Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvanian man has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges, including assaulting law enforcement with a deadly or dangerous weapon, related to his conduct 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.

            Lowell Gates, 63, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, both felony offenses. In addition to the felonies, Gates is charged with several misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, violent conduct in a Capitol building or grounds.

            Gates was arrested today in Harrisburg and will make his initial appearance in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

            According to court documents, Gates traveled to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, with a group of friends and attended a rally at the Ellipse. Gates then walked toward the U.S. Capitol building on Pennsylvania Avenue and approached the restricted grounds of the West Plaza. Video footage taken from that day shows Gates appearing to use a cell phone to photograph and or video the riot while standing near the scaffolding on the side of the West Plaza.

            Court documents say that at approximately 2:29 p.m., Gates can be seen on body-worn camera footage throwing an object at a group of law enforcement officers before assaulting them with a flagpole. Video footage shows Gates using the flagpole in a spear-like motion to lunge at the officers, striking at them at least three times.

            This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

            This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia and Washington Field Offices. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. 

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

            A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Justin Taylor, 23, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 108 months in prison for sexual assaults in two separate cases, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department. Taylor pleaded guilty in one case on September 9, 2022, to third degree sexual abuse; and pleaded guilty today in the other case to one count of second degree child sexual abuse.  He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

            According to the government’s evidence, shortly after 9:00 a.m. on January 26, 2022, in the 500 block of 42nd Street, N.E., the defendant followed a 15-year old girl he didn’t know as she was walking to school. As the two of them were walking down a path in a park at that location, the defendant asked the victim if she had ever seen a man’s genitals. When the victim turned around, Taylor was exposing himself and asked the victim whether she wanted to “do something?” The victim began to run away but tripped and fell. Before she could get up, the defendant, still exposed, ran up and grabbed her buttock with his hand, through her clothing, again asking, “Do you wanna do something?” The victim yelled at the defendant, “No. Don’t touch me,” swung her fist at the defendant, and escaped to a friend’s home, where she reported the sexual assault to her friend and her friend’s mother.

            Two days later, in the early afternoon of January 28, 2022, Taylor followed an adult woman he didn’t know down the street-level escalator at the Shaw/Howard University Metro Train Station, located at 1801 7th Street, N.W. When Taylor and the victim got to the bottom of that escalator, the defendant grabbed the victim from behind and by surprise, holding her around the waist so that she could not get away from him. Taylor, while restraining the woman, pressed his penis against the victim’s buttocks. The woman fought back and hollered for help until she was able to escape Taylor’s grasp. Taylor fled up the Metro escalator, left the area and got on a Metro bus. Shortly thereafter, Metro Transit Police removed Taylor from that bus and brought him back to an area near the Metro Station, where the victim identified him as the person who had assaulted her. Taylor was then arrested.

            In 2018, Taylor was charged in a similar case and pleaded guilty to one count of attempted third-degree sexual abuse with force.  He was sentenced to 18 months in prison but was given the benefit of sentencing under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (“YRA”), which he will lose as a result of today’s convictions.  He was also sentenced in that case to seven years of supervised release and was, in fact, released from prison less than three months before committing these offenses. 

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the cases at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Garcia Clarke, former Paralegal Specialist Brenda Williams, Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan and Supervisory Victim/Witness Advocate Roderick Johnson.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – A Georgia man was sentenced today on felony and misdemeanor charges 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 2020 presidential election.

            William McCall Calhoun, Jr., 60, of Americus, Georgia, was ordered to serve 18 months in prison for obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony, as well as entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Calhoun is a practicing attorney in the state of Georgia.

            U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich heard the case in a bench trial and delivered her verdict on March 21, 2023, in the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Friedrich ordered Calhoun to serve 24 months of supervised release and pay restitution of $2,000.

            According to the government’s evidence, starting on Jan. 6, 2021, local and federal law enforcement received tips regarding an individual named McCall Calhoun, a practicing criminal defense attorney, who posted about his involvement in the Capitol Riot on Parler, Facebook, and Twitter. Prior to January 6th, Calhoun posted about certification of the electoral college vote and the importance of being physically present in Washington, D.C. on January 6th.

            Evidence shows that he attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6th, then made his way to the Capitol building. Calhoun walked up the West side of the Capitol grounds, continuing even as smoke rose from the crowd and people were affected by tear gas. As he approached the Senate Wing Door, Calhoun stated, “This is it. We’re storming the Capitol.”

            Calhoun entered through the broken Senate Wing Door as an alarm blared.  Calhoun walked through the Capitol, encountered a police line in the Crypt, and went back and forth from the Rotunda multiple times before ultimately leaving through the East side of the Capitol. One video depicts Calhoun amongst other rioters who pounded on doors and walls as they passed by members’ offices. Calhoun stated in the video that they were “looking for people.” Calhoun ultimately made it to the outside of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Office.

            Later on the 6th, Calhoun posted on Facebook: “Today the American People proved we have the power. We physically took control of the Capitol building in a hand to hand hostile takeover. We occupied the Capitol and shut down the Government – we shut down their stolen election shenanigans . . .”

            Calhoun was arrested on Jan. 15, 2021, in Macon, Georgia.

            The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Capitol Police, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Atawan Mundu John, a.k.a., John Mundu Atawan, 46, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to attempting to tamper with a witness more than nine years ago during a federal healthcare fraud investigation. He was charged via indictment in December 2014 but remained a fugitive until his arrest three weeks ago.

            The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General for the region that includes Washington, D.C., and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

            In February 2014, a federal grand jury charged Florence Bikundi, who owned and operated a home health care agency, with various offenses related to a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud the D.C. Medicaid program. The defendant was employed by Bikundi’s agency as a personal care aide. After Bikundi was arrested, the investigation into her and others continued. As part of its investigation, law enforcement agents interviewed the defendant multiple times.

            On June 12, 2014, one of the Medicaid beneficiaries who received kickbacks from the defendant to help facilitate the fraud placed a recorded call to the defendant that lasted approximately 18 minutes. During that call, the defendant – fully aware of the active federal investigation – instructed the beneficiary to lie to the FBI about ever receiving money or kickbacks. The defendant admitted on the call that paying money to beneficiaries was fraud.  Law enforcement agents confronted the defendant with the recorded call five days later. Before formal charges were brought against him, the defendant fled the area.

            In December 2014, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Florence Bikundi, her husband Michael Bikundi, Christian Asongcha, five other individuals, and the defendant with various offenses related to the scheme to defraud Medicaid. The defendant was charged with one count of attempted witness tampering. Five of the individuals pleaded guilty to health care fraud, and in November 2015, a jury convicted Florence and Michael Bikundi of multiple offenses after a trial. By June 2016, the Bikundis and five other individuals all had been sentenced while Asongcha, who has never been apprehended, and the defendant remained fugitives.

            The defendant remained a fugitive until July 13, 2023, when he was arrested in Maryland. He has been held without bond since then.

            U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell, who accepted the defendant’s guilty plea, scheduled sentencing for November 3, 2023.  The court will determine the appropriate sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other factors.

            The government urges the public to provide tips and assistance to stop health care fraud. If you have information about individuals committing health care fraud, please call the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General hotline at 800- HHS‑TIPS (800 447-8477) or the D.C. Office of the Inspector General at 800-724-TIPS (800 274-8477).

            This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, and the District of Columbia’s Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Multiple people from the U.S. Attorney’s Office worked on this case, including former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lionel A. André, Anthony Saler, and Michelle Bradford, who tried Florence and Michael Bikundi. The case against Atawan Mundu John is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Michon Tart.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendant Admits He Diverted Funds to Overseas Bank Accounts

            WASHINGTON – Onwuchekwa Nnanna Kalu, 39, a Nigerian National from Rivers State, Nigeria, pleaded guilty today to stealing $1.25 million from an investment firm located in Boston, through a business email compromise (“BEC”) scam. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division.

            Nnanna Kalu pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to one count of wire fraud.  U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss scheduled a sentencing hearing for November 29, 2023.  Kalu was arrested in 2022 and has been detained by the Court as a risk of flight.

            BEC scams typically involve a combination of computer intrusion techniques and social engineering in order to misdirect a transfer of funds into a bank account controlled by the fraudsters. According to court documents, Kalu and others conspired to enrich themselves through a BEC scheme that targeted an investment firm located in Massachusetts (Company A), which had invested in 42 companies located in North America, Europe, and Israel. Kalu and other conspirators gained access to the email account of an employee at Company A and, unbeknownst to the employee, the fraudsters installed malware on the employee’s computer that forwarded emails containing certain words like “invoice,” “fund,” “pay,” and “wire,” to an external email account controlled by the fraudsters. Kalu and others then created a spoofed domain name for Company A that differed by one letter, and sent spoofed emails, appearing to be from directors of Company A, to a financial services company located in London, England (Company B). Those spoofed appeals directed Company B to misdirect $1.25 million of wire transfers from Company A’s bank account to bank accounts outside of the U.S. controlled by conspirators. Once the fraudsters transferred the funds to financial institutions outside the U.S., the conspirators transferred some of those funds to bank accounts they controlled in Nigeria. 

            “Business email compromise schemes wreak havoc on companies, governments, and other institutions,” said Graves. “The best way to thwart a BEC scheme is due diligence. Check and double check the email address before responding with any information that could put you or your employer at risk.  Once a breach is identified, we will do everything in our power to identify, arrest, and prosecute the perpetrators no matter where they hide.”

            “Onwuchekwa Nnanna Kalu conspired to steal over $1 million from an investment firm through a business email compromise scheme,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Geist. “This case should serve not only as a caution to businesses about the dangers of spoofed emails but also as a warning to cybercriminals about the FBI’s dedication to prosecuting fraudsters — even those who operate overseas.”

            In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Graves commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington Field Office.  He also acknowledged the efforts of Assistant United States Attorney John W. Borchert who investigated and prosecuted the case.