Month: July 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Tulsa man was sentenced Thursday in federal court to more than nine years in prison after being found with a firearm, ammunition and two stolen vehicles, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Chief U.S. District Judge John F. Heil III sentenced Corey Keith Gregory Jr., 43, to 115 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

“All too often felons who illegally possess firearms continue their criminal behavior and threaten public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “My office and our law enforcement partners will continue to work side by side to hold individuals like Corey Gregory accountable for the harm they cause to communities across Oklahoma.”

Gregory pleaded guilty on Jan. 12, 2022, to felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, two counts of receipt of stolen property in Indian Country, and felon in possession of ammunition.

According to court documents, on February 14, 2020, Gregory was driving a stolen Chevrolet Silverado when Tulsa police officers pulled him over. Gregory was found to have ammunition in his pocket and a Ruger .357 revolver inside the stolen truck. Additionally, on April 29, 2020, Gregory was driving a stolen Chevrolet Tahoe when officers attempted to pull him over. Gregory fled from officers and crashed the Tahoe. When officers searched the vehicle, they located a loaded magazine.

Federal law prohibits Gregory from possessing firearms and ammunition because he is a felon and has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Nassar and Jessica L. Wright prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. – A Flora woman was arrested Monday after being indicted by a federal grand jury on criminal charges related to her alleged fraud scheme involving federal COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program loans, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge James F. Boyersmith of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, Miami Field Office.   

According to court documents, Tarshuana Thomas, 34, devised a scheme to obtain PPP funds by filing fraudulent loan applications with entities providing loans as part of the Paycheck Protection Program, including Fountainhead SPF and Capital Plus Financial. Thomas was employed as a Correctional Officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Yazoo City at the time of the alleged conduct.

Thomas is charged with two counts of wire fraud. The case is set for trial on September 12, 2022. If convicted, Thomas faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count.

The Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Purdie is prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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 federal court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting a Tampa-area physician from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances, the Department of Justice announced today.

In a complaint filed on July 18, and unsealed yesterday, the United States alleges that Dr. Neelam Taneja Uppal unlawfully wrote opioid prescriptions in the names of individuals depicted in photographs of driver’s licenses she received via text messages from a third party in exchange for payment for the prescriptions. 

The complaint alleges that Dr. Uppal never met the individuals for whom she wrote prescriptions, and that she sold the prescriptions to a third party. The complaint further alleges that Dr. Uppal received thousands of dollars in cash on multiple occasions for a variety of opioid prescriptions. The complaint seeks to permanently bar Dr. Uppal from issuing controlled substances prescriptions, or owning or supervising a pain clinic, and it also seeks civil penalties.

“It is unlawful for a physician to write opioid prescriptions for individuals they have never met and then sell those prescriptions to a third party,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will use every enforcement tool available under the Controlled Substances Act to protect our communities from rogue medical professionals.”

“The illegal distribution and use of opioids have led to a nationwide epidemic,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “Physicians who prescribe these dangerous drugs without legitimate medical cause violate not only the law, but also their oath to do no harm.”

“At a time when we need to be doing all that we can to prevent drug misuse and overdoses, DEA will not tolerate doctors who knowingly break the law, jeopardizing the safety and health of our communities by recklessly prescribing controlled substances,“ said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “DEA will continue working with our law-enforcement partners to pursue cases against anyone contributing to the deadly overdose epidemic in this country.”

U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber granted the temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

 DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in the Tampa District Office is conducting the ongoing investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay S. Griffin and Trial Attorneys Thomas S. Rosso and Scott B. Dahlquist of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are handling the case.

The claims made in the complaint are merely allegations that the United States must prove if the case proceeds to trial.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Richard G. Frohling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on July 27, 2022, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Darwin Pamanet (age: 46) to 360 months in federal prison for child sexual exploitation. Pamanet formerly lived in Keshena, which is a community on the Menominee Indian Reservation.  Following his prison sentence, Pamanet will serve the remainder of his life on supervised release.

According to court documents, on July 15, 2021, the defendant recorded himself sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl while at a residence on the Menominee Indian Reservation. The abuse was disclosed in early 2022 and led to the discovery of two additional young girls who were victims of the defendant’s crimes.

In sentencing the defendant, Judge Griesbach noted the “obvious need for a substantial sentence” for a “terrible offense.” Judge Griesbach stated the sentence was based on the magnitude of the offense and said “to do this to an innocent child is one of the most heinous crimes possible.” Judge Griesbach observed a strong need to protect the public from the defendant, and in response to a defense request for a lesser sentence, Judge Griesbach stated “some crimes are so unthinkable…that they have to receive a much higher sentence than a lot of other crimes.” Judge Griesbach also remarked upon the need to deter those who might consider similar actions.

The Menominee Tribal Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, which Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Maier prosecuted.

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For further information contact: Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov

(414) 297-1700

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHICAGO — A man has been indicted on federal firearm charges for allegedly illegally possessing machine guns in Chicago this year.

JUAN INFANTE, 28, of Chicago, is charged with illegal possession of machine guns and illegal possession of firearms as a convicted felon.  Infante had previously been convicted of a felony theft offense and was prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms.

The indictment accuses Infante of illegally possessing four handguns, two of which were equipped with conversion devices known as “Glock switches.”  The devices transformed the firearms into machine guns capable of automatically firing more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger.  Infante earlier this year sold two of the guns to an individual who was surreptitiously cooperating with law enforcement, according to a federal criminal complaint previously filed in the case.

The indictment was returned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  A date for arraignment has not yet been scheduled.  Infante is currently detained in federal custody without bond after the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a motion for pretrial detention on the basis that Infante posed a danger to the community.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth E. Palmer.

Disrupting illegal firearms trafficking is the focus of the Department of Justice’s cross-jurisdictional strike force.  As part of the Chicago firearms trafficking strike force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office collaborates with the FBI and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the Northern District of Illinois and across the country to help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms and identify patterns, leads, and potential suspects in violent gun crimes.

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is also a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  Each count in the indictment is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.