Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ST. LOUIS – A man from Waterloo, Illinois on Thursday admitted embezzling $339,844 from his former employer. 

Ronald Scott Miller, 54, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark to one count of wire fraud and admitted using several schemes between March 27, 2014 and Sept. 29, 2020, to steal the money.

Miller was the warehouse and labor supervisor for a small floor covering business in St. Louis County, responsible for supervising the company’s installers, scheduling their weekly shifts and drafting their timesheets. He also had the authority to hire flooring installers. 

Miller submitted false timesheets for himself, his partner and his son. His partner did not work for the company, but Miller submitted timesheets anyway, then collected the paycheck and forged his partner’s signature to deposit it in his own account.

Miller falsely inflated the hours worked by his son without his son’s knowledge and did the same for himself by claiming he was working on installation projects when he was not. 

Miller also submitted fraudulent invoices in the name of two fake companies, claiming he had made purchases there. Miller created accounts with Square Inc. in the names of those companies so he could pay himself with company credit cards or caused the company to issue checks to pay the fake invoices. 

Finally, Miller altered and inflated receipts for legitimate purchases that he made and then sought reimbursement from his company. 

Miller is scheduled to be sentenced December 28. The wire fraud charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

The FBI and the Maryland Heights Police Department investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SAVANNAH, GA:  Five people affiliated with Georgia dive shops have admitted submitting false claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through scuba classes targeting military veterans education benefits.

The five defendants, all of whom have entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court, are owners, managers, and/or instructors at Scooba Shack in Savannah and Richmond Hill, Ga., or at Diver’s Den in St. Marys, Ga., said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Collectively, the five defendants are responsible for defrauding more than $4 million from VA education benefits.

“The scope of the fraud uncovered in this investigation is stunning, particularly when you consider the scheme siphoned funds intended for providing legitimate education assistance to former service members,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “We applaud the work of the VA Office of Inspector General in identifying and halting this fraud.”

As described in court documents, the five defendants worked in various capacities with the businesses and caused false submissions to be made to the VA. The false submissions misstated the businesses’ compliance with VA regulations, dates of students’ attendance, and hours of instructions, among other information. Some of the defendants also participated in creating fictitious scholarship programs to provide the appearance that a required percentage of non-VA students participated in those classes. The businesses billed the VA up to more than $20,000 per veteran student enrollee for the classes.

“Safeguarding Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefit funds reserved for deserving veterans remains a priority,” said Special Agent in Charge David Spilker with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Southeast Field Office. “These guilty pleas are a testament to our commitment to holding accountable those who would defraud VA’s benefit programs.”

The defendants include:

• Kenneth Meers, 54, of Altamonte Springs, Fla., pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, a charge with a statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison and substantial financial penalties, followed by up to three years of supervised release. Meers was a school certifying official and course director at Scooba Shack from about May 2018 to April 2021, and became a consultant at Diver’s Den around May 2020 and an instructor from about June 2021 to February 2022. In those capacities, Meers prepared and submitted Scooba Shack’s application and course catalog for VA approval, and developed Diver’s Den’s program, knowing that those applications contained false information. He also directed other defendants to create the fake scholarships used to mask the percentage of students receiving VA education benefits. As part of his plea agreement, Meers agrees that the cost to the VA of the scheme exceeded $3.5 million.
• Robert Lanoue, 63, and his wife, Judith Lanoue, 59, both of Savannah. Each has pled guilty to False, Fictitious, and Fraudulent Claims, a charge that carries a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison and significant financial penalties, followed by up to three years of supervised release. Robert Lanoue and Judith Lanoue are owners of Scuba Shack. As part of their plea agreement, the two will forfeit $270,893.75 from their bank account, funds that will apply toward restitution of more than $3.2 million in losses to the VA.
• David Anderegg, 42, of Richmond Hill, Ga., pled guilty to False, Fictitious, and Fraudulent Claims. He is the store manager, instructor, and a school certifying official of Scooba Shack.
• Theresa Whitlock, 55, of St. Marys, Ga., pled guilty to False Statement, a charge that carries a statutory penalty of up to five years in prison. Whitlock operated Diver’s Den and served as a school certifying official, providing false information to the VA about Diver’s Den’s diving programs, and submitting claims to the VA for tuition payments totaling more than $1.1 million. As part of any restitution, Whitlock agrees to forfeit $64,260.30 seized from Diver’s Den’s bank accounts.

The case was investigated by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted for the United States by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SOUTH BEND – Ashley D. Harper, 49 years old, of Michigan City, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio on his plea of guilty to production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Harper was sentenced to 210 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release. 

According to documents in the case, in July of 2021, Harper produced child pornography involving a minor under the age of 12. 

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Indiana State Police and Michigan City Police Department.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John M. Maciejczyk.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as 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

MIDLAND – An Odessa man was sentenced Tuesday to 41 months in prison for his involvement in a bomb hoax at the Ector County Courthouse.

According to court documents, on April 7, 2022, David Paul Finnegan, 37, left a suspicious device at the front steps of the Ector County Courthouse.  The device consisted of a large PVC pipe containing miscellaneous objects.  It was held together with black tape and had a wristwatch taped to it.  The Odessa Police Department Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team was called out to examine the device.  After the EOD technicians rendered it safe, they determined the device did not contain explosives.

Further investigation revealed Finnegan was scheduled to have hearings on various matters  at the courthouse the day he planted the device.  As a result of its discovery, the courthouse was evacuated and shut down to the public for much of the day, causing various court proceedings to be postponed, including Finnegan’s. 

On June 13, 2022, Finnegan pleaded guilty to one count of perpetrating a hoax. Finnegan has remained in federal custody since his arrest on April 14, 2022.

“Not only did this bomb hoax cause the Ector County courthouse and multiple local businesses to be shut down, but the event also required federal and local law enforcement agencies to expend significant time, resources, and taxpayer dollars to render the area safe and identify the perpetrator,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff.  “Let this prosecution send a strong message that such behavior will not be tolerated in our communities.”

“Hoax threats are dangerous to first responders and to the victims because it is not always immediately clear whether it is a hoax and the motivation behind the threat,” said Jeffrey R. Downey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI El Paso Field Office. “Public safety is paramount, and the FBI and our state and local law enforcement partners always respond to each threat. Anyone who issues a hoax threat will be held accountable. Due to the collaborative work with our local, state and federal partners, we were able to locate Mr. Finnegan and bring him to justice for the fear he instilled into the residents of Odessa .”

The FBI, with valuable assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Ector County Sheriff’s Office; Odessa Police Department; and the Texas Department of Public Safety, investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Fedock prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – After a seven-day jury trial, yesterday, a federal jury convicted Jairo Huertas-Mercado and Erik Pizarro-Mercado for six carjackings, one kidnapping, one kidnapping murder, and related firearms offenses.

According to court documents and the evidence presented at trial, the defendants committed the following offenses:

• May 20, 2018-the armed carjacking of a 2016 Toyota Tacoma

The victim was driving his Tacoma toward Naguabo, PR, in the Rio Blanco sector, when the defendants and two others used another vehicle to block the driver of the Tacoma. The defendants and another participant showed their firearms at the victim and forced him out of the Tacoma. The participants then took the victim’s Tacoma and other-personal property. The Tacoma was subsequently used in furtherance of another carjacking.

• May 27, 2018-the armed carjacking of a 2004 Infiniti

The defendants used the Tacoma that they carjacked on May 20, 2018 to carjack an Infiniti. Specifically, the defendants and two-other participants drove the Tacoma up to a family who were enjoying their day in the area of El Yunque. There,  they showed firearms at the members of the family and took the Infiniti and the family’s personal property, including cameras which the participants used in another carjacking. Eventually, the participants burned the Infiniti in an area where they killed Luis Saenz-Matias.

• May 31, 2018-the kidnapping murder of Luis Saenz-Matías

The defendants and another kidnapped Luis Saenz-Matias because they believed him to be a member of a rival group. The defendants were members of a drug trafficking group that was at odds with a group which the defendants believed Sanz-Matias was a member. The defendants and the other participant took Luis Saenz-Matias to the area where they had burned the Infiniti in La Central, Canovanas, PR and shot and killed him.

• June 3, 2018-the armed carjacking of a 2009 Nissan Altima on June 3, 2018

Jairo Huertas-Mercado and another participated in this carjacking which occurred at the beach in Piñones, PR. At first, Jairo Huertas-Mercado and the other participant used cameras taken from the victims of the Inifiniti carjacking to pretend to be doing a photo shoot so as to not raise the victim’s suspicions. They then pointed firearms at the victims—a male and his two female friends. The other participant in the offense hit one of the females. Then, Jairo Huertas-Mercado and the other participant took the Altima.

• June 4, 2018- the armed carjacking of a red-burgundy Toyota Camry

The defendants and another carjacked the Camry from an elderly couple who were fishing for crabs near Tropical beach in Naguabo. The participants first blocked the Camry and then pointed firearms at the couple. They then took the Camry from the couple. The Camry was immediately used in furtherance of another carjacking that day.

• June 4, 2018- the armed carjacking of a 2016 Kia Sportage

Soon after the carjacking of the Camry, the defendants took a Sportage from a female victim that had just come from her church in Canovanas, PR. The defendants used the Camry to block the front of the victim’s vehicle. The other participant of the carjacking of the Camry was behind the Sportage. A firearm was displayed at the victim, and the defendants took the Sportage from the female victim. Then, the female victim asked for help from the driver of the vehicle behind her who unbeknownst to her was the other participant of the carjacking of the Camry and was with the ones who had just carjacked her. The other participant did not help the female victim and drove after the defendants, who had just taken the Sportage. The Sportage was used by the defendants and two others to carjack and kidnap Bryan Rohena-Perez, who is better known by his stage name Bryant Myers. After the kidnapping and carjacking of Bryant Myers, the Sportage was burned.

• June 5, 2018- carjacking and kidnapping of Bryan Rohena-Pérez, also known as Bryant Myers and his mother

Jairo Huertas-Mercado had a grudge with Bryant Myers because of the death of Jairo Huertas-Mercado’s cousin—Corroro, who Bryant Myers mentioned in a song. In retaliation, defendants and two others set out in the Sportage to kidnap Bryant Myers who they knew was in the basketball court in Loma Alta, Carolina, PR. Once the participants arrived at Loma Alta, they went towards Bryant Myers and pointed firearms at him. They then forced Bryant Myers into the Sportage. Bryant Myers struggled and one of the participants used a gun to hit Bryant Myers in the head. While this is happening, Bryant Myers’ mom went to the scene and pled with the armed participants, asking them not to harm her son. Meanwhile, other persons approached the participants, and one of the participants shot in the air to disperse the crowd. Jairo Huertas-Mercado then took Bryant Myers’ mom in Bryant Myers’ BMW X6 SUV and Erick Pizarro-Mercado and the other two participants took Bryant Myers in the Sportage. They drove to a land fill in Carolina. There, police arrived at the scene, and Bryant Myers was able to jump out of the Sportage. Bryant Myers’ mom also got out of the BMW. She was unharmed. On that date, the defendants and the other-two participants escaped from the police.   

Because of their conviction for the kidnapping murder, both defendants face mandatory-life sentences, in addition to any sentence imposed for the remaining convictions.

U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow of the District of Puerto Rico; and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Joseph González made the announcement.

The FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau were in charge of investigating these cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor O. Acevedo-Hernández prosecuted the case.

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