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.”

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Houston Man Gets Significant Sentence for Trafficking Meth

HOUSTON – A 46-year-old resident of Houston has been ordered to federal prison for his conviction of trafficking nearly six kilograms of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Marco Antonio Aparicio-Santos pleaded guilty Aug. 12, 2016.

 

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Ortiz-Flores to 210 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.

 

At the time of his plea, Aparicio-Santos admitted to playing a key role in attempting to deliver methamphetamine in the Houston area.

 

On June 13, 2014, a confidential source mistakenly received several bundles which contained approximately six kilograms of methamphetamine from two unknown male couriers working with him. The couriers had approached the source and mistakenly threw a bag in his car containing six bundles of methamphetamine. The source quickly realized the bundles contained drugs and contacted federal agents who advised him to contact a co-defendant Jesus Ortiz-Flores. At that time, Ortiz-Flores advised him that drugs were supposed to go to Aparicio-Santos who was then supposed to divide it up and provide to others.  

 

Ortiz-Flores told the source he could just sell the some of the drugs himself. The source later told Ortiz-Flores he “sold” two kilograms of methamphetamine. Upon the direction of Ortiz-Flores, the source then delivered the remaining four kilograms to Aparicio-Santos for him to sell. The drugs were hidden inside a spare tire and delivered as instructed.

 

Officers then conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle Aparicio-Santos was driving and seized the methamphetamine. All six of the bundles of methamphetamine were subsequently sent for further analysis, which demonstrated the drugs had a net weight of 5.924 kilograms and  were 100% pure.

 

The drugs had been imported from Mexico.

 

The evidence in the case also revealed Aparicio-Santos was involved in other methamphetamine trafficking transactions totaling more than 11 kilograms for which he was also held accountable at the hearing today. 

 

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

 

Ortiz-Flores was also convicted and later sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.

 

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Houston Police Department and Harris County Sheriff’s Office conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arthur R. Jones and Ted Imperato are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Another Convicted in “On the Rox” Tax Conspiracy

HOUSTON – A local bar owner has entered a guilty plea to conspiring with others to defraud the United States by failing to pay taxes on income he received from vending machines located in the bars he owned, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

 

In the plea agreement filed in the record of the case, Thomas E. Johnson admitted he had partial ownership of multiple bars in the Houston area that operated under the name “On the Rox.” Johnson conspired with others to conceal the cash income from vending machines located in the bars from the IRS.

 

Johnson admitted he failed to report a total of $463,277 in income for tax years 2010, 2011 and 2012. His failure to pay taxes on this income resulted in a tax loss to the United States of $148,338.

 

Two others have been convicted in relation to the scam at “On the Rox.” Jerome Rivera pleaded guilty last week, while Mathew J. Mitchell entered his plea Dec. 8, 2017.

 

Johnson’s sentencing has been set for May 17, 2018, before Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal. At that time, he faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Johnson was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.

 

IRS-Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin R. Martin is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Houston Resident Convicted of SORNA Violation

HOUSTON – A 33-year-old man from Harris County has entered a guilty plea to failure to register as a sex offender, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Nicholas Isaiah Carlson admitted he violated the Adam Walsh Act, aka Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

 

On Jan. 8, 2013, Carlson was convicted in Benton County, Oregon, for sexual abuse in the second degree. As a result, he was required to register as a sex offender until January 2023. 

 

Carlson originally came to Houston in August 2016. Although he held a number of jobs and resided in Houston for several months, he never registered as required with authorities. During the plea hearing today, Carlson admitted he knowingly and intentionally failed to register as sex offender. He further acknowledged he knew he was required to do so after arriving in Harris County.

 

Sentencing has been set for April 17, 2018, before U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas. At that time, Carlson faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. 

 

The U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation. 

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie N. Searle is prosecuting 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.”

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Three Defendants Sentenced For Their Respective Roles In Trafficking Guns From Nevada To Oakland, California

OAKLAND – Richard Straight, Jenna Jeanne Allec, and Kenneth Lee Kemp were each sentenced today for their respective roles in an interstate firearms trafficking scheme announced Acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder.  The sentences were handed down by the Honorable Haywood S. Gilliam, United States District Judge, following the entry in September of 2017 by each defendant of a guilty plea.    

On April 20, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Straight, 27, of Oakland; Allec, 26, of Oakland; Kemp, 32, of Elko, Nev.; and others in a Second Superseding Indictment for their respective roles in trafficking scores of firearms from Nevada to Oakland, Calif.  Straight, Allec, and Kemp each entered into plea agreements in which they acknowledged committing crimes related to the interstate gun trafficking scheme.   

According to his plea agreement, Straight, admitted that between March of 2015 and May of 2017, he engaged in the business of dealing firearms without a license. Straight admitted he acted as the middleman for firearms purchases in Nevada and that his conduct was intended to assist buyers who travelled from outside the state for the purpose of firearms trafficking.  According to his plea agreement, Straight also admitted he was responsible for the sale of about 39 firearms.  Straight admitted buyers paid him for the price of the firearm plus, on average, an extra $50 to $100.  Straight pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A), and one count of aiding and abetting traveling interstate to promote illegal firearms trafficking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § § 924(n) and 2.  Today, Judge Gilliam sentenced Straight to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  

Allec admitted that she, too, engaged in the business of dealing in firearms without a license.  According to her plea agreement, she purchased firearms in Nevada from licensed firearm dealers and then sold the firearms to others. Allec admitted that she sold about 18 firearms during the period of October 2015 to June of 2016 earning approximately $50 to $100 per firearm.  Allec pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A).  Today, Judge Gilliam sentenced Allec to 48 months of probation with a special condition of 24 months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service.

According to his plea agreement, Kemp admitted he engaged in a conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license.  Specifically, he agreed to engage in an illegal operation to traffic firearms from the Reno, Nev. area to Oakland, Calif.  He admitted he purchased firearms in Nevada and sold firearms to others who lived in California or who could provide the firearms to others in California.  Kemp admitted he trafficked approximately 21 firearms.  Kemp pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.  Judge Gilliam sentenced Kemp to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  

In addition to these defendants, on November 27, 2017, Judge Gilliam sentenced Edgar de La Cruz for his role in the scheme, as well as his other crimes of Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1951, and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §924(c).  Judge Gilliam sentenced de La Cruz to 120 months in prison and five years of supervised release.  

This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF Crime Gun Intelligence Center, San Francisco Field Division (SFFD).  Additional assistance was provided by the Reno and Sparks Police Departments.