Month: November 2024

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Officer was sentenced today to 21 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, related to a vehicular crash involving a motorist in Washington, D.C.

Thomas Smith, 47, pleaded guilty on Oct. 18, 2023, to deprivation of rights under color of law.

“This defendant recklessly pursued two motorcyclists, struck one of them with his car, left the victim unconscious on the asphalt, fled the scene and then switched out his cruiser and filed no report in an attempt to cover up his violent misconduct,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Endangering community members in this manner and disregarding the law violates the victims’ civil rights and erodes trust by those the police are sworn to protect and serve. The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute officials who engage in abuses of their authority, including federal law enforcement officers.”

“Thomas Smith abused his position of trust by engaging in a dangerous pursuit that could have been deadly – and made matters worse by obstructing the investigation into the collision he caused,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “Most police officers uphold the oath they took upon becoming officers, but when police officers break that oath and violate the public trust they must be held accountable.”

“Smith’s actions violated his oath to protect and serve our communities and uphold the Constitution,” said David Sundberg, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Today’s sentence demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to hold accountable those who misuse their power and deny the public their civil liberties.”

According to court documents, on the evening of June 20, 2020, Smith was on duty conducting security checks at the homes of members of Congress in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., when he began pursuing two individuals riding motorized cycles. While following the motorcyclists closely, but without his emergency lights on, Smith’s USCP cruiser struck one of the motorcyclists at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, Northwest. The crash knocked the cyclist into the air before he hit the asphalt roadway.

As the victim lay in the intersection unconscious, Smith drove his cruiser around the victim and left the scene of the collision. Smith did not notify anyone of the collision, take any action to seek medical assistance for the victim or ensure that no further harm came to the victim as he lay on the road. Hours after the collision, Smith falsified several USCP records related to the incident and lied to his superior officers about being involved in the crash.

The FBI and USCP investigated the case, with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Visser for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Taskin Torlak, 37, of Turkey, was arrested in Miami, on Nov. 2 for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions as part of a scheme to transport oil from Venezuela for the benefit of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company.

“As alleged, the defendant conspired to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, deploying deception to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those involved in criminal efforts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime.”

“This defendant allegedly conspired to illegally sell Venezuelan oil, using deceit and trickery to hide the fact that this oil originated from Venezuela,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia. “Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PdVSA, was sanctioned by the U.S. government to prevent the current regime from further depleting the nation’s resources while it unlawfully remains in power.  We remain dedicated to prosecuting violations of these sanctions until the government of Venezuela takes the necessary steps for these sanctions to be lifted.”

Torlak was arrested as he attempted to depart the United States to return to Turkey. He is charged by complaint with one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the complaint, Torlak conspired with others to cause U.S. financial institutions to process transactions connected to the transport of Venezuelan oil for the benefit of PdVSA, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated as a Specially Designated National (SDN) in January 2019.

According to the complaint, beginning at least in or around November 2020, Torlak and others devised and implemented a complex scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions related to petroleum products from Venezuela and Iran. The scheme included obfuscating the identities of tankers moving the oil by re-naming and re-flagging vessels, covering vessel names with paint or blankets, and turning off the electronics that track vessels’ locations for the safety of ships and their crews. Torlak and his co-conspirators allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA in payment for transporting Venezuelan oil, and hid the ultimate beneficiaries of the related transactions from U.S. financial institutions, who then unwittingly processed payments in furtherance of the scheme. The complaint further alleges that Torlak and his co-conspirators explicitly discussed the need to hide their conduct from the U.S. Government and its agencies, including OFAC, as well as commercial maritime entities.

Homeland Security Investigations Washington D.C. is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Sean Heiden and Chantelle Dial of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

A complaint 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 2

Taskin Torlak, 37, of Turkey, was arrested in Miami, on Nov. 2 for allegedly conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions as part of a scheme to transport oil from Venezuela for the benefit of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company.

“As alleged, the defendant conspired to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on PdVSA, deploying deception to smuggle black-market oil from Venezuela,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those involved in criminal efforts to circumvent sanctions imposed on the Maduro regime.”

“This defendant allegedly conspired to illegally sell Venezuelan oil, using deceit and trickery to hide the fact that this oil originated from Venezuela,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia. “Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PdVSA, was sanctioned by the U.S. government to prevent the current regime from further depleting the nation’s resources while it unlawfully remains in power.  We remain dedicated to prosecuting violations of these sanctions until the government of Venezuela takes the necessary steps for these sanctions to be lifted.”

Torlak was arrested as he attempted to depart the United States to return to Turkey. He is charged by complaint with one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the complaint, Torlak conspired with others to cause U.S. financial institutions to process transactions connected to the transport of Venezuelan oil for the benefit of PdVSA, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated as a Specially Designated National (SDN) in January 2019.

According to the complaint, beginning at least in or around November 2020, Torlak and others devised and implemented a complex scheme to violate and evade U.S. sanctions related to petroleum products from Venezuela and Iran. The scheme included obfuscating the identities of tankers moving the oil by re-naming and re-flagging vessels, covering vessel names with paint or blankets, and turning off the electronics that track vessels’ locations for the safety of ships and their crews. Torlak and his co-conspirators allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from PdVSA in payment for transporting Venezuelan oil, and hid the ultimate beneficiaries of the related transactions from U.S. financial institutions, who then unwittingly processed payments in furtherance of the scheme. The complaint further alleges that Torlak and his co-conspirators explicitly discussed the need to hide their conduct from the U.S. Government and its agencies, including OFAC, as well as commercial maritime entities.

Homeland Security Investigations Washington D.C. is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Sean Heiden and Chantelle Dial of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

A complaint 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

An indictment was unsealed charging Nathaniel James Holmes, 51, of Jacksonville, Florida, with four counts of transmitting interstate threats to injury other persons. If convicted on all counts, Holmes faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, on four dates in October, Holmes transmitted threats to injure others, including threats to kill three particular victims, the children of one victim, and Jewish and African American individuals generally. A federal grand jury charged Holmes in a sealed indictment on Oct. 24. He was arrested on Nov. 1, made his initial appearance in court, and ordered detained pending a competency evaluation.

The FBI; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly S. Milliron and Michael J. Coolican for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Jacob Warren of the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.