Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

GREENVILLE, Miss – A Nettleton, Mississippi man was sentenced today to more than 13 years in prison for possession of child sexual abuse materials.

According to court documents, Clyde Lee Hall, 49 years old, was originally charged with failure to register as a sex offender in the Northern District of Mississippi after absconding from the Dismas Charities Residential Reentry Center while on federal supervised release. A later Cybertip revealed that Hall had been transporting and viewing child pornography on his mobile device following his release from prison. Hall had over 180 videos stored in his Google account, many of which portrayed the sexual abuse of victims under the age of 12. Hall’s prior child pornography conviction enhanced the penalties available to the Court.

On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Hall to 162 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will do everything possible to see that criminals who victimize children or who take pleasure in watching children being victimized are held accountable for their abhorrent crimes,” remarked U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner.  “We applaud the work by the United States Marshals Service and the FBI in helping to bring this offender to justice and hope that this sentence will serve as a deterrent to others who would consider transporting or viewing child pornography.”

The United States Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. King prosecuted the case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Jackson, MS – A Missouri woman was sentenced in federal court to 10 years in prison for helping her co-defendant, who discharged a firearm during the commission of a robbery that killed three people.

According to court documents, Jamison Layne Townsend, 42, and her co-defendant, Joshua Michael Garcia, went to Bill’s Coin & Jewelry on December 17, 2016, to rob the business.  During the robbery, Garcia shot and killed the owner and two co-workers. Townsend and Garcia emptied the display cases of watches, rings, necklaces, bracelets, coins, and other items. Later that day, they entered a pawn shop in Mobile, Alabama, and pawned five items that were stolen from Bill’s earlier that day.

On December 19, 2016, a trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol attempted to stop Townsend and Garcia, who were traveling in a red Dodge Charger on Interstate 24. A chase ensued and Townsend and Garcia escaped at a high rate of speed. Two days later, Townsend and Garcia were arrested in Geary County, Kansas. Officers searched the Charger and found numerous items that were stolen from Bill’s, including coins, watches, trays of jewelry, and many items that still contained the sales tags from Bill’s. Additionally, officers recovered four firearms, including a Les Baer .45 caliber handgun that was determined to be the murder weapon by the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory. Ammunition, a cell phone, and numerous items of clothing were also recovered from the Dodge Charger.         

Townsend pled guilty on September 18, 2023, to three counts of accessory after the fact.

Joshua Michael Garcia previously pled guilty to discharging a firearm that resulted in the murder of three persons during the commission of a robbery. He was sentenced to three life sentences.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Orench of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson Police Department with assistance from the Geary County, Kansas, Sherriff’s Department, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory, the United States Marshal’s Service, the Gulfport Police Department, and the Biloxi Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Criminal Chief Erin Chalk.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Jackson, Miss. – A Jackson man pled guilty in federal court to production of child pornography.

According to court documents, in April 2021, Delvan Jerrod Howard, 43, video recorded himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a minor.

Howard was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2022. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jessica Orench of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes is prosecuting the case.    

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

Jackson, Miss. – A Vicksburg man was sentenced in federal court to serve a total of 50 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, beginning in January 2022, Samuel Boyd Slade, Jr., 43, produced images and videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

In addition to his term of imprisonment, Slade was ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution to victims and a $6,000 assessment under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018. Slade was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Todd W. Gee and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Orench of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man from Illinois appeared in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau Tuesday to face a criminal complaint that accuses him of trying to hire someone to kill a business associate in Florida.

Ben Patrick Mullavey, 64, of Mechanicsburg, in Sangamon County, was charged with one felony count of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

A criminal complaint and affidavit filed Tuesday accuses Mullavey of offering up to $10,000 for the murder of the Florida man. Mullavey claimed the man owed him $200,000 and a lawsuit over the money was not going well, the charging documents say.

The affidavit says the man Mullavey allegedly tried to hire began working with the FBI on January 3, after meeting with Mullavey in Sikeston, Missouri and hearing about his plans. Mullavey would eventually discuss the manner of the murder and supply the name and description of his business partner, a Florida license plate to help the hit man blend in, a crossbow and arrows, expense money, a $1,000 “prepayment” and directions to the restaurant next to the target’s wine bar, the affidavit says.

The murder-for-hire charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

Charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton is prosecuting the case. 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – A Jamaica Plain man was sentenced on Jan. 5, 2024 in federal court in Boston for a May 2022 robbery of a TD Bank in Cambridge.

Jalonni Shabazz, a/k/a “Jalonni Tucker,” 42, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 63 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In August 2023, Shabazz pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery.

On May 2, 2022, at approximately 12:49 p.m., a suspect wearing a royal blue baseball hat, gray short-sleeved T-shirt, a camouflage pattern garment around his neck and medical mask entered the TD Bank on Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge. The suspect handed the teller a note that read, “All of the Money – No Dye packs – or alarms,” and then told the teller, “This is a robbery honey.” The teller complied with the suspect’s demands and gave cash to the suspect.  The man then fled on foot after taking $2,200 cash from the teller. 

During a search of the area surrounding the bank, a royal blue baseball hat, consistent with that worn by the suspect in the robbery, was located. DNA obtained from the hat belonged to Shabazz. In addition, analysis of the bank’s surveillance footage and the defendant’s Facebook account identified Shabazz’s features – including his tattoo, hair and an article of clothing – to be consistent with that of the robbery suspect.

At the time of the robbery, Shabazz was on supervised release following a 2017 federal conviction for two bank robberies for which he was sentenced to 54 months in prison.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Massachusetts State Police Interim Colonel John E. Mawn, Jr.; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; and MBTA Transit Police Chief Kenneth Green made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case. 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – A Randolph man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for sex trafficking a 15-year-old minor. 

Admilson Gomes Pires, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Pires was also ordered to pay $5,500 in restitution to the victim. In September 2023, Pires was convicted by a federal jury of one count of sex trafficking of a child and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a child. 

“Mr. Pires not only preyed upon a minor runaway, but he cruelly subjected her to sexual abuse and trafficking. His calculated manipulation, from grooming this vulnerable young girl to orchestrating commercial sex transactions, demonstrate a reprehensible lack of humanity,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This case underscores why combatting human trafficking, which often hides in plain sight, is such a high priority for this office. January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and our office remains steadfast in our commitment to combatting this heinous conduct, seeking justice for survivors and holding perpetrators accountable. The exploitation of vulnerable individuals, especially minors, will never be tolerated.”

“Admilson Pires is a predator who groomed a 15-year-old child who ran away from home for his own gratification and profit, and today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of his crimes,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Sex trafficking is among the most depraved crimes on the books, and using a victim-centered approach, FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation – Human Trafficking Task Force will continue to do everything it can to protect our most vulnerable from those who seek to manipulate and harm them.”

In February 2019, Pires met the minor victim who had run from her home in Western Massachusetts and began a sexual relationship with her. Pires groomed the minor victim and, in July 2019, began trafficking her in Boston and Norwood. He first sold the minor victim for sex to his adult uncle in Dorchester and then created and posted a commercial sex advertisement online that contained explicit photographs and a video of the minor victim. Pires told the minor victim that she would have to engage in prostitution with strangers if she wanted to stay in a relationship with him.  

Pires used drugs to manipulate an adult female into agreeing to harbor the minor victim at her apartment in Norwood for sex trafficking. Over the course of 11 days, Pires had the minor victim engage in commercial sex for him out of the Norwood apartment – arranging four to five “dates” per day in exchange for money he kept himself. On at least one occasion, a sex buyer that Pires had arranged for the minor victim to have sex with was extremely violent toward her. 

On Aug. 1, 2019, local law enforcement located the minor victim in Norwood and returned her home. 

If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.  

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk and Norfolk County District Attorney’s Offices; the Massachusetts State Police; and the Arlington, Boston, Fall River, Norwood, Randolph and Springfield Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Moran, Chief of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Riley, Chief of the Civil Rights & Human Trafficking Unit prosecuted the case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – The former Head of School for New Mission School in Hyde Park, an autonomous pilot school within the Boston Public Schools system, was sentenced today for misusing approximately $38,806 in school funds for her own personal use.

Naia Wilson, 60, of Mattapan, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to two years of supervised release, with the first 90 days to be served in home incarceration, 160 hours of community service and a $25,000 fine. Wilson was also ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $38,806 to Boston Public Schools. In September 2023, Wilson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

Wilson was employed as Head of School for New Mission School from 2006 until about June of 2019. Pilot schools like New Mission are granted maximum autonomy over their budget and spending. New Mission School receives a lump sum per pupil budget from Boston Public Schools and school administrators decide how to spend that money based on the needs of the school. 

Pilot school budgets are managed by an external fiscal agent that contracts with Boston Public Schools. The school funds managed by the external fiscal agent were held in a bank account. In order to spend school funds managed by the external fiscal agent, Wilson, in her role as Head of School for New Mission School, would be required to make a formal check request to the external fiscal agent for a check to be issued from the bank account holding the school’s funds.

Beginning in or about September of 2016 and continuing until at least May of 2019, Wilson requested checks from the external fiscal agent school account to be issued to various individuals, purportedly as stipends for work those individuals did at the school. Once those checks were issued, Wilson fraudulently endorsed the checks to herself and deposited them into her own bank account without the nominee ever knowing or authorizing her to do so.

Additionally, Wilson requested checks from the external fiscal agent that were used to pay for two all-inclusive personal vacations to Barbados for herself and several of her friends in 2016 and 2018. For both the 2016 and 2018 Barbados trips, Wilson requested that the external fiscal agent issue checks payable to other people who went on the trips and then converted that money to pay for the all-inclusive hotel and airfare. Wilson also fraudulently endorsed the checks used to pay for the 2018 trip.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. The Boston Public Schools were cooperative in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eugenia M. Carris and Charles Dell’Anno of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – eBay Inc., the global ecommerce company, has agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty for an August 2019 harassment and intimidation campaign targeting a Massachusetts couple in retaliation for their online coverage of eBay, and for its obstruction of the investigation that followed.   

eBay was charged criminally with two counts of stalking through interstate travel, two counts of stalking through electronic communications services, one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of justice and has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. Pursuant to the agreement, eBay admitted to a detailed recitation of all the relevant facts about its conduct and agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $3 million, which is the statutory maximum fine for these six felony offenses. As part of this resolution, eBay will also be required to retain an independent corporate compliance monitor for a period of three years and to make extensive enhancements to its compliance program.  

“eBay engaged in absolutely horrific, criminal conduct. The company’s employees and contractors involved in this campaign put the victims through pure hell, in a petrifying campaign aimed at silencing their reporting and protecting the eBay brand,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “We left no stone unturned in our mission to hold accountable every individual who turned the victims’ world upside-down through a never-ending nightmare of menacing and criminal acts. The investigation led to felony convictions for seven individuals, all former eBay employees or contractors, and the ringleader was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison.”

Levy continued, “Today’s criminal resolution with the company imposes the maximum fine that the law allows under the statutes, holding eBay accountable for a corporate culture that led to this unprecedented stalking campaign. The corporate monitoring of eBay will be in place for the next three years and will ensure that eBay’s senior leadership sets a tone that makes compliance with the law paramount, implements safeguards to prevent future criminal activity, and makes clear to every eBay employee that the idea of terrorizing innocent people and obstructing investigations will not be tolerated.”  

“Today’s settlement holds e-Bay criminally and financially responsible for emotionally, psychologically, and physically terrorizing the publishers of an online newsletter out of fear that bad publicity would adversely impact their Fortune 500 company. It also puts in place some much needed checks and balances to ensure an overhaul of e-Bay’s corporate culture by requiring it to implement a revamped compliance and ethics program designed to prevent the recurrence of the appalling conduct we uncovered in this case,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division. “No one should ever feel unsafe in their own home, and while this settlement cannot erase the significant distress this couple suffered, we hope it will deter others from engaging in similar conduct.”

According to eBay’s admissions, between approximately Aug. 5, 2019 and Aug. 23, 2019, Jim Baugh, eBay’s former Senior Director of Safety and Security, and six other members of eBay’s security team targeted the victims for their roles in publishing a newsletter that reported on issues of interest to eBay sellers. Senior executives at eBay were frustrated with the newsletter’s tone and content, and with the comments posted beneath the newsletter’s articles. The harassment campaign arose from communications between those executives and Baugh.  

Baugh and his co-conspirators executed a harassment campaign intended to intimidate the victims and to change the content of the newsletter’s reporting. The campaign included sending anonymous and disturbing deliveries to the victims’ home, including a book on surviving the death of a spouse, a bloody pig mask, a fetal pig and a funeral wreath and live insects; sending private Twitter messages and public tweets criticizing the newsletter’s content and threatening to visit the victims in Natick; and traveling to Natick to surveil the victims and install a GPS tracking device on their car. The harassment also featured Craigslist posts inviting the public for sexual encounters at the victims’ home.

The victims spotted the surveillance team and contacted local police. After learning of the Natick Police Department’s investigation, Baugh made false statements to police and internal investigators, and he and his team deleted digital evidence related to the cyberstalking campaign and falsified records intended to throw the police off the trail. 

The seven convicted eBay employees and contractors include Baugh, who was sentenced to 57 months in prison in September 2022; David Harville, former Director of Global Resiliency, who was sentenced to 24 months in prison in September 2022; Stephanie Popp, former Senior Manager of Global Intelligence, who was sentenced to 12 months in prison in October 2022; Philip Cooke, a former Senior Manager of Security Operations, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 12 months of home confinement in July 2021; Stephanie Stockwell and Veronica Zea, a former Manager of Global Intelligence and a contract intelligence analyst, respectively, who were each sentenced to one year in home confinement in October and November 2022.  Brian Gilbert, a former Senior Manager of Security Operations, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.   

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Jodi Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable investigative assistance was provided by the Natick Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, prosecuted the case.