Month: March 2022

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Security News in Brief: Seven-Time Felon Who Possessed Firearms and Crack Sentenced to a Decade in Federal Prison

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A man who illegally possessed a firearm and possessed crack cocaine he intended to distribute was sentenced March 17, 2022, to 10 years in federal prison.

Patrick Green, age 50, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after October 12, 2021 guilty pleas to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possessing with intent to distribute cocaine base, which is also known as crack cocaine.

At the plea hearing, Green admitted that he illegally possessed the firearm in July 2017 and that he possessed the crack in October 2018.  Green had previously been convicted of seven felonies, including four drug felonies, two armed robberies, and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

Green was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Green was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Green is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is 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.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR‑19‑1018‑CJW‑MAR.

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Security News in Brief: Essex County Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Fraudulently Obtain More Than $700,000

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for conspiring to fraudulently obtain more than $700,000, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. 

Jefferson Robert, 31, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals to an information charging him with conspiring to commit wire fraud. Judge Neals imposed the sentence by videoconference today.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. The CARES Act created a new temporary federal program unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provides unemployment insurance benefits (UIB) for individuals who are not eligible for other types of unemployment (e.g., self-employed, independent contractors, gig economy workers). The CARES Act also created a new temporary federal program that provides an additional $600 weekly benefit to those eligible for PUA and regular UIB. The Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) administers and manages the regular unemployment and PUA programs in the State of Washington.

Robert opened bank accounts with a fraudulent passport in another individual’s name. He and his conspirators then caused an application to be made to ESD for UIB in the name of a victim. In response, ESD caused UIB to be deposited into one of the fraudulent bank accounts. Robert and his conspirators: partook in business email scams, including causing a victim to transfer approximately $28,000 into one of the bank accounts; partook in romance scams, including causing a victim to make five deposits into one of the bank accounts totaling approximately $19,000; and fraudulently obtained money from the IRS by causing the IRS to transfer payments in four victims’ names into one of the bank accounts. Once the fraudulently obtained money was in the bank accounts, Roberts moved the money, including through the purchase of money orders. Robert and his conspirators caused more than $700,000 in losses.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Neals sentenced Robert to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $675,371.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Damon Wood, Philadelphia Division; special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone in New York; and special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark. 

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Security News in Brief: Man Caught Attempting To Enter A Wilmington Home With A Stolen Firearm Sentenced

Source: United States Department of Justice News

WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Avelino Johnson, 41, was sentenced yesterday to 84 months in prison for possession of a stolen firearm. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly pronounced the sentence.

According to court documents, on January 31, 2020, Johnson was arrested in Wilmington after unsuccessfully attempting to enter a victim’s home, banging on the door, and turning the doorknob.  He was in possession of a stolen firearm and later tested positive for phencyclidine, also known as PCP.

“Mr. Johnson chose to violate federal law by possessing a stolen firearm while under the influence of drugs,” stated U.S. Attorney Weiss. “His behavior not only placed the victim in grave danger, but also the public at large. I wish to thank our law enforcement partners for their outstanding work in this case.”

“Anyone in possession of a stolen firearm and anyone possessing firearms while under the influence of drugs is a danger to public,” said ATF Baltimore Acting Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr. “The combination of the two is especially concerning. We are grateful that no one was hurt because of this defendant’s actions. ATF and our law enforcement partners will continue to work relentlessly to identify and arrest anyone who threatens the safety of our communities.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ruth Mandelbaum prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Wilmington Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER.

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Security News in Brief: Baltimore Man Admits to Paying for International Video Chats Involving the Sexual Abuse of Children

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Defendant Possessed 21 Images and 50 Videos of Child Exploitive Material; Some Images Involved Prepubescent Minors

Baltimore, Maryland – Steven Martin Bickling, age 48, of Baltimore Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to coercion and enticement of a minor.    

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, in 2018 Bickling visited a website that offered live chat rooms with Asian women.  After hearing children in the background of chat rooms, Bickling asked a female performer to show her daughter nude for $50.  After agreeing to Bickling’s request, the female performer posed her prepubescent daughter on video chat as Bickling masturbated.  Bickling estimated that this conduct occurred 12 to 15 times within a two-year period.  In at least one instance, Bickling masturbated during a video live chat involving a child that was approximately eight or nine years old.  Bickling claimed that this occurred while he was drinking excessively.

As stated in his plea agreement, on August 19, 2020, Baltimore City detectives and members of the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search and seizure warrant at Bickling’s residence.  Bickling was present at the time.  During an interview with law enforcement, Bickling admitted that he possessed pornographic videos of children between five and twelve years of age saved on his laptop.  Bickling also informed law enforcement that he paid for access to a restricted child pornography website.

A subsequent review of Bickling’s email account revealed numerous conversations in which Bickling solicited sexual images or videos of female children.  For example, in an email communication on May 7, 2019, Bickling wrote “I like to rape young girls. Is that ok with you?”.  On the same day, Bickling stated “I watch a lot of child prn . . . I like when they cry.”  Additionally, in other chats dating as far back as 2018, Bickling solicited live video sessions of adult male relatives having sexual relations with their younger sisters or nieces.  

As detailed in his plea agreement, a forensic analysis of the items seized from Bickling’s residence revealed a total of 21 images and 50 videos that depicted minors in sexually explicit conduct.  The materials included depictions of prepubescent minors.

Bickling faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release, for coercion and enticement of a minor.  U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman has scheduled sentencing for August 10, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Judson T. Mihok, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-childhood and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Security News in Brief: President Of Sham United Nations Affiliate Convicted Of Cryptocurrency Scheme

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the conviction today of ASA SAINT CLAIR, a/k/a “Asa Williams,” a/k/a “Asa Sinclair,” following a one-week trial before the Honorable P. Kevin Castel.  SAINT CLAIR devised an investment scheme in which he defrauded more than 60 victims into providing loans to his organization, the World Sports Alliance, tied to a purported digital coin offering called IGObit.  SAINT CLAIR falsely represented to investors that the World Sports Alliance was a close affiliate of the United Nations and that they would receive guaranteed returns on their investment, but instead diverted the investors’ funds for his personal expenses and benefit. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “As a jury has now found, Asa Saint Clair used lies to defraud everyday people out of their hard-earned money by promising them guaranteed returns if they invested in a IGObit, a digital currency he claimed the World Sports Alliance was developing.  Saint Clair touted the WSA as working closely with the UN to promote the values of sports and peace for a better world, while in reality promoting only the balance of his bank accounts.”   

The defendant was charged and convicted in one count with committing wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, from in or around November 2017, through in or around September 2019.  SAINT CLAIR solicited investors for the launch of IGObit through promised investment returns, representations that the World Sports Alliance, a purported intergovernmental organization, was a close affiliate and partner with the United Nations, and representations about the World Sport Alliance’s development projects around the world.  World Sports Alliance did not in fact have any relationship with the United Nations and did not, and had not, participated in any international development projects. 

SAINT CLAIR also represented to investors that their money would be used for the development of IGObit, when he in fact diverted those funds to other entities controlled by him and members of his family, as well as to pay his personal expenses, including dinners at Manhattan restaurants, travel, and online shopping.

SAINT CLAIR defrauded more than 60 victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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SAINT CLAIR, 49, of Washington was convicted of one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  The maximum potential sentence for the offense of conviction is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.  Sentencing before Judge Castel is scheduled for July 19, 2022.

Mr. Williams praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Tara La Morte and Emily Deininger are in charge of the prosecution.