Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

CONCORD – A Maine man has been federally charged in connection with posting a video on SnapChat that threatened the Portsmouth High School on April 12, 2023, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Kyle Hendrickson, 25, was charged with transmitting in interstate commerce a threat to injure the person of another. A press release will be issued when an initial appearance in federal court is scheduled.

According to the charging documents, Hendrickson posted a video to his SnapChat account on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, in which he brandished a handgun while in a vehicle outside of the Portsmouth High School.  The video includes a text overlay that reads “imma shoot up the school.”  School surveillance footage placed Hendrickson’s vehicle outside the high school at the time of the video.

Hendrickson was arrested yesterday on state charges. A subsequent state search warrant of the vehicle yielded an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun, camouflage body armor, a handgun holster, a red-dot sight, and numerous rounds of ammunition.  Investigators recovered another shotgun inside a residence associated with Hendrickson.  Finally, a handgun that resembles the one used in the SnapChat video was recovered in a motel where Hendrickson had stayed on April 12, 2023.  

The charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, and the Portsmouth Police Department led the investigation.  The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Somersworth Police Department, the Portland (Maine) Police Department, and the Berwick (Maine) Police Department provided valuable assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City return an indictment, unsealed today, charging a California businessman with conspiracy to defraud the IRS, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.

According to the indictment, from 2013 to 2020, Grigor Termendjian of Los Angeles conspired to defraud the IRS by concealing $38 million of taxable fraud proceeds, which he and others laundered through international and domestic bank accounts. The funds involved in the money laundering transactions were allegedly proceeds from a scheme orchestrated in Utah by Termendjian’s brother, Levon Termendzhyan, aka Lev Aslan Dermen; Jacob Kingston; and others.

Termendjian allegedly sought with his co-conspirators to disguise control of the $38 million by engaging in financial transactions that had no legitimate business purpose. The indictment charges that they created bogus loan agreements, falsely characterized the transfer of fraud proceeds as share purchases or investments and used shell accounts to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the money. Some of the transactions allegedly involved withdrawing funds to purchase cashier’s checks. On one occasion, Termendjian allegedly withdrew over $41 million to purchase two cashier’s checks that he held for several months outside of the U.S. financial system.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation and the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the case.

Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Sullivan and Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing and Erika V. Suhr of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury convicted two Texas men today for their role in a scheme to fraudulently bill TRICARE – the health care program for U.S. service members and their families – for compounded creams that were medically unnecessary and procured through kickbacks and bribes. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Brian Carpenter, 56, of Bridgeport, was a podiatrist who signed prescriptions for compounded pain and scar creams for TRICARE beneficiaries to whom he never spoke and whom he never examined or treated. Jerry Lee Hawrylak, 69, of Lake Worth, recruited Carpenter to sign the prescriptions and recruited TRICARE beneficiaries to accept the medically unnecessary creams. From November 2014 to January 2017, Carpenter and Hawrylak caused the Fort Worth-based pharmacy involved in the conspiracy to fraudulently bill TRICARE approximately $8.5 million for these creams. 

Carpenter and Hawrylak were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 23 and face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office, Special Agent in Charge Chad B. Yarbrough of the FBI Dallas Regional Office, Special Agent in Charge Steven Grell of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) Central Regional Office, and Special Agent in Charge Kris Raper of the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) South Central Field Office made the announcement.

The DCIS, HHS-OIG, FBI, DOL-OIG, and VA-OIG investigated the case.

Acting Assistant Chief Brynn A. Schiess and Trial Attorneys Lee Hirsch and Andrea Savdie of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

PROVIDENCE – Federal grand juries in Providence and Boston returned separate indictments charging seven commercial fishermen with tax evasion and failing to file returns.

According to the indictments, the commercial fishermen each worked for fishing companies operating primarily out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, or Point Judith, Rhode Island, and received substantial compensation. The companies allegedly paid the fishermen as independent contractors and documented that income by, among other things, filing Forms 1099 with the IRS that reported the funds paid to the fishermen. It is alleged that notwithstanding the receipt of this income, each fisherman did not file individual tax returns or pay all the taxes owed on that income – for some defendants, they allegedly failed to file and/or pay taxes for a decade or more. To conceal the source and disposition of their income, the fishermen allegedly cashed paychecks and then used the cash to fund their lifestyles. One of the defendants allegedly also used the name and Social Security number of another individual to conduct business as a further effort to hide income. In some instances, the fishermen allegedly filed false tax returns for certain years by either not reporting their fishing income or by reporting false business expense deductions to reduce the amount of taxes they owed. Each allegedly evaded tax on between $900,000 and $1.9 million in income.

The seven fishermen indicted are:

Jorge Cazarin of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was charged with five counts of tax evasion and five counts of willful failure to file tax returns for 2016 through 2020.

Christopher Garraty of Newport and East Greenwich, Rhode Island, was charged with three counts of tax evasion and three counts of willful failure to file for 2016 through 2018, and a fourth count of tax evasion related to taxes he allegedly owed for 2007 through 2011.

Wojciech Kaminski of West Warwick, Rhode Island, was charged with five counts of tax evasion for 2014 and 2016 through 2019 and four counts of willful failure to file tax returns for 2016 through 2019.

Brian Kobus of Durham, Connecticut, was charged with five counts of tax evasion for 2017 through 2021.

Rodolfo Membreno of Fall River, Massachusetts, was charged with six counts of tax evasion for 2012 and 2017 through 2021 and four counts of willful failure to file tax returns for 2017 through 2019 and 2021.

John Doe of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was charged with six counts of tax evasion for 2016 through 2021 and three counts of willful failure to file tax returns for 2016 through 2018.

Miguel Cruz Rubio of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Elizabethtown, North Carolina, was charged with four counts of tax evasion for 2016 through 2019.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each evasion count and one year in prison for each failure to file a tax return charge. 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 thanked and U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha for the District of Rhode Island and  U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins for the District of Massachusetts for their help and assistance in the investigation and prosecution of these cases.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating these cases.

Assistant Chief John Kane and Trial Attorneys Samuel Bean, Matthew Cofer, Christina Grimes, and Ezra Spiro of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the cases.

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

Note: Indictments returned in this matter are available for review and/or download at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/seven-new-england-fishermen-charged-tax-evasion-and-failing-file-returns 

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

The Deputy Attorney General is a native of Boston. On April 15, 2013, she was the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to the President of the United States.

The Justice Department issued the following statement from Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings:

“Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. We remember the innocent lives lost and the many survivors who were injured in a senseless act of terrorism. We also remember their loved ones, whose lives were forever changed that day. And we honor the dedication and heroism of the first responders whose swift actions saved many.

“Ten years ago we saw the very worst in the actions of two terrorists, but we also saw the very best in the resilience of a great city—and in the actions of the law enforcement officers, medical professionals, and bystanders who acted heroically in the wake of the attack.  Their strength and resilience showed the world the true meaning of Boston Strong.

“This day, and every day, the professionals of the Department of Justice honor the memory of victims of terrorism by working tirelessly to prevent terrorist acts and by holding those who commit them accountable.”