Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Michael Goldner, 52, of Paoli, PA, was sentenced to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney for his scheme to use his cash and his employer’s business bank accounts to hide his actual income and assets and therefore avoid paying his legitimate tax obligations.

In June 2022, the defendant was convicted after trial of tax evasion and failing to file tax returns in connection with this years-long tax fraud. Evidence presented at trial showed that for the tax years 2013 through 2017, Goldner reported more than $4 million in income and $1.8 million in tax due, of which he paid less than $100,000. Further, from 2016 to 2020, the defendant evaded the payment of these outstanding taxes while earning a substantial income. Instead of depositing his paychecks into a personal bank account, he cashed the checks and used his employer’s business accounts to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of personal expenses, including rent, a second home, groceries, private school and dance lessons for his child, country club dues, and restitution from a prior fraud conviction for which he was on federal probation. For the years 2016 and 2017, the defendant filed tax returns that failed to report this additional income from his employer. For tax years 2018 and 2019, the defendant failed to file a return altogether.

“The American tax system funds government services critical to our people,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Every time someone cheats the system, the burden of providing vital services increases on taxpayers who pay their fair share. As a professional accountant, this defendant knew what his obligations were and willfully schemed to evade them; and for this fraud he will now spend time behind bars.”

“Our agents have the expertise and investigative tools to uncover tax and financial fraud schemes, no matter how sophisticated the scheme may be,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty. “Goldner’s scheme served no purpose other than to enrich himself, while cheating and stealing from the American public and the government. Anyone contemplating following Goldner’s footstep is urged to take a step back and consider the consequences”

The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Ignall and Trial Attorney Jack Morgan of the Tax Division of the Department of Justice.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Eyron Smith, 31, of Lexington, was sentenced in federal court on Monday, to 100 months in prison, by Chief U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves for possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to his plea agreement, on November 5, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant on Smith’s residence and vehicle and found him in possession of a loaded pistol and bags of heroin and fentanyl. Smith admitted that he possessed the drugs, and that he was a convicted felon and could not posses a firearm.

Smith pleaded guilty to the current charges in July 2022. Smith was previously convicted of complicity to wit reckless homicide in November 2016.

Under federal law, Smith must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence.  Upon his release, he will be under supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for five years.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Shawn Morrow, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, Louisville Field Office; Lawrence Weathers, Chief of the Lexington Police Department; and Todd Justice, Chief of the Nicholasville Police Department, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by ATF, Lexington Police Department, and Nicholasville Police Department. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Rieker.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that a Wilmington, Delaware man was sentenced to 37 months in prison last week for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.  U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews pronounced the sentence.

According to statements made in open court, Khalil Rodriguez-Fitzgerald, 27, possessed a Glock model 19x handgun from February 8, 2021, until February 11, 2021.  The gun, which was straw purchased in North Carolina on February 7, 2021, was transported north, and delivered to the defendant in New Jersey on February 8, 2021.  Rodriguez-Fitzgerald is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his criminal history. 

At the sentencing hearing, the government argued that Rodriguez-Fitzgerald should be subject to additional jail time because, in addition to possessing the Glock, his social media and phone contents demonstrated that Rodriguez-Fitzgerald was buying guns, giving guns to gang members, and selling drugs for months before he was arrested.  The Court agreed that the defendant’s conduct warranted a sentence greater than called for by the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

Rodriguez-Fitzgerald has also been indicted in the Superior Court of Delaware for gang participation and weapons charges for his involvement with a local gang referred to as Northpak.  The Superior Court indictment charged a number of other members of Northpak with committing shootings and murders in New Castle County between 2018 and 2021.  The government noted at the sentencing hearing that Rodriguez-Fitzgerald frequently communicated with and supplied firearms to members of Northpak, and he bragged about committing acts of violence himself within his social media. 

U.S. Attorney Weiss commented about the sentence, “Mr. Rodriguez-Fitzgerald poses a clear and present danger to our community.  First, he contributed to the violence in our streets by possessing guns himself and by supplying guns to gang members.  These illegal firearms were then used to intimidate and harm members of rival gangs.  Second, when law enforcement attempted to apprehend defendant, he eluded capture by driving on Concord Pike at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour, thereby endangering innocent bystanders.  For these reasons, the government requested a sentence of 57 months, more than two years above the prescribed guideline range.  My office will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to combat the gang violence plaguing our community.” 

“From start to finish in this case, there is a flagrant disregard for law, order, and human life,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) Baltimore Field Division Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby. “The firearm this criminal possessed was straw purchased, bought with the intention of giving it to someone who cannot legally have it. He pushed drugs and guns into the community and aided other gang members in obtaining guns that are destined to threaten the safety of Delaware’s citizens. This kind of remorseless criminal behavior will not be tolerated by ATF and our law enforcement partners.”

The charges in this case were the result of a joint investigation involving the ATF, the Wilmington Police Department, and the Delaware Department of Justice to address the violence caused by Northpak and its associates.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer K. Welsh prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 21-cr-11.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Debra Hackstadt, age 68, of Albany, was sentenced today to 16 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining 32 government-backed loans meant for businesses struggling with the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman stated: “Today’s sentence holds Debra Hackstadt accountable for a prolific fraud. She took advantage of an economically devastating pandemic and stole money that was earmarked for legitimate businesses struggling to stay afloat. With our law enforcement partners, we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who have stolen from pandemic relief programs.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Janeen DiGuiseppi stated: “Debra Hackstadt defrauded government loan programs established to help small businesses recover from the devastating financial impacts of the pandemic. By lying to obtain multiple loans, Hackstadt took over a million dollars away from deserving companies who were in desperate need of support. Today’s sentence ensures she will answer for her criminal acts. The FBI, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate and hold accountable anyone looking to steal money from these critical government programs.”

Hackstadt pled guilty to wire fraud on May 19, 2022. She admitted that between April 30, 2020 and June 11, 2021, she fraudulently obtained $1,615,546 from two pandemic relief loan programs – the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), whose loans are issued by private financial institutions and backed by the federal government, and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDLs”), which are issued directly by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).  These loans were issued to Hackstadt herself, certain of her family members and acquaintances, and several companies controlled by Hackstadt or her family members. 

United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby ordered Hackstadt to pay $1,696,324.96 in restitution and to forfeit an additional $254,812, representing the amount of money she personally obtained from the fraud. He also imposed a 2-year term of post-imprisonment supervised release.

Hackstadt committed the fraud by lying to the SBA and various PPP lenders on loan applications, including by making up and grossly overstating the number of employees and payrolls of the companies and sole proprietorships for which she obtained loans.  Many of the PPP applications also included false tax documents that Hackstadt created as part of the scheme.  In total, Hackstadt’s scheme resulted in the issuance of 27 PPP loans and five EIDLs.

Hackstadt also admitted that in addition to these loans, she fraudulently obtained two other business loans from private lenders.  She fraudulently obtained a $42,290 loan in October-November 2019, and promptly defaulted on it, and fraudulently obtained a $48,500 loan in June 2021, and promptly defaulted on it.

This case was investigated by the FBI, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Barnett and Joshua R. Rosenthal.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus

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 (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.