Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Janola Massaquoi, 41, of Shreveport, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today before Chief United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to making false statements to a federal agency.

In March 2020 Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act which was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the CARES Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) provided Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), which were low-interest financing to small businesses, renters and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters. The CARES Act also provided authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).

According to evidence presented to the court, Massaquoi formed the Jane Elizabeth Education Group (JEEG) in 2018 and also served as the president of a beauty career training company. In 2020, Massaquoi applied to the SBA for an EIDL in the name of JEEG d/b/a Company 1 seeking approximately $500,000 in EIDL Program funds. At the same time, she applied for a PPP loan in the name of JEEG d/b/a Company 1 seeking $178,750.

On or about April 20, 2020, as part of the EIDL application process, Massaquoi electronically submitted to the SBA a Loan Authorization and Agreement in which she certified to the SBA that “[JEEG] will not, without the prior written consent of SBA, make any distribution of Borrower’s assets, or give any preferential treatment, make any advance, directly or indirectly, by way of loan, gift, bonus, or otherwise to any owner or partner…”  Massaquoi also certified that the loan funds would be used solely as working capital for JEEG.

Both loan applications were subsequently approved. Based on Massaquoi’s material misrepresentations set forth in the false Loan Authorization and Agreement, the SBA disbursed approximately $500,000 in EIDL benefits to a bank account held by Company 1. On April 23, 2020, approximately $178,750 in PPP loan benefits were disbursed to a bank account held by Company 1.

In reality and unbeknownst to the SBA, Massaquoi intended to make a large advance directly to herself and did not intend to use the EIDL funds solely as working capital for JEEG. After obtaining the loan benefits, Massaquoi transferred funds from Company 1’s bank account to other bank accounts she personally controlled and used the funds for a variety of personal expenses including a down payment on the purchase of a personal residence and mortgage payments. Massaquoi also withdrew over $30,000 in cash, transferred over $50,000 to friends and family members, and used approximately $83,000 to fund her personal investment and retirement accounts. In total, Massaquoi used $250,000 of the EIDL proceeds for her personal use. 

“This defendant took advantage of taxpayer dollars at one of the most vulnerable times in American history,” stated U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “Over the last few years, small businesses have struggled to survive during the pandemic. Massaquoi exploited an opportunity given by the government to provide legitimate financial assistance to said businesses. Individuals who commit such fraud will be investigated and ultimately prosecuted. We will continue to work with our federal partners who have allocated their investigative resources toward combating this type of fraud.”

Massaquoi faces a sentence of not more than 5 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing has been set for January 11, 2023.

The case was investigated by the Department of Treasury-Inspector General for Tax Administration and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg.

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 of Justice’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.

# # #

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Shane Robinson, 28, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. to 180 months (15 years) in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, on child pornography charges. Robinson was indicted by a federal grand jury in Lafayette and charged with production of child pornography and pleaded guilty to the charge on May 26, 2022.

Robinson was identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) as a person who may be possessing or distributing child pornography. Law enforcement agents obtained a search warrant and seized Robinson’s cell phone. On the cell phone, agents found sexually explicit images of a 4-year old child which Robinson had produced using the cell phone. In fact, Robinson can be seen in one of the sexually explicit images. Law enforcement agents questioned Robinson and he admitted to producing the images using his cell phone.  

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security – Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Luke Walker.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

# # #

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Irvin J. Butler, 41, of St. Martinville, Louisiana, was sentenced today. United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced him to 151 months (12 years, 7 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, on drug trafficking charges.  Butler pleaded guilty on May 20, 2022 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

On March 26, 2019, agents with the United States Postal Inspection Service intercepted a suspicious package which had been mailed from Arizona to an address in Lafayette, Louisiana. Agents deployed a canine trained in detecting narcotics who positively alerted on the seized package. A search warrant was obtained and later that day, agents conducted a controlled delivery of the package to the residence at the location specified by the sender. After the package was delivered, a female appeared and took possession of it. Agents were able to execute the search warrant and confirmed that the package contained approximately 1,858 grams of methamphetamine.

Further investigation by agents revealed that Butler had made two wire transfers to an individual in Arizona and had been tracking the package via the internet after it had been placed in the mail in Arizona. The female who took possession of the package admitted to agents that she had been dating Butler and he had packages sent to her residence. In addition, Butler sent a text message to the girlfriend that the package would be delivered to her residence that day. The seized substance was sent to the Acadiana Criminalistics Laboratory for analysis and the results confirmed that the substance was in fact methamphetamine.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Bordelon.

# # #

Source: United States Department of Justice News

On Aug. 29, the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan awarded a default judgment, granting the proposed $10 million civil penalty against Diesel Ops LLC and Orion Diesel LLC of Waterford, Michigan. The violations the United States identified in its December 2021 complaint included the manufacture, sale and installation of aftermarket parts known as “defeat devices” designed to disable or bypass required vehicle emissions controls.

The court also granted the proposed $455,925 civil penalty against the owner of the two companies, Nicholas Piccolo, for failing to respond to an information request issued pursuant to Section 208 of the Clean Air Act and entered a judgment against Piccolo of slightly less than $1 million for alleged fraudulent transfers in violation of the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act. The court entered a permanent injunction against future sales of defeat devices against all of the defendants.

“Defeat devices violate Clean Air Act emissions requirements that protect public health and the environment, including by protecting vulnerable communities that are disproportionately impacted by air pollution,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The United States will vigorously enforce the Clean Air Act, including its prohibition of illegal devices that bypass emission controls and harm the environment and public health.”

“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made it a priority to stop the manufacture, sale and installation of defeat devices, because they result in illegal and harmful emissions that continue over the life of the vehicle,” said Acting Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case shows that EPA and our law enforcement partners will hold responsible those who illegally profit from defeat devices.”

“This action sends a strong message that selling and installing defeat devices on vehicles and engines will not be tolerated,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “Emission control systems on vehicles are designed to protect public health by reducing pollution, which is why EPA is committed to ensuring that companies comply with the Clean Air Act.”

As a result of EPA’s efforts to improve air quality and fuel efficiency, cars and trucks manufactured today emit far less pollution than older vehicles. To meet EPA’s emission standards, engine manufacturers have carefully calibrated their engines and installed sophisticated emissions control systems. EPA testing has shown that aftermarket defeat devices can increase vehicle emissions substantially, which can contribute to a variety of public health problems typically associated with exposure to air pollution. These health effects can include premature death in people with heart or lung disease, heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function and respiratory symptoms such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing. This enforcement action is one of more than 40 civil enforcement cases initiated by EPA and the Justice Department as part of the National Compliance Initiative for Stopping Aftermarket Defeat Devices for Vehicles and Engines: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/national-compliance-initiative-stopping-aftermarket-defeat-devices-vehicles-and-engines.

Because defeat devices contribute excess dirty emissions to communities located adjacent to highways and freight facilities, EPA regards halting the manufacture, sale, offering for sale and installation of defeat devices as key issues in working toward environmental justice.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. –  A Newton man was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

According to court documents, William Eric Chapman, 41, was found in possession of a firearm by officers of the Meridian Police Department on January 30, 2020, during an investigation into an alleged assault.  Chapman had a .556 caliber rifle and a sawed-off shotgun in his motel room.  Chapman has several prior felony convictions.  As a convicted felon, it is contrary to federal law for Chapman to possess any firearm.

Chapman pled guilty on May 31, 2022 to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 

The Meridian Police Department and the ATF investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Kirkham prosecuted the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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.