Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 78 months in prison for two separate armed robberies of United States Postal Carriers.

Brandon J. Campbell, 21, admitted in March 2022 to using violence and a firearm to endanger the mail carriers’ lives and steal property from them.

According to Campbell’s court documents, he robbed two postal carriers at gunpoint on separate dates in September 2021.

On Sept. 8, 2021, Campbell stole an “arrow” key – which is used to access USPS mailboxes and receptacles – and vehicle keys from a postal carrier who was delivering mail at Vistas at Rocky Fork Apartment Complex in Gahanna. Campbell wore a balaclava mask and used a Glock-style handgun.

On Sept. 21, 2021, Campbell committed armed robbery against a second postal carrier who was delivering mail near 4500 Hemingway Court in Columbus. He again used a handgun and mask and stole the carrier’s arrow key.

Investigators followed Campbell’s champaign-colored Saturn Aura and subsequently executed search warrants on an apartment into which Campbell fled, as well as his vehicle. Law enforcement officers discovered four firearms in that apartment, as well as the balaclava mask. Forensic examination of Campbell’s iPhone showed the phone was in the location of both robberies during the timeframe of the robberies. Campbell’s phone also showed pictures of himself holding a Glock-style firearm.

“This case represents two robberies in a string of assaults against postal carriers in Ohio,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “The sentence imposed here should serve as a reminder to anyone committing these crimes that you will be identified and prosecuted, and you will spend time in federal prison.”

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Gary R. Barksdale, Chief Postal Inspector, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Gahanna Police Chief Jeff Spence announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 JOSHUA REED, age 24, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a gun after having been convicted of a felony offense before United States District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle.

According to court records, New Orleans Police Department officers approached REED at a gas station in New Orleans East.  During a search of his vehicle, the officers found a Glock pistol, which REED admitted that he possessed.  REED also acknowledged that he had previously been convicted of burglary, which is a felony offense.

REED faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, up to a $250,000 fine, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is 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 case was investigated by the New Orleans Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller of the Violent Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOSTON – A Hyde Park man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with his alleged use of a stolen identity to fraudulently obtain pandemic relief funds and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, previously known as Food Stamps.

Fernando Mateo Valenzuela, 68, was indicted on three counts of mail fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of misrepresentation of a Social Security number. Valenzuela was previously charged by criminal complaint on June 17, 2022. He has remained in custody since his arrest on June 21, 2022. 

According to the indictment, Valenzuela, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, used the identity of a United States citizen to apply for and receive $29,051 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It is further alleged that Valenzuela also used the identity to apply for and receive $7,230 in SNAP benefits.

The charges of mail fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of aggravated identity theft each provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison, one of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of misrepresentation of a Social Security number each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three 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; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; Phillip M. Coyne, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Ketty Larco-Ward, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Tobin of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF), a specialized investigative group comprising personnel from various state, local, and federal agencies with expertise in detecting, deterring, and disrupting organizations and individuals involved in various types of document, identity, and benefit fraud schemes.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

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 (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

FORT WAYNE – Madison McCoy,19 years old, of Fort Wayne, Indiana was sentenced, on August 3, 2022, by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady on her plea of guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

McCoy was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, on June 16, 2021, McCoy was stopped for traffic violations while traveling northbound on I-69 in Allen County, Indiana. When approached by police, McCoy admitted to having drug paraphernalia in the car. A search of the car yielded two packages wrapped in dark plastic under a sweatshirt on the rear driver’s floorboard. Inside the packages were multiple vacuum sealed bags containing small blue pills stamped with “M30.” There were approximately 20,000 pills weighing slightly over two kilograms. The pills later tested positive for the presence of Fentanyl and had a street value of approximately $500,000.00.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Fort Wayne Police Department and Indiana State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lesley J. Miller Lowery.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA, PA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Gavin Lee Casdorph, 23, of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $7,700 in restitution and a $1,000 fine by United States District Court Judge Edward G. Smith for making false threats against Lafayette College in Easton, PA.

In April 2020, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of willfully making false threats in connection with claims he made online stating he planned to detonate several bombs across the Lafayette College campus. In 2018, while using the handle “BdanJafarSaleem.,” Casdorph posted on Twitter that he planned to bomb multiple locations on campus and pledged allegiance to ISIS. He included with his Twitter post an image of the ISIS flag and a photograph of several firearms. The defendant also sent a mass email to members of the College’s admissions staff containing similar disturbing threats and imagery.

Investigators quickly determined that the bomb threats were a hoax, and arrested Casdorph in Anchorage, Alaska in December 2018.

“This defendant thought he could make threats from the other side of the continent with impunity, but the dedicated agents of the FBI on this case proved him wrong,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Threats of mass violence and destruction, especially on school campuses or any public place, are taken extremely seriously by our Office and our federal partners. As was the case here, we will not stop until the culprits are identified, arrested and brought to justice.”

“The FBI takes all threats of violence seriously, as Gavin Casdorph learned the hard way,” said Jacqueline Maguire, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “I hope today’s sentencing sends a message that hoax threats aren’t a joke, they’re a crime. Please don’t let keyboard courage short-circuit your future. Anyone who tries something like this shouldn’t be surprised when the FBI rolls up at your front door.”

This case was investigated by the Lafayette College Department of Public Safety, Easton Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Philadelphia and Anchorage Divisions. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph LaBar. Additional assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.