Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Greenbelt, Maryland – Florin Vaduva, age 31, of Dania Beach, Florida pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud.  As part of his plea agreement, Vaduva will be ordered to pay at least $1,085,151.42 in restitution.  

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Acting Postal Inspector in Charge Greg L. Torbenson of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Selwyn Smith of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Acting Special Agent in Charge Quenton Sallows, of the Mid-Atlantic Region, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG); Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Toni Dezomits of the Cary, North Carolina, Police Department; and Sheriff Dusty Rhoades of the Williamson County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office.

According to his guilty plea, from June 2018 to January 2021, Vaduva, Mateus Vaduva, Nicole Gindac, Daniel Velcu, Marian Unguru, Vali Unguru, and others conspired to steal checks from the U.S. mail intended for religious institutions and deposit the illegally obtained funds into multiple fraudulent bank accounts at various victim financial institutions.  Conspirators, including Vaduva, conducted the thefts by driving to roadside mailboxes of churches and other religious institutions and removing the mail, specifically targeting donation checks.

As part of the scheme to defraud, Vaduva and other co-conspirators fraudulently opened bank accounts at victim financial institutions under false identities.  Conspiracy members often opened fictitious bank accounts with the aid of a conspiracy member that was an employee at one of the victim financial institutions. 

Vaduva and his co-conspirators fraudulently negotiated the stolen checks at the victim financial institutions by depositing the stolen checks into bank accounts by means of ATM transactions.  Subsequently, Vanduva and his co-conspirators withdrew money from the fraudulently opened bank accounts and spent the proceeds using debit cards.

For example, from January 2020 to May 2020, Vaduva deposited or participated in the deposit of at least 49 stolen checks totaling at least $27,508.84 from churches located in Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia into five fraudulently opened bank accounts.  The total of stolen checks deposited into those accounts totaled approximately $36,660.91.  Over the course of the conspiracy, conspiracy members received approximately at least $1,085,151.42 from 2,657 stolen checks.  After becoming aware of the investigation, Vaduva fled to the United Kingdom.  He was later apprehended on September 5, 2021 and was extradited to the United States.

Vaduva faces a maximum of 30 years in prison followed by up to 5 years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud.  U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang has scheduled sentencing for August 8, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, HSI, the FDIC Office of Inspector General, the Montgomery County Police Department, the Cary (North Carolina) Police Department, and the Williamson County (Tennessee) Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Wright, who is prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

SOUTH BEND – Javier Gil, 37 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty on his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Gil was sentenced to 144 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, Gil conspired to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.  Gil and his co-defendants took several trips to California to obtain drugs for distribution.  During the final trip in December 2017, Gil and two other individuals flew to California, where they obtained 11 kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine that were loaded into a vehicle headed for the Midwest.  The drugs were discovered when the vehicle was stopped by police.

Saul Leal, Gil’s co-defendant, was sentenced to 108 months in prison earlier in April.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the assistance of the Oklahoma State Police.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joel Gabrielse and Kimberly L. Schultz.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

WASHINGTON – In an effort to save lives, DEA is proud to join “Song for Charlie” and many of our valued public health, non-profit, and law enforcement partners in recognizing the first ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day. This day is an effort to educate individuals around the dangerous threat that fentanyl poses to the safety, health, and national security of the American people.

To mark National Fentanyl Awareness Day, DEA released a video announcement from DEA Administrator Anne Milgram stressing the dangers of fentanyl and the need for urgent action.

“Fentanyl is killing Americans at unprecedented rates,” said Milgram. “On this first-ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day, please help save lives by making sure you talk with your friends and family about the dangers of this deadly drug.”

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.  It is inexpensive, widely available, and highly addictive. Drug traffickers are increasingly mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs—in powder and pill form—to drive addiction and create repeat customers. Many people who are overdosing and dying don’t even know that they are taking fentanyl. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the United States, nearly 107,000 people died as the result of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending November 2021. Sixty-six percent of overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

DEA has created a special exhibit for its museum, The Faces of Fentanyl, to commemorate the lives lost from fentanyl poisoning.  If you would like to submit a photo of a loved one lost to fentanyl, please submit their name and photo to fentanylawareness@dea.gov, or post a photo and their name to social media using the hashtag #NationalFentanylAwarenessDay.

For more information on the dangers of fentanyl, visit www.DEA.gov/fentanylawareness. 

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA — Matthew Joshua Tolson, 33, of Bennettsville, was sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

“One of the largest threats to our community is firearms-related crime, and this office is dedicated to doing everything it can to protect the citizens of South Carolina from those who use firearms to break the law,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis.  “Our team, including our local and federal law enforcement partners, worked tirelessly to bring this defendant, an armed lifelong criminal, to justice.” 

“Recovering a firearm from a prohibited individual and putting a drug trafficker out of business is a double win for the community,” said Brian Mein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division.  “Through a collaborative effort, we’ve helped take a dangerous career criminal off the street.”

“Mr. Tolson has a violent history, and was involved in numerous firearms-related incidents,” said Chief David Lane of the City of Dillon Police Department.  “Bringing Mr. Tolson to justice will make the Dillon community safer.  My department is very thankful for the hard work of all the agencies involved.”

Evidence presented to the Court showed that, on the afternoon of July 20, 2021, officers with Dillon Police Department attempted to stop a purple Dodge Charger driven by Tolson.  Tolson did not stop, and instead led law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase through downtown Dillon.  The chase ended when Tolson drove his car onto the Dillon City and County Complex lawn, crashing into the Dillon Police Department sign.  When officers approached the Charger, they located a loaded .40 caliber Glock pistol with a 50-round drum magazine in Tolson’s lap.  In his pocket, Tolson had nearly 24 grams of crack cocaine, divided among several baggies, and approximately $300 in cash.  At the time of this incident, Tolson had multiple prior felony convictions, which prohibited him from legally possessing a firearm or ammunition. 

United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Tolson to 226 months in federal prison, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was 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.

This case was investigated by ATF and the Dillon Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Flynn is prosecuting the case.

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