Source: United States Attorneys General 12

SALT LAKE CITY – Michael Earl Yellow, 56, of Goulding, Utah was sentenced to serve 46 months in federal prison by a U.S. District Court Judge for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and for possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense. Yellow was also ordered to forfeit a .22 caliber rifle and rifle scope, ammunition, four golden eagle carcasses, and other golden and bald eagle remains and feathers, which were found on the property where he lived. The court noted that Yellow killed approximately 80 eagles and hawks, and did so for pecuniary gain.

According to court documents, Yellow pleaded guilty to the unauthorized taking of bald or golden eagles and to one count of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony. Yellow admitted that between August of 2014 and August of 2015, he killed approximately 10 bald or golden eagles knowing that taking or possessing bald or golden eagles or their parts without a permit was unlawful, and that he did not have a valid permit to take or posses bald or golden eagles as required by law.

Under the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, at 16 U.S.C. § 668(a), it is illegal to take or possess bald or golden eagles, or their parts, dead or alive, without a permit. In addition, under 18 U.S.C.§ 922(g)(1), it is illegal to possess a firearm after being convicted of a felony.

Assistant United States Attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case and officers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the investigation.

Source: United States Attorneys General 12

SALT LAKE CITY – Samuel J. Webster, 18, of Woods Cross, was charged by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City with 23 felony counts related to the alleged torture of four guinea pigs obtained from pet supply stores across the Wasatch Front. Webster was charged with 18 felony counts of distributing animal crush videos on YouTube, one felony count of creating an animal crush video, and four felony counts of animal crushing.

The term “animal crush video” as defined under federal law, makes it illegal to depict, via photograph, motion-picture film, video, digital recording or electronic image, actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians is intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury, and is obscene.

According to allegations in the Indictment, Webster obtained the four guinea pigs from pet supply stores in Farmington, Salt Lake City, and West Jordan, in October of 2021. Shortly thereafter, it is alleged that Webster posted 23 videos of himself torturing the guinea pigs and posted the videos to multiple YouTube accounts. It is alleged that Webster posted the videos with graphic titles including “Guinea Pig Torture” and “Torture is Fun.” After posting the videos on YouTube, Webster allegedly posted comments to his own videos reinforcing his desires about killing and torturing guinea pigs.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case. FBI Special Agents are conducting the investigation.

An Indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.

Source: United States Attorneys General 12

SALT LAKE CITY – On June 1, 2022, a federal jury found both Odyssey International, Inc. and its president and owner, Whitney McBride, 41, of Queen Creek, Arizona, guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and major fraud after a trial in Salt Lake City on June 1, 2022.  In addition, the jury found McBride guilty of making a false statement to federal law enforcement and making a false declaration to the Court.  The charges arise out of fraudulently claiming special status under a Small Business Administration (“SBA”) program in order to obtain the proceeds of a $99 million contract.

McBride and Odyssey were both charged in August of 2020 by a federal grand jury in Utah with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and major contract fraud in relation to submitting fraudulent applications for a $99 million-dollar federal government contract in Fort Drum, New York. McBride was charged with additional felony counts related to perjury and making false statements during the criminal investigation and prosecution of her and Odyssey’s fraudulent business ventures.   

McBride and Odyssey were charged with federal felony violations after investigators discovered, that in 2011, Odyssey fraudulently bid on a $99 million contract for work at the Fort Drum military base in New York. The contract had been set aside for qualified businesses operating in historically underutilized business zones (“HUBzones”) under an SBA program. Areas are qualified as HUBzones based upon historical unemployment and poverty levels, and also include areas such as Indian reservations and military base closure areas.  To qualify for a HUBzone contract through the SBA, two requirements are that at least 35% of the business’s employees must reside in a HUBzone and the business must be a small business. Odyssey bid upon the contract knowing that it did not qualify for HUBzone contracts through the SBA because 35% of its employees did not reside in a HUBzone and because Odyssey was not a small business. 

In pursuing the $99 million dollar Fort Drum contract, Odyssey’s officers and employees falsified information about who was working for Odyssey and where they worked.  These efforts included recruiting employees to falsify their addresses on their driver’s licenses and voter’s registrations, temporarily placing HUBzone residents who did not actually work for the company on payroll in order to falsely claim them as employees and using a shell company to pay employees who did not reside in HUBzones off of Odyssey’s books in order to conceal them from the SBA.

It was further alleged at trial that Odyssey had also fraudulently gained admission to the SBA’s 8(a) program.  That program is designed to provide contract opportunities to businesses owned by individuals who have personally experienced discrimination.  The Defendants conceded at trial that Odyssey’s application to this program was fraudulent but claimed Odyssey’s CFO was solely responsible for the application.  Over a period of about nine years, Odyssey obtained more than $200 million in contracts through this program.

Sentencing is currently set for September 1, 2022.  The maximum penalties for the counts of conviction are twenty years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to twice the amount gained from the fraud.

The investigation also resulted in Odyssey’s former chief operating officer Michael Tingey and chief financial officer Paul Lee both previously entering guilty pleas to wire fraud, and the seizure of more than $7 million in assets. 

This case was investigated by Special Agents from the FBI, the United States Army Criminal Investigations Division, United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Small Business Administration.  Additional assistance was provided by other government agencies including the General Services Administration and the Department of the Interior. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carl LeSueur and Assistant United States Attorney Aaron Clark.    

Source: United States Attorneys General 12

SALT LAKE CITY— In honor of National Police Week, United States Attorney Trina A. Higgins recognizes the service and sacrifice of federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement. This year, the week is observed Wednesday, May 11 through Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

“This week, we gather to pay tribute to the law enforcement officers who sacrificed their lives in service to our country,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We remember the courage with which they worked and lived. And we recommit ourselves to the mission to which they dedicated their lives. On behalf of a grateful Justice Department and a grateful nation, I extend my sincerest thanks and gratitude to the entire law enforcement community.”

“During National Police Week, we pay tribute to the bravery and selflessness displayed by law enforcement officers who sacrificed their lives serving our country and our communities,” said United States Attorney Trina A. Higgins. “We honor the memory of these brave officers, and the service of all law enforcement officers, by continuing to uphold the laws of the United States in a fair and impartial manner. On behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, I am honored to extend my gratitude to all law enforcement officers for their service to our country.”  

In 1962, President Kennedy issued the first proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week to remember and honor law enforcement officers for their service and sacrifices.  Peace Officers Memorial Day, which every year falls on May 15, specifically honors law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. Based on data submitted to and analyzed by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), 472 law enforcement officers died nationwide in the line of duty in 2021.  Of that number, 319 succumbed to COVID-19.

Additionally, according to 2021 statistics reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Law Enforcement Officer Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program, 73 law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty in 2021 were killed as a result of felonious acts, whereas 56 died in accidents.  Deaths resulting from felonious acts increased in 2021, rising more than 58 percent from the previous year.  In 2021, unprovoked attacks[1] were the cause of 24 deaths significantly outpacing all other line of duty deaths resulting from felony acts and reaching the highest annual total in over 30 years of reporting.  Additional LEOKA statistics can be found on FBI’s Crime Data Explorer website for the LEOKA program. 

The names of the 619 fallen officers added this year to the wall at the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial will be read on Friday, May 13, 2022, during a Candlelight Vigil in Washington, D.C., starting at 8:00 PM EDT. Those who wish to view the vigil live online, can watch on the NLEOMF YouTube channel found at https://www.youtube.com/TheNLEOMF. The schedule of National Police Week events is available on NLEOMF’s website.

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Reference to any specific organization or service(s) offered by an organization is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Department of Justice.

Source: United States Attorneys General 12

SALT LAKE CITY- Jeffersonking Anyanwu, 34, of Orem, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with facilitating a romance scheme involving more than 350 victims. Anyanwu was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $8.4 million in restitution to the victims of his crimes. 

Anyanwu was one of eight defendants who were charged in an indictment for their role in facilitating romance scams and laundering the money received from those scams.  He and his codefendants allegedly took more than $8.4 million from more than 350 victims, many of them elderly. Anyanwu worked with coconspirators in the United States and in Nigeria, and used social media to create online personas to use in “romance scams.”  Romance scams involve creating fake online personas to ensnare victims susceptible to online friendships. 

The fake personas were usually males in the 55–65-year-old range, and appeared to target widows, divorcees, or women in troubled marriages. Victims were apparently targeted through social media sites, dating sites, and online games such as word searches or word puzzle games.  Anyanwu allegedly used more than 20 accounts to facilitate the scheme.

Several kinds of imposter personas were employed. Often, they employed the identities of real U.S. generals.  The imposters convinced the women that they were stationed overseas, intended to marry the women, and had significant assets overseas.  They also convinced the women that they could not access their assets or leave the foreign station unless the women advanced them funds to be used to release their assets and obtain secure travel.

The romance scams in the scheme also included imposters posing as businessmen located abroad on oil rig platforms or constructing pipelines.  The imposters would convince the women that the imposters were romantically interested in the women, but they could not leave until they finished the pending project.  They would then convince the women to help advance funds to help complete the project, assuring the women that it was a safe and secure investment that would be returned to them.

The romance scams also involved efforts to impersonate celebrities. The imposters would encourage women to advance funds for a celebrity-meet-and-greet, a celebrity’s charity, or to help the celebrity while funds were tied up in a divorce.

To collect money from the victims, the imposters (largely overseas) turned to coconspirators whose location would not trigger suspicion. These coconspirators would provide U.S. bank accounts and addresses to be relayed to the victims to help convince them to send money. 

In addition to Anyanwu, five other defendants have pleaded guilty and received sentences.  Defendant Onoriode Kenneth Adigbolo was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment.  Defendant Daniel Negedu and Defendant Richard Bassey Ukorebi were each sentenced to 51 months’ imprisonment. Defendant David Maduagu was sentenced to 26 months’ imprisonment. These Defendants have been ordered jointly and severally liable for $8.4 million in restitution.  Defendant Adriana Sotelo was sentenced to 12 months’ home confinement. The case remains pending against two other defendants.

Assistant United States Attorneys Carl LeSueur and Aaron Clark from the District of Utah prosecuted the case. Special Agents from the FBI conducted the investigation. 

The indictment in this case was one of several resulting from an investigation by the FBI’s Provo, Utah office into romance scam and money laundering activities.

For more information about romance scams please visit the FBI’s informational website here.

Source: United States Attorneys General 12

ALPINE, Texas – A Pecos man was sentenced in a federal court in Pecos last week to 180 months in prison for attempted murder.

According to court documents, Alberto Jimenez Pastrana, 35, shot at a vehicle containing multiple people—later determined to be his children and their mother—then crashed into it with his own vehicle and drove away.  Pecos Police Department (PPD) patrol officers located Pastrana, who fled at a high rate of speed and led the officers on a vehicle pursuit, shooting at PPD officers and Reeves County Sheriff’s Deputies.  Texas State Troopers, along with the other law enforcement officers in pursuit, tracked Pastrana to a neighborhood south of Pecos where he had crashed and took off on foot.  He eventually ditched his assault rifle and surrendered in an area that contained empty oil-field chemical containers and abandoned vehicles.

Pastrana was charged in a criminal complaint on Sept. 28, 2022 with one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.  Pastrana, a convicted felon with four prior felony convictions, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Counts to the statutory maximum sentence.

“It was very evident that this defendant tried to end the lives of his own children and their mother with both a firearm and a vehicle,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas.  “I greatly appreciate the joint effort and professionalism by our local and state law enforcement partners, who selflessly placed themselves in harm’s way in the pursuit leading to the Pastrana’s arrest.”

The Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, Pecos Police Department, and Texas Highway Patrol investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ellis prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 12

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio woman pleaded guilty in San Antonio federal court Thursday to distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death.

According to court documents, Claudia Cardenas, 47, provided a man with a sample of fentanyl on May 8, 2022, allowing him to try the substance before committing to future purchases.  The man ingested the fentanyl sample the following day.  He immediately collapsed and was unresponsive.  Two doses of Narcan were administered prior to the arrival of Emergency Medical Services, but the man was declared deceased upon EMS’s arrival.  An autopsy revealed that the victim’s death was the result of toxic effects from Fentanyl and Methamphetamine. 

Cardenas is scheduled to be sentenced on July 13 and faces a penalty of at least 20 years in prison up to life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Daniel Comeaux of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement.

The DEA; the University of Texas at San Antonio Police Department; the San Antonio Police Department; the Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Alamo Heights Police Department are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Hail is prosecuting the case.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 12

MIDLAND, Texas – An Odessa woman was sentenced in a federal court in Midland Wednesday to 18 months in prison for providing false statements during purchases of firearms.

According to court documents, Delma Vitela, 45, purchased at least six firearms between December 2020 and March 2022 from various gun stores in the Midland/Odessa area for her then-boyfriend, a Mexican national.  Vitela’s then-boyfriend was prohibited from possessing firearms based on his immigration status.  By representing on the purchase forms that she was the intended buyer of the guns, Vitela knowingly made false or fictitious written declarations when purchasing the firearms.

In March 2022, an individual was stopped by law enforcement in Laredo, Texas while attempting to cross into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.  This individual had in his possession two firearms that Vitela had straw purchased, one of which she’d purchased less than two weeks prior.

Vitela was arrested by federal authorities on Oct. 21, 2022 and was released on bond on Oct. 26.

“This defendant’s conduct posed a serious threat to the safety and security of people in our communities on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “I am thankful our law enforcement partners were able to locate and recover some of the firearms before they reached Mexico.”

“Straw purchasing is not an act of love; it is an act that fuels violence across our country and our neighbors,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division.  “ATF and our partners in the Permian Basin are steadfast in our fight to keep firearms out of the hands of those that shouldn’t have them. Ms. Vitela thought she was being a good girlfriend when she was actually helping to arm vicious Mexican drug cartels. I hope that others don’t make this same mistake.”

ATF investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Mahoney prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 12

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 63-year-old man has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute approximately 16 kilograms of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

On Sept. 7, 2022, Ascencion Garza Jr. drove his truck into the primary inspection lane of a Border patrol (BP) checkpoint located near Falfurrias. There, authorities searched his vehicle and discovered 15 bricks of cocaine in concealed compartments within the rear quarter-panels.

The drugs weighed approximately 16 kilograms and have an estimated street value of more than $1.1 million.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos will impose sentencing April 11. At that time, Garza faces up to life in federal prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.

Garza has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Foster is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General 12

LAREDO, Texas – A 23-year-old man from Monterrey, Mexico, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 6.15 kilograms of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

On Oct. 2, 2022, Luis Carlos Rodriguez-Elizondo attempted to drive through the Lincoln Juarez Port of Entry in Laredo. At that time, he told authorities he was visiting Six Flags and planned an overnight trip. However, he did not have luggage and did not have a believable travel itinerary.

An X-ray scan also revealed anomalies near the center console of his vehicle. Upon further inspection, law enforcement discovered several bundles containing cocaine.

The drugs had an estimated street value of $150,000.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing April 11. At that time, Rodriguez0-Elizondo faces up to life in prison and a possible $10 million maximum fine.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Isaac and Michael Makens are prosecuting the case.