Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LEXINGTON, Ky. —Christopher Wayne Livingood, 50, of Lexington, Ky., was sentenced on Friday to 360 months in federal prison, by Chief U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves, for production of child pornography.

According to Livingood’s plea agreement, he used the Kik social media application to communicate with another individual about sexual acts that he wanted to perform on a minor.  Livingood also admitted to sending sexually explicit images of the minor to the same individual.  In addition to the images he produced, he was also in possession of child sexual abuse material on various electronic devices.

Livingood pleaded guilty in May 2022.

Under federal law, Livingood must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.  Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for life.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI.  The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Roth.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals 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.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

NASHVILLE –A federal jury convicted six Clarksville, Tennessee, men on Friday for racketeering conspiracy and other charges involving murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, and other crimes, all stemming from their involvement with the Clarksville chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club (Clarksville Mongols).

A seventh man, from Kentucky, who was not a member of the Mongols, was also convicted by the same jury of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy with the Clarksville Mongols.

After a three-and-a-half-month trial, the jury convicted James Wesley Frazier, 34, Aelix Santiago, 34, Michael Forrester, 34, Jamie Hern, 43, William Boylston, 32, and Jason Meyerholz, 48, all of Clarksville, Tennessee, for charges including racketeering conspiracy. Also convicted was Derek Leighton Stanley, 48, of Owensboro, Kentucky, for engaging in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

“Friday’s verdict officially ends an era of drug-trafficking, violence, and intimidation inflicted on the people of Clarksville by the Clarksville Mongols,” said U.S. Attorney Wildasin. “I commend the investigation and prosecution teams for the enormous amount of time and resources they dedicated during the past seven years to bring every member and associate of this ruthless gang to justice.  We look forward to the sentencing phase and seeking appropriate sentences, including life, for these defendants.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Clarksville Mongols were a violent motorcycle gang operating in and around the City of Clarksville. The Clarksville Mongols were a self-described “outlaw” motorcycle club with ties to Mongols chapters nationwide and internationally. Members and associates of the Clarksville Mongols engaged in a host of violent criminal activities, including murder, attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, robbery, extortion, witness tampering, money laundering, interstate travel in aid of racketeering, and large-scale drug trafficking.

In addition, the Clarksville Mongols engaged in widespread violence and terrorized the Clarksville area while distributing more than 50 pounds of nearly 100% pure methamphetamine, worth approximately $1 million, through their drug trafficking enterprise, in an effort to establish themselves as the area’s dominant motorcycle club. Violent acts included the kidnapping and murder of Stephanie Bradley, as well as the separate kidnapping and murder of Stephen Cole. 

Evidence showed that, prior to Bradley’s kidnapping and murder in May 2015,  the Clarksville Mongols believed that she had information relating to stolen drugs, money, and guns, and had been speaking negatively to others about the Clarksville Mongols. Members and associates of the Clarksville Mongols then interrogated Bradley, warning her not to speak about the Mongols again or tell anyone about the interrogation. When the Clarksville Mongols learned that Bradley had failed to accede to their demands, she was kidnapped and driven to a cemetery in Bumpus Mills, Tennessee.  Despite begging for her life, Bradley was walked into the woods behind the cemetery and shot numerous times and killed.

Then, in November 2017, Stephen Cole was kidnapped, brutally beaten, and murdered by the Clarksville Mongols. Cole, who had been a member of the Clarksville Mongols, was believed to have stolen motorcycles belonging to defendant, and fellow gang member, William Boylston. Boylston felt disrespected by Cole and was concerned about maintaining his standing and reputation among the Clarksville Mongols. Cole was kidnapped from a house in Clarksville, Tennessee, and transported by defendants Boylston and Meyerholz to a shed in Trenton, Kentucky, where they interrogated, tortured, and beat him for hours, and then murdered Cole by driving a 10-inch tent stake through his head.

Other evidence elicited at trial included allegations regarding:

            Setting fire to and destroying the Sin City Motorcycle Clubhouse in Clarksville on May 17, 2015;

            Conducting a home invasion in Hopkinsville, Kentucky on July 4, 2015, and pistol whipping the resident and stealing his belongings while holding the victim at knifepoint;

            Assaulting two individuals at a residence in Clarksville and holding them at gunpoint while they interrogated one of the victims and searched the residence for drug proceeds on January 17, 2016; and

            From Oct. 26, 2016, through on or about Nov. 9, 2016, kidnapping a woman from a hotel in Nashville, and physically assaulting her and threatening her while interrogating her about the death of a co-conspirator member of the Mongols Harbor Chapter in California.

“The Clarksville Mongols terrorized communities in Tennessee and Kentucky for far too long,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s convictions underscore the Justice Department’s dedication to disrupting and dismantling violent criminal enterprises.”

“The criminal activities and horrendous acts of violence are dangerous and damaging to everyone involved,” said Special Agent in Charge Mickey French of the ATF’s Nashville Field Division. “We will use all of ATF’s resources to disrupt the illegal possession of firearms, distribution of narcotics, and other violent crimes. We will continue to work tirelessly with our local, state, and federal partners to combat violent crime and maintain public safety within our communities.”

The convictions are as follows:

Name	Age	Charges	Maximum Penalty
James Wesley Frazier	34	racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; kidnapping; kidnapping in aid of racketeering; the murder of Stephanie Bradley in aid of racketeering; firearm offenses; and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.	Mandatory life in prison
Aelix Santiago	34	racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; firearm offenses; and kidnapping.	Up to life in prison
Michael Forrester	34	racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce and robbery affecting interstate commerce; kidnapping; and firearms offenses.	Up to life in prison
Jamie Hern	43	racketeering conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering; firearm offenses; conspiracy to tamper with a witness and witness tampering; and kidnapping.	Up to life in prison
William Boylston	32	racketeering conspiracy; assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering; kidnapping resulting in the death of Stephen Cole; kidnapping of Stephen Cole in aid of racketeering; and the murder of Stephen Cole in aid of racketeering.	Mandatory life in prison
Jason Meyerholz	48	racketeering conspiracy; assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering; kidnapping resulting in death of Stephen Cole; kidnapping of Stephen Cole in aid of racketeering; and the murder of Stephen Cole in aid of racketeering	Mandatory life in prison
Derek Leighton Stanley	48	conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; money laundering conspiracy; distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.	Up to life in prison

As a result of this seven-year investigation, 21 Clarksville Mongols members and associates were charged with federal offenses.  In addition to the seven defendants convicted Friday, 13 previously pleaded guilty and two, including Stephen Cole, are deceased. 

Chief U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr., will separately determine each defendant’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Clarksville Police Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Kentucky State Police investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Risinger and Chris Suedekum for the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Matthew P. Mattis of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime & Gang Section are prosecuting the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced the sentencing of Kim K. Murphy, age 57, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as part of Operation Hidden Fee, an extensive federal, state, and local investigation by the Middle District Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) aimed at a drug trafficking network based and operating in Baton Rouge. 

Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced Murphy to 168 months in federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine.  Murphy must also serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, Murphy conspired with his co-defendant Travis James and others to obtain, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine.  Pursuant to court orders, federal law enforcement agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) intercepted communications occurring over the cellular phones used by James.  During those court-authorized wiretaps, Murphy brokered multi-ounce transactions of cocaine and crack cocaine for customers.  Murphy and James would then set up meetings in Port Allen and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where James delivered those amounts either to waiting customers or to Murphy, who then supplied his buyers.

On or about January 11, 2018, James and Murphy were traveling from Texas to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in different vehicles when each of them were stopped separately for traffic violations.  During Murphy’s traffic stop, he gave unreliable answers to law enforcement’s questions.  Law enforcement sought and received Murphy’s written consent to search the vehicle wherein a green duffel bag was found in the trunk containing several vacuum sealed bags containing suspected bricked cocaine.  Murphy claimed ownership of said bag.

To date, nine members of this large-scale conspiracy have been prosecuted and convicted.

This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with invaluable assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Internal Revenue Service, the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Baton Rouge City Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police.  Other agencies also assisted in apprehending the defendants, including the U.S. Marshal’s Service, and the Sheriffs’ Offices in Ascension, Iberville, and West Baton Rouge Parishes.  These cases were prosecuted Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Piedrahita and Lyman E. Thornton III.

This prosecution 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Four defendants have been charged with systematically stealing fitness trackers from a warehouse in Corsicana, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. The scheme, which spanned about four months, allegedly netted them more than $425,000 in value.

Antonio Marcell Lewis, 41, Samuel Earl Lewis, 36, Aaron Lincoln, 43, and Ricka Smith, 37, were indicted for conspiracy to commit theft from interstate shipment on Sept. 8. They were arrested Thursday and made their initial appearances on Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver.

According to the indictment, Antonio Lewis and Mr. Lincoln, both shipping and receiving employees for a department store distribution center in Corsicana, allegedly stole fitness trackers and accessories destined for retail stores, unloading them from freight trailers by the pallet full and placing them near the facility’s loading docks. Ms. Smith, a driver for a commercial freight carrier, allegedly parked her truck near the loading docks, so that Antonio Lewis and Mr. Lincoln could load the trackers onto her truck.  Ms. Smith would allegedly met up with Antonio Lewis and his brother, Samuel Lewis, after each of the thefts to unload the stolen fitness trackers from her truck. The brothers then sold the fitness trackers to unauthorized retailers.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All four defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, they face up to five years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Briggs is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the extradition of Jose Ramon Tejeda-Guerrero (38) from the Dominican Republic to the United States. Tejeda-Guerrero was charged in a 2012 indictment with fraudulent possession of counterfeit or unauthorized access devices and four counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Tejeda-Guerrero faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison for the access device fraud charge, and a mandatory two-year consecutive term of imprisonment for each of the aggravated identity theft charges. He made his initial appearance in Orlando before U.S. Magistrate Embry J. Kidd on September 15, 2022, and has been ordered detained pending trial.

According to court documents and information disclosed during his initial appearance, on July 20, 2007, Tejeda-Guerrero was arrested at the Orlando International Airport on state charges for possession or transfer of credit card-making equipment. During a search incident to his arrest, the police confiscated a laptop and two flash drives. The laptop contained approximately 13,000 credit card numbers, including active accounts belonging to individuals all around the world. The laptop also contained instructions on how to make, evaluate, and test magnetic stripes of credit cards and instructions on how to clean a card maker and its components. The actual fraud loss associated with credit card accounts found on that laptop exceeds $1 million. 

Tejeda-Guerrero was released on bail in connection with his state charges on August 23, 2007, and fled. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2012. 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.          

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Kissimmee Police Department, with assistance from the Orlando Police Department and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in the Dominican Republic to secure the arrest and extradition of Tejeda-Guerrero to the United States. The U.S. Marshals Service also provided critical assistance. This case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.