Month: December 2022

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

Good morning. Today, the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against pharmaceutical distribution company AmerisourceBergen Corporation and two of its subsidiaries.

The Controlled Substances Act, or CSA, prevents the unlawful diversion and illicit use of controlled substances, including opioids, by requiring pharmaceutical distributors to report to the DEA suspicious orders that they receive from pharmacies and other customers.

Today’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleges that, from 2014 through the present, AmerisourceBergen and its subsidiaries repeatedly violated that obligation for at least hundreds of thousands of controlled substances orders.

This alleged unlawful conduct includes failures to report orders from pharmacies that defendants knew were likely facilitating diversion of prescription opioids, like oxycodone and fentanyl.

For example, we allege that AmerisourceBergen knew that, at two of the pharmacies it sold to in Florida and West Virginia, its opioids likely were being distributed in the parking lot for cash.

We allege that AmerisourceBergen continued selling opioids to a New Jersey pharmacy with such unusual order patterns that the company terminated the relationship, only to immediately set up a proxy relationship through a third-party middleman to continue the sales.

We allege that AmerisourceBergen sold to pharmacies in West Virginia and Colorado that AmerisourceBergen’s auditors flagged were dispensing opioids to people likely suffering from addiction, including to people who later died of drug overdoses.

In each instance, we allege that AmerisourceBergen failed to report suspicious orders from these pharmacies to federal law enforcement, as the CSA requires.

In addition to ignoring these red flags, we allege that AmerisourceBergen failed to erect the safeguards necessary to catch and report suspicious orders.

In the midst of a catastrophic opioid epidemic, AmerisourceBergen allegedly altered its internal systems in a way that reduced the number of orders that would be flagged as suspicious. 

And even as to the orders that AmerisourceBergen identified as suspicious, the company routinely failed to report those suspicious orders to DEA.

In short, the government’s complaint alleges that, for years, AmerisourceBergen prioritized profits over its legal obligations and over Americans’ wellbeing.

If AmerisourceBergen is found liable for this allegedly unlawful conduct, it could face substantial civil penalties, potentially totaling billions of dollars. The court may also award injunctive relief to prevent AmerisourceBergen from committing future CSA violations.

I’d like to thank the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, along with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of New Jersey, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, District of Colorado and Eastern District of New York for their efforts in preparing this lawsuit, as well as the DEA for their assistance with the investigation. You’ll hear shortly from two U.S. Attorneys whose offices have been central to this suit and from the Principal Deputy Administrator of the DEA. I also want to recognize Brian Boynton, head of the Civil Division, and Arun Rao, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Consumer Protection Branch, for their leadership on this matter.

This case is an example of the whole department coming together to hold accountable those responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic.

We continue to pursue other alleged corporate wrongdoers for their roles in the opioid crisis, including Walmart, one of the largest retail pharmacies and distributors in the country, allegedly responsible for dispensing and distributing thousands of unlawful opioid prescriptions.

And we continue our efforts to get deadly drugs off the streets. In 2022, the DEA has seized 50.6 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. The DEA estimates that these seizures represent more than 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl.

I’d now like to turn it over to Philip Sellinger, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, to provide more information about our complaint.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A St. Louis, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to distribute kilogram-quantities of heroin in the Springfield, Mo., area.

Alphonso L. Battle, 55, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to participating in a conspiracy to distribute heroin from Sept. 1, 2012, to April 3, 2017.

Battle admitted that he traveled from St. Louis to Springfield on April 6, 2016, to deliver heroin to co-defendant Roosevelt Simpson, 65, of Springfield. Law enforcement officers were conducting surveillance at Simpson’s residence at about 10 p.m. when Battle arrived and backed into Simpson’s driveway. Battle walked to the front door of Simpson’s residence, then returned to his vehicle and retrieved an item from the trunk. As federal agents approached to arrest him, Battle fled on foot through the back yard of Simpson’s neighbor.

Battle was found a few hours later near the intersection of Kearney Street and Golden Avenue in Springfield, where he was arrested. Simpson’s neighbor called the Springfield Police Department the next day to report that he found a canister with a false bottom in his back yard. A Springfield Police Department detective retrieved the canister, which contained approximately 63 grams of heroin and 72 capsules of Dormin (a common cutting agent).

Simpson was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to his role in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Battle is the eighth and final defendant in this case to plead guilty. Seven co-defendants have pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

Under federal statutes, Battle is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 40 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

TUCSON, Ariz. – Ramon Antonio Monreal-Rodriguez, 36, of Vail, Arizona, was sentenced on December 14, by United States District Judge James A. Soto, to 152 months in prison and ordered to pay $151,000 in restitution to the U.S. Border Patrol for salary drawn while engaged in criminal activity. Monreal-Rodriguez previously pleaded guilty to Bribery, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine and Marijuana, Conspiracy to Make False Statements in Connection with the Acquisition of Firearms, and Conspiracy to Provide Firearms to a Convicted Felon, for his role in three separate conspiracies in two federal criminal cases.

“The men and women of the United States Border Patrol safeguard our frontier with compassion and dignity,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “Most Border Patrol Agents are excellent public servants who diligently interdict contraband like guns and drugs. For those who aren’t and don’t, the Bureau of Prisons has plenty of room. Many thanks to our law enforcement partners on the Southern Arizona Corruption Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for their hard work in putting this case together.”

Between July and August 2018, Monreal-Rodriguez, a former U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agent, was involved in two firearm-related conspiracies wherein he both unlawfully purchased firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers on behalf of other individuals and provided firearms to felons, who are prohibited from possessing firearms.

While the investigations into the firearms conspiracies were ongoing, Monreal-Rodriguez also conspired to import narcotics into the United States from Mexico, from January 8, 2018, until his arrest on September 25, 2018. During this time, a drug trafficking organization he worked with smuggled narcotics across the border. Monreal-Rodriguez would retrieve the narcotics and take them past the checkpoint several miles from the border — often in his USBP vehicle — and then transport the drugs to the Tucson area. He admitted to distributing 116 kilograms of cocaine and 107 kilograms of marijuana as part of the conspiracy.

Additionally, Monreal-Rodriguez admitted to receiving cash proceeds from narcotics sales totaling at least $1.2 million, which he transported to the United States-Mexico border and then handed off to other individuals so the cash could be smuggled into Mexico. In exchange for his role in the narcotics conspiracy, Monreal-Rodriguez received cash payments.

In violation of his duties as a USBP agent, Monreal-Rodriguez used his border patrol vehicle and its radio to securely transport the smuggled narcotics and cash proceeds. Further, he was in possession of his service weapon when he picked up the narcotics and dropped off the drug proceeds.

This case was investigated by the Southern Arizona Corruption Task Force (SACTF) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The SACTF is comprised of members from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General, Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Office of Professional Responsibility, Customs and Border Protection – Office of Professional Responsibility, the Tucson Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-18-02215-TUC-JAS-1
                                           CR-18-01905-TUC-JAS-1
RELEASE NUMBER:    2022-133_Monreal-Rodriguez
 

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            CONCORD – Devin James Melycher, 30, of Danbury, Connecticut, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release for threatening to kill a federal judge, a federal prosecutor, and other individuals, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today. Melycher previously pled guilty to three counts of mailing threatening communications, one count of threatening to murder a federal law enforcement officer, and two counts of threatening to murder a federal judge.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, between May and September 2022, Melycher sent numerous letters threatening to kill a federal judge, a prosecutor, his court-appointed counsel, a retired U.S. magistrate judge, and a federal law enforcement officer involved in his then-pending criminal matter, Docket No. 2:21-CR-169, in the District of Maine, for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Melycher’s 18-month sentence will run consecutive to a 135-month sentence of imprisonment previously imposed in Docket No. 2:21-CR-169.

            “Threatening to kill federal officials is a serious crime, not protected speech,” said U.S. Attorney Young. “My office will work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who seek to harm or intimidate public servants are brought to justice for their criminal conduct.”

             The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, with assistance by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in Portland, Maine. It is being prosecuted by United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire, by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cam T. Le and Matthew T. Hunter, acting under authority conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Joshua Rico pleaded guilty on Dec. 22 to five counts of coercion and enticement of minors. Rico, 26, of Pecos, New Mexico, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

Beginning as early as January 2018, Rico used multiple profiles on the social media platform Snapchat to coerce minor girls into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos and engage in sexual acts. Rico used fictitious profiles under the names “Chris Lujan” and “Erik Romero” as well as a profile in his own name to threaten, coerce and manipulate at least four victims who were between 14 and 16 years old.

In each case, Rico used one or both of his fake profiles to persuade the victims into sending compromising photos, then used the threat of exposing the photos to coerce the victims into engaging in sexual acts and sending him videos of the acts. In two cases, after using a fake profile to demand that the victims engage in sexual acts and provide videos, he offered to “help” the victims by allowing them to perform the sexual act with him. Rico coerced at least one of the victims into engaging in sexual acts with him.

Rico faces up to life in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.

The New Mexico State Police, the FBI, and the Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory investigated this case as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The ICAC Task Force Program is a nation-wide network of task forces including over 90 federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in New Mexico dedicated to investigating, prosecuting and developing effective responses to Internet crimes against children.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Mease and Jaymie L. Roybal are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

For more information on sextortion and how to get help, visit the FBI website.

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