UNSEALED 2/26/19 East Bay Residents Charged In Firebombing Conspiracy

Defendants Allegedly Targeted Residences of Attorneys Involved In Civil Litigation

SAN FRANCISCO - David Jah and Kristopher Alexis-Clark were charged with conspiracy to commit arson, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) Special Agent in Charge Rayfield Roundtree, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) Special Agent in Charge John Bennett. Alexis-Clark also was charged with attempted arson and possession of a destructive device.

The defendants were charged in a federal criminal complaint filed on February 22, 2019, and unsealed today. According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint, Jah, 45, of Concord, and Alexis-Clark, 24, of Vallejo, conspired to use Molotov cocktails to firebomb two residences in Contra Costa County. The targeted residences, one in Danville and the other in Lafayette, belong to attorneys who previously had been involved in civil litigation involving real estate in which Jah claimed to have an interest.

Both residences were hit with Molotov cocktails in the early morning hours of November 3, 2018, and the Danville residence was the target of another Molotov cocktail in March 2016. Although there was property damage at the two residences, no physical injuries were reported. The affidavit further alleges Jah and Alexis-Clark began coordinating and discussing the attacks in October 2018 and that Alexis-Clark used his own vehicle to travel to the two residences that were firebombed. Alexis-Clark allegedly agreed to participate in the firebombings in exchange for financial compensation from Jah.

The criminal complaint charges Jah and Alexis-Clark with conspiring to commit arson, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(n). Alexis-Clark also is charged with attempted arson, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i), and possession of a destructive device, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(c).

Alexis-Clark appeared in San Francisco before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero this morning. Magistrate Judge Spero scheduled his next appearance for February 27, 2019, at 9:30 a.m., for identification of counsel. Jah is currently in federal custody on unrelated charges. His next scheduled appearance in this case is before the Honorable William H. Alsup, U.S. District Judge, on March 5, 2019, for a status hearing.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/east-bay-residents-charged-firebombing-conspiracy

SAN DIEGO – Hardev Panesar Leader of Multi-Million Dollar Immigration Fraud Scheme Pleads Guilty

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/leader-multi-million-dollar-immigration-fraud-scheme-pleads-guilty

>>5407425

Panesar admitted that from at least 2012 through May 24, 2017, he defrauded immigrants and aliens by inducing them to pay money to him based on fraudulent claims that he and his co-conspirators could obtain legal status in the United States for the victims and their families.

Panesar also admitted that on June 21, 2018, he fled to Tijuana, Mexico, the day before a hearing scheduled in this case. Panesar remained a fugitive, hiding in Mexico, until August 13, 2018, when he was arrested by Mexican authorities and expelled back to the United States. Panesar has been in custody ever since, pending trial.

Participants in $200 Million Workers’ Comp Scheme Sentenced to Prison and More Than $2 Million in Financial Penalties

According to court records, dozens of marketers, doctors, lawyers and medical service providers conspired to bilk the Workers’ Compensation system in California by buying and selling patients – and their individual “body parts” – like commodities.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/participants-200-million-workers-comp-scheme-sentenced-prison-and-more-2-million

BERNIE IS A PROBLEM

North Carolina Woman Sentenced to Four Months for Alien Smuggling

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Carmen Melari Ferrufino Perdomo, 29, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was sentenced on February 22, 2019, to a four-month period of incarceration upon her conviction for transporting aliens who had entered the United States illegally from Canada. The prison term will be followed by a one-year period of supervised release. Ferrufino was also ordered to pay $5,100 as a special assessment in light of the nature of her crime. United States District Judge Christina Reiss ordered Ferrufino to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 5, 2019.

Court records show that on March 17, 2018, Ferrufino flew from her home in North Carolina to Burlington, Vermont, where she rented a car. She then drove in the early morning of March 18, 2018, to a pre-arranged location on the United States/Canada border to pick up six persons, all aliens who had just entered the United States illegally by walking through the woods. The United States Border Patrol stopped Ferrufino a short while after she had picked up her passengers. Records show that Ferrufino intended to drive all six aliens to New York City, and to receive payment in return.

Counsel for Ferrufino argued for a sentence of six months of house arrest. Judge Reiss disagreed, noting the premeditated nature of Ferrufino's conduct, as well as the societal risks associated with Ferrufino bringing persons she did not know, who had just entered the country unlawfully, further into the United States.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-vt/pr/north-carolina-woman-sentenced-four-months-alien-smuggling

BAKER

Former Deputy Executive Director Of Port Authority William E. Baroni Jr., 47, Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison

Misused Government Property to Punish Fort Lee Mayor for Not Endorsing Gov. Christie’s Re-election

Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, 46 — formerly deputy chief of staff for legislative and intergovernmental affairs in then-Gov. Chris Christie’s office — were each convicted on Nov. 4, 2016, of conspiring to misuse, and actually misusing, property of an organization receiving federal benefits; conspiring to commit, and actually committing, wire fraud; conspiring to injure and oppress certain individuals’ civil rights, and acting under color of law to deprive certain individuals of their civil rights.

Baroni was originally sentenced to 24 months in prison and Kelly was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Stink eye

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/former-deputy-executive-director-port-authority-sentenced-18-months-prison