Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA —Rodney Ellis, 71, of Sumter, was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to his role in defrauding a local non-profit organization. 

Evidence presented to the Court showed that while serving as the Financial Officer for Sumter Behavioral Health Services (SBHS), a 501c3 non-profit, Ellis defrauded the non-profit out of more than $800,000 over eight years. His scheme was to divert funds from SBHS banking accounts to his own personal banking accounts.

United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten sentenced Ellis to 33 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  Ellis was also ordered to pay restitution to SBHS in the amount of $812,259.07.  There is no parole in the federal system.

“By stealing from an organization that serves those suffering from substance abuse, Ellis took from those he should have been protecting,” said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs. “This case shows that financial crimes are not victimless, and often do the most harm to those who need help the most. This office will continue to aggressively prosecute fraud, and we appreciate the efforts of all state and federal agencies involved in this case.”

“Ellis used his position of power to take advantage of a system designed to help those with substance abuse challenges,” said Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Columbia Special Agent in Charge, Susan Ferensic. “Our work is not finished. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to dismantle the schemes that hurt health organizations and we will hold the perpetrators accountable.”

“I am grateful to the United States Attorney’s Office for their efforts in bringing Rodney Ellis to justice,” said Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis “Ellis betrayed the trust of not only members of the Sumter Behavioral Health office, but the citizens of Sumter County. We hope the message is clear that anyone who betrays the trust of their employer by taking funds will be held responsible and all efforts will be utilized to bring them to justice.”

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Sumter County Sherriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Bower prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ROBERT NEWLAND, the business partner of art dealer INIGO PHILBRICK, who specialized in post-war and contemporary fine art with galleries in London, United Kingdom, and Miami, Florida, pled guilty today before United States District Judge Sidney H. Stein to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for perpetrating a multi-year scheme to defraud various individuals and entities in order to finance PHILBRICK’s art business.  NEWLAND, a citizen of the United Kingdom, was arrested in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2022, and extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States on September 22, 2022.  PHILBRICK has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the multi-year, $86 million fraud scheme.     

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:  “Robert Newland conspired with Inigo Philbrick to take advantage of the lack of transparency in the art market to defraud art collectors, investors, and lenders in order to finance Philbrick’s art business.  Newland has now admitted his guilt and awaits sentencing for his role in perpetrating this extensive fraud.” 

According to the allegations in the Complaint, Indictment, and statements made in court:

From approximately 2016 through 2019, to finance his art business, PHILBRICK engaged in a scheme to defraud multiple individuals and entities in the art market located in the New York metropolitan area and abroad (the “Fraud Scheme”).  NEWLAND was PHILBRICK’s business partner and financial adviser and conspired with PHILBRICK to perpetrate the Fraud Scheme.  NEWLAND and PHILBRICK made material misrepresentations and omissions to art collectors, investors, and lenders to access valuable art and obtain sales proceeds, funding, and loans.  NEWLAND and PHILBRICK knowingly misrepresented the ownership of certain artworks, for example, by selling a total of more than 100%ownership in an artwork to multiple individuals and entities without their knowledge and by selling artworks and/or using artworks as collateral on loans without the knowledge of co-owners and without disclosing the ownership interests of third parties to buyers and lenders.

Over the years, PHILBRICK obtained over $86 million in loans and sale proceeds in connection with the Fraud Scheme.  Artworks about which NEWLAND and PHILBRICK made these fraudulent misrepresentations in furtherance of the Fraud Scheme include, among others, a 1982 painting by the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat titled “Humidity,” a 2010 untitled painting by the artist Christopher Wool, and an untitled 2012 painting by the artist Rudolf Stingel depicting the artist Pablo Picasso.  

In the fall of 2019, NEWLAND and PHILBRICK’s Fraud Scheme collapsed as various investors and lenders learned about the material misrepresentations and omissions PHILBRICK and NEWLAND had made.

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NEWLAND, 45, a U.K. citizen residing in the United Kingdom, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years. 

The statutory maximum sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. 

PHILBRICK, 35, a U.S. citizen formerly residing in the United Kingdom, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud on November 18, 2021.  On May 23, 2022, United States District Judge Sidney L. Stein sentenced PHILBRICK to 84 months in prison and two years of supervised release.  PHILBRICK was further ordered to pay a forfeiture of $86,672,790 and restitution of $82,592,367.

Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Art Crime Team.  He also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service for their support and assistance in the defendant’s extradition.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jessica K. Feinstein and Cecilia E. Vogel are in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted an Alexandria man yesterday on charges stemming from a string of armed gas station and convenience store robberies in the Herndon area of Fairfax County.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Rashawn Perkins, 28, wore a ski mask and brandished a firearm while committing four robberies in five weeks. The evidence established that Perkins robbed a 7-Eleven on December 30, 2021 and a Sunoco on January 19, 2022. The evidence further proved that on February 5, 2022, Perkins returned to both locations and robbed them at gunpoint again. Body-worn camera footage showed that when detectives with the Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Bureau executed a search warrant at Perkins’ residence, Perkins – who had previously been convicted of three felony offenses – threw a firearm out of his bedroom window. Evidence at the trial established that this was the same firearm Perkins used to commit several of the robberies. 

Perkins faces a mandatory minimum of 28 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment when sentenced on January 12, 2023. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff accepted the verdict.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John C. Blanchard and Nicholas J. Patterson are prosecuting the case.

This matter was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Safe Streets Violent Crime Task Force, which is composed of Special Agents and detectives from law enforcement agencies within Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force concentrates on investigating violent crimes and criminal threats within the Capital Region. 

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:22-cr-114.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Fought Over Police Barricade, Pushed Metal Sign Into Defensive Line Formed by Law Enforcement

            WASHINGTON — A Colorado man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His and others’ actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

            Thomas Patrick Hamner, 49, of Peyton, Colorado, was sentenced in the District of Columbia.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Hamner illegally entered the West Lawn of the U.S.  Capitol, which was barricaded with fencing. Upon seeing rioters break through the police line, Hamner hopped over the barricades and began pulling them down. At approximately 1 p.m., a crowd of violent rioters assembled on the West Plaza of the Capitol. U.S. Capitol Police formed a line of bike racks to act as a barrier against the crowd. Officers fended off repeated attempts by those in the mob to pull on the bike racks, either with their hands or with ropes and straps. At approximately 1:14 p.m., Hamner engaged with a tug-of-war with a Capitol Police officer and an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department over a bike rack that was being used as a barricade.

            Additionally, at approximately 1:40 p.m., Hamner joined others in the mob in pushing a large metal sign into the defensive line formed by law enforcement officers.

            Hamner was arrested on Nov. 9, 2021, in Colorado Springs. He later was indicted on a total of six charges, including five felonies. He pleaded guilty on May 17, 2022, to one of the felony charges, interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder. He has pleaded not guilty to the remaining five charges and is awaiting further court proceedings.

            Following his prison term, Hamner will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Denver Field Office, Colorado Springs Resident Agency and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Hamner as #61 in its seeking information photos. Assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 20 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 870 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 265 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. 

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

David Stone Electronically Accessed an Investment Advice Service’s Unannounced Stock Picks and Used That Information to Generate Millions in Trading Profits and to Provide Inside Tips to Another