Month: February 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to commit nine armed robberies of local businesses in the summer of 2018, as well as an armed robbery in which a convenience store employee was beaten and then fatally shot.

Joe Lee Nichols, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Thursday, Feb. 22, to 45 years in federal prison without parole.

On March 11, 2022, Nichols pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit robbery, three counts of robbery, and three counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Additionally, federal prosecutors used evidence of Nichols’s involvement in a tenth, uncharged armed robbery in which a person was killed as relevant conduct for determining his sentence.

Nichols admitted that he was part of a conspiracy to rob nine businesses at gunpoint between June 1 and July 18, 2018. Nichols also admitted that he was directly involved in the armed robbery of Boost Mobile, 5218 E. Truman Road, on June 12, 2018; the armed robbery of Arrowhead Inn, 6006 E.  31^st Street, on July 2, 2018; and the armed robbery of Wood Springs Suites, 11301 Colorado Avenue, on July 14, 2018.

The government presented evidence at Nichols’s sentencing hearing that he was also involved in a tenth, uncharged, armed robbery of Inner-City Oil convenience store, 5901 Swope Parkway, on July 16, 2018. The court determined there was sufficient evidence of Nichols’s involvement to consider the robbery as relevant conduct, which impacted the court’s sentencing decision.

Video surveillance evidence introduced during yesterday’s sentencing hearing indicated that Nichols pointed a handgun at an employee of Inner-City Oil, who resisted and engaged in a struggle for Nichols’s firearm. Nichols fired his gun multiple times before the employee fell to the floor. The employee then retrieved a handgun and began to fire back at Nichols. Nichols began to stomp and kick at the head and body of the employee, who was still lying on the floor. The employee lost his firearm, which was recovered by Nichols’s accomplice, who then used it to also shoot the store clerk. When they were unable to access the cash register, Nichols and his accomplice left the store. The employee can be seen on the surveillance video, still moving while lying on the floor, until eventually becoming motionless when he died from his injuries. A witness who saw their car leaving the area and discovered the body of the employee immediately called 911.

The surveillance video depicts Nichols leaning on an ice cream freezer with his left hand while assaulting the employee on the floor. Investigators determined that a palm print found on the ice cream freezer belonged to Nichols.  Nichols was also identified by his appearance in other robbery videos and by several witnesses who viewed the Inner-City Oil video.

Nichols is the third defendant to be sentenced in this case. One additional co-defendant has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing and two other defendants remain set for trial in May 2023.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bruce Rhoades and Maureen Brackett. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and agents and task force officers of the FBI.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal grand jury in Charlotte returned an indictment yesterday charging a North Carolina man with masterminding and directing a massive scheme to deceive state insurance regulators and defraud thousands of policyholders and others in connection with insurance companies he controlled.

According to court documents, from no later than 2016 through at least 2019, Greg E. Lindberg, 53, of Durham, and others allegedly agreed to defraud various insurance companies, other third parties, and ultimately, thousands of insurance policyholders. Lindberg allegedly deceived the North Carolina Department of Insurance and other regulators, evaded regulatory requirements meant to protect policyholders, concealed the true financial condition of his insurance companies, and improperly used insurance company funds for his personal benefit. In particular, the indictment alleges that Lindberg personally benefitted from the fraud in part by using insurance company funds to finance his lavish lifestyle, including the purchase and refinancing of personal real estate and “forgiving” more than $125 million in loans from his affiliated companies to himself.

“Policyholders rely on insurance company owners to follow the rules so that the benefits they deserve and depend on will be available when needed,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “In this alleged $2 billion scheme, the defendant defrauded regulators and policyholders alike, causing substantial financial harm to thousands of victims. As this prosecution demonstrates, no matter how complex the scheme, the department will hold accountable corporate executives whose crimes leave policyholders holding the bag while lining their own pockets.”

The charged conduct allegedly caused substantial financial hardship to the victims. Lindberg allegedly caused the insurance companies to engage in investments of nearly $2 billion as part of his scheme, most of which remained outstanding as of September 2022. Since 2019, multiple insurance companies controlled by Lindberg have been placed into rehabilitation or liquidation.

“The indictment reveals a carefully orchestrated scheme that relied on a web of complex financial investments and transactions designed to evade regulators, disguise the financial health of Lindberg’s insurance companies, and conceal the alleged purpose of the scheme: Lindberg’s personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute financial wrongdoing and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.”

“People buy insurance products to provide comfort and security. However, this indictment alleges this was a sophisticated and intricate scheme designed for one reason, to benefit Lindberg,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Scherck of the FBI Charlotte Field Office. “The FBI is unwavering in our efforts to hold those accountable who commit federal financial crimes.”

Lindberg is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit crimes in connection with insurance business, wire fraud, and investment adviser fraud; one count of wire fraud; four counts of false insurance business statements presented to regulators; six counts of false entries about the financial condition or solvency of an insurance business; and one count of money laundering conspiracy. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the top counts.

In December 2022, one of Lindberg’s top executives, Christopher Herwig, pleaded guilty in a related case to conspiring with Lindberg and others to commit wire fraud, investment advisor fraud, and money laundering, as well as to the making of false statements in the business of insurance.

Separately, Lindberg remains under indictment and is awaiting retrial in a case in which he faces several charges stemming from alleged attempts to bribe the Commissioner of the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

The FBI Charlotte Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan for the Western District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Lyndie Freeman of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

If you believe you are a victim in this case, please contact the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness Unit toll-free at (888) 549-3945 or by email at victimassistance.fraud@usdoj.gov. You are also encouraged to visit our webpage for this case at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/united-states-v-greg-e-lindberg.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

From the outset of Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, one year ago today, the Department of Justice has prioritized enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed alongside our global partners. Today, the Department continues that work by actions in two separate federal cases to disrupt sanctions evasion and smuggling networks supporting the Russian regime.  

“Over the past year, the Ukrainian people have shown the world what courage looks like,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “For as long as it takes, the Department of Justice will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Ukrainian and international partners in defense of justice and the rule of law.”

“It has been one year since Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of its neighbor, but the FBI has been working with our Ukrainian partners for years to battle Russian aggression there — and we aren’t going anywhere,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI’s commitment to Ukraine remains unwavering, and we will continue to stand against Russia at home and abroad.”

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has filed a civil forfeiture complaint against six real properties located in New York, New York; Southampton, New York; and Fisher Island, Florida, worth approximately $75 million. The complaint alleges that the properties beneficially owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg are the proceeds of sanctions violations and were involved in international money laundering transactions. The case arises in the wake of the indictment of Vekselberg’s alleged strawman, Vladimir Voronchenko, a fugitive previously charged in the Southern District of New York. In the Eastern District of New York, a five-count indictment was unsealed today charging Ilya Balakaev, 47, of Moscow, with various offenses related to a years-long scheme to illegally smuggle sensitive devices used in counterintelligence operations from the United States to Russia for the benefit of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), the principal intelligence and security agency of the Russian government. Balakaev is further charged with illegally exporting a gas detector and related software from the United States to Russia for the benefit of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea). Concurrent with today’s action in the Eastern District of New York, the Department of Commerce separately issued a Temporary Denial Order denying the export privileges of Balakaev and his company, Radiotester OOO (aka Radiotester LLC), for 180 days with the possibility of renewal. 

Today’s actions coincide with the one-year mark of Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine. Read more about the Justice Department’s efforts to hold Russia accountable here. 

The Vekselberg Properties 

According to court documents, on April 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Vekselberg as a Specially Designated National (SDN) in connection with its finding that the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation in Ukraine constituted an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.

Prior to his designation by OFAC, between in or about 2008 and in or about 2017, Vekselberg, through a series of shell companies, acquired six real properties in the United States, today worth approximately $75 million:   

• 19 Duck Pond Lane, Southampton, New York 11968. 
• 515 Park Avenue, Units Units 21 and 2I, New York, New York 10022. 
• 7002 Fisher Island Drive, Unit 7002 PH2, Miami Beach, Florida 33109.  
• 7183 Fisher Island Drive, Units 7182 and 7183, Miami Beach, Florida 33109. 

The FBI and HSI are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs, and OFAC provided valuable assistance.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Greenwood, Joshua A. Naftalis, and Sheb Swett for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case. 

United States v. Ilya Balakaev 

As alleged in the indictment, between 2017 and the present, Balakaev contracted with a part of the FSB that is responsible for the Russian government’s communication security and cryptology, to repair spectrum analyzers and signal generators, devices used to detect surveillance equipment and to transmit covert communications. Because the devices were not readily available in Russia, the defendant established a network of individuals in the United States to assist him in purchasing the equipment, which the defendant then smuggled out of the United States, in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.    

In addition to his scheme to evade Russian sanctions, the defendant also illegally exported U.S. technology on behalf of a North Korean government official, in violation of U.S. export laws. As alleged, the defendant contracted with the First Secretary of the North Korean Embassy to the Russian Federation, based in Moscow, to obtain hazardous gas detectors and software from the United States for the benefit of the North Korean government. 

If convicted on all counts, Balakaev, currently a fugitive, faces a maximum of 75 years in prison.  

The FBI, HSI, Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement (OEE), and CBP are investigating the case. 

Assistant U.S. ​Attorney​ Sara K. Winik for the Eastern District of New York is prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.  

* * * 

These cases were coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression. 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Kelvin Powell Arrested

            WASHINGTON – Kelvin Powell, 61, an employee of the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, is charged by indictment, unsealed today in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, with sexual abuse of and abusive sexual contact with a minor in his care. FBI agents arrested Powell this morning. The indictment and arrest were announced by United States Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office David Sundberg.

            The Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) is the government agency in the District of Columbia responsible for the supervision, custody, and care of young people detained while pending charges for a delinquent act. According to the eight-count indictment, between December 2021 and February 2022, while employed as a Youth Development Representative at DYRS, Kelvin Powell sexually abused a minor (“Person A”) who was detained and residing at the facility where Powell worked.

            Powell is charged with four counts of sexual abuse of a ward and four counts of abusive sexual contact. Each count of sexual abuse of a ward carries a maximum possible penalty of 15 years in prison; each count of abusive sexual contact carries a maximum possible penalty of two years in prison. Powell was first arrested in March of 2022 on charges of sexual abuse of a minor filed in D.C. Superior Court.             

            This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information about similar conduct involving Kelvin Powell or others is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5342).

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Visser and Cara Gardner of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. 

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