Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal grand jury in Central Islip, New York, returned an indictment last week charging a New York businessman with filing false business and individual tax returns with the IRS.

According to the indictment, Pawel Bartoszek, of Lake Grove, owned and operated Mega State Inc., a construction company. From 2015 through 2017, Bartoszek and individuals acting at his direction allegedly cashed more than $6 million in checks from Mega State clients at a check-cashing business, instead of depositing those funds into Mega State’s business bank account. Bartoszek then allegedly used some of this cash to fund an “off the books” cash payroll for Mega State. The indictment also charges that Bartoszek did not inform his return preparer about the cashed checks, thereby enabling Bartoszek to underreport Mega State’s gross receipts, sales and ordinary business income, as well as his 2015-2017 personal total income. As a result, Bartoszek allegedly filed false tax returns with the IRS for Mega State and himself for each of those years.

Bartoszek was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Tiscione of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. If convicted, Bartoszek faces a maximum of three years in prison for each of six counts of filing a false tax return. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Ann Marie Cherry and Catriona Coppler of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A man who defrauded an investor and two banks out of at least $8.4 million was sentenced Wednesday in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Chief U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III sentenced William Brian Mulder, 64, of Tulsa to 84 months in federal prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was further ordered to pay to pay $4.5 million in restitution to the investor and $3.9 million in restitution to Firstar Bank and BancFirst.

“William Mulder portrayed himself as a successful investor, trusted mentor and friend, but it was a façade. Instead, he was a con artist who defrauded his friends and banks for years in an effort to sustain a lifestyle beyond his means,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “This 7-year sentence reflects the egregious nature of the defendant’s longstanding criminal deceit. Our federal law enforcement partners are to be commended for exposing Mulder’s elaborate web of lies and ensuring justice for the victims in this case.”

“To support his extravagant lifestyle, Mr. Mulder meticulously deceived victims based in our community for years,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray. “Mulder’s sprawling web of lies and fraud was only untangled through the tenacious effort of FBI agents working in partnership with investigators from the IRS, Treasury Department, and FDIC. Mr. Mulder’s sentence should give pause to other con-men seeking to defraud Oklahoma citizens and businesses.”

“William Mulder used deceit and trickery to defraud trusting friends and investors of their hard-earned money,” said Christopher J. Altemus, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Dallas Field Office. “IRS-CI special agents are committed to using their forensic accounting skills to help unravel complex fraud and money laundering schemes. Today’s sentencing demonstrates how federal law enforcement will band together to help put an end to the criminal behavior of those who prey on investors for their own financial gain.”

On Oct. 19, 2021, Mulder pleaded guilty to causing the interstate transmission of moneys taken by fraud and money laundering. He was set to begin trial at the time but opted to plead guilty instead.

According to court documents, Mulder misrepresented himself as worth millions to friends. Mulder told several individuals that a wealthy Missouri widow had left him over $100 million in a blind trust in appreciation for his services as an insurance salesman for the widow. In another story, he said he was the beneficiary of a different blind trust worth hundreds of millions of dollars from his father. Mulder convinced his friends that if they pooled their investments with his fortune, they could grow their money faster. The government asserted there were no investments made by Mulder on their behalf but instead, Mulder deposited checks into his personal bank accounts and used the funds to pay off credit card debts and to run a coffee shop chain.

To cover his tracks, Mulder created a web of convoluted rules and restrictions to keep the victims from seeing the progress of their investments. He also moved money between more than 60 bank accounts to make it difficult for the investors and law enforcement to follow the trail of money.

In his plea agreement, Mulder specifically admitted that beginning in 2000 and continuing through 2017, he received numerous checks totaling approximately $4.5 million from the investor, who was a local businessman and friend to Mulder. Mulder advised the victim to create a trust for his special needs son for which Mulder would be the trustee and have complete discretion and control. Mulder told the victim that he would prudently invest the funds on the son’s behalf. Instead, Mulder used the funds for his own personal expenses and to enrich himself.

Mulder also admitted that in December 2015, he fraudulently received a check from the victim in the amount of $142,500 and deposited funds from the check in the amount of $83,378.54 into his personal account, which he later used on a personal investment in generators in Missouri.

Further, Mulder admitted that he lied about his assets and submitted fabricated documents to obtain loans from Oklahoma banks in order to support a lifestyle he couldn’t afford on his own.

Prosecutors contended that Mulder applied for and received loans worth millions of dollars from five banks. From 2004 to 2014, Mulder obtained the loans by pledging phony collateral that included fictitious life insurance policies supposedly issued by Merrill Lynch that appeared to insure Mulder and his family members. Mulder used the same phony policy numbers with every new bank he swindled, adding new phony policies as he went. To secure each loan, he provided the banks with the same types of fabricated records and documents. On some of the documents, Mulder forged the signature of a former Merrill Lynch colleague. Mulder was able to pay off three of the banks by obtaining new loans from other banks. Ultimately, two banks— Firstbank and BancFirst— suffered about $3.9 million in losses.

Prosecutors asserted that Mulder further tried to impede the federal investigation into his criminal conduct by fabricating a story blaming one of his bankers for creating the fictitious life insurance policies in Mulder’s and his family members’ names. Agents debunked the claim based on the evidence that Mulder began his scheme long before he ever met the accused banker.

Mulder was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will be transferred to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.

The FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Inspector General; and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas E. Duncombe, Vani Singhal, and Kevin C. Leitch prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MISSOULA  — A Butte man who was on state supervision for felony convictions was sentenced today to 54 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after he admitted to illegally possessing nine firearms, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.

Richard Daniel White, 35, pleaded guilty in February to prohibited person in possession of firearms.

U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.

The government alleged in court documents that in February 2020, White, a convicted felon on state supervision, possessed nine firearms and ammunition in his residence during a probation search. State probation officers conducted a search based on a positive urine analysis test for methamphetamine and information that White possessed stolen firearms. One of the semiautomatic firearms White possessed was capable of accepting a large capacity magazine, and there were several magazines capable of accepting more than 15 rounds of ammunition in his bedroom with the firearm. At the time of offense, White was on state supervision for three separate felony cases of criminal endangerment, criminal possession of dangerous drugs and attempted theft and criminal mischief.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Montana Probation and Parole and the Butte Silver Bow Law Enforcement Agency.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative to reduce violent crime. Through PSN, federal, tribal, state and local law enforcement partners in Montana focus on violent crime driven by methamphetamine trafficking, armed robbers, firearms offenses and violent offenders with outstanding warrants.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that MANSUR MOHAMED SURUR, a/k/a “Mansour,” a Kenyan citizen, pled guilty to conspiring to traffic in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both endangered wildlife species, which involved the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than 100 elephants.  SURUR also pled guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin to a buyer located in the United States.

Two of SURUR’s co-defendants, MOAZU KROMAH, a/k/a “Ayoub,” a/k/a “Ayuba,” a/k/a “Kampala Man,” a citizen of Liberia, and AMARA CHERIF, a/k/a “Bamba Issiaka,” a citizen of Guinea, previously pled guilty on March 30, 2022, and April 27, 2022, respectively to conspiring to traffic in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, as well as substantive charges of trafficking in rhinoceros horns.  The remaining defendants, BADRU ABDUL AZIZ SALEH, a/k/a “Badro,” and ABDI HUSSEIN AHMED, a/k/a “Abu Khadi,” are both citizens of Kenya.  SALEH is in custody in Kenya based on a U.S. extradition request, and AHMED remains a fugitive.  The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $1,000,000 for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction, and any information may be provided to FWS_TIPS@fws.gov or by calling 1-844-FWS-TIPS.  

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “The protection of endangered wildlife and natural resources is a crucial and important priority for my Office.  These defendants were responsible for furthering an industry that illegally slaughters species protected by international agreements around the world.  One of these defendants also engaged in a narcotics conspiracy involving a large quantity of heroin.  Thanks to the tireless efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, these defendants have now pled guilty to the serious and destructive crimes they committed.”

According to the charging and other documents filed in the case, as well as statements made during the plea and other proceedings:

KROMAH, CHERIF, and SURUR were members of a transnational criminal enterprise (the “Enterprise”) based in Uganda and surrounding countries that was engaged in the large-scale trafficking and smuggling of rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both protected wildlife species.  Trade involving endangered or threatened species violates several U.S. laws, as well as international treaties implemented by certain U.S. laws.

From at least in or about December 2012 through at least in or about May 2019, KROMAH, CHERIF, SURUR, and others conspired to transport, distribute, sell, and smuggle at least approximately 190 kilograms of rhinoceros horns and at least approximately 10 tons of elephant ivory from or involving various countries in East Africa, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, and Tanzania, to buyers located in the United States and countries in Southeast Asia.  Such weights of rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory are estimated to have involved the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than approximately 100 elephants.  In total, the estimated average retail value of the rhinoceros horn involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately $3.4 million, and the estimated average retail value of the elephant ivory involved in the conspiracy was at least approximately $4 million.

Typically, the defendants exported and agreed to export rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory for delivery to foreign buyers, including certain rhinoceros horns to a buyer represented to be in Manhattan, in packaging that concealed the horns in, among other things, pieces of art such as African masks and statues.  The defendants received and deposited payments from foreign customers that were sent in the form of international wire transfers, some of which were sent through U.S. financial institutions, and paid in cash.

On or about March 16, 2018, law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing a black rhinoceros horn sold by the defendants that was intended for a buyer represented to be in Manhattan.  From in or about March 2018 through in or about May 2018, the defendants offered to sell additional rhinoceros horns of varying weights, including horns weighing up to approximately seven kilograms.  On or about July 17, 2018, law enforcement agents intercepted a package containing two rhinoceros horns sold by the defendants that were intended for a buyer represented to be in Manhattan.

Separately, from at least in or about August 2018 through at least in or about May 2019, SURUR conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a large quantity of heroin to a buyer represented to be located in New York.

KROMAH previously was expelled to the United States from Uganda, while CHERIF and SURUR were extradited from Senegal and Kenya, respectively.  The defendants have been detained since their arrest and arrival in this country.

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KROMAH, 52; CHERIF, 57; and SURUR, 62, each pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wildlife trafficking, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  In addition, KROMAH and CHERIF both pled to two counts of wildlife trafficking, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and SURUR also pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and he thanked law enforcement authorities and conservation partners in Uganda and Kenya, including the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Uganda Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, the Uganda Police Force, the Kenya Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and the Kenyan Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, for their assistance in this investigation.  Mr. Williams also thanked the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Sagar K. Ravi and Jarrod L. Schaeffer are in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Ocala, Florida –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Aleia Deborah Green (20, Brooksville) today pleaded guilty to possession of stolen mail. Green faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Green had been indicted on February 15, 2022.

According to court records, Green worked as a contract mail carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS) delivering mail for the Crystal River Post Office. On October 13, 2021, the USPS – Office of Inspector General (OIG) received complaints of mail theft from Green’s route. On October 19, 2021, special agents from the USPS OIG conducted surveillance at a neighborhood cluster box on Green’s route. The agents put a piece of mail containing United States currency in the outgoing mail, and within an hour-and-a-half, Green had opened the mail and taken the money. When confronted by the agents, Green admitted to opening the mail and taking the money. Green advised that she has been opening mail along her route since August 2021, and that she had opened approximately 100 pieces of mail.

This case was investigated by the U.S. States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk.