Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            CONCORD – Jacob Brady, 30, of Manchester, was sentenced on Friday to 84 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute, United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 29, 2020, Manchester police detectives received information that a female would be traveling from Manchester to Lawrence, Massachusetts to obtain a significant amount of drugs for redistribution in New Hampshire.  Surveillance observed her drive to Lawrence and park her car in a lot known as a distribution “hot spot.”  A vehicle registered to Brady’s co-conspirator, Christopher Yule, parked close by and extinguished its lights.  Within a minute, the cars departed.  Surveillance units followed both vehicles.

            When Yule’s vehicle entered Manchester, it was stopped by police for a traffic violation and suspicion of drug activity.  Brady, the driver of the vehicle, and Yule both engaged in furtive movements within the vehicle as officers approached.  Both individuals were instructed to step out of the vehicle.  Brady explained that he and Yule traveled to Lawrence so Yule could meet with his source and purchase illegal drugs.

            During the stop, an officer observed a tied-off glassine baggie of suspected drugs inside the vehicle. Yule consented to a search of the vehicle and officers found over 78 grams of fentanyl and over six grams of cocaine base (crack).

            Brady previously pleaded guilty on January 7, 2022.   Yule also has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

            “Fentanyl and other dangerous drugs continue to cause serious damage to communities throughout New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Farley.  “We are working closely with the Manchester Police Department to identify the drug traffickers who are bringing fentanyl into Manchester and endangering the lives of the city’s citizens.  As this case demonstrates, fentanyl dealers in the Granite State will be held accountable for their dangerous and unlawful conduct.”      

            This matter was investigated by the Manchester Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joachim H. Barth.

            This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.).  In July of 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the District of New Hampshire and nine other federal districts.  The goal of S.O.S. is to combat the large number of overdoses and deaths associated with fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.   In New Hampshire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office is focusing its efforts on prosecuting synthetic opioid trafficking cases arising in Hillsborough County, which includes Manchester and Nashua. 

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Georgia man, formerly residing in Lexington, Ky., Hosea Lee Jr., 43, pleaded guilty on Friday, before Chief U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, to committing five counts of sexual abuse of a ward.

According to his plea agreement, Lee was employed as a correctional officer at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, and during that time he served as a drug treatment specialist.  Between October and December 2019, on multiple occasions, Lee performed sexual acts on four separate victims, who attended his drug treatment classes.                         

Lee was indicted in July 2021.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; William J. Hannah, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Chicago Field Office; and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, jointly announced the guilty plea.

The investigation was conducted by DOJ-OIG and FBI.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tashena Fannin and Kate Smith.

Lee is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29, 2022.  He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of not more than $250,000.  However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes. 

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler announced that a federal jury returned guilty verdicts on Friday, April 15, 2022, against Defendant Joe L. Fletcher III, 33, of Akron, Ohio, following a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr., in Cleveland.  Fletcher was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on June 24, 2020, law enforcement officers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol attempted to initiate a traffic stop of a vehicle Fletcher was driving on Interstate 77 in Copley, Ohio.  Fletcher refused to stop, and led Troopers on a high-speed chase, reaching speeds of more than 110 miles per hour.    

Fletcher then fled from his vehicle on foot into a wooded swamp area.  Fletcher used his cell phone to stream his flight live over the internet.  During his flight, Fletcher threatened to shoot law enforcement.  Troopers arrested Fletcher in the swamp area.  Law enforcement recovered approximately 40 grams of crack cocaine in the wooded area and recovered a loaded, AK-style, semiautomatic rifle from Fletcher’s vehicle. 

Fletcher is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior felony convictions for drug trafficking in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas and felon in possession of a firearm in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. 

On September 24, 2020, Fletcher was charged with a separate offense of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  According to the indictment and court documents, on September 8, 2020, during his arrest on federal charges, Fletcher led police on another vehicle chase, during which he discarded a Glock model 17 firearm which was later recovered by law enforcement.  That case remains ongoing.

On September 30, 2021, Fletcher was charged with escape from custody of the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center (NEOCC).  According to the indictment, on or about August 18, 2021, Fletcher allegedly escaped from custody in the NEOCC and was later apprehended on August 20.  This case also remains ongoing.

Fletcher is scheduled to be sentenced on August 9, 2022, and faces a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the ONSET Task Force; the Ohio State Highway Patrol; the Copley Police Department; and the Akron Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter E. Daly and Aaron P. Howell.                      

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            CONCORD – Andrew Spinella, 36, of Derry, Renee Spinella, 24, of Derry, and Nobody, a/k/a Richard Paul, 53, of Keene, pleaded guilty last week in federal court to wire fraud, United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, between approximately 2016 and 2021, the defendants opened and operated accounts at financial institutions as personal accounts in their names or as business accounts in the names of churches in order to allow their co-defendant, Ian Freeman, to use them to sell virtual currency.

            Andrew Spinella pleaded guilty on April 12, 2022.  He admitted to opening personal accounts in his name for Freeman to use to sell virtual currency. He signed blank checks and gave Freeman the login information for those accounts.

            Renee Spinella pleaded guilty on April 14, 2022.  She admitted that she opened a business account in the name of Crypto Church of NH, which she told the bank was an international ministry. She opened the account in person at a bank branch in New Hampshire where she was accompanied by Freeman.  Although the account was purported to be for the receipt of church donations, the account was used almost exclusively to support Freeman’s virtual currency exchange business.

            Nobody pleaded guilty on April 15, 2002.  He admitted that he opened accounts in his name and in the name of the Church of the Invisible Hand. At the time he opened the accounts or provided Freeman with access to the accounts, he knew they would not be used as personal accounts or for a church, but instead would be used by Freeman to trade virtual currency.

            Each of the defendants was aware that banks would close these accounts if the banks knew the accounts were used to operate an unlicensed virtual currency business.   

            Andrew and Renee Spinella are scheduled to be sentenced on July 26, 2022.  Nobody is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, 2022.   

            A total of six individuals have been charged in this case.  Freeman and two other co-defendants are scheduled to go to trial on November 1, 2022.

            “By using fraudulent means to mislead banks about the true purpose of these bank accounts, the defendants assisted in the operation of an unlawful virtual currency business,” said U.S. Attorney Farley.  “To protect the integrity of our financial system, we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute individuals who participate in fraud schemes involving virtual currency.”

            “Andrew and Renee Spinella, along with Nobody, confessed to opening and operating bank accounts, using their names or the names of religious organizations, to help their co-defendant run his virtual currency business. They knew it was wrong and they continued their conduct anyway,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “Last week’s court proceedings show such criminal actions have serious consequences. The FBI is uniquely situated to investigate and dismantle these elaborate schemes, and we urge folks, whether investing in cash or virtual currency, to exercise due diligence and report suspicious activity to us.”

            “This investigation and the subsequent admissions by the defendants are a clear reminder that IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to following the money trail and will not be deterred by sophisticated financial transactions,” said Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “These federal felony convictions have effectively shut down this scheme and should serve as a stark warning to those engaged in similar criminal activities.” 

             This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Georgiana L. MacDonald, John Kennedy, and Seth R. Aframe.

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