Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Warionex Martinez-Medina, age 34, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for drug-trafficking and firearms offenses. 

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that on March 24, 2022, Martinez-Medina attempted to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine.  The indictment also alleges that Martinez-Medina possessed a handgun in furtherance of that crime.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Pennsylvania State Police.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is imprisonment for life, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that VINCENT CLARK, also known as “Pudge,” 26, of New Haven, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between March and May 2021, law enforcement made six controlled purchases of redistribution quantities of fentanyl and heroin from Clark in New Haven.  As the time of the drug sales, Clark was on state parole for a 2019 narcotics conviction.

Clark has been detained since his arrest on June 7, 2021.  On November 29, 2021, he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, fentanyl.

This investigation was conducted by the DEA’s New Haven Task Force, which includes personnel from the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the New Haven, Hamden, West Haven, North Haven, Branford, Ansonia, Meriden, Derby, Middletown, Naugatuck and Waterbury Police Departments.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara E. Levens through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CLEVELAND – Charles E. Smith, Jr., 52, of Woodmere, Ohio, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay $10,621.23 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to using stolen financial information to purchase gasoline.

According to court documents, from May 2019 through May 2020, Smith, the former Mayor of Woodmere, Ohio, purchased stolen credit and debit card account information, including account numbers and addresses, from the dark web.  Smith then used a credit card reader encoder/writer to program that information onto blank cards and used those cards to make fraudulent purchases of gasoline at various gas stations in Northern Ohio.  Court records state that Smith purchased the gasoline to fuel vehicles that he used to deliver packages for Amazon.

In total, Smith purchased at least $10,621.23 in gasoline using over 100 stolen debit and credit card accounts.  After his arrest, investigators later determined that Smith had purchased more than 600 stolen debit and credit card accounts from the dark web, affecting victims in 25 states.

Smith pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft on May 19, 2022.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Payum Doroodian.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber on Thursday sentenced a doctor from Town and Country, Missouri to a year in prison for a health care fraud scheme and ordered he and his wife to repay $235,977.

On over 1,000 occasions spanning nearly a decade, Dr. Abdul Naushad, 58, and Wajiha Naushad, 47, had their unwitting patients injected with cheaper, foreign Orthovisc that had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman said in court. The Naushads betrayed the trust of elderly and impoverished patients to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a $2 million mansion, two vacation houses and four luxury cars, Wiseman said.

FDA-approved Orthovisc, which is sold by authorized distributors in the United States, comes in a pre-filled syringe. It is injected into the knee to relieve osteoarthritis pain and is available only by prescription.

The Naushads concealed their actions from patients, employees and publicly-funded health insurance programs by, among other things, stonewalling questions from their chief of purchasing. After a shipment of foreign, unapproved injections was seized by the FDA, the Naushads had the next shipment sent to their home.

Wajiha Naushad lied to her compliance officer and friend by telling her the injections came from a distributor in the U.S., and fraudulently persuaded the compliance officer that the Orthovisc had a required National Drug Code number.

A jury in April convicted the couple of one conspiracy count and one count of health care fraud. Wajiha Naushad was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation.

“Injectable unapproved medical devices that are smuggled from unknown foreign sources and come from outside the secure supply chain can present a serious health risk to patients who receive them,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead with the Kansas City Field Office of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations. “Not only are the device components completely unknown, the conditions under which they are manufactured and held are outside the regulatory scrutiny of the legitimate supply chain. We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who traffic in illegal unapproved medical products,” he said.

Special Agent in Charge Curt L. Muller with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said, “The Naushads went to significant lengths to conceal their repeated use of and billing for a medication that they did not actually provide to patients. In addition to the defendants misleading patients and staff about the substance used for these injections, the Naushads deceived federal health care programs into reimbursing for a more expensive medication than was used. For HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners, ceasing fraudulent activity that targets these programs is a top priority.” 

The Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek Wiseman and Dorothy McMurtry prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

FORT WAYNE – Katina Miller, 50 years old, of Montpelier, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Holly A. Brady on her plea of guilty to wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Miller was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $86,755.39 in restitution.

According to documents in the case, Miller was the Trustee of Bearcreek Township, located in Jay County, Bryant Indiana between January 2015 and December 2018.  As the Trustee, Miller was responsible for the financial processes of the Township.  Miller violated her fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of Bearcreek Township by converting public money for her own personal benefit.  The investigation revealed Miller had embezzled $86,755.39 by using Bearcreek Township bank accounts to make cash withdrawals and purchases for personal and unauthorized transactions. 

This case was investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Indiana State Board of Accounts.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey R. Speith.

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