Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SHREVEPORT, La. – Andre Deaveon Reese, 32, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Donald E. Walter to 33 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. Reese was also ordered to pay restitution to the victims in this case in the amount of $9,797.95.

According to evidence presented to the court, while serving time in the Autry State Prison (Autry) in Georgia in 2015, and continuing through July 2020, Reese participated in a scheme to defraud victims by telling them they had failed to appear for jury duty and a warrant had been issued for their arrest. To carry out this scheme, inmates used contraband cellular telephones from inside Autry to access internet websites to identify the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of potential fraud victims. Using the cellular telephones, inmates called the victims who name, and number had been obtained and made certain false misrepresentations to the victims. The inmates told the victims that they were law enforcement officials and that the victim had unlawfully failed to appear for jury duty. In addition, the victims were told that because they had failed to appear for jury duty, warrants had been issued for their arrest and the victim had a choice of being arrested on the warrant or pay a fine to have the arrest warrant dismissed.

To make the calls seem real, Reese, along with other inmates, created fictitious voicemail greetings on their contraband cellular telephones used by the inmates, identifying themselves as members of legitimate law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshal Service. For those victims who wanted to pay a fine, the inmates instructed them to purchase pre-paid cash cards and provide the account number of the cash card or the victim could wire money directly into a pre-paid debit card account held by the inmates or one of the co-conspirators. Based on these false representations, the victims electronically transferred money to the inmates because they believe that the funds would be used to pay the fine.

After a victim provided an inmate with the account number of the pre-paid cash card, the inmates then used their contraband cellular telephones to contact co-conspirators, who were not incarcerated, to have those individuals transfer the money from the cash card purchased by the victims to a pre-paid debit card possessed by the co-conspirators. The co-conspirators would then withdraw the victim’s money via an automated teller machine or at a retail store.

In August of 2016, two individuals, ages 75 and 78, living in the Western District of Louisiana, became victims of Reese’s scheme. The victims believed the callers, who were inmates posing as legitimate law enforcement officers, and followed their instructions to pay them to have the alleged warrants for their arrest for failing to appear for jury duty dismissed. The two victims $9,797.95 to Reese and his co-conspirators.

The case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Marshal Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A California man pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in a publicly traded company’s securities and manipulate the company’s stock price.  

According to court documents, Jason Nielsen, 48, of Scotts Valley, was a large shareholder of Arrayit, a publicly traded medical device company based in California. From approximately 2019 through April 2020, Nielsen engaged in an unlawful “scalping” and “spoofing” scheme to manipulate the price of Arrayit securities. Nielsen used online message boards to publicly post false and misleading information about the nature of his trading in Arrayit securities, in order to induce others to purchase Arrayit securities and thereby drive up the stock’s price, a practice known as “scalping.” 

Nielsen admitted that he placed orders to buy Arrayit stock that he intended to cancel before execution. The purpose of these orders was to deceive the public and Arrayit shareholders by signaling demand for Arrayit securities which did not exist. This allowed Nielsen to sell his shares at artificially inflated prices, a practice known as “spoofing.” While engaged in these practices, Nielsen was secretly selling his own previously acquired shares at an artificially inflated price.

Nielsen pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 24 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California; Special Agent in Charge Steven Ryan of the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office; Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group; Special Agent in Charge Kim Lampkins of the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG), Mid-Atlantic Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Bryan Denny of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s (DoD OIG) Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) made the announcement.

HHS-OIG’s San Francisco Regional Office and Detroit Regional Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, VA-OIG and DCIS investigated the case.

Acting Principal Assistant Chief Justin Weitz, Assistant Chief Jacob Foster, and Trial Attorney Laura Connelly of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lloyd Farnham of the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case. 

The Fraud Section is using the Victim Notification System (VNS) to provide victims with case information and updates related to this case. Victims with questions may contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Assistance Unit by calling the Victim Assistance phone line at 1-888-549-3945 or by emailing Victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. To learn more about victims’ rights, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-rights-derechos-de-las-v-ctimas. If you believe you are a victim, please visit https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/Nielsen.

Source: United States Department of Justice

In 2019, the Justice Department announced that it would not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against the two U.S. Park Police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Bijan Ghaisar during a traffic stop on Nov. 17, 2017. Following an extensive independent investigation, the department determined in 2019 that there was insufficient evidence to establish a willful violation of the applicable federal criminal civil rights statute. Yesterday, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division informed counsel for Ghaisar’s family that the department will not be reopening the federal investigation at this time.

To prevail under the federal civil rights statute, the Justice Department must prove that an officer, acting under color of law, willfully used unreasonable force. To establish willfulness, federal authorities must show that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. This is one of the highest standards of intent imposed by law. Mistake, misperception, negligence or poor judgment are not sufficient to establish a federal criminal civil rights violation. Federal officials determined that this legal standard could not be met and closed the investigation in 2019.

After the federal investigation was closed, the Commonwealth of Virginia initiated a criminal prosecution of the two officers involved in Ghaisar’s tragic death, charging them with involuntary manslaughter and reckless use of a firearm. The state prosecution was then transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. On Oct. 22, 2021, after consideration of evidentiary motions and briefs filed by the defendants and the Commonwealth, the U.S. District Court dismissed the Commonwealth’s criminal charges after finding the subject officers’ conduct was “necessary and proper” and “in accordance with federal law.”

Given the totality of the evidence reviewed, including the evidence amassed during the prior federal investigation, material submitted to the District Court, and the District Court’s findings and dismissal, the department does not have an adequate basis to reopen its prior investigation. The Justice Department remains committed to investigating allegations of unreasonable force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources required to ensure that all allegations of civil rights violations are thoroughly examined.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that HAROLD MORGAN JR., age 27, of Fort Washakie, Wyoming, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and resulting in serious bodily injury. Morgan appeared for an arraignment hearing on May 31, 2022, before Chief Federal District Court Magistrate Judge Kelly H. Rankin and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A trial has been set for July 13, 2022, and Morgan was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal Service.  

Morgan faces up to 20 years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This crime is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy W. Gist is prosecuting the case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Case No. 22-cr-00070-NDF