Month: December 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell has sentenced Jose Luis Pinargote-Baquerizo (37, Ecuador) to 16 years and 4 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute over 2,700 kilograms of cocaine. Pinargote had pleaded guilty on August 23, 2022.

According to court documents and information offered in open court, between June and September 2017, Pinargote conspired to traffic over 2,700 kilograms of cocaine by three different vessels through the Eastern Pacific Ocean (photographs directly below). These cocaine-laden vessels left the shores of Tumaco, Colombia, with a destination of Mexico. On these three drug trafficking ventures, Pinargote hired six Ecuadorian mariners who set sail from Colombia to Mexico, paying them in U.S. dollars for their participation. Pinargote often kept a portion of this payment as a fee. He also provided logistical support for transporting the mariners from Ecuador to Colombia, arranging and paying for their transportation and hotels. Pinargote personally shepherded these mariners from Ecuador to Colombia, and on one occasion accompanied them directly into Tumaco, Colombia.

On August 8, 2019, in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Pinargote was found on board a cocaine-laden vessel (1,029 kilograms) by the Colombian Navy (photograph directly below). Pursuant to an outstanding provisional arrest warrant, Pinargote was sent to a Colombian jail to await extradition to the United States.

On August 24, 2020, while awaiting extradition to the United States, Pinargote was inadvertently released from a Colombian jail. However, on February 6, 2022, he was interdicted in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on board a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel by the Colombian Navy, this time with 3,764 kilograms of cocaine on board (photograph directly below).

Pinargote was again arrested pursuant to the outstanding provisional arrest warrant, sent back to jail in Colombia, and extradited to the United States on March 2, 2022. In total, Pinargote is responsible for trafficking over 7,500 kilograms (or 17,000 pounds) of cocaine, which is worth approximately $225,000,000 USD.

This case was investigated by the United States Coast Guard and the Panama Express Strike Force, a standing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force comprised of agents and analysts from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South. Substantial assistance was also provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. The Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché’s Office in Colombia also assisted in facilitating the extradition. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Pardo.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene E. Honeywell has sentenced Allen Levinson, formerly known as Allen Ameh, to six years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud conspiracy related to his orchestration of a large-scale international tax fraud scheme. Levinson, a resident of Nigeria, was arrested on December 2, 2020, while attempting to enter the United Kingdom. He was extradited to the United States and pleaded guilty upon his arrival on February 3, 2022.

According to court documents, Levinson was the leader of a scheme that attempted to defraud the United States government of more than $63 million through the filing of false and fraudulent tax returns in the names of hundreds of identity theft victims. The scheme operated from summer 2014 through 2019. Out of the $63 million claimed in tax refunds, the IRS paid over $5.5 million, the majority of which went to Levinson.

Levinson recruited coconspirators T’Andre McNeely, Brandon Williams, Michael Carr, and others—through job placement ads and word of mouth—to collect the proceeds of the tax fraud and send it to Levinson.

Levinson used sophisticated cyber means to obtain the personal data used to file the returns. He also hired other foreign nationals—including individuals located in a boiler room in Vietnam—to prepare and file the returns quickly and in large batches. The returns were filed from real certified accounting firms across the United States, all of whom had been hacked by third parties and often had their information sold on darkweb marketplaces, including a website formerly known as the xDedic Marketplace. The xDedic Marketplace was a website that operated for years and was used to sell access to compromised computers worldwide and personally identifiable information of U.S. residents.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle previously sentenced three of Levinson’s money laundering affiliates in a related indictment. McNeely and Carr were each sentenced to six years and six months’ imprisonment. Williams was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

“For too long, Levinson, and cyber criminals like him worldwide believed using darknet marketplaces and cryptocurrencies give them anonymity from law enforcement. Today’s significant sentencing makes it clear that IRS-CI special agents and our partners have the sophisticated tools to remove the so-called cloak of anonymity to bring these fraudsters to justice,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Ronald A. Loecker. 

“The FBI and its law enforcement partners will never cease in their efforts to protect the American people by exposing cyber schemes and bringing the fraudsters, no matter where they try and hide, to justice,” said FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge David Walker.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation’s Tampa and Oakland Field Offices, and the FBI Tampa Field Office. Special assistance was provided by the IRS – CI Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles Field Offices, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Tampa Field Office. Substantial assistance was also provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Jones.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Jorge Torres, 23, of Hartford, Connecticut, was sentenced to 27 months of imprisonment today in United States District Court by United States District Judge William K. Sessions III.  Torres previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Judge Sessions also ordered that Torres serve three years of supervised release after he serves his term of imprisonment. 

According to court records, on December 21, 2021, Torres was arrested in the town of Orleans in the Northeast Kingdom while he was traveling northbound on Interstate 91 in possession of about 1500 bags of fentanyl, several grams of crack cocaine, and a loaded 9mm handgun.  Prior to his arrest, Torres had sold fentanyl on several occasions to one or more persons cooperating with law enforcement.  Torres was detained following his arrest and had been in custody since that time.  This was Torres’ first criminal conviction. 

This matter was investigated by the Vermont State Police Narcotics Investigation Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Newport, Vermont Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher was the prosecutor.  Torres was represented by Lisa Shelkrot, Esq., of Burlington.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

U.S. District Court Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. of the Middle District of Alabama sentenced defendant Lonnie Mitchell, 36, of Montgomery, Alabama, to 60 years in prison for coercing several victims, including a minor, to engage in prostitution over the course of several years. The judge also ordered the defendant to pay over $950,000 in restitution to the victims. 

In June 2022, following a five-day trial, a jury convicted the defendant of sex trafficking five victims by force, fraud and coercion. The jury also found the defendant guilty of sex trafficking a minor, and three counts of coercing and enticing an individual to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution purposes.

“The defendant used unspeakable violence and manipulation of the victims’ substance abuse problems to control their every move and exploit them for his own financial gain,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Human trafficking is an atrocious crime that targets some of the most vulnerable members of our society, cruelly robbing them of their dignity and freedom. The Department of Justice remains committed to prioritizing human trafficking prosecutions and vindicating the rights of the victims of these heinous crimes.”

“Today’s sentence reflects the defendant’s horrific treatment and abuse of his victims,” said U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart for the Middle District of Alabama. “Although their physical injuries will heal, the emotional damage caused by their suffering will last a lifetime. I am thankful for all of the agencies that worked together on this case, and for the courageous victims that testified at his trial. I hope this sentence will provide at least some consolation to the victims knowing that the defendant has been held accountable for his crimes.”

“Mr. Mitchell’s crimes were particularly atrocious, which was reflected in the severity of his sentencing,” said DHS Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HIS) Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Katrina Berger. “We hope this outcome will contribute to the victims’ healing process, but also serve as a warning to others who would victimize others for their own financial gain. HSI special agents and our law enforcement partners will continue to protect our communities from illegal trafficking and narcotics activity.”

According to the evidence presented in court, defendant Lonnie Mitchell targeted vulnerable victims who struggled with substance abuse issues, and then manipulated their substance abuse problems for his benefit. He increased the victims’ use of heroin and encouraged them to use it intravenously. He then withheld heroin from the victims, causing extremely painful withdrawal sickness, if they violated one of his many controlling rules or otherwise did not provide services to enough commercial sex clients. Mitchell also used violence, threats of violence and threats to send embarrassing information, photos or videos to the victims’ loved ones in order to coerce compliance with his rules and to ensure that the victims provided him with sufficient money from prostitution. In addition, defendant Mitchell regulated how much and when the victims could eat, and confiscated their identity documents and credit cards as part of his coercive scheme to control them. 

Two co-defendants, Nettisia Mitchell and Donna Emmons, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Nettisia Mitchell is the sister of defendant Lonnie Mitchell, and the court previously sentenced her to 120 months confinement and ordered her to pay $2,000 in restitution for her role in her brother’s coercive scheme. Specifically, Nettisia witnessed her brother’s violence against a victim, yet harbored the victim and received the proceeds from the victim’s involvement in commercial sex. The court previously sentenced Emmons to 151 months confinement and ordered her to pay $3,500 in restitution.    

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Stewart and HSI Special Agent in Charge Berger made the announcement.

DHS-HSI, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Patrick Lamb and MaryLou Bowdre for the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Kate Alexander of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org.