Month: July 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Orlando, Florida – United States District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Michael Belmares (63, St. Cloud) to 25 years in federal prison for production and possession of child sex abuse materials. Belmares was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and register as a sex offender following his release from prison. Belmares had pleaded guilty on March 15, 2022.    

According to evidence presented in open court, Belmares took photos of a six-year-old child that depicted the child naked from the waist down and focused on the child’s genitalia. In addition, a subsequent search revealed that Belmares had other photos that he had taken of various children in shopping center parking lots in Osceola County. These children were fully clothed and could not be identified. Finally, Belmares had a collection of thousands of images depicting children being sexually abused. Among these were binders of photos that Belmares had saved, with date stamps, from as early as 1996, and hundreds of images of child sex abuse saved on various electronic devices. The court also found that Belmares had a 1996 sex offense conviction in North Carolina that enhanced his sentence. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Cloud Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn P. Napier.  

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced Theresea Walker (30, Fairburn, GA) to three years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud. She was also ordered to pay $1,757,082.73 in restitution and forfeited $934,885.65 that was seized by the FBI from various accounts held by her or in her control. Walker had pleaded guilty on March 29, 2022.

According to court documents, from at least October 2019 through May 21, 2021, Walker was employed as an accounts payable processor with a technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider headquartered in Melbourne, Florida. In this role, Walker’s responsibilities included accessing her employer’s payment software systems for the purpose of entering vendor and supplier invoices and scheduling those invoices for payment. Walker’s employer conducted an audit of accounts serviced by Walker and the audit revealed that Walker had made false entries into the employer’s accounts payable system to conduct nine wire transactions through which Walker caused the transfer of funds from the employer’s bank account to accounts controlled by Walker.

As part of her scheme, Walker also edited the payment terms and accounts of actual existing vendors with the employer, so that new invoices entered under that vendor name would be paid directly to the accounts designated by Walker.  During the course of the scheme, in an attempt to hide her fraudulent activity, Walker created multiple fictitious invoices and fraudulent credit memos. In total, as a result of her scheme, Walker caused a total loss of $1,757,082.73 to the employer, which also represents the proceeds received by her from her scheme. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Terry B. Livanos. The forfeiture was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Andrejko.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH – After deliberating for just over an hour on Friday, a federal jury of 12 men and women found Roderick King, who chose to represent himself, guilty of one count of sex trafficking a minor and two counts of production of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

King, 32, formerly of the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, was tried before United States District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca L. Silinski and Jeffrey R. Bengel, who tried the case, the evidence presented at trial established that over three-year period of time, beginning in 2017, King, a truck driver, paid the Minor Victim, who was 14 years-old when King first met her, hundreds of dollars in cash for sex on approximately 10 occasions, and produced two videos of his sexual exploitation of the Minor Victim.

King used social media accounts – namely, the Snapchat username “fuckabeatiwastr” and multiple Facebook accounts, including “Raphael Bloomberg” and “Raphael Huxtable” – to communicate with the Minor Victim. Messages between King and the Minor Victim were presented during trial, which prosecutors stated demonstrated that King used these accounts to maintain control over, manipulate and exploit his victim.

In the Fall of 2020, however, the Minor Victim walked into the Butler Township Police station and told law enforcement about the crimes committed against her by King. The Minor Victim bravely testified at trial and when questioned by King, resolutely stated that she was motivated to report these crimes to police because “30-year-old men shouldn’t be having sex with little kids.”

Judge Weigand stated that sentencing will be scheduled by further order of court. The law provides for a sentence of not less than 15 years to life in prison, a fine of not more than $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The Court ordered King remain detained pending sentencing.

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Group, and special agents with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General Child Predator Section, with the assistance of Butler Township Police Department, and Butler County Children and Youth Services, conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of King.

The charges for which King has been convicted concern a specific victim. Additional members of the public who may have information about King’s involvement in sex trafficking and child exploitation are encouraged to call HSI’s tip-line at 866-347-2423 and state the report is to HSI-Pittsburgh regarding Roderick King.

This prosecution is part of Operation T.E.N. (Trafficking Ends Now), an umbrella coalition for law enforcement, community and non-profit partners in the 25 counties in the Western District of Pennsylvania, formed and led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. AUSA Silinski serves as the Human Trafficking Prosecution’s Coordinator and oversees Operation T.E.N. and community outreach. This coordinated effort aims to end human trafficking through education and improved cooperation among law enforcement partners, victim service providers and community members, thereby enhancing the Office’s ability to empower victims of human trafficking to become thriving survivors.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Latest of Multiple Drug Traffickers Sentenced as Part of a Targeted Investigation

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced today that U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney sentenced Delando Johnson, a/k/a “Fox,” of Muskegon, Michigan to 20 years’ imprisonment – 15 years for drug trafficking to be followed by five years for possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking. 

          Johnson sold heroin and fentanyl on three occasions in May 2020. When investigators went to arrest Johnson for the deals, they found him in possession of more heroin and fentanyl, as well as crack cocaine, $700, and a digital scale. At Johnson’s home, investigators also found all of the hallmarks of large-scale drug trafficking – more than 280 grams of methamphetamine, nearly 100 grams of fentanyl, and crack cocaine, as well as extended rifle magazines, loose ammunition, digital scales, and baggies used to package drugs for sale. Inside a safe, Johnson had also secreted drugs as well as more than $6,000 in cash, and a stolen, loaded .45 caliber handgun. Johnson later admitted as part of his guilty plea that he intended to sell the drugs for profit and that he had the gun in furtherance of his drug dealing activities.

Crack cocaine, fentanyl, a loaded, stolen .45 caliber pistol, and over $6,000 seized from a safe in Johnson’s home

          At sentencing, Judge Maloney remarked that Johnson’s crimes were “grave indeed,” particularly in light of the deadly nature of fentanyl, the large amount of methamphetamine, and Johnson’s possession of a gun. Judge Maloney characterized Johnson as “a threat to the public” who committed a serious crime and needed to be deterred from future criminal conduct.

          “Delando Johnson’s actions endangered his community and put innocent citizens at risk. Today, he has been held accountable for his actions,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. He continued: “This sentence sends a strong message that large-scale drug trafficking and illegal gun possession will not be tolerated in this district and that drug traffickers who peddle these poisons in our community will face stiff prison sentences.”

          “I would like to thank our law enforcement partners that contributed to removing Mr. Johnson from our streets,” said Orville Greene, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Detroit Division. “Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that contributes to a significant number of the overdoses we see in this country each day. Today, Mr. Johnson was held accountable for his actions.”

          “This sentence is a significant step in disrupting drug trafficking in and around the Muskegon area,” declared Detective Lieutenant Andrew Ambrose, commander of the West Michigan Enforcement Team (WEMET), a division of the Michigan State Police and one of the lead investigative agencies on the case. “This prosecution and the prosecution of Johnson’s associates would not have been possible without the longstanding cooperation between law enforcement agencies. Criminals do not adhere to imaginary jurisdictional boundaries and because of cooperative efforts like the one here, neither do we.”

          Johnson’s sentence is the most recent in a series of sentences handed down for drug traffickers prosecuted as part of Operation Interstate Zeus targeting drug trafficking in the Muskegon area. Others prosecuted as part of Operation Interstate Zeus received the following sentences:

• Zachary Kennedy, a/k/a “Zeus” – 210 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine;
• Brent Wilkerson, a/k/a “Pay”– 144 months in prison for distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine;
• Daris Jefferson, a/k/a “Smoove” – 90 months in prison for possession of heroin and cocaine base (“crack”) with the intent to distribute it and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking;
• Alezay Coleman, a/k/a “Zay” – 87 months in prison for possession of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin with the intent to distribute it;
• Malik Jones-Smith, a/k/a “9” – 60 months in prison for distribution of five grams or more of methamphetamine; and
• Carl Johnson, a/k/a “Orangebone,” a/k/a “Bones”– 12 months and 1 day in prison for distribution of cocaine base (“crack”).

          Operation Interstate Zeus is an Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation that began in 2019, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and members of Michigan State Police’s West Michigan Enforcement Teams (WEMET). Johnson is the latest in nearly a dozen defendants sentenced in the investigation, which led to the overall seizure of approximately 339 grams of methamphetamine, 113 grams of fentanyl, 93 grams of heroin, and quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine. Investigators also seized six handguns, jewelry worth approximately $20,000 and more than $20,000 in cash.  

          OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.    

          This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie M. Carowan and Vito S. Solitro. 

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