Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Brandon Ross, a/k/a “Shaba X”, age 33, of Los Angeles, California to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a large-scale money laundering conspiracy. As part of his guilty plea, Ross will be required to pay at least $1,500,000 in restitution.   

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Inspector General Jon Rymer of the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge James R. Mancuso of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore.

According to his plea agreement, from October 2015 to January 2017, Ross, Peter Unakalu, Khalid Razaq, Saul Eady, Troy Barbour, and others participated in a scheme to launder proceeds of criminal activity by fraudulently obtaining technology-related merchandise without payment and selling the merchandise in furtherance of the money laundering scheme. 

As part of the scheme to defraud, Ross convinced three technology-related companies (victim companies) that his co-conspirators were authorized to make purchase agreements and then caused the victim companies to ship specialized communications equipment, cell phones, computers, and large screen televisions to co-conspirators without payment.  Ross and his co-conspirators subsequently sold or disposed of the fraudulently obtained property after receiving them.  These transactions were designed to conceal the true nature, location, source, and ownership of the unlawful proceeds.  

It was further part of the conspiracy that Ross received the fraudulently obtained proceeds and engaged in a series of bank and wire transfers to his co-conspirators in the effort to conceal the criminal nature of the scheme.  For example, on November 28, 2016, Ross deposited $7,500 in cash into Razaq’s bank account.  Then on December 2, 2016, Ross wired $2,955 to Unakalu, who was located in Nigeria, and falsely reported that it was for family support.  Additionally, in January and February 2017, Barbour paid a Maryland-based moving company to transport flat-screen televisions from Virginia to California.  On March 1, 2017, Ross provided Razaq $108,570 in cash as Razaq’s share of the proceeds from the scheme. 

Based on bank records, the value of the goods, surveillance footage, and financial and business records from the victim companies, the loss to the three victim companies was more than $1,500,000.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron praised the DOD-OIG and HSI for their work on the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked the FBI, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and Customs and Border Protection for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph R. Baldwin and Adam K. Ake, who prosecuted 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 and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jacksonville, Florida – Chief United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Michael Lee Aurandt (51, Jacksonville) to 12 years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse images and videos over the internet. Aurandt was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release, register as a sex offender, and pay $3,000 in restitution to a victim of his offense. Aurandt had pleaded guilty on December 21, 2021.

According to court documents, several FBI field offices began investigating Aurandt for uploading child sexual abuse materials to chat applications over the internet. In October 2020, Aurandt was observed posting videos and images depicting children being sexually abused in a chat app. The following month, Aurandt uploaded five videos containing child sex abuse materials in a chat app, which was reported to the FBI through a CyberTip submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  The FBI investigation identified Aurandt as the source of the distributions through linked internet protocol (IP) addresses.

On August 27, 2021, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Aurandt’s residence, and he was arrested later that day. Aurandt admitted to viewing and distributing child sex abuse materials using the chat app accounts previously identified by FBI. He stated he would create new accounts whenever his accounts were shut down for violating the terms of service of the chat app.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Washington. The forfeiture of assets was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mai Tran.

This is another case 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 Attorneys’ 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Owner of Fall River used car dealership laundered fraud proceeds through his business

Source: United States Department of Justice News

RICHMOND, Va. – A Henrico man was arrested yesterday after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with fraudulently obtaining over $1.1 Million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans on behalf of two defunct companies he owned, and improperly using those fraudulently-obtained PPP loan proceeds for his own personal benefit. 

According to the indictment, from on or about at least April 8, 2020, to at least on or about August 31, 2021, Kortney T. Kelley, 44, submitted at least four fraudulent applications for loans under the PPP, a Small Business Administration (SBA) program designed to help businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to pay wages to their employees. As part of these applications, Kelley made numerous false statements. For instance, Kelly represented that his defunct companies (which in fact generated no revenue and had no employees) together employed more than 140 workers and paid-out over $220,000 in monthly payroll expenses. Furthermore, as part of his applications, Kelley submitted forged tax returns and other documentation purporting to substantiate Kelley’s false claims that his companies paid substantial payroll expenses. 

According to the indictment, Kelley’s fraudulent loan applications caused the SBA to disburse over $1.1 million in loans to Kelley’s business accounts. Kelley spent the loan proceeds on purposes unrelated to those authorized by the SBA, including spending at least $142,711 in loan proceeds at various casinos and on gaming, and transferring at least $834,077 in loan proceeds to Kelley’s personal brokerage accounts. Kelley made further false statements to the SBA in a loan forgiveness application, which resulted in the complete discharge of the loans.

Kelley is charged with wire fraud and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth 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 the government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Virginia Coronavirus Fraud Task Force is a federal and state partnership led by the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia along with fraud investigators from the FBI and Virginia State Police. The task force’s mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud related to the ongoing pandemic. The task force reviews and investigates all credible leads of fraud associated with COVID-19, focusing on schemes to exploit vulnerable populations, including the elderly and concerned citizens.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-35.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Sheldon Tee Brooks, age 58, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on April 19, 2022, to 161 months’ imprisonment to be followed by 5 years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson, for distribution of crack cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Brooks previously pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute more than 12 grams of crack cocaine, and to possessing a short-barreled shotgun with an obliterated serial number in furtherance of drug trafficking between October and November 2019, in Cumberland County.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian T. Haugsby prosecuted the case.

This case was 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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