Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Ricky Gonzales to 48 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The court also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $500,731.13, the proceeds of the wire-fraud conspiracy. Gonzales had pleaded guilty to the charges on August 9, 2022.

According to court documents, Gonzales owned and managed a construction company that purported to supply construction services and labor for construction contractors and subcontractors. In order to comply with Florida law, the company that Gonzales operated was required to secure and maintain adequate worker’s compensation insurance coverage. Gonzales’ company had agreements with contractors and subcontractors to use workers purported to be Gonzales’ employees at construction sites and these workers were often undocumented aliens who were actually working for and under the daily supervision and direction of the contractors. Gonzales or others would then regularly receive “payroll checks” from contractors that were cashed at various financial institutions to pay Gonzales’ purported “employees” and other related expenses.

During the time period charged, Gonzales falsely and fraudulently represented in insurance applications that his company had a very limited payroll and a very limited number of employees who worked on construction jobsites. Gonzales also falsely and fraudulently sent wire communications to numerous contractors representing that his company’s employees had full worker’s compensation coverage.

In reality, Gonzales’ company received and cashed more than $7,150,000 in checks from various construction contractors for these purported “employees”. These payroll figures far exceeded the very limited payroll figures that Gonzales had reported to his worker’s compensation insurance company. As a result, these employees, in reality the employees of other entities, performed work on jobsites without adequate insurance coverage. In addition, the insurers lost premiums they would have charged had they been aware of the true number of workers their policies were thus being manipulated to cover.

As a result of these misrepresentations, Gonzales’ company also disclaimed responsibility for ensuring that jobsite workers were legally authorized to work in the United States and that required state and federal payroll taxes were being paid for these workers. The contractors who actually paid these workers’ wages and used their services were thus also able to avoid responsibility for those duties as well. As a result of this conspiracy, the IRS was unable to collect over $1,094,000 in employment taxes on these workers’’ wages.

“This criminal defrauded insurance companies out of thousands in premiums through undervalued workers’ compensation insurance policies, then profited off the backs of hundreds of non-citizen workers by renting those policies for a fee from their pay checks,” said HSI Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Dumas. “HSI special agents, alongside the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, are committed to ensuring that all workers have the safety net of proper workman’s compensation insurance policy.”

“Gonzales and his conspirators used a shell of lies to evade their tax obligations and skirt workers’ compensation expenses. They short-changed not only the U.S. government but also honest hard-working construction companies,” said Brian Payne, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge. “Employment tax and workers’ compensation schemes are rampant in Florida’s construction industry and will continue to be a top priority of IRS-CI.”

This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations, the State of Florida Department of Financial Services, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. It is part of a lengthy investigation by those agencies into the use of shell companies and “ghost” employees in the construction industry. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A criminal complaint filed in the District of New Jersey was unsealed today charging a dual Russian and Canadian national for his alleged participation in the LockBit global ransomware campaign.

Mikhail Vasiliev, 33, of Bradford, Ontario, Canada, is in custody in Canada and is awaiting extradition to the United States.

“This arrest is the result of over two-and-a-half-years of investigation into the LockBit ransomware group, which has harmed victims in the United States and around the world,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “It is also a result of more than a decade of experience that FBI agents, Justice Department prosecutors, and our international partners have built dismantling cyber threats. Let this be yet another warning to ransomware actors: working with partners around the world, the Department of Justice will continue to disrupt cyber threats and hold perpetrators to account. With our partners, we will use every available tool to disrupt, deter, and punish cyber criminals.”

“Yesterday’s successful arrest demonstrates our ability to maintain and apply relentless pressure against our adversaries,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “The FBI’s persistent investigative efforts, in close collaboration with our federal and international partners, illustrates our commitment to using all of our resources to ensure we protect the American public from these global cyber threat actors.”

According to court documents, LockBit is a ransomware variant that first appeared in or around January 2020. It has become one of the most active and destructive ransomware variants in the world. Since first appearing, LockBit has been deployed against at least as many as 1,000 victims in the United States and around the world. LockBit members have made at least $100 million in ransom demands and have extracted tens of millions of dollars in actual ransom payments from their victims. The FBI has been investigating the LockBit conspiracy since in or around March 2020.     

According to court documents, Vasiliev allegedly participated in the LockBit campaign. He is charged with conspiracy to intentionally damage protected computers and to transmit ransom demands. If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey, Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division, and Special Agent in Charge James Dennehy of the FBI Newark Field Office made the announcement.

Trial Attorneys Jessica C. Peck and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly and David E. Malagold of the Cybercrime Unit for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Newark Field Office, Newark Cyber Crimes Task Force, with assistance from the FBI Atlanta Field Office, the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, the FBI Miami Field Office, the FBI’s Legal Attaché-Ottawa, the Jersey City Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs has also provided valuable assistance.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CLEVELAND  –  A federal jury on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, convicted Dion Baker, 27, of Cleveland, Ohio, of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition following a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Pamela A. Barker in Cleveland.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on Sept. 17, 2021, law enforcement authorities with the Ohio Investigative Unit were conducting an arrest of an unrelated individual for weapons violations at a convenience store in Cleveland.  During the arrest, authorities observed two individuals, one later identified as Baker, parked in a vehicle and drinking liquor.

Authorities approached the vehicle and noted open cups of liquor and marijuana inside.  Baker and the other individual were then detained, and the vehicle was searched.  During the search, authorities located a loaded firearm under the passenger seat where Baker was seated.  An investigation into the incident later confirmed that Baker was the owner of the firearm.

Baker is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous felony conviction of attempted felonious assault in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Baker is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1, 2023.

This case was investigated by the Cleveland Division of the FBI and the Ohio Investigative Unit of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott C. Zarzycki.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – A federal jury in Tallahassee convicted Johnson Saint-Louis, 37, of Deerfield Beach, Florida of armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The guilty verdict, returned yesterday afternoon at the conclusion of a 3-day trial, was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Evidence introduced during the trial revealed that Saint-Louis was a former ATM technician who traveled around the southeast tampering with ATMs serviced by his former employer. Over a two-year period, Saint-Louis robbed four ATM technicians sent out to fix problems apparently caused by Saint-Louis, including the ATM technician dispatched to the Bank of America at 5676 Thomasville Road in Tallahassee on September 29, 2021. The Government introduced evidence of similar robberies in Boca Raton, Florida in November 2019, Longwood, Florida in February 2021, and Raleigh, North Carolina in August 2021.

As part of the FBI’s investigation into the bank robberies, Saint-Louis was surveilled by Seminole County Sheriff’s Office deputies on November 4, 2021, who observed Saint-Louis traveling to various Bank of America locations. Deputies eventually stopped Saint-Louis and, during that traffic stop, they observed a firearm and notes listing the locations of Bank of America branches in Jacksonville, Florida. The Bank of America branches were annotated with whether the ATM at that location was manufactured by Saint-Louis’ former employer or by another company, and included notes like “too open,” “not enough exit route,” two man job,” and “posible” (sic).

The FBI’s financial investigation revealed that Saint-Louis, who had been unemployed since mid-2019, was making large cash deposits into his bank accounts (e.g. $89,939 in 2021) and gambling large amounts of money (e.g. losing $189,814 in 2021). Saint-Louis lost $39,480 gambling in the week following the Tallahassee bank robbery.

Saint-Louis’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 23, 2023, at 1:00 p.m., at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Robert L. Hinkle. Saint-Louis faces up to twenty-five years in prison for armed bank robbery followed by a mandatory consecutive sentence of between seven years’ and life imprisonment for brandishing a firearm during the offense.

This conviction was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Tallahassee Police Department and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys James A. McCain and Christopher M. Elsey represented the United States at trial.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

As part of its PSN strategy, the United States Attorney’s Office is encouraging everyone to lock their car doors, particularly at night. Burglaries from unlocked automobiles are a significant source of guns for criminals in the Northern District of Florida. Please do your part and protect yourself by locking your car doors.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEWARK, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man was arrested today for transmitting via the internet a manifesto containing threats to attack a synagogue and Jewish people, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Omar Alkattoul, 18, of Sayreville, New Jersey, was arrested this morning and is charged by complaint with one count of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce on or about Nov. 1, 2022. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jessica S. Allen in Newark federal court.

“No one should be targeted for violence or with acts of hate because of how they worship,” U.S. Attorney Sellinger said. “According to the complaint, this defendant used social media to send a manifesto containing a threat to attack a synagogue based on his hatred of Jews.  Along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we acted swiftly to respond to the alleged threat. There is nothing the U.S. Attorney’s Office takes more seriously than threats to our communities of faith and places of worship. Protection of these communities is core to this office’s mission, and this office will devote whatever resources are necessary to keep our Jewish community and all New Jersey residents safe.” 

“When we learn of credible threats to our community – whether based in hate toward religion, race, sexual orientation, or gender – we call on law enforcement and community partners to assist in identifying and mitigating that threat,” Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “Thanks to the collaborative efforts among our Joint Terrorism Task Force Members, a potentially harmful situation was averted. I would like to commend and show our appreciation for the resources from the District of New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney’s Office,  New Jersey State Police, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, the Sayreville Police Department, and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. Let it be known that when a threat of violence comes to our attention, the FBI and our partners will respond to keep the public safe.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Nov. 1, 2022, Alkattoul used a social media application to send an individual a link to a document entitled “When Swords Collide” and admitted to this individual that he wrote the document, stating: “It’s in the context of an attack on Jews.” According to a second individual, Alkattoul also sent the document to at least five other people using another social media application. In the document, Alkattoul wrote the following:

I am the attacker and I would like to introduce myself. . . I am a Muslim with so many regrets but I can assure you this attack is not one of them and Insha’Allah many more attacks like these against the enemy of Allah and the pigs and monkeys will come.

I will discuss my motives in a bit but I did target a synagogue for a really good reason according to myself and a lot of Muslims who have a brain. Let’s be aware of the fact that the Jews promote the biggest hatred against Muslimeen even in the west. The Jews are in fact a very powerful group in the west which is why western countries today shill for them on top of the murtadeen in Saudi Arabia and every Arab country.

This attack was just to remind the Jews that as long as 1 Muslim remains in this world they will never live a pleasant life until the Muslims in Palestine, Syria, West Africa, and South Asia are living a pleasant life. The Jews support terror against the muslimeen and they always have . . . .  So the motive of this attack is hatred towards Jews and their heinous acts and I don’t want anyone to tell me for a second that “not all Jews support terror against Muslims” yes they do! They have since day one. Their Torah justifies their acts and let’s keep in mind it was a Jew that tried to kill the nebi SAW.

The charge of transmitting a threat in interstate and foreign commerce is punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI and task force officers of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. He also thanked agents of the FBI Field Office in Tampa, Florida, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge David Walker; the FBI Field Office in New York, under the direction of Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll; and the FBI Washington Field Office, under the direction of Assistant Director in Charge Steven D’Antuono; as well as the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, under the direction of Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin; the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone; and officers of the Sayreville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Daniel Plumacker.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Peck, Christopher Amore, and Benjamin Levin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s National Security Unit, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division. 

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