Month: May 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE – A registered sex offender convicted in Rhode Island state court in 1999 on charges of first and second degree child molestation and sentenced to fifteen years to serve in state prison, was sentenced today to ten years in federal prison, following his conviction in federal court in October 2019 on a charge of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

In January 2019, Peter R. Medeiros, 59, of Pawtucket, while on state probation, was found by the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) to have downloaded 268 image files of child pornography depicting prepubescent minors, some as young as infants, and images depicting sadistic/ masochistic/ violent sexually explicit conduct.

The ICAC Task Force was alerted to Mr. Medeiros’ online activities by virtue of a Cybertip Report sent by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Medeiros was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to 120 months in federal prison to be followed by lifetime federal supervised release. The court ordered Medeiros to pay $3,000 restitution to each victim depicted in the images he possessed that requested compensation.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston woman was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in Kanawha County.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Angie Lane Harbour, 40, was a drug courier for a methamphetamine distribution organization operating in and around Charleston. Harbour acted as a driver for members of the organization both locally and during resupply trips out-of-state. On August 4, 2021, Harbour was driving co-conspirators Brian D’Angelo Terry and Brittany Frances Gilbert back to West Virginia from a resupply trip to Columbus, Ohio, when they were stopped by police in Cross Lanes.  Police seized approximately 1 pound of methamphetamine from the vehicle.

Harbour pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and is one of 17 defendants charged as a result of the investigation. Terry and Gilbert have also pleaded guilty as have Ramon David Alston, Treydan Leon Burks, Jason Robert Oxley, Jonathan Gregory Bush, James Edward Bennett, III, Kaitlyn Brooke Combs, Kelly Cordle, Denise Marie Cottrill, Shane Kelly Fulkerson, Jason Robert Oxley, and Michael Antonio Smith. Timothy Wayne Dodd was convicted on March 24, 2022, following a two-day jury trial. Scott Edward Hudson, Leo Antoine Smith and Douglas Johnathan Wesley are scheduled for trial on May 24, 2022.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

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. 2:21-cr-171, 2:21-cr-172, 2:21-cr-211, and 2:22-cr-90.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

STARKVILLE, Miss. – A Starkville man pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of more than $6 million in COVID-19 relief loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

According to court documents, Christopher Paul Lick, 47, of Starkville devised a scheme to defraud, and to obtain PPP funds, by filing false and fraudulent loan applications with banks providing loans as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. Lick admitted to overstating the number of employees and payroll expenses of his purported businesses to receive PPP funds. Rather than use the PPP funds for his businesses, Lick admitted to purchasing a home valued at more than $1 million and to using the PPP funds for personal investments in the stock market.

“The amount of PPP fraud and EIDL loan fraud committed in this district and nationwide is staggering,” stated United States Attorney Clay Joyner. “The CARES Act loan programs were intended to help small businesses and families struggling to survive during a difficult pandemic. Unfortunately, far too many individuals like the defendant abused these programs for their own personal benefit. Today’s guilty plea is a significant step in bringing to justice those who abused these programs, but it is only the first step. Our office will continue to prosecute violations of the CARES Act—large or small—in an effort to recover as many stolen taxpayer dollars as possible.”

Lick is scheduled to be sentenced on August 12, 2022, before Senior District Judge Glen Davidson and faces up to 30 years in federal prison.

The FBI’s Oxford Resident Agency is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Levy and AUSA Sam Wright are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, FL – A Florida man was sentenced today to life in prison for traveling from Florida to Vietnam to engage in sex acts with numerous Vietnamese minors he had met and communicated with over the internet.

Christopher Edwin Day, 52, of Saint Petersburg, pleaded guilty to two counts of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and two counts of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor into illegal sexual activity in February 2020. According to documents filed with the court and statements made in connection with Day’s plea and sentencing, on two separate occasions in 2015 and 2016, Day traveled from Florida to Vietnam to engage in sex acts with minor Vietnamese boys. According to court documents, Day flew back and forth to Vietnam under the guise that he was an English teacher, and some boys were lured to Day with promises of money and gifts while others were introduced to Day as their English teacher.  

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Dumas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa made the announcement. 

The case was investigated by HSI agents in Tampa and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Candace Garcia Rich for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.

“The laws of the United States will still catch up to child predators who even travel to foreign countries to sexually abuse minor children,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Dumas. “Thanks to HSI’s international investigative authorities and strong partnerships, both at HSI Tampa and HSI Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, this sexual predator was stopped from harming more children and his victim will have the justice they deserve.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

McALLEN, Texas – A 43-year-old McAllen resident has been ordered to federal prison for receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Ramiro Vasquez pleaded guilty March 3, 2021.  

Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane imposed a 121-month term of imprisonment. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the amount of child pornography Vasquez had downloaded. The court also ordered him to pay $3,000 in restitution to each of the 20 identified victims. Judge Crane further noted Vasquez’s employment as an instructional assistant for a McAllen Independent School District elementary school. Vasquez must also serve eight years on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Vasquez will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

In January 2020, authorities began an investigation into child sexual abuse material sharing on the internet. This led them to Vasquez and his address in McAllen.

Law enforcement executed a search at his residence and seized multiple electronic and digital devices. During this time, they noted one of the devices was currently in the process of downloading child sexual abuse material. Forensic analysis resulted in the discovery of 8,601 unique images and 1,366 videos of child sexual abuse material.

Vasquez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations – Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Mitchell is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.