Month: April 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Matthew Sharp, 22, of Huber Heights, Ohio, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for distribution of child pornography. Sharp pleaded guilty to the charge on September 16, 2022. In addition to the prison term, Sharp was ordered to complete 15 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

            The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the Washington Field Office, and Chief Robert J. Contee, III, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            According to information filed in court, an undercover law enforcement officer (“UC”) engaged Sharp in October 2020 through an online group that was designed to allow its members to trade and view child pornography. The UC continued to monitor activity in the group over several days. Between October 1, 2020 and November 17, 2020, approximately 400 users joined the group for the purpose of exchanging child pornography and discussing the sexual abuse of children. Sharp was the creator and administer of the group and personally required new users to “verify” when joining the group.

            On October 1, 2020, Sharp sent the UC a direct message via KIK asking him to “verify,” meaning to prove that he either possessed child pornography or that he had access to a child. Sharp specifically asked the UC to send him “cp,” or in the alternative to send “a live photo” of a child. The defendant further stated to the UC that most of the users in the group were “cp collectors,” indicating that group members collected child pornography. That same day, Sharp posted two videos to the group. Both videos depicted adult men sexually abusing children. The defendant distributed additional videos depicting child sexual assault within the group.

            On January 7, 2021, law enforcement agents seized Sharp’s digital devices, and those devices were forensically examined. The defendant’s cell phone contained photographs and  videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. Sharp admitted to law enforcement that he was in fact the administrator of the child pornography sharing group, that members of the group shared images of child pornography with him, and that he distributed child pornography to others.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, Special Agent in Charge Jacobs, and Chief Contee commended those who worked on the case from the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes members of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD’s Youth Investigations Division. They also expressed appreciation to those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Forman and Janani Iyengar.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On April 7, 2023, following a four-day trial in the United States District Court, Greeneville, Tenn., a jury convicted Timothy Carver, 53, of Jonesborough, Tenn., of knowingly producing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a), knowingly distributing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2)(A), and knowingly possessing child pornography involving a child less than 12 years of age, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).

Sentencing is set for August 10^th at 9:00am before the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Carver faces a minimum mandatory 15 years’ imprisonment for production of child pornography, a minimum mandatory five years for distribution of child pornography.  Carver will also be subject to lifetime supervision and placement on the sex offender registry.

Evidence presented at trial proved the defendant videoed and photographed himself engaged in sexual acts with a 2-year-old.  The proof further showed that he distributed a child pornography video to an FBI Online Covert Agent using a messaging application.  FBI agents searched the defendant’s cellular phone and discovered 1,735 photo and video files containing child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton, III of the Eastern District of Tennessee, made the announcement. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, including agents from the Johnson City, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Field Offices, led the investigation that resulted in the indictment and subsequent conviction of Carver.  The Washington County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Swecker and Thomas McCauley represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

CONCORD – A jury convicted a Methuen, Massachusetts man yesterday in federal court in Concord for a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in New Hampshire, announces Jane E. Young.

Ramon Jaquez-Diaz, age 52, was convicted following a two-day jury trial for his role as a drug-runner in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl operating out of Lawrence, Massachusetts.  U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro scheduled sentencing for July 24, 2023 at 10 a.m. Jaquez-Diaz was indicted for this charge on March 8, 2021.

Jaquez-Diaz worked with others to transport fentanyl from New York to Massachusetts, and ultimately into New Hampshire.  The fentanyl was internationally sourced.  Twelve people were charged for this conspiracy.     

 The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, at least 3 years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. 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 Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth R. Aframe, Heather A. Cherniske, and John Kennedy are prosecuting the case.  

This effort is 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.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On April 7, 2023, Armando Mejia-Almazan, 44, a Mexican National, was sentenced to 292 months in prison by the Honorable Travis R. McDonough, Chief United States District Judge, in the United States District Court at Chattanooga.  

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Mejia-Almazan agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) and 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846.  After his release from imprisonment, Mejia-Almazan will be on supervised release for five years and may be subject to deportation. 

According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Mejia-Almazan, who had previously been removed from the United States and unlawfully returned, distributed more than 50 kilograms of ice methamphetamine to a Chattanooga-based drug trafficking organization. Mejia-Almazan utilized multiple apartments in the Atlanta metro area to facilitate his drug trafficking and acted under the direction of a Veracruz, Mexico-based methamphetamine broker affiliated with the Cartel de Jalisco Nuevo Generacion (“CJNG”).

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to targeting the ongoing threat to our communities from cartel-based drug traffickers,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who seek to profit from flooding our communities with dangerous drugs will face justice.”

I’m very proud of the work done by the dedicated men and women of DEA in this case,” said Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott, head of Drug Enforcement Administration’s (“DEA”) Louisville Field Division.  “Mr. Mejia-Almazan had tentacles reaching down into Mexica, straight to the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels, the two ruthless, violent criminal organizations that are intentionally poisoning Americans to drive addiction.”

This sentencing was the culmination of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

The Appalachia HIDTA mission is to use a multi-disciplinary approach to deal with the ongoing threats to public health and safety, particularly as it regards prescription drug diversion, the emerging threat of heroin, as well as the continued threats of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and synthetic drugs. The Appalachia region is arguably the epicenter of this crisis and requires unprecedented multi-disciplined cooperation to effectively address the many faceted health and public safety problems that result from this daunting threat. The Appalachia HIDTA will serve as the conduit for this cooperation.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to the indictment and subsequent conviction of Mejia-Almazan, included DEA Chattanooga Resident Office, DEA Atlanta Field Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation Chattanooga Resident Agency, Chattanooga Police Department, and Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.  Numerous agencies from the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force assisted in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin T. Brown represented the United States.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging a Massachusetts man with obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.

            Mark Sahady, 48, of Malden, Massachusetts, was initially charged by criminal complaint with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds.  A superseding information, filed in March of 2022, added the charge of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. A second superseding information, filed in March of 2023, added the charge of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. The indictment, filed April 5, 2023, adds the felony charge.

            According to the charging documents, Sahady is the vice president of an organization called “Super Happy Fun America,” which allegedly purports to advocate for the “straight community.” Beginning on approximately Nov. 16, 2020, Sahady tweeted statements exhibiting a belief that the presidential election was stolen, and that people need to gather in D.C. on January 6, 2021 to respond. Photos posted on a Twitter account connected to Super Happy Fun America show Sahady on a bus with other individuals with the caption, “Bus 1 of 11 coming to Washington DC. See you there!”

            The charge of obstruction of an official proceeding carries a maximum sentence of up to twenty years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges for entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds carry sentences of up to one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000. The charges of disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building carry sentences of up to six months in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $5,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the DOJ’s National Security Division, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Massachusetts.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Boston Field Office and Washington Field Office.

            In the 27 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,000 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. 

            Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

            The information contained in the charging documents are merely allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.