Month: December 2022

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Columbus Man Sentenced to Prison for Armed Drug Trafficking

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBUS, Ga. – A convicted felon and documented member of the Crips criminal street gang organization operating in Columbus was sentenced to serve more than ten years in prison for armed drug trafficking.

Bobby Thomas, 25, of Columbus, was sentenced to serve 130 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Clay Land on Nov. 29 after he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Federal authorities are working closely with our local partners to identify and hold armed and repeat violent offenders accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Removing the most dangerous offenders from the streets is one part of a larger strategy to reduce violent crime in our communities through the Project Safe Neighborhoods program.”

“This sentence is a direct message to criminals that the FBI and the Project Safe Neighborhoods program focuses every day on dangerous criminals like Thomas,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “If you traffic in drugs and violence, you will be targeted, and we will ensure that you are prosecuted and removed from our streets.”

“Investigators from the Columbus Police Department have been diligently working on this case in collaboration with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office. Their persistence and dedication to bringing justice and accountability to the subject responsible for armed drug trafficking in our community is admirable,” said Chief Freddie Blackmon, Columbus Police Department. “This case is a great example of the incredible partnership we have with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our commitment to justice for the city of Columbus and keeping illegal drugs, weapons and validated gang members off our streets.” 

According to court documents and other evidence, a Columbus Police Department (CPD) officer observed a Facebook Live video of Thomas seated in a stolen car holding a tan handgun with an extended magazine; Thomas ended the video stating that he was going to the Peachtree Mall, a shopping center in Columbus. Officers located the stolen vehicle in the mall parking lot; Thomas attempted to flee officers on foot, but was taken into custody. The car had bullet damage and blood on the passenger seat. Officers found a loaded tan Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol with a 31-round magazine in the car.

On Sept. 15, 2021, CPD officers and FBI agents executed state arrest warrants for Thomas, as well as a search warrant of his residence. Thomas initially fled, but was taken into custody without incident. Officers found firearms and ammunition: a .45 caliber pistol with magazine; a Glock 23, .40 caliber pistol with extended magazine and ammunition; a KelTec, 9mm rifle with magazine; seven additional ammunition magazines; a plastic bag with various caliber rounds; and a box of .40 caliber ammunition. In addition, officers found heroin and drug distribution items. Thomas has a criminal history to include a felony conviction for methamphetamine possession; it is illegal for convicted felons to possess firearms.

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.

The case was investigated by the Columbus Police Department and the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Williams prosecuted the case for the Government.

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Jamaal Parker Sentenced To 290 Months’ Imprisonment On Drug Trafficking And Firearm Charges

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On December 2, 2022, Jamaal Parker, also known as “MoneyMaal,” 38, of Chattanooga, was sentenced to 290 months in prison by the Honorable Travis R. McDonough, Chief United States District Judge, in the United States District Court at Chattanooga.  Parker was ordered to forfeit $21,289.04 in drug proceeds to the United States.  Following his imprisonment, Parker will be on supervised release for a period of five years.

On June 8, 2022, following a two-day jury trial, Parker was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 28 grams or more of cocaine base (“crack”), maintaining and using a drug premise, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §846 and 856, and Title 18 U.S.C. §924(c).

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial and sentencing, Parker and others trafficked kilogram quantities of cocaine from a source of supply in Atlanta, Georgia, and distributed cocaine and cocaine base from a residence on Hoyt Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The investigation culminated with the March 2019 arrest of Parker, in which he led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit and was ultimately found in possession of 4 kilograms of cocaine and a loaded firearm.

“This investigation and prosecution were the result of a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. “The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to target dangerous drug traffickers and stop the flow of illegal drugs into our communities.”

“This case shows that people like Mr. Parker and others like him, who undermine the health and safety of our communities by selling poison and preying on the weak, will eventually meet justice,” said Todd Scott, Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s Louisville Division.  “I’m proud of the hard work done by my agents and our law enforcement counterparts on this case; Chattanooga is safer today because of their efforts.”

This case was the culmination 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.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to the indictment and subsequent conviction of Parker, included the DEA Chattanooga Resident Office, DEA Atlanta Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Chattanooga Field Office, Chattanooga Police Department, and Georgia State Patrol. Numerous agencies from the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force assisted in the investigation.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin T. Brown and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Winne represented the United States.

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Two Former Mississippi Department of Corrections Officials Indicted for Excessive Force Against an Inmate

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Mississippi returned an indictment that was unsealed yesterday charging two former Mississippi Department of Corrections officials with deprivation of rights under color of law.

According to court documents, both Jessica Hill, a correctional officer at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF), and Nicole Moore, a CMCF case manager, used excessive force against an inmate, including the use of dangerous weapons and resulting in bodily injury.

On July 11, 2019, Hill and Moore, while aiding and abetting each other and others, willfully deprived L.C. of the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. The indictment alleges that Hill struck L.C. with a cannister and punched L.C., and that Moore kicked L.C., while L.C. was not resisting. 

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the FBI Jackson Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Jackson Field Office is investigating the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda Haynes for the Southern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Eric Peffley of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Mississippi Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime for Cross Burning

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Justice Department announced that a Mississippi man pleaded guilty in federal court to a hate crime for burning a cross in his front yard with the intent to intimidate a Black family.

According to court documents, Axel C. Cox, 24, of Gulfport, admitted to violating the Fair Housing Act when he used threatening and racially derogatory remarks toward his Black neighbors and burned a cross to intimidate them. Cox stated that he gathered supplies from his residence, put together a wooden cross in his front yard and propped it up so his Black neighbors could see it. Cox then doused the cross with motor oil and lit it on fire. Cox admitted that he burned the cross because of the victims’ race and because they were occupying a home next to his.

“Burning a cross invokes the long and painful history, particularly in Mississippi, of intimidation and impending physical violence against Black people,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute those who use racially-motivated violence to drive people away from their homes or communities.”

“The collaboration among the Gulfport Police Department, the FBI, the Civil Rights Division and our office brought this defendant to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi. “We will continue to work with and for the good people of Mississippi to eradicate such racist intimidation.”

“Individuals in our communities should be free from threats and intimidation,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to bring to justice anyone who violates the federal laws designed to ensure civil rights are protected.”

Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2023. Cox faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney LaMarca, Assistant Director Quesada and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the FBI Jackson Field Office made the announcement.

The Gulfport Police Department and the FBI Jackson Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Cabell Jones and Trial Attorney Noah Coakley II of the Civil Rights Division Criminal Section prosecuted the case.

For more information and resources on the department’s efforts to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

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Brooklyn Woman Pleads Guilty To COVID-19 Fraud Scheme And To Separate Fraud Against NYCHA

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHANETTE LEWIS Conspired to Commit Pandemic Fraud by, Among Other Things, Defrauding New York City’s COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program and Perpetrated a Separate Fraud Scheme Against the New York City Housing Authority

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CHANETTE LEWIS pled guilty today to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.  LEWIS participated in a scheme to commit COVID-19 pandemic fraud by, among other things, defrauding New York City’s COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program.  LEWIS also committed a fraud in which she submitted fabricated documents to the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) — such as purported Orders of Protection bearing Judges’ names, purported letters from a District Attorney, and purported letters from healthcare professionals attesting to alleged medical issues — in order to secure public housing benefits for herself and her customers.  LEWIS pled guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron.  LEWIS’s case is assigned to United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Chanette Lewis took advantage of multiple lifelines offered to New York City residents in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Each of her schemes misappropriated identifying information of hardworking individuals, including medical professionals whose services were vital during the pandemic.  For her brazen crimes, Lewis now faces possible prison time.”

According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Information, court filings, and statements made during plea proceedings:

LEWIS’s COVID-19 Pandemic Fraud Scheme

From April 2020 through September 2021, LEWIS conspired to commit COVID-19 pandemic fraud by, among other things, defrauding the COVID-19 Hotel Room Isolation Program (the “Program”).  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City created the Program.  Funded by New York City and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Program provided free hotel rooms for qualifying individuals throughout New York City.  The Program was open to (a) healthcare workers who needed to isolate because of exposure to COVID-19; (b) patients who had tested positive for COVID-19; (c) individuals who believed, based on their symptoms, that they were infected with COVID-19; and (d) individuals who lived with someone who contracted COVID-19.  As stated on the City’s website describing the Program, such individuals “may qualify to self-isolate in a hotel, free of charge, for up to 14 days if you do not have a safe place to self-isolate.”  Those who wished to book a hotel room through the Program could either call a phone number or use an online hotel booking platform. 

LEWIS defrauded the Program in several respects.  First, she secured free Program hotel rooms for herself by falsely claiming to be a healthcare worker.  Second, she sold at least approximately 1,936 nights’ worth of fraudulently obtained hotel rooms to customers who were ineligible for the Program.  Third, LEWIS abused her employment, which was supposed to be in service of the Program.  Specifically, LEWIS worked at a call center that handled phone calls and certain reservations for the Program for several months in 2020.  LEWIS was hired specifically for the Program, and as a result of her employment, she had access to legitimate healthcare workers’ identifying information.  LEWIS abused her position, including by misappropriating healthcare workers’ identifying information, revealing the Program’s inner workings to co-conspirators, and making unauthorized sales of Program hotel rooms to ineligible individuals.  For instance, LEWIS sold a co-defendant, for $800, personal identifying information of at least five healthcare professionals, as well as certain “codes” to use when booking hotel reservations through the Program, such as an employee ID number and license number.  LEWIS admitted, in Facebook messages, that she had stolen doctors’ identifying information in furtherance of the scheme, writing: “I work for 311 oem [i.e., the Office of Emergency Management] that how I got doctors licenses and stuff . . . I work in the part that I collect they information and I do and approval the booking . . . I take doctors and stuff certificate numbers and stuff.”  LEWIS also advertised to potential customers that, when hotels asked for a healthcare worker’s identification, LEWIS would supply a purported paystub and a letter falsely asserting that the individual was a healthcare worker.

LEWIS’s Fraud against NYCHA

From in or around July 2020 until October 2021, LEWIS participated in a conspiracy to defraud NYCHA.  LEWIS submitted fabricated documents to NYCHA — such as purported Orders of Protection bearing Judges’ names, purported letters from a District Attorney, and purported letters from doctors attesting to alleged medical issues — in order to secure public housing benefits for both herself and others, such as transfers to larger NYCHA apartments.  In total, LEWIS submitted fraudulent applications to NYCHA on behalf of approximately 35 individuals, a number of whom in fact received the public housing benefit they requested based on fraudulent documentation.

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LEWIS, 31, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  Under the terms of her plea agreement, LEWIS has agreed to forfeit $289,536 and to pay restitution of $360,916. 

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.  LEWIS is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kaplan on May 18, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.

One of LEWIS’s co-defendants, Tatiana Daniel, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Kaplan on March 29, 2023, at 2:30 p.m.  LEWIS’s two other co-defendants are currently scheduled to proceed to trial before Judge Kaplan on January 17, 2023. 

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding efforts of agents, investigators, and analysts from the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), DOI – NYCHA Office of the Inspector General, the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (“DOL-OIG”), and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  Mr. Williams also thanked the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Intelligence Analysts for their support and assistance in this investigation.  He also expressed gratitude to the New York City Police Department, the New York State Department of Labor, and the DOL-OIG Atlanta Regional Office for their assistance.

This matter is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Neff is in charge of the prosecution.