Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Tami Mateljan, age 46, of York, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty before United States District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo for conspiring to commit wire fraud. 

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, between October 2020 and December 2020, conspirators submitted fraudulent applications for pandemic unemployment assistance (PUA) to Colorado and Ohio, using the names and personal information of other individuals without authorization.  The states transferred the fraudulently obtained PUA benefits to accounts owned by Mateljan.  She then used some of the money for her own benefit and transferred the remaining money to conspirators in other countries, including Nigeria.  

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli is prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

If convicted, the maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Willie Tyler, age 70, formerly of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was denied compassionate release today by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner.  Tyler is currently serving a life sentence for witness tampering by murder.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Tyler participated in the brutal murder of a law enforcement confidential informant from the Carlisle area in 1992.  The victim was scheduled to testify in Cumberland County Court against David Tyler, the brother of the defendant, on the day of her murder.  Willie Tyler planned to murder the victim, along with four other individuals, who were convicted for their role in the murder in previous federal and state court proceedings.

Tyler was first tried in state court in 1994, and acquitted of the murder.  The case was then adopted for federal prosecution, and Tyler was convicted by a federal jury trial in 1996.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit overturned Tyler’s conviction, and he was convicted again following a re-trial in 2000.  In 2013, the Third Circuit overturned the 2000 conviction in light of a change in the law and remanded the case to the district court for a new trial.  Tyler was then tried and convicted for the third time in July 2017.  The jury returned its verdict after only two hours of deliberation following a four-day trial.

In February 2018, the trial judge vacated the jury’s verdict, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions.  The government appealed, and in April 2020, the Third Circuit reversed the trial judge’s decision and remanded with instructions to reinstate the jury’s verdict and proceed to sentencing.  Tyler then petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit’s decision, but the Court denied his petition in May 2021.  Tyler was sentenced to life in prison in June 2021.

Federal law permits federal prisoners to seek a sentence reduction and immediate release—commonly called compassionate release—if they can establish extraordinary and compelling reasons.  In today’s ruling, Judge Conner found that Tyler failed to make that showing.  Judge Conner also concluded that other factors did not support Tyler’s release, explaining that “Tyler is serving a congressionally mandated life sentence for his role in the brutal murder” of a witness.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Police with cooperation from the Carlisle Police Department.  The case was previously prosecuted by former Assistant United States Attorneys Gordon A. Zubrod and Chelsea Schinnour and Assistant United States Attorney Joseph J. Terz.  Assistant United States Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli handled the most recent litigation.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Bryant Webster, 38, of Suitland, Maryland, was sentenced today to 39 years in prison for a series of home invasions carried out over a 50-day period in 2016 in which he sexually assaulted three men, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Webster pleaded guilty in July 2019, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse while armed and one count of second-degree sexual abuse. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a sentence of 32 to 39 years. The Honorable Ronna L. Beck accepted the plea and the Honorable Marisa Demeo sentenced Webster accordingly. Webster is required to register as a sex offender for life.

            According to the government’s evidence, the attacks took place from mid-August to October 2016. In the first assault, Webster entered a residence in a Capitol Hill neighborhood and photographed himself sexually abusing a man who was unconscious. Less than two weeks later, at about 6 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2016, Webster entered an apartment in the same neighborhood without permission. The victim was awakened to find Webster, a stranger, standing in the doorway of his bedroom, dressed all in black, holding a handgun with a red laser sight. He bound the victim’s hands and feet with duct tape, gaged him by putting a T-shirt in his mouth, and raped him repeatedly while threatening to kill him.

            The third attack also took place in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, at about 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 1, 2016. Webster crept into a home. He was again armed with a handgun with a laser sight and also had a backpack filled with knives, gloves, screwdrivers, duct tape, a hammer, binoculars, and condoms. He similarly used duct tape to bind the victim, gagged him with a T-shirt, and raped him. The victim managed to alert a roommate who entered the home during the rape, a struggle ensued, and the victim called 911. Police arrested Webster at the scene. He has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Suzanne Curt and Elizabeth Danello, Deputy Chiefs of the Appellate Division; Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke Jones; former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Brooks; Victim/Witness Advocate Lezlie Richardson; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Michelle Wicker, and former Paralegal Specialist Donhue Troy Griffith.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenechukwu Okocha, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Keith Baham, 22, and David McKinney, 21, both of Washington, D.C., have been sentenced to prison terms for their roles in a carjacking and armed robbery that took place in February 2019 in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Baham was sentenced yesterday to a 15-year prison term and McKinney was sentenced yesterday to a prison term of 7 ½ years. Both defendants were found guilty by a jury in February 2020, of armed carjacking, armed robbery, first-degree theft, and unauthorized use of vehicle, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. They were sentenced by the Honorable J. Michael Ryan. Following their prison terms, both men will be placed on five years of supervised release. 

            According to the government’s evidence, the victim, then 18, knew McKinney and was driving his car with him on Feb. 25, 2019. They picked up Baham, and Baham and McKinney had the victim drive to the 3100 block of Apple Road NE. Once there, at approximately 7:20 p.m., Baham brandished a firearm, threatened to shoot the victim, and told the victim to drop everything and to hand over his belongings. While the victim was held at gunpoint, the men took the victim’s wallet, cellphone, and other personal items before fleeing the scene in the victim’s car.

            Baham was arrested on July 30, 2019. McKinney was arrested on July 18, 2019. Both have been in custody since their arrests.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Supervisory Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington, Victim/Witness Services Coordinator La June Thames, Paralegal Specialists Jessica Pierce, Sabrina Turner, and Debra McPherson, Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark, Supervisory Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, and former Investigative Analyst William Hamann of the Criminal Investigations Unit.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Forman and Kevin Birney, who prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that Forrest J. Hardy, age 33, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty before U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick to interference with commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.  As a result of his plea, Hardy faces up to 20 years imprisonment for the robbery conviction, 10 years imprisonment for the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon conviction, and a mandatory minimum consecutive term of imprisonment of not less than seven years and up to life for the brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence conviction.

According to admissions made during his plea, on or about January 7, 2020, at approximately 6:41 p.m., Hardy, while wearing a mask, entered the Boost Mobile Store, located at 8180 Scenic Hwy, Baton Rouge, which is across the street from Baton Rouge Police Department’s Fourth Precinct police station, and pointed a firearm at an employee.  After Hardy demanded money kept in the cash registers, the employee complied with Hardy’s demands, who removed and pocketed the cash.  Hardy then fled from the store and ran to a 1999 Lexus SUV.

Following investigative leads, the following day, detectives identified the vehicle driven by Hardy and developed him as a suspect of this robbery.  Video cameras captured images of Hardy’s car enabling detectives to identify Hardy’s vehicle as a gold-colored Lexus, bearing distinct coloring on the right front quarter panel.

On January 8, 2020, at approximately 7:20 p.m., Hardy, while wearing a green jacket and a black mask over his face, entered a Metro PCS cellular phone store, located at 1966 North Foster Dr., Baton Rouge.  Hardy then pointed a loaded Glock, model 22, .40 caliber pistol, with an extended magazine and a weapon-mounted flashlight at an employee and demanded cash from the register.  He removed the cash from the register and pocked it.  While aiming his firearm at the employee, Hardy demanded the cash that the business kept in its safe in the storage room. Concerned for his safety, the victim led the robber to the storage room.  From his vantage point, the victim observed Hardy rummaging through the safe.  Following the robbery, Hardy fled the premises in same vehicle, the 1999 Lexus SUV, he used the night before.  Notably, the day before the robbery the safe contained an Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max and after the robbery the Apple iPhone Pro Max was no longer in the safe.

Later, on the evening of January 8, 2020, at approximately 8:25 p.m., law enforcement officers with the Baton Rouge Police Department stopped Hardy in the 1999 Lexus SUV, which bore the distinct coloring on one of its sides.  Law enforcement officers observed, in plain view, a black handgun with an extended magazine, and a black mask on the front passenger seat.  Police thereafter arrested Hardy.  

A day or so later, during the execution of a search warrant on the 1999 Lexus SUV, law enforcement personnel found an assault style firearm, a .40 caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine, stolen cash, a ski mask, the gloves used by Hardy during the robberies, and ammunition. 

Previously, Hardy had been convicted of armed robbery in East Baton Rouge Parish in 2007 and convicted of second-degree battery and false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon in Lafayette Parish in 2019.

This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Baton Rouge Police Department.   It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert W. Piedrahita and Jeremy S. Johnson. 

U.S. Attorney Gathe stated, “I would like to publicly thank our Assistant United States Attorneys and our partners, the Baton Rouge Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the time and effort to prepare this matter for trial.  Their efforts led to the government removing a violent offender and several guns off the street.”