Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Hattiesburg, Miss. – A Texas woman was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of  the Drug Enforcement Administration.   

According to court documents, in July of 2021, Melissa Muniz-Garcia, 45, of Falfurrias, Texas, conspired with another individual to distribute 5 kilograms of methamphetamine to a confidential source in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  The investigation revealed that Muniz-Garcia had also been involved in smuggling drugs in the Corpus Christi, Texas area.  Muniz-Garcia was indicted by a federal grand jury and pled guilty on May 25, 2022.

In addition to the prison sentence, Muniz-Garcia was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.  

The case is the result of an extensive investigation, dubbed “Don’t Tell On Me Bro,” which began as an operation targeting illegal drug trafficking in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi area. “Don’t Tell On Me Bro” 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.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Lamar County Sheriff’s Office, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Hattiesburg Police Department, Forrest County Sheriff’s, and Columbia Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Keesha Middleton.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Hattiesburg, Miss. – A Texas man was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

According to court documents, on December 5, 2020, Jesus Humberto Ferdin, 32, of Laredo, Texas, and a co-defendant traveled to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to enforce payment of $16,000 for the previously delivered 2 kilograms of methamphetamine.  The co-defendant arrived wearing a bullet proof vest and carrying a stolen firearm. 

In addition to the prison sentence, Ferdin was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

The case is the result of an extensive investigation, dubbed “Don’t Tell on Me Bro,” which began as an operation targeting illegal drug trafficking in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi area. “Don’t Tell On Me Bro” 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.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Lamar County Sheriff’s Office, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Hattiesburg Police Department, Forrest County Sheriff’s, and Columbia Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Keesha Middleton.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Jackson, Miss. – The co-owner of Gold Coast Commodities, Inc., who serves as vice president of the Brandon-based fat and oil recycling business, pled guilty today for his part in illegally discharging industrial waste into the Jackson Sewer System, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Charles Carfagno with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division’s Southeast Area Branch. 

During court today, Robert David Douglas, 60, of Flowood, admitted authorizing payments on behalf of Gold Coast for the transportation and disposal of its industrial waste at a commercial entity in Jackson, which as a result of his negligence, caused the waste to be trucked and discharged to a facility which was not a legal discharge point designated by the Jackson Wastewater Treatment System to receive the waste.

Douglas will be sentenced on November 9, 2022 at 2:30 p.m.  A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Brandon Police Department, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, with cooperation from the City of Brandon and the City of Jackson municipal governments.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gaines Cleveland.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MINNEAPOLIS – A federal grand jury returned an indictment against a Rochester man for possession of a firearm as a felon, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents on May 25, 2022, Marcus Anthony Jackson, also known as Homicide, 49, was found in possession of a Taurus G2C 9MM pistol. Because Jackson has multiple prior felony convictions in Olmsted, Hennepin, and Ramsey Counties, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

Jackson is charged with one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court today, before Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rochester Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew S. Ebert is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

The United States obtained a warrant to seize a Boeing 737-7EM aircraft owned by PJSC LUKOIL, a Russian multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Moscow, Russia. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas authorized the seizure, finding probable cause that the Boeing aircraft was subject to seizure based on violations of federal law.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued sanctions against Russia in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions impose export controls and license requirements to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. The Russia sanctions expanded prohibitions on the export, reexport or in-country transfer of, among other things, U.S.-manufactured aircraft to or within Russia without a valid license or license exception.

According to court documents, LUKOIL owns the Boeing aircraft – bearing the tail number VP-CLR and the manufacturer serial number 34865 – which flew into and out of Russia in violation of the Department of Commerce’s sanctions against Russia.

The Boeing last flew into the United States in March 2019 when the plane flew from overseas to Houston, Texas with LUKOIL officials, including a Russian oligarch – then LUKOIL president and CEO Vagit Alekperov – on board the aircraft. The Boeing is believed to be in Russia and worth approximately $45 million. Since September 2014, LUKOIL has been subject to sectoral sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The seizure action is being coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2 and run out of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

The FBI’s Houston Field Office, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Houston are investigating the seizure matter.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Pearson and Brandon L. Fyffe of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and Trial Attorneys Lindsay M. Heck and Sinan Kalayoglu of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are leading the seizure action. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the FBI’s New York Field Office and the Federal Aviation Administration provided significant assistance.