Jeannette Man Sentenced to Prison for Role in Elder Fraud Scheme

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court on his conviction for conspiring to commit wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines sentenced Michael Galanis, 34, of Jeannette, Pennsylvania, to 12 months of imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release. Galanis was also ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution.

In conjunction with the guilty plea and sentencing hearing, the Court was advised that, from in or around March 2016 to in or around August 2017, Galanis participated in an IRS impersonation fraud conspiracy. The IRS impersonation fraud conspiracy involved call centers located in India that would use phone numbers to make their calls appear to originate in the United States. The calls would provide recorded information to individuals in the United States and fraudulently claim that the call was from the IRS concerning the individual’s failure to pay taxes. The call would provide a U.S.-based telephone number for the individual to call in order to resolve the matter. Calls to these U.S.-based telephone numbers would be automatically forwarded to call centers in India, and those who answered would tell callers that they owed money to the IRS and demand immediate payment via gift card or other means.

As the Court was previously advised, Galanis was involved in activating cell phones in the United States to assist in this fraud scheme. Galanis knew that the cell phones that he programmed were used for a fraud scheme. The parties agreed that the total loss in this case is between $150,000 and $250,000.

Assistant United States Attorney Karen Gal-Or prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The matter was investigated by United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, United States Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Anyone with information about allegations of elder fraud can report it by calling the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 833–372–8311.  More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative at https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.  For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP.  The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at https://www.ovc.gov.

Maryland Woman and Florida Man Face Federal Charges for Conspiring to Destroy Energy Facilities

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Baltimore, Maryland – Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office, announced the filing of a federal criminal complaint charging Sarah Beth Clendaniel, of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Clint Russell, of Orlando, Florida, with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility. 

The criminal complaint was unsealed upon the arrests of the defendants. An initial appearance for Clendaniel is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. today in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson. Russell will have his initial appearance at 1:30 today in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Florida.

“This alleged planned attack threatened lives and would have left thousands of Marylanders in the cold and dark,” said Maryland U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “We are united and committed to using every legal means necessary to disrupt violence, including hate-fueled attacks.”

“The threat posed by domestic violent extremists is evolving and persistent,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI’s Baltimore field office. “The FBI will continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to identify and disrupt any potential threat to the safety of our citizens.”

“Driven by their ideology of racially-motivated hatred, the defendants allegedly schemed to attack local power grid facilities,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen.  “The Justice Department will not tolerate those who threaten critical infrastructure and imperil communities in the name of domestic violent extremism.”

As alleged in the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint:

From at least June 2022 to the present, Russell conspired to carry out attacks against critical infrastructure, specifically electrical substations, in furtherance of Russell’s racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs. 

Russell posted links to open-source maps of infrastructure, which included the locations of electrical substations, and he described how a small number of attacks on substations could cause a “cascading failure.” Russell also discussed maximizing the impact of the planned attack by hitting multiple substations at one time.  

A Maryland-based woman identified as Sarah Beth Clendaniel, collaborated on a plan to carry out the attacks. Clendaniel conspired to secure a weapon  and identified five substations she planned to target. Clendaniel allegedly stated that if they hit a number of them all in the same day, they “would completely destroy this whole city,” and that a “good four or five shots through the center of them . . . should make that happen.” She further added, “[i]t would probably permanently completely lay this city to waste if we could do that successfully.”

A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings. If convicted, Russell and Clendaniel each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to damage an energy facility. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the Baltimore FBI Field Office for its outstanding work in the investigation and praised the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore County Police Department and the Tampa, Washington, and New York Field Offices of the FBI for their valuable assistance. Mr. Barron also thanked the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida for their assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O. Gavin, who is prosecuting the case and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Hoffman for her assistance. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach. To report a Maryland-based hate crime, contact the FBI Baltimore field office at (410) 265-8080 or www.tips.fbi.gov

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California Man Sentenced for Mailing Marijuana to Western Pennsylvania

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Seiad Valley, California, has been sentenced in federal court to 24 months of imprisonment followed by one year of supervised release on his conviction for violating federal narcotics laws related to a nine-month Title III wiretap investigation into drug trafficking in and around the counties of Jefferson, Clearfield, and Allegheny, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

United States District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand imposed the sentence on James White, age 40.

According to information presented to the court, White transported over 250 pounds of marijuana from Oregon to various post offices located in Nevada. White then mailed parcels containing marijuana on behalf of George Charlan, a supplier living in Oregon, to distributors living in the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan D. Lusty and Michael R. Ball prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

The Drug Enforcement Administration led the multi-agency investigation of this case, which also included the Homeland Security Investigations, United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Services, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Police, and Pennsylvania State Police. Also assisting were the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, and the Clarion Borough Police Department.

This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Justice Department and Federal Partners Recognize Zero Tolerance Day for Female Genital Mutilation

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) joined federal partners, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC), the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit, non-governmental organizations, and others today in recognizing the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

“The Department of Justice is committed to supporting efforts to end Female Genital Mutilation, including by prosecuting those who violate the federal law banning FGM and by providing support to survivors of this harmful practice,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “FGM is a form of gender-based violence and child abuse, which will not be tolerated in the United States.”

“The FBI hopes to empower community members and victims to come forward and report these acts of abuse so we can end the practice of FGM together” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “FGM is a horrific act of physical violence that undermines the equality of women and girls and the FBI will hold accountable anyone who commits this federal human rights violation.”

“International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM is an opportunity to raise awareness of this global human rights issue,” said Acting Executive Associate Director Steve Francis of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “HSI will continue to work with partners around the globe to end this abhorrent practice, advocate for victims, and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Federal law enforcement agencies have engaged in many initiatives aimed at protecting those in the United States who have been subjected to, or who may be at risk of, FGM. For example:

  • The Justice Department’s Office of Victims of Crime awarded over $5 million in three-year grants through a grant program to support community projects designed to increase direct services, education, and community partner engagement to stop the victimization of women and girls through FGM. For more information see: DOJ announces nearly $3 million to address female genital mutilation and cutting (ojp.gov)
  • Federal law enforcement authorities actively investigate allegations of FGM within the United States and, if a United States citizen is involved, abroad. The agencies collect tips and leads from the public and partner with non-governmental organizations that will relay information if they suspect a child is in imminent danger of being subjected to FGM or taken out of the country for purposes of FGM.
  • The FBI now includes information on FGM in the annual mandatory child abuse training for all FBI employees in hopes of further educating the workforce. The FBI’s International Human Rights Unit released educational reports on FGM for pediatricians and for educators.
  • HSI launched Operation Limelight USA in 2017, a premier FGM outreach and education program, which has been recognized domestically and internationally as a critical outreach effort to combat FGM by the Women in Federal Law Enforcement and the World Class Policing Awards.
  • Examples of other agency initiatives aimed at protecting women and girls at risk of FGM can be found in the 2021 STOP FGM Act Report Annual Report of the Attorney General.

FGM is a form of child abuse, a serious human rights violation and, since 1996, a federal crime. In 2013, Congress amended the federal FGM statute, 18 U.S.C. § 116, to prohibit taking a girl out of the United States for the purpose of performing FGM. In 2021, the STOP FGM Act 2020 was signed into law, strengthening the law by expanding the scope of punishable acts, and increasing the maximum penalty. Violations of this law may result in imprisonment and potential removal from the United States.

Individuals suspected of FGM may be investigated by the HRVWCC and prosecuted by the Justice Department accordingly.

In January 2021, the Justice Department indicted a Houston woman for allegedly taking a minor out of the United States for the purpose of subjecting her to FGM in a foreign country. Her trial is scheduled for May 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and will mark the first prosecution under the provision of the federal statute that prohibits taking a girl out of the United States for the purpose of FGM. The FBI Houston Field Office investigated the case with support from the HRVWCC.

According to UNICEF, more than 200 million women and girls have undergone FGM, which refers to procedures that injure the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. While primarily concentrated in north, west, and central Africa, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia, FGM also occurs in the United States.

Established in 2008, the HRVWCC furthers HSI’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, FGM, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. The HRVWCC leverages the expertise of a select group of agents, lawyers, intelligence and research specialists, historians, and analysts who direct the agency’s broader enforcement efforts against these offenders.

Members of the public who have information about victims or suspected perpetrators engaging in female genital mutilation or other human rights abuses are urged to call the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800) 225-5324 or the HSI tip line at (866) 347-2423. To submit a tip online, visit tips.fbi.gov or the HSI online form. Tips may be provided anonymously.

Federal Jury Finds Pittsburgh Man Guilty of Robbery, Conspiracy and Firearms Offense

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PITTSBURGH, PA – After deliberating for two days, a federal jury on Friday found Deon Reese guilty of three counts of robbery, conspiracy, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.

Reese, 47, of Pittsburgh, was tried before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Doug Maloney, who prosecuted the case, the evidence presented at trial established that on March 23, 2017, Reese conspired with others, both known and unknown, to rob the victim of drugs and money. During the robbery, the victim was shot and critically injured, nearly dying from his wounds. Reese then engaged in efforts to prevent the witness from testifying at trial, including soliciting a coconspirator to bribe the victim not to come to court, and requesting others to contact and follow the victim.

Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for May 18, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of up to life in prison, a fine of $750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based on the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court ordered the defendant to remain detained.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm, and Explosives, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Reese.