Month: February 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH – Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania has implemented the new United States Attorney’s Offices’ Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy released yesterday. The policy, which is effective immediately, details the circumstances under which a company will be considered to have made a voluntary self-disclosure (VSD) of misconduct to a United States Attorney’s Office (USAO), and provides transparency and predictability to companies and the defense bar concerning the concrete benefits and potential outcomes in cases where companies voluntarily self-disclose misconduct, fully cooperate and timely and appropriately remediate.

The goal of the policy is to standardize how VSDs are defined and credited by USAOs nationwide, and to incentivize companies to maintain effective compliance programs capable of identifying misconduct, to expeditiously and voluntarily disclose and remediate misconduct, and to cooperate fully with the government in corporate criminal investigations. The policy was developed pursuant to the Deputy Attorney General’s September 15, 2022 memorandum, “Further Revisions to Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policies Following Discussions with Corporate Crime Advisory Group” (Monaco Memo), which directed each Department of Justice (DOJ) component that prosecutes corporate crime to review its policies on corporate voluntary self-disclosure and, if there was no formal written policy to incentivize self-disclosure, draft and publicly share such a policy.

Under the new VSD policy, a company is considered to have made a VSD if it becomes aware of misconduct by employees or agents before that misconduct is publicly reported or otherwise known to the DOJ, and discloses all relevant facts known to the company about the misconduct to a USAO in a timely fashion prior to an imminent threat of disclosure or government investigation. A company that voluntarily self-discloses as defined in the policy and fully meets the other requirements of the policy, by—in the absence of any aggravating factor—fully cooperating and timely and appropriately remediating the criminal conduct (including agreeing to pay all disgorgement, forfeiture, and restitution resulting from the misconduct), will receive significant benefits, including that the USAO will typically not seek a guilty plea; may choose not to impose any criminal penalty, and in any event will not impose a criminal penalty that is greater than 50% below the low end of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG) fine range; and will not seek the imposition of an independent compliance monitor if the company demonstrates that it has implemented and tested an effective compliance program.

The policy identifies three aggravating factors that may warrant a USAO seeking a guilty plea even if the other requirements of the VSD policy are met: (1) if the misconduct poses a grave threat to national security, public health, or the environment; (2) if the misconduct is deeply pervasive throughout the company; or (3) if the misconduct involved current executive management of the company. The presence of an aggravating factor does not necessarily mean that a guilty plea will be required; instead, the USAO will assess the relevant facts and circumstances to determine the appropriate resolution. If a guilty plea is ultimately required, the company will still receive the other benefits under the VSD policy, including that the USAO will recommend a criminal penalty of at least a 50% and up to a 75% reduction off the low end of the USSG fine range, and that the USAO will not require the appointment of a monitor if the company has implemented and tested an effective compliance program.

In cases where a company is being jointly prosecuted by a USAO and another DOJ component, or where the misconduct reported by the company falls within the scope of conduct covered by VSD policies administered by other DOJ components, the USAO will coordinate with, or, if necessary, obtain approval from, the DOJ component responsible for the VSD policy specific to the reported misconduct when considering a potential resolution. Consistent with relevant provisions of the Justice Manual and as allowable under alternate VSD policies, the USAO may choose to apply any provision of an alternate VSD policy in addition to, or in place of, any provision of its policy.

Voluntary Self Disclosures should be directed to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania Acting Criminal Chief Tonya Goodman at 412-644-3500.

The Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC), under the leadership of United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, requested that the White Collar Fraud Subcommittee of the AGAC, under the leadership of United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace, develop policies in response to the Deputy AG’s memo. The policy announced today was prepared by a Corporate Criminal Enforcement Policy Working Group comprised of U.S. Attorneys from geographically diverse districts, including U.S. Attorney Peace, as well as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Jessica Aber, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Avery, U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Clare Connors, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Stephanie Hinds, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Christopher Kavanaugh, and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Philip Sellinger. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Riedel, White Collar Crimes Coordinator for the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, also participated in the development of the policy.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., woman was sentenced in federal court today for her role in a carjacking.

Kerri J. Seaboldt, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to nine years in federal prison without parole.

On April 1, 2022, Seaboldt pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Seaboldt admitted that she aided and abetted two co-defendants to steal a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro at gunpoint on July 14, 2020.

In the early morning hours of July 14, 2020, Seaboldt and co-defendants Destiny J. White, 34, of Blue Springs, Mo., and Charles V. Bai, 29, of Independence, Mo., executed a scheme to steal the Camero. The victim of the carjacking, identified in court documents as “K.B.,” drove White in his Camaro to an alleyway in Kansas City, Mo. White told K.B. they were picking up Seaboldt because she was having an argument with her boyfriend. Seaboldt was on the phone with Bai, pretending to have an argument as K.B. and White stood by and waited.

Bai then walked into the alleyway, wielding a Glock .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine. Bai pointed the firearm at K.B. and ordered him to get out of the Camaro. Bai then got into the Camaro and drove it away.

At approximately 2:20 a.m., law enforcement officers responded to a 911 call regarding the carjacking and contacted K.B. K.B. requested location information for his vehicle using OnStar. Bai later fled from officers in the stolen vehicle, which he ultimately wrecked.

Bai was sentenced on April 8, 2022, to 13 years in federal prison without parole. White was sentenced on Nov. 17, 2022, to three years and four months in federal prison without parole.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Operation LeGend

Operation LeGend is a federal partnership with local law enforcement to address the increase in homicides and violent crime in Kansas City, Mo., in 2020. The operation honors the memory of four-year-old LeGend Taliferro, one of the youngest fatalities during a record-breaking year of homicides and shootings. Additional federal agents were assigned to the operation from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Farley, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to sexually assaulting a 3-year-old victim to produce child pornography and distribute it to others through the Kik application.

Andrew J. McCardie, 36, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to two counts of producing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography. McCardie remains in federal custody without bond pending his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

McCardie communicated with individuals through the Kik application beginning in January 2022, using a screen name to indicate he was willing and able to produce child pornography and distribute to other persons. McCardie produced 19 images and videos of child pornography involving a 3-year-old child victim on Feb. 11 and 12, 2022. Most of these were created live, meaning he was recording himself actively sexually abusing the child victim while communicating with other persons over Kik, and sending those images and videos to them during the abuse.

On March 5, 2022, McCardie created another live video during his sexual abuse of the child victim. McCardie didn’t know he was communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer through Kik. McCardie told the undercover officer he had been “doing these requests on Kik for a couple years now” and discussed how to sexually abuse a child. During this conversation, McCardie sent the undercover officer a screenshot of a chat he was having with the Kik user he produced the video for, in order to prove he had created the video live.

On March 6, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at McCardie’s residence. The entry team attempted to take control of McCardie near the entrance of the residence but he resisted, initially holding a firearm as officers entered. McCardie was brought out into the yard, where he continued to resist before being handcuffed and placed under arrest. McCardie attempted to hide his iPhone in the bedroom closet, but officers found the phone and seized it in order to conduct a forensic investigation.

McCardie’s Kik account included 218 images and videos of child pornography. McCardie sent 58 separate videos and images of child pornography to other Kik users, and had received more than 200 images and videos of child pornography from other Kik users between Jan. 2 and March 7, 2022.

Under federal statutes, McCardie is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 80 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth W. Borgnino. It was investigated by the FBI.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A four-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip, a charging 13 of the highest-ranking MS-13 leaders in the world with directing the transnational criminal organization’s criminal activities in the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, and elsewhere, over the past two decades. Specifically, the defendants are charged with Racketeering Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Provide or Conceal Material Support to Terrorists, and Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy. Four of the defendants are indicted for Alien Smuggling Conspiracy.

On Feb. 22, Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez, also known as Vampiro de Monserrat Criminales (Arevalo-Chavez), Walter Yovani Hernandez-Rivera, also known as Baxter de Park View and Bastard de Park View (Hernandez-Rivera), and Marlon Antonio Menjivar-Portillo, also known as Rojo de Park View (Menjivar-Portillo), were located by Mexican authorities and expelled from Mexico via the United States. When Arevalo-Chavez, Hernandez-Rivera, and Menjivar-Portillo arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, they were placed under arrest by the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Earlier today, the defendants had/will have initial appearances in the Southern District of Texas.

Four co-defendants, Jose Wilfredo Ayala-Alcantara, also known as Indio de Hollywood, Jorge Alexander De La Cruz, also known as Cruger de Peatonales, Juan Antonio Martinez-Abrego, also known as Mary Jane de Hollywood, and Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, also known as Veterano de Tribus, remain at large.

“Today’s action makes clear that there is no hiding place, anywhere in the world, for the leaders of violent gangs that terrorize American communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to use the full force of our law enforcement authorities to disrupt and dismantle MS-13 and other transnational criminal organizations and hold their leaders accountable.”

“The FBI will continue to vigorously investigate and hold transnational organized groups like MS-13 and their leaders accountable for the continued violent and terrorist criminal activities they orchestrate,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Today’s indictment demonstrates the FBI’s reach and commitment to seeking justice against those individuals who jeopardize American lives and liberty. We will never stop working in coordination with our international partners to protect our respective citizens from MS-13 and other gangs wherever they are.”

“The relentless and heroic efforts of law enforcement here and in Central America are systemically dismantling the MS-13 the very top to bottom, and we will not stop until this transnational gang and it’s leaders are held accountable for the extreme violence they have inflicted on our district, the United States and the countries where this scourge is based,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York.

Members of the public with information concerning their whereabouts are strongly encouraged to contact the FBI’s toll-free MS-13 tip line, 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or HSI’s at (866) 347-2423 or https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.  Together, FBI and HSI have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the four fugitives. 

Six other co-defendants, Edwin Ernesto Cedillos-Rodriguez, also known as Renuente de Abriles Dangers, Carlos Tiberio Ramirez-Valladares, also known as Snayder de Pasadena, Dany Fredy Ramos-Mejia, also known as Cisco de Teclas, Dany Balmore Romero-Garcia, also known as  Big Boy de Normandies, Dig Boy de Normandies, and D Boy de Normandies, Ruben Antonio Rosa-Lovo, also known as Chivo de Centrales, and Miguel Angel Serrano-Medina, also known as Cabro de Park View,”are believed to be in custody in El Salvador. The United States will explore options for their extradition with the government of El Salvador.

As set forth in court filings, the 13 defendants are part of MS-13’s command and control structure, consisting of the Ranfla Nacional, Ranfla en Las Calles, and Ranfla en Los Penales, and play significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, and throughout the world. In the related case of United States v. Henriquez, et al., a grand jury in the Eastern District of New York previously indicted 14 members of the Ranfla Nacional, who functioned as MS-13’s “Board of Directors.”  Formal extradition packages were submitted by the United States for 12 of those defendants, who either are or were in El Salvador custody, remain pending.

As further alleged, the defendants have engaged in a litany of violent terrorist activities aimed at influencing the government of El Salvador (GOES) policy and to obtain benefits and concessions from the GOES; targeting GOES law enforcement and military officials; employing terrorist tactics such as the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (“IEDs”) and grenades; operating military-style training camps for firearms and explosives; using public displays of violence to intimidate civilian populations; using violence to obtain and control territory; and manipulating the electoral process in El Salvador.  Several of these defendants have played prominent roles in MS-13’s past and current negotiations with the GOES.

Further, these defendants authorized and directed violence in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere as part of a concerted effort to expand MS-13’s influence and territorial control. As the leaders of the MS-13 transnational criminal organization, these defendants were an integral part of the leadership chain responsible for supervising MS-13 cliques in the United States that engaged in extreme violence, including countless murders, attempted murders, assaults, and related offenses. For example, this Office’s Long Island Criminal Division has prosecuted hundreds of MS-13 leaders, members and associates for carrying out with more than 65 murders in the Eastern District of New York between 2009 and the present. 

Several of these Defendants, including Arevalo-Chavez, Hernandez-Rivera, and Menjivar-Portillo, coordinated MS-13’s expansion into Mexico (the Mexico Program), at the direction of the Ranfla Nacional, which was a coordinated effort to maintain MS-13’s continuity of operations in response to law enforcement pressure previously exerted by the United States and GOES. Additionally, the Mexico Program included forging alliances with Mexican cartels and engaged in narcotics trafficking, immigrant smuggling and extortion, kidnappings, and weapons trafficking. As alleged in the indictment, the MS-13’s Mexico Program murdered some migrants bound for the United States, including suspected members of the rival 18th Street gang and MS-13 members attempting to flee MS-13 in El Salvador without permission. Finally, drug trafficking was an important part of MS-13’s money-making operation, especially in Mexico, and the defendants used MS-13’s large membership in the United States generate financial support for MS-13’s terrorist activities in El Salvador.

Since its creation in August 2019, JTFV has successfully implemented a whole-of-government approach to combatting MS-13, including increasing coordination and collaboration with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala; designating priority MS-13 programs, cliques and leaders, who have the most impact on the United States, for targeted prosecutions; and coordinating significant MS-13 indictments in U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the first use of national security charges against MS-13 leaders.

JTFV has been comprised of members from U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the EDNY; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of Florida; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division.  In addition, all Department of Justice law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort, including the FBI; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. In addition, HSI also plays a critical role in JTFV.

The FBI Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Newark and Houston Field Offices investigated the case, with critical support provided by the FBI Criminal Investigative Division’s Safe Streets Gang Unit, and HSI’s National Gangs and Violent Crime Unit, who spearheaded this investigation. Additionally, [FBI Mexico, HSI Mexico, and the United States Customs and Border Protection Officers and Area Port Director Shawn Polley at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston provided critical support in connection with the arrests.  JJD to double check w/ FBI re: MX partners: Instituto Nacional de Inmigracion (INM) and Fiscalia Estatal de Guanajuato.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci, and Megan E. Farrell for Eastern District of New York, and U.S. Attorneys James Donnelly, Matthew Shepherd and Stewart Young for JTFV prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Florida man pleaded guilty today to orchestrating an investment fraud scheme that defrauded more than 10,000 victims of over $55 million.

According to court documents, Michael Glaspie, 72, of Palm City, marketed an investment opportunity under the name “CoinDeal” or “Coin Deal.” Glaspie claimed that CoinDeal would yield extremely high returns on the premise that one or more technology companies – operated under the banner of “ViRSE” and allegedly owned by Neil Suresh Chandran – was about to be acquired by a consortium of wealthy buyers. To entice investors to put money into CoinDeal, Glaspie falsely promised that in the event the returns from CoinDeal failed to materialize, he would repay investors their money with seven percent annual interest over three years. In fact, Glaspie knew he had no means of making such repayments.

“For his brazen and repeated lies that defrauded more than 10,000 victims out of more than $55 million, the defendant now justifiably faces a lengthy prison term,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “The Department of Justice is committed to rooting out investment fraud and holding wrongdoers accountable to protect the financial security of all Americans.”

To support his false repayment promise, Glaspie deceptively claimed that he had an exclusive and lucrative contract with AT&T to distribute government‑funded phones, and that an app that he developed was being distributed by the Better Business Bureau and would yield over $400 million in revenue, when he had no such contract or distribution agreement. Furthermore, when the promised sale of CoinDeal did not close, Glaspie transmitted investor funds to Chandran after falsely representing to CoinDeal investors that he would not do so. Glaspie also falsely claimed that he never paid himself with CoinDeal investor funds, when in truth, he misappropriated nearly $2.5 million of victim investments for personal purposes, including trading cryptocurrency, paying his employees’ salaries, and buying a life insurance policy for a family member. 

“Michael Glaspie admitted today to his involvement in a widespread scheme to defraud investors for his personal benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Steven A. Russell for the District of Nebraska. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners to untangle this fraud, Glaspie will now be held accountable for this serious crime.”

“This case identified a fraudulent online investment scheme that defrauded over 10,000 victims,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The subject promised investors high rates of returns then misused investor funds for personal use. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to work diligently to identify and pursue those who seek to deceive and defraud the American public.”

“This elaborate investment fraud scheme defrauded more than 10,000 victims of over $55 million,” said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Investment fraud schemes of any type will not be tolerated. The FBI will continue to do what we have done for over 100 years and investigate those who attempt to defraud unsuspecting Americans of their hard-earned money. I would like to thank our partners at FBI offices across the country and the Department of Justice for their work and collaboration to bring justice on behalf of these victims.”

Glaspie pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Separately, on June 14, 2022, a federal grand jury in the District of Nebraska returned an indictment charging Chandran with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property for his role in the scheme. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud counts and up to 10 years in prison for each count of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.  An indictment is merely an allegation.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI Washington, Omaha, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles Field Offices are investigating the cases.

Assistant Chief William E. Johnston and Trial Attorney Tian Huang of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald J. Kleine for the District of Nebraska are prosecuting the cases.

All potential investor victims of this fraud are encouraged to visit the webpage https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/united-states-v-chandran to identify themselves and obtain more information on their rights, including the opportunity to submit a victim impact statement.