Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that AARON CLAYTON, also known as “Ace,” 54, of New Britain was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 72 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for distributing powder and crack cocaine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a joint investigation led by the FBI and the Norwich, New London and Hartford Police Departments into a narcotics distribution network that stretched from southeastern Connecticut to the Hartford, New Britain and Waterbury areas.  The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps, surveillance, search warrants, and seizures of cocaine and crack cocaine, revealed that Clayton purchased large quantities of cocaine from an associate, converted some of the cocaine to crack, and then sold both cocaine and crack to drug distributors and users.

On March 17, 2020, law enforcement conducted court-authorized searches of Clayton’s residence and two other residences connected to this drug trafficking organization and seized approximately three kilograms of cocaine and nearly $100,000 in cash.

On June 30, 2020, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Clayton and eight other individuals with offenses related to their involvement in this drug ring.  Clayton was arrested on July 1, 2020.

On September 2, 2021, Clayton pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

This matter has been investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Norwich, New London and Hartford Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret M. Donovan, with assistance from Law Student Intern Erin Collins, through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALPINE – Yesterday a former Monahans businessman was ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution for failure to pay withholding taxes.

According to court documents, George Wayne Johnson, 74, of Lawrenceburg, TN, was the owner of Wayne’s Welding Services (WWS) in Monahans.  From 2015 to 2018, WWS withheld tax payments from its employees’ paychecks but failed to pay $1,308,797 in required payroll tax to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Through his company, Johnson spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his salary and personal expenses.

In addition to the restitution ordered, Johnson was sentenced to five years of probation.

“Employers have critical tax obligations with respect to their businesses and the defendant in this case skirted them so that he could enrich himself,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “We will continue to work closely with IRS Criminal Investigations to prosecute these matters.”

“This is an appalling act, not just because he stole more than a million dollars from our nation, but because he expected his own employees to pay the price for his extravagant lifestyle,” said Ramsey E. Covington, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Houston Field Office. “I am proud of our team at IRS CI for the investigative work on this case and I am proud of the unwavering support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecute those who choose to violate our tax laws.”

The IRS investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Kennedy prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 39-year-old man has admitted to transporting over a hundred stolen computers across state lines, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Tyler Wright Fuhrken, Corpus Christi, pleaded guilty to using $320,098 from the Port of Corpus Christi to purchase Apple computers for personal use while employed as its IT director.

The investigation revealed that from May 22, 2016, to Feb. 4, 2021, Fuhrken authorized the purchase of 162 Apple computers. He had the authority to do so as necessary for the port. However, he did not record the purchased computers in the port’s asset control system or inventory.

Authorities traced a series of suspicious PayPal deposits into Fuhrken’s bank account. They were from a computer reseller located in New York who acknowledged purchasing many Apple computers from Fuhrken. Fuhrken would invoice the reseller for the computers on PayPal and would ship the computers from Texas to the resale shop located in New York.

The reseller provided authorities with a list of the computers he purchased. They were able to identify the 162 Apple computers missing from the port. 

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos will impose sentence July 27. At that time, Fuhrken faces up to 10 years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. As part of his plea agreement Fuhrken also agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $421,233.93.  

He was permitted to remain on bond pending his sentencing hearing.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert D. Thorpe is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Gilbert Concepcion, age 44, formerly of Reading, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on April 26, 2022, to 41 months of imprisonment by United States District Judge Robert D. Mariani.  Concepcion previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic crystal methamphetamine.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Concepcion admitted to distributing approximately 2.5 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine with his coconspirators, between December 2014 and August 2015.  The crystal methamphetamine was determined by laboratory analysis to qualify as high purity “Ice,” or actual methamphetamine.

In addition to Concepcion, Donald Fritz, Jr., formerly of Palmerton, Pennsylvania, was previously convicted of crystal methamphetamine trafficking and firearms offenses during the course of this investigation.  Fritz was sentenced to 100 months of imprisonment.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo prosecuted the case.

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.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

ABINGDON, Va. – A pair of Wytheville, Virginia residents were sentenced yesterday to federal prison time for possessing stolen mail, including letters from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration, and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Joseph Arthur Manning, 35, was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment followed by three years’ supervised release. Manning’s girlfriend, Caitlyn Page Turner, 23, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment followed by three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, on December 28, 2021, a victim contacted the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office and stated that they witnessed mail being stolen from their mailbox by a pair of individuals who drove off in a Kia Optima. Shortly after the call, Wythe County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop on a Kia Optima and Manning and Turner were the occupants of the vehicle.

During the traffic stop, deputies located and recovered 63 pieces of mail from 32 different addresses in the Barren Springs area.  The officers also recovered marijuana and a small quantity of methamphetamine. 

United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh made the announcement.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division and the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office. 

Assistant United States Attorney Lena L. Busscher prosecuted the case for the United States.