Category: United States Attorneys General

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Jefferson County man admits to firearm charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Mark Hanshaw, of Jefferson Village, West Virginia has admitted to a firearm charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Hanshaw, age 28, pled guilty to one count of “Drug User in Possession of a Firearm – Aiding and Abetting.” Hanshaw admitted to illegally possessing a Taurus 38 Special handgun. The crime occurred in September 2015 in Jefferson County.

Hanshaw faces up to ten years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul T. Camilletti is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. 
 
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Upshur County residents admit to their roles in a methamphetamine distribution operation

LKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Two Buckhannon, West Virginia residents have admitted today to conspiring with others to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced. 

Amanda Mae Bachman, also known as “AB,” age 33, and Steven Larry Harper, also known as “Skip,” age 40, each pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine.” Bachman and Harper admitted to conspiring with others to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. The crime occurred in Upshur County and elsewhere from March 2016 to September 2017. 

Bachman and Harper each face up to life incarceration and a fine of up to $10,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives, The Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, the Greater Harrison Drug &Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, the West Virginia State Police, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, the Buckhannon Police Department, and the Weston Police Department investigated. 

The investigation was funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program (OCDETF). The OCDETF program supplies critical federal funding and coordination that allows federal and state agencies to work together to successfully identify, investigate, and prosecute major interstate and international drug trafficking organizations and other criminal enterprises.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided. 

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Memphis Operator, LLC d/b/a Spring Gate Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center will pay $500,000 to the United States and the State of Tennessee for services rendered to residents of Spring Gate that were materially substandard and worthless

 

Memphis, TN – Memphis Operator, LLC d/b/a Spring Gate Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center will pay $500,000 to the United States and the State of Tennessee to resolve allegations of false claims to Medicare and Tenncare for services rendered to residents of Spring Gate that were materially substandard, worthless and were provided in violation of certain essential requirements that the United States expects skilled nursing facilities to meet.

The Complaint alleged that from 2012 to 2015, Spring Gate provided substandard and worthless nursing home services to residents. Under federal and state law, Medicare and Tenncare will not pay for services deemed to be so deficient that they are essentially worthless.

The allegations resolved in this settlement were first raised in a lawsuit filed against Spring Gate under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permits parties to sue on behalf of the government for the submission of false claims and share in the recovery. The False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729-3733, provides the United States with a cause of action against any person or entity that knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval.

The case was captioned United States of America and the State of Tennessee ex rel. Chris Godwin v. Memphis Operator, LLC (d/b/a Spring Gate Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center). Vericare Management, Inc. and PharMerica Corporation, No. 2:15-cv-2090 (W.D.Tenn.). During the investigation of this matter, Spring Gate cooperated with the United States and the State of Tennessee in bringing this matter to a resolution.

“Residents of nursing homes are some of our most vulnerable citizens. When nursing homes break the law by defrauding the government for substandard or worthless services we will use our resources to combat this fraud and hold them accountable,” said D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

“Protecting the health and safety of Medicare patients is one of our primary concerns,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta. “Nursing facilities that fail to meet minimum quality standards can expect to pay a heavy price for neglecting their residents.”

In addition to the $500,000 settlement, Spring Gate entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General intended to deter future wrongful conduct.

This investigation was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee State Attorney General’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Stuart J. Canale and Matt Waldrop and Steve Jobe, Senior Counsel for the Tennessee Attorney General prosecuted this case on the government’s behalf.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Jersey City Police Officer Admits Conspiracy To Commit Fraud And Accept Corrupt Payments

NEWARK, N.J. – A Jersey City police officer today admitted accepting corrupt payments in exchange for helping employers operate at worksites without the required presence of an off-duty police officer, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Juan Berrios, 41, of Rahway, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and accept corrupt payments.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Berrios was a police officer with the Jersey City Police Department from 2004 to 2017. Under Jersey City’s municipal code, police officers performing off-duty work were not permitted to receive cash payments directly from other employers. Rather, the employers were supposed to pay Jersey City, which would then pay the off-duty police officers, minus certain fees, taxes and deductions.

Berrios agreed with numerous off-duty employers to accept payments directly from them and cut Jersey City out of the process. In exchange for the payments, Berrios permitted off-duty employers to operate at worksites without the presence of a police officer when such a presence was required.

On several occasions, Berrios submitted off-duty vouchers seeking and obtaining compensation for working as a traffic director or security guard. Berrios also sought and received overtime compensation for appearing in court at the same time he was purportedly performing off-duty work. As a result, Berrios fraudulently obtained compensation from Jersey City for separate assignments that occurred at the same time.

Berrios faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Berrios will forfeit $50,000. His sentencing is scheduled for April 16, 2018.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy A. Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Danny J. Welsh Esq. Jersey City, New Jersey

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Saint Bernard Resident Pleads Guilty to

United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that EMELDA MATTHEWS (“MATTHEWS”), age 36, of Violet, Louisiana, pleaded guilty yesterday to Aiding and Assisting in the Preparation of False Tax Returns.

According to documents filed in federal court, MATTHEWS operated a small tax preparer business from her home in Violet, Louisiana. And from 2013 through 2015, MATTHEWS, aided and assisted numerous federal income tax filers in preparing and filing false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.

The maximum penalty for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns is three years of imprisonment, and/or a fine of $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to the victim. United States District Judge Susie Morgan set the sentencing hearing for May 2, 2018.       

United States Attorney Evans praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Pickens, II is in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Eighth Member of Methamphetamine Conspiracy Sentenced

MADISON, WIS. — Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Olivia Halvorson, 29, Browntown, Wis., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 54 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.   Halvorson pleaded guilty to this charge on November 9, 2017.

During sentencing, Judge Conley described Halvorson as assisting a larger methamphetamine distribution operation by recruiting customers, coordinating shipments of methamphetamine to Wisconsin, collecting money, and traveling to Iowa to facilitate methamphetamine distribution.  Halvorson was part of an operation that was responsible for numerous pounds of methamphetamine shipped from California to Wisconsin.   The amount attributable to Halvorson, conservatively, was over three pounds of methamphetamine. 

Halvorson and 10 other individuals have been charged in federal indictments for their roles in this methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.  Nine of the eleven individuals charged in the indictments have pleaded guilty; Halvorson is the eighth to be sentenced.

The charge against Halvorson was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration- Madison, Wisconsin and Los Angeles, California; Dane County Narcotics Task Force; Dane County Sheriff’s Department; Madison Police Department; UW-Madison Police Department; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Sauk County Drug Task Force; Richland-Iowa-Grant Drug Task Force; Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office; State Line Area Narcotics Team; and Rock County Special Investigations Unit.  The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Reinhard and Diane Schlipper. 

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: California Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Armed Robbery and Home Invasion in Northwest Washington

            WASHINGTON – Jomo Dawes, 40, of San Diego, Calif., was sentenced today to 50 years in prison on charges stemming from a home invasion and armed robbery that took place in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.   

            Dawes was found guilty by a jury in November 2017 of a total of 27 charges, including multiple counts of kidnapping while armed, armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon, felony threats, and related weapons offenses. He was sentenced by the Honorable Marisa Demeo.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 14, 2016, at approximately 10 p.m., Dawes and two accomplices got into a home in the 4800 block of Illinois Avenue NW under the ruse of selling marijuana. They pulled out guns and began robbing all four of the victims, repeatedly threatening to kill them. They even stacked the victims’ bodies on top of one another, suggesting to any frightful or reasonable person that they were about to be executed. At one point, one of the victims’ friends showed up at the front door and tried to enter. Dawes opened the door and proceeded to pistol-whip him in the face. The robbers fled the scene.

            An investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) led to the arrest of Dawes in July 2017 in Atlanta, Ga. He was extradited to the District of Columbia and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department, including detectives from the Fourth Police District. She also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Sanchez and Paralegal Specialist Donville Drummond. Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Rosen and Michael McCarthy, who prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Dominican National Sentenced for Trafficking Fentanyl Facing Deportation

PROVIDENCE, RI – A Dominican national convicted in U.S. District Court in Providence of trafficking nearly 2,000 grams of fentanyl faces deportation proceedings, having been sentenced on Tuesday to time served, 24 months in federal prison.

Jose Cordero, 28, formerly of Boston, was arrested by Rhode Island State Police in March 2015 during a traffic stop during which it was discovered that Cordero was operating the vehicle without license. A search of the vehicle revealed a complex wiring system that, when engaged, revealed a “hide” – an electronically powered compartment designed to conceal contraband – containing 1,993.21 grams of fentanyl under the front passenger seat.

Cordero, first charged in Rhode Island state court, was charged by way of federal criminal complaint in October 2015 and a federal indictment in May 2016 with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Cordero pleaded guilty on September 12, 2017, as charged in the indictment.

Cordero is presently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removals Operations awaiting deportation proceedings.

Cordero’s sentence is announced by United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch and Colonel Ann C. Assumpico, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.

The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range of imprisonment in this matter is 70-87 months. The government recommended the court impose a sentence of 70 months in prison.

The case was prosecuted Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.

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Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: U.S Attorney Statement on Veteran Care Agreement with Disability Rights Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Disability Rights Oregon announced that they have reached an agreement providing Springfield, Oregon veteran Michael Williamson with continued in-home care services, at least through April 15, 2018. With this temporary extension of services in place, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will continue to seek a long-term solution to keep Mr. Williamson in his home.

“We are pleased to announce that the VA reached an agreement with New Horizons, a home health agency, to extend Mr. Williamson’s in-home care services in the short-term,” said Billy J. Williams, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. “We look forward to our continued work with the VA and Disability Rights Oregon to find a long-term solution that will provide care to an honored veteran in an integrated setting with the appropriate level of care to meet Mr. Williamson’s needs.”

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Wilmington Man Sentenced to More Than 18 Years for Drug Distribution and Firearm Charges

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that yesterday in federal court, Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt sentenced DARIUS J. WILLIAMS, 38, of Wilmington, to 225 months of imprisonment followed by 6 years of supervised release. 

WILLIAMS was named in an Indictment filed on July 19, 2017 charging him with Distribution of a Quantity of Heroin.  On September 27, 2017, WILLIAMS was also named in a two-count Criminal Information.  Count 1 charged Conspiracy to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Quantity of Heroin, Cocaine Base, and Marijuana.  Count 2 charged Possession of a Firearm by Felon.  On September 27, 2017, WILLIAMS pled guilty to Counts 1 and 2 of the Criminal Information.

On February 21, 2017, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) observed an individual using heroin in a restaurant parking lot in Wilmington.  His sleeve was rolled up, exposing his forearm, and 87 dosage units of heroin were in his lap.  The man informed the agents he was on federal supervised release.  The agents seized the evidence and took him into custody where he was debriefed.  Agents learned the individual was living in a federal halfway house, where he had previously purchased heroin from WILLIAMS, who was also on federal supervised release and living in the same house.

On February 23, 2017, the man assisted the FBI in their investigation of WILLIAMS. At the FBI’s instruction, and with their supervision, the man traveled to WILLIAMS’ residence in Wilmington.  Upon arrival, he purchased 351 dosage units (9 grams) of heroin.  Before leaving, WILLIAMS told the man to call whenever more heroin was needed.  On June 26, 2017, agents coordinated with federal probation to place WILLIAMS under arrest at the probation office in Wilmington.

Following WILLIAMS’ detention, law enforcement monitored a number of phone calls between WILLIAMS and associates under the belief that WILLIAMS was attempting to lead them to a location where narcotics were stored.  Law enforcement officers observed the associates park their vehicle near the address identified as belonging to WILLIAMS’ mother.  The associates were detained upon leaving.  An examination of the vehicle recovered two plastic bags containing 91.78 grams of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), 33.68 grams of cocaine, 62.78 grams of marijuana, and a loaded .380 pistol which was later determined to be stolen.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the criminal investigation of this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Bradford Knott handled the prosecution of this case for the government. At sentencing, Judge Britt instructed that, among other reasons, WILLIAMS’S recidivism with serious drug trafficking felonies served as a basis for the sentence imposed.