Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Couple charged with illegally selling prescription medical devices

ATLANTA – Kimverlee Aderhold and Eric E. Ramey, Jr., have been arraigned on federal charges of unlawfully selling stolen medical devices that require a prescription without an actual prescription. Aderhold and Ramey were indicted by a federal grand jury on January 23, 2018.

“The medical products the defendants allegedly stole can only be obtained with a prescription from a medical provider,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “They sold them to unsuspecting consumers without determining whether the products were safe for the consumers to use and without instructing the consumers on how to use the products safely.  In doing so, the consumers’ health and safety were placed in jeopardy.” 

“When prescription devices are stolen and diverted from the legal supply chain, there is no longer any assurance that the products are safe and effective for their intended uses,” said Peter Kuehl, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office. “This announcement should serve as a reminder of the FDA’s continued focus on individuals that put profits ahead of the health and safety of U.S. consumers.”

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: Aderhold was employed as the Retail Manager in Georgia for Advanced Home Care, a durable medical device company that has retail locations in Marietta and Norcross. Advanced Home Care is a retail distributor of CPap and BiPap machines and portable oxygen concentrators. The use of these medical products is not safe except when used under the supervision of a medical practitioner licensed by law to oversee their use. Federal law requires that CPap and BiPap machines and portable oxygen concentrators be purchased only with a prescription issued by a licensed medical practitioner.

 

Aderhold allegedly stole CPap and BiPap machines and portable oxygen concentrators from the inventory of the Advanced Home Care stores she managed. She and Ramey would advertise the stolen products for sale, primarily on Craigslist. Once a buyer responded to their advertisement, Ramey or Aderhold allegedly would meet with the buyer and sell the stolen medical equipment for cash only. The defendants did not ask the buyers to produce prescriptions for the devices. Ramey and Aderhold did not provide instructions to the buyers regarding the safe use of the stolen medical devices.      

Kimverlee Aderhold, 27, and Eric E. Ramey, Jr., 31, both of Grayson, Georgia, were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Catherine M. Salinas, and are charged with conspiring to steal medical products that can be obtained only with a prescription and possession of the same stolen medical products. They are also charged with multiple counts of theft of such medical products and possession of stolen medical products. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges.  The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney William L. McKinnon, Jr., is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Shelton Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Offense

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL HULL, 60, of Shelton, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to one count of receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 31, 2017, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents conducted a court-authorized search of HULL’s Shelton residence and seized approximately 16 electronic devices, including computers and external hard drives.  A forensic examination of the seized devices revealed approximately 13 images and 126 videos of child pornography, including images and videos depicting children younger than 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The investigation also revealed that HULL had a video camera installed in his bathroom, which captured images of individuals, including children, who used his bathroom.

Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for April 24, 2018, at which time HULL faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

HULL has been detained since his arrest on May 31, 2017.

This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacabed Rodriguez-Coss.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Two Men Sentenced To Prison In International $200 Million Credit Card Fraud Conspiracy

Last of 22 Defendants Convicted and Sentenced

TRENTON, N.J. – A New York man and a Middlesex County, New Jersey, man were sentenced to today to federal prison terms for their respective roles in one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Qaiser Khan, 53, of Valley Stream, New York, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He was sentenced today to six months in prison. Sat Verma, 65, of Iselin, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of access device fraud. He was sentenced to one year in prison. U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson imposed both sentences today in Trenton federal court.

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

Khan and Verma were originally charged in February 2013 as part of a conspiracy to fabricate more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards. They are the last of 22 defendants to be sentenced in this scheme.

The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would make up a false identity by creating fraudulent identification documents and a phony credit profile with the major credit bureaus; pump up the credit of the false identity by providing bogus information about that identity’s creditworthiness; then borrow or spend as much as they could without repaying the debts. The scheme caused more than $200 million in confirmed losses to businesses and financial institutions.

The scope of the criminal fraud enterprise required the conspirators to construct an elaborate network of false identities. Across the country, the conspirators maintained more than 1,800 “drop addresses,” including houses, apartments and post office boxes, which they used as the mailing addresses for the false identities.

Khan admitted he helped obtain credit cards in the name of third parties – many of which were fictional – then directed the credit cards to be mailed to addresses controlled by members of the conspiracy. He also admitted they knew the cards would be used fraudulently at businesses. Verma admitted he effected transactions with access devices issued to another person.

In addition to the prison terms, Judge Thompson sentenced Qaiser to five years of supervised release and fined him $10,000. Verma was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to forfeit $270,000 and fined $1,000.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Cyber Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked postal inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Ruth M. Mendonca, Newark Division, special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Mark McKevitt, and the U.S. Social Security Administration for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zach Intrater and Daniel Shapiro of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, as well as Assistant U.S.
Attorney Sarah Devlin of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.

This case was brought in coordination with the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov.

Defense counsel:
Khan: Christopher Adams Esq., Roseland, New Jersey
Verma: Jerard A. Gonzalez Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Winchester Man Sentenced to 8.5 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Over a Kilogram of Heroin

            CONCORD, N.H. –Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today that Ross Gould, 30, formerly of Winchester, New Hampshire was sentenced to 8.5 years in federal prison for participating in a heroin trafficking conspiracy.

 

           Court documents and statements in court showed that beginning in 2011 and continuing through mid-March 2015, Gould distributed quantities of heroin throughout the Keene, New Hampshire, area.  Investigators determined that Gould initially sold gram quantities of heroin, but later started selling larger quantities of heroin to individuals in Keene and the surrounding towns.  From mid-2014 through Gould’s arrest in March of 2015, Gould’s drug trafficking increased substantially.  He obtained approximately two kilograms of heroin every four or five weeks from a heroin source in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Gould used a drug courier to obtain the heroin from the source and transport the drugs back to the Keene area where the drugs were distributed by Gould and other drug couriers. 

 

           After the lengthy investigation, Gould was arrested in March, 2015.  A search of Gould’s Winchester residence resulted in the seizure of approximately five grams of heroin, $11,000 cash and 14 firearms. A subsequent search of a safe that Gould kept at another residence resulted in the seizure of 1.7 kilograms of heroin, 392 grams of cocaine and a small quantity of miscellaneous pills.

 

           Gould pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute over one kilogram of heroin on October 5, 2017.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, Gould consented to liquidate personal property purchased with drug proceeds that resulted in the forfeiture by the United States of approximately $ 28,000.  Gould also forfeited to the United States 14 firearms that he purchased with drug proceeds. The United States previously forfeited the $11,000 cash seized from Gould’s residence.

 

           Three of Gould’s drug couriers have been sentenced to federal prison as a result of their participation in this drug trafficking organization. Jamie Hilow, 29, formerly of Winchester, is serving an 11-year prison sentence. Hilow’s wife, Jaclyn Hilow, 31, also formerly of Winchester, is serving a 10-year prison sentence.  Jason Daigle, 40, formerly of Nelson, is serving an eight-year prison sentence.

 

           Two of Gould’s sources from Lawrence also have been convicted on drug trafficking charges.  Jonathan Cruz-Marte, 34, was sentenced to 55 months in prison and Felix Portes, 56, was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

 

           “The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to target individuals who are distributing illegal drugs in New Hampshire,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “While those who suffer from addiction need access to treatment, those who seek to profit from the distribution of heroin and other deadly drugs will be prosecuted aggressively.  I commend the work of the law enforcement officers who worked together during this long-term investigation to disrupt and dismantle a major drug trafficking organization that was responsible for the distribution of large quantities of heroin in the Keene area.”

 

            The investigation was conducted by the: (1) Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations; (2) New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force; (3) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; (4) New Hampshire State Police; (5) Keene, New Hampshire Police Department; (6) Richmond, New Hampshire Police Department; and (7) Salem, New Hampshire Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Cole Davis prosecuted the case.

           This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.

 

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Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Monett Sex Offender Sentenced to 21 Years for Child Pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced a convicted sex offender in Monett, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for receiving child pornography over the Internet.

Carl Donald Greiner, 32, of Monett, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Greiner to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.

Greiner, who pleaded guilty on Aug. 31, 2017, was previously convicted of possessing child pornography, sexual misconduct and furnishing pornographic material to a minor in 2004. While on supervision for those offenses, Greiner, Greiner engaged in sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old female victim and was convicted of statutory rape and statutory sodomy in the first degree.

A person using Greiner’s computer reported to police officers on April 30, 2016, that she saw a large amount of child pornography on the computer located in his bedroom, including videos of children ranging in age from 4 to 17. Officers executed a search warrant at Greiner’s residence the same day and seized his desktop computer along with an address book with Internet addresses.

Investigators discovered multiple images and videos of child pornography on Greiner’s computer that had been downloaded from the Internet.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force and the Monett, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

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.”

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Fairfield Man Who Sold Heroin and Fentanyl to Deep River Overdose Victim Sentenced to Prison

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHN VIBBERT, 37, of Fairfield, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing heroin and fentanyl involved in an overdose death.

This prosecution is part of an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the early hours of May 31, 2016, Connecticut State Police and emergency medical personnel responded to a residence in Deep River and found an unresponsive 35-year-old male.  Although CPR was performed and Narcan was administered, the man was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The investigation, which has included analysis of the victim’s cellphone and a witness interview, revealed that, on May 30, 2016, the victim contacted VIBBERT to purchase heroin.  The victim then drove to a restaurant near I-95 in Bridgeport where he met VIBBERT to complete the purchase.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the victim’s cause of death to be “acute heroin and fentanyl toxicities.”

VIBBERT was arrested on a criminal complaint on March 27, 2017.  On August 23, 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of heroin and fentanyl.

VIBBERT, who is released on a $50,000 bond, was ordered to report to prison on April 30.

This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Connecticut State Police, with the assistance of the Monroe Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Clark and Michael McGarry.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: United States Attorney’s Office Supporting RAYSAC Opioid Initiative

Roanoke, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney Rick Mountcastle announced the Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition’s (RAYSAC) social media campaign beinthepicture.org, whose goal is to warn individuals between the ages of 12 and 25 about the dangers of prescription drug misuse, specifically opioid pain medication and heroin.  The program, which began in December 2017, is featured on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, as well as in posters in various restaurants, shops, schools, libraries, the health department and other locations around the Roanoke Valley. 

“Opioid pain killer and heroin addiction is a national crisis,” said United States Attorney Mountcastle.  “Our community must work together to defeat the epidemic of addiction through access to treatment and recovery, prevention programs that raise awareness of the dangers of addiction, and targeted law enforcement.” 

RAYSAC is recruiting young adults in the Roanoke Valley between the ages of 18-25 to serve on an advisory council. This council will provide guidance and expertise on the best ways to bring awareness to their peers about this critical issue.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia Collects Over $11 Million in Fiscal Year 2017

Roanoke, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced today that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia collected $11,113,257 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2017. More than $7,200,000 of this amount went to victims of crime.  “Providing restitution to crime victims is a priority, and I commend the three members of our Financial Litigation Unit for their hard work during fiscal year 2017,” said United States Attorney Mountcastle.

The Western District of Virginia also worked with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice to collect an additional $73,387,907 in cases pursued jointly with these offices.

Overall, the Justice Department collected just over $15 billion in civil and criminal actions in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017.

Additionally, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, working with partner agencies and divisions, also collected $4,115,494 in asset forfeiture actions in FY 2017. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and for a variety of law enforcement purposes.

The United States Attorneys’ Offices, along with the department’s litigating divisions, are responsible for enforcing and collecting civil and criminal debts owed to the United States and criminal debts owed to federal crime victims.  The law requires defendants to pay restitution to victims of certain federal crimes who have suffered a physical injury or financial loss.  While restitution is paid to the victim, criminal fines and felony assessments are paid to the department’s Crime Victims’ Fund, which distributes the funds to state victim compensation and victim assistance programs.

The largest civil collections were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Houston Man Convicted of Multiple Child Pornography Charges

HOUSTON –  A 28-year-old Houston man has entered a guilty plea to two counts of production and one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

 

Robert Matthew Jimenez admitted he had solicited named images of a 14-year-old girl who resided in Buffalo, New York.

 

The girl’s father had learned that someone she believed was a 17-year-old male had contacted her via the Internet. The father reported to authorities that his minor daughter had been sending naked images of herself at the request of that person. However, the investigation revealed it was not a 17-year-old boy, but was, in fact, Jimenez.

 

He had manipulated the minor female and caused her to take images of herself, images that constitute child pornography. The investigation revealed he had also done this to at least one other identified minor female.

 

Jimenez texted the minors and used social media applications such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram to manipulate the minors into sending the images. He was often abusive and aggressive in his communications with them.

 

Authorities executed a search warrant at his Houston residence which resulted in the discovery of the second victim. Authorities also discovered that he also sent a picture of his genitalia to that victim.

 

Jimenez is believed to have contacted dozens of other females.

 

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas accepted the plea today and has set sentencing for April 17, 2018. At that time, Jimenez faces a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in prison for each of the production counts as well as another 10 years for the possession. The charges also carry a potential fine of up to $250,000. He will also be ordered to serve a minimum of five years and up to life on supervised release following  completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. He will also have to register as a sex offender.

 

He will remain in custody pending his sentencing hearing.

 

The FBI conducted the investigation.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack prosecuted the case which 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.”