Month: May 2023

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Gary Vaughn, 55, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for Unlawful Distribution of Fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, and Chief Robert J. Contee, III, of the Metropolitan Police Department. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden ordered 36 months of supervised release.

            According to court documents, on six different occasions between December 2021 and February 2022, an undercover officer (“UC”) with the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) met with Vaughn at various locations in SE Washington, DC – including a park and Vaughn’s home – to purchase narcotics. On each of the six occasions, Vaughn sold the UC multiple Ziplock baggies that each contained a white powdery substance containing fentanyl. In total, Vaughn sold 415 Ziploc bags containing fentanyl. Vaughn was arrested on August 31, 2022, with an additional 139 Ziploc baggies that contained fentanyl.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of the detectives and patrol officers of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit. They expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Mid-Atlantic Laboratory. They also commended those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andy Wang and Nihar Mohanty from the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section (VRTO).

Source: United States Department of Justice News

The United States filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking to bar nine Florida tax return preparers and their associated business from assisting in the preparing of federal income tax returns for others.

The complaint alleges that Richard Louis, Teddy Davis, James Merrill, Daniel Ouku, Demetrius Knowles, Harold Bornelus, Joseph Garrett, Marlyne Wah and Romeo Davis prepared and filed thousands of federal income tax returns for customers through or in connection with the unincorporated entity known as Taxman. According to the complaint, one scheme used by the defendants was to claim fraudulent Residential Energy Credits on their customers’ tax returns. Louis and Taxman also allegedly falsified and overstated business and itemized deductions on their customers’ tax returns and prepared tax returns for customers claiming the incorrect filing status.  As alleged in the complaint, defendants’ pattern of preparing returns that understate their customers’ taxes or that overstate their customers’ refunds has resulted in defendants’ customers receiving refunds to which they are not entitled. As further alleged in the complaint, based on the returns it has examined, the IRS estimates that the United States has lost millions of dollars in tax revenue as a result of defendants’ actions. 

Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS offers tips on how to accurately file returns and how to choose  a tax return preparer, as well as steps taxpayers can take to get a jumpstart on filing.

Taxpayers seeking assistance can access the IRS’s free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also has programs offering free basic return preparation for qualifying seniors and individuals with low to moderate income). In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $72,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.

In the past decade, the Department of Justice Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers.  Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page.  If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that BRIAN O’NEILL, a Maryland attorney and escrow agent, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni to nine years in prison for defrauding his clients of funds he was holding for them in escrow.  O’NEILL pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud in November 2022. 

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint and matters included in public filings:

Beginning at least as early as August 2020, O’NEILL engaged in two related fraudulent schemes.

First, O’NEILL engaged in a scheme to defraud a medical equipment company (“Victim-1”) by falsely promising to hold over $5 million of the company’s funds in escrow.  Specifically, in August 2020, Victim-1 entered into an agreement with a Florida-based medical wholesale company (“Seller-1”) for the purchase of personal protective equipment (“PPE”).  In connection with the transaction, Victim-1 and Seller-1 entered into an escrow agreement (the “Escrow Agreement”) with O’Neill & Partners, the firm at which O’NEILL was the managing partner.  Pursuant to the Escrow Agreement, O’Neill & Partners was to act as escrow agent for the transaction and hold $5.1 million deposited by Victim-1 in escrow.  Instead of holding that money as required, however, O’NEILL secretly used the funds to execute personal deals for the purchase of PPE and completely dissipated the funds by approximately November 2020.   

In November 2020, Victim-1 cancelled the transaction and sent a letter to O’Neill & Partners requesting that the $5.1 million in escrowed funds be returned to Victim-1.  When O’Neill & Partners refused to return Victim-1’s money, Victim-1 filed a civil action in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Civil Action”).  In connection with the Civil Action, the Court ordered O’Neill & Partners to deposit the $5.1 million with the Clerk of the Court.  On September 22, 2021, O’NEILL deposited $3.3 million with the Clerk.   

The $3.3 million deposited with the Clerk, however, formed the basis of O’NEILL’s second scheme to defraud.  That money was neither part of the $5.1 million Victim-1 had deposited nor was it O’NEILL’s own money.  Instead, it consisted of funds being held by O’NEILL in escrow for a separate transaction.  In other words, O’NEILL stole $3.3 million from a separate set of escrow clients in an attempt to satisfy the Court’s order in the Civil Action and repay Victim-1. 

*                *                *

In addition to his prison term, O’NEILL, 49, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maggie Lynaugh, Amanda C. Weingarten, and Aline Flodr are in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Blackwood, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for being the supplier in a drug conspiracy that stretched from New Jersey to Maryland to West Virginia.

Aquilino Javier Lorenzo-Rivera, 39, previously pled guilty to distribution of fentanyl. Lorenzo-Rivera admitted that he distributed nearly 34 grams of acetyl fentanyl (synthetic fentanyl) and more than 241 grams of a fentanyl mixture.

During today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh heard about Lorenzo-Rivera’s travels to and from the Eastern Panhandle to supply drugs to another dealer. During the investigation, officers found nearly 200 grams of fentanyl and nearly 300 grams of cocaine base that Lorenzo-Rivera had transported to a dealer in Harpers Ferry, as well as more than $12,000 in cash seized from a traffic stop. The judge discussed Lorenzo-Rivera’s continuous pattern of criminal conduct, which includes 14 felony convictions.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Eastern Panhandle Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A 15th defendant has entered a guilty plea in United States District Court in connection with a wide-ranging investigation centered on the area of 7^th and O Streets, in Northwest, Washington, D.C. These guilty pleas stem from a series of arrests and indictments filed in May and June of 2022, following a long-term investigation led by the FBI and MPD.

            Elliot Johnson, 43, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty May 5, 2023 to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton scheduled sentencing for August 3, 2023.

            According to court documents, in or around late 2021, members of the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”), in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), began investigating violent crime and drug trafficking activities occurring in or around the corner of 7th Street and O Street in Northwest, Washington, D.C. Investigation revealed that the individuals charged gathered in this area on a regular basis to sell controlled substances.

            Law enforcement identified several residences that the group used for storing drugs and for processing and packaging drugs for resale. Further investigation revealed the defendants were engaged in hand-to-hand drug sales on the sidewalk. Undercover officers began purchasing crack cocaine and fentanyl from members of the drug trafficking group. The quantities of crack cocaine purchased by law enforcement ranged from one gram to over 28 grams at a time. The charged members of this group, in total, sold law enforcement approximately 158 grams of cocaine base. The quantities of fentanyl purchased by law enforcement from members of this drug trafficking group ranged from less than one gram up to 65 grams at a time. The charged members of this group, in total, sold law enforcement approximately 470 grams of fentanyl. Through the executed searches, four firearms were also seized. 

            The following defendants have entered guilty pleas in connection with this series of indictments:

Defendant	Case Number	Guilty Plea	Plea Date	Sentencing Date
Elliot Johnson, 43,	22-CR-164	Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl	May 5, 2023	TBD
Jeremy Young, 37,	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl	March 1, 2023	Scheduled for June 7, 2023
William Proctor, 55	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Crack Cocaine	November 7, 2022	Sentenced to Five Years in Prison on February 27, 2023
Andre Williams, 33	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl and Crack Cocaine	March 22, 2023	Scheduled for July 7, 2023
Ako Handy, 50	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine and possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person	April 11, 2023	Sentenced to Five Years in Prison on April 11, 2023
Keith Gliss, 37	22-CR-164	Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime and Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine	May 4, 2023	TBD
Stanley Hood, 27	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine	January 12, 2023	Scheduled for May 24, 2023
Thomas Shelton, 26	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine and Fentanyl	January 10, 2023	Sentenced to Two Years in Prison on April 10, 2023
Tyrone Wade, 30	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl	April 10, 2023	Scheduled for July 26, 2023
Christion Cooper, 22	22-CR-164	Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime	February 23, 2023	Sentenced to Five Years in Prison n February 23, 2023
Kenneth Watts, 25	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine	December 22, 2022	Sentenced to Two Years in Prison on April 6, 2023
Brandon Benson, 24	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine	January 11, 2023	Scheduled for May 16, 2023
Burnell Smith, 33	22-CR-164	Conspiracy to Distribute Crack Cocaine	December 2, 2022	Sentenced to Probation on March 21, 2023
Kelfa Kamara, 39	22-CR-196	Possession with the Intent to Distribute Crack Cocaine	December 9, 2022	Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison on March 29, 2023
Samuel Hall, 41	22-cr-195	Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fentanyl	February 1, 2023	Scheduled for May 30, 2023
Jonathan Brown	22-cr-114	Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person	October 7, 2022	Pending

            This investigation additionally led to an indictment being filed against Jonathan Brown in Case Number 23-CR-79, related to the July 31, 2021 homicide of Kervin Sanchez at the corner of 7^th and O street, NW.

            The prosecutions followed a joint investigation by the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) of MPD’s Violent Crime Suppression Division, the FBI Washington Field Office’s Cross Border Safe Streets Task Force, and the Washington Division of the DEA. The Cross Border Safe Streets Task Force targets the most egregious and violent street crews operating in the District of Columbia. 

            This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

            The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Rosenberg and Solomon Eppel of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with valuable assistance provided by Assistant United States Attorney Steven Wasserman and former Special Assistant United States Attorney Shaunik Panse.