Month: November 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, Florida– U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell has sentenced Charles Currie (66, Tampa) to eight years and one month in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material. Currie is required to register as a sex offender. The court also ordered Currie to forfeit multiple electronic devices, which were used to commit the offenses. Restitution will be ordered by the Court at a hearing scheduled for February 3, 2023. Currie had pleaded guilty on August 19, 2022.

According to court documents, in February 2016, Currie received a video approximately 6 minutes in length via a peer-to-peer networking application that depicted prepubescent minors being sexually abused. As of January 2021, Currie also possessed multiple electronic devices containing approximately 2,452 images and 1,595 videos of child sex abuse material, including images and videos depicting toddlers and bondage.

“Removing this predator from the streets, and out of the school where he was employed, is a win for the community,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kristopher Pagitt. “We appreciate our partners at the Tampa Police Department in the successful investigation and prosecution of this case.”

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Tampa Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Katherine Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Aunyis Cherry (27, Clearwater) to 22 years and 11 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Cherry also has been ordered to forfeit the firearm. A jury found Cherry guilty on June 16, 2022.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Cherry drove a car with a counterfeit license plate in the area of 14^th Street South in St. Petersburg. A uniformed detective with the St. Petersburg Police Department arrived in the area to conduct a traffic stop and Cherry fled from the car but was apprehended. The vehicle’s owner couldn’t be determined, and an inventory search revealed a loaded FN Herstal pistol. The jury heard testimony that Cherry’s DNA was located in three places on the firearm, including the handle and trigger. As a previously convicted felon, Cherry is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mike Gordon and Craig Gestring and was tried by Assistant United States Attorneys Samantha Beckman and James Preston.

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Dr. Musaddiq Nazeeri, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay the United States $86,506.30 to resolve civil liability for alleged violations of the False Claims Act.

According to the United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, between February 10, 2021 and January 21, 2022, Dr. Nazeeri billed Medicare for certain services that were not supported by the medical record. During the above timeframe, Dr. Nazeeri submitted Evaluation & Management (E&M) claims when the only service rendered was the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. It is those type claims that were not supported by the medical record.  Dr. Nazeeri cooperated with the investigation.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is dedicated to combatting fraud and abuse impacting taxpayer-funded programs,” said United States Attorney Karam. “We use every tool at our disposal to do so, and this resolution reflects that commitment.”

“Investigating violations of the False Claims Act is a top priority,” said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure the integrity of the Medicare program.”

This Settlement Agreement is neither an admission of liability by Dr. Nazeeri nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  The investigation was handled by Assistant United States Attorney, Tamara Haken, and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit within the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

EVANSVILLE – Jason E. Jolley, 43, of Evansville, Indiana was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and receive sexually explicit materials involving children and distribution of sexually explicit materials involving children. Scott J. Spear, 50, of Newburgh, Indiana pled guilty to conspiring with Spear to distribute the child sexual abuse materials and was sentenced on October 18, 2022, to 5 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, between January 15, 2016, and February 1, 2016, Jolley and Spear communicated with each other using email. During their communications, both Jolley and Spear discussed their mutual interest in finding and viewing sexually explicit material involving children. Jolley and Spear also sent images to each other depicting the sexual abuse of children.

On November 15, 2016, Jolley used the Kik Messenger application to distribute an image depicting a child engaging in sexually explicit conduct to an undercover law enforcement officer in Washington D.C. The images distributed and received by Jolley and Spear included depictions of the sexual abuse of pre-pubescent children.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case. The Warrick County Sheriff’s Office provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young. As part of the sentence, Judge Young ordered that Jolley be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years following his release from federal prison. Spear was ordered to be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 7 years following his release from prison. Both Jolley and Spear must also register as a sex offender wherever they live, work, or go to school, as required by law.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Shellenbarger who prosecuted this case.

In fiscal year 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the Southern District of Indiana was second out of the 94 federal districts in the country for the number of child sexual exploitation cases prosecuted.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc

Source: United States Department of Justice News

St. Croix, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Algler Rodriguez-Boadas, 21, Johan J. Pacheco-Lezama, 34, and Henry Gonzalez-Noriega, 48, were sentenced by District Court Judge Wilma Lewis on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine while on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States Pacheco-Lezama was sentenced to 46 months of imprisonment, followed by two years supervised release, and Rodriguez-Boadas and Gonzalez-Noriega were sentenced to 41 months of imprisonment, followed by 2 years supervised release. The defendants were also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment fee and are subject to deportation after serving their sentences. 

According to court documents, on September 25, 2019, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Donald Horsley intercepted a suspicious 55-foot vessel displaying the name “La Gran Tormenta” with Venezuelan nationality at approximately 38 nautical miles south of St. Croix. The occupants of “La Gran Tormenta” failed to respond to USCG’s efforts to stop the vessel and later changed course and began jettisoning packages overboard. USCG crew members subsequently retrieved two bales from the ocean that contained packages of brick-shaped objects which tested positive for cocaine and weighed approximately 49 kilograms. After requesting and receiving permission to stop the vessel from Venezuela, USCG unsuccessfully attempted a right-of-visit boarding of the vessel. After gaining control of the “La Gran Tormenta” by disabling the vessel’s engine, USCG crew members detained 11 individuals, including Rodriguez-Boadas, Pacheco-Lezama and Gonzalez-Noriega.

This case was investigated by the United States Coast Guard, Drug Enforcement Administration and Customs and Border Protection, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melissa P. Ortiz. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.