Month: January 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

DES MOINES, IA – Jacob Chance Greer, age 27 of Des Moines, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for knowingly receiving child pornography. Greer was also ordered to pay restitution of $12,000 to victims of the child pornography he collected and placed on supervised release for a term of five years after his prison term. He is also required to register as a sex offender.

Greer was originally arrested on federal child pornography charges in 2016 as the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. About a month after he was released pending trial, Greer faked his death, leaving a suicide note by his abandoned car, parked by a lake in Dallas County, and absconded. The U.S. Marshals’ Fugitive Task Force developed information that led to Greer’s arrest in Spanaway, Washington on April 4, 2022.

According to court documents, Greer received, possessed, and distributed child pornography on the internet over several years. He tried to avoid detection by, among other things, storing his collection on internet-platforms, instead of on his own electronic devices, and occasionally deleted files on his devices. Yet child pornography and digital evidence of his seeking out and trading child pornography was found on numerous electronic devices seized from him on February 4, 2015, when law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence in Des Moines.

“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our law enforcement partners, including the United States Marshals’ Fugitive Task Force, sex offender Jacob Greer failed in his attempt to avoid accountability for these serious charges involving the exploitation of children,” said United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal.

The investigation started in 2014, as part of Project Hydra, a joint task force investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the York, Ottawa Regional Police in Ontario, Canada targeting persons who produce and distribute child pornography on the internet case. Other agencies who assisted with the case include the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the U.S. Forest Service, the Royal Canadian Mounter Police, and the U.S. State Department.

The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa and Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Peyton Gaumer, as part of the United States Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Child” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Entered Senate Gallery, Took Selfies

            WASHINGTON — A California man was sentenced today on a felony charge for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

            Andrew Alan Hernandez, 45, of Riverside, California, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the District of Columbia for aiding and abetting in the obstruction of an official proceeding. Hernandez pleaded guilty on September 21, 2022. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered 36 months of supervised release and $2,000 restitution.

            According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Hernandez attended a rally on the Ellipse and then marched to the Capitol. He was carrying a backpack and U.S. flag on a pole with a camera attached. Hernandez initially stood by a series of bicycle racks, set up to keep people from illegally entering the Capitol grounds. While he was there, at approximately 1:59 p.m., the mob pushed down the barricades and moved forward. Hernandez moved past the barricades and made his way up the steps leading to the East Plaza, part of a crowd pushing towards the Rotunda Door.

            At approximately 2:37 p.m., a short time after the East Rotunda Door was initially breached, Hernandez entered the Capitol. He then made his way to the Senate Gallery, where he remained until approximately 2:45 p.m. He took a few “selfies” of himself inside the Senate Gallery and then departed, leaving the Capitol through the Rotunda Door at about 2:51 p.m.

            Hernandez was arrested on Feb. 25, 2021, in Riverside, California.

            This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 24 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 950 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 284 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

“Billy Ortega ran a drug delivery service that delivered fentanyl, killing three victims on a single day.  Worse yet, Ortega was fully aware that a customer had previously overdosed from the deadly fentanyl Ortega laced into his product, yet continued sending the drugs to his victims.  As a unanimous jury determined, Ortega will now be held accountable for the victims’ tragic and untimely deaths.  This case exemplifies that the national fentanyl epidemic continues to claim lives and inflict havoc on families from all walks of life.  Drug dealers don’t label their drugs as poison, they just sell them with indifference to the tragedy left in their wake.  Combatting the fentanyl epidemic in our communities is one of my Office’s top priorities.”

Source: United States Department of Justice News

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JUSTIN HENRY, age 41, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged on January 26, 2023 in a one-count indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

If convicted, HENRY faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 3 years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00.

U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 

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 New Orleans Police Department, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney David Berman is in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Falsified Documents

            WASHINGTON –Ted Blair Williams, Jr., 30, of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, was ordered to pay more than $46,000 in restitution and was sentenced to five years of probation for falsifying the accounting records of a Washington, D.C. property management company, in order to conceal his fraudulent scheme to steal funds from the company. The sentence was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Robert J. Contee III, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Williams pleaded guilty in November 2022, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to second degree felony fraud. He was sentenced by the Honorable Sean C. Staples who also ordered 12 months of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, Williams made approximately 20 fraudulent transfers from the company to his personal bank account between April and November 2019, totaling more than $65,000. Williams, who was employed by the company as an accountant and responsible for reviewing its accounting information, hid the fraudulent transactions in the company’s ledger by falsely coding the transactions in the records and concealing any accounting discrepancies from the company. The company had been able to recover approximately $19,000 after discovering the fraud but suffered a net financial loss of more than $46,000 because of the scheme.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian P. Kelly and Benjamin D. Bleiberg, who investigated and prosecuted the case.