Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Antioch, Tennessee Woman Sentenced To Six Years In Prison For Stolen ID Refund Fraud

An Antioch, Tennessee, woman was sentenced today to six years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

Monique Ellis was convicted following a jury trial in October 2017 of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to documents filed with the court and evidence presented at trial, in January and February 2012, Monique Ellis used stolen IDs, including those of prisoners held by the Alabama Department of Corrections, to file tax returns with the IRS seeking fraudulent refunds.  Ellis directed the fraudulently obtained refunds to bank accounts that she controlled, causing a tax loss of $700,933.20.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin A. Drain ordered Ellis to serve three years of supervised release.  Restitution will be determined at a later date.

This investigation was conducted by the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis and Trial Attorney Lauren Castaldi of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: United States Attorney’s Office Provides Speaker at ADA Workshop for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Community

Greenville, South Carolina—- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that the United States Attorney’s Office continued its firm commitment to upholding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The U.S. Attorney’s Office provided the presenter on an ADA Workshop for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community.

The event was sponsored by the South Carolina Association of the Deaf, Inc. (SCAD) and the South Carolina Registry for Interpreters for the Deaf (SCRID).  SCAD is the statewide non-profit organization that focuses on promoting equal treatment toward deaf and hard of hearing citizens in education, employment, legislation, healthcare, and other fields pertaining to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing citizens of South Carolina.  SCRID provides local forums and an organizational structure for the continued growth and development of the profession of signed language interpretation.  Lead organizers for the event included Ms. Anita M. Steichen-McDaniel, SCAD’s Executive Director, and Ms. Susie Spainhour, SCRID President.  This event was held at the University Center of Greenville on Saturday, January 27, 2018.  AUSA Rob Sneed provided an overview of federal disability laws and focused on those aspects of the ADA of great interest to members of the deaf and hard of hearing community. 

The ADA requires that covered entities (State and local governments; businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public) communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities.  The goal is to ensure that communication with people with these disabilities is equally effective as communication with people without disabilities.

According to U.S. Attorney Beth Drake, community outreach efforts such as this continue the U.S. Attorney’s and DOJ’s long standing commitment to Project Civic Access, which is a wide-ranging effort to ensure that counties, cities, towns, and villages comply with the ADA by eliminating physical and communication barriers that prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in community life.  The training also supports her office’s ongoing support of the DOJ’s Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, which is an initiative that will include effective communication for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, physical access to medical care for people with mobility disabilities, and equal access to treatment for people who have HIV/AIDS.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina enforces federal civil rights laws, including the Fair Housing Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.  Civil remedies under these statutes include monetary penalties, injunctions, civil judgments and more.

To learn more about the ADA and other laws protecting the rights of people with disabilities, log on to www.ada.gov/ta-pubs-pg2.htm or call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD).  The U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Program webpages are located at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/civil-rights.

#####
 

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Financial Management Consultant Sentenced for Embezzling Medical Firm & Employee Pension Funds

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A former office manager of New England Anesthesiologists, Inc., and president of Anesthesia Management Consultants, LLC, was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $700,000 dollars from bank accounts belonging to the medical firm and to an employee 401(k) pension fund. The total amount of restitution to be paid has bot yet been determined.

John M. Hairabet, Jr., 45, pleaded guilty on July 20, 2017, to six counts of wire fraud, one count of pension fund theft and two counts of money laundering. At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Hairabet to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of his term of incarceration and to pay restitution to the victims in this case, including pensioners whose money was embezzled from the employee 401(k) pension fund. The total amount of restitution to be paid has not yet been determined by the court.

 The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range of imprisonment in this matter is 37- 46 months. The government recommended the court impose a sentence of 37 months imprisonment.

Hairabet’s sentence is announced by United States Attorney Stephen G. Dambruch; Brian Deck, Resident Agent in Charge of the Providence Office of the U.S. Secret Service; Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; and Carol S. Hamilton, Acting Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration.

At the time of his guilty plea, Hairabet admitted that between October 2007 and August 12, 2013, in his capacity as an independent contract bookkeeper and office manager of New England Anesthesiologists, and through his management consulting firm, Anesthesia Management Consultants, he embezzled $587,218.36 from bank accounts belonging to New England Anesthesiologists. Hairabet also admitted that he embezzled $120,313 in employee elective deferrals that were to be deposited into an employee 401 (k) pension fund. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ronald R. Gendron and Richard W. Rose.

The matter was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration.

###

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Columbus Man Sentenced For Receiving Child Pornography

Charles E. Peeler, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that William Tooley, 53, of Columbus, Georgia, entered a plea today to receipt of child pornography.  Mr. Tooley entered his plea of guilty before the Honorable Clay D. Land of the United States District Court in Columbus, Georgia, who imposed a sentence of 360 months imprisonment (30 years).  Mr. Tooley will also be required to serve 25 years of supervised release under strict sexual offender supervision in the unlikely event he should ever be released from prison.

There is no parole in the federal system.  

According to the facts presented in court, in March of 2016, the mother of an 11 year old boy located in in another state discovered that her son had been texting and sending nude photos of himself to an individual she suspected of impersonating a teen boy.   The victim revealed that he had been texting with someone he knew as “Mason”, who said he lived in Georgia, and was either 15 or 17 years old (at different times, he represented both).  During these text conversations, “Mason” asked the victim to send sexually explicit photos of himself over the internet.

Due to the interstate nature of the case, the matter was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  “Mason” turned out to be 53 year old registered sex offender and Columbus, GA, resident, William Tooley.  Mr. Tooley admitted that he received sexually explicit photos from the juvenile victim via text message.    Public records revealed that Mr. Tooley had two separate convictions  in the state of Michigan for 4th degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor and another for accosting a child for immoral purposes.

“The sentence recommended to and imposed by Judge Land virtually ensures that this repeat sexual offender  will spend the rest of his days in the federal penitentiary, where he belongs and where he can no longer prey on innocent children.  It also has spared the young victim in this case the additional trauma of having to testify about Mr. Tooley’s predations in a public courtroom,” said United States Attorney Peeler.

“This deviant child predator did not learn his lesson from his previous multiple convictions for child exploitation,” said acting HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Gregory L. Wiest. “This case should serve as a warning to others and a reminder to parents to pay attention to their children’s online activity and to stay vigilant in the protection of our children.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorney Crawford Seals handled the prosecution for the Government. 

 Questions concerning this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Harrison County woman admits to oxycodone distribution

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Brittany Brown, of Stonewood, West Virginia, has admitted to a drug distribution charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Brown, age 32, pled guilty to one count of “Distribution of Oxycodone.” Brown admitted to selling oxycodone in Harrison County in January 2016.

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.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Morgan County man admits to firearms charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Matthew Dean Smith, of Great Cacapon, West Virginia, has admitted to a firearms charge, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Smith, age 39, pled guilty to one count of “Possession of an Unregistered Firearm.” Smith admitted to possessing an unregistered silencer. The crime took place in Berkeley County in October 2017.

Smith faces up to 10 years incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. 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. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara K. Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the West Virginia State Police investigated. 
 
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
 

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Brattleboro Man Convicted of Distribution of Crack Cocaine While on Federal Supervised Release

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that, on January 29, 2018, Norman Hardy, 40, of Brattleboro, appeared before Judge Christina Reiss to plead guilty to distribution of crack cocaine.

According to Court records, Hardy sold crack cocaine to an informant working with the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force on two separate occasions in May 2017. When he was arrested on June 20, 2017, he had an additional quantity of crack cocaine on his person. In January 2016, Hardy was federally convicted in Vermont of distribution of heroin, and subsequently sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment. Hardy told investigators at the time of his arrest that he had been selling drugs since the time of his release from that sentence.

Under the terms of the plea agreement filed with the Court – acceptance of which was deferred until the sentencing hearing – the parties have agreed that Hardy should be sentenced to 30 months in prison.

The United States is represented in this case by Assistant United States Attorney Nate Burris. Hardy is represented by attorney Ernest “Bud” Allen of Burlington.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Quebec Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Over 100 Handguns From Vermont to Quebec

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated today that Alexis Vlachos, 40, of Montreal, Quebec, pled guilty to two counts relating to the smuggling of over 100 handguns from Vermont to Quebec. Specifically, Vlachos pled guilty before United States District Judge William K. Sessions III to conspiring to export, and actually exporting, firearms from the United States to Canada, without a license, in violation of the Arms Control Export Act.

As part of his guilty plea, Vlachos agreed to the following facts: From July 2010 to April 2011, Vlachos and other persons, including defendants Annette Wexler and Jaime Ruiz, executed a plan to smuggle over 100 handguns, purchased in Florida, to Quebec, Canada, by way of northern Vermont and northeast New York. As part of this conspiracy, Annette Wexler and another coconspirator purchased these handguns from multiple federally licensed firearms dealers in the Tampa, Florida area. At the time of purchasing these firearms at the gun stores, Wexler and a coconspirator made multiple misrepresentations about the nature of these purchases on forms required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

After purchasing these firearms, Annette Wexler, Jaime Ruiz, and another coconspirator transported these firearms to Quebec through northeastern Vermont and northeastern New York. As part of the conspiracy, Vlachos would usually take custody of the firearms in Quebec, where he sold many of them.

Some of the firearms smuggled into Quebec were first brought to the Haskell Free Library in Derby Line, Vermont by Annette Wexler and Jaime Ruiz. The Haskell Free Library building straddles the international border of Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec.

On at least two occasions, in about March of 2011, Annette Wexler and Jaime Ruiz worked together to stash several firearms contained in small backpacks inside the trashcan of the library bathroom. Wexler then coordinated with Vlachos, who had entered the library from Quebec, to retrieve the firearms from the bathroom. Vlachos then transported the firearms to Quebec, where he sold many of them.

In April 2011, a coconspirator in Florida purchased thirty-four firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer in the Tampa, Florida area. Vlachos and Wexler then drove these guns to a remote section of northeastern Vermont near Lake Wallace. Vlachos hiked these firearms across the international border into Quebec.

This conspiracy involved the smuggling of at least 104 handguns from the United States to Canada. Neither Vlachos, nor any of the others involved in these offenses, obtained a license from the United States Department of State prior to exporting these handguns to Canada.

Annette Wexler previously pled guilty to conspiring to make false statements to licensed gun dealers and unlawful exportation. On July 25, 2017, United States District Judge J. Garvan Murtha sentenced Wexler to time-served and two years of supervised release. Ruiz also pled guilty to two offenses relating to this smuggling conspiracy but, due to his death by illness, the charges against him were dismissed.

Vlachos was originally charged with these offenses in January 2015 but the process of extraditing him to the United States took over two years to complete. Vlachos now faces a maximum possible term of imprisonment of twenty years. However, Judge Sessions will determine the actual sentence pursuant to the advisory federal sentencing guidelines and the federal statutory sentencing factors. The sentencing is scheduled for May 7, 2018.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella. Vlachos is represented by Paul Volk, Esq. of Burlington. This case was jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Investigations of the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Surete du Quebec provided assistance in this investigation.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Prior Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Exploitation, Illegal Firearm

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Timothy A. Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Noel, Mo., sex offender pleaded guilty in federal court today to charges related to child sexual exploitation and illegally possessing firearms.

Raymond Adair, 58, of Noel, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of firearms.

Adair, a registered sex offender, was previously convicted in Colorado of attempted second-degree kidnapping of a minor and two counts of indecent exposure to a minor.

By pleading guilty today, Adair admitted that he traveled from Missouri to Arkansas on May 9, 2016, to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Bentonville, Ark., police officers received two separate complaints on that day of Adair exposing himself to children walking home from school. One of the children was walking home from a school bus stop, according to the plea agreement, and investigators obtained images of Adair’s vehicle from the school bus’s surveillance cameras.

On May 11, 2016, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Adair’s residence and he was arrested. During the search, officers found an AR-15 rifle, a Marlin rifle, a Ruger rifle, and approximately 12 and a half pounds of marijuana.

Under federal statutes, Adair is subject to a sentence of up to 70 years in federal prison without parole. Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Adair must pay a fine of $150,000. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bentonville, Ark., Police Department and the McDonald County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Sanford Man Pleads Guilty to Transporting Child Pornography

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Rusty Hood, 38, of Sanford, Maine, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to transporting child pornography.

According to court records, in May 2016, Hood chatted online with an individual in Ohio. During the chat, the two men exchanged images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Hood claimed during the chat that he was interested in babies, and that he had engaged in sexual activity with a young girl.

Hood faces between five and 20 years in prison, between five years and life on supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the Sanford Police Department.