Category: United States Attorneys General

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Eight Individuals with Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Plead Guilty to Embezzlement and Money Laundering

DENVER – As part of an ongoing investigation, eight individuals pled guilty this week to various charges involving funds embezzled from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe announced U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer, FBI Denver Field Office Special Agent in Charge Calvin A. Shivers, and IRS-Criminal Investigation Denver Field Office Special Agent in Charge Steven Osborne. 

According to information contained in court documents, from at least 2011 through October 2015, Ute Mountain Ute (UMU) tribal members were entitled to receive utility benefits from the tribe to pay their utility expenses in annual amounts from $1,200 to $1,500.  Bills or other documentation were required to be submitted along with the application to the tribe’s Financial Services Department for processing and payment to the tribal members.  Additionally during the same time period, UMU tribal members had family plan accounts established when the tribal member was a child and from which the member could start spending the funds once they reached 18 years of age.  The funds in the family plan accounts, with accrued interest, usually reached approximately $10,000 by the time the member reached 18 years old.  These funds could be used to purchase things such as vehicles, home furnishings, and computers.  As with the utility benefits, the tribal member was required to provide invoices or other documentation to UMU’s Financial Services Department in order to request payment from the family plan account.

Beginning in at least 2011, certain employees of the tribe’s Financial Services Department caused fraudulent tribal checks to be generated in the names of people selected by the employees.   The people receiving the checks cashed the checks and usually shared the cash with the Financial Services Department employee who provided the check.  Initially, these fraudulent checks were falsely attributed to the utility benefits or family plan accounts of tribal members who did not request or receive the fraudulent checks.  Later, the fraudulent checks were generated without being attributed to any tribal member.  Several of the people who received the fraudulent checks were not tribal members and were not entitled to any tribal benefits.

In other instances, the Financial Service Department employees caused embezzled tribal funds to be sent via Western Union to selected recipients who would in turn provide a portion of the money back to the employee who sent the wire.  In some instances, embezzled tribal funds were wired to inmates with the Federal Bureau of Prisons who were not UMU tribal members and not entitled to any UMU tribal funds. 

The eight individuals who pled guilty before Magistrate Judge David L. West are:

• Oraleigh Jaramillo aka Oraleigh Hammond – one count of Embezzlement, Conversion or Misapplication of Property from Indian Tribal Government receiving federal funds and one count of Money Laundering with restitution of $309,537;
• Classia Rose Hammond – one count of Receipt of funds belonging to an Indian tribal organization that had been converted or willfully misapplied with restitution of $65,508.56;
• Loia K. House – one count of Receipt of funds belonging to an Indian tribal organization that had been converted or willfully misapplied with restitution of $22,190;
• Darrell Jonah Lee – one count of Receipt of funds belonging to an Indian tribal organization that had been converted or willfully misapplied with restitution of $142,411;
• Kevin Ryan Lee – one count of Receipt of funds belonging to an Indian tribal organization that had been converted or willfully misapplied with restitution of $89,132;
• Myreon Lehi – one count of Receipt of funds belonging to an Indian tribal organization that had been converted or willfully misapplied with restitution of $23,280;
• Ladelda Lopez aka Ladelda Box – one count of Receipt of funds belonging to an Indian tribal organization that had been converted or willfully misapplied with restitution of $34,823; and
• Jennifer Ann Pioche – one count of Receipt of funds belonging to an Indian tribal organization that had been converted or willfully misapplied with restitution of $106,497.

Additionally, Gloria Lee aka Gloria Rouillard, aka Gloria Lopez made her initial appearance on an Information charging one count of Embezzlement, Conversion or Misapplication of Property from Indian Tribal Government receiving federal funds and one count of Money Laundering. 

Embezzlement, Conversion or Misapplication of Property from an Indian Tribal government receiving federal funds carries a penalty of not more than 10 years imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.  Money laundering carries a penalty of not more than 20 years imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000.  Receipt of funds belonging to an Indian tribal organization that has been converted or willfully misapplied carries a penalty of not more than five years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of not more than $250,000.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.   This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Pegeen D. Rhyne.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Sulphur man pleads guilty to illegal possession of a silencer

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Sulphur man pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing a silencer.

Robert Reid Taylor, 46, of Sulphur, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm silencer. According to the guilty plea, Taylor was found with an unregistered firearm silencer on September 7, 2017. The silencer had no manufacturer’s markings or serial number. It was also not registered in the National Firearms and Transfer Record.

Taylor faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safe for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

The ATF conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Arvada Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Mailing Marijuana

DENVER – Mark Herbert Koenig, age 36, of Arvada, Colorado, was recently sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson to serve one year and a day in federal prison for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Dana Carter announced.  Koenig was sentenced on January 25, 2018, following his entering a guilty plea on October 27, 2017.

According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, in four separate times, October 5, 2015, November 17, 2015, December 16, 2015, and January 6, 2016, Koenig was observed mailing a package.  U.S. Postal Inspectors seized each package after a drug dog alerted to it.  A warrant was obtained in each instance, and the packages opened, containing between 950 grams to 1.600 kilograms of marijuana.  On January 13, 2016, a search warrant was obtained for the defendant’s residence.  Inside Postal Inspectors found 123 mature marijuana plants.  For purposes of sentencing, both the prosecution and defense agreed in the plea agreement that the total amount of marijuana that was considered for relevant conduct was 18,672 grams.

“U.S. Postal Inspectors continue to aggressively target individuals who use the postal service to distribute controlled substances,” said Dana Carter, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Denver Division.  “Our efforts to protect the nation’s mail, and postal customers, from illegal drug shipments are highlighted in cases such as these, where repeat offenders are sent to federal prison.”

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with the Arvada Police Department and the West Metro Drug Task Force.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Bohn.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Chicago Man Sentenced to 42 Months for Illegally Possessing Gun

MADISON, WIS. — Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jelani Faulk, 21, Chicago, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William Conley to 42 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.  His prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.  Faulk pleaded guilty to this charge on November 13, 2017.

Faulk was arrested by Madison police officers on August 16, 2017, after discharging a gun on a Megabus parked on the University of Wisconsin campus.  At the time of his arrest, officers noticed that Faulk had wounds consistent with a gunshot.  After draining the bathroom tank on the bus, officers found the 9mm handgun that the Faulk attempted to hide before leaving the bus.  Faulk previously had been convicted of a felony offense in Hennepin County, Minnesota.

In sentencing Faulk, Judge Conley took into account his lengthy criminal history, which included violent crimes and firearms offenses.  Judge Conley also noted that Faulk’s decision to carry a loaded firearm on a public bus was extremely dangerous and could have resulted in injury or death to others.

The charge against Faulk was a result of an investigation conducted by the Madison Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Wegner.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: New York City Correction Officers Charged with Smuggling Narcotics into City Prison Facilities

A six-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging seven defendants with conspiring to bribe correction officers employed by the New York City Department of Corrections (“DOC”) as part of a narcotics smuggling conspiracy.  The defendants’ arraignment is scheduled for this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James Orenstein.    

As alleged in the indictment, the defendants conspired to smuggle marijuana and other contraband into DOC prison facilities with the assistance of New York City Department of Correction Officers Christian Mizell and Carl Noel.  Defendants Warren Green and Patrick Johnson, both incarcerated on unrelated felony offenses, arranged for marijuana and other contraband to be packaged and delivered covertly to the correction officers by defendants Robert Martino, Malik Holloway and Asha Patterson.  The Correction Officers received thousands of dollars in bribes to smuggle the contraband past DOC security for eventual distribution inside the prison. 

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James J. Hunt, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), Mark G. Peters, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), and George P. Beach, Superintendent, New York State Police, announced the charges. 

“The honesty and integrity of correction officers is critical to the orderly running of a prison,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “When the defendant correction officers betrayed the trust placed in them by the City of New York, they not only committed serious crimes but also potentially jeopardized the safety of staff and inmates.  This Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to identifying and prosecuting corrupt correction officers who accept bribes to smuggle contraband into prison facilities.”   

“Drug traffickers are notorious for their smuggling methods, but this case demonstrated the defendants’ ability to bypass security altogether,” stated DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Hunt.  “With two correction officers as members of the organization, the defendants allegedly pushed contraband into prison for resale to inmates.  Today’s arrests are a result of law enforcement partnerships and hard work.”

“This investigation demonstrates again a pattern of misconduct in our City’s jails: outside civilians working with Correction Officers and DOC employees to smuggle narcotics and other contraband to inmates on the inside,” stated DOI Commissioner Peters.  “DOI and its partners, including the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, have been cracking down on these illegal operations to stem the flow of contraband, while also working towards critical reforms in DOC’s front-gate screening protocols to shore up security at these facilities.” 

“Due to the hard work and cooperation between law enforcement partners at all levels, this smuggling conspiracy was uncovered and shut down,” stated NYSP Superintendent Beach.  “This sends a strong message that we will not tolerate such crimes, especially when they are perpetuated by individuals in a place of authority who have been entrusted with upholding the law. Such criminals will be prosecuted to the fullest.”

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.    

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erik Paulsen of the Office’s Public Integrity Section and Nomi Berenson of the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.

The Defendants:

Christian MIzell
Age: 48
Queens, New York

CARL NOEL
Age: 32
New York, New York

WARREN GREEN
Age: 40
Pine City, New York

PATRICK JOHNSON
Age: 27
Bronx, New York

ROBERT MARTINO
Age: 37
Queens, New York

MALIK HOLLOWAY
Age: 22
Bronx, New York

ASHA PATTERSON
Age: 43
Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-60 (PKC)

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Bobby Willis Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Wire Fraud Conviction Arising Out of Million Dollar Fraud Scheme

ALBUQUERQUE – Bobby Willis, 45, a resident of Kirtland, N.M., was sentenced yesterday afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on wire fraud charges.  The court will be scheduling a hearing to determine the amount of restitution Willis will be required to pay to the victims of his fraudulent conduct. 

Willis was charged in a two-count indictment filed on Oct. 20, 2015, alleging that, from March 2010 through Aug. 2011, he executed an illegal scheme to defraud two victims out of a $1,000,000.00.  According to the indictment, Willis offered the victims an opportunity to purchase a five-percent interest in a real estate investment company for $1,000,000.00 with the understanding that he and other individuals had also invested millions of dollars in the company.  Willis then spent the victims’ money instead of investing the funds.

Count 1 of the indictment alleges that on Oct. 25, 2010, Willis caused $900,000.00 to be wire transferred from the bank account of the real estate investment company to his and his wife’s bank account.  Count 2 alleges that on Nov. 12, 2010, Willis caused another $95,000.00 to be wire transferred from the real estate investment company’s bank account to his and his wife’s bank account.

On July 12, 2017, Willis pled guilty to the two-count indictment.  In entering the guilty plea, Willis admitted meeting the victims in 2010 and devising a plan to cause the victims to give him $1,000,000.00 to invest in a real estate LLC created by Willis.  Willis further admitted directing the victims to work with his associates to invest the money in a real estate company.  That same real estate company transferred $995,000.00 into an account held by Willis and his wife on Oct. 25, 2010 and Nov. 18, 2010. 

In his plea agreement, Willis admitted that he and his wife spent the victims’ money.  Willis also admitted that he did not invest the victims’ money in any real estate, and when the victims inquired about the status of their investment, he had associates falsely assure the victims that their investment had grown in value.  

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Paige Messec.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Oakdale prisoner pleads guilty to assaulting fellow inmate

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that an Oakdale inmate pleaded guilty Wednesday to assaulting another inmate.

Frank Quinton Gaitor, 49, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Center, Oakdale, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter. According to the guilty plea, Gaitor assaulted and intentionally struck a fellow inmate on January 2, 2016 at the Federal Correctional Center in Oakdale. The assault left the inmate with serious bodily injuries.

Gaitor faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set a sentencing date of April 17, 2018.

The FBI and U.S. Bureau of Prisons conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Ayo and Jamilla A. Bynog are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Shreveport felon pleads guilty to possessing pistol found at residence

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Shreveport man previously convicted of a felony pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing a pistol found in his residence.

Kenneth D. Mayweather, 20, of Shreveport, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to the guilty plea, the Caddo-Shreveport Narcotics Street Level Investigative Unit searched a Shreveport residence on August 3, 2017 as part of a drug investigation. Three males were taken into custody during the search with two of them apprehended in the backyard after attempting to flee the residence. Also during the search, law enforcement agents found a Glock, model 23, .40 caliber pistol and 11 rounds of ammunition. Mayweather admitted to owning the firearm and that he was not allowed to have one as he has a prior felony conviction.

Mayweather faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set a sentencing date of May 30, 2018.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safe for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Session announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

The ATF and Caddo-Shreveport Narcotics Unit conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany E. Fields is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Two Men Sentenced to Lengthy Sentences for Child Pornography Charges Involving Two Minor Victims, One a Three-Year-Old Child

DALLAS — Javier Giovanni Araujo, 34, of Austin, Texas, and Garrett Alexander Mack, 29, of Dallas, Texas, were sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to lengthy prison sentences for child pornography offenses, announced Erin Nealy Cox, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Araujo previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography.  Chief Judge Lynn sentenced Araujo to 40 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release.

Mack previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography. Chief Judge Lynn sentenced Mack to 30 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release.

According to the factual resumes filed in the case and information presented at the sentencing hearing, from at least September 26, 2016 through October 7, 2016, Araujo and Mack discussed sexually abusing children and exchanged photos and videos of child pornography.  Araujo produced videos and images of child pornography by using a three-year-old boy to which he had access.  Araujo and Mack discussed the logistics of how they could gain access to this boy and the ways that Araujo could sexually abuse him.  Araujo then sent some of those child pornography images and videos involving the boy to other men on the internet, including to Mack.   

According to information presented at the sentencing hearing, Araujo, pretending to be a church youth group leader, gained access to another minor child and coerced him into engaging in sexual acts with Araujo.  Araujo recorded this sexual abuse and sent at least one child pornography video of the abuse to Mack. 

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood leverages federal, state and local resources to better investigate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children.  Project Safe Childhood also prioritizes identifying and rescuing victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Dallas Police Department, and the Austin Police Department investigated.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie L. Hoxie prosecuted.

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Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Bank Robber Sentenced

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that KRISTEN WILLIAMS, age 44, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to one count of bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C § 2113(a).