Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALEXANDRIA, La. – A federal prisoner housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Pollock, Louisiana (FCI-Pollock) has been sentenced for voluntary manslaughter, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. Jose G. Mercado-Gonzalez, 27, has been sentenced by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to spend an additional 135 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for this offense.

On October 16, 2021, Mercado-Gonzalez was an inmate at the Bureau of Prisons, FCI-Pollock. On that date, Mercado-Gonzalez was moved to a cell in the Special Housing Unit at FCI-Pollock where he had an altercation which ended in him killing his cellmate. When the victim was found by officers at the prison, he had sustained injuries which caused him to lose his life.

A federal grand jury charged Mercado-Gonzalez on March 24, 2021 and he pleaded guilty to the charge of voluntary manslaughter on March 17, 2022.  At the time of this offense, Mercado-Gonzalez was serving a federal sentence for re-entry of a removed alien.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHICAGO — A man who illegally possessed a loaded handgun on a Chicago sidewalk and tried to flee from police has been sentenced to nearly seven years in federal prison.

LAMONT HAGGARD illegally possessed the firearm on the evening of Jan. 4, 2019.  Chicago Police tactical officers observed Haggard reach for an object in his waistband while walking on a sidewalk in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on the city’s West Side.  Haggard ran from the officers and discarded the gun in a vacant lot before he was arrested in an outdoor stairwell in the rear of a nearby apartment building.

Haggard, 32, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal charge of illegal possession of a firearm.  Haggard had previously been convicted of multiple state felonies and was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Norgle on June 24, 2022, imposed an 80-month prison sentence.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“The possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is serious in nature,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron R. Bond argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “The presence of this loaded firearm in the hands of defendant, and his actions when he possessed it, were a recipe for potential disaster.”

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Federal agents arrested a former member of the Ohio National Guard this morning on charges related to making and selling “ghost guns,” untraceable homemade weapons made in whole or in part with a 3D printer.

Thomas Develin, 24, of Columbus, also allegedly made antisemitic and violent statements while employed to provide security services at local synagogues and Jewish schools.

It is alleged that Develin created ghost guns to sell for profit. It also alleged that Develin possessed homemade conversion devices to convert semi-automatic AR-15 rifles and Glock-type pistols into fully automatic machine guns.

Agents discovered more than 25 firearms in Develin’s residence and vehicle while executing a search warrant in March 2022.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Develin’s Discord and Snapchat activity online revealed a large quantity of antisemitic, white nationalist, racist and misogynistic content. Develin used the fictional name “Patrick Bateman” online.

For example:

• In September 2021, it is alleged Develin posted a picture of the synagogue where he was working at the time and stated, in part, “Having an inner debate that if an active shooter comes in I might just join him.”

• In November 2021, Develin allegedly posted a video of himself sniffing a rifle. In the video, Develin says, “This one smells like dead Jews.”

• In a December 2021 Discord post, Develin allegedly wrote, “Ight, time to turn wright pat airbase into Fort hood in 2009.”

• In January 2022, Develin allegedly posted a picture of a New Albany synagogue with the text, “The holocaust didn’t happen” and “If anything I’ll scream 6 million wasn’t enough.”

• A Snapchat video in March 2022 shows Develin displaying a firearm at a Jewish school in Columbus.

• Develin also allegedly posted multiple times advocating the rape of women.

• Additional messages Develin posted online discussed committing terrorist attacks at John Glenn International Airport and at the Budweiser manufacturing facility in Columbus, and killing a Morgan County Sheriff’s deputy and the deputy’s entire family.

The defendant has been charged in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas with various crimes, including making terroristic threats. Those charges remain pending.

Develin will appear in U.S. District Court this afternoon regarding his federal charges.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the charges. The agencies were assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant United States Attorneys Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and Jessica W. Knight are representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

This morning the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta. This decision holds that the State of Oklahoma has concurrent jurisdiction with the federal government to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indian victims within Indian Country.

“Today’s decision does not diminish the United States’ trust responsibility to our tribal partners,” said United States Attorneys Christopher J. Wilson, Clinton J. Johnson, and Robert J. Troester. “The United States Attorney’s Offices in the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma will continue to enforce federal law in Indian Country. We will also continue to coordinate and cooperate with our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners as well as state and tribal prosecutors to promote public safety and provide justice to all Oklahomans in Indian Country.”

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Miami, Florida – Habana Hospital Pharmacy, Inc., Longevity Drugs, LLC, and Forest Hill Pharmacy, LLC, all Florida-based pharmacies, have agreed to pay $830,707.19 to resolve allegations they fraudulently used collaborative pharmacy practice agreements to bill federal health care programs for unlawfully prescribed medications.

The United States previously alleged that five Florida-based pharmacies, including Habana Hospital Pharmacy, Inc., Longevity Drugs, LLC, Forest Hills Pharmacy, LLC, APB&J Holdings Corporation, and Tropic Pharmacy Holdings, Inc., violated the False Claims Act through the fraudulent use of collaborative pharmacy practice agreements.  Representatives of the five pharmacies signed the settlement agreement.

A collaborative pharmacy practice agreement is a written agreement between a physician and pharmacist that allows the pharmacist to provide specific patient care services for chronic health conditions to the physician’s patients.  Services provided by the pharmacist are outlined in the written agreement and must be in accordance with Florida law. 

The United States previously alleged that the settling pharmacies used unlawful collaborative practice agreements to delegate prescribing authority from physicians to pharmacists, resulting in unlawful prescriptions, and used the same collaborative practice agreements to write and fill prescriptions without any physician involvement.  It was alleged that the fraudulent scheme resulted in the submission of false claims to federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Omar Pérez Aybar, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), announced the settlement.

The settlement resolved allegations in a lawsuit filed by Beatriz Morales in federal court in Miami, Florida.  The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  The Act allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in this case.  The whistleblower share to be awarded in connection with the settlement is $166,141.44. 

HHS-OIG investigated the matter.  Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Feeley handled the litigation.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 17-cv-80871. 

A copy of the settlement agreement is available here.

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