Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice

A former West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Parole officer was sentenced today in federal court in the Southern District of West Virginia to 15 years of imprisonment, five years of supervised release and registration as a sex offender under the Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act for violating the civil rights of a female parolee by sexually assaulting her while he was serving as her parole officer.

According to court documents, Anthony DeMetro, 44, admitted that on or about April 16, 2021, he used physical force and his position, authority and status as a state parole officer to force a female parolee to perform oral sex on him against her will. At the time, the parolee was attempting to complete residential drug and alcohol treatment as a condition of her parole.  DeMetro admitted that he knew that the parolee did not want to have sex with him but that he coerced and forced her into doing so anyway, for his own sexual gratification.

“We thank the survivor for having the courage and strength to come forward to tell her story,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable public officials who exploit their power and authority to sexually assault and harm vulnerable people.”

“This office will continue to hold people accountable who use their position of power to sexually assault vulnerable victims,” said U.S. Attorney Will Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia. “I want to thank the victim again for being brave enough to come forward, even though she was putting her personal safety and freedom at risk.”

“Mr. DeMetro was in a position of power and authority,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office. “He used that authority to take advantage of and prey on a vulnerable woman. This behavior was in violation of the oath he took and cannot be tolerated. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate color of law abuses by public officials.”

The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office investigated the case. 

Trial Attorneys Kathryn E. Gilbert and Daniel E. Grunert of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Monica Coleman and Nowles Heinrich for the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Vishesh Aragam Guruprasad, age 31, of Boyds, Maryland yesterday to 42 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for a drug distribution conspiracy involving the purchase and sale of drugs through darkweb marketplaces, and money laundering. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) – Washington Field Division; Acting Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”) Washington, D.C. Field Office; Postal Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) Baltimore Field Division; and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, between at least July 2016 and February 2019, Aragam conspired to distribute and possessed with the intent to distribute over two kilograms of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as MDMA.  Specifically, Aragam admitted that he bought and sold illegal narcotics, including MDMA and marijuana, on various darkweb marketplaces.  For example, between July 15, 2016 and June 13, 2017, Aragam sold over two kilograms of MDMA on one darkweb marketplace and from October 2018 to April 2019, Aragam completed over 1,000 transactions selling MDMA, heroin, or marijuana through another darkweb marketplace.  Aragam’s darkweb customers paid for the narcotics in Bitcoin, which the darkweb marketplace would maintain until Aragam transferred to Bitcoin to a virtual currency wallet Aragam maintained.  Aragam used a virtual currency exchange to broker the exchange of Bitcoin to cash.

Aragam admitted that he obtained distribution quantities of MDMA from the United Kingdom, which he sold to drug customers throughout the United States over the darkweb.  Aragam had the MDMA shipped from the United Kingdom to the post office boxes of co-conspirators, who would then deliver the drugs to Aragam.  As detailed in the plea agreement, Aragam also sold drugs from his residence.

As stated in his plea agreement, Aragam routed the proceeds from his sale of illegal narcotics through several accounts and converted the proceeds from Bitcoins to U.S. dollars to conceal the nature and source of the proceeds.  For example, on June 30, 2017, Aragam transferred 18 Bitcoins from a darkweb marketplace to his virtual currency account at Exchange A, and a few days later, exchanged the 18 Bitcoins into U.S. dollars.  Aragam transferred $41,822.05, the value of the 18 Bitcoins as of that date, to Aragam’s virtual wallet spend account at his bank, then, in a series of transactions, moved the money into other accounts Aragam controlled.

A search warrant executed at Aragam’s residence on April 4, 2019, recovered four rifles and a shotgun, more than 1,100 rounds of ammunition, 92.83 grams of MDMA, marijuana, and one gram of a mixture containing phenylethyl and fentanyl.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA the IRS-CI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the ATF, and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher M. Sarma and Leah B. Grossi, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A former county commissioner and director of the Solid Waste Department in Cumberland County, Tennessee, was sentenced today to 17 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for sexually assaulting seven women who worked under his supervision at the Cumberland County Recycling Center.

Michael Harvel, 61, was previously convicted on nine counts of committing sexual assault. According to evidence introduced at trial – including testimony from 13 women who described Harvel’s sexual abuse – Harvel abused his authority as a county official to sexually assault women who worked under his control at the recycling center. Many of Harvel’s victims were sent to the recycling center to serve court-ordered community service, were required to keep a job as a term of their probation or were otherwise vulnerable because they struggled with substance abuse, were impoverished, or were sole caregivers for their dependents. The jury convicted Harvel of four counts of sexual assault that included kidnapping and three counts that included aggravated sexual abuse.

According to witness testimony at trial, Harvel told one victim to stop by his office at the end of the day, purportedly to discuss a job opportunity, then locked the door to his office and orally raped the woman. He falsely told a second victim that he needed her help with a county work project, then drove her to an isolated landfill in the woods and raped her in a guard shack.  The jury also heard evidence that Harvel covered up his pattern of behavior by threatening his victims and other employees so that they would not report his crimes.

“The defendant abused his official position and authority to deprive the victims of their constitutionally-protected right to bodily integrity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “While this sentence can’t undo the extraordinary pain and suffering the defendant caused these women, it should send a clear message to public officials they are not above the law and will be held accountable when they sexually assault and abuse people subject to their authority.”

“Michael Harvel is a predator who used his position of authority to victimize vulnerable women,” said U.S. Attorney Henry Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee. “I am extremely proud of the work our office did, alongside our partners at the Civil Rights Division and FBI, to hold this him accountable and to stand up for the rights of the victims.”

“This sentencing should send a clear message that the FBI makes it a priority to bring to justice anyone who violates the civil rights of those they are sworn to protect,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Memphis Field Office. “The FBI is committed to protecting the civil rights of all people and will continue to vigorously investigate these kinds of cases alongside our local, state and federal partners.”

The FBI Memphis Field Office investigated the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Schiferle for the Middle District of Tennessee and Special Litigation Counsel Michael J. Songer and Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case. 

In 2021, in a separate civil action, the Justice Department secured $1.1 million from Cumberland County to resolve a sexual harassment lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged, among other things, that Cumberland County failed to take adequate precautions to prevent Harvel, as the director of the county’s Solid Waste Department, from sexually harassing women he supervised. According to the complaint, Harvel regularly subjected the women to unwanted sexual contact, including kissing and groping, and to unwelcome sexual advances.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Greenbelt, Maryland – Brayan Alexander Torres, a/k/a “Spooky,” age 29, of Adelphi, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday, to a racketeering conspiracy, including murder, related to his participation in the Weedams Locos Salvatrucha clique of the MS-13 gang.  Torres admitted that he was the clique’s “First Word” or leader. 

On March 24, 2023, co-defendants and MS-13 members and associates Brian Samir Zelaya Mejia, a/k/a “Chispa,” age 25, of Hyattsville, Maryland and Jorge Isaac Argueta Chica, a/k/a “Timido,” age 22, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, also pleaded guilty to their participation in the racketeering conspiracy, including extortion and accessory after the fact of first degree murder.

The guilty pleas were announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.

According to court documents, La Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as “MS-13,” is an international criminal organization composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, with members operating in Maryland and throughout the United States.  In Maryland and elsewhere, MS-13 members are organized in “cliques,” smaller groups that operate in a specific city or region.  MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, both to maintain membership and discipline within the gang and against rival gangs.  One of the principal rules of MS-13 is that its members must attack and kill rivals, known as “chavalas,” whenever possible.  Participation in criminal activity by a member, particularly in violent acts directed at rival gangs or as directed by gang leadership, increases the respect accorded to that member, resulting in that member maintaining or increasing his position in the gang and opens the door to promotion to a leadership position. 

As detailed in the plea agreements, from at least August 2018 through July 2021, Torres was the “First Word” or leader of Weedams Locos Salvatrucha, (WLS), an MS-13 clique operating primarily in Adelphi, Maryland.  Zelaya Mejia and Argueta Chica were members of the WLS clique from at least March 2019 through July 2021.

On August 8, 2020, Torres and other WLS members, including co-defendant Franklyn Sanchez, were gathered at a park in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where they agreed to murder Victim 4, who was suspected of cooperating with law enforcement and to whom Sanchez owed a debt.  Sanchez was armed with a revolver and Torres handed a second revolver to another MS-13 member, instructing that person to shoot first when Victim 4 arrived.  Sanchez and the other WLS member each fired multiple shots at Victim 4, who fell to the ground.  Sanchez then pistol-whipped Victim 4 and stabbed him with a knife. Torres then walked over and stabbed Victim 4 with a screwdriver.  Torres and other WLS members dragged Victim 4’s body to a stream and left it there.  As he was leaving the woods, Sanchez noticed he was bleeding and was concerned that his DNA may have been left on the body.  To prevent the discovery of DNA or other evidence and to hinder the investigation and prosecution of Victim 4’s murder, Torres called other WLS members, including Zelaya Mejia, Argueta Chica and co-defendant Agustino Eugenio Rivas Rodriguez, and ordered them to bring shovels to the wooded area, where they dug a hole and buried Victim 4’s body.  Victim 4’s body was later recovered with a bullet wound to the head.

On June 5, 2020, Torres also conspired with other MS-13 members to kidnap and kill a female member of the rival 18^th Street gang.  Torres and Rivas Rodriguez ordered subordinate members of the gang to gather at a house with firearms in preparation for the murder, while another MS-13 associate was at a separate location with Victim 5.  The group of MS-13 subordinates gathered with guns and were preparing to follow their orders, when police arrived on scene and interrupted the plan. 

Torres admitted that he directed the collection of extortion payments, or “rents,” from at least two extortion victims on behalf of WLS.  Torres, Zelaya Mejia, Argueta Chica, Rivas Rodriguez, co-defendant Hernan Yanes-Rivera and others collected the rents, knowing that the victims making extortion payments did so under the threat of death or bodily injury by members of WLS.  For example, gang members used baseball bats to impose rents and sometimes collected rent while flashing firearms or otherwise making it known that they were carrying weapons.

Finally, Torres participated in money laundering by transferring gang funds obtained through its extortion activities to MS-13 members and associates in El Salvador.  As detailed in the plea agreement, Torres also accepted a delivery of rent payments that had just been collected from three brothels by a WLS member, with the intent to use the funds to promote MS-13’s illegal activities, including extortion. 

The government and the defendants have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea, Torres will be sentenced to 28 years in federal prison and Zelaya Mejia and Argueta Chica will each be sentenced to six years in federal prison.  Torres will also be required to pay restitution in the full amount of the victims’ losses, including any funeral costs incurred by Victim 4’s estate.  U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis has scheduled sentencing for Torres on August 31, 2023; and for Zelaya Mejia and Argueta Chica on July 11, 2023 and July 21, 2023, respectively.

Franklyn Edgardo Sanchez, a/k/a “Delinquente,” age 26, of Adelphi, Maryland; Hernan Yanes-Rivera, a/k/a “Recio,” age 22, of Adelphi, Maryland; and Agustino Eugenio Rivas Rodriguez, a/k/a “Terrible,” age 25, of Silver Spring, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the racketeering conspiracy.  If the Court accepts the guilty pleas, Sanchez will be sentenced to 28 years in federal prison, Yanes-Rivera will be sentenced to 22 years in federal prison and Rivas Rodriguez will be sentenced to 16 years in federal prison.  Judge Xinis has scheduled sentencing for Sanchez on May 19, 2023, for Rivas Rodriguez on July 21, 2028, and for Yanes-Rivera on July 28, 2023.

Anyone with information about MS-13 is encouraged to provide their tips to law enforcement.  The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations both have nationwide tiplines that you can call to report what you know.  You can reach the FBI at 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or you can call HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.    

United States Attorney Barron and Assistant Attorney General Polite commended the FBI, HSI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and the Montgomery County Police Department for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Crespo, and Trial Attorneys Brendan Woods and Christopher Taylor of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, who are prosecuting the federal case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psn.  

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