Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Brandon Brown, 33, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to a 10-year prison term for strangling his ex-girlfriend and then trying to dissuade her from participating in the pending criminal investigation, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves announced and Interim Chief Ashan Benedict, of the Metropolitan Police Department. Brown pleaded guilty, on March 3, 2023, to one count of aggravated assault, and one count of obstructing justice.

            According to the government’s evidence, on April 19, 2022, Brown and his on-again, off-again intimate partner got into an argument about whether they had been cheating on each other. During the argument, the defendant strangled his partner with sufficient force that she “blacked out.” Brown’s actions caused the defendant to lose her vision and become unconscious, creating a grave risk of death. A week later, despite being held in custody, Brown contacted his partner from the D.C. Jail to try and persuade her not to come to court or participate in the criminal investigation.  

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Interim Chief Benedict commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit. She acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins, Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and Garcia Clarke, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dana Joseph and Robert Platt, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Lee, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

    WASHINGTON – U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. (MPD), and numerous community-based organizations welcomed more than 200 youth at the 13th Annual “Breaking the Silence on Youth Violence” Anti-Violence Youth Summit, held on July 7 at MPD’s First District Police Station and streamed virtually.

    The event focused on a variety of subjects, including gun violence prevention; drug and alcohol abuse prevention; mental health awareness; self-respect; diversity, understanding, and respect of the differences of others as a means of promoting allyship and reducing bullying and violence. A moment of silence was held to remember young victims lost by homicide in 2022. The summit comprised dynamic speakers, entertainment, information, and resources. U.S. Attorney Graves presented the United States Attorney’s Office’s Youth Citizenship Awards to seven youth participants. There was also a “Healing through Creativity” Poetry Contest, the winner of which read their poem at the summit.

    Since the U.S. Attorney’s Office hosted its first Youth Summit in 2011, thousands have participated in this program. The event is a part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood Program, a nationwide effort to reduce violent crime.

    This year’s partners included the East of the River Family Strengthening Collaborative, the Marion Barry Summer Youth Program, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, the T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project, the D.C. Prevention Centers, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Metropolitan Police Department.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

    WASHINGTON – A Florida man was sentenced today for 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.

    Barry Bennet Ramey, 39, of Plantation, Florida, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Ramey was found guilty, on March 3, 2023, of the felony charges civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding, certain officers following a bench trial in the District of Columbia before U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.

    Ramey was also convicted of misdemeanor charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; and act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

    In addition to the prison term, Judge Friedrich ordered 36 months of supervised release and restitution of $2,000 to the Architect of the Capitol. 

    According to court documents, on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Ramey joined a large group of Proud Boys, an organized extremist group of which Ramey is a member, gathering at the Washington Monument. After receiving instructions near the Washington Monument, court documents say that the Proud Boys began to march eastward on the National Mall toward the Capitol starting at about 10:45 a.m.

    Court records say that Ramey and the other Proud Boys then circled the Capitol, “casing” the grounds for weak points in the security perimeter. At approximately 1:48 p.m., several U.S. Capitol Police officers were attempting to block rioters’ access to the stairwell leading from the Lower West Terrace to the Upper West Terrace of the building.

    According to court documents, Ramey was in a group that pushed forward into the officers, pushing them back and up the stairwell. Ramey then sprayed two officers in the face and eyes with pepper spray. Both officers reported that the spray caused them to become disoriented and have their vision impaired.

    In a matter of seconds after Ramey’s assaults, court documents say that rioters pushed past the remaining officers in the line and up the stairs toward the Capitol building. Ramey and the Proud Boys moved to the side of the stairs and celebrated what they had accomplished. Ramey then remained on the Capitol grounds for approximately four and a half hours.

    This case was 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 Southern District of Florida.

    This case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Ramey as #329 in its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police.

    In the 30 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,069 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. The investigation remains ongoing.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice News

    WASHINGTON – Vincent Galarza, 32, of Glendale, New York, was sentenced today to 17 and a half years – or 210 months – in prison for his involvement and participation in the world’s formerly largest darknet child pornography website, Welcome To Video.

    Galarza pleaded guilty on Jan. 17, 2023, to sexual exploitation of children and conspiracy to distribute child pornography.

    Galarza is one of eight prolific users of the website Welcome to Video, charged in the District of Columbia for their participation in a massive darknet advertisement and distribution of child pornography. Welcome To Video operated as a hidden service on the Tor network until March 2018, when it was seized by law enforcement authorities. As of October 2019, when the Department initially announced its indictment of Welcome to Video site administrator Jong Woo Son (a South Korean national, subsequently convicted in South Korea), an additional 337 site users worldwide had been arrested and charged.

    Additional defendants charged and convicted in the District of Columbia include Nicholas Stengel, 47, of Washington, D.C.; Charles Wunderlich, 36, of Hot Springs, California; Ernest Wagner, 72, of Federal Way, Washington; Darryl Miller, 36, of Shawnee, Kansas; Jason DeJournett, 47, of Seal Beach, California; Brian LaPrath, 36, of San Diego, California; and Michael Ezeagbor, 24, of Pflugerville, Texas.

    According to court documents, users of the website created registered accounts with usernames and a password. Only after the user registered an account could the user browse previews of videos available for download and post text to the website. To download videos from the site, users needed “points,” which were allocated to users by the website. A registered user could earn points from the website in several ways, including uploading videos depicting child pornography, referring new users to the website, and paying for a “VIP” account with Bitcoin.

    Court documents show that certain persons joined the conspiracy to distribute child pornography by uploading videos. Those co-conspirators who uploaded videos of child pornography for “points” also earned additional “points” each time a customer of the site downloaded that particular video. Court documents state that the co-conspirators had a shared goal as part of the conspiracy – increasing the number of unique videos on the website to drive additional traffic to it, which in turn led to greater downloads and more points for the co-conspirators.

The following is a summary of the conduct of each defendant charged in the District of Columbia.

Vincent Galarza

    Between approximately May 31, 2017, and February 9, 2018, Galarza downloaded at least 174 videos from the website and uploaded approximately 560 videos, all of which depicted child pornography. A subsequent forensic search of Galarza’s electronic devices revealed that he was in possession of an additional 500 images and 102 videos of child pornography, the majority of which depicted sexually explicit conduct of pre-pubescent children.

    During the search of the electronic devices, court documents say that authorities identified two minor victims that had been secretly recorded by Galarza. Galarza captured at least 20 videos of one of the minor victims that he then edited and clipped to produce over 966 still-shot images that focused on the same minor’s genitalia and pubic area.

    Investigators also determined that Galarza had used images produced of one of the minor victims in an attempt to extort the victim into sending him additional images.

Nicholas Stengel

    Stengel was sentenced to 180 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography and laundering of monetary instruments. Stengel had a previous conviction for possession of child pornography. Stengel had amassed an extensive collection of child pornography from the website, with over 6,000 videos and 600,000 images.

Charles Wunderlich

    Wunderlich was sentenced to 87 months in prison and 15 years of supervised release on June 28, 2022, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute child pornography. Wunderlich uploaded 13 videos and downloaded four videos of child pornography from the website.

Ernest Wagner

    Wagner was sentenced to 60 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release on June 4, 2021, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute child pornography. Wagner uploaded 84 videos and downloaded 40 videos depicting child pornography from the website.  A forensic review of his electronic devices identified an additional 92 images and 22 videos depicting child pornography in his possession.

Darryl Miller

    Miller was sentenced to 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release in the District of Kansas on Sept. 22, 2020, after he pleaded guilty to access with intent to view child pornography. Miller downloaded approximately 20 gigabytes of data from the website and had approximately 57 child pornography images on his devices. 

Jason DeJournett

    DeJournett was sentenced to 33 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release on July 30, 2021, after he pleaded guilty to access with intent to view child pornography. DeJournett downloaded 113 videos of child pornography from the website.

Brian LaPrath

    LaPrath was sentenced to 18 months in prison on June 19, 2019, after he pleaded guilty to laundering monetary instruments. LaPrath exchanged funds to obtain Bitcoin and used that Bitcoin to download child pornography from the website

Michael Ezeagbor

    Ezeagbor was sentenced to time served and five years of supervised release on June 25, 2021, in the Western District of Texas after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute child pornography. Ezeagbor uploaded ten videos and downloaded 42 videos depicting child pornography from the website.  A subsequent forensic review of his electronic devices identified an additional 190 images and 14 videos depicting child pornography in his possession.

    Additional investigations into those affiliated with Welcome To Video remain ongoing. 

    These cases were investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  The Korean National Police of the Republic of Korea, the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom and the German Federal Criminal Police (the Bundeskriminalamt), provided assistance and coordinated with their parallel investigations.  The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs of the Criminal Division provided significant assistance.   

    These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Lindsay Suttenberg, former AUSA Zia M. Faruqui, and former AUSA Youli Lee, Paralegal Specialists Brian Rickers and Diane Brashears, Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick, and Records Examiner Chad Byron of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney C. Alden Pelker of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. 

    Additional assistance has been provided by Deputy Chief Keith Becker and Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, and former U.S. Attorney’s Office Paralegal Specialists Toni Anne Donato and Ty Eaton.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

    A Pennsylvania man has been arrested on felony charges, including assaulting a law enforcement officer, 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.

    Terry L. Allen, 64, of Spring Mills, Pennsylvania, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds. In addition, Allen is charged with misdemeanor offenses of engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or on restricted grounds and obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. Allen made his initial appearance today in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

    According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Allen was among the crowd of rioters that breached the western perimeter of the U.S. Capitol grounds. Video footage from the day depicts Allen on the west plaza beginning at approximately 12:58 p.m., carrying a black and red flag on a wooden flagpole approximately five feet in length.

    Court documents say that video evidence shows Allen shoving and physically assaulting law enforcement officers on the west plaza by using his wooden flagpole as a lance, driving it into officers in a stabbing motion.

    Later at approximately 1:56 p.m., Allen is seen on police body-worn camera footage approaching the police line and holding what appears to be a black metallic pole in one hand and a flagpole in the other. Court documents say that officers then deployed pepper spray against Allen and other rioters in the crowd. Allen responded by throwing what appeared and was consistent with a black metallic pole at the officers standing less than ten feet away.

    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.

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

    In the 29 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 nearly 350 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.

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