Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to victimizing more than 500 minor girls across the country in an extensive online sextortion scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, for approximately five years, Yue Vang, 31, created and used multiple Internet applications and social media services, including Kik, Snapchat, and Skype, to communicate with hundreds of minor girls throughout the United States and elsewhere. Vang created fake female personae to prey on vulnerable minor girls he met online in order to entice and coerce them to create sexually explicit images and videos to send to him. Vang also threatened to disseminate sexually explicit images of the minor victims to their family members, friends, and classmates, unless they created and sent him additional images and videos of themselves nude or engaging in sexually explicit conduct. For example, in June 2016, Vang contacted a 15-year-old girl and threatened to distribute sexually explicit pictures of her to her classmates and parents to “ruin her life” unless she complied with Vang’s demands to send additional sexually explicit images and videos.

Vang pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort. Vang was ordered to remain in detention pending his sentencing hearing, which will be scheduled at a later date.

To date, at least 500 minor females have been identified, although law enforcement is attempting to confirm the identity of many other victims. Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Vang’s offenses or who has information about this matter is encouraged to visit www.fbi.gov/resources/victim-services/seeking-victim-information/seeking-victims-in-yue-vang-investigation or www.Justice.gov/usao-mn/child-sextortion-victim-information.

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.projectsafechildhood.gov. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Minneapolis Field Office and multiple FBI Field Offices, the St. Paul Police Department, the Minnesota ICAC Task Force, the Chandler (Arizona) Police Department, the Delhi Township (Ohio) Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea A. Walcker and Miranda E. Dugi are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Dodge County man was sentenced to 72 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for impersonating a federal officer and illegally possessing firearms as a felon, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on August 17, 2021, the FBI received a tip that Reyel Devon Simmons, 53, was pretending to be a federal agent with the United States Department of Homeland Security. As part of his impersonation scheme, Simmons established a TikTok profile, using the false name “Rey Reeves,” and regularly held himself out as a federal agent on social media. Simmons, who had nearly 10,000 followers on TikTok, used a profile photo that showed him wearing law enforcement gear and made several posts displaying law enforcement equipment, badges, and firearms, and referring explicitly and implicitly to himself as a federal agent. At no time has Simmons ever been employed by the United States Department of Homeland Security.  Similarly, Simmons has never been a sworn law enforcement officer with any federal, state, or local agency, nor has he ever had the authority to act on behalf of any federal agency or department.

According to court documents, Simmons regularly carried a backpack, which he described as his “go bag.” The bag bore the departmental emblem of the Department of Homeland Security and contained a Glock handgun, fake Department of Homeland Security badge, and other items related to Simmons’s supposed service in law enforcement and the military. Law enforcement seized from Simmons’s residence eight firearms, including handguns and rifles, some of which were discovered in a “safe room” or bunker that could be accessed only through a hidden doorway located in a storage area of the basement. In addition, Simmons admitted to possessing unregistered silencers/suppressors, detonating cord containing the explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a blasting cap, thousands of rounds of ammunition, body armor with law enforcement emblems affixed to it, and other law enforcement style badges, clothing, bags, and identification documents.

Because Simmons has a prior felony conviction in Colorado, he is prohibited under federal law, from possessing firearms, ammunition, or explosives at any time.

Simmons was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud. On January 21, 2022, Simmons pleaded guilty to one count of impersonating an officer of the United States and one count of possessing firearms as a felon.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, ATF, Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, Owatonna Police Department, Kasson Police Department, and the Bloomington Police Department Bomb Squad, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander D. Chiquoine prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Also Admitted to Possessing Sexually Explicit Material of a 17-Year-Old Former Student

Source: United States Department of Justice News

           Montgomery, Alabama – On Thursday, June 2, 2022, Eric Michael Caylor, a 40-year-old man from Enterprise, Alabama, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for attempting to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. Following his prison sentence, Caylor will be on supervised release for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.

            According to Caylor’s plea agreement and other court records, in early 2019, Postal Inspectors noticed that Caylor was receiving suspicious packages through the mail. Further investigation revealed that Caylor was ordering controlled substances on the dark web and paying for them using Bitcoin. During Caylor’s plea hearing in February of 2022, he specifically admitted that, on May 2, 2019, he attempted to possess a package that he knew contained methamphetamine. Caylor also admitted to previously receiving packages containing controlled substances and sharing or trading the drugs with others.

           This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Russell T. Duraski prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced today that the United States has resolved a discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act against Ikonik Ink Tattoo.

Ikonik is a tattoo and piercing shop located in Lakewood, Colorado.  An individual who has HIV alleged that in March 2020, he asked Ikonik for a tattoo with a design related to his HIV status.  The individual claimed that after requesting the tattoo and disclosing his HIV status, he was refused service by a tattoo artist who worked at the Ikonik studio.  The individual then filed a complaint with the Department of Justice under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  That Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, which includes people who have been diagnosed with HIV. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office then took steps to address the complaint and resolve the matter.  Ikonik agreed to pay $4,400 in compensatory damages to the complainant, and the tattoo artist also agreed to pay $500 to the complainant.  Ikonik also agreed to develop a non-discrimination policy, train its employees on the policy, and to cease asking potential customers about their HIV status.   

“People with HIV have the right to equal access to businesses and services,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan.  “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that those living with HIV do not face discriminatory barriers in any part of their everyday lives.”

This matter is part of an ongoing effort by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to enforce Title III of the ADA against companies and service providers that discriminate against individuals with HIV. 

This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeyen Wu.

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