Month: March 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – In a U.S. District courtroom on Wednesday, a judge sentenced a man formerly from Edwardsville to 14 months in prison, a $50,000 fine, and two years’ supervised release after he pled guilty to making false statements in a 2018 bankruptcy case.

Kevin Kahrig, 49, a former building contractor, concealed assets from his creditors by transferring those assets to his girlfriend-turned-spouse, Catharine Kahrig, prior to filing for bankruptcy.

“Individuals who hide assets and deliberately make false statements on bankruptcy pleadings defraud their creditors and disgrace the federal court system,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “It’s a serious offense to abuse the bankruptcy system, and anyone seeking to discredit this process will be held accountable.”

“To avoid paying his debt, Kevin Kahrig attempted to defraud his creditors by abusing the bankruptcy process,” said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. “Because this type of fraud can threaten the integrity of a program designed to help honest individuals with legitimate financial crises, the FBI takes our responsibility to pursue bankruptcy fraud very seriously. This sentence serves as a reminder of the consequences associated with financial crime.”

“Together with U.S. Attorney Crowe and our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue those who commit fraud and abuse in bankruptcy cases for their own personal gain,” said Nancy J. Gargula, U.S. Trustee for Indiana and Central and Southern Illinois (Region 10).

According to court documents, Kevin Kahrig admitted to transferring $277,850 in cash and checks to Catharine Kahrig in 2016 and then closed the bank accounts the next year. Kevin Kahrig hid those cash transfers and many of the closed accounts in his later filings with the bankruptcy court. He also took his name off a lakefront home he owned with Catharine and hid the transfer from the bankruptcy court.

In addition, he sold a boat before bankruptcy and gave the $395,000 he got from the sale to Catharine Kahrig. Kevin Kahrig disclosed the boat sale to the bankruptcy court but lied about the amount he received and did not disclose that he had given the proceeds to Catharine Kahrig.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter T. Reed prosecuted the case.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Springfield Field Office in collaboration with the Southern District of Illinois Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group coordinated by the U.S. Trustee for Region 10, after referral by the U.S. Trustee. The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 10 is headquartered in Indianapolis, with additional offices in Peoria, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

           Montgomery, Alabama – Today, United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart announced that Melissa Vasquez-Guardado, 25, from Houston, Texas, was found guilty of possession of heroin with intent to distribute. The jury reached its verdict on March 14, 2023.

           According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on July 27, 2021, law enforcement in Butler County, Alabama, stopped a vehicle on Interstate 65. The vehicle had three occupants. The driver had difficulty providing identification and stated she did not have a driver’s license. Officers eventually identified the driver as Fidelia Barrera-Villanueva, 39, also from Houston, Texas. Vasquez-Guardado was a passenger in the vehicle, along with Barrera-Villanueva’s 15-year-old daughter. When speaking with officers, Vasquez-Guardado and Barrera-Villanueva indicated that they were on their way to Atlanta, Georgia. Barrera-Villanueva gave officers permission to search the vehicle. During the search, officers saw a pillowcase underneath a box on the floorboard behind the front passenger seat. Inside the pillowcase were six cylindrical objects wrapped in black tape containing what turned out to be a total of 5.9 kilograms of heroin.

           Following this conviction, Vasquez-Guardado faces a sentence 10 years to life in federal prison. Barrera-Villanueva previously pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to distribute and could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison. A sentencing hearing for both Vasquez-Guardado and Barrera-Villanueva is scheduled for July 6, 2023.

           The DEA, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, the Covington County Sherriff’s Office, and the Greenville Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin P. Davidson, Justin L. Jones, and Mark E. Andreu are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Paul Williams Anti, 59, a citizen of Ghana, is charged with conspiring with unknown others to launder the proceeds of a wire fraud scheme.  The indictment alleges that from October 13, 2020 to October 20, 2020, the fraud perpetrators used false pretenses to cause an employee of Organization A in the Western District of Wisconsin to wire transfer the organization’s funds to the conspirators, including Williams Anti. 

The indictment alleges that the conspirators gained unauthorized access to the work email account of an employee of Organization A, and without the employee’s knowledge, obtained copies of incoming emails containing genuine invoices sent to the organization for payment and altered the invoices to increase the amounts due and change where payment was to be directed.  The indictment further alleges that the fraud perpetrators sent emails containing the altered invoices to a second employee for payment, and the second employee directed the organization’s bank to wire funds to bank accounts, including two controlled by Williams Anti, who then transferred some of the fraud proceeds to other accounts he maintained under false identities.

According to the indictment, of the approximately $2.4 million fraudulently obtained from Organization A, approximately $1 million was wired to the two bank accounts controlled by Williams Anti.

Williams Anti was arrested in the Southern District of New York on Monday, March 13.  A date for his initial appearance in Wisconsin has not been set. 

If convicted, Williams Anti faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.  The charge against him is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Duchemin is handling the prosecution.   

Two Charged with Defrauding Tribal Housing Authority

In related cases charged in separate indictments, two individuals have been charged with engaging in fraud schemes to defraud the St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority, a tribal agency of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin.  The first indictment charges Karen Johnson, 55, Cumberland, Wisconsin, with three counts of wire fraud, theft from a federally funded organization, and aggravated identity theft. This indictment alleges that from November 2018 to June 2019, Johnson, while employed as a housing specialist with the St. Croix Chippewa Housing Authority, created false invoices and vouchers for work allegedly done by Individual A on behalf of the Housing Authority and then wrote checks payable to Individual A from the Housing Authority’s bank account.  The indictment further alleges that Johnson endorsed each check by forging the signature of Individual A and deposited the proceeds into her personal bank account.  According to the indictment, Individual A did not perform the work for the Housing Authority or create the invoices and he was unaware his identity was used in this manner.  The wire fraud charges involve three Housing Authority checks totaling $12,700. 

The second indictment charges Duane Emery, 64, Hertel, Wisconsin, with three counts of wire fraud and one count of theft from a federally funded program.  The indictment alleges that from February 2015 to June 2019, Emery, while employed as the housing director for the Housing Authority, requested a fellow employee to write checks drawn on the Housing Authority account payable to Sears, claiming that the checks constituted reimbursement for his expenses related to his employment with the Housing Authority.  The indictment alleges that Emery used the funds to make payments to his personal Sears credit card account.  The wire fraud charges involved three Housing Authority checks totaling $6,600. 

If convicted, Johnson and Emery face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each wire fraud count and 10 years on the theft from a federally funded program count.  The aggravated identity theft count Johnson is charged with carries a mandatory two-year penalty.  The charges against Johnson and Emery are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General with the full support and cooperation of the St. Croix Tribe.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Kraus is handling the prosecutions. 

La Crosse Man Charged with Possessing Methamphetamine for Distribution

Devin A. Lewis, 37, La Crosse, Wisconsin, is charged with possessing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.  The indictment alleges that he possessed the methamphetamine on February 20, 2023.

If convicted, Lewis faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison.  The charge against him is the result of an investigation by the La Crosse Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Marie Boor is handling the prosecution.

Two Charged with Illegally Reentering U.S.

In unrelated cases, two citizens of Mexico have been charged with illegally reentering the United States after having been removed.  The first indictment charges Gilberto De Leon-Lopez, also known as Rolando Joel De Leon De Paz, 38, living in Rock County, Wisconsin.  The indictment alleges he was found in the United States on January 13, 2023.  The second indictment charges Eloy Flores-Zuniga, 38, living in Rock County.  The indictment alleges that he was found in the United States on January 3, 2023.

If convicted, Gilberto De Leon-Lopez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years and Eloy Flores-Zuniga faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.  The charges against them are the result of investigations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Anderson is handling the prosecutions.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – A Washington man was sentenced on March 9, 2023, for putting a flight crew in fear of being assaulted during a commercial airline flight.

According to court documents, on March 1, 2023, Marc Hetsler, 43, was a passenger aboard Aleutian Flight SRY 1102 with service from Dutch Harbor, Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska. While the aircraft was in flight, Hetsler laid down in the aisle and refused to let flight crew through. He then became combative and began behaving aggressively towards the crewmember. An off-duty police officer aboard the flight stepped in to assist the flight crew. Hetsler became confrontational with the officer as well. Other passengers then assisted in subduing Hetsler who was restrained for the remainder of the flight. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation placed Hetsler into federal custody upon the plane landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Eight days after his arrest, on March 9, 2023, Hetsler pleaded guilty to an Information charging Fear Assault in the Special Aircraft Jurisdiction of the United States, in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 46506 and 18 U.S.C. § 113. He was sentenced to time served for the eight days he spent in federal custody.

“The safety and security of air travel is paramount, and we will continue to prosecute offenders in order to ensure that all passengers are able to travel without fear of assault or harm,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker. “We hope that this case will serve as a warning to others who may consider committing similar acts in the future, and that it will encourage everyone to follow the rules and regulations designed to keep our skies safe and secure.”

U.S. Attorney Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Police investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Will Taylor and Karen Vandergaw prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal grand jury in Gainesville, Florida, returned a six-count indictment charging David Emanuel, 61, with committing hate crimes for his racially motivated attack on a group of Black men who were surveying land along a public road in Cedar Key, Florida.  

The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that on Sept. 6, 2022, Emanuel willfully intimidated the victim, F.D.D., and attempted to injure, intimidate and interfere with him, through the use of Emanuel’s vehicle, because of F.D.D.’s race and color. 

Emanuel is further alleged to have willfully intimidated and interfered with, and attempted to intimidate and interfere with, five additional victims, through the use of his vehicle, because of the victims’ race and color. According to the indictment, all six victims were Black males who were surveying land owned by one of the victims at the time of the alleged offenses.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division and Special Agent in Charge Sherri E. Onks of the FBI Jacksonville Field Office made the announcement. 

The FBI Jacksonville Field Office and Gainesville Resident Agency investigated the case, with assistance from the Levy County Sheriff’s Office. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Weiss for the Northern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

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