Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that yesterday JEREMY ESTEVES, age 35, ROBERT BRUMFIELD, III, age 28, and JASMINE THEOPHILE, age 29, all of New Orleans, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Lance Africk for their roles in the December 2013 armed robbery of a Loomis Armored vehicle at Chase Bank, 2331 S. Carrollton, Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana, which resulted in the death of Loomis guard Hector Trochez. 

ESTEVES, who was found guilty by a jury at trial in November 2019 of conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of commerce by robbery, murder, and violations of the Federal Gun Control Act, was sentenced to 600 months imprisonment, a five-year term of supervised release following imprisonment, a $300 mandatory special assessment fee, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $277,000.00.

BRUMFIELD, who was also convicted at trial in November 2019 of conspiracy to obstruct commerce by robbery, was sentenced to 240 months imprisonment, a three year term of supervised release following imprisonment, a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $277,000.00.

THEOPHILE, the former girlfriend of co-defendant Lilbear George, previously pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and was sentenced to a five year term of probation, which includes six months in the custody of a halfway house.  She was further ordered to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

According to court documents, on December 18, 2013, ESTEVES along with co-defendants, Lilbear George, Chukwudi Ofomata, and Curtis Johnson, Jr., robbed a Loomis armored vehicle as it was making a delivery of approximately $265,000 to the Chase Bank at the intersection of S. Carrollton and S. Claiborne Avenues.  As Trochez prepared to make the delivery, George and Ofomata, both armed, exited a Chevy Tahoe driven by ESTEVES and ordered Trochez to give up the money.  Trochez pulled his weapon and fired at the robbers.  Ofomata and George returned fired in Trochez’s direction.  Johnson fired at the Loomis truck to keep the driver inside. Trochez was fatally struck on the left side of his forehead and suffered a graze wound to his elbow. One of the robbers ran towards the rear of the Loomis truck and took possession of the money bag before re-entering the Tahoe.  The robbers fled the Chase Bank parking lot.  

A witness seated in a vehicle at the corner of S. Claiborne and S. Carrollton Avenues observed the shooting and provided a description of the shooters and the vehicle they occupied.  That witness followed the Chevy Tahoe as it fled the location of the shooting/robbery.  During the vehicle’s flight, one of the shooters fired at the witness’s vehicle in an attempt to deter the witness from following.  The witness observed the Chevy Tahoe arrive in the 1700 block of Adams Street and saw the four robbers exit the Chevy Tahoe and enter the awaiting Honda Accord driven by BRUMFIELD.  The Honda Accord fled the Adams Street location, leaving the Chevy Tahoe behind.     

The Tahoe was recovered by the New Orleans Police Department and searched pursuant to a federal search warrant.  During the search, FBI agents observed that the steering wheel column of the vehicle had been breached. Agents located two screwdrivers on the floorboard and a bandana on the console.  The items were collected and submitted for DNA testing at the Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory.  An unknown DNA profile, later confirmed to be that of George, was recovered from one of the screwdrivers.  Likewise, the DNA recovered from the bandana was confirmed to be that of Johnson.

Co-defendants George and Ofomata previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 480 months imprisonment.  Defendant Johnson was convicted at trial in March 2022 and will be sentenced on July 13, 2022.   

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation along with the New Orleans Police Department and the Louisiana State Police.  Assistant United States Attorneys Brittany L. Reed, Gregory M. Kennedy, and Inga Petrovich prosecuted the matter.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Charlotte, N.C. Today, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced the filing of a federal civil complaint seeking the forfeiture of $597,891.46, seized as part of an investigation of at least three individuals operating as money mules responsible for transferring over $1.2 million in funds stolen from a business located in San Diego, California.

Reginald DeMatteis, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

A money mule is a person who, at the direction of another individual or criminal organization, transfers illicit funds typically acquired through fraud. Sometimes money mules are innocent victims unaware they are implicated in criminal activity. Other times, money mules maybe aware, or come to realize but ignore, that they are assisting a fraudster with illegal money movement activities.

“Money mules are quickly becoming the preferred method criminal networks use to transfer illicit funds. These networks, operating within the U.S. and overseas, target individuals online via romance scams, business scams, or otherwise, and turn them into money mules doing the criminals’ dirty work,” said U.S. Attorney King. “We are doing our part to cut off the flow of funds to criminal organizations, but we also need the public’s help in this effort. Be wary of anyone who contacts you online and asks you to use your bank account to move money. You could be putting in thieves’ pockets money stolen from victims of fraud.”

As alleged in the filed complaint, the U.S. Secret Service previously seized $597,891.46 from the account of Theresa Harlow, an elderly woman located in California. The complaint alleges that Harlow and at least two other individuals, identified in court documents as Money Mule 1, and Money Mule 2, allegedly moved the fraud proceeds through four different financial institutions and via multiple transactions involving checks and wires. The indictment further alleges that when law enforcement began investigating the movement of the money, the three money mules reported that they became involved when individuals reached out to them online about moving money and believed the purpose of the money transfers was to assist in business transactions and/or movement of an inheritance. In reality, as alleged in the complaint, the money the mules were moving belonged to a California business that had been defrauded.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the U.S. Secret Service for their investigative work in this case.

Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Bain-Creed of the United States Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is in charge of the civil proceedings.

To learn more about the Department of Justice’s Money Mule Initiative and to receive more information on how to protect yourself and others please visit: https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch/money-mule-initiative

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Two Boone County men pleaded guilty in connection with  damage to an energy facility, identified as a known mine located across Boone and Lincoln counties.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Danny Griffy, 57, of Sylvester, pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting the destruction of an energy facility. Bradley Campbell, 27, of Costa, pleaded guilty to conspiring to damage an energy facility. The known mine is a West Virginia non-profit corporation engaged in the reclamation of a significant number of former mining permits and processes coal.

The case involved the theft of more than $5,000 worth of specialized mine equipment from the known mine on multiple occasions in April 2018, resulting in more than $5,000 in damage to the known mine. Campbell admitted to conspiring with others to steal the equipment, while Griffy admitted to aiding in the effort. Campbell and Griffy each admitted they and others sold the stolen equipment to a Whitesville business and converted the proceeds to their own uses.

Griffy is scheduled to be sentenced on July 27, 2022, and Campbell is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2022. Each man faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Griffy and Campbell have also agreed to pay restitution.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the West Virginia State Police for conducting the investigation.

Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearings.  Assistant United States Attorney Kathleen Robeson is prosecuting the cases.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:22-cr-14, 2:22-cr-15, and 2:22-cr-77.

 

###

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ANCHORAGE – An Oregon man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline to 16 years in prison for drug conspiracy and assault of a corrections officer.

According to court documents, Michael Hindman, 32, mailed multiple packages of heroin and methamphetamine to a local drug dealer in Unalaska, Alaska, during 2019. In return, the local dealer mailed Hindman boxes of cash to pay for the drugs. One specific package Hindman sent on October 9, 2019, contained 93 grams of heroin. This heroin was divided and sold to individuals throughout the Unalaska community. On October 16 an individual who had received a baggie of the heroin was found deceased in a local hotel room. The medical examiner confirmed that the individual had died of a heroin overdose. The investigation led to Hindman, who was living in Oregon, as the distributor of the heroin to Unalaska.

Hindman was arrested in November 2019 on the federal drug charge. While being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex in June 2020, Hindman assaulted an Alaska Department of Corrections Officer which required emergency room treatment.

Hindman pleaded guilty to both charges in August 2021.

“The US Attorney’s office and our law-enforcement partners will not stand by while drug dealers peddle their poison and kill Alaskans,” said U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr. of the District of Alaska. “This heavy sentence should be a warning to anyone considering trafficking in opioids, even from outside the state.”

“The sentencing of Michael Hindman removes a dangerous criminal from the streets and provides closure to the family of his victim. The shipment of illegal narcotics has no place in the US Postal Service and the State of Alaska.” said Inspector in Charge Anthony Galetti, “The US Postal Inspection Service is determined to investigate those who use the US Mail in support of their criminal activities. We thank our state, local and federal partners for their support and efforts in this investigation.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Unalaska Department of Public Safety investigated the drug conspiracy case. The U.S. Marshal Service investigated the assault with assistance from Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Department of Corrections.

Criminal Chief, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Sherman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Vandergaw prosecuted the case.

###

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger sentenced James Julius Lumpkin, of Sevierville, Tennessee, to 156 months in prison and five years of supervised release for drug trafficking, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

U.S. Attorney King is joined in making today’s announcement by Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Asheville Post of Duty, Jamaal Thompson Commander of the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, and Sheriff Chip Hall of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

According to filed court documents and the sentencing hearing, in November 2020, the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force learned that Lumpkin, a fugitive with outstanding arrest warrants in Georgia for trafficking narcotics, was located in Jackson County. Law enforcement learned that Lumpkin was staying at a local motel in Cullowhee, North Carolina, and proceeded to plan the arrest. On November 6, 2020, a team of federal and local law enforcement arrested Lumpkin while he was sitting in his van at the motel parking lot. At the time of the arrest, law enforcement seized from the van multiple plastic bags containing methamphetamine, digital scales, two loaded firearms, and ammunition. Law enforcement also recovered at the scene marijuana and prescription opioid pills.

On November 1, 2021, Lumpkin pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, marijuana and Hydrocodone. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King credited the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, the DEA’s Asheville Post of Duty and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for the investigation of this case.

Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Kent, of the United States Attorney’s Office in Asheville, prosecuted the case.