Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: West Columbia Man Pleads to Federal Drug Charge

Columbia, South Carolina —- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated that Harry Lee Goodwin, age 44, of West Columbia, pled guilty today in federal court to possessing heroin and “crack” cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs, of Columbia, accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the United States Probation Office.

Evidence presented in court established that in April 2017, a confidential informant, acting under the supervision and direction of West Columbia Police Department agents, made three controlled buys of heroin from Mr. Goodwin at his home on Augusta Street. 

As a result of the controlled buys, agents executed a search warrant at the home on April 13, 2017.  Agents seized approximately $1500 in cash, including a $20 bill used in one of the earlier controlled purchases.  Agents also recovered eight (8) foil packages containing heroin, as well as a small amount of “crack” cocaine, digital scales, and other drug paraphernalia. 

Goodwin admitted to agents that he sold approximately 30 – 40 bags of heroin each day, between 6 a.m. and noon, and made between $1200- $1500 each day.   After noon, he then went to Columbia to continue selling drugs from another location. 

Goodwin faces a maximum of 20 years, a fine of $1,000,000, and at least 3 years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the West Columbia Police Department and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Nancy C. Wicker of the Columbia office handled the case.

Project Ceasefire is South Carolina’s continued application of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

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Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Illegal Alien Located in Columbia Pleads Guilty to Illegal Re-entry

Columbia, South Carolina —- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Juan Arturo Ramirez-Rojo, age 39, of Mexico, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Columbia, to Illegal Re-Entry, a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a).  United States District Judge  J. Michelle Childs, of Columbia, accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Ramirez-Rojo was encountered by ICE-Homeland Security Investigations agents on January 10, 2017, at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia after he was arrested for Trafficking Cocaine. An investigation revealed that Ramirez-Rojo is a citizen of Mexico who had been deported two times pursuant to an order of removal. U.S. Attorney Drake stated the maximum penalty for Illegal Re-Entry is imprisonment for 2 years and/or a fine of $250,000.

The case was investigated by agents of the ICE-Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day, II of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.

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Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Press Conference Lumberton, NC

MEDIA ADVISORY

 

WHEN:     Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 2:30 pm

 

WHERE:    Lumberton Police Department

          Goodson Conference Room

          1305 Godwin Avenue

          Lumberton, NC 28358

         

Re:  Suspects in PNC Bank Robbery Update

 

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office announces a press conference to discuss the cases against 5 suspects who shot at 8 patrol cars after robbing PNC Bank in Lumberton, North Carolina on January 23, 2018.

The following law enforcement leaders are scheduled to join United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. at the event:  the FBI Special Agent in Charge John Strong, Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill, and Robeson County Sheriff Kenneth Sealey.

Credentialed members of the media are invited to attend. For additional information please e-mail Don Connelly at usance.PublicInfoOfficer@usdoj.gov.  Please RSVP your intentions to attend the event.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Lexington Man Sentenced to 60 Months for Arson of Qdoba Restaurant

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Bennie Davis, 21, of Lexington, was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison, by United States Senior District Court Judge Joseph M. Hood, for arson of a commercial building.  Davis was also ordered to pay restitution, in the amount of $250,000.

 

Davis previously admitted that, on April 25, 2017, he forcibly entered the Lexington Qdoba Mexican Restaurant on Nicholasville Road, after the store had closed.  Davis admitted that he had been an employee of the store, but had been fired just before the arson.  Davis started the primary fire in the back room and stole a cash drawer from the safe.  Davis pleaded guilty to the charges in October of 2017. 

 

Under federal law, Davis must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for three years.

 

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Stuart Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF, jointly announced the sentence.

 

The ATF and the Lexington Fire Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Roger W. West represented the United States.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Elkhart Man Sentenced To 188 Months Imprisonment

FORT WAYNE – The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Thomas L. Kirsch II, announced that Enrique Cordova Campos, age 42, of Elkhart, Indiana was sentenced before Chief Judge Theresa Springmann on his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess and distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine.

 

Campos was sentenced to 188 months imprisonment and 5 years supervised release.       

 

According to documents in this case, from May through August of 2016, Campos was supplying kilograms of cocaine to a drug distribution group in the Fort Wayne area.  Campos supervised several other individuals who delivered drug shipments this group and who collected money from it.  In May of 2016, officers stopped one of these men and seized about $100,000 in drug proceeds.  In August of 2016, officers served a search warrant at Campos’s Elkhart residence, finding about $44,000 of drug proceeds in his vehicle and a firearm in his residence. 

 

United States Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II said, “My office, with our law enforcement partners, is focusing our resources on drug distribution networks in an attempt to reduce illicit drugs on the streets of northeast Indiana.”

 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes the FBI, Indiana State Police, Allen County Sheriff’s Department, and Fort Wayne Police Department.  The Elkhart Police Department and the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department also assisted with this investigation.  This case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Anthony W. Geller and Stacy R. Speith.

 

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Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Convicted Sex Offender Pleads Guilty To Failing To Register

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces that Elder Auxume-Guerra (39, Honduras) has pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, Auxume-Guerra was convicted of attempted third degree rape in New York in 2016. As a result of his conviction, he was required under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) to register as a sex offender and maintain his registration for a period of 20 years. Between March 2016 and October 2017, Auxume-Guerra moved from New York to Florida and failed to register as a sex offender in Florida.

SORNA is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the U.S. Marshals Service, to assist states in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

It is another case 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 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.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Former President And CEO Of New York City Non-Profit Organization Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement Of Government Funds

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that DEREK BROOMES, the former president and chief executive officer (“CEO”) of a nonprofit housing organization based in Harlem, New York (the “Housing Nonprofit”), pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathanial Fox to abusing his position at the Housing Nonprofit to embezzle hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “Derek Broomes abused his position by selfishly diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds designed to assist low-income citizens living with HIV/AIDS.  It is hard to imagine a more at-risk, vulnerable tenant population than the one Broomes chose to victimize, and for that reason today’s guilty plea is a deserving one.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Indictment, and publicly-available documents:

The Housing Nonprofit is a faith-based, non-profit organization located in New York, New York that develops and provides low-income housing in Harlem to a variety of constituencies.  In approximately 2002, DEREK BROOMES, the defendant, became the chief financial officer of the Housing Nonprofit.  In approximately 2011, BROOMES became its president and CEO.  Prior to joining the Housing Nonprofit, BROOMES worked briefly as a Deputy Commissioner at the New York City Human Resources Administration (“HRA”) and, for three years at the City’s Department of Investigation (“DOI”) in various capacities, including as an investigator and Deputy Inspector General.

Since at least 1999, the Housing Nonprofit has participated in the federally funded Scattered Site Housing Program (“SSHP” or the “Program”), through which the Housing Nonprofit receives federal funds that it uses to subsidize rents for low-income individuals who are living with HIV and/or AIDS.  According to Program rules, SSHP funds are to be maintained in a segregated account and used exclusively for Program costs, including rental payments for residents covered by the Program.  In fiscal years 2014 and 2015, the Housing Nonprofit received more than $3,000,000 in SSHP funds.

Beginning in at least 2013, BROOMES abused his position as president and CEO of the Housing Nonprofit, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds from his employer by charging personal and unauthorized expenses to a corporate credit card issued in his name (the “Corporate Credit Card”).  Using the Corporate Credit Card, BROOMES routinely paid for personal auto repairs, medical bills, electronics, clothing, and gifts.  None of these charges were authorized by the Housing Nonprofit, which ultimately was required to pay the monthly bills on the Corporate Credit Card.  In total, between approximately March 2013, when the Corporate Credit Card was issued, and March 2015, when it was cancelled, BROOMES charged $394,145.65 to the Corporate Credit Card.  Of that, an analysis conducted by the Housing Nonprofit determined that more than $200,000 of those charges were either personal or otherwise unauthorized.

To cover those expenditures and other operating expenses at the Housing Nonprofit, BROOMES misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds that were provided through the SSHP.  Specifically, BROOMES diverted the SSHP funds, which were intended to be used to cover rent payments for residents covered by the Program, to the Housing Nonprofit’s operating account, where they were used to pay for unauthorized expenses, including the monthly Corporate Credit Card bills.  As a result of BROOMES’s diversion of SSHP funds, the Housing Nonprofit was often unable to make rent payments for SSHP apartments on a timely basis.  The Housing Nonprofit thus fell increasingly behind on its rent obligations due to a lack of sufficient SSHP funds in its accounts, and tenants it sponsored in the SSHP began to receive threats of eviction by landlords who were owed months’ worth of back rent by the Housing Nonprofit. 

Moreover, to conceal his conduct, BROOMES submitted, and caused others to submit, false and fraudulent reimbursement requests to HRA, which administers the SSHP, in which BROOMES and others acting at his direction certified that the Housing Nonprofit had properly used SSHP funds for program expenses, including rental payments, when, in fact, substantial amounts of those funds had been diverted to cover unauthorized expenses, including the substantial charges incurred by BROOMES’s use of the Corporate Credit Card.  BROOMES personally signed false and fraudulent paperwork submitted to HRA as a part of the Housing Nonprofit’s monthly certifications and reimbursement requests on May 8, 2013, and July 19, 2013, and directed others to sign similarly false monthly certifications and related paperwork throughout the duration of the charged scheme.

*                      *                     *

BROOMES, 72, pled guilty to one count of embezzlement from a federally funded program, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.  The maximum statutory penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.  As a condition of the plea, BROOMES consented to the entry of a forfeiture order in the amount of $203,408.80 and further agreed to entry of an order of restitution.  BROOMES is scheduled to be sentenced by the Chief Judge Colleen McMahon on April 26^th, 2018.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward B. Diskant and Alison G. Moe are in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Shreveport man pleads guilty to illegal possession of pistol after being arrested for felonies

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a Shreveport felon pleaded guilty last week to illegally possessing a pistol after being convicted of multiple felonies.

 

Gabriel Jones, 36, of Shreveport, pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark L. Hornsby to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The plea will become final after it is accepted by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. According to the guilty plea, Shreveport police were executing a warrant for someone else on August 7, 2018 at Jones’ residence. During a search of the residence, police found marijuana in plain view, and they found a Ruger, Model P85, 9 mm caliber pistol, crack cocaine and additional marijuana in the back bedroom closet. The pistol had a 30 round extended magazine inside it. The other occupants of the residence denied ownership of the gun and said it belonged to Jones. Police also searched Jones’ cell phone and found images and data showing the pistol belonged to him. Jones was convicted on May 24, 2010 of aggravated flight from an officer and attempted possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also convicted on December 6, 2004 in Caddo Parish of possession of marijuana, second offense,

 

Morris faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set a sentencing date of May 10, 2018.

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safe for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Session announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

 

The ATF, U.S. Marshals Service and Shreveport Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Aaron Crawford is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Manchester Man Who Threatened Federal Probation Officer Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that PETER J. SANTOS, 41, of Manchester, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 41 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for threatening a federal official.  On June 2, 2017, a jury found SANTOS guilty of the offense.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, in January 2014, SANTOS was sentenced in the Southern District of New York to 25 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to transport stolen goods, conspiring to receive stolen goods and conspiring to commit wire fraud.  On December 31, 2015, after completing his period of incarceration, he began serving his three-year period of supervised release, which was transferred to the U.S. Probation Office in the District the Connecticut.

While on supervised release, SANTOS tested positive for controlled substances on multiple occasions.  On August 31, 2016, SANTOS appeared before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven for a supervised release violation hearing.  Judge Arterton revoked SANTOS’ supervised release and imposed a penalty of six months of imprisonment to be followed by 24 months of additional supervised release.  As the U.S. Marshals were walking SANTOS out of the courtroom, SANTOS looked at his supervising U.S. Probation Officer and stated “When I get out, I’m coming for you.”  The Probation Officer responded, “Excuse me?”  SANTOS responded, “You heard me.”

After they left the courtroom, a Deputy U.S. Marshal said to SANTOS, “That’s not smart.”  SANTOS responded by stating that he did not care and he was tired of it, adding that, “Everyone has to meet their maker whether it is by me or some other way.”

The investigation revealed that SANTOS made additional threats while he was incarcerated on the supervised release violation.

SANTOS has been detained since his arrest on January 30, 2017.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney John H. Durham.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Sacramento Resident Sentenced To Over Seven Years In Prison After Committing Four Armed Bank Robberies

OAKLAND – Clayton Quiz Smith was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for the armed robbery of three banks in the East Bay and one bank in Folsom, Calif., announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.  The sentence was handed down today by the Honorable Jon S. Tigar, U.S. District Judge.

Smith, 45, from Sacramento, pleaded guilty on October 6, 2017, to four separate counts of armed bank robbery.  According to the plea agreement, Smith began the robbery spree on February 6, 2017, when he robbed a bank in San Ramon.  Smith admitted he entered a bank wearing a jacket, hooded sweater, beanie, and gloves, and was carrying a black laptop bag.  He placed the bag on the counter in front of the bank tellers and removed from his pocket what appeared to be a small silver pistol.  Smith displayed the apparent pistol to a teller and demanded the $100 bills and $20 bills from the teller’s drawer.  Smith escaped with $7,434.

Smith committed a second armed robbery at the same bank in San Ramon on March 21, 2017.  He encountered the same victim whom he forced to accompany him out of the bank on February 6, 2017.  This time, Smith pointed the object that appeared to be a revolver toward the victim and demanded the bills from her drawer.  Smith escaped with $3,500. 

According to the plea agreement, Smith admitted he committed two additional armed robberies—one on April 4, 2017, and the other on April 20, 2017.  During the April 4 robbery, Smith brandished what appeared to be a 6-inch silver-colored blade at a Concord, Calif. bank.  Smith repeatedly yelled, “Hands up!” while brandishing the knife.  He told two tellers to give him the money in their drawers and ordered them not to pull any alarms until he left.  Smith escaped with $5,275.  Similarly, during the April 20 robbery, Smith entered a bank in Folsom, Calif., wielding what appeared to be a steak knife.  Smith approached the four tellers on duty, pointing the object at the first victim.  Smith told the victim, “Don’t call the cops. Don’t set off any alarms. Take the money and set it down on the counter.”  He stole a total of $11,895 from the drawers of the four tellers on duty that day.

Smith was charged in an Information filed August 16, 2017, with four counts of armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) and (d).  Pursuant to his plea agreement, Smith pleaded guilty to all four counts.  

In addition to the prison term, Judge Tigar also sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release and ordered him to pay $28,104 in restitution.  Smith has been in custody since his arrest on May 4, 2017, and will begin serving his sentence immediately.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Vanessa Quant and Noble Hughes.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Ramon Police Department, the Concord Police Department, and the Folsom Police Department.