Month: January 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Alexander D. Pennington, 35, of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been sentenced by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, on child pornography charges.  Pennington was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,000.

Pennington was charged in a superseding indictment in November 2021 with conspiracy to advertise the distribution of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charge on August 30, 2022.  According to information introduced in court, from on or about May 1, 2021 through July 7, 2021, Pennington was a sub-administrator of private chat groups on the Kik Messenger app and had his own username. These private chat groups were dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. As a sub-administrator, Pennington enforced the rules of the private chat groups, one of which required members of the private chat groups to post child pornography or be removed from the groups.

On or about June 1, 2021, Pennington a.k.a. “grimka00” published an advertisement in the private chat group titled “Sneak & Peak” for the purpose of receiving and displaying child pornography. The advertisement consisted of a notice which stated, “Any babies?” along with an image of a nude female baby.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – United States Attorney Will Thompson had a momentous first year as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Southern District of West Virginia.

A series of successful major cases highlighted a federal fiscal year that saw total criminal case filings increase by more than 38 percent in FY 2022 when compared to the prior fiscal year. The district’s ranking for criminal cases filed among all U.S. Attorney’s Offices in FY 2022 was its highest in at least the last five years.

White-collar crime filings more than doubled, while cases targeting violent crimes rose by more than one-third. Drug crime filings accounted for approximately 45 percent of all criminal cases, and included prosecutions under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) initiative.

“The criminal filings in 2022 are the result of the tremendous hard work and commitment to service by our team of eminently capable attorneys, support staff, and our law enforcement partners,” Thompson said.

Thompson was sworn in on October 13, 2021, less than two weeks into the 2022 federal fiscal year. During FY 2022, there were 270 criminal cases filed. Of these, 24 were OCDETF cases and 97 were other drug-related prosecutions. Violent crimes accounted for 98 case filings, up from 68 during the prior year. White collar crimes were 18 of the total, compared to 8 in FY 2021.

Thompson leads 34 attorneys and 41 non-attorney personnel located in offices in Charleston, Huntington, and Beckley. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the district including crimes related to civil rights, public corruption, child exploitation, firearms, narcotics and terrorism.

The Southern District of West Virginia will be issuing an annual report for FY 2022 that will provide detailed statistics as well as summaries of major cases from the past year. Notable cases include:

Civil Rights: United States v Everett Maynard (2:21-cr-65)

On Nov. 17, 2021, a federal jury convicted Everett Maynard, 45, of Logan, of using excessive force against an arrestee while Maynard was a police officer with the Logan Police Department. Maynard was sentenced to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release on March 17, 2022.

Violent Crime: United States v Nathaniel Blayn Becker (2:21-cr-234)

On April 19, 2022, a federal jury found Nathaniel Blayn Becker, 43, of Marietta, Ohio, guilty of two counts of possession of an unregistered destructive device and two counts of placement of a destructive device on a vessel, in connection with pipe bombs found on tugboats on the Ohio River. Becker was sentenced on December 1, 2022, to eight years and one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Project Safe Childhood: United States v Todd Christopher Roatsey (2:21-cr-235)

Todd Christopher Roatsey, 43, of Elkview, a former counselor at Kanawha County’s Pinch Elementary School, pleaded guilty on June 13, 2022, to attempted production of child pornography and attempted enticement of a minor. Roatsey was sentenced on December 19, 2022, to 25 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Roatsey was also ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution to his victims and register as a sex offender.

Elder Justice Initiative: Romance Fraud Schemes (3:21-cr-68; 3:21-cr-69; 3:21-cr-70; 3:21-cr-71)

Nine defendants were convicted in connection with multiple internet-based fraud schemes that operated in the Huntington area and defrauded hundreds of individuals across the country.

The fraud schemes targeted potential victims looking for romantic partners, friendship, and other close personal and business relationships on dating websites and other social media platforms. Induced into believing they were in a romantic relationship, friendship or business relationship with false personas, the victims were persuaded to send money for a variety of false and fraudulent reasons for the benefit of the false personas. The defrauded funds were laundered for distribution among the defendants and others, with some of the funds transferred overseas.

Project Safe Neighborhoods: United States v Jones et al (5:22-cr-46)

Eighteen defendants pleaded guilty and one was convicted by a federal jury in connection with a multi-state conspiracy that trafficked more than 140 firearms from the Beckley area to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, between early 2020 and mid-2021. Approximately 45 of these firearms have been recovered at crime scenes primarily in Philadelphia and have been connected to two homicides, crimes of domestic violence, and other violent offenses.

OCDETF: United States v Midkiff et al (3:21-cr-109)

After a long-term investigation, law enforcement officers dismantled a conspiracy that distributed a variety of drugs including fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, cocaine base (also known as “crack”), oxycodone, and heroin in the Huntington area between the summer of 2020 and July 2021. All 19 individuals charged in this prosecution were convicted and sentenced to prison for their roles in the conspiracy. Four of the defendants were each sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.

OCDETF: United States v Alston et al (2:21-cr-172)

The long-term investigation in this case successfully targeted a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated primarily in the Charleston, Rand, and St. Albans areas of Kanawha County. The investigation also thwarted a plan to murder an individual on Charleston’s West Side on July 4, 2021.

Three defendants were found guilty at trial and the other 14 defendants pleaded guilty. To date, 14 defendants have been sentenced to prison. Eight of those defendants were each sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

ATLANTA – Scott Spilberg has been sentenced to prison for embezzling over $300,000 from his employer by using his company charge card for personal visits to adult entertainment clubs.

“Spilberg was trusted by his employer and betrayed that trust by shelling out more than $300,000 of company funds at adult entertainment clubs,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.

“This greedy defendant abused his position to fund his own lifestyle. Because of his actions, the restaurant, and people he was chosen to lead suffered the impacts,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “People who brazenly steal from their employers should expect to be held accountable.”

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Spilberg was hired as the manager at Houck’s Grille in August 2020.  Beginning in October 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Spilberg began using his company issued debit card to pay for his visits to two adult entertainment clubs.  Ultimately, he visited the clubs more than 50 times during an 11-month period, charging over $300,000 to the company debit card.  The loss of this money caused a significant hardship to the restaurant and threatened the livelihood of its 40 employees and forced it to borrow COVID-relief funds to stay in business.

Scott Spilberg, 56, of Canton, Georgia, was sentenced to two years, six months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $300,533.78.  Spilberg was convicted on September 19, 2022, after he pleaded guilty to the offense of wire fraud.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistant of the Roswell Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

BOISE – U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit along with the College of Idaho, the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, DOJ Community Relations Service, and the FBI are convening a United Against Hate meeting on January 16 at College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho. The event is free and is open to the public. The registration link can be found here: www.eventbrite.com/e/united-against-hate-tickets-492001348277.

United Against Hate is an initiative launched by the Department of Justice focused on improving efforts to combat hate crimes and hate incidents through relationship building at the local level.  Through this endeavor, the Office seeks to create and strengthen trust and partnerships among law enforcement, community leaders, and residents.

“In my view, this initiative is particularly timely for Idaho, as we have experienced a series of troubling hate incidents throughout the state in the past several years,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “As Attorney General Garland has said, this is a moment for an all-hands-on-deck approach to combatting unlawful hate.”

The January 16 event will include presentations from prosecutors about hate crimes laws and reporting mechanisms and speakers who will share their courageous experiences responding to hate.

“I look forward to meeting community members and hearing different perspectives on how we can work together to unite our community in standing up to unlawful hate,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “And I am deeply honored to partner with our co-sponsors to prioritize this critical mission.”

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