Month: February 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

             CONCORD – Julius Clemente, 25, of Brockton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit firearms trafficking, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announced today.

             According to court documents and statements made in court, Clemente and another individual agreed to purchase firearms from federal firearms licensees in New Hampshire and sell them to persons who lived outside of New Hampshire or were otherwise ineligible to purchase firearms.  Clemente and the other person texted to coordinate the purchase of particular firearms and discuss estimated profits, pricing for resale, and method of payment.  Over 20 firearms were purchased over the course of the conspiracy in New Hampshire, and some of the firearms were later recovered by law enforcement in Massachusetts.  Clemente also solicited a third individual to purchase additional firearms on his behalf to work off a drug debt.

            Clemente is scheduled to be sentenced on May 18, 2023. 

             This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and Seth R. Aframe.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

PORTLAND, Maine: An Auburn man, formerly of Hollis, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material.

Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Dylan Carmichael-Margel, 31, to 78 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $34,000 in restitution. Carmichael-Margel pleaded guilty on June 23, 2022.

According to court records, between May 2020 and January 2021, Carmichael-Margel knowingly received and possessed images and videos of child sexual abuse material. Some of the images depicted children under 12. In January 2021, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant at Carmichael-Margel’s Hollis residence and seized a cell phone and laptop. Child sexual abuse material was recovered from both devices. Child sexual abuse images recovered from the cell phone included victims as young as two years old.

HSI investigated the case.

To report an incident involving the possession, distribution, receipt or production of child pornography: Child sexual abuse material – “child pornography” – captures the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. These images document victims’ exploitation and abuse, and they suffer revictimization each time the images are viewed. File a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://report.cybertip.org/ or 1-800-843-5678. Your report will be forwarded to a law enforcement agency for investigation and action. If you have an emergency that requires an immediate law enforcement response, call 911 or contact your local police or sheriff’s department.

Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

FAYETTEVILLE – A Springdale woman was sentenced today to 137 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on one count of Distribution of Methamphetamine. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, In March of 2021, local law enforcement began investigating a drug trafficking organization operating within the Western District of Arkansas, Fayetteville Division. Through source reporting, investigators learned that, Krystle Marie Owen, age 36, was a member of the organization.

In January of 2022, detectives with the Rogers police department conducted a controlled purchase of methamphetamine from Owen. The suspected methamphetamine was subsequently sent to the Department of Homeland Security Laboratory and tested positive.  In February of 2022, investigators with the Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force arrested Owen after she fled from detectives.  Owen had just received a package containing over 1,600 fentanyl pills, which she intended to distribute.  Owen was also held accountable for her role in a large-scale drug trafficking organization operating in Northwest Arkansas, which included defendants Antonio Hernandez, Michael Southerland, Troy Franklin and Skylar Houston.  All were previously sentenced in Federal Court.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Fourth Judicial District Drug Task Force investigated the case, assisted by the Rogers Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Harris prosecuted the case.

This effort is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury convicted a Tulsa man Thursday for holding a 72-year-old woman captive in her own home and brutally assaulting her, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

Elga Eugene Harper, 40, of Tulsa, was found guilty of kidnapping in Indian Country; aggravated sexual abuse by force and threat in Indian Country; assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm in Indian Country; and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country.

“Elga Harper is a violent sexual predator who beat and sexually assaulted an elderly woman in her home,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “At trial, the victim testified and faced her attacker. It is never easy for victims to relive the details of their assault, and I always admire the courage and strength it takes to do so. This week, a federal jury heard her story, reviewed the evidence, and delivered justice for this victim.”

Harper, a transient, had previously performed work at the victim’s home, and the two had numerous conversations about philosophy and her work in counseling. At one point, the woman told Harper she no longer needed his assistance and paid him in full for his services.

On May 4, 2022, several months after their last meeting, Harper returned unexpectedly to the victim’s home and approached her asking for work or counseling services. The woman declined then Harper asked to use the bathroom in her home. She agreed. When Harper did not exit the bathroom, the victim walked toward the back of the home and saw Harper standing naked in her room. He immediately attacked the victim.

During the next four-hours, Harper violently physically and sexually assaulted the victim and refused to call 911 when she pleaded for him to do so. He further ransacked her home in search of her car title, took her car keys, and told the victim to “shut up” when she prayed aloud. When he finally fled from her home at approximately 6 pm, the victim called 911, reporting the assault and that Elga Harper was responsible.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found the victim gravely injured, and she again identified her attacker as Harper. The victim was transported to the hospital. She suffered extensive injuries to her face, head, neck, arms, hands, and legs and continues to receive treatment for her injuries.

Harper was located and taken into custody on May 10, 2022.

The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chantelle D. Dial and Melody N. Nelson are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal grand jury in St. Paul returned an indictment today charging a Hennepin County attorney with employment tax violations and aiding the filing of false individual income tax returns.

According to the indictment, from 2016 through 2019, Kassius Orlando Benson owned and operated a law practice, at times known as Kassius Benson Law, P.A. or Office of Kassius O. Benson, P.A. The indictment alleges that Benson did not file the required Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Forms 941) for his law practice or pay over to the IRS the employment taxes withheld from his employees’ wages.

The indictment further alleges that, for 2017 through 2019, Benson knowingly aided in the preparation of his own false individual income tax returns (Forms 1040) by claiming that his law practice withheld federal income taxes from his wages and had paid those withholdings over to the IRS. According to the indictment, as owner and sole shareholder of his law practice, Benson allegedly knew his law practice had not paid over to the IRS any of the federal income taxes he claimed had been withheld from his wages.

Benson is charged with fourteen counts of failing to account for and pay over employment taxes, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7202, and three counts of aiding the preparation of a false tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2). If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each employment tax offense and three years in prison for each false tax return offense. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Matthew J. Kluge of the Justice Department’s Tax Division is prosecuting the case.

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