Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Oxford, Mississippi– A Tupelo man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday following his conviction for bank robbery. Jasper Wagner, 57, appeared for sentencing before United States District Judge Sharion Aycock, who departed upward from a lower suggested sentencing range and sentenced Wagner to the maximum sentence of 20 years. In imposing the sentence, Aycock noted that Wagner had 10 prior convictions for bank robbery and that the sentence was necessary to deter him from similar future conduct.

According to court documents, Wagner entered the Community Bank located at 307 West Main Street in Tupelo on April 6, 2022 and presented a teller with a demand note which read: “Stay calm no alarms, no dye packs, turn your money machine on till I say stop – $100s 4 50s Keep your hands from under the counter.”

Upon realizing that the robber was serious, the teller noticed that she could not see the robber’s hands or determine whether he had a gun, and she gave him $5,000. The teller recognized the robber as a bank customer and Wagner was subsequently identified from surveillance video released to the public. Investigating officers tracked Wagner to a hotel in Leeds, Alabama where they obtained a search warrant for his room on the day of the robbery and recovered $4,850 of the stolen money.

Court records indicate that Wagner had previously been convicted of multiple counts of bank robbery in 2001 and 2012.

“This defendant’s actions violently interrupted what should have been a normal workday for bank employees and victims,” stated U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner.  “The Department of Justice and this office will always do our utmost to protect our community from violence, threats of violence, and repeat offenders who seek to prey upon others. We commend the Tupelo Police Department, the Leeds Police Department, and the FBI for their outstanding work and coordinated efforts to apprehend this offender so quickly.”

Following the sentencing, Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka remarked, “I am very proud of the concentrated efforts of the Tupelo Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Mississippi, in this case.  Jasper Wagner’s maximum sentence of twenty years is a direct reflection of the outstanding investigative and prosecutorial skills of these agencies.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby also reiterated the importance of this investigation and prosecution. “The FBI is committed to safeguarding the financial institutions and the citizens of our community,” stated Fomby. “We remain devoted to tirelessly investigating the nefarious actions of criminals, like Mr. Jasper Wagner, and successfully bringing them to justice.”

The Tupelo Police and FBI investigated the case with significant assistance from the Leeds, Alabama Police Department who arrested Wagner the day of the bank robbery.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Roberts prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Gael Rodriguez was sentenced on Nov. 1 to four years and nine months in prison for carjacking. Rodriguez, 20, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty on March 23.

On Jan. 16, Rodriguez approached an elderly victim in northwest Albuquerque outside her apartment complex and asked her for a cigarette. The victim responded that she had no cigarettes and Rodriguez then demanded her purse and the keys for her vehicle. When the victim resisted, Rodriguez stabbed her hand with a knife, causing her to drop the keys. Rodriguez grabbed the keys and fled in the victim’s vehicle.

An Albuquerque Police Officer was dispatched to the scene and relayed a description of the vehicle and Rodriguez to the Rio Rancho and Corrales police departments. Police were able to locate the vehicle in Corrales. After a pursuit on foot, police subdued and arrested Rodriguez.

Upon his release from prison, Rodriguez will be subject to three years of supervised release and will be subject to deportation.

The FBI’s Albuquerque Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) investigated this case with assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department and the Corrales Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaymie L. Roybal prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

AUGUSTA, GA:  A U.S. District Court jury convicted a Richmond County man of illegally carrying a gun after previously being convicted of a felony.

Christopher Fitzgerald Jones, 35, of Augusta, was found guilty of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Jones’ conviction subjects him to a statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison, without parole.

“Convicted felons perpetuate violent crime in our communities by illegally carrying guns,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to remove these criminals from our streets.”

As presented at trial, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office investigators were planning to arrest Jones in October 2021 on a felony warrant when he drove away from a home under surveillance. As the investigators followed his vehicle, Jones abruptly stopped his car and stepped out, facing the police vehicle. As he was taken into custody, the investigators found a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic pistol in Jones’ back pocket.

From the beginning of the trial, both sides agreed that Jones knew, as a previously convicted felon, that it was illegal for him to carry a firearm. Jones has a violent criminal history, including convictions in state court for domestic violence and illegal gun possession.

Sentencing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall will be scheduled following completion of a pre-sentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.

“Today’s announcement is a perfect answer to one of our most important ‘whys’ – why we chose to protect and serve the public. Illegal firearm possession in our communities is dangerous and damaging to everyone involved in the criminal activity,” said Beau Kolodka, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “ATF will remain in lockstep with our local, state and federal partners in our continuing effort to combat violent crime and maintain public safety.”

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry W. Syms Jr. and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Spitulnik.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

WILLIAMSPORT- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Devon T. Buck, age 34, of Cogan Station, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on November 1, 2022, by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann to two years of probation and a $3,000 fine for attempting to evade income taxes. Chief Judge Brann also ordered Buck to pay restitution in the amount of $203,324 to the IRS.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Buck operated a landscaping business called DCL Landscaping and for the calendar years 2015 through 2019, Buck attempted to evade $203,324 in federal income taxes.  Buck prepared and delivered business invoices to DCL customers requesting that they make checks for landscaping services payable to Buck personally, instead of DCL, Buck asked customers to not place the DCL name on their checks, and he provided DCL invoices to customers which included an instruction to make their payments payable to Buck individually.  From 2015 through 2019, Buck diverted approximately $677,877 of DCL receipts by cashing customer checks rather than depositing them into a business bank account, and he deposited only $240,749 of customer payments into the DCL business bank account during that period.  He provided fraudulent business summaries to his tax return preparer for use in preparing IRS Form 1040 income tax returns and Schedule C statements of business receipts and expenses, which falsely underreported DCL gross receipts and evaded the payment of federal income taxes.   

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney George J. Rocktashel prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Mohammad Fares, 28, formerly of Buffalo, now of Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to theft of government property, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $,250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who is handling the case, stated that on May 18, 2020, Fares submitted an online application to the New York State Department of Labor for unemployment insurance benefits, stating that he did not work any day during the week of May 18, 2020; that he did not have gross earnings over $504; that his last day of work was March 21, 2020; and that his workplace had closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, Fares co-owned a trucking company in Buffalo, for which he managed truck drivers and coordinated shipments. On June 11, 2020, Fares received $3,600 in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits. Every week through May 2, 2021, Fares certified to that he did not work during the prior week and had not returned to work. In doing so, Fares certified his continued eligibility for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits. During this time period, Fares continued to manage the trucking company. Fares received, in total, approximately $43,320 in unemployment benefits and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation.

The CARES Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It expands states’ ability to provide unemployment insurance for many workers impacted by COVID-19, including for workers who are not ordinarily eligible for benefits. The CARES Act provided for three new UI programs: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA); Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC); and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations – Labor Racketeering and Fraud, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Stansbury.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 7, 2022, before Judge Vilardo.  

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