Month: March 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Morehead, Ky., man, Joshua Preece, 40, was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison on Monday, by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell, after pleading guilty to enticing a minor victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.  Preece is a former Bath County Deputy Sheriff.     

According to Preece’s plea agreement, on November 5, 2018, he admitted to answering a call about a minor victim who was acting out of control at her residence.  After responding, he transported the victim to a remote area in Bath County.  There, Preece sexually assaulted the victim, later asking for sexually explicit photos of the victim via Snapchat.  When reviewing Preece’s phone, law enforcement found multiple sexually explicit images.

Preece admitted to the conduct and pleaded guilty to the charge in October 2021.

Under federal law, Preece must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.  Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for life.

“The conduct in this case is simply disgraceful,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.  “The offense itself – a brazen act of child exploitation and abuse – is abhorrent, but the fact that he did it while he was a law enforcement officer makes it even more so.  He abused a vulnerable victim, while also betraying a public trust and doing enduring disservice to the dedicated efforts of all law enforcement.  I am grateful for hard work of our law enforcement partners, whose efforts made this prosecution possible.”

United States Attorney Shier; Robert Holman, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service; and Colonel Phillip Burnett, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and KSP.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Marye. 

This case was prosecuted 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 Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.projectsafechildhood.gov..

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal criminal complaint has been filed against Jason Thomas Cikotte, 31, of Isanti, charging him with possession of stolen firearms, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, beginning in August 2021, law enforcement began receiving notifications of firearm thefts from shipments to Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs). The carrier for the firearms shipments was XPO Logistics, a logistics company with facilities in St. Cloud and Fridley. On March 9, 2022, XPO Logistics contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to report an additional 11 firearms were solen from a recent shipment, including one Century Arms model Draco NAK 9 9mm semiautomatic AK pistol, five Canik model Rival 9mm semiautomatic pistols, and five Canik model Rival 9mm semiautomatic pistols. The company’s security manager later notified law enforcement that they identified Cikotte as the person responsible for several thefts of firearms shipments over the course of almost a year. The security manager provided law enforcement with video evidence showing Cikotte removing boxes of firearms from shrink wrapped pallets, removing the firearms from the boxes, and carrying the firearms to his vehicle.

According to court documents, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Cikotte’s Isanti residence. Inside the house, law enforcement found approximately 40 firearms, all of which appear to be firearms stolen from XPO Logistics, as well as tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, and miscellaneous firearms parts and accessories. Following the search, after being advised of his rights, Cikotte admitted to having stolen the firearms, ammunition, and firearms parts and accessories from XPO Logistics.

Cikotte is charged with one count of possession of stolen firearms. He made his initial appearance on March 25, 2022, in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF and the Isanti Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Calhoun-Lopez is prosecuting the case.

A complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Victor Ricardo Grant (40, Brandon) to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing ammunition as convicted felon. A federal jury had found Grant, who is a career criminal under the Armed Career Criminal Act, guilty on December 15, 2021.

According to court records and testimony presented at trial, the FBI obtained a search warrant for Grant’s residence as part of an investigation into a series of credit union robberies and carjackings that had been committed in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties in 2019. Investigators found approximately 400 rounds of 7.62 caliber ammunition inside backpacks kept in Grant’s bedroom closet and in the attic of his home. Ammunition drum magazines and loaded magazine clips for an AK-47 rifle were also found in the backpack hidden in the attic. Grant, having previously been convicted of several felony offenses, is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas Park Police Department, the St. Petersburg Police Department, and the Clearwater Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Sinacore and Diego Novaes.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced today that Jordan Palmer has joined the office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Wheeling.

Palmer will serve in the office’s civil division, a unit that defends federal agencies when sued in court, prosecutes civil enforcement matters, and collects debts owed to the United States.

“Jordan brings a wealth of litigation experience with him from the private sector,” said Ihlenfeld. “We’re fortunate to be able to add an individual with his talents to our team, someone who can hit the ground running and who will be a mainstay in the office for years to come.”

Palmer has practiced law in state and federal court in West Virginia and Ohio since 2015, with a focus on civil litigation. He graduated from West Virginia University with degrees in political science and philosophy, and from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Palmer lives in Wheeling with his family.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Dr. Harry Doyle and his wife, Sonya Doyle, of Philadelphia, PA, have agreed to pay a total of $3 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act. The alleged violations include submitting false billing to the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs (OWCP) for psychiatric services that were not provided, as well as upcoding and double-billing patient claims. As part of the settlement, the Doyles have also agreed to be voluntarily excluded from federal healthcare programs for a period of 25 years. This is the largest recovery against a single psychiatrist in the history of the OWCP.

Dr. Doyle was a psychiatrist to whom an attorney referred patients receiving federal workers’ compensation benefits authorized under the Federal Employees Compensation Act. Many of his patients received OWCP benefits because of a physical injury, and then were later approved for mental health services that were purportedly needed because of the initial physical injury. Dr. Doyle’s wife, Sonya Doyle, was his office assistant, and the sole employee of Dr. Doyle’s mental health practice.    

A multi-agency investigation of Dr. Doyle’s practice revealed that from January 2013 through April 2021, the Doyles allegedly billed for services not rendered, some of which occurred when the Doyles were not physically present in the United States. The Doyles allegedly billed for cancelled and no-show appointments as if they had actually occurred, “upcoded” or billed for a higher level of service than what was actually provided including billing for more therapy time than spent with the patient, and also double-billed the patient and OWCP for initial consultations. Dr. Doyle allegedly falsified treatment records to reflect the false billing that was submitted.   

“Our resolution of this matter and the significant recovery we have obtained from this physician show once again that no matter how complex the fraud scheme is, we will find it, stop it, and punish it,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “The alleged falsified documentation Dr. Doyle created and submitted to OWCP compromised the agency’s ability to monitor claimant care and ensure that injured federal workers received the services they needed.”

“Dr. Harry Doyle and his wife Sonya Doyle entered into a settlement agreement to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act. The alleged violations involve the submission of potentially fraudulent billing to the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) by Dr. Doyle’s practice. Today’s significant monetary settlement of $3 million and agreement to voluntary exclusion from federal healthcare programs for a period of 25 years will serve as a deterrent to those contemplating committing fraudulent billing schemes. The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General will continue working with our law enforcement partners and OWCP to protect the integrity of DOL’s benefits programs,” stated Special Agent-In-Charge Syreeta Scott, Philadelphia Region, U. S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.”

“Abuse of OWCP will not be tolerated and is a drain on the United States Postal Service’s finances,” said Imari R. Niles, Executive Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General. “USPS OIG is dedicated to investigating and eradicating this type of conduct.”

“Fraudulent healthcare billing practices compromise the federal government’s ability to provide quality benefits to deserving individuals,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office. “The VA OIG is pleased to have worked together with its law enforcement partners to stop this couple from continuing their fraudulent practices.”

This case was investigated by the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.  For the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the investigation and settlement were handled by Assistant United States Attorney Viveca D. Parker and Auditor Dawn Wiggins.   

The civil claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.