Month: September 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to three months in federal prison.

Santos Lara-Figueroa, age 43, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States and residing in Hiawatha, Iowa, received the prison term today after a guilty plea on July 20, 2022, to one count of illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported.

At the guilty plea, Lara-Figueroa admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government.  Lara-Figueroa, falsely claiming to be a Mexican citizen, was removed to Mexico by immigration officials in July 2006.  One month later in August 2006, he illegally reentered the United States by crossing the border on foot into Texas.  Lara-Figueroa was deported to Honduras from Virginia in January 2011.  On February 22, 2022, immigration officials learned Lara-Figueroa had illegally returned to the United States and found Lara-Figueroa at the Linn County Jail following his arrest on state charges.

Lara-Figueroa was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Lara-Figueroa was sentenced to 92 days’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Lara-Figueroa is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 22-CR-52.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A woman who distributed heroin and fentanyl in Dubuque, Iowa, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Nicole L. Jarvis, age 35, formerly of Dubuque, Iowa, received the sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl and distribution of heroin and fentanyl within 1,000 feet of a protected location.

In a plea agreement, Jarvis admitted to engaging in a drug-related conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl on at least five occasions in Dubuque.  Jarvis served as the connecting source and not the supplier.  In the fall of 2020, Jarvis utilized Facebook messenger and other communications devices to set up the transactions.  Jarvis later distributed heroin and fentanyl near Loras College and Madison Park.

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Jarvis was sentenced to serve 18 months’ imprisonment and must serve a six-year term of supervised release following her term of incarceration.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Jarvis remains in the custody of the United States Marshal until she can be transported to federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason D. Norwood.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 21-CR-1033-CJW.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, United States District Judge Gary R. Brown sentenced Donta Riddick to 198 months in prison for possessing and distributing heroin and fentanyl.  As part of his guilty plea, Riddick also admitted to the distribution of heroin and fentanyl on September 13, 2020 that caused the death of a 21-year old woman from Massapequa, New York.  Riddick pleaded guilty on January 28, 2022.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the sentence.

“Today’s sentencing is justice served for the trauma that the defendant directly caused to our district, including the death of his young neighbor,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office, together with our federal and local partners, works tirelessly to hold accountable those who deal deadly drugs and contribute to the opioid epidemic’s devastating impact on our communities.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino said, “Drug investigations like this underscore the devastating impact that every drug overdose and poisoning has on a family. Fentanyl is the deadliest drug to ever hit our streets and responsible for nearly 70% of nationwide drug-related deaths.  DEA and our law enforcement partners are doubling down on defeating drug trafficking networks and bringing to justice those responsible for taking lives.” 

“The sentencing of defendant Donta Riddick to 16.5 years in prison will hopefully bring some closure for the victim’s family, as this drug dealer will not be back on the streets of Nassau County.  The defendant was found guilty of dealing drugs laced with fentanyl to our residents and caused the death of a 21-year-old female victim from Massapequa.  Defendant Riddick infected our neighborhoods with these illegal drugs until his arrest, conviction and sentencing and I would like extend my appreciation to the investigators and their agencies for a job well done.  The Nassau County Police Department is committed to enforcing all drug related crimes and will continue to offer assistance to those addicted to drugs,” stated Nassau County Police Department Commissioner Ryder.

According to court filings and statements made by the defendant at the guilty plea proceeding, on the night of September 13, 2020, Riddick sold fentanyl-laced heroin to the victim, who suffered a fatal overdose at a motel in Massapequa the following morning. A review of the victim’s cell phone by law enforcement revealed text messages she exchanged with Riddick in which she appeared to be ordering heroin from the defendant. On September 15, 2020, during the subsequent investigation by the DEA and NCPD, Riddick was arrested in possession of street-level quantities of the same fentanyl-laced heroin that had caused the death of the victim the day before.

At Riddick’s sentencing, the victim’s aunt spoke and described the traumatic impact of losing her niece to an overdose.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Charles N. Rose and Samantha Alessi are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Dejah Turla.

The Defendant:

DONTA RIDDICK
Age: 35
West Babylon, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 20-CR-517 (S-1) (GRB)

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A New York man pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of New York to failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act as part of a scheme to bring lucrative and high-risk international financial business to a small, unsophisticated credit union.

According to court documents, from 2014 to 2016, Hanan Ofer, 69, of New York City, operated the New York State Employees Federal Credit Union Service Organization (NYSEFCU-CUSO), a money services business that was required to have an effective anti-money laundering program. Through the NYSEFCU-CUSO and other entities, Ofer participated in a scheme that brought more than $1 billion in high-risk transactions, including millions of dollars of bulk cash transactions from a Mexican bank, to the New York State Employees Federal Credit Union (NYSEFCU). 

Ofer was experienced in international banking and trained in anti-money laundering compliance and procedures, and represented to the NYSEFCU that he and his businesses would conduct appropriate anti-money laundering oversight as required by the Bank Secrecy Act. Instead, Ofer willfully failed to implement an effective anti-money laundering program at the NYSEFCU-CUSO. This failure caused the NYSEFCU to process the high-risk transactions without appropriate oversight and without ever filing a single Suspicious Activity Report, as required by law.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York made the announcement.

HSI New York investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Margaret Moeser and Leigh Kessler of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan C. Harris and Francisco J. Navarro for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

MLARS’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Miami, Florida – A Port Saint Lucie man who in 2018-2019 sexually abused a non-verbal, autistic child has been sentenced to 360 months in federal prison.  Earlier this year, Ethan Alexander Concepcion, 24, pled guilty in West Palm Beach federal court to production of child pornography.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) learned about Concepcion’s abuse of the child after being contacted in January 2022 by the Queensland Police Service, a law enforcement agency in Australia.  They reported to HSI that they had prosecuted an individual in Australia who had received by email approximately two dozen child sex abuse images and videos from someone using an IP address located in Greenacres, Florida.  In some of the images, the child was holding a sign that read, “For Mr. Plextor.”  Authorities believed that “Mr. Plextor” was a reference to the recipient of the images in Australia.  Metadata from the images revealed that Concepcion likely abused the child on at least four occasions from March 2018 to January 2019.  The child was 5-6 years old at the time.  Agents traced the IP address to Concepcion’s residence.  On March 10, 2022, Concepcion confessed to abusing the child.

Juan Antonio Gonzalez, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, HSI Miami Field Office, announced the sentence imposed by United States District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks yesterday.

HSI Miami (West Palm Beach office) investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dispoto prosecuted it.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions 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.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-80043.

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