Month: February 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A man whose illicit drug operation resulted in one of the largest fentanyl seizures in the Northern District of Oklahoma pleaded guilty in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Raul Plata-Cibrian, 25, a Mexican National illegally residing in United States, pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

“In the last year, the illicit sale of deadly fentanyl has dramatically increased in the Northern District of Oklahoma,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Drug traffickers are pushing this poison in our communities without regard to the human toll it exacts. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to target individuals, from high-level fentanyl traffickers to street level dealers, and hold them accountable for spreading addiction and causing death throughout northeastern Oklahoma.”

“Fentanyl and other illicit drugs are not victimless crimes,” said Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin. “They have always been an overwhelming contributor to today’s problems to include homelessness, property crimes, and violent crimes. Drugs are the one constant present in crime, and it is overlooked and accepted by many. The Tulsa Police Department, United States Attorney’s Office, and the DEA will continue to focus our efforts on the root cause of crime.”

“This guilty plea sends a message to drug traffickers that those who endanger innocent lives by pushing fentanyl will not be tolerated,” said Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Division, who oversees operations in Oklahoma. “Drugs and those who distribute these poisons have no place in our neighborhoods. The DEA will never waver in our resolve to identify and hold those responsible for their actions.”

Investigators with the Tula Police Department began tracking Plata-Cibrian in July 2022. They noted that Plata-Cibrain would drive to various parking lots throughout Tulsa in a matter of hours and that he would repeat the driving behavior daily. Investigators knew the defendant’s behavior to be indicative of drug trafficking and eventually executed a search warrant of the trafficker’s residence on Aug. 2, 2022.

During the search, officers located approximately 3,530 grams of fentanyl powder, 1,343 grams of fentanyl pills, 2,732 grams of methamphetamine, 498 grams of cocaine, and 146 grams of black tar heroin. They further located six cellphones, digital scales, a .380 caliber pistol, associated ammunition, and almost $7,000 in cash.

Plata-Cibrian is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will be sentenced at a later date.

The Tulsa Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn A. McCormick is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Texas man was sentenced today to 65 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. 

According to court documents, Ryan Shern, 34, of Kyle, participated in a conspiracy to use stolen identity theft information to seek fraudulent tax refunds from the IRS in the names of unsuspecting taxpayers. From 2016 through 2019, to facilitate access to the payments, Shern allowed co-conspirators to direct such refunds to his and his wife’s personal bank accounts and to prepaid debit cards he purchased and controlled.

Shern used a portion of the tax refunds to purchase money orders and luxury goods for himself. On at least one occasion, Shern used a copy of a false tax return filed using stolen identifying information to persuade the bank that it should release to his account a fraudulent refund totaling more than $250,000. Shern also wired, or directed his wife to wire, funds to co-conspirator bank accounts.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ordered Shern to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $726,165 in restitution to the United States.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Mitchell T. Galloway, Robert A. Kemins and Mary Frances Richardson of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Note: Watch testimony here.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Chair Reeves and Commissioners. Last October, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco urged this Commission to strengthen the guidelines applicable to offenses involving the sexual abuse of a ward. As her principal deputy, I speak for the Deputy Attorney General — and for the department — when I express how grateful we are that the Commission adopted this issue as a priority item for consideration. We strongly support the Commission’s proposed amendments to these guidelines.

Sexual misconduct has been a serious problem in Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities for many years. Whether you look at data, examine individual cases or listen to victims and advocates, the bottom line is clear: far too many individuals in custody have experienced the trauma of sexual misconduct, and there has been far too little accountability.

Given her deep concerns about this issue, the Deputy Attorney General asked me to lead a top-to-bottom working group review of the department’s response to sexual misconduct by BOP officials. Last fall, we published a report with over 50 recommendations, every one of which the Deputy Attorney General adopted. That report has been made public, and the department and the Bureau of Prisons are hard at work on implementing its recommendations.

Now, many of the group’s recommendations are focused on ways to prevent these offenses from occurring in the first place, as well as ways to promote reporting and enhance investigation.

At the same time, the department believes that accountability for perpetrators is also a critical element of the solution. To that end, the Deputy Attorney General has asked every United States Attorney to treat these offenses as a priority. And at her request, I have also engaged with the U.S. Attorneys, as well as the leadership of our Civil Rights and Criminal Divisions, about the importance of bringing these cases and considering the full array of statutory authorities when prosecuting them.

We also believe the Sentencing Commission has a critical role to play in promoting accountability, and we strongly support the Commission’s proposal to strengthen the guidelines applicable to these offenses, including, critically, the guideline applicable to sexual abuse of a ward.

Application of the current guideline routinely results in a sentencing range that is far too low to address the egregious conduct in these cases. In the mine-run case, the guidelines recommend a sentencing range of 15 to 21 months for sexual abuse of a ward — 10 to 16 months where the defendant pleads guilty — ranges that fail to reflect the severity of the crime and the inherently coercive nature of the prison environment, and are way out of step with the statutory maximum sentence of 15 years.

As the department’s prosecutions bear out, perpetrators exploit a deep and inherent power imbalance, which enables them to abuse their victims without needing to resort to physical violence, threats or overt coercion. We’ve seen time and again that victims in these cases have been sexually abused before, or have mental health disorders; frequently, they battle drug addiction or do not speak English. In some instances, the very BOP employees who provide lifeline services like drug treatment and spiritual counsel have been the ones who commit the abuse. 

One year ago, a former BOP chaplain pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual abuse of a ward. In the words of the sentencing judge in the Northern District of California, this former chaplain “preyed on women who could not consent and were not free to say no.” Yet even with a multi-count adjustment, the guidelines range for the offense was only 24 to 31 months – a range the judge described as “radically inconsistent with the actual nature of the harm done.” Though he could not recall a single time he had varied upwards before in his many years on the bench, the sentencing judge determined that a dramatic variance to 84 months was warranted. We have seen judges across the nation react similarly, recognizing the deep disparity between the severity of this crime and the lenity of the corresponding sentencing guideline.

In recent years, our society’s understanding of the seriousness of sexual abuse has evolved. Congress has responded, repeatedly raising the applicable statutory maximum for sexual abuse of a ward, from one year to five to the current 15 years in prison. But to date, the guidelines have simply failed to keep pace. The Commission’s proposed amendments would address that discrepancy, and the department urges the Commission to promulgate these updated guidelines.

Finally, while the focus of my testimony today is on the guidelines related to sexual abuse of a ward, the department also supports the Commission’s proposed amendments to implement the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. That statute included critical new authorities to hold accountable officials who commit sexual abuse, including outside the prison setting, and the Department supports the Commission’s common-sense proposals to implement them.

With that, I thank the Commission again for its time and consideration, and I’d be pleased to answer any questions that you may have.