Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BRUNSWICK, GA:  A Glynn County man awaits sentencing after admitting in U.S. District Court that he threatened to blow up an Internal Revenue Service office in New York.

Benjamin Stasko, 34, of St. Simons Island, pled guilty to Interstate Transmission of a Threat to Injure, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to five years in federal prison, along with substantial financial penalties and up to three years of supervised release after completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“We will not tolerate threats of violence against public institutions, and will vigorously pursue anyone who would perpetrate such crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Benjamin Stasko’s admission of guilt will deliver justice for his dangerous and ill-advised threat.”

Stasko admitted that on July 6, 2020, he posted a comment on a federal agency’s website, alleging that a pipe bomb had been planted in the Ted Weiss Federal Building in New York, New York, as a threat directed toward the Internal Revenue Service. Federal Protective Service officers with bomb sniffing dogs and officers from the New York Police Department searched the facility and found no explosives. Investigators later located and arrested Stasko in St. Simons.

“One of the core tenets of the mission of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is to protect IRS personnel and property,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector for Tax Administration. “We are grateful for the assistance of our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office ensuring this individual is held to account.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Treasury, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; the New York Police Department and the Brunswick Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys E. Gregory Gilluly Jr. and Joshua S. Bearden.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HOUSTON – A 49-year-old out-of-state man has pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed money transmitting business, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Hien Ngoc Vo, Seattle, Washington, admitted that between March 16, 2016, and June 8, 2016, he operated a prohibited cryptocurrency business in the Houston area. 

Vo used Paxful and LocalBitcoins to buy and sell Bitcoin – websites where people can buy and sell cryptocurrencies. He profited from sales by collecting a percentage of the transactions which ranged from 5-30%. During the transactions, Vo did not ask clients for any form of identification nor the purpose for which they were purchasing the cryptocurrency.

Vo received funds in the form of cash, direct bank deposits, American Express credit cards as well as Amazon and generic gift cards. He used several bank accounts to conduct his business, but the banks shut down the accounts after inquiring about the origination of the funds.

During the course of three months, the unlicensed money transmitting business received and transmitted approximately $515,147.19 in Bitcoin.

Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal will impose sentencing Sept. 5. At that time, Vo faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

He was permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rodolfo Ramirez is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ABINGDON, Va. – A North Tazewell, Virginia woman who stole more than $255,000 in Black Lung and Social Security benefits pled guilty last week in U.S. District Court.

Martha Patrick Williams, 79, waived her right to be indicted and pled guilty last week to one count of receipt and conversion of public monies and one count of fraud in connection with Black Lung benefits and the receipt of Social Security benefits in the name of her long-deceased mother.  The charges to which she pled guilty have a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years.

According to court documents, Williams is the daughter of Gracie Neel Winningham, who died in 2003. Winningham had been a lawful recipient of Federal Black Lung benefits which were designed to provide financial compensation to qualified disabled coal miners and managed by the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers Compensation Program – Division of Coal Mine Workers Compensation.  

Following Winningham’s death in 2003 and continuing until 2021, Williams received, endorsed, and deposited monthly Black Lung benefit checks made payable to her mother. In order to continue to receive these checks, Williams forged her mother’s signature on DOL Form CM-929, the annual certification of personal information required by the DOL.  On several occasions, Williams communicated with others posing as Winningham.  Williams also received, endorsed, and deposited monthly Social Security payments made payable to her deceased mother.

In all, Williams received $255,823 in both Black Lung and Social Security benefits to which she was not entitled.

U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh of the Western District of Virginia made the announcement.

The Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration, and the Russell County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Murphy is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

          LOS ANGELES – An Oklahoma man who grew up in Los Angeles was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging that he telephoned bomb threats to five Los Angeles schools, including two elementary schools, and also threatened to shoot the children as they exited one of the elementary schools.

          Marcus James Buchanan, 44, of Blackwell, Oklahoma, is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Wichita, Kansas.

          Buchanan is charged with one count of making a threat through interstate commerce to damage or destroy buildings by fire or explosives.

          According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, during a period of less than two hours on the morning of February 28, Buchanan called in bomb threats to two elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school in Los Angeles. In a call to one of the elementary schools, Buchanan allegedly threatened to shoot the children as they exited the building.

          On April 27 and 28, Buchanan allegedly called in additional bomb threats to two of the Los Angeles schools he previously threatened, and threatened to shoot and kill children at other schools. On the afternoon of April 27, Buchanan called an elementary school and said to a school employee, “There is a bomb at your school and we will shoot the kids when they get out of the school. That is what you get for not accepting me in ’86,” according to the affidavit. When the employee asked who was calling, Buchanan allegedly responded, “If you try to find out, I will shoot you.” After receiving the threat, the school staff notified police and placed the school on lockdown. Police searched the campus for explosives or unusual items but found none.

          On April 28, Buchanan allegedly called the same school again and said there was a pipe bomb placed at the school’s address. After receiving the bomb threat, the school staff notified police and placed the school on lockdown. Police searched the campus for explosives or unusual items but found none.

          That same day, Buchanan allegedly called a different elementary school and said, “Stop playing games you know who this is. I am going to shoot the school. I know the kids are there.” Afterwards, the school was placed on lockdown, but – as with all the incidents – no explosives or unusual items were found.

          Phone records indicated that the threatening calls came from a number identified with Buchanan, the affidavit states.

          A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

          If convicted, Buchanan would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

          The FBI and the Los Angeles School Police Department investigated this matter.

          Assistant United States Attorney Morgan J. Cohen of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The last of 19 defendants to be convicted in a Columbus gang-related racketeering conspiracy was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 40 years in prison.

Shawn Nelms, 29, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to his part in furthering the violence of the local Crips gang known as T&A. The racketeering conspiracy first charged in 2018 includes five murders, at least 26 attempted murders, and other violent and drug-trafficking crimes.

Nelms participated in the 2013 murder of William Moore. Nelms and others spotted Moore, a rival Poindexter Thug Life Bloods gang member, walking on Mount Vernon Ave. and agreed to kill the man for the purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions within T&A.

Nelms also participated in the 2012 gang-related murder of Franky Tention on Ellison Street in Columbus.

According to his plea, in 2011, Nelms shot a separate victim in the chest, and the man survived. During a robbery in 2011, one of several rounds shot by Nelms went into a nearby house and struck a young girl, who also survived.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Travis S. Riddle, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; and United States Marshal Pete Tobin announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin W. Kelley and Noah R. Litton are representing the United States in this case.

 

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