Berkeley County man admits to drug distribution charge

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Berkeley County man admits to drug distribution charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Bunker Hill, West Virginia man has admitted to a drug distribution charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

David Smeltzer, of Bunker Hill, West Virginia, age 36, pled guilty to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Heroin.” Smeltzer admitted to selling heroin in Berkeley County in January 2017.

Smeltzer faces up to 20 months incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. 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. 

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Lydia Lehman, also with the Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office investigated.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided. 

Monongalia County woman sentenced for drug distribution

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Monongalia County woman sentenced for drug distribution

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Annamae Martin, of Westover, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 12 months incarceration for drug distribution, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Martin, age 32, pled guilty to one count of “Unlawful Use of Communication Facility” in October 2017. Martin admitted to using a phone to distribute and assist in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. The crime occurred in Monongalia County in March 2017.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Mon Metro Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, 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.

Senior U.S. District Judge Irene M. Keeley presided.

Man Who Wanted to Commit Jihad Attempted to Join U.S. Military

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Man Who Wanted to Commit Jihad Attempted to Join U.S. Military

NORFOLK, Va. – A Williamsburg man who told an undercover agent that he wanted to commit jihad, pleaded guilty today to passport fraud and to making false statements in his application to join the United States military.

According to court documents, Shivam Patel, 28, was working in China in the summer of 2016 when he flew to the Kingdom of Jordan, was arrested, detained, and then returned to the United States. Patel is alleged to have told an undercover agent and a confidential source that he wanted to join a “Muslim army” and commit jihad. After returning to the United States, he applied to join the Army and Air Force. When asked about his prior foreign travel as part of his applications, Patel did not disclose his trips to China or Jordan. After he was asked to show an Army recruiter his passport, which would have revealed his prior travel to the recruiter, he filed an application for a new passport, falsely claiming that he had accidentally thrown his old passport away. Special agents from the FBI recovered that passport, which documented his undisclosed travel, when they arrested him in July 2017.

Patel pleaded guilty to false statements and passport application fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when sentenced on June 4. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Edward C. O’Callaghan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Bosse and Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-120.

Ponca City Woman Pleads Guilty to Possessing Ricin

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Ponca City Woman Pleads Guilty to Possessing Ricin

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma –  DANIELLE DANA LAYMAN, 37, of Ponca City, Oklahoma, has pleaded guilty to possessing the toxin ricin, announced Robert J. Troester, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.  

According to a complaint filed on July 1, 2017, Layman used craigslist to locate someone interested in a “10 day gig overseas.”  On May 9, 2017, she met in Ponca City with a person who responded to the craigslist post.  According to the affidavit, Layman gave that person written instructions on traveling to Tel Aviv, Israel, and using ricin to poison a specific taxi driver in exchange for $4,000 plus expenses.  The affidavit states that Layman also gave the person a baggie that she claimed contained the ricin to be used in the murder.  Ricin is an extremely hazardous substance derived from castor beans.

On June 30, 2017, the FBI executed a search warrant at Layman’s residence in Ponca City and found castor beans in the kitchen.  The complaint alleges agents also found a mortar and pestle with residue that could be remnants of ground castor beans, along with instructions on how to make ricin.  Layman was arrested later that day.

On August 1, 2017, a grand jury indicted Layman on one count of using interstate communications with the intent to hire someone to commit murder.  On October 3, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment that added one count of possessing ricin without the required registration.

Today Layman pleaded guilty to possessing ricin illegally.  The government has agreed to dismiss the murder-for-hire count at sentencing.

As a result of today’s guilty plea, Layman faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley L. Altshuler and David P. Petermann.

Reference is made to court records for further information.

Cleveland man sentenced to more than a decade in prison after armed carjacking of a grandmother on Mother’s Day

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Cleveland man sentenced to more than a decade in prison after armed carjacking of a grandmother on Mother’s Day

A Cleveland man was sentenced to more than a decade in prison after an armed carjacking of a Cleveland grandmother last Mother’s Day, law enforcement officials said.

Shairon Motley-Lipscomb, 21, was sentenced to 10 years and four months in federal prison after pleading guilty to carjacking and using a firearm during a crime of violence.

On May 14, 2017 – Mother’s Day – Motley-Lipscomb approached a 67-year-old woman while she stood in her driveway talking on her cell phone to her daughter. The victim had recently returned from church services when Motley-Lipscomb brandished a firearm and stole the victim’s 2008 Buick Enclave, according to court documents.

The victim dropped her cell phone. Her daughter, still on the phone, heard Motley-Lipscomb saying to another: “Yeah, I got the car. Meet me at Mom’s,” according to court documents.

“A grandmother on her way home from church on Mother’s Day was talking to her daughter on the telephone,” U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said. “That is when this defendant pointed a gun at her and stole her car. We remain committed to getting defendants like this off our streets and making our communities safer.”

“There is no place for an individual like this in our community,” stated Trevor Velinor, ATF’s Special Agent in Charge for the Columbus Field Division.  “A person who is so willing to violate our laws and societal norms, against a mother on Mothers’ Day no less, needs to be removed from our community so he can do no further harm.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian McDonough following an investigation by the Cleveland Division of Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Former High School Principal Sentenced To 108 Months In Prison For Transporting Child Pornography

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Former High School Principal Sentenced To 108 Months In Prison For Transporting Child Pornography

Admitted he transferred images from phones confiscated from students, to his personal thumb drive, without their consent or knowledge and shared the images on a Russian website

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A former Larue County, Kentucky, High School Principal was sentenced today in United States District Court, by U.S. District Judge David J. Hale, to 108 months in prison, followed by a ten year period of supervised release, for transporting child pornography and possessing child pornography that had been transported in interstate commerce announced United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Parents must be able to place their trust in educators to provide a safe learning environment for our kids,” stated United States Attorney Russell Coleman. “Mr. Goodlett not only violated this trust but exploited students for his own foul gratification. His significant punishment is well-earned”

Stephen Kyle Goodlett, 37, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, remains in federal custody and faces additional State charges in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in Hardin County. Goodlett was initially charged by federal criminal complaint on December 19, 2016, and by federal grand jury indictment on January 4, 2017.

On September 2, 2016, Elizabethtown police received a child sexual exploitation complaint from a female who discovered nude photographs of her that had been uploaded to a website that allowed users to anonymously post sexually explicit images and videos of people and identified the geographic area where the depicted person lived. The photographs are often accompanied by the first and last initial of the person in the photographs. The complainant viewed the images from the website and told police she was 15 years old when the nude photographs were created with a cell phone.

Elizabethtown Police requested and received the detailed IP address information for the person responsible for uploading the images. The IP address was registered to Kyle Goodlett of Elizabethtown, Kentucky.  The defendant was the Assistant Principal at Larue County High School from July 4, 2012, until he was promoted to Principal on July 1, 2013, and held that position until he was terminated on October 19, 2016. Goodlett was principal while the complainant was a student there and had access to her nude images when he confiscated her cell phone. The complainant was a student at Larue County High School during that time.

On October 13, 2016, the Kentucky State Police executed a search warrant at Goodlett’s Elizabethtown residence and a preview of his electronic devices, including his iPhone and an eternal hard drive, yielded 60 files of child sexual exploitation.

Further, on December 12, 2016, KSP received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children stating that several images discovered in Goodlett’s Dropbox account contained images of known minor victims including the complainant and five images from an identified minor female.

Goodlett signed a waiver of his rights and agreed to a recorded interview with KSP Detectives. Goodlett admitted to KSP that he was addicted to pornography and that he transferred images from phones confiscated from students to his personal thumb drive without their consent or knowledge. Goodlett stated he would take the images and share them to a Russian website with the intent of trading for more images. Goodlett told KSP he used his iPhone and laptop to view the images. A forensic review of Goodlett’s electronic devices revealed he possessed 436 images and 11 videos of child pornography as defined by 18 USC Section 2256(8).

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney A. Spencer McKiness and is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Securities Investigations with assistance from Kentucky State Police and the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Police Department.

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This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Santa Barbara County Man Arrested on Federal Charges that Allege Investment Fraud Schemes, One of Which Promised Twitter Stock

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Santa Barbara County Man Arrested on Federal Charges that Allege Investment Fraud Schemes, One of Which Promised Twitter Stock

          LOS ANGELES – A Montecito resident has been arrested pursuant to a federal grand jury indictment that accuses him of running two fraudulent investment schemes and violating a court order prohibiting him from selling securities.

          Efstratios “Elias” Argyropoulos, 71, was arrested at his office in Santa Barbara Wednesday morning by federal agents.

          At his arraignment Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court, Argyropoulos pleaded not guilty, was ordered released on a $300,000 bond, and was ordered to stand trial on March 20.

          According to the 21-count indictment unsealed after his arrest, Argyropoulos operated two Santa Barbara investment services firms – Prima Capital and Prima Ventures – and engaged in two fraudulent schemes by soliciting investments in companies such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as investments in a fictitious estate settlement.

          In the first alleged scheme, Argyropoulos faces six fraud charges related to false promises to use investor funds to purchase securities, including pre-IPO shares of Facebook and Twitter. Instead of purchasing the stocks, Argyropoulos allegedly diverted the investor funds for other uses, such as day-trading in stocks unrelated to the promised investments and personal expenses, such as his mortgage, car payments and casino debts. According to the indictment, from October 2010 through October 2015, Argyropoulos solicited $4,947,360 from investors victimized in this scheme.

          In the second scheme, Argyropoulos faces seven fraud charges for allegedly marketing shares in an investment known as the “Laurence Miles Giant Estate Settlement,” which was also called the “Laurence Miles Trust.” According to the indictment, Argyropoulos falsely told investors that the beneficiary of the Trust was a very ill woman who needed medical treatments and was the heir to a large estate, which was worth more than $1 billion. According to the bogus story, the estate was tied up in probate proceedings, and money was needed to cover the heir’s medical expenses. Once the probate proceedings were finished, Argyropoulos allegedly told victims, the assets would become available for transfer, at which point, investors would receive a large return – as much as 1,000 percent. In truth, there was no estate to be settled and no “ill woman” with large medical bills. According to the indictment, Argyropoulos’ investors lost over $760,000 in the scam. 

          The final eight counts of the indictment charge Argyropoulos with criminal contempt. These counts allege that Argyropoulos’ solicitation of investments in the Laurence Miles Trust violated the terms of an injunction that Argyropoulos consented to in a suit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was based on the fraudulent Facebook and Twitter scheme. The injunction prohibited Argyropoulos from selling fraudulent investments and acting as an unlicensed broker.

          An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

          If convicted of the 13 fraud charges in the indictment, Argyropoulos would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count. There is no statutory maximum sentence for the eight contempt charges.

          The case against Argyropoulos is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

          The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Paetty of the Major Frauds Section.

Navajo Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Robbery of Community Store

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Navajo Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Robbery of Community Store

     PHOENIX – This week, Antonio Yazzie, 25, of Lukachukai, Ariz., and a member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen M. McNamee to 46 months in prison followed by a term of 3 years of supervised release. Yazzie had previously pleaded guilty to robbery.

     On Jan. 18, 2017, Yazzie entered the Totsoh Trading Post on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation and brandished a box cutter.  Yazzie threatened a store employee and demanded the employee give him money from the cash register.  The victim complied with Yazzie’s demands.  The victim is also a member of the Navajo Nation.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Police and Criminal Investigations.  The prosecution was handled by Tracy Van Buskirk, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-17-08037-PCT-SMM 

RELEASE NUMBER:    2018-012_Yazzie

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Cincinnati Woman Sentenced for Embezzling from Employer, Defrauding IRS

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Cincinnati Woman Sentenced for Embezzling from Employer, Defrauding IRS

CINCINNATI – Angelia Zwick, also known as Angelia Strunk, 47, of Cincinnati, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for defrauding her employer.

Zwick, who was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of willfully filing a false income tax return with the IRS, was also ordered to pay nearly $329,000 in restitution to Sheakley Group, Inc. and its insurers and nearly $122,000 in restitution to the IRS.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, and Yvonne Dicristoforo, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.

According to court documents, from approximately July 2009 through May 2013, Angelia Zwick worked for Sheakley Group, Inc. and devised a scheme to defraud her employer by embezzling funds in excess of her authorized pay and compensation. Zwick wired the stolen funds from her employer’s bank account to a bank account for Amerihealth and Life Solutions, LLC, a company owned by Zwick.

As a result, Zwick took more than $328,000 of refunds and other payments intended for her employer and diverted those funds into bank accounts that she controlled.

In addition, Zwick filed false income tax returns with the IRS for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 income tax years, for which she owes $121,810 in additional income taxes. For the 2010 income tax year, Zwick failed to report as income the funds she embezzled from her employer. For the 2011 and 2012 income tax years, Zwick claimed false expenses for Amerihealth.

“We are early in this year’s tax filing season and this case should serve as a reminder that no matter what the source of income, all income is taxable, even stolen money,” said Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the IRS and U.S. Secret Service, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Mangan, who is prosecuting the case.

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Queensbury Oncologist and Spouse to Pay $500,000 for Submitting False Claims to Medicare for the Administration of Unapproved Cancer Drugs

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Queensbury Oncologist and Spouse to Pay $500,000 for Submitting False Claims to Medicare for the Administration of Unapproved Cancer Drugs

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Dr. Vincent Koh and his wife and office manager, Milly Koh, have agreed to pay $500,000 for violating the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting false claims to Medicare for unapproved chemotherapy drugs, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith.  On November 20, 2017, the Kohs pled guilty to receiving and delivering misbranded drugs, a misdemeanor, and are scheduled to be sentenced on March 20, 2018 by United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart.  

The Kohs own and operate a medical practice, with offices in Poughkeepsie and Glens Falls, New York, that specializes in the treatment of patients suffering from various forms of cancer.  From mid-2010 to early 2012, the practice purchased various drugs purporting to contain the same active ingredients as drugs sold in the United States from a Canadian drug distributor who had obtained these drugs from foreign sources.  The drugs, some of which contained labeling in foreign languages, were not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as required for them to be distributed in the United States and were therefore not reimbursable by Medicare.

Dr. Koh’s practice purchased the foreign drugs at substantially lower prices than those charged for drugs from legitimate U.S. drug manufacturers and distributors.  Dr. Koh administered these drugs to his patients, and caused his staff to submit false claims for the drugs to Medicare.

“Unlike prescription drugs picked up at a pharmacy, chemotherapeutic drugs generally are administered without any opportunity for patients to see the labeling, so cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to this sort of conduct,” said United States Attorney Jaquith.  “This settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to safeguarding patients and the federal fisc by ensuring that people do not unknowingly receive and taxpayers do not pay for foreign drugs that the FDA has not approved.”

“Patients deserve the security of knowing that the medication being prescribed to them is unadulterated, safeguarded, and properly manufactured,” said Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s New York Region (HHS-OIG).  “This settlement is another example of HHS-OIG’s commitment to protecting quality of care and the federal health care programs intended for our most vulnerable Americans.”

The investigation and settlement were the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, HHS-OIG, FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel, and FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.  The United States was represented in the civil investigation by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam J. Katz.