Month: April 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Christopher Mann, 44, of Tuba City, Arizona, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to 46 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Mann previously pleaded guilty to Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.

On November 11, 2019, Mann stabbed a victim in Tuba City, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation. Mann chased the victim after stabbing him and only ceased his pursuit when the victim entered a restaurant to seek help. Mann is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.

The FBI and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Goldberg and Alexander Samuels, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-20-08021-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER:    2022-043_Mann

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jacksonville, Florida – A federal jury has found Ali Akhenaten (formerly known as Darryl Oliver) guilty of five counts of tax fraud. Akhenaten faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison for each count. The United States also will seek restitution for the tax loss arising out of the fraud. Akhenaten had been indicted on March 27, 2019. His sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Akhenaten owned and operated a tax preparation business in Jacksonville called Florida Financial Solutions. On the 2014, 2015, and 2016 tax returns Akhenaten prepared for the business, he underreported his business income and overstated the rent he had paid for his business property. On the tax returns he filed on his own behalf for 2014 and 2015, he underreported the income he had earned from the business.

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Melesio Medina-Torres, age 45, was sentenced to time served of 30 days’ imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release, by United States District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson, for illegal reentry of a previously deported alien.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Medina-Torres pleaded guilty to having illegally reentered the United States sometime after his last removal in October 2008. He was located in the United States on February 3, 2022, in York County, Pennsylvania, after an arrest for criminal charges which are still pending.  It is expected he will be removed to Mexico at the completion of his sentence.

This matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joanne M. Sanderson.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Luis Miguel Mejia-Lugo, age 30, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday to 42 months’ imprisonment to be followed by one year of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, for aggravated identity theft and illegal reentry of a removed alien offenses.

According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, on April 29, 2020, Mejia-Lugo, a previously deported alien with prior felony convictions for armed robbery and assault, was arrested in Hazleton and found in possession of a loaded firearm.  Further investigation revealed that Mejia-Lugo fraudulently used the identity of a United States citizen, including a counterfeit social security card, to obtain a Pennsylvania Driver’s License and, then, to unlawfully purchase the firearm in question.      

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffery St John 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

AUGUSTA, GA:  A Warren County man has been indicted on charges including illegally possession a machine gun and trafficking methamphetamine.

Kevin Shawn McGahee, 47, of Stapleton, Ga, is charged in a newly unsealed indictment with Possession with Intent to Distribute Five or More Grams of Methamphetamine; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and Illegal Possession of a Machine Gun, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charges subject McGahee to a maximum statutory penalty of up to life in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.

“We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify and intercept the sources of illegal drugs in our communities, and to remove firearms from those who are prohibited from owning them,” said U.S. Attorney Estes.

McGahee was indicted by a U.S. District Court grand jury during its April term, and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges before U.S. District Court Magistrate Brian K. Epps during arraignment Friday morning. He is free on bond while awaiting further proceedings.

McGahee’s indictment followed a recent search of his residence where agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and deputies from the Warren County and McDuffie County sheriff’s offices found methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and nearly two dozen firearms. Among those firearms was a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol equipped with a so-called “Glock switch,” an aftermarket accessory which agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives verified allows the weapon to fire multiple bullets with each trigger pull.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This investigation took place under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer.

Agencies investigating the case include the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, and the McDuffie County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah L. Johnson.