Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ROY REID, also known as “Jama,” 34, of New Haven, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to a fentanyl trafficking offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the fall of 2021, the New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force and New Haven Police Department began investigating a drug trafficking ring that was distributing fentanyl, heroin crack and cocaine in and around the West Hills neighborhood, including the McConaughy Terrace housing complex, in New Haven.  The investigation included court-authorized wiretaps, fixed video surveillance and controlled purchases of narcotics.  Between June 2021 and January 2022, investigators made five controlled purchases of fentanyl from Reid.

Reid pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of fentanyl, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  Judge Nagala scheduled sentencing for December 20.

Reid was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on April 5, 2022.  He is released on a $150,000 bond pending sentencing.

In November 2013, Reid was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 26 months of imprisonment for a heroin trafficking offense.

This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The Task Force includes participants from the New Haven Police Department, Milford Police Department, East Haven Police Department, West Haven Police Department, Connecticut State Police and the Connecticut Department of Correction.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony E. Kaplan and Kenneth L. Gresham 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

COVINGTON, Ky. —An Independence, Ky., woman, Hachelle Alsip, 42, was sentenced on Wednesday to 28 months in federal prison, by U.S. District Judge David Bunning, for wire fraud.

According to Alsip’s plea agreement, in 2016, Victory Mortgage hired her as a loan funding representative to assist, in part, with distribution of funds with loans provided by the lending company to its borrowers.  In 2021, Alsip caused two wire transfers totaling $507,000 to be made from one of Victory Mortgage’s business checking accounts, into a personal bank account belonging to her and her husband.

Alsip pleaded guilty in June 2022.

Under federal law, Alsip must serve 85 percent of her prison sentence.  Upon her release from prison, she will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Sheriff Rick Crowder, Boone County Sheriff’s Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Winslow.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Department of Justice announced today that the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) began its eighth distribution of approximately $372 million in funds forfeited to the U.S. government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) fraud scheme. 

In this distribution, payments will be sent to 27,219 victims across the globe, bringing their total recovery to 88.35%. The total amount distributed now exceeds $4 billion to more than 40,000 victims as compensation for losses they suffered from the collapse of BLMIS. 

According to court documents and information presented in related proceedings, for decades, Bernard L. Madoff used his position as chairman of BLMIS, the investment advisory business he founded in 1960, to steal billions from his clients. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies, admitting that he had turned his wealth management business into the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, benefitting himself, his family, and select members of his inner circle.

“The Criminal Division is proud to continue providing compensation to victims through the largest remission process the Department has overseen,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The billions distributed worldwide is a testament to the department’s sustained efforts to ensure justice for the victims of Bernard Madoff’s massive fraud.” 

“This Office continues its historic work seeking justice for the victims of Madoff’s heinous crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Today’s additional payments of $372 million by this Office and the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section represents the eighth in a series of distributions that will leave victims with compensation for more than 88 percent of their losses—a truly remarkable result. But our work is not fully complete, and this Office’s tireless commitment to compensating the victims who suffered as a result of Madoff’s crimes continues.”

“The damage perpetrated by Bernard Madoff in history’s largest Ponzi scheme reverberates around the world, devastating thousands of victims,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The funds distributed today are approximately $372 million, alongside the funds distributed previously now totaling over $4 billion, showing our unwavering commitment to bringing justice to the victims of Madoff’s greedy crimes.”

On June 29, 2009, then-U.S. District Judge Denny Chin sentenced Madoff to serve 150 years in prison for running the largest fraudulent scheme in history. Of the over $4 billion that has been made available to victims, approximately $2.2 billion was collected as part of the historic civil forfeiture recovery from the estate of deceased Madoff investor Jeffry Picower. An additional $1.7 billion was collected as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. and civilly forfeited in a parallel action. The remaining funds were collected through a civil forfeiture action against investor Carl Shapiro and his family, and from civil and criminal forfeiture actions against Bernard L. Madoff, Peter B. Madoff, and their co-conspirators.

The MVF’s payouts would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and the FBI in the prosecution of Madoff’s crimes and the recovery of assets supporting the forfeiture in this case. 

Former Chairman Richard Breeden of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission oversees the MVF in his capacity as Special Master appointed by the Justice Department to assist with the victim remission proceedings. The Department also acknowledges the continued sacrifice of numerous individuals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, who worked in challenging conditions to ensure that this distribution occurred and remained on schedule.  

More information about MVF and its compensation to victims of BLMIS is available on the MVF website at www.madoffvictimfund.com, such as eligibility criteria, process updates, and frequently asked questions. Further questions may be directed to the MVF at 866-624-3670 or info@madoffvictimfund.com.