Month: August 2022

Posted on

Security News: New Orleans Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – THEODORE KURZ, age 72, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced on August 4, 2022 for mortgage fraud by the Honorable Nannette Jolivette Brown, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. KURZ was sentenced to time served, 5 years of supervised release, $751,900 in restitution, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

According to court documents, KURZ obtained mortgages for three properties through the State of Louisiana, Division of Administration, Office of Community Development.  He then forged mortgage cancellations that he filed with the Orleans Parish Clerk of Court to falsely make it appear that the loans had been satisfied.  KURZ then obtained mortgages through a different lender, falsely claiming that there were no outstanding mortgages or liens on the properties.  

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for investigating this matter.  The prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U. S. Attorney G. Dall Kammer, Chief of General Crimes Unit.

*   *   *

Posted on

Security News: Kirkland Man Charged with Drug Trafficking Offense Related to recent Motel Robbery

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Spokane – Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced today that Scott Banchero, age 58, of Kirkland, Washington, was charged by federal criminal complaint with Possession with Intent to Distribute 500 Grams or More of a Mixture or Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)(viii).

As alleged in the criminal complaint, in the early morning hours of August 3, 2022, Banchero was identified as the victim of a robbery at a local motel in Spokane Valley, Washington. Banchero had just arrived from the Seattle, Washington area when the robbery occurred.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as Detectives with the Spokane Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, subsequently executed a federal search warrant on a storage unit rented to Banchero near Spokane, Washington. In the storage unit, law enforcement located approximately 20,000 fentanyl-laced pills, 2 pounds of methamphetamine, 1 kilogram of heroin, and a half pound of cocaine.

Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick Cashman and Caitlin Baunsgard of the Eastern District of Washington are handling this matter on behalf of the United States.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Posted on

Security News: Holyoke Man Indicted for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOSTON – A Holyoke man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Springfield for illegal firearm possession.

Joseph Anthony Montaner-Vasquez, 25, was indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Montaner-Vasquez is currently in state custody and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

According to the indictment, on May 25, 2022, Montaner-Vasquez was found in possession of a Glock 9-millimeter caliber pistol and 20 rounds of ammunition. Montaner-Vasquez was previously convicted of a felony and is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm provides a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. 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; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case. 

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. 

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Posted on

Security News: Madison Man Sentenced to 6 Years for Drug Trafficking

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Keante K. Gunn, 32, Madison, Wisconsin was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 6 years in federal prison for possessing heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.  The prison term will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Gunn pleaded guilty to this charge on May 12, 2022.

On April 16, 19, 22, and 26, 2021, Dane County Narcotics Task Force officers, using a confidential informant and an undercover officer, purchased crack cocaine and heroin laced with fentanyl from Gunn in Madison.

On June 16, 2021, law enforcement officers arrested Gunn and searched his residence in Madison and in Gunn’s bedroom found a bag containing crack cocaine, heroin with fentanyl, and methamphetamine.  In a safe in the same bedroom, officers found a Glock 9mm handgun with two loaded magazines.  Gunn’s DNA was later discovered on one of the loaded magazines.  Later that day, Gunn was interviewed by law enforcement and admitted that the drugs found in his apartment was his drug stash to sell to customers.

Gunn was prohibited from legally possessing a firearm based on multiple prior felony convictions.  During the time of the controlled drug buys and home search, he was on extended supervision for three states cases, two involving convictions for second degree recklessly endangering safety and the other for burglary.  His state supervision was revoked in September of 2021 and he is currently serving a total sentence of 18 months in state prison with an anticipated release date of November 24, 2022.  Judge Conley ordered this federal sentence run concurrently with the remainder of Gunn’s state prison sentence.

At sentencing, Judge Conley explained that Gunn’s combination of dealing dangerous drugs and possessing a firearm posed a substantial danger to the community.  He noted that Gunn had previously served 9 years in state prison on a series of prior cases involving a violent domestic relationship. 

The charge against Gunn was the result of an investigation conducted by the Dane County Narcotics Task Force, Madison Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Anderson prosecuted this case. 

This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime.  The PSN approach involves collaboration by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent and deter gun violence.

Posted on

Security News: Defendant Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Defrauding American Express of More Than $4.7 Million

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Used Multiple Credit Cards and Bank Accounts to Perpetrate his Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Jasminder Singh was sentenced by United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon to 48 months’ imprisonment for bank fraud and money laundering related to Singh’s scheme to defraud American Express of more than $4.7 million.  Singh was also ordered to pay restitution to American Express in the amount of $4,651,845.08 and to forfeit $3,018,602.22.  Singh was convicted of the charges on April 27, 2022 by a federal jury following a one-week trial.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.

“Jasminder Singh fraudulently used American Express credit cards to purchase millions of dollars’ worth of Apple products, which he sold to enrich himself, and then tried to leave American Express holding the bag,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace.  “Today’s sentence sends a message to those, like the defendant, who defraud financial institutions, that there are serious consequences when their lies and deceit catch up to them and the bill comes due.” 

According to court filings and the evidence presented at trial, Singh used four business entities that he created and controlled, and 10 American Express credit cards in those entities’ names, to purchase thousands of Apple iPhones and other Apple products that he then sold overseas for millions of dollars.  Between November 2017 and December 2019, Singh misrepresented to American Express his inability to repay more than $4.7 million in charges incurred from his purchase of Apple products in order to secure additional credit, and used a series of financial transactions to conceal the money he obtained from selling the purchased iPhones. Singh used the proceeds from his fraudulent scheme to pay for personal expenses and purchase luxury items, including a $1.3 million home in Fremont, California paid for in cash.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael W. Gibaldi and Trial Attorney Patrick J. Campbell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are in charge of the prosecution.  Assistant United States Attorney Tanisha R. Payne of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters.

The Defendant:

JASMINDER SINGH
Age:  45
Fremont, California

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-397 (CBA)