Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Obstructing Justice by Retaliating Against a Witness was sentenced on August 19, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Edward Martin, age 50, was sentenced to six years and six months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  All but 18 months of the sentence are concurrent to a 20-year sentence Martin received for his conviction for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.   

Martin was indicted for Obstructing Justice by Retaliating Against a Witness by a federal grand jury in December of 2021.  He was found guilty following a federal court trial held on August 1, 2022.  Martin threatened an individual who had provided information to law enforcement about a drug conspiracy in which Martin was involved.  Martin made threatening comments to the individual in an attempt to dissuade the individual from testifying against Martin’s co-conspirators in pending federal criminal proceedings. 

The investigation was conducted by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn N. Rich prosecuted the case.  

Martin was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

INDIANAPOLIS – Wesley Cartwright, 39, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on January 5, 2022, deputies with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department attempted to serve an eviction notice to Cartwright at his residence in Indianapolis. Cartwright refused to exit the residence. After more than five hours of Cartwright refusing to come out, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officers arrived to assist. Officers observed lights on inside the residence and believed Cartwright may still be inside. Officers were informed that Cartwright is a convicted felon and that he may be in possession of a firearm.

Law enforcement officers obtained warrants to allow them to arrest Cartwright and to search for firearms inside the residence. IMPD officers communicated sporadically with Cartwright over the phone, but Cartwright indicated he had no intention of cooperating with the police and that he wasn’t going back to prison.

IMPD SWAT deployed a drone into Cartwright’s residence and observed that he was armed with two handguns. Cartwright hit the drone with his hands knocking it to the ground and then fired several shots inside the residence. As SWAT officers launched chemical munitions through the window, Cartwright began firing multiple rounds at the officers. IMPD SWAT moved armored vehicles toward the residence and Cartwright began firing at the officers again. He directly pointed a firearm at one of the officers and shot down a second drone.

After 12 hours of continued negotiations and Cartwright still refusing to exit the residence, IMPD SWAT entered the residence and took Cartwright into custody. Cartwright was found wearing a ballistic vest. Police seized two loaded handguns from inside the residence.

Beginning in 2009, Cartwright has sustained five previous convictions for felony offenses including intimidation, battery by means of a deadly weapon, theft and dealing narcotics. Under federal law, anyone who has been convicted of any felony offense is prohibited from possessing firearms.

“Every day, law enforcement officers serve their communities at risk to their own lives. Recently, and far too often, we have seen the tragedies that can result when police working to protect the public encounter illegally armed, violent criminals,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Prosecutions of violent repeat offenders are critical to our efforts to stem the tide of gun violence. The serious federal sentence imposed for these crimes demonstrates that we will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities and to hold armed and dangerous criminals accountable.”

“The defendant chose to violently confront police officers who legally came to his home to serve an eviction notice, all while already being prohibited from possessing firearms due to his previous criminal history,” stated Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of ATF’s Columbus Field Division. “IMPD and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office handled this situation professionally and brought the defendant into custody without injury to any civilians or officers, for which we are all grateful. When we talk about removing violent individuals from our communities, this is exactly what we mean, and ATF will continue to work with our law enforcement partners toward this end.”

“In my opinion, the federal enhancement penalty for committing crimes while armed is one of the three most effective tools in fighting crime,” said Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal. “Citizens in Indiana have their rights to carry a gun, but that does not extend to committing a crime while armed. An additional steep price must be paid by those who do so. I thank United States Attorney Zach Myers and his office for the strong position in protecting our community.”

ATF investigated the case in conjunction with IMPD. Invaluable assistance was provided by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II. As part of the sentence, Judge Sweeney ordered that Cartwright be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jayson W. McGrath who prosecuted this 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Jackson, Ohio man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 108 months in prison for orchestrating a $50 million dollar Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 50 investors.

Jason E. Adkins, 46, solicited victims from all over the country and world.

“The victims in this case had their lives upended, their life savings taken, and their security ripped away, all while Adkins enriched himself and lived lavishly” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Adkins deserves the prison sentence he received today.”

According to court documents, from 2012 through 2018, Adkins conspired to solicit millions of dollars from investors under false pretenses, failed to invest the funds as promised, and misappropriated investors’ funds for his own benefit and the benefit of others.

Adkins and others claimed that they bought and sold over-sized tires commonly known as off-the-road tires, which are used on earth moving equipment and/or mining equipment. Investors were told their money would be used to buy the tires at a steep discount, and that the tires would then be re-sold to a buyer at a much higher rate.

Investors were promised a 15 to 20 percent rate of return on investment, generally within 180 days. Adkins would sometimes pay the return on investment for the first transaction with investor victims.

In addition, Adkins and his co-conspirators employed a sham escrow agent to falsely reassure investor-victims that their money was safe until the tire deals were consummated; more than $80 million flowed through the so-called escrow agent’s accounts related to the scheme.

Adkins also laundered his ill-gotten proceeds for at least five years, including by investing in front businesses created by co-conspirators.

Adkins bought cars, vacations and property with the funds from the scheme. For example, he paid for the construction of a pool at his personal residence and more than $20,000 to lease a private jet.

Further, Adkins failed to file individual income tax returns reporting his income derived from the scheme. In 2013, specifically, Adkins earned at least $1.1 million, which caused a tax loss of nearly $237,000 to the IRS.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation; and J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the case. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall, Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and David J. Twombly are representing the United States in this case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

SAVANNAH, GA:  The number of defendants charged with illegally obtaining pandemic relief funds continues to rise in the Southern District of Georgia as investigators identify those who used fraud to receive government payments.

Since passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, in March 2020, and its subsequent funding of more than $6.5 billion, the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office has federally charged nearly 40 defendants for fraudulently obtaining Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) funding or Economic Injury Disaster Loans through Small Business Administration.

“The CARES Act provided a vital safety net for small businesses during months of pandemic-related disruptions,” said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “In coordination with our law enforcement partners, we continue to identify and hold accountable those who obtained funding to which they weren’t entitled and in violation of the law.”

Defendants recently charged in the Southern District include:

• Roshawnda Richardson, 29, of Waverly, Ga., pled guilty to an Information charging her with Wire Fraud. Richardson admitted participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain PPP funding for two businesses. 
• Jerrod Bellamy, 25, of Savannah, pled guilty to an Information charging him with Conspiracy and Filing a False Tax Return. Bellamy admitted he provided false information in his personal tax return, fraudulently obtained a PPP loan, and conspired with others to fraudulently obtain PPP loans for them. He also received more than $50,000 in kickbacks for helping co-conspirators fraudulently obtain COVID-19 relief funding.
• Lesley Anne McCray, 31, of Fort Stewart, is charged via Information alleging she committed Wire Fraud. The Information alleges she provided false information to obtain PPP funding. 
• Christopher Sylvester, 29, of Columbia, S.C., is charged via Information with Wire Fraud. Sylvester is alleged to have provided false information in a PPP application to receive relief funding.
• Monique Stoddart, 30, of Hinesville, Ga., is charged via Information with Wire Fraud. Stoddart is alleged to have provided fraudulent information and false tax forms in an application to receive PPP funding.

The defendants face possible penalty ranges of up to 20 years in prison.  As alleged in the charges and reflected in testimony and court documents, the fraudulent loan applications in these cases combined to cause lenders to pay nearly $400,000 to defendants and co-conspirators. 

Criminal indictments and informations contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

“Army CID takes all attempts at committing fraud against the federal government by active duty or Department of the Army civilians seriously. This case is an example of the lengths our investigators and law enforcement partners will go to bring perpetrators to justice,” said Acting Resident Agent in Charge Jennifer Coleman of the Southeast Fraud Resident Agency, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.

“Providing false information to gain access to SBA programs intended for victims of disasters is unacceptable,” said SBA OIG’s Eastern Region Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite. “OIG is focused on rooting out bad actors in these vital SBA programs. I want to thank the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners for their dedication and commitment to seeing justice served.”

“IRS-Criminal Investigation is dedicated to ensuring COVID-19 relief funds are going to those who really need it,” said IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey. “We have a financial expertise that assists our law enforcement partners in these types of cases.  Together we will continue to show the public the value we bring to our community ensuring these federal relief funds are going to the real small business owners in need, not to greedy criminals.”

“The U.S. Secret Service along with our law enforcement partners remain committed in the fight to defend the nation’s financial security, and we stand ready to protect our economic infrastructure from those that choose to feloniously exploit it,” said Craig Reno, Resident Agent in Charge of the Savannah Resident Office.” The Secret Service and our law enforcement partners will investigate and criminally prosecute such fraud to the fullest extent of the law.”

The cases are being investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Secret Service, and prosecuted for the United States by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

STATESBORO, GA:  A South Carolina man who referred to himself and his girlfriend as the “modern-day Bonnie and Clyde” has admitted using information gleaned from stolen mail to steal or attempt to steal more than a million dollars from multiple victims.

Michael H. Boatright, 33, of Chesterfield, S.C., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail, Wire, and Bank Fraud, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Stephanie Michelle Lea Napier, 29, also of Chesterfield, awaits sentencing after previously pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.

“These thefts weren’t just a matter of swiping letters from private citizens’ rural mailboxes; Boatwright and Napier took their crimes several steps further by using that mail to steal sensitive information and individuals’ identities,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “They will now be held accountable for invading the privacy and financial security of innocent victims.”

As described in court documents and proceedings, Boatwright and Napier called themselves the “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde” when, in a period from about November 2020 to June 2021, they drove around Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida to steal mail from mailboxes, capturing personal identifying information from the stolen mail, and then using that information to gain access and control of their victims’ bank accounts.

Using that information, the two stole, or attempted to steal, hundreds of thousands of dollars from victims, including those residing in the Statesboro area, with actual and attempted financial losses of nearly $1.5 million.

“The United States Postal Inspection Service mission is to defend the mail system from criminal misuse,” said Juan A. Vargas, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Miami Division. “Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners will continue to be vigilant investigating and pursuing mail thieves.”

“Even the most cunning criminals can’t elude the team effort of the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies tasked with pursuing them,” said U.S. Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge Craig Reno. “This case should serve as a deterrent to fraudsters that you can’t escape the long arm of the law.”

The case is being investigated by the Jacksonville, Fla. and Savannah, Ga. offices of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service, with assistance from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, and the Statesboro Police Department, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Porter.