Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LAREDO, Texas – A 23-year-old Laredo resident has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens resulting in death, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Abraham J. Ahumada admitted to leaving the victims behind after a car accident.

On Nov. 13, 2021, Ahumada drove a black Nissan Murano down U.S. Highway 83. Law enforcement attempted to pull him over, but he proceeded to flee. He did not yield and instead accelerated above the speed limit.

Ahumada disregarded a red light during the pursuit along U.S. 83 and collided with a passenger vehicle crossing the intersection with the right of way. The collision resulted in three deaths.

Two individuals in Ahumada’s vehicle were pronounced dead on the scene as well as a woman who was traveling in the struck vehicle with children. The three children suffered major bodily injuries and were taken to a local hospital for treatment.  

Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing July 28. At that time, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with Customs and Border Protection and Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DETROIT – Thomas Berlucchi, a Facilities Engineer for the United States Postal Service (USPS), pleaded guilty today to accepting over $6,500 in illegal gratuities from a USPS contractor announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Kenneth Cleevely, Special Agent in Charge of the Contract Fraud Investigations Division, United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (OIG).

Thomas Berlucchi, 61 years old, of Troy, Michigan, stands convicted of accepting illegal gratuities from Michael Rymar, who was the owner of a Rochester Hills company, Horizons Materials & Management LLC, which was awarded contracts to repair USPS buildings in Michigan and New York.  According to court records, from 2015 to 2018, Berlucchi and other USPS engineers awarded Rymar’s company over $5 million in contracts. As a USPS Facilities Engineer, Berlucchi had the power to award no-bid contracts to contractors like Rymar so long as the contract was worth less than $10,000. During the plea hearing, Berlucchi admitted that between 2013 and 2018, he had accepted over $6,500 in illegal gratuities from Rymar because Rymar sought to continue to receive USPS work from Berlucchi. Berlucchi had awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in work to Rymar. Berlucchi admitted accepting free construction work on his cottage (including exterior stairs and a new roof), free hotel rooms, and donations by Rymar to Berlucchi’s preferred organization.

Separately, Rymar has been charged with and pleaded guilty to stealing government funds because he committed fraud in the USPS contracts which he had received. In that scheme, Rymar provided documentation to the USPS containing false and fraudulent statements, oftentimes dramatically and falsely overstating the amount he paid subcontractors to complete the repairs. Rymar also falsely inflated the amount he paid his own employees and the cost of materials on USPS jobs. Over the course of the three-plus year fraudulent scheme, Rymar stole over $1.2 million from USPS out of the $5 million in contracts he was awarded.

United States Attorney Ison stated, “Federal employees who corrupt the contracting process by accepting illegal gratuities from contractors will be caught and punished.”

“We are gratified to have contributed to this investigation and applaud the exceptional work by the United States Attorney’s Office for both protecting the contracting process and overall program costs,” said Kenneth Cleevely, Special Agent in Charge, USPS OIG. “Along with the Department of Justice, the USPS OIG will continue to aggressively investigate those who would engage in fraudulent activities designed to defraud the Postal Service.”

Upon conviction for a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 201(c)(1)(B), gratuity to a public official, Berlucchi faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. 

Under the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines, Berlucchi is facing a sentence of between 8 to 14 months in prison.    

The investigation of this case was conducted by the of the United States Postal Service, Office of Inspector General.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Cares.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the results achieved to date by the Middle District of Florida’s efforts to combat fraud related to COVID-19. Those efforts have included complementary actions by the Criminal, Asset Recovery, and Civil Divisions, along with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

“Throughout the pandemic, my office and our law-enforcement partners have used all available methods to combat fraud related to COVID-19, and we will continue to do so,” stated U.S. Attorney Handberg. “After the United States instituted multiple programs to financially assist those most harmed by the pandemic, criminals sought to defraud those programs for personal enrichment at the expense of the taxpayers who funded these programs. We will continue to disrupt these fraud schemes, prosecute those who commit crimes, and return ill-gotten gains through our efforts.”

On the criminal-enforcement front, the United States Attorney’s Office and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies joined together in March 2020 to form the Middle District of Florida COVID-19 Fraud Task Force to identify, investigate, and prosecute fraud related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception, the Task Force has prosecuted 28 defendants for fraud schemes designed to exploit federal programs created or expanded to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”), Unemployment Insurance (“UI”), and the Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”). These defendants collectively sought to defraud the United States of over $35 million. Eighteen of those defendants have already been found guilty, while prosecution remains pending against ten defendants. (See chart for criminal case details.)

Further, the District’s Asset Recovery Division and federal seizing agencies have completed the forfeiture of more than $14.3 million of PPP, EIDL, and UI funds that were fraudulently obtained, depriving the fraudsters of their ill-gotten gains and recovering the proceeds for the victims. More than $8.5 million in additional pandemic fraud proceeds have been seized and are pending civil or criminal forfeiture.

For example, in May 2020, Don Cisternino obtained a $7.2 million PPP loan for a non-existent movie production company. Cisternino used almost $3.5 million of the PPP loan proceeds to buy a 12,579 square foot luxury home with seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a four-car garage, theater room, resort-style pool and spa area, tennis courts, and a 5-stall horse barn, on more than twelve acres, pictured below.

The United States completed a civil forfeiture of the lavish home, selling it earlier this year for more than $4 million, which will be returned to the victim. Cisternino has been indicted in Orlando and was arraigned on April 29, 2022, after being successfully extradited from Croatia. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance in securing Cisternino’s arrest and extradition.

Similarly, in April 2020, Casey Crowther obtained a $2.1 million PPP loan by falsely stating that he intended to use the money for his roofing company. However, Crowther quickly used the proceeds for personal purchases, including nearly $700,000 for a 40’ catamaran boat, pictured below.

Crowther was convicted following a trial in Fort Myers, and in June 2021, he was sentenced to over three years in federal prison and was ordered to forfeit the boat and over $3 million.

The District’s Civil Division has similarly combatted fraud related to COVID-19 through its enforcement efforts. For example, in the summer of 2020, consumers complained about websites that were falsely claiming to sell personal protection equipment for the COVID-19 virus. Agents from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General identified three men in Vietnam who were using hundreds of web pages to steal money from consumers seeking to purchase PPE. The Civil Division and the agents together halted the payments from U.S. purchasers and obtained a permanent restraining order blocking the websites from being hosted by a U.S. company. The men are now in custody in Vietnam and are facing criminal charges there. 

Further, as a result of the efforts of the Civil Division, a Tampa pain management practice, Physician Partners of America, and its affiliated companies, paid a $1.3 million penalty under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act as part of a larger civil settlement, to resolve our claim that the defendants improperly applied for a PPP loan of over $5.9 million while engaged in unlawful Medicare overbilling. Similarly, in two recent bankruptcy proceedings handled by the Civil Division, debtors were required to return PPP loans totaling almost $2 million because the United States objected to their obtaining the loans while also seeking bankruptcy protections.

The Attorney General has established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Through the PPP, the federal government authorized over $600 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. The EIDL program provides economic relief to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. The MSLP provided support to small and medium-sized businesses and their employees across the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. UI programs provided unemployment benefits to eligible workers who became unemployed through no fault of their own.

The criminal cases identified in the linked chart have been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor—Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Small Business Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation—Office of Inspector General, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police Department, the Orlando Police Department, and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys throughout the Middle District of Florida.   

The Department of Justice needs the public’s assistance in remaining vigilant and reporting suspected fraudulent activity. To report suspected fraud, contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) at (866) 720-5721 or file an online complaint at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Complaints filed will be reviewed at the NCDF and referred to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement or regulatory agencies for investigation.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida COVID Fraud Cases
Defendant(s) (Age)	Charge(s) Max. Imprisonment	Type of Fraud*	Intended Loss Amount
Tampa Division
Richard Simpkins (47)	Conspiracy to commit bank fraud Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years Illegal monetary transactions Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years	PPP	$1.9M
Joseph Abdo (39)	Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years Illegal monetary transactions Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years	PPP	$500k
Jorge Gutierrez Echeverria (33)	Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years	EIDL	$150k
Steve Moodie (33) Melinda Hernandez (33)	Conspiracy to commit wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 5 Years Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years Aggravated identity theft Maximum: Prison Term: Two Years Consecutive	UI	$550k
These COVID Fraud cases from the Tampa Division are being handled by AUSAs Rachel Jones, Greg Pizzo, Candace Rich, and Jennifer Peresie
Orlando Division
Don Cisternino (46)	Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years Illegal Monetary Transactions Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years Aggravated Identity Theft Maximum: Prison Term: Two Years Consecutive	PPP	$7.2M
Emmet Bowens (53)	Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years Illegal monetary transactions Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years	PPP	$740k
These COVID Fraud cases from the Orlando Division are being handled by AUSAs Chauncey Bratt and Amanda Daniels
Fort Myers Division
Daniel Joseph Tisone (34)	Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years Bank fraud Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years Money laundering Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years Aggravated Identity Theft Maximum Prison Term: 2 Years Consecutive Possession of Ammunition by a Prohibited Person Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years	PPP/EIDL/MSLP	$2.6M
Liliana Gonzalez (31)	Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years	PPP	$169k
These COVID Fraud cases from the Fort Myers Division are being handled by AUSAs Trent Reichling and Shannon Laurie
Adjudicated Cases
Tampa Division
Rolanda Wingfield (39)	Access device fraud Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years Aggravated identity theft Maximum: Prison Term: Two Years Consecutive	UI	$135k
Keith Nicoletta (49)	Conspiracy to commit money laundering Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years	PPP	$1.9M
Randy Jones (34)	Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years Aggravated identity theft Maximum: Prison Term: Two Years Consecutive	EIDL/UI	$250k
Rosenide Venant (37)	Conspiracy to commit money laundering Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years	EIDL/PPP	$413k
Julio Lugo (45)	Conspiracy to commit money laundering Maximum Prison Term: 20 Years	EIDL/PPP	$4.4M
These COVID Fraud cases from the Tampa Division are being handled by AUSAs Rachel Jones and Tiffany Fields
Orlando Division
Tomas Ziupsnys (39)	Conspiracy to commit bank fraud Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years Bank fraud Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years Aggravated identity theft Maximum: Prison Term: Two Years Consecutive	PPP	$2M
Holly Urban (36)	Conspiracy to commit bank fraud Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years	PPP	$1.5M
These COVID Fraud cases from the Orlando Division are being handled by AUSA Emily Chang
Fort Myers Division
Anthony Bruey (36) Amber Bruey (35)	Conspiracy to commit wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years Wire fraud Maximum Prison Term: 30 Years Conspiracy to commit money laundering Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years Illegal monetary transactions Maximum Prison Term: 10 Years	PPP/EIDL	$881k
Edrica Leann Watson (30)	False statement to a lending institution Maximum Prison Term: 30 Year	PPP	$392k
These COVID Fraud cases from the Fort Myers Division are being handled by AUSAs Trent Reichling and Jesus M. Casas
Sentenced Cases
Tampa Division
Louis Thornton, III (63)	Wire Fraud Sentence Imposed: 42 months in federal prison	EIDL/PPP	$815k
Kary Stevenson (48) Corey Quinn (35)	Conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft Sentence Imposed: 5 years, 10 months in federal prison (Stevenson) Sentence Imposed:7 years in federal prison (Quinn)	UI	$1M
Bridgitte Keim (52)	Bank fraud Sentence Imposed: 2 years in federal prison	PPP	$588k
Wayne Ganaway (47)	Conspiracy to commit wire fraud Sentence Imposed: 4 years in federal prison	EIDL	$300k
These COVID Fraud cases from the Tampa Division were handled by AUSAs Rachel Jones, Greg Pizzo, Tiffany Fields, and SAUSA Chris Poor
Orlando Division
Jacquavius Smith (21)	Possession of short-barreled rifle; felon in possession of firearm; and aggravated identity theft Sentence Imposed: 7 years, 1 month in federal prison	PPP	$10k
Johnson Eustache (40)	Wire fraud Sentence Imposed: 5 years in federal prison	EIDL/PPP	$2.2M
Joseph Harrison (43)	Conspiracy to commit wire fraud Sentence Imposed: 12 months in federal prison	UI	$2.1M
These COVID Fraud cases from the Orlando Division were handled by AUSAs John Gardella, Amanda Daniels, Chauncey Bratt, and Jennifer Harrington
Fort Myers Division
Casey Crowther (36)	Bank fraud, false statement to a financial institution, illegal monetary transaction Sentence Imposed: 3 years, 1 month in federal prison	PPP	$2.7M
This COVID Fraud case from the Fort Myers Division was handled by AUSA Trent Reichling
Types of Fraud* Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Unemployment Insurance (UI) Main Street Lending Program (MSLP)

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department today entered into an agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Columbus, Ohio. The department reached the agreement with Badrivishal LLC, which owns and operates the hotel. The agreement requires a series of modifications to provide better access for customers with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. 

The Civil Rights Division launched an investigation after it received a complaint from a couple who claimed that they reserved accessible rooms after being told by hotel staff that the rooms had accessible “roll-in” showers fitted for wheelchairs. Upon arrival during the Thanksgiving holiday, neither of the bathrooms had a roll-in shower and the couple were forced to find a different hotel.

The ADA requires that hotels provide access to individuals with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. After conducting an architectural assessment, the department alleged that the hotel here failed to comply with the accessibility standards under the ADA and presented barriers for people using wheelchairs. These barriers prevented such individuals from entering showers in the room, safely transferring into beds, enjoying the breakfast offered at the hotel, accessing the front desk and getting from accessible parking into the hotel.

“As the country reopens from the COVID-19 pandemic and people travel with more frequency, people using wheelchairs should not face barriers at hotels because of their disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to enforcing the rights of people with disabilities so that they may travel worry-free and enjoy access to hotels.”

Under the agreement, the hotel will remove these barriers by modifying parking spaces, building entrances, public restrooms, the front desk, drinking fountains and routes within the hotel to ensure that they are accessible. The hotel will also ensure that its rooms, including bathrooms, that are required and advertised as accessible to people who use wheelchairs are, in fact, accessible. The agreement further requires the hotel’s managers, front desk personnel and reservations staff undergo training regarding the ADA’s requirements to accommodate individuals with disabilities. Finally, the hotel will pay $20,000 in damages to the couple harmed by the discrimination.

People interested in finding out more about the agreement, or the ADA can call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access the ADA website at http://www.ada.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Mark Manigault, 44, of Philadelphia, PA was sentenced to seven years in prison, and three years of supervised release by Senior United States District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick after having been found guilty of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

In February 2020, the defendant, a four-time convicted felon and repeat parole violator, was convicted after trial of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The charges stemmed from an incident in September 2016 during which Manigault possessed a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition while loitering on a street in West Philadelphia with another armed man. Investigating Philadelphia Police officers found two firearms hidden in the wheel well of a parked car nearby. Using surveillance footage from the bar and from a private residence down the street, officers determined that Manigault and the other individual possessed the firearms and had placed them in the wheel wells.

“Prosecuting, deterring and preventing violent crime in Philadelphia are top priorities of this Office and our ‘All Hands On Deck’ initiative,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “Illegal gun possession poses a serious threat to public safety because it often leads to violence; therefore, we are committed to working with the Philadelphia Police Department and our law enforcement partners to combat this threat.”

“ATF will always investigate violent criminals found in illegal possession of firearms,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Working with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, we will do everything within our power to reduce violent crime in Philadelphia by holding violent offenders accountable for continually disregarding the law.”

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The case was investigated by Philadelphia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Zaleski.