Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Man Admits Role In Identity Theft And Wire Fraud Conspiracy

NEWARK N.J. – A Georgia man today admitted using fake driver’s licenses in order to obtain checks issued in response to false statements and representations, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Abdulrasheed Yusuf, 29, of Lilburn, Georgia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Yusuf was a member of a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain money, including by committing identity theft, impersonating account holders and obtaining money from their accounts. On Aug. 8, 2017, a member of the conspiracy contacted an entity where an individual (Victim 1) had an account. The caller impersonated Victim 1 and stated that he/she wanted to withdraw $34,636 from his/her account. The entity sent a check through a mail carrier to the account holder at his/her address.

A member of the conspiracy caused the mail carrier to hold the packages containing the check for Victim 1 at one of its branch locations. On Aug. 14, 2017, Yusuf entered the branch and, using a driver’s license with Yusuf’s picture and Victim 1’s name and address, obtained a package he believed contained the check to Victim 1. Yusuf used a separate fake driver’s license in connection with obtaining a different check similarly issued in response to fraudulent statements.

The conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to others, whichever is greater. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a sentence of two years in prison, which must be consecutive to any imprisonment ordered concerning the conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to others, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for May 10, 2018.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty pleas. He also thanked the Salt Lake City, Utah, Police Department for its role in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: David B. Glazer Esq., Livingston New Jersey

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Company Owners Plead Guilty to $13.8 Million ‘Rent-A-Vet’ Scheme

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that former owners of a local construction company, Patriot Company, Inc., have pleaded guilty in federal court to their roles in a “rent-a-vet” scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $13.8 million in federal contracts.

Jeffrey K. Wilson, 53, of the Village of Loch Lloyd in Belton, Mo., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District judge Howard F. Sachs to one count of government program fraud. Paul R. Salavitch, 57, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, to a misdemeanor charge of making a false writing.

Wilson, who is not a veteran, managed the day-to-day operations and the long-term decision making of Patriot Company from May 2005 to January 2014. Salavitch is a service-disabled veteran who falsely certified that he was involved in the day-to-day operations of Patriot Company. Salavitch’s purported active management qualified Patriot Company to obtain set-aside contracts to which it was not entitled.

Wilson admitted he used Salavitch’s veteran and service-disabled veteran status in a “rent-a-vet” scheme to obtain 20 government contracts for which Patriot Company received more than $13.8 million. As a result of the fraud scheme, legitimate veteran-owned-and-run businesses were not awarded these contracts.

Wilson’s plea agreement cites 20 contracts with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Army, totaling $13,819,522, which were fraudulently obtained by Wilson, Salavitch and Patriot Company. The contracts, which ranged as high as $4.3 million, included construction projects in Missouri, South Dakota, Texas, Nebraska Oklahoma, Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee, Iowa, Illinois and North Dakota.

In September 2013, the Veterans Administration conducted an unannounced site visit of Patriot Company. The site inspector discovered that Salavitch was working 40 miles away at his full-time job as a federal employee with the Department of Defense in Leavenworth, Kan. In November 2013, Salavitch falsely certified to the Missouri Division of Purchasing and Materials Management that Patriot Company was a legitimate service-disabled veteran-owned small business when he knew it was not because he did not actively run the company. In December 2013, the Veterans Administration de-certified Patriot Company.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Wilson is subject to a sentence of up to 18 months in federal prison without parole. Salavitch is subject to a sentence of up to one year in federal prison without parole. Wilson and Salavitch must also consent to the federal civil forfeiture of approximately $2.1 million. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jane Pansing Brown, Stacey Perkins Rock and Curt Bohling. It was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General – Criminal Investigation Division and the General Services Administration – Office of Inspector General.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Three KC Men Indicted for Kidnapping, Murder

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that three Kansas City, Mo., men have been indicted for the kidnapping and murder of a victim they were attempting to rob.

Jonathan M. Bravo-Lopez (also known as “Jonathan Vravo,” and “Shadow”), 23, and Juan D. Osorio (also known as “Spexx”), 24, both of whom are citizens of Mexico residing in Kansas City, Mo., and Marco A. Sosa-Perea, 23, of Kansas City, Mo., were charged in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018.

Bravo-Lopez, Osorio and Sosa-Perea are charged together with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, one count of kidnapping resulting in death and one count of using a firearm to commit murder. The federal indictment alleges that they conspired to kidnap and attempted to rob a victim identified as “C.E.”, transporting him across state lines from Missouri to Kansas, on April 3, 2017.

According to the indictment, Bravo-Lopez and Osorio arranged to purchase $300 of marijuana from the victim; they traveled with Sosa-Perea to the victim’s residence on April 3, 2017. Bravo-Lopez and Osorio, armed with firearms, allegedly forced the victim into their vehicle and drove to Kansas. When they reached the 200 block of Donovan Road in Kansas City, Kan., the indictment says, the victim was forced out of the car, shot, and left to die on the side of the road.

Additionally, Osorio is charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. Osorio allegedly was in possession of an Action Arms .45-caliber handgun on April 7, 2017.

Bravo-Lopez is also charged with illegally reentering the United States after having been deported.

Garrison cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Edwards. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department.