Month: December 2024

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Salt Lake City man pleaded guilty today to wire fraud, impersonating a federal officer, aggravated identity theft and making false statements.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2018 through 2020, Santiago Garcia Gutierrez defrauded a victim of more than $2.8 million by falsely promising he could acquire at discounted prices exotic cars, planes and vessels that had been seized by the U.S. government through forfeiture. Garcia falsely induced the victim to use him as an intermediary to receive the money the victim believed was being used to purchase the non-existent luxury assets. To lure his victim into participating in the scheme, Garcia contacted the victim on numerous occasions via text message from multiple phone numbers, falsely claiming to be a confidential government informant, federal agent or Garcia’s own attorney.

In addition, from 2019 through 2024, Garcia defrauded eight additional victims across the country. To execute those frauds, Garcia induced victims to invest money into federal oil wells in which he had an ownership interest, promising large returns on investment. The victims never realized any profits, however, because Garcia diverted the investment funds for his own benefit. To effectuate these schemes and to lend them legitimacy, Garcia again assumed the identity of his attorney. In total, Garcia defrauded these victims of more than $775,000. 

Finally, Garcia also did not pay royalties to the federal government on the sale of oil extracted from the wells, despite knowing that he had a duty to do so.

Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2025. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of making a false statement, a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of impersonating a federal officer and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. 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, U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins for the District of Utah and Special Agent in Charge Carissa Messick of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s Phoenix Field Office made the announcement.

IRS-CI, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General and the Environmental Protection Agency are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing and Erika V. Suhr of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., returned an indictment yesterday charging Jason Pallante, 52, of Orlando, Florida, with defrauding political donors by operating numerous political fundraising websites that fraudulently promised to support presidential candidates and instead using the money he raised to enrich himself.

According to the indictment, Pallante operated the America Great PAC, purportedly a Super PAC able to receive unlimited contributions to finance independent expenditures and other independent political activity. During the 2023 — 2024 presidential primary season, Pallante created dozens of websites that claimed to support various specific candidates for president. Pallante allegedly designed these websites to appear affiliated with a particular candidate or campaign, such as by using photos of the candidate, first-person language, and the same font as the candidate’s campaign. Pallante also accepted checks made out directly to presidential candidates or their campaigns. Pallante directed all of the contributions to America Great PAC. According to the indictment, Pallante raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from these websites and did not use any of the money to support the advertised presidential candidates. Instead, Pallante allegedly used contributions to perpetuate the scheme and to pay himself more than $162,000 in 2023 and $334,000 in 2024.

Pallante is charged with three counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 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.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia; and Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Jacob R. Steiner of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold for the District of Columbia 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

A California man pleaded guilty today to not paying employment taxes to the IRS.

According to court documents and statements made in court, John Comeau, of Santa Clara, was the CEO of Vivid Inc., a company that provided metal coating services across various industries in Campbell, California, and elsewhere. From at least the first quarter of 2010 through the end of 2019, Vivid withheld Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from the wages paid to its employees. However, Comeau, who was responsible for ensuring those funds were reported and paid to the IRS, did not do so. 

In total, Comeau caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $1,150,000.

Comeau is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30, 2025. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. 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 and U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey for the Northern District of California made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Mahana Weidler of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilham Hosseini for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland following FBI Director Christopher Wray’s resignation announcement:

“Chris Wray has served our country honorably and with integrity for decades, including for seven years as the Director of the FBI under presidents of both parties.

In a heightened threat environment, Director Wray has worked tirelessly to protect the American people and to lead an agency of 38,000 dedicated public servants, many of whom put their lives on the line every day to serve their communities.

Under Director Wray’s principled leadership, the FBI has worked to fulfill the Justice Department’s mission to keep our country safe, protect civil rights, and uphold the rule of law.

He has led the FBI’s efforts to aggressively confront the broad range of threats facing our country — from nation-state adversaries and foreign and domestic terrorism to violent crime, cybercrime, and financial crime.

There are few leadership positions more central to keeping the American people safe than the Director of the FBI.

The Director of the FBI is responsible for leading employees located across the country and around the world who dedicate themselves each day to disrupting complex plots and preventing horrific tragedies before they can occur.

The Director of the FBI is responsible for leading the federal law enforcement agency that serves as the connective tissue among the intelligence community, state and local law enforcement agencies across the country, and our international law enforcement partners.

And the Director of the FBI is responsible for protecting the independence of the FBI from inappropriate influence in its criminal investigations. That independence is central to preserving the rule of law and to protecting the freedoms we as Americans hold dear.

Director Wray has done that job with integrity and skill. He has my gratitude, the gratitude of the FBI agents and employees whose respect and admiration he has earned, and the gratitude of the American people.”