Month: August 2022

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Security News: Huntington Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun and Drug Crimes

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Christopher Eugene Capers, 34, of Huntington, was sentenced today to seven years and eight months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, also known as “crack.”

According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 21, 2020, Capers was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by law enforcement officers on Doulton Avenue in Huntington. Capers admitted that he possessed a Taurus G2 9mm handgun found by the officers in his waistband. Capers further admitted that on June 26, 2020, officers found approximately 46.2 grams of crack as well as drug paraphernalia and $3,734.25 in cash in his Huntington residence.

Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Capers knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his felony convictions for carrying a concealed deadly weapon-second offense on January 14, 2013, attempting to commit the felony of possession with intent to deliver heroin on September 8, 2016, and being a felon in possession of a firearm on February 21, 2019, all in Cabell County Circuit Court.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force, the Huntington Police Department, and the Cabell County Sheriff’s Office.

United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Keefe prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-26.

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Security News: Convicted Felon Sentenced to 66 Months for Smuggling Ammunition

Source: United States Department of Justice News

TUCSON, Ariz. – Luis Carlos Eriksen, 56, of Nogales, Arizona, was sentenced August 3, 2022, by United States District Judge James A. Soto to 66 months in prison for Smuggling Ammunition from the United States into Mexico and Possession of Ammunition by a Convicted Felon.

On May 20, 2020, Eriksen drove from Mexico to Phoenix, where he purchased 4,000 rounds of 7.62 x 39 ammunition, and 1,000 rounds of .38 Super ammunition from an ammunition retailer. After loading the ammunition into his vehicle, he began driving back to Mexico. He was stopped by an Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) officer, who discovered the ammunition in his vehicle. Eriksen admitted that he had entered into an agreement with individuals in Mexico to obtain bulk ammunition in the United States and smuggle it into Mexico for payment. Eriksen has prior convictions for drug trafficking offenses and is prohibited from possessing ammunition.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation in this case, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and DPS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela W. Woolridge, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-21-0542-TUC-JAS
RELEASE NUMBER:    2022-132_Eriksen

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

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Security News: Fresno Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Distribute Fentanyl Pills

Source: United States Department of Justice News

FRESNO, Calif. — Isaiah Garcia, 20, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between Oct. 2, 2020, and Dec. 16, 2020, Isaiah Garcia and his brother, Mario Garcia, 28, who was incarcerated in the Fresno County Jail in an unrelated case, agreed that Isaiah Garcia would traffic fentanyl pills. The conspiracy was discovered when investigators listened to their recorded jail telephone calls. Federal agents then searched Isaiah Garcia’s residence and found over 1,200 fentanyl pills inside his bedroom.

The case is the result of an investigation by FORT, a multi-agency team composed of Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Fresno Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio is prosecuting the case.

Isaiah Garcia is set for sentencing on Oct. 31, 2022, and Mario Garcia is set for sentencing on Sept. 6, 2022. Both defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison up to a maximum sentence of 40 years and a fine up to $5 million. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.) a program designed to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas as well as identifying wholesale distribution networks and international and domestic suppliers. In July 2018, the Justice Department announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the Eastern District of California and nine other federal districts.

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Security News: Manager of Key West Labor Staffing Companies Sentenced for Tax Crimes and Immigration Fraud

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The manager of Key West, Florida, labor staffing companies was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for tax and immigration crimes related to the operation of those businesses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately January 2016 through October 2020, Volodymyr Ogorodnychuk, of Key West, helped operate Paradise Choice LLC, Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC, Tropical City Services LLC, and Tropical City Group LLC, all of which were labor staffing companies in southern Florida. The staffing companies facilitated the employment of individuals in hotels, bars and restaurants in Key West and other locations, even though the employees were not authorized to work in the United States.

As part of his plea, Ogorodnychuk admitted that he and his co-conspirators paid the workers without withholding Social Security, Medicare, and income taxes from their wages, and then did not report those wages to the IRS as required by law. Ogorodnychuk also admitted he and his co-conspirators defrauded the IRS out of more than $3.5 million in employment taxes.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez ordered Ogorodnychuk to serve three years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined within 90 days.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty, Trial Attorneys Jessica A. Kraft and Nicholas J. Schilling Jr. of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Clark of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.

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Security News: Everett Man Charged in Superseding Indictment for Additional Securities Fraud Scheme

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant allegedly participated in a pump-and-dump and later misappropriated investor funds

BOSTON – An Everett man has been charged in a superseding indictment in connection with two securities fraud schemes: one involving an alleged pump-and-dump and one involving the alleged misappropriation of tens of thousands of dollars of investor funds to pay his personal expenses.

Christopher R. Esposito, 55, was charged in a superseding indictment with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and sale of unregistered securities, one count of securities fraud and one count of sale of unregistered securities, concerning the alleged pump-and-dump scheme. In April 2022, Esposito was indicted on one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, in relation to the alleged misappropriation scheme.

According to the charging documents, Esposito and co-conspirator Anthony Jay Pignatello conspired between 2012 and 2015 to conceal their control over the Massachusetts-based microcap company Cannabiz Mobile, Inc. and to use backdated promissory notes to fraudulently obtain free-trading shares in the company. They then allegedly arranged for a promotional campaign in October 2015 to pump up Cannabiz Mobile’s stock so that they could sell – i.e., dump – their shares into the market and make money. In so doing, they allegedly sold and offered to sell Cannabiz Mobile stock in violation of the securities laws because the securities were not registered with the SEC and no exemption from SEC registration was available.

In addition, between August 2019 and February 2020, Esposito allegedly sold shares in a separate company, Code2Action, Inc., based on material misstatements and omissions and then misappropriated much of the proceeds. More specifically, Esposito is alleged to have, among other things, deliberately misled prospective investors about Code2Action’s plan and ability to complete a reverse merger, which Esposito touted would enable the investors to sell their shares at a profit, and spent over $57,000 of the investors’ funds to pay himself and his personal expenses.

The charges of conspiracy and sale of unregistered securities each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. The charges of securities fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $5 million. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney James R. Drabick of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.