Month: January 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that William Heck, age 41, of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on January 5, 2023, before U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion, to a charge of possession with intent to distribute more than fifty grams of methamphetamine and additional amounts of fentanyl.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Heck admitted to possessing more than fifty grams of methamphetamine and additional amounts of fentanyl for distribution in the Hazleton area of Luzerne County in 2020.  The charges stem from an incident on October 2, 2020, in which members of the Pennsylvania State Police served a search warrant at a residence in Hazleton, where Heck was living, and seized 226 grams of methamphetamine, 2,464 packets of fentanyl, $4,452 in U.S. currency, and other items of drug paraphernalia.

The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

This case is also 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.

Under federal law, Heck faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison for the drug trafficking charge, up to a maximum sentence of forty years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.  A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

MIDLAND, Texas – An Odessa man was sentenced yesterday to 151 months in prison for distributing fentanyl.

In late 2021, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received information that Jesus Arevalo, 44, received and distributed kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl in the Midland – Odessa region.  The DEA and FBI consequently opened a joint investigation through which undercover agents made multiple purchases of blue M30 pills containing fentanyl from Arevalo. 

While executing a search warrant of Arevalo’s residence in July 2022, investigators seized approximately 517 grams of M30 pills containing fentanyl, a loaded handgun and a large amount of U.S. currency.  Further investigation revealed that Arevalo had received and distributed at least 2,000 M30 pills containing fentanyl each month in the six months leading up to the search, totaling at least 12,000 fentanyl-laced M30 pills.

Arevalo pleaded guilty on September 27, 2022 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing fentanyl. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on July 28, 2022.

“Fentanyl has continued to kill too many people for far too long,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza. “It is a priority for our office to bring fentanyl traffickers to justice, disrupt their operations, and save lives.”

“Fentanyl continues to flood the United States at an alarming rate and our West Texas communities are not immune from its devastation,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey of the FBI El Paso Field Office.  “This case demonstrates our commitment to address the dangerous trafficking of fentanyl. We will continue to work with our partners at the DEA and state and local law enforcement partners to interdict the distribution of fentanyl wherever it may occur and bring to justice those who are fueling the epidemic.”

In 2022, the DEA seized more than 50.6 million fake pills often laced with fentanyl, more than double the amount of fentanyl pills seized in 2021.

“The dealers distributing illicit fentanyl do not care if they drive addiction or indiscriminately poison Americans,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Millard of the DEA El Paso Field Office. “Their business model is expansion at all costs. But we know who they are, and we will relentlessly go after them.”

The FBI and DEA investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Mahoney prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Tindall handling the forfeiture component.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

          SANTA ANA, California – A former Orange County-based bank manager pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for stealing $1.2 million in savings from elderly customers by using one the victims’ identities to fraudulently open a bank account, then impersonating the victim to transfer the stolen money to different bank accounts.

          Lana Pothos, 59, of Anaheim, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

          According to her plea agreement, during the summer of 2020, Pothos – who worked as a relationship manager at a Bank of America branch in Yorba Linda – and an accomplice worked together to steal the savings of approximately $1.2 million from two married senior citizen clients who shared an account with the bank.

          In June 2020, Pothos used one victim’s personal identifiable information to create an online banking profile for the victim without the victim’s knowledge or permission. Using Bank of America’s internal computer system, Pothos then changed the victims’ mailing address to a hair salon in Yorba Linda that Pothos frequented and also changed their telephone number to a phone number she used. Using that phone number, Pothos called the bank several times while impersonating one of the victims. In July 2020, Pothos’ co-schemer opened a new bank account and email address in one victim’s name.

          On seven occasions from July 2020 to October 2020, approximately $1,212,144 was transferred out of the victims’ bank account into the fraudulently opened account Pothos and her accomplice controlled, then transferred again to an account used by the co-schemer at a different bank. The stolen money was then used for personal expenses, including $47,000 that was transferred to a Pothos-controlled entity.

          United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney scheduled a July 10 sentencing hearing in this case.

          Theron Fox, 49, of Tustin, Pothos’ alleged co-schemer, is charged with five counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Fox is scheduled to go to trial on February 7.

          An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

          The FBI investigated this matter.

          Assistant United States Attorney Charles E. Pell of the Santa Ana Branch Office is prosecuting this case.