Month: June 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The former Vice President of Discovery Tours Inc., a business located in Mayfield Village, Ohio, that offered educational trips for grade school and high school students, pleaded guilty in federal court today to devising a scheme to take payments for trips and then using the funds for personal expenses.

Joseph A. Cipolletti, 47, of Hudson, Ohio, pleaded guilty to an 18-count indictment that charged him with wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and false statement under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding.

According to court documents, Cipolletti was employed as Vice President of Discovery Tours, Inc., a business that offered educational trips for students to destinations such as Washington, D.C., Chicago, Illinois, New York City, New York, Columbus, Ohio, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  Court documents state that as Vice President, Cipolletti managed the organization’s finances, general ledger entries, accounts payable and accounts receivable.  Cipolletti also had signature authority on Discovery Tours’ business bank accounts.

Court documents state that from June 2014 to May 2018, Cipolletti, as Vice President, devised a scheme to defraud parents and other student trip purchasers by diverting payments intended for these trips to his own personal use on items such as home renovations and vehicles.

As a result of Cipolletti’s actions and subsequent attempts to cover up the scheme, in May 2018, Discovery Tours abruptly ended operations and filed for bankruptcy.  Student trips to Washington, D.C. were canceled for dozens of schools across Ohio and more than 5,000 families lost the money they had previously paid for trip fees.

In addition, on December 10, 2018, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Cipolletti knowingly made statements under oath in and in relation to his organization’s bankruptcy status.  Cipolletti claimed that he did not owe his business any money when, in fact, and as he then knew, he had embezzled more than $600,000 from his place of business and made false entries in the general ledger.

The total amount of loss will be determined by the Court at sentencing.

Cipolletti is scheduled to be sentenced on November 29, 2022.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. McDonough.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio would like to acknowledge and thank the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Summit County, Geauga County, and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Offices for their cooperation with this matter.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HOUSTON – A 34-year-old Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer is now in custody for allegedly violating a passenger’s civil rights and obstruction, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Law enforcement arrested Christopher Edwards Dowell, Conroe, today. He is expected to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena H. Palermo at 1 p.m.  

A federal grand jury returned the sealed two-count indictment June 9, which was unsealed today upon his arrest. 

The charges allege Dowell deprived a female of her civil rights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. While conducting a secondary inspection, he allegedly touched the victim’s breasts without her consent. He then engaged in obstruction by attempting to cover up the incident with information he submitted in the secondary inspection report, according to the indictment. 

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for obstruction as well as another year for the violation of civil rights. The obstruction and civil rights charges also carry potential fines of $250,000 and $100,000, respectively. 

The Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Suh is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Samuel Bullock, 72, of Langhorne, PA, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,501,261 restitution by United States District Court Judge Michael M. Baylson for his orchestration of a tax fraud scheme to avoid paying nearly $1.3 million in federal income taxes, and millions more in interest and penalties.

In February 2022, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false federal tax return, and one count of willful failure to file a federal tax return, all relating to his efforts to avoid paying taxes on income from his construction business. In 2009, after the defendant had repeatedly failed to file his federal income tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service secured liens for more than $1.9 million that the defendant owed in taxes, interest and penalties. The defendant responded by taking steps to avoid collection by arranging to have his business income paid over to a sole proprietorship that he had set up in the name of his spouse, including providing his clients with new Forms W-9 with his spouse’s Social Security number and opening a new business checking account in his spouse’s name as the alleged sole proprietor. The defendant then reported his own income on the tax return of his spouse, using the filing status “Married filing separately.” Although he was aware that he had earned income and was obliged to file a federal income tax return, Bullock failed to do so.

“Samuel Bullock’s scheme to enrich himself and avoid paying his fair share of income taxes victimized honest American taxpayers and business owners who do pay their tax obligations,” U.S. Attorney Williams said. “By ignoring the IRS and its legitimate demands for information from him, the defendant created a self-inflicted wound: compounding his already-significant tax debt. This type of fraud will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted by this Office.”

“Every American who pays his or her taxes can breathe easy knowing that tax cheats, like Mr. Bullock, are being held accountable,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty. “IRS-CI has several investigative tools at its disposal to detect schemes like this. Those who think that they can outsmart the IRS should think again.”

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Abrams.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a former Box Elder Police Department officer who resided at Ellsworth Air Force Base, near Rapid City, South Dakota, was sentenced on May 27, 2022, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Ricardo Edward Franc Olandez, age 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2021 for numerous counts of sexual abuse.  Olandez pleaded guilty to Aggravated Sexual Abuse on November 5, 2021.  Olandez was sentenced to 13 years and four months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

The conviction relates to Olandez forcing a minor female to engage in sexual acts with him in 2021 on the Ellsworth Air Force Base. 

This case was investigated by the Department of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Sazama prosecuted the case.

Olandez was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.  

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment yesterday charging LUIS JAVIER LOPEZ, 23, of New Britain, with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.

The indictment alleges that, on February 26, 2022, Lopez possessed a loaded Taurus G3 9mm pistol and a magazine containing 9mm ammunition.

It is further alleged that Lopez has been previously convicted in state court of possession with intent to sell a controlled substance.  It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.

The indictment charges Lopez with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of possession of ammunition by a felon.  Each charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Lopez has been detained since his arrest on related state charges by Hartford Police on February 26, 2022.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Hartford Police Department.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and Angel M. Krull.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.