Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEWARK, N.J. – A Passaic County man was sentenced to 84 months in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Vaughn Tiedeman, 49, of West Milford, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to receipt and possession of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court.  Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence on Sept. 21, 2022, in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between July 2018 and April 2019, Tiedeman downloaded and possessed more than 600 images of child sexual abuse, including images of young children and depictions of violence.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Tiedeman to 10 years of supervised release and order him to pay restitution of $9,000 to the victims.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard W. Reinhold, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah A. Sulkowski of the Violent Crime Unit and Francesca Liquori, Chief of the Narcotics/Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force Unit, in Newark.

Defense counsel: Stephen Turano Esq., Newark

Source: United States Department of Justice News

          GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — David Tillman Deloach, 39, from Kalamazoo, Michigan was sentenced to serve 58 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for using a stolen identity to illegally purchase 28 handguns. Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou also imposed 3 years of supervised release following his release from custody.

          U.S. Attorney Mark Totten stated, “Mr. Deloach’s crimes are serious. By using another person’s identity over the course of approximately five months to purchase a cache of handguns, Mr. Deloach is fueling the epidemic of violence plaguing our communities. Mr. Deloach is arming convicted felons, like himself, who are legally prohibited from possessing firearms. My office, working with the ATF, will continue to target individuals who are straw purchasing firearms.”

          A Special Agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Chicago Field Division began investigating Mr. Deloach after he was stopped by Indiana State Police for traffic violations and during a search of his car, troopers found two handguns.  As a convicted felon, Mr. Deloach was prohibited from possessing any firearms.  Three months later, Mr. Deloach was a passenger in a car stopped by Chicago Police, in which officers found five handguns.  The ATF Special Agent discovered that between March and July 2021, Mr. Deloach, a convicted felon, used a stolen identity to purchase 28 handguns from three licensed gun stores in Western Michigan. Only three of these pistols have been seized by police; the location of vast majority of the handguns purchased by Mr. Deloach remains unknown. 

          On September 20, 2022, Mr. Deloach pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, being a felon in possession of firearms, and making false statements during the purchase of firearms. In sentencing Mr. Deloach to serve almost 5 years in federal prison, Judge Jarbou expressed her desire to protect the community and send a strong message of deterrence to others.

          “Straw purchasers play a pivotal role in enabling the unlawful possession of guns and the violence that can follow,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division Kristen de Tineo. “ATF, in collaboration with our local, state and federal partners, is committed to working together to stop the flow of guns to individuals who cannot legally purchase them.”

          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.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A former Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) official pleaded guilty today for conspiring to defraud the State of Mississippi of millions of dollars in federal funds.

According to court documents, John Davis, 54, of Jackson, Mississippi, and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained and misused federal funds – including funds from two programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) – for their personal use and benefit. At Davis’s direction, MDHS provided federal funds to two nonprofit organizations and then directed the two nonprofit organizations to fraudulently award contracts to various entities and individuals for social services that were never provided. In addition, Davis caused the nonprofit organizations to disburse full or almost-full payments pursuant to those sham contracts at or near the beginning of the contract periods, regardless of whether any work had been performed and knowing that no significant services would be provided.

Davis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and one count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 2, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy count and 10 years in prison for the theft concerning programs receiving federal funds count. 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; U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi; Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the FBI Jackson Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Tamala Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Dax Roberson of the Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG) made the announcement.

The FBI, HHS-OIG, and USDA-OIG are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Adrienne E. Rosen and Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Fraud Section, respectively, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dave Fulcher and Andrew Eichner for the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEWARK, N.J. – A former U.S. Postal Service USPS employee was sentenced to 13 months in prison for conspiring to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. 

Ross Clayton, 31, of Irvington, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Julien X. Neals to an information charging him with conspiring to commit wire fraud. Judge Neals imposed the sentence on Sept. 21, 2022, in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. The CARES Act created a new temporary federal unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provided unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who were not eligible for other types of unemployment (the self-employed, independent contractors, gig economy workers). The CARES Act also created a new temporary federal program called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (FPUC) that provided an additional $600 weekly benefit to those eligible for PUA and regular unemployment insurance benefits.

Clayton was a USPS employee and took unemployment insurance benefits-related mail, including debit cards, from a USPS location in New Jersey. He used that mail to obtain unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Neals sentenced Clayton to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $53,321.05 and forfeiture in the amount of $28,397.49.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone in Manhattan; and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Raimundo Marrero, Philadelphia Division; and special agents with the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew Modafferi, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark. 

Defense counsel: Robert M. Perry Esq., Mount Holly, New Jersey

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Federal grand jury indictments have been unsealed charging five men, in separate and unrelated incidents, for possessing and/or distributing fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley.

Working with state and local law enforcement, last month a federal grand jury indicted five individuals on federal charges related to possession or distribution of fentanyl, including distribution of fentanyl that resulted in death:

• A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Theophylis Rayvon Pride aka OPI, 33, of Huntsville, with distribution of fentanyl resulting in death in July 2021 in Madison County.

• A two-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges JT Toombs, III, 37, of Alexander City, and Demarcus Leon Hill, 40, of Hoover, with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl in August 2021 in Talladega County.

• A six-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Azarious Taron Williams, 25, and Darien Avante Arnold, 22, both of Florence, with conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and a substance containing fentanyl between November 2020 and June 2022 in Lauderdale County. 

DEA investigated the cases along with Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Huntsville Police Department, Lauderdale County Drug Task Force, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys Robert J. Becher, M. Blake Milner, and John M. Hundscheid are prosecuting the cases.

An indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.