Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Leslie Reio (25, St. Petersburg) to 8 years in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for engaging in the sex trafficking of minor children. Reio was also ordered to register as a sex offender and to pay restitution to the victims. Reio had pleaded guilty on November 16, 2021.

According to court documents, between March 6 and March 14, 2021, Reio and her co-defendant, Julius Arline, obtained, enticed, and housed two child victims in a St. Petersburg hotel room, forcing them to commit commercial sex acts. The child victims—14 and 15 years old—were rescued after being forced to take sexually explicit photographs of themselves that were used as online advertisements for commercial sex with strangers. The two children were kept in the hotel room where they were provided illegal drugs and forced to participate in a number of sex dates over the eight-day period. After being forced to engage in the sex acts and receiving payment, the child victims were required to give money to Arline and Reio.

Arline, the leader of the organization, was sentenced on June 8, 2022, to 40 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

“Predators who hold children captive in hotels and force them to commit commercial sex acts are some of the most vile traffickers,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kristopher Pagitt. “HSI, alongside the St. Petersburg Police Department, are committed to rescuing child victims from these truly disturbed individuals. We will not rest until predators like her are put behind bars and held responsible for their heinous crimes.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force, with substantial assistance from St. Petersburg Police Department and the United States Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin Claire Favorit.

This case was brought as part of the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force of the Middle District of Florida, which is one of 13 task forces in the country to receive grant funding from the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Task Force is a collaboration of local, state, and federal law enforcement agents working together with organizations to detect, investigate, and prosecute human trafficking in the Tampa Bay area. This includes trafficking of minors, forced labor, transnational sex trafficking, and sex trafficking of adults by force, fraud, or coercion. More information about the Tampa Bay Human Trafficking Task Force can be found at www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/humantrafficking. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Emmanuel Medina, age 35, of Albany, was indicted last week for unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition, possessing and intending to distribute heroin and fentanyl, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Troy Police Chief Daniel DeWolf.

According to an indictment and a previously filed criminal complaint, Troy Police Officers responded to a domestic disturbance call in the early morning of June 27, 2022, and observed Medina outside of a house, placing something into a doorless Jeep Wrangler. Medina was initially not compliant with officers’ directives, but eventually stepped away from the vehicle and was safely detained.

Officers found a loaded Hi-Point Firearms .380 ACP pistol in the part of the Jeep where Medina had just been observed. Medina was prohibited from possessing the handgun and ammunition as a result of prior felony convictions.  Additionally, Troy Police Officers located a black box magnetically  attached to the vehicle’s undercarriage, which was found to contain a mixture of heroin and fentanyl stored in 350 small bags intended for resale. 

The charges in the indictment and complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Medina has been in custody since his arrest on June 27, and will be arraigned at a later date.  If convicted on all charges, he faces at least 5 years and up to life in prison, and at least 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case is being investigated by the Troy Police Department, with assistance from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH – A Lawrence County resident pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, in form commonly known as crack cocaine, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Quantel Searcy, age 49, formerly of New Castle, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count before United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan.

If this case would have proceeded to trial, the government would have proven that Searcy was part of a cocaine-distribution conspiracy focused on New Castle, Pennsylvania. The conspiracy involved cocaine imported from Mexico into California that the California conspirators mailed to the New Castle area and that Searcy and others then distributed. The evidence that government would have presented included intercepted communications obtained through court authorization, surveillance, controlled purchases from Searcy and other conspirators, search warrants of locations associated with Searcy and various other investigative techniques. The evidence would also have included a seizure of multiple kilograms of cocaine shipped from California to New Castle that law enforcement intercepted in Illinois.

Judge Horan scheduled sentencing for March 1, 2023 The law provides for a total sentence of 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorneys Brendan T. Conway and Maureen Sheehan-Balchon are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Searcy, along with the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Castle Police Department, and the Illinois State Police.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses 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

MACON, Ga. – A Macon man who participated in a scheme to defraud a community bank pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy.

Garland Stephens, 66, of Macon, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud a financial institution before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell on Oct. 27. Stephens faces a maximum of 30 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $1,000,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2023.

“The fraudulent scheme in this case harmed a local business, costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Protecting citizens and small businesses from fraudsters and ultimately holding them accountable for their criminal actions is a high priority for this office and our law enforcement partners.”

“The FBI works hard to make sure greed like this doesn’t pay off and those who commit fraud are held accountable,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Let this plea and the possibility of 30 years in prison serve as a warning to others to think twice before attempting to steal from the U.S. banking system.”

According to court documents, Stephens was recruited in 2018 by co-conspirator William Spigener, III, 34, of Columbus—an AgGeorgia loan officer at the time—to pretend to be a borrower in order to obtain fraudulent loans from AgGeorgia. Spigener enlisted Stephens and other straw borrowers, and in exchange for using their personal identifying information and appearing at loan closings, he would give them a portion of the loan proceeds, collecting the majority of the money himself. Spigener would create documentation to ensure the loan applications were approved, when in reality, none of these applicants were engaged in any type of farming activity and did not have the income or collateral to support the loans received from AgGeorgia. 

Specifically, Stephens was listed falsely as a farm equipment seller on two approved loan applications. For each of these loans, checks were made out in Stephens’ name and co-conspirator Eary Fuller, 57, of Macon, in June and Oct. 2018. Fuller and Stephens endorsed the loan checks and deposited them. Spigener retained most of the loan proceeds, with some of the money going to Fuller and Stephens.

Stephens then agreed to obtain a fraudulent loan with AgGeorgia in his own name. Spigener used Stephens’ personal information to file the fraudulent loan, and also created and submitted false financial information and farm operating expenses. Stephens was approved for an $85,000 loan.  In reality, Stephens did not have a farm requiring any operating expenses. Stephens was present for the loan closing on Jan. 25, 2019, and collected a $30,000 check, which he signed. The majority of the money was transferred to Spigener. Spigener and other co-conspirators have entered guilty pleas in this case; for more information, please go to: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdga/pr/former-aggeorgia-loan-officer-sentenced-committing-fraud.

This case was investigated by the FBI.

U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Howard is prosecuting the case.