Month: March 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PEORIA, Ill. – A Metropolis, Illinois, man, Roy T. Rolfe, 40, formerly a resident of Peoria, was sentenced on March 24, 2022, to 27 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of an unregistered firearm. U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid also ordered Rolfe to forfeit his firearm and ammunition.

At the sentencing hearing, the government established that on March 13, 2020, an officer of the Washington Police Department stopped Rolfe’s vehicle for speeding and arrested him for driving without a license. Inside Rolfe’s vehicle, officers located a loaded sawed-off shotgun with an obliterated serial number, ammunition, methamphetamine, and a syringe.  The shotgun was in a backpack on the floor of the front passenger area, within reach of the driver’s seat. At the time, Rolfe was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to his prior state felony convictions for burglary and possession of methamphetamine.

The shotgun had a shortened barrel that measured 11.5 inches in length, with an overall length of 18.5 inches. The National Firearms Act requires such a weapon made from a shotgun to be registered if, as modified, it has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel of less than 18 inches in length.

Rolfe was indicted in June 2020 and was released on bond pending trial in August 2020. He subsequently pleaded guilty that same month. He was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service following his sentencing hearing to commence his term of imprisonment.

The statutory penalties for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person are not more than 10 years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine. The penalties for possession of a firearm made in violation of the National Firearms Act are not more than 10 years imprisonment and up to a $10,000 fine.

“This prosecution and sentence should serve as a reminder that felons with guns will be aggressively prosecuted,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Hanna. “We sincerely appreciate the efforts of the ATF and the Washington Police Department – this is another example of how local and federal collaboration makes our communities safer.”

“Law enforcement partnerships are vital to the successful investigation of gun crimes in our communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division Kristen de Tineo. “We appreciate the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case and holding those who are prohibited from possessing firearms accountable.”

The Washington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hanna represented the government in the prosecution.

The case against Rolfe was brought as part of The Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. The Department’s renewed commitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods establishes four fundamental principles to guide efforts to reduce violent crime: 1) build trust and legitimacy within communities; 2) invest in community-based prevention and intervention programs; 3) target enforcement and priorities to focus resources on identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the most significant drivers of gun violence and other violent crime; and, 4) measure results with the goal to reduce the level of violence in our communities and not to increase the number of arrests and prosecutions as if they were ends in themselves.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Estonian man was sentenced today to 66 months in prison for his years-long role in furthering and facilitating computer intrusions, the movement of fraudulently obtained goods and funds, and the monetization of stolen financial account information. He also participated in ransomware attacks causing over $53 million in losses and was ordered to pay over $36 million in restitution.

According to court documents, Maksim Berezan, 37, of Estonia, who was apprehended in Latvia and extradited to the United States, pleaded guilty in April 2021 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and conspiracy to commit access device fraud and computer intrusions. Berezan was an active member of an exclusive online forum designed for Russian-speaking cybercriminals to gather safely and exchange their criminal knowledge, tools, and services. From 2009 through 2015, Berezan not only furthered the criminal aims of the forum, but he also worked closely with forum members and other cybercriminals for purposes of obtaining and exploiting stolen financial account information.

“This case is a prime example of how the Department of Justice can leverage its traditional tools – criminal investigations and prosecutions – to combat ransomware,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Many of the world’s ransomware players began as fraudsters engaged in other types of online crimes, and this case demonstrates that their crimes will catch up to them. The United States is committed to working with its international partners to hold cybercriminals accountable.”

“Cybercrime has become increasingly more sophisticated, but so have our methods for combatting it,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Ransomware attacks are devastating to people and organizations alike, and we have honed our strategies and techniques to target both the individual actors who perpetrate these attacks and the networks that support them. This case is just one example of how EDVA and the Justice Department are tackling this threat.”

“The Secret Service remains committed to ensuring that modern conveniences of today that facilitate our lawful transactions and economic health are not leveraged by criminals for illicit activity and personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Stohler of the U.S. Secret Service. “While we have long been in the business of protecting money, from the earliest days of coins and paper, to plastic, and today’s more accessible and commonplace digital currencies, we also remain in parallel footprint to the evolution of criminal behavior into cyberspace. Ransomware thieves are not safe in any dark corner of the internet in which they may think they can hide from our highly trained investigators and law enforcement partners worldwide. Together with our critical partners we are dedicated to protecting the public and securing every iteration of our money and every part of our national financial infrastructure.”

According to court documents, following Berezan’s arrest, investigators uncovered within his electronic devices evidence of his involvement in ransomware activities. The post-extradition investigation determined that Berezan had participated in at least 13 ransomware attacks, seven of which were against U.S. victims, and that approximately $11 million in ransom payments flowed into cryptocurrency wallets that he controlled. Berezan used his ill-gotten gains to purchase two Porsches, a Ducati motorcycle, and an assortment of jewelry. In addition, authorities recovered from Berezan’s residence currency worth more than $200,000 and electronic devices storing passphrases to bitcoin wallets that contained bitcoin worth approximately $1.7 million, which has been forfeited.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Agent in Charge Matthew Stohler of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service and Special Agent in Charge Jason Kane of the Criminal Investigative Division of the U.S. Secret Service made the announcement.

Senior Trial Attorney Laura Fong and Trial Attorney Alison Zitron of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander P. Berrang, Jonathan Keim, and Zoe Bedell of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided vital assistance. The Department of Justice extends its gratitude to authorities in Estonia and Latvia for their significant cooperation and assistance, in particular, the Latvian State Police and Estonian Police.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG, PA —The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that GDD Pharmacy Services, Inc., located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay the United States $70,000 in civil penalties for allegedly failing to comply with recordkeeping requirements of the Controlled Substances Act. 

The Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. sections 801 et seq. (CSA), was passed to combat illegal distribution and abuse of controlled substances, including prescription medications.  The CSA’s dispensing, distribution, and recordkeeping requirements are designed to prevent the diversion of controlled substances for illegal purposes.  The CSA is enforced by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Control Division, whose mission is to prevent, detect, and investigate the diversion of controlled pharmaceuticals and listed chemicals from legitimate sources while ensuring adequate and uninterrupted supply for legitimate medical, commercial, and scientific needs. 

Regulations promulgated under the CSA limit the manner in which pharmacies can dispense or distribute controlled substances.  The CSA also requires the maintenance of complete and accurate records of each substance manufactured, received, sold, delivered, dispensed, or otherwise disposed of by the registrant.  These requirements play a vital role in ensuring the appropriate handling, accounting, and distribution of controlled substances.  Violations of these requirements subject DEA registrants to civil monetary penalties.

According to the allegations, between January 2019 and May 2021, GDD Pharmacy Services, Inc., doing business as Harrisburg Pharmacy and See Right Pharmacy, failed to keep and maintain complete and accurate records and inventories in violation of the CSA.

GDD Pharmacy Services, Inc. cooperated with the investigation, and has since enhanced its internal controls in response to concerns raised by the DEA during this investigation.  Although there are no allegations that any controlled substances were diverted, this settlement addresses the independent obligation of GDD Pharmacy Services, Inc. to ensure it has adequate systems in place to prevent improper dispensing or distribution, as required by 21 U.S.C. §§ 829, 842, and associated regulations.

“GDD Pharmacy Services, Inc., through their retail pharmacies, has an obligation to properly document and account for the controlled substances in their inventory,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division.  “Failing to do so jeopardizes the security of the controlled substances they are entrusted with dispensing.” 

This Settlement Agreement is neither an admission of liability by the pharmacy nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.

This matter was handled by DEA Philadelphia Field Division and Assistant United States Attorney Tamara Haken and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit within the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

DETROIT – U.S. District Court Judge Stephen J. Murphy sentenced Leron Liggins, 34, formerly of Southfield to 10 ½ years in federal prison on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Kent R. Kleinschmidt, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Field Division and Special Agent in Charge Paul D. Vanderplow, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Detroit Field Division.

In October 2021, a jury found Liggins guilty of one count of participating in a drug conspiracy and one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin. The evidence at trial established that from 2015 to 2018, Liggins distributed heroin by concealing it in suitcases flown across the United States to be sold in Michigan. Liggins also paid others to travel across the country with drugs and cash concealed in their checked luggage so that those drugs could be sold in several other states.

“This defendant engaged in a conspiracy to distribute illicit drugs that endangered our neighborhoods and ruined lives,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison. “I hope that a significant sentence like the one handed down in this case sends the clear message that our office and our law enforcement partners are committed to disrupting drug trafficking and prosecuting those who seek to profit by sending dangerous drugs into our communities.”

“This sentencing should serve as a notice to would-be drug traffickers that DEA and our law enforcement partners will employ every resource to bring you to justice,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Kent R. Kleinschmidt. “Mr. Liggins has a demonstrated pattern of trading the suffering of others for his own personal gain and that pattern has come to an end.”

This case was the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrea Hutting and Tim McDonald.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LAS VEGAS — Three Las Vegas men pleaded guilty this week to conspiring to and setting fire to a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) patrol vehicle during a protest in downtown Las Vegas in May 2020.

Tyree Walker (23), Devarian Haynes (23), and Ricardo Densmore (24) pleaded guilty to one count of civil disorder. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 22, 2022.

According to court documents and admissions made in court, on May 31, 2020, LVMPD officers were assigned to the downtown area for crowd control at protests relating to George Floyd’s death. Walker, Haynes, and Densmore each admitted to participating in setting fire to a marked LVMPD patrol vehicle parked near the intersection of South Ninth Street and East Carson Avenue. In addition, the defendants also admitted that they created a substantial risk of harm to others in the vicinity, knowing there was ammunition in the patrol vehicle that could have caused an explosion.

Walker, Haynes, and Densmore each face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison, a term of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Patrick Gorman of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the ATF, the LMVPD, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, and the FBI-led Criminal Apprehension Team in conjunction with the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

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