PF: tankers and ISR ~8am pst
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 3, 2021
"John Doe" Charged in Superseding Indictment with Identity Theft and Fraud Related to COVID-19 Pandemic
BOSTON – A Charlestown man whose identity is unknown was charged last week in connection with an alleged scheme to fraudulently claim COVID-19-related unemployment assistance and commit other frauds, all in connection with his use of a stolen identity.
An individual referred to as “John Doe”, was charged in a superseding indictment with three counts of wire fraud, one count of false representation of a Social Security number and one count of aggravated identity theft. The original indictment charged Doe with one count of making a false statement in a passport application.
As alleged in the superseding indictment, Doe applied for and received Massachusetts unemployment benefits totaling over $15,000 using the name and personally identifiable information of a resident of Puerto Rico. Doe allegedly requested that the benefits be paid to a prepaid debit card, which he used for cash withdrawals at ATM machines and for the purchase of goods and services.
The indictment also alleges that Doe used the Social Security number of the Puerto Rican victim on an application for a duplicate driver’s license Doe submitted to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles in 2017.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of passport fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of false representation of a Social Security number provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for two years in prison to be served consecutive to the term for the underlying felony, which in this case is the false representation of a Social Security number. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service together with Homeland Security’s Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized field investigative group comprised of personnel from various local, state, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Matthew F. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service; William S. Walker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Mikulka Michael, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Labor Racketeering and Fraud made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James D. Herbert of Mendell’s Health Care Fraud Unit and Alathea Porter of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/john-doe-charged-superseding-indictment-identity-theft-and-fraud-related-covid-19
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 3, 2021
Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Pension Contribution Reports
BOSTON – An owner of a New Hampshire asbestos abatement company pleaded guilty on Friday, April 30, 2021 in federal court in Boston to making false statements to employee pension plans.
Richard Quinn, 58, of Sterling, Mass., pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to a pension plan covered by the Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA). U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for Aug. 30, 2021.
According to the court documents, Quinn and another individual, Gary McCaffrey, owned and operated Absolute Environmental Inc., an asbestos abatement company. Between November 2014 and May 2017, Quinn and McCaffrey allegedly continued to employ several undocumented individuals after being notified of their status. During this time period, McCaffrey and Quinn are alleged to have knowingly falsified reports to pension plans about the work performed by the undocumented individuals, failing to make required pension contributions of over $337,000. McCaffrey has also agreed to plead guilty. His plea hearing is scheduled for May 25, 2021.
Pursuant to Quinn’s plea agreement, the government will recommend that Quinn serve a sentence of two years of supervised release, six months of home confinement and a fine of $10,000 to $25,000.
The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Michael C. Mikulka, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations Labor Racketeering and Fraud, New York Region; and Carol Hamilton, Boston Regional Director of the Employee Benefits Security Administration made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Grady of Mendell’s Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.
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.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/company-owner-pleads-guilty-falsifying-pension-contribution-reports
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of South Dakota
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 3, 2021
Neurosurgeon and Two Affiliated Companies Agree to Pay $4.4 Million to Settle Healthcare Fraud Allegations
Each Defendant Excluded from Federal Healthcare Programs for Six Years
WASHINGTON – Neurosurgeon Wilson Asfora, M.D. of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and two medical device distributorships that he owns, Medical Designs LLC and Sicage LLC, have agreed to pay $4.4 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations relating to illegal payments to Asfora to induce the use of certain medical devices, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, as well as claims for medically unnecessary surgeries.
Medical Designs and Sicage agreed to pay an additional $100,000 in penalties to settle allegations that they violated the Open Payments Program by failing to report to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Asfora’s ownership interests and payments made to Asfora.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Asfora, Medical Designs, and Sicage each will be excluded from participation in federal healthcare programs for a period of six years.
“Physicians who accept kickbacks and perform unnecessary surgeries put their patients at risk and increase healthcare costs for everyone,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We will continue to hold physicians and medical device companies accountable for unlawful financial arrangements that undermine the integrity of federal healthcare programs.”
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that over the course of nearly a decade, Asfora, Medical Designs, and Sicage knowingly and willfully engaged in three kickback schemes to allow Asfora to profit from his use of over a dozen devices in his medical procedures. First, the United States alleged that Medical Designs and Sicage paid Asfora profit distributions in exchange for Asfora using Medical Designs’ and Sicage’s devices in his spine surgeries. Second, the United States alleged that Medical Designs acted as a distributor, reselling other manufacturers’ spinal devices and splitting the profits with Asfora when he used those devices in surgeries. Third, the United States alleged that Asfora solicited and received kickbacks from medical device manufacturer Medtronic USA Inc. in exchange for using its SynchroMed II infusion pumps, which are implantable devices used to deliver medication to patients. At Asfora’s request, Medtronic allegedly paid the kickbacks to Asfora through a restaurant he owned with his wife, called Carnaval Brazilian Grill, in the form of lavish meals and alcohol for Asfora and his friends, colleagues, and business partners.
In addition, the settlement resolves allegations that Asfora knowingly submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs for medically unnecessary procedures using the devices in which he had a financial interest. Despite receiving numerous warnings that he was performing medically unnecessary procedures – including warnings from his own physician colleagues – Asfora allegedly continued to perform such procedures while personally profiting from his use of devices sold by Medical Designs, Sicage, and Medtronic.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sd/pr/neurosurgeon-and-two-affiliated-companies-agree-pay-44-million-settle-healthcare-fraud
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Alabama
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 3, 2021
Greensboro Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Possessing Multiple Stolen Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug-Trafficking Crime
United States Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama announced that Demetrius O’Neill Bryant, 33, of Greensboro, Alabama, was sentenced in federal court for possessing multiple stolen firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Bryant pleaded guilty to the charge in January of 2021.
In connection with his guilty plea, Bryant admitted that on December 21, 2019, he possessed three loaded firearms in his residence in Greensboro. Two of the firearms recently had been reported stolen from gun stores in Demopolis, Alabama and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In close proximity to the firearms, agents recovered marijuana, two sets of digital scales, and a box of plastic baggies. In a garbage can outside of Bryant’s residence, agents also recovered sales tags corresponding to stolen firearms and observed several large vacuum seal bags emitting the odor of marijuana. Bryant admitted that he frequently has sold marijuana from his Greensboro residence, that he possessed the marijuana, scales, and related paraphernalia recovered from his residence, and that he possessed the firearms recovered from his residence in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. Additional undisputed evidence introduced at Bryant’s sentencing hearing established that during his December 2020 arrest on the federal warrant in this case, agents recovered additional firearms, narcotics, and a stolen firearm silencer.
United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer imposed a sentence of 60 months’ incarceration, to be followed by a five-year term of supervised release. During that time, Bryant will undergo testing and treatment for substance abuse. The court did not impose a fine, but the judge ordered Bryant to pay a $100 special assessment.
This case was investigated by the Greensboro and Tuscaloosa Police Departments, the Hale County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant United States Attorney Justin Roller.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdal/pr/greensboro-man-sentenced-five-years-prison-possessing-multiple-stolen-firearms
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 3, 2021
Dominican National Sentenced for Fentanyl Distribution
BOSTON – A Dominican national who previously resided in Bronx, N.Y., was sentenced on April 29, 2021 in federal court in Boston for fentanyl distribution.
Yamel Cuevas Gonzalez, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Upon completion of his sentence, Gonzales will face deportation to the Dominican Republic.
On Jan. 19, 2021, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and three counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
Over the course of approximately six months in 2019, Gonzalez made three separate sales of fentanyl to an individual in Massachusetts. Gonzalez drove to Massachusetts from New York and met the individual at a pre-arranged location, where they exchanged drugs for money. On August 5, 2019, Gonzalez and another individual, who is pending trial, allegedly drove from New York to Walpole to meet with a buyer. The sale was surveilled by federal agents, who subsequently arrested Gonzalez and his companion. The money from the sale was found in the vehicle.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and William S. Walker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Walpole and Dedham Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
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.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/dominican-national-sentenced-fentanyl-distribution-4
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Puerto Rico
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Felix Verdejo-Sanchez Arrested For Kidnapping And Carjacking Resulting In Death, And Intentionally Killing An Unborn Child
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Today, federal authorities arrested Felix Verdejo-Sanchez for federal crimes arising from the murder of Keishla Rodriguez Ortiz, announced United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Assistant Special Agent in Charge Felix Alvarado, and Alexis Torres, Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety. The FBI is in charge of the investigation with the close collaboration and support of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice.
Specifically, Felix Verdejo-Sanchez was arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with: (1) kidnapping resulting in death, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1201; (2) carjacking resulting in death, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(3); and (3) intentionally killing an unborn child, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1841, also known as the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004” or “Laci and Conner’s Law.” The statutory penalties for violations of the kidnapping and carjacking statutes include life imprisonment or the death penalty, and life imprisonment for the intentional killing of an unborn child.
“I commend our partners in the FBI, the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice for their dedicated and tireless efforts that led to the charges and arrest of the defendant,” said United States Attorney Muldrow. “We will continue working towards the ending of gender-based violence, and we offer our deepest condolences to the family of the victim.”
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim,” said Felix Alvarado, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office. “It is important to note that the quick turnaround in this investigation could not have been possible without the amazing efforts of our colleagues of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s CIC Division,” ASAC Alvarado added.
“Puerto Rico mourns Keishla RodrĂguez's death. Our deepest condolences to her family and friends. The Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the federal agencies have worked long hours collaborating as a team to solve this cold murder expeditiously. Our police officers' dedication, passion and experience were essential in solving this murder in 48 hours. It demonstrates how the collaboration of efforts is essential for our public safety. We'll keep on working together and we will seek justice for Keishla,” said Alexis Torres, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety.
“We are proud of the work done by each of the Justice Department prosecutors, who worked day and night together with the team of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the Institute of Forensic Sciences to gather all the pieces that allow the prosecution of those responsible for the crime. We trust that the work of our prosecutors in this case will begin to restore the people's trust in justice,” said Domingo Emanuelli, Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Justice.
“I congratulate the policemen, prosecutors and forensic sciences personnel, who, as a single team, tirelessly and with the greatest of commitments, put their hearts to solve Keishla's case in an agile and precise way. Our commitment to her family, from day one, was to do justice to Keishla and we have already begun to do so,” said Antonio López, Puerto Rico Police Bureau Commissioner.
As noted above, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office worked in close collaboration with the Puerto Rico Police Bureau and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice in this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Gottfried, Chief of the Violent Crimes and National Security Section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The public is reminded that criminal complaints and indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-pr/pr/felix-verdejo-sanchez-arrested-kidnapping-and-carjacking-resulting-death-and
Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Norah O’Donnell on CBS 60 Minutes and 60MinutesOvertime.com
https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-with-norah-odonnell-on-cbs-60-minutes-and-60minutesovertime-com/
SECRETARY BLINKEN: We see a genocide having taken place against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. More than a million people have been put into – choose your term – concentration camps, re-education camps, internment camps. When Beijing says, oh, there’s a terrorism threat, which we don’t see, it’s not coming from a million people. We’ve seen forced sterilization and an effort to hold down birth rates among the Uyghurs; efforts to indoctrinate them, to deny their culture, to deny their heritage; and various repressive and violent actions directed against them because they’re Uyghurs.
https://twitter.com/OIRSpox/status/1389185692652253185?s=20
In continuation of efforts to eliminate terrorist cells that threaten the security & safety of innocent civilians, Iraqi Agency of Intelligence & Federal Investigation, in coordination with the KRI's Asayish, arrested the so-called Daesh Wali for Fallujah.
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 3, 2021
Federal charges filed against operators of Houston stash house
HOUSTON – Five individuals in the United States illegally have been taken into custody following the discovery of nearly 100 undocumented aliens in a suburban Houston residence, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
The criminal complaint charges Marina Garcia-Diaz, 22, El Salvador; Henry Licona-Larios, 31, Copan, Honduras; Kevin Licona-Lopez, 25, Santa Barbara, Honduras; Marco Baca-Perez 30, Michoacan, Mexico; and Marcelo Garcia-Palacios, 21, Oaxaca, Mexico. All are noncitizens of the United States residing here illegally. They are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan at 2 p.m. today.
The criminal complaint, filed Saturday, alleges all five harbored, concealed and shielded illegal aliens for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.
The investigation began after authorities allegedly received a call from a woman reporting her brother had been kidnapped. She had paid several thousand dollars for him to be smuggled into the United States, according to the charges. However, the smugglers had allegedly demanded additional money before they would release her brother. They also threatened to kill him, according to the charges.
The investigation led to a residence on Chessington Drive in Southwest Houston, according to the complaint. Authorities ultimately found 97 undocumented noncitizens allegedly being held in two rooms of the residence. The charges allege the rooms had deadbolts on the doors facing the outside which prevented escape.
All of the male individuals were in their undergarments, according to the complaint.
The charges also allege at least one was told if the money was not paid, he would be put in “4 pieces of wood.”
Several of the held individuals allegedly identified Garcia-Diaz, Licona-Larios, Licona-Lopez, Baca-Perez and Garcia-Palacios as those conducting the smuggling operation.
If convicted, each faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen M. Lansden is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/federal-charges-filed-against-operators-houston-stash-house
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of Louisiana
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 3, 2021
Houston Man Sentenced to Over Ten Years in Federal Prison for Massive Credit Card Fraud Scheme
NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States District Judge Eldon E. Fallon sentenced EDWARD TOLIVER, age 47, a New Orleans native who had been living in Houston, Texas, to 124 months in federal prison for his role in a massive credit card fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. The sentencing was held on April 29, 2021. In addition to 124 months imprisonment, TOLIVER received 3 years supervised release, to be served following his release, and he must pay a mandatory $200 special assessment fee ($100 per count).
According to the court records, TOLIVER previously pleaded guilty to a credit card fraud charge, as well as aggravated identity theft. This was his third federal conviction for credit card fraud, and he began the conduct for this conviction while he was still on probation from his previous conviction.
In a sworn factual basis, TOLIVER admitted that shortly after finishing a prison term in 2012, TOLIVER rented office space in an office park in Houston. He outfitted the space with equipment used to make fraudulent credit cards. Over the next several years, TOLIVER and his co-defendant, Maurice Durio, who also operated a card manufacturing plant in the same office park, obtained hundreds of thousands of stolen credit card numbers from a variety of sources, including a computer hacker TOLIVER had met in prison and by purchasing them on the dark web.
TOLIVER and Durio, with the assistance of several co-conspirators, created and/or downloaded credit card templates on laptop computers and transferred the stolen credit card numbers into the templates, which were then used to create tens of thousands of fraudulent access devices. The cards would generally be printed in batches with the same name appearing on numerous cards. The name was typically the real name of a co-conspirator. The cards were embossed with numbers, and corresponding account information was encoded on the strips on the back of the cards. The names of the co-conspirators/users of the fraudulent cards did not correspond to the actual account holders, who had not given permission for their accounts to be used. TOLIVER and Durio distributed thousands of fraudulent access devices to numerous individuals who then used them to fraudulently obtain things of value, including merchandise and gift cards.
The Secret Service, with the assistance of local law enforcement, investigated numerous instances in which individuals were caught with cards manufactured at the Houston plants operated by TOLIVER and Durio. Agents were able to tie these card seizures to the plants through several means.
In July 2014, a federal search warrant was executed at the Houston office park and agents seized device making equipment, including embossers, scanners, and high-end printers, thousands of cards, and a laptop computer. The computer had approximately 80,000 card numbers in files, as well as spreadsheets used to move the card numbers from the text files they came in when obtained through the dark web to the actual credit cards. Agents also obtained other laptops used by TOLIVER and Durio that contained approximately 300,000 additional card numbers.
The scheme used various methods to monetize the fraudulent credit card production. First, TOLIVER and Durio would simply sell cards. The buyer would pay them a set amount and then get to keep whatever the buyer could purchase with the cards. Second, TOLIVER and Durio would provide cards with the idea that the person getting the cards would buy merchandise and then sell the merchandise at a discount for cash and kick back some of the cash. Third, TOLIVER and Durio would provide cards and the person getting the cards would buy gifts cards, some of which were kicked back.
“I would like to commend the hard work of the dedicated prosecutors and investigators who helped bring to an end Mr. Toliver’s nearly two decade long criminal enterprise,” said Leslie Pichon, US Secret Service New Orleans Special Agent in Charge. “This sentencing should serve as a signal of the commitment between my office, the US Attorney’s Office and our Louisiana law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue and prosecute individuals who commit financial crimes like the ones perpetrated by Mr. Toliver and his associates.”
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the United States Secret Service. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/pr/houston-man-sentenced-over-ten-years-federal-prison-massive-credit-card-fraud-scheme
internet bill of rights