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

Seattle – A 30-year-old New York City man was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of three counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud related to his abuse of the COVID-19 Pandemic Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Donte Jamal McClellon was a resident of Seattle when he submitted falsified documents to obtain $500,948 in loan proceeds from three different financial institutions in May and June 2020. The jury deliberated about two hours following the three-day trial. U.S. District Judge Lauren King scheduled sentencing for April 10, 2024.

According to records filed in the case, McClellon used the names of three limited liability corporations he had once registered in the State of Washington to make his claims. Each of the entities, ‘Frostlake,’ ‘Cannonlake,’ and ‘Skylake’ LLC, had been inactive and showed no signs of business activity in any state or federal registries in the years leading up to the pandemic. Nevertheless, in May and June 2020, McClellon submitted Paycheck Protection program applications claiming the entities each had as many as 13 employees and, in one case, gross receipts of more than $1.6 million. McClellon forged multiple Internal Revenue Service forms to make it appear the three companies were operating real estate, wholesale, or retail businesses, with employees who would benefit from the Paycheck Protection Program loans. McClellon claimed the businesses operated out of his home address in Seattle. The investigation revealed there was no business activity at that address.

The loan funds were disbursed to bank accounts that McClellon had set up just days before he made the loan applications. The proceeds were then moved to a personal bank account controlled by McClellon. McClellon used the money to pay his rent on a Manhattan apartment, for travel and gym memberships, and some $20,000 on Uber rides among other personal, non-business expenses.

The case was investigated by The FBI Seattle Field Division with assistance from FBI New York and the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG).

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Watts Staniar, Jessica Murphy Manca, and Sok Tea Jiang.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

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 via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Eagle River man was arrested by the FBI Wednesday on criminal charges related to his alleged possession of child pornography and attempted coercion of a minor.

According to court documents, Michael Koetter, 28, possessed child pornography depicting minors as young as toddlers. He also allegedly attempted to induce, entice, or coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit behavior by seeking out girls under 12 years old that “have rates,” which is a term often used in the commercial sex industry referring to the price to perform sex acts or purchase sexually explicit images.

Koetter is charged with possession of child pornography depicting minors who have not attained 12 years of age, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2252A(a)(5)(b) and (b)(2), and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2422(b). If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office is investigating the case. If anyone has information concerning Koetter’s alleged actions or may have encountered someone in person or online while in Alaska or Indiana using the name Michael Koetter or the username “sskies420,” please contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441 or anonymously at tips.fbi.gov.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Brickey 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 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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

WASHINGTON – A jury today in Greensboro, North Carolina, convicted Marian Hudak, 52, for committing a hate crime against a Black man and a Hispanic man on separate occasions.

“It’s one thing to use racial slurs and harbor the KKK’s flag, but carrying out acts of violence fueled by naked racial animus and hatred violates the law and core principles of our democracy. The defendant was held accountable for his violent and unlawful attacks on Black and Hispanic members of his community,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously investigate and prosecute violence targeting people because of their race or national origin. All community members should be able to live in and move about their neighborhoods without fear of attack because of how they look or where they are from.”

“All people — regardless of the color of their skin or their nationality — are entitled to travel on public roads and enjoy their homes without fear of being threatened, harassed or intimidated,” said U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston for the Middle District of North Carolina. “We appreciate the law enforcement agencies who diligently sought justice in this case. The Concord community is safer and more peaceful as a result of today’s verdict.”

“Investigating civil rights violations is some of the most important work we do,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt of the FBI Charlotte Field Office. “No one should be afraid to drive down the street, fill their car with gas or take their children to the bus stop because of someone’s intolerance and racial hatred. The FBI hopes this guilty verdict can give Mr. Hudak’s victims some sense of peace.”

Evidence at trial proved that, on Oct. 13, 2022, Hudak encountered a Black man, identified as J.S., while driving in Concord, North Carolina, and shouted racial slurs at him. After telling J.S. to “come here, boy,” Hudak swerved into J.S.’s lane, got out of his vehicle and punched J.S.’s driver’s side window multiple times. When J.S. fled, Hudak chased him to his home where he continued shouting racial slurs and threatened to shoot and kill him.

Evidence at trial also proved that on Nov. 27, 2021, Hudak attacked his Hispanic neighbor, J.D., outside J.D.’s home because of his nationality. Hudak shouted racially charged insults at J.D. before attacking him. Hudak punched and tackled J.D., causing J.D. to suffer bodily injury. Additional trial witnesses testified about Hudak’s frequent anti-Hispanic comments, both before and after the attack on J.D., and about other instances where Hudak shouted slurs at, gave the middle finger to and drove aggressively near other minority motorists in the Concord area. Other evidence included a KKK flag, a racist publication and Nazi memorabilia found in Hudak’s residence.

On June 26, 2023, Hudak was charged with willfully injuring, intimidating or interfering with J.S. because of J.S.’s race and color and because J.S. was using a public facility. Hudak was charged with willfully injuring, intimidating or interfering with J.D. because of J.D.’s race and national origin and because J.D. was occupying a dwelling.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 1. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Charlotte Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley Waid and JoAnna McFadden for the Middle District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Daniel Grunert of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Lucinda Ann Yuzos was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Yuzos, 49, of Mescalero, and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, pled guilty in federal court on Apr. 25, 2023, to assault of an intimate partner resulting is substantial bodily injury.

According to court records, on the evening of May 31, 2022, Yuzos assaulted the victim, John Doe. When responding officers arrived, they found John Doe sitting on the front steps of the residence with blood dripping down his forehead from underneath a hat. When John Doe removed the hat, officers observed a large gash—approximately 6 inches long—on the victim’s forehead with exposed bone. Officer’s immediately contacted Mescalero Fire Rescue (MFR), and after they evaluated the victim, it was determined that the injuries were so severe the victim needed immediate transportation via medevac to University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas.

The victim spent four days in the hospital. His right orbital floor was fractured, he had a large blowout type fracture of his right orbital wall including displaced bone fragments in his sinuses requiring surgery. Since the initial surgeries, the victim has traveled to the Eye Institute of New Mexico in Albuquerque for eight additional surgeries, and he is still being treated for the injuries inflicted by Yuzos.

In her plea agreement, Yuzos admitted to hitting John Doe with a blunt object. During the sentencing hearing, Yuzos admitted that the object was a 2×4.

Upon her release from prison, Yuzos will be subject to 3 years of supervised release.

The FBI Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joni Autrey Stahl is prosecuting the case.

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24-19

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

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III today sentenced Adam Michael Nettina, age 34, of West Friendship, Maryland, to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for using the telephone to make death threats and other calls for violence against a group that advocates for LGBTQI+ people.  According to the evidence presented by the government at today’s sentencing hearing, Nettina also sent threatening messages to Maryland and Virginia state delegates due to their support of transgender people.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

“You have the right to your own opinions, but you don’t have the right to threaten the lives of those who disagree with you.  As this case demonstrates, free speech does not include violent threats against others,” said United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, Erek L. Barron.  “We’ll continue prosecuting these threats to the fullest extent of the law.”

“This defendant targeted and threatened members of the LGBTQI+ community and their allies, instilling fear and promoting violence toward a heavily targeted community,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to combating threats against public officials and protected communities. We will work tirelessly to expunge the growing threat posed by bias-motivated acts of violence directed at the LGBTQI+ community and their allies.”

“Threats of violence made against people and organizations to instill fear will not be tolerated,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work diligently to ensure the civil rights of all Americans are protected.”

According to court documents, on the evening of March 28, 2023, the victim organization received a threatening voicemail from a phone number, which investigators identified as belonging to Adam Michael Nettina.  The message referenced the March 27, 2023, mass shooting at a school in Nashville, Tennessee, involving multiple shooting fatalities, where police identified the perpetrator as a transgender woman.  During the call, numerous threats were made including, “ . . . We’ll cut your throats.  We’ll put a bullet in your head . . . . You’re going to kill us?  We’re going to kill you ten times more in full.” 

Nettina admitted that he left this voicemail for the purpose of issuing a threat and with the knowledge that the voicemail would be viewed as a threat.  Further, Nettina intentionally selected the advocacy organization as a target of his message because of the actual and perceived gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation of the people who work at and are assisted by the organization.

As detailed in his plea agreement, on March 31, 2022, a Maryland State Delegate posted a message of support on social media in honor of Trans Day of Visibility.  Nettina responded on social media later that same day, which stated, among other things, that he had “begun the formal process of getting you excommunicated . . . ” from the Catholic Church.  On November 8, 2022, the delegate was reelected.  Nettina sent the delegate another message on social media, stating: “ . . . Baby killing terrroist.  Enjoy hell You’re going sooner than you think.”

Finally, as outlined in the court documents, on October 13, 2022, an online news story was published about an interview a Virginia State Delegate gave in which she advocated for the prevention of abuse towards transgender children.  Two days later, on October 15, 2022, Nettina used the internet to send an email to the delegate’s press email account, stating: “The delegate is a terrorist. You are a terrorist.  You deserve to be shot and hung in the streets.  You want to come after people?  Let’s go b**ch.”  Nettina also sent a similar message to another email address of the delegate two minutes later.  Nettina intentionally selected the delegate and her campaign staff as the recipient of his email because of the actual and perceived gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation of the people and constituents for whom the delegate had expressed support.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke commended the FBI for its work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron and Ms. Clarke thanked Assistant U.S. Paul E. Budlow and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who prosecuted the federal case.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland (USAO-MD) launched the national Department of Justice initiative, United Against Hate.  Together with our local partners, USAO-MD’s United Against Hate campaign will empower local residents and communities to combat unlawful acts of hate, stand against racism and discrimination and alter the course of growing intolerance. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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

LOS ANGELES—A Ventura County man is in federal custody after being charged with possessing methamphetamine he intended to sell and illegally possessing firearms, the FBI announced today.

Roy Jesus Alonzo, also known as “Casper” and “Ghost,” 46, of Oxnard, was arrested on December 27 without incident.

Alonzo, who is reputedly affiliated with the Sur Town Chiques street gang, was charged in an indictment returned on November 30 by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles with possession with intent to distribute over an ounce of methamphetamine, carrying and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

According to the indictment, Alonzo carried and possessed a 9mm semi-automatic handgun during the alleged drug trafficking in February 2023.

The indictment further alleges that Alonzo was in possession of the handgun and six rounds of 9mm ammunition after having been convicted of several felony offenses, including robbery, in Ventura Superior Court.

Alonzo made his initial appearance on December 27 in United States District Court, where he was ordered detained. A trial date has been scheduled for February 20, 2024. If he were to be convicted, Alonzo would face a statutory maximum sentence of 60 years in federal prison.

The investigation into Alonzo is being conducted by the Ventura County Violent Crime Task Force, which includes the FBI, the Oxnard Police Department, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ventura Police Department.

Assistant United States Attorney Matt Coe-Odess is prosecuting this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.