Month: July 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Tulsa-area woman who headed a retail theft organization that caused more than $10 million in losses to retailers pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Linda Ann Been, 49, admitted to leading the operation in a blind plea. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy (Count 1); wire fraud (Counts 2-166); conspiracy to commit wire fraud (Count 167); conspiracy to commit money laundering (Counts 168-169); relating to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity Counts 170-214).

In January, U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson and Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor announced charges against 29 members of the organization who were arrested following a joint law enforcement investigation titled Operation Booster Buster. In total, 16 federal defendants have pleaded guilty thus far.

“Cities across the United States, including Tulsa, have seen a sharp rise in organized retail theft. The losses drive up costs for retailers which are then passed on to consumers,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “As shown in this case, my office and our law enforcement partners will diligently work together to identify, investigate and prosecute theft rings operating within northeastern Oklahoma.”

According to state and federal court documents, Been led the ring of “boosters” that netted $4.5 million from the sale of stolen merchandise and over-the-counter products to fencing organizations outside of Oklahoma. “Fences” then sold the stolen products through e-commerce sites, like eBay and Amazon.

Operations were staged out of northeastern Oklahoma and sometimes crossed state lines. Stores targeted include Reasor’s, Sprouts, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Costco, Walgreens, CVS, GNC and others.

For example, on Sept. 4, 2019, several defendants boosted $1,329 worth of over-the-counter products, such as Flonase, Mucinex, Nexium, Zegerid, and Allegra, from a Reasor’s in Jenks, Oklahoma.

Normally, fences paid Been half the market value for each item. Been, in turn, paid boosters half of her expected profit for each item they brought to her. Financial payments for stolen products were normally made through PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App.

Been provided her boosters with a detailed list of items to steal and the pricing she would pay for each. She further instructed her ring on boosting techniques, including box stuffing. Box stuffing occurs when criminals conceal higher-value items inside lower-value item boxes and only paying for the lower-valued items.

Been and her team of boosters stole products from retailers in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Colorado. Been would pay boosters’ expenses when they traveled outside the state. She would further pay boosters’ bond when arrested so they could continue boosting.

Boosters would then deliver the goods to predetermined locations in Tulsa, Sand Springs, and Cleveland, Oklahoma. According to the federal indictment, defendants Billy Osborne, Juston Osborne, helped manage the operation by storing stolen inventory at their residences or businesses and by prepping the merchandise for bulk shipments to fences outside the state. Been also stored stolen merchandise at her residences, prepared inventories, coordinated payment, and shipped the pallets of stolen items.

Two co-defendants who helped Been manage the operation have pleaded guilty:

•          Billy Don Osborne, 49: conspiracy to commit money laundering

•          Juston Paul Osborne, 37: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

Other co-defendants who have pleaded guilty are:

•          Brandon Jamal Baldwin, 34: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Ambermeloni Charda Crawford, 24: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Amber Marie Clason, 28: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Toni Larae Crisp, 27 : conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Derek James Enloe, 32: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Corey Ray Fields, 44: conspiracy

•          Sharee Nashawn Galloway, 45: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Ashley Nicole Gill, 30: conspiracy

•          Brittany Nicole Harkins, 29: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Amanda Kay Johnson, 40: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Daniel Eugene Payne, 53: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Katrina Danielle Robison, 34: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

•          Karissa Ray Russell, 32: conspiracy to commit wire fraud

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Tulsa Police Department, Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Richard M. Cella and Reagan V. Reininger are prosecuting the case with assistance from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A former Clare, Michigan, hotel manager was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for filing a false tax return. His father, the owner of the hotel, previously pleaded guilty to obstructing the grand jury’s investigation of his son.

According to court documents, Harold Walls, 58, managed the day-to-day operations of a Clare hotel, which his father, Karl Walls, 86, owned. Harold Walls did not report to the IRS any of the income he received working at the hotel from 2013 through 2017. Rather than pay himself wages directly through the hotel’s payroll system, Harold Walls paid himself by other means, including by writing checks to himself from the hotel operating account and using a hotel bank account to pay for personal expenses.

Harold Walls also provided false and incomplete information to the hotel’s tax return preparer for 2012 through 2017, resulting in the hotel’s business income being understated. Specifically, Harold Walls did not disclose to the tax return preparer that the hotel had 11 “off-book” rooms that were not tracked in the hotel’s reservation system. Harold Walls also provided the return preparer documents that overstated the amount of property taxes the hotel had paid to the City of Clare.

After the IRS began investigating, Harold Walls obstructed the investigation by instructing a hotel employee to make false statements to the IRS about the nature and extent of his work at the hotel. He also denied to IRS special agents that he was employed at the hotel.

Karl Walls obstructed the investigation into his son by directing two witnesses to lie to the grand jury. In October 2018, two days before a former hotel employee was scheduled to provide grand jury testimony, Karl Walls instructed the employee to testify that Harold Walls did not work at the hotel. Karl Walls also attempted to convince his tax return preparer to make a similar false statement to the grand jury about his son’s employment status.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington ordered Harold Walls to serve one year of supervised release and pay $254,562 in restitution to the United States. 

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan for providing substantial assistance in this matter.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Sam Bean of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Today, during remarks at the Trilateral Working Group on Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced a directive to all U.S. Attorneys and law enforcement component heads addressing public safety in Indian country, including violence directed at indigenous women, youth and children.  

Source: United States Department of Justice News

An Ohio husband and wife pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the IRS relating to their ownership and operation of illegal gambling businesses in Canton.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2010 through 2018, Jason Kachner and Rebecca Kachner, along with other co-conspirators, owned and operated two illegal gambling businesses, Skilled Shamrock and Redemption Skill Games 777 (Redemption). The Kachners admitted to conspiring together and with the other owners to defraud the IRS by filing false tax returns that omitted most of the income they received from their ownership of the illegal gambling businesses and by using a nominee owner to conceal their ownership of the businesses.

From 2012 through 2017, patrons at Skilled Shamrock wagered a total of more than $34 million, which resulted in more than $4 million in income for the owners of the gambling business. During these years, Jason and Rebecca Kachner received more than $900,000 in income from Skilled Shamrock. In total, from 2009 through 2018, they received approximately $2.3 million in income from Skilled Shamrock and Redemption. They did not report the vast majority of this income on their annual tax returns during these years. Rebecca Kachner also admitted to renting a storage locker to hold cash, which was generated from the illegal gambling businesses. As part of her plea agreement, she agreed to forfeit approximately $241,000 in cash that investigators found in the storage locker.

Rebecca Kachner pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, and Jason Kachner pleaded guilty to two counts. Sentencing hearings for both defendants will be scheduled at a later date. Both face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of conspiring to defraud the IRS. They also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. 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 First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General, the Ohio Casino Control Commission and the Ohio Casino Control Commission are investigating the case. Homeland Security Investigations provided substantial assistance.

Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing and Sam Bean of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Patton and David Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A former Kansas businessman was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes to the IRS.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Lance Ashley was the sole owner and operator of Ashley Home Care Services (AHCS), an Overland Park home health care business that provided daily living services to individuals. Ashley was responsible for all financial matters relating to AHCS, including handling payroll and paying expenses. From 2013 through 2016, Ashley did not pay over to the IRS all the federal tax withholdings collected from the wages of AHCS’s employees. Instead, he used some of the funds to pay corporate and personal expenses. After the IRS initiated enforcement efforts in 2016 to collect AHCS’s unpaid employment taxes, Ashley provided fraudulent bank records to the IRS, did not fully disclose all of the company’s bank accounts, filed false IRS forms and attempted to use a recently formed corporation to conceal AHCS’s operations. In total, Ashley’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $321,000.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Julie A. Robinson ordered Ashley to serve two years of supervised release and to pay approximately $321,000 in restitution to the United States.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Duston J. Slinkard for the District of Kansas made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Julia Rugg of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas prosecuted the case.