Month: August 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEW ALBANY – Cornelio Moran-Miranda, 39, of New Albany, Indiana, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. 

According to court documents, on June 1, 2021, investigators with the New Albany Police Department executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence. During a search of the defendant’s bedroom, officers located approximately 7.75 pounds of cocaine, 2.75 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.41 ounces of heroin, digital scales, and $20,142 in United States currency.  During a search of a detached garage to the residence, officers located two rifles, an UZI-style pistol, and a money counter. During a search of the defendant’s truck, officers located a Ruger pistol with an obliterated serial number. The defendant was subsequently arrested.    

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Indianapolis, made the announcement.

The New Albany Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. The Floyd County Prosecutor’s Office also provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt following the defendant’s guilty plea. As part of the sentence, Judge Pratt ordered that the defendant be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for five years following his release from prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian R. Mukoski who prosecuted this case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN —United States Attorney Mark Totten announced today that Jerreil Lamounta Martin has been arrested on charges involving alleged straw purchasing and illegal sale of firearms. 

          A “straw purchase” is an illegal firearm sale where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses another person who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm.  The indictment alleges that between September and October 2021, Martin straw purchased at least 11 handguns from licensed firearms dealers and falsely certified on federal forms that he was the actual buyer of these guns.  In reality, the indictment alleges, Martin purchased those handguns on behalf of other individuals, then transferred them to his customers, collecting a fee for his illegal service.  Numerous guns that were allegedly illegally purchased and trafficked by Martin were later used in crimes.          

          “We face an epidemic of gun violence in Michigan, like other states across the nation,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. He continued: “No person should fear for their lives merely by going for a walk in their neighborhood, but that fear is real for some families. The recent surge in gun violence is driven, in part, by individuals who illegally supply firearms to violent criminals. When you illegally buy a gun for someone else, you could buy yourself 10 years in federal prison. My office will continue to use federal laws to prosecute straw purchasers and hold them accountable for trafficking illegally purchased firearms.”

          “Straw purchasing is a serious crime. Straw purchasers put firearms in the hands of felons and trigger-pullers, and they directly enable the violence that follows,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Resident Special Agent in Charge Andrew Holt. “Our agents are committed to working with our law enforcement partners and prosecutors to stop the flow of guns to individuals who cannot legally purchase them.”

          The United States Attorney’s Office and the ATF in the Western District of Michigan are focused on prosecuting those individuals who are putting guns in the hands of dangerous criminals.

          This case was investigated by the ATF as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide initiative to reduce violent crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutor’s offices, and federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement work closely together to identify and prosecute individuals responsible for driving violent crime in our communities to make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Individuals with information or concerns about violent crime or firearms offenses should contact local law enforcement. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit: https://www.justice.gov/psn

          An indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

ATLANTA – De’reek Banks has been sentenced for operating a scheme that caused approximately $48,000,000 in outstanding federal student loans to be fraudulently discharged by exploiting a program intended for disabled military veterans. Banks illegally pocketed about $891,000 in payments from more than 500 student loan borrowers. Many of these borrowers mistakenly believed that they had paid Banks for legitimate student debt relief services.

“This defendant brazenly stole funds from innocent student loan borrowers by exploiting a financial aid program intended to assist military vets who sacrificed their health for the security of our country,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “He tricked borrowers into believing that he could legitimately obtain federal student loan discharges for them while attempting to defraud the U.S. government of almost 50 million dollars.”

“The sentencing demonstrates the commitment of the US Postal Inspection Service to bring to justice fraudsters who seek to exploit victims and federal programs for their own personal gain,” said Tommy D. Coke, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division.  “We are proud to work with our law enforcement partners to unravel and stop this type of fraudulent scheme.”

“I’m proud of the OIG Special Agents and our law enforcement colleagues whose efforts brought about this action,” said Reginald J. France, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Southeastern Regional Office. “The OIG is committed to fighting student aid fraud in all its forms and we will continue to work with our partners to pursue anyone who participants in these types of crimes.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court:  De’reek Banks offered to help student loan borrowers obtain discharges for federal student loans in exchange for a fee. Banks claimed that special government programs existed for authorizing the discharge of the borrowers’ loans. But Banks’s business relied on false statements he made to Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education responsible for providing billions in financial aid to students.

Banks made false representations to the agency, and fabricated hundreds of Department of Veterans Affairs letters using a fake letterhead, claiming that the borrowers were military veterans who were eligible for student loan discharges due to a total or permanent disability (“TPD”). Banks then used these letters to apply for special TPD discharges with Federal Student Aid that caused the student loan borrowers’ debts to be erased even though the borrowers did not lawfully qualify for the discharge. Banks caused approximately $48,000,000 in student loans to be fraudulently discharged through his scheme.

On March 2, 2022, De’reek Banks, 41, of Lithonia, Georgia, was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $910,416.69.  He pleaded guilty to theft of government property.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Samir Kaushal, Deputy Chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crime Section, prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Tennessee state representative and his former chief of staff were arrested today at their homes on criminal charges related to a bribery and kickback conspiracy.

According to court documents, State Representative Glen Casada, 63, of Franklin, and Cade Cothren, 35, of Nashville, are charged with conspiracy to commit theft from programs receiving federal funds; bribery and kickbacks concerning programs receiving federal funds; honest services wire fraud; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Both will make initial appearances in federal court later today.

According to allegations in the indictment, beginning in and around October 2019, Casada – while representing Tennessee House District 63; Cothren; and another conspirator – also a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, engaged in a fraudulent scheme to enrich themselves by exploiting Casada and the other conspirator’s official positions as legislators to obtain state approval of a company called Phoenix Solutions as vendor to provide constituent mail services to members of the Tennessee General Assembly. Casada, Cothren, and the other conspirator further allegedly sought to obtain State funds for Phoenix Solutions, Casada’s political consulting business, and a political consulting business owned by the other conspirator. Casada and the other conspirator are alleged to have enriched themselves by obtaining bribes and kickbacks from Cothren, in exchange for securing the approval of Phoenix Solutions as a mailer program vendor. 

The indictment alleges that the conspirators told members of the Tennessee General Assembly that Phoenix Solutions was run by an individual named “Matthew Phoenix,” an experienced political consultant who had previously worked for a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm. In fact, Cothren operated Phoenix Solutions, and Casada, Cothren, and the other conspirator allegedly knew that “Matthew Phoenix” was a fictitious person and secretly profited from the fraudulent venture. Casada, Cothren, and the other conspirator allegedly concealed their involvement in Phoenix Solutions by submitting sham invoices to the State of Tennessee in the names of political consulting companies owned by Casada and the other conspirator, for the purpose of secretly funneling money from the State to Phoenix Solutions through the bank accounts of these companies. In 2020, these companies and Phoenix Solutions allegedly received approximately $51,947 from the State in payments associated with the mailer program. 

If convicted, Casada and Cothren each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for certain individual counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney John P. Taddei of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda J. Klopf for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case. 

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.