Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Bronx Man Sentenced To 75 Years In Prison For Murder In Front Of Bronx Daycare Center

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that RUBEN PIZZARO, a/k/a “Chulo,” was sentenced to 75 years in prison for murder, participating in a narcotics conspiracy, and firearms charges. PIZZARO was convicted on June 13, 2017, following a one-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods, who also imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “In November of 2015, Ruben Pizzaro murdered a rival drug dealer in broad daylight close to a nearby daycare center. Pizzaro’s actions are another example of the wanton violence that often accompanies the sale of drugs. Ruben Pizzaro will now serve 75 years in federal prison for his brazen crimes.” 

According to the Complaint, the Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, evidence at trial, and statements made in court proceedings:

Between August 2015 and January 2016, PIZZARO was a member of a street gang that sold cocaine and crack cocaine in the vicinity of 180th Street and Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, New York.  PIZZARO and his crew of drug dealers were in competition with a neighboring drug crew on Hughes Avenue in the Bronx.  That competition played out in several violent shootings in late 2015.  For example, on at least three occasions in October and November 2015, PIZZARO and his drug crew fired at members of the Hughes Avenue drug crew.  Individuals were shot during two of those three incidents, and the third occurred in the vicinity of a Bronx middle school. 

On November 24, 2015, PIZZARO shot and killed rival drug dealer David Rivera in broad daylight in front of a daycare center in the vicinity of 175th Street and Crotona Avenue in the Bronx.

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In addition to the prison term, PIZZARO, 26, was sentenced to 4 years of supervised release.

Mr. Berman thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Police Department for their work on the investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shawn Crowley, Max Nicholas, and Robert Allen are in charge of the prosecution. 

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Two New Mexico Men Facing Federal Charges Arising From Social Media School Shooting Threats

ALBUQUERQUE – The FBI has filed federal charges against two New Mexico men for using social media platforms to post school shootings threats, announced U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson and Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.  The criminal charges arise from tips received by the FBI and its law enforcement partners since last week’s school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

“The Department of Justice will investigate and prosecute school shooting threats on social media platforms, which have recently spread like wildfire in the District of New Mexico in the wake of the Parkland shootings and other tragedies, causing fear and concern in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Anderson.  “When the lives of our children potentially are at stake, we will take action.  These serious criminal charges should motivate everyone – adults and minors alike – to consider the consequences of posting threatening messages on social media platforms, and to report this unlawful behavior where it occurs.”

“The FBI has zero tolerance for anyone who threatens to do harm to others,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Wade.  “We hope these charges send a strong message that the FBI, working in conjunction with our state and local partners, will investigate these tips thoroughly so we can keep our communities safe.”

The FBI arrested Sebastian Jarvison, 25, of Brimhall, N.M., yesterday afternoon on a criminal complaint charging him with transmitting in interstate commerce communications containing threats to injure others in McKinley County, N.M., on Feb. 14, 2018.  The complaint alleges that on Feb. 16, 2018, the FBI received a tip regarding school shooting and bomb threats allegedly posted by Jarvison on Facebook.  Jarvison’s Facebook posts allegedly included threats to “go shoot a school,” “put a bomb on a plane,” and “put a bomb on a plane and shoot up a school.”

This morning, Jarvison made his initial appearance in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M.  Jarvison remains in federal custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, both of which are scheduled for Feb. 26, 2018.

A separate criminal complaint, filed on Feb. 22, 2018, charges John Russell Williams, 19, of Farmington, N.M., with a similar offense.  The complaint alleges that Williams committed the offense in San Juan County, N.M., on Feb. 15, 2018, by replying to a school shooting threat on Facebook with a slang term that means “let’s do it.”  According to the complaint, on Feb. 15, 2018, law enforcement authorities received a tip about a Facebook post allegedly made by a juvenile containing the following statement:  “only 2 months into 2018 and already we got 29 school shootings.  F**k it my turn.”  Williams allegedly replied to the post with the term “Haha esketit” – which means “let’s do it” or “let’s get it” – and a laughing emoji.

Williams was arrested on a related state charge on Feb. 16, 2018, and is currently in state custody on that charge and other pending state charges.  Williams will be transferred to federal custody to face the federal charge in the criminal complaint.

If convicted, Jarvison and Williams each face a statutory maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.  Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.   

These cases were investigated by the Gallup, Farmington and Albuquerque offices of the FBI with assistance from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Farmington Police Department, and Bloomfield Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Niki Tapia-Brito is prosecuting the cases.

Jarvison Complaint    Williams Complaint

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: John C. Anderson Sworn in as 46th U.S. Attorney for the District Of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – This afternoon, Chief Judge William P. Johnson of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico administered the oath of office to John C. Anderson as the 46^th U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, during a private ceremony in the federal courthouse in Santa Fe, N.M.

President Donald J. Trump nominated Mr. Anderson to be U.S. Attorney in Nov. 2017, and the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed his nomination on February 15, 2018.  As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Anderson serves as the top federal law enforcement official in New Mexico, and he represents the United States’ interests in civil cases.  Mr. Anderson previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Mexico from 2008 to 2013, primarily focusing on the investigation and prosecution of white-collar crime.

Prior to serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mr. Anderson was a litigation associate at the New York City law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP from 2004 to 2008, where his practice focused on antitrust, securities and general commercial litigation.  Since leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2013, Mr. Anderson has been with the law firm of Holland & Hart in Santa Fe, where his legal practice has focused on complex litigation and government investigations.

Mr. Anderson received his A.B. from Bowdoin College and his J.D. cum laude from Fordham University School of Law in New York City.  Mr. Anderson clerked for Judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Santa Fe, N.M., from 2003 to 2004.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Former Forest Service Employee and Firefighter Sentenced for Making False Statements in an Arson Investigation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Paul Leland Johnson, 28, of San Jose, was sentenced today to three years and five months in prison for two counts of making false statements to investigators, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

On May 23, 2017, a jury found that Johnson made false statements that were material in a U.S. Forest Service investigation of a fire that burned Johnson’s Forest Service truck. Johnson, a former Forest Service recreation employee, had checked out his duty truck in February 2012 and driven to a remote location in the Eldorado National Forest. While it was at that location, the Forest Service truck burned in a vehicle fire that spread to the surrounding wild land. Following the fire, Johnson made several statements to law enforcement and arson investigators about his actions in relationship to the fire. At trial, evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt that some of Johnson’s statements to investigators were willfully false.

This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey B. Hemesath and Michael D. Anderson prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Leader of Redding-Area Heroin Conspiracy Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Eduardo Salinas-Garcia, 44, of Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to 10 years in prison for conspiring to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Salinas-Garcia led a 2015 conspiracy to distribute heroin in the Redding area. On March 27, 2015, law enforcement officers in Redding pulled over the car in which Salinas-Garcia was riding. They also pulled over the car behind his; that vehicle was being driven by one of Salinas-Garcia’s co-defendants and was carrying about 5.75 pounds of heroin in the trunk. Salinas-Garcia later confessed that he was a U.S. citizen living in Mexico and that he smuggled large quantities of heroin from the Los Angeles area to Redding. Salinas-Garcia said that he had intended to deliver this heroin to a dealer living in Redding. Further investigation showed that, for at least the seven months preceding his arrest, Salinas-Garcia and some of his co-defendants exchanged text messages related to drug trafficking with this dealer. The messages directed the dealer to deposit his drug sale proceeds in specific bank accounts in the United States and in Mexico. Salinas-Garcia personally provided the names of more than 10 banks and accounts to which the dealer should make his deposits.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Beck and Timothy H. Delgado prosecuted the case.

Co-defendants Fernando Acosta, 40, and Jesus Nunez-Meza, 24, both of Perris, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and were each sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison. Co-defendant Ramon Herrera, 65, of Santa Ana, has pleaded guilty to the same charge and is expected to be sentenced on March 16, 2018.

Source: United States Attorneys General

Headline: Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty in Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Arsen Muhtarov, 39, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to today to conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing fraudulent tax returns, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Aleksandr Kuzmenko, 34, of Loomis, was a tax preparer at VK Tax Services in Citrus Heights. Muhtarov conspired with Aleksandr Kuzmenko, Petr Kuzmenko, 39, of West Sacramento, and Valeriy Nikitchuk, 45, of Kent, Washington, to defraud the United States. Between February 2009 and November 2009, using stolen identification information and fictitious addresses, they filed approximately 90 fraudulent tax returns with the IRS that claimed the First Time Home Buyer Credits (FTHBC) on behalf of filers who were not entitled to the credit. The resulting fraudulent refunds were electronically deposited into bank accounts that the defendants controlled. The proceeds were then withdrawn and spent. The fraudulent claims totaled approximately $695,724, of which the IRS paid approximately $573,000.

Petr Kuzmenko was sentenced to six and a half years in prison and ordered to pay $573,332 in restitution to the IRS. Aleksandr Kuzmenko was sentenced to over two years in prison, and Valeriy Nikitchuk was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

Muhtarov is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on June 1, 2018. Muhtarov faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years and prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith is prosecuting the case.