Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: CEO of Mortgage Lender Charged with Making False Statements to HUD

John Seckel, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, was charged by information with four counts of making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Seckel had been the CEO of Seckel Capital, LLC, an FHA-approved mortgage lender in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  

For the years 2012 to 2015, Seckel Capital, LLC, was a mortgage lender in Bucks County that was approved by the Federal Housing Administration to originate mortgage loans that would be insured by the FHA. John Seckel maintained the status of Seckel Capital as an FHA-approved lender during this time period by making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In particular, on four occasions from 2013 to 2016, Seckel filed audited financial statements for Seckel Capital that Seckel had forged. Seckel also, four times, filed certifications falsely claiming that he had met the net worth and other requirements to be approved as an FHA lender. 

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of eight years’ imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laurie Magid.

An Indictment, Information or Criminal Complaint is an accusation.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Oklahoma City Man Previously Sentenced To 272 Months, $37,958 Restitution For Multiple Charges Found Guilty On Additional State Charges

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that, on December 8, 2016, JEREMY DWAYNE LAVORCHEK, age 28, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 272 months imprisonment, and ordered to pay $37,958.33 in restitution for POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE SCHEDULE II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C); ROBBERY INVOLVING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2118(a); and CARJACKING, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(1). 
    
The charges and lengthy sentence were the result of Lavorchek’s violent armed robbery of Ernie’s Pharmacy, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on December 9, 2015.  Lavorchek used a handgun to threaten the employees of Ernie’s Pharmacy to steal Opioid pharmaceutical drugs.  In attempting to flee the scene of the pharmacy robbery, Lavorchek carjacked a woman waiting in the pharmacy drive-thru by threatening her and her 2-year-old son with a gun and forcing her to drive him from the crime scene.  Lavorchek was charged in the Eastern District of Oklahoma and sentenced by United States District Judge Ronald White.  

On March 5, 2016, Lavorchek committed an equally violent armed robbery of the Legacy Drug Store in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.  Lavorchek and a second accomplice used handguns to tie up three employees and steal large amounts of Opioid pain medications.  Police arrested Lavorchek as he fled the scene of the robbery.  The Garvin County District Attorney’s Office charged Lavorchek with nine counts of robbery, assault and kidnapping.

On January 27, 2018, a State of Oklahoma jury of seven woman and five men found Lavorchek guilty on all counts and recommended a sentence of life in prison on all nine counts.  Lavorchek is expected to be formally sentenced in March 2018.

United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester commented, “We are proud to have worked with District 21 District Attorney, Greg Mashburn, in coordinating the federal and state prosecutions of a dangerous serial criminal.  The U. S. Attorney’s Office and the Garvin County District Attorney’s Office shared evidence and strategies in an effort to achieve the maximum sentences for Lavorchek, thereby protecting the people of Oklahoma by ensuring he would never be free to commit further violent acts. This team effort demonstrates the success that we can have when state and federal agencies work together in the common cause of protecting the public.”

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: McAlester Man Sentenced To 96 Months For Methamphetamine Distribution

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Michael Keith Beall, age 62, of McAlester, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 96 months imprisonment, and 3 years supervised release, for Possession With Intent To Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C).

The Indictment alleged that on or about April 17, 2017, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the defendant, did knowingly and intentionally possess with the intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance. 

The charge arose from an investigation by the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Bureau Narcotics, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester said, “As we all know, methamphetamine is destructive to individuals, families, and communities. Those that sell it do so without regard for the devastating effects that it will have. This joint effort by the Pittsburgh County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol prevented hundreds of doses of methamphetamine from entering the community. Their thorough and professional investigation allowed this office to prosecute Beall which has stopped his drug distribution.” 

The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris represented the United States. The defendant will remain in custody pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which the non-paroleable sentence will be served.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Former New York City Buildings Inspector Sentenced to 18 Months’ Imprisonment for Extortion Conspiracy

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, former New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) Inspector Massimo Dabusco was sentenced by United States Chief District Court Judge Dora L. Irizarry to 18 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit extortion, to be followed by a term of three years’ supervised release.  The Court also imposed a $4,000 fine. Dabusco, also known as “Max,” pleaded guilty to the charge on May 22, 2017.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Mark G. Peters, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the sentence.

“By engaging in extortionate conduct for personal financial gain, Dabusco violated the mission entrusted to him to enforce the New York City building and construction codes honestly and fairly,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  “This Office and our law enforcement partners will remain vigilant in rooting out corruption and prosecuting those, like Dabusco, who abuse their position of public trust.”

According to court filings, between December 2013 and June 2015, while serving as an inspector for the DOB, Dabusco was also a silent partner in a construction company, A&G Contracting Group Corp., in violation of New York City law.  Dabusco used his official position to influence property owners and contractors, over whom he had regulatory authority, to hire A&G, which was operated by his co-defendant Vito Menadi, to perform excavation and demolition jobs.  In exchange for his actions, Dabusco shared in A&G’s profits.  Dabusco also illegally warned other contractors about impending inspections by DOB and threatened economic harm against property owners and contractors if they did not pay outstanding fines owed by A&G.  Dabusco resigned from DOB in August 2015.  

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorney Martin E. Coffey is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

MASSIMO DABUSCO
Age: 55
Residence: Yorktown Heights, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-559 (DLI)

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Aspiring Rapper Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Gun While Filming a Music Video

CHICAGO — An aspiring rapper from Chicago has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a handgun while filming a music video.

RICARDO BURGOS, 31, possessed the gun in January 2016 while filming the rap music video in a north suburban hotel room.  Burgos, who performs under the name “Nation,” can be seen in the video holding two firearms while rapping about selling drugs, committing acts of violence, and disrespecting law enforcement.  Burgos had previously been convicted of multiple felonies and was not legally allowed to possess a firearm.

Burgos pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of distribution of a controlled substance.  U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman on Tuesday imposed a 188-month prison sentence.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Eddie T. Johnson, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

Burgos admitted in a plea declaration that he possessed a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol while filming the video in a hotel room in Deerfield.  Shortly thereafter, Burgos brought the gun to the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago, where Chicago Police officers arrested him. 

Law enforcement subsequently determined that the .45-caliber pistol had been stolen from a store in Indiana.  The gun was also used in a shooting in Chicago two days before the music video was filmed.

The drug charge arose from multiple illegal narcotic sales by Burgos in 2015.  Burgos sold 4 grams of crack cocaine and 1.4 grams of heroin to several individuals, all of whom were undercover police officers. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan M. Matthews.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Maryland Man Found Guilty by Jury of Sexually Abusing 13-Year-Old Girl

            WASHINGTON – Mark Chuvala, 41, of Berlin, Md., has been found guilty by a jury of sexually abusing a former teenage piano student, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), announced today.

            Chuvala was found guilty on Jan. 30, 2018 of four counts of first-degree child sexual abuse, three counts of second-degree child sexual abuse, one count of indecent sexual proposal to a minor, one count of misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child, and one count of use of a minor in a sexual performance. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck scheduled sentencing for April 6, 2018. In addition to any sentence of imprisonment, Chuvala will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

            According to the government’s evidence, Chuvala was the victim’s piano teacher in 2011 at Middle C Music in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Northwest Washington. At the time of the lessons, Chuvala was 34, and the student was 13 years old. When the lessons had concluded, Chuvala asked the girl to stay in touch, and they began a relationship over text communications.

            The two got together a few days later and walked to a park in Montgomery County, Maryland, where Chuvala kissed the girl and engaged in the first sexual contact with her. Chuvala has pled guilty in Montgomery County to three counts of third-degree sex offense for this conduct, and is pending sentencing there on Feb. 15, 2018.

            Shortly after that, Chuvala and the girl met on at least two occasions in the middle of the night in Washington, D.C. During those two incidents, Chuvala performed oral sex on the victim and had her perform oral sex on him, among other sexual conduct. After these sexual encounters, Chuvala and the victim continued to exchange numerous texts with each other at all hours of the day and night. When Chuvala moved from the Washington, D.C. area, he engaged in conversations with the girl over video Skype, in which he would ask her to undress, masturbating as he watched her, and would ask her to masturbate.

            In the spring of 2012, the victim first disclosed the abuse to a friend, and her friend told a school counselor. The counselor notified law enforcement, and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) opened an investigation. However, the victim was not ready to go forward with a police investigation at the time, and persuaded her parents not to provide the abuser’s name to police. Ultimately, in the fall of 2014, the victim decided that she was prepared to go forward with a police investigation. The investigation led to Chuvala’s arrest on June 24, 2015. Following the verdict, the judge ordered that he be placed in custody pending sentencing.

            In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham praised the work of detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists D’Yvonne Key and Brenda Williams, Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan, Investigative Analyst William Hamann, and Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elana Suttenberg and Nicholas Miranda, who investigated and prosecuted this case. 

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Tucson Man Sentenced to Over 8 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

     TUCSON, Ariz. – On January 29, 2018, Taylor Ray Freeman, 28, of Tucson, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James A. Soto to serve 97 months in prison. Freeman had previously pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.  Freeman’s term of imprisonment will be followed by lifetime supervised release, with stringent sex offender conditions, including the condition that he register as a sex offender.

     Until his arrest, Freeman was employed as a live-in “house parent” by a charitable organization that houses at-risk children.  An investigation revealed that Freeman had been distributing sexually explicit images of children online, and seeking to trade for new images.  After Freeman’s arrest, authorities found more than 440 images and videos depicting child sex abuse from his cellphone, along with non-pornographic images of some of the children in his care.

     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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Tucson. Carin C. Duryee, District of Arizona, and Tucson handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-17-00194-TUC         

RELEASE NUMBER:    2018-009_Freeman

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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.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Illegal Alien Sentenced for Illegally Re-entering United States After Rape Conviction

Gulfport, Miss. – Cosme Pimental-Armenta, age 39, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 21 months in prison, the highest guideline sentence available to the judge, for the crime of illegal re-entry by deported alien after a conviction for an aggravated felony, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Joseph Banco, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.

Pimental-Armenta pled guilty on October 24, 2017. Upon release from prison, he was ordered to be placed on supervised release for three years. He was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $100. Any return to the United States during the period of his supervised release period will constitute a violation of the defendant’s supervised release.

On August 30, 2017, a Border Patrol agent assigned to the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team conducted a traffic stop for careless driving on a 2008 Toyota Tundra with a Texas license plate in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. During the stop, Pimental-Armenta handed the agent a Florida driver’s license that identified himself as Danthony Martinez-Rivas. The agent asked Pimental-Armenta if he had ever been arrested and Pimental-Armenta stated that he had not.

The agent questioned Pimental-Armenta as to his citizenship and he told the agent that he was a United States citizen from Puerto Rico. The agent finger-printed him and discovered that he was an illegal alien from Mexico. Records further revealed that Pimental-Armenta had earlier been removed from the United States on July 26, 2004, and had been previously convicted in Orange County, California, of forcible rape on April 5, 2002.

“The President and Attorney General Sessions have made border security and immigration enforcement a priority for our country. We will continue to do our part in making sure Americans are safe by vigorously prosecuting violent criminals like this who blatantly violate our laws,” said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

“As this conviction illustrates, the U.S. Border Patrol New Orleans Sector and the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team, through its ongoing integrated enforcement efforts serves as a prime example of our joint commitment to prevent potentially dangerous people from reaching our communities,” said Chief Banco.

U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the diligent work and cooperation exhibited by U.S. Border Patrol agents and the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Golden prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Visalia, California, Man Pleads Guilty To Methamphetamine Distribution

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Aichu Saesee, age 30, of Visalia, California, pled guilty to Possession With Intent To Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), punishable by not less than 10 years imprisonment, up to a $10,000,000.00 fine, or both. 
                
The Indictment alleged that on or about July 14, 2017, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma, the Defendant, Aichu Saesee, did knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual), a Schedule II controlled substance. 

The charges arose from an investigation by the Latimer County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

The Honorable Steven P. Shreder, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. 

Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Harrington represented the United States.