange for sexually explicit photos and videos of young children. A search warrant was executed by GBI at Borum’s Columbus home on May 21, 2022. Borum’s cell phone was seized; it contained hundreds of images and videos of CSAM, including images of CSAM depicting prepubescent minors. Her phone also contained numerous messages between Borum and others discussing the exchange of child sexual abuse material for money. Agents also found online advertisements she created and posted to sell child sexual abuse material. Borum admitted to the facts in court. The plea agreement in this case is sealed at the request of the Government for protection of minor victims. 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov . The case was investigated by GBI, FBI-Atlanta, FBI-Dallas and FBI-Los Angeles, with special assistance from the Bergen County, New Jersey, District Attorney’s Office and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals is prosecuting the case for the Government.