Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

Kenneth Hurd, 32, from Harrisburg, South Dakota, pled guilty in federal court on September 5, 2023, to Conspiracy to Acquire Controlled Substances by Fraud.

At the plea hearing, Hurd admitted that he knowingly conspired with co-defendant, Douglas Kelley, to obtain and acquire fentanyl by means of misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge.  They used Douglas Kelley’s position as a nurse at MercyOne Hospital in Sioux City to obtain fentanyl and other controlled substances for personal use.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Hurd remains free on bond pending sentencing.  Hurd faces, not more than 4 years’ imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a $250,000 fine, and up to 1 year of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig Hamit and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Inspections & Appeals, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Sioux City Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 23-CR-4022.

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Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

ST. LOUIS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has successfully recovered more than $319,000 in disability payments that a Columbia, Illinois man illegally obtained via disability fraud, U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming announced Wednesday.

Gregory Vieth pleaded guilty in 2019 to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.  He admitted paying a chiropractor to help him fraudulently qualify for monthly Social Security disability payments and a $100,000 long-term disability payment.  At the direction of the chiropractor, Vieth underwent medically unnecessary tests to bolster his application for disability benefits.  Vieth also falsely claimed on the application that he was unable to complete yardwork, lift, walk, reach, sit, bend and bathe without assistance, his plea agreement says.

On February 21, 2023, U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White sentenced the 67-year-old to three years of probation and ordered him to pay $319,687 in restitution with required monthly installment payments of at least $500.  By mid-April, Vieth had only made the minimum restitution payments to his victims, so the Financial Litigation Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office began enforcing the judgment by garnishing Vieth’s retirement account held at Fidelity Investments, which contained approximately $450,000.  Vieth then attempted to block the collection action by arguing the minimum monthly payments precluded the government’s garnishment.  Vieth also argued the garnishment should be limited to only 25% of the funds in his retirement account, and the garnishment would cause him to incur a large income tax liability, thereby essentially wiping out his life savings.

Judge White disagreed with all of Vieth’s arguments, saying the court-ordered obligation to make minimum monthly installment payments did not bar the U.S. Attorney’s Office from initiating the garnishment, as the restitution was ordered due in full immediately at the time of sentencing.  Judge White also ruled the garnishment was not capped at 25% and potential tax liability was not a valid defense.  Judge White said Vieth had the assets to pay restitution, and “the public and private victims have a right to receive those funds now.”  The U.S. Attorney’s office recently collected the full amount of the outstanding restitution owed to the victims in this case.

“This case demonstrates that our Financial Litigation Unit will aggressively pursue and seize the assets of criminals to make their victims whole,” U.S. Attorney Fleming said. “In this case, Gregory Vieth falsely claimed he was unable to perform the basic functions of life in order to obtain disability payments that eventually totaled $319,687.  In reality, he was able to do all of those things, including travel internationally. After pleading guilty, he fought to hold on to hundreds of thousands of dollars in a retirement account instead of immediately paying the restitution he owed to his victims.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Debre prosecuted the financial recovery and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry and Dorothy McMurtry prosecuted the criminal charges against Vieth, as well as the chiropractor and others linked to him. The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the FBI investigated the criminal case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

ST. LOUIS – A man from Brookfield, in Linn County, Missouri, has been accused in an indictment in U.S. District Court in St. Louis of recording himself having sexual contact with a minor.

Russell Alan Pirkey, 52, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of sexual exploitation of a child and a charge of accessing with intent to view child pornography.

The indictment accuses Pirkey of coercing a minor into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of video recording it between April 1 and April 8 of 2023. It also says Pirkey accessed child pornography between Jan. 1, 2023 and April 8, 2023.

A motion seeking to have Pirkey held in jail until trial says he used his cell phone to record himself having sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl. Pirkey was being held in jail on pending charges in Linn County Circuit Court.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The sexual exploitation of children charge carries a potential penalty of 15 to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. The access with intent to view charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and the same fine.

The FBI, the Brookfield Police Department and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Chapman is prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice 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.justice.gov/psc.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

A Maine man was arrested today on federal charges for sending a threatening voicemail to a neighbor.

According to the indictment, Charles Allen Barnes, 47, of Lewiston, allegedly used an interstate communications service to transmit a voice message in which he used racial slurs and stated that he was outside a neighbor’s residence and would kill any Black person who emerged. Barnes also allegedly chose the neighbor as the object of the offense because of the neighbor’s race.

Barnes is charged with one count of violating the federal interstate threats statute. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee for the District of Maine and Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Division made the announcement.

The FBI Boston Division investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheila W. Sawyer for the District of Maine and Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.  

For more information and resources on the department’s efforts to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – A Maryland man pleaded guilty today to making extortionate threats toward victims in Massachusetts. 

Brandon D. Kane, 27, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to making extortionate threats in interstate commerce. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for Jan. 11, 2024. Kane was arrested and charged in April 2023. 

Kane used an online dating website to meet victims locally in Eastern Massachusetts. During such meetings, Kane made unauthorized videos of his victims engaging in illicit drug use or sexual activity with him. Kane then threatened to release the videos to the victims’ families and employers unless his victims paid him.

The charge of making extortionate threats in interstate commerce provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Soto and Benjamin Tolkoff of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – A leader of a Lowell-based gang, One Family Clique (OFC), pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring with fellow OFC gang members to traffic wholesale quantities of cocaine, and to launder millions of dollars in drug proceeds through casinos in Canada.

Virak Prum, a/k/a “Polo,” a/k/a “Capo,” a/k/a “Lips,” 36, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of money laundering conspiracy. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Dec. 14, 2023.  

In August 2018, law enforcement began investigating OFC in response to a dramatic spike in shootings and gang violence in Lowell. OFC is an alliance between several gangs in and around Lowell with ties to gangs in California and other states. In 2018 and 2019, at least 12 incidents of gunfire in the Lowell area are alleged to be attributable to gang-motivated hostilities between OCF and its rivals. 

Since at least 2019, Prum and his co-conspirators used the U.S. Postal Service to receive shipments of illegal narcotics, and, in return, to ship cash proceeds to the sources of supply. Members of the conspiracy maintained stash houses in Lowell, which also served as venues for gang meetings and other events furthering the gang’s illegal activities. Over the course of the investigation, agents seized or purchased approximately 12 kilograms of methamphetamine, 2.4 kilograms of cocaine, 2.1 kilograms of MDMA, 513 grams of heroin, and 169 grams of Fentanyl; $177,591 in cash; and seven firearms. 

In May 2021, Prum led a money laundering operation in which he and his co-conspirators provided “protection” to a shipment from Europe that purportedly contained 8 million Euros in drug proceeds from black tar heroin sales. Specifically, Prum and his co-conspirators helped pack a shipment of money into a truck and escorted it from New York to New Hampshire. 

Prum was charged with 14 others in June 2021. He is the final defendant in custody to plead guilty in the case. One defendant remains a fugitive. 
 
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to twenty years in prison, at least three years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to twenty years in prison, supervised release for up to three years up to life and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered property. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua s. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; and Greg Hudon, Superintendent of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the DEA-San Jose Task Force as well as the Long Beach (Calif.) and Santa Clara (Calif.), Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Moran and Fred Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – A Bridgewater man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston for defrauding investors out of more than half a million dollars.

Jose Rocha, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin, who scheduled sentencing for Dec. 1, 2023. Rocha was charged in August 2023. 

Between 2020 and 2022, Rocha solicited investments from individuals in Massachusetts, falsely portraying himself as a successful investor in securities and promising that he would invest their money in stocks and stock options in exchange for a share of the returns. In total, Rocha obtained over $1 million from his victims, the majority of which he used to pay purported investment returns to other investors or for himself, including to pay for vacations and gambling at casinos. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against Rocha in August 2023 alleging violations of the securities laws.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division made the announcement. The Securities and Exchange Commission provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case. 

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

BOSTON – A Quincy man was arrested and charged today in connection with a bank fraud scheme involving approximately 114 counterfeit checks – totaling more than $1 million. 

Hui Zhang, 41, was charged with one count of bank fraud. Zhang was arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Worcester at 3 p.m. today.

From in or around June 2020 through at least May 2022, Zhang allegedly opened fraudulent bank accounts under false identities, deposited over $1 million worth of approximately 114 counterfeit checks and then subsequently withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from these accounts via ATMs. Zhang was allegedly identified in part by a tattoo on his left hand that was visible in surveillance footage of the ATM withdrawals. Zhang allegedly used the same IP address that was used to open one of the fraudulent bank accounts and to deposit counterfeit checks. 

The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million, or twice the gross proceeds. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Abely, Chief of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —  Jason Michael Carlsen, 50, of Sacramento, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. 

According to court documents, Carlsen possessed child pornography in July 2022.  At the time he possessed these images, Carlsen was on federal supervised release for a prior federal conviction for possession of child pornography.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas M. Fogg prosecuted the case.

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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Antonio Long Andrews, age 29, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to 235 months in prison and 20 years of supervised release for sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to evidence presented at a 2022 jury trial, between August 2017 and December 2018, Long used force and coercion to convince a female to engage in commercial sexual acts for his financial benefit. As part of Long’s pimping operation, he put the victim in motel rooms around the state of California and had them engage in prostitution acts on the street in order to make money from their prostitution activity. Long ran his pimping operation in Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose, and Orange County.

According to evidence presented at trial, on September 28, 2018, as part of his sex trafficking operation, Long repeatedly punched the victim inside his car in the parking lot of a motel. During the attack, the victim tried to exit the car, but an associate of Long kept her inside the car while Long continued to beat her. An eyewitness saw the attack, and the motel’s security camera recorded the victim being dragged under Long’s car. Although the victim was injured and had two black eyes, a week later, Long had continued to engage her in commercial sex acts for his benefit.

During recorded calls from the Sacramento County Jail, Long maintained control over the victim, conveying that she was expected to earn money for him by selling her body to strangers. After Long’s release from the Sacramento County Jail, Long continued his exploitation of the victim from late November 2018 until his arrest on December 5, 2018.  At the sentencing hearing, the judge noted that Long saw the victim as property and took advantage of her so he could make money.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Police Department, California Department of Justice’s Special Operations Unit, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The California Highway Patrol, Sacramento Sheriff’s Department, and the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jason Hitt, Christina McCall and Nirav Desai prosecuted the case.