Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Dwayne L. Curtis, Sr., 61, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to sexually assaulting an 11-year old girl in January of 2021, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Interim Chief Ashan Benedict, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Curtis, Sr. pleaded guilty to one count of first degree child sexual abuse, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, before the Honorable Michael K. O’Keefe who scheduled sentencing for August 11, 2023.

            Curtis admitted that between January 12 and January 14, 2021, he twice engaged the child in a sex act at his home in Northwest Washington, D.C. As part of his guilty plea, the parties agreed that Curtis should be sentenced to 180 months in prison, with half of that time suspended. They also agreed that, upon his release from prison, he will be on supervised probation for five years, and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The sentence is pending the court’s approval.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Interim Chief Benedict 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 case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan; paralegal Garcia Clarke; former paralegal Brenda Williams; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who prosecuted the matter.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON — A Virginia man was sentenced today for assaulting law enforcement 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 that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.

            Markus Maly, 49, of Fincastle, Virginia, was sentenced to 72 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release. Maly was found guilty of interfering with police during a civil disorder; two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon; entering and remaining in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon, all felonies; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and act of physical violence in a Capitol building or grounds. Maly was found guilty on Dec. 6, 2022, following a jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta.

            According to court documents and evidence presented by the government at trial, on the afternoon of Jan. 6, Maly pointed and sprayed a chemical irritant at a line of police officers attempting to secure the area of the Lower West Terrace of the Capitol Building. He additionally assisted co-defendants Jeffrey Scott Brown and Peter Schwartz with spraying law enforcement by taking a can of spray from Schwartz and handing the can to Brown. Later in the afternoon, Maly exited the tunnel area with a riot shield and testified that he intended to take the shield home as a trophy.

            On Jan. 6, Maly messaged his girlfriend in response to her concern about violence at the Capitol, and wrote, “I know …I’ve got stories though,” and “I[t] was so fun …” The following day, he stated in one conversation on social media that, “I stood my ground and went back for seconds and thirds even.”  He also told another individual through social media, and later admitted on the stand at trial, that his participation in the events of January 6 was “fun.”

            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 Western District of Virginia.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office’s Roanoke Resident Agency, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Maly as #324 in its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            In the 29 months since Jan. 6, more than 1,000 individuals have been charged 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Dyrell Muhammad, also known as Dyrell Gamble, 56, of Washington, D.C., was arraigned today on two counts of second degree sexual abuse arising from events that occurred in August 2021, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and Interim Chief Ashan Benedict, of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            On May 25, 2023, Muhammad was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on two counts of second degree sexual abuse of a patient or client. He faces a maximum of five years on each count if convicted of the charges.

            According to the government’s evidence, in August 2021, Muhammad was working at RAP, Inc., a residential substance use and mental health treatment program located in Washington, D.C.  On or about August 4, 2021, Muhammad approached a program client in an elevator. He grasped the client’s hand and placed her hand on his penis through his clothing.  Muhammad then exposed his penis and placed the client’s hand on his naked, exposed penis.  The indictment also charges that Muhammad sexually abused a second client, on or about August 9, 2021. On August 25, 2022, Muhammad was arrested in connection with this case and was subsequently released pending trial.

            In August 2001, Muhammad was convicted of first degree murder while armed and associated firearms charges for a murder he committed in October 1998. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment totaling 35 years to life. In October 2020, after serving 22 years of that sentence, Muhammad was released by a Superior Court judge, pursuant to the COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency Amendment Act of 2020, and placed on five years’ supervised probation.

            An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

            In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit.  They acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins; Paralegal Specialists Garcia Clarke, ReShawn Johnson, Cynthia Muhammad, and Michelle Wicker; and Special Agent Sean Ricardi.  Finally, they commended the work of former Assistant U.S. Attorney Courtney Lee, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Sourbeer, who is investigating and prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A foreign national pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to sell identity documents belonging to U.S. citizens to undocumented noncitizens and others residing within the United States without lawful authority.

According to court documents, Manuel Ruiz-Aguilera, 44, of Mexico, and his co-conspirators sold government-issued identity documents, including Government of Puerto Rico-issued birth certificates and corresponding U.S. social security cards, to undocumented noncitizens residing within the United States. Ruiz-Aguilera sold the documents to undocumented noncitizens so they could assume the identities of U.S. citizens, and/or fraudulently apply for other identity documents in that person’s name in order to reside in the United States. Ruiz-Aguilera and his co-conspirators knew these documents pertained to real people.

Ruiz-Aguilera was arrested in Mexico in February 2022 pursuant to a U.S. request for his extradition. In March 2023, he was extradited to Puerto Rico.

Ruiz-Aguilera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit identification fraud by possessing, producing, and transferring identification documents. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 29. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico, Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tae D. Johnson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Chief Postal Inspector Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service made the announcement.

The charges are the result of Operation Island Express, an ongoing, nationally-coordinated investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) offices in Chicago, in coordination with HSI San Juan. The Illinois Secretary of State Police; Elgin, Illinois, Police Department; Seymour, Indiana, Police Department; and Indiana State Police provided substantial assistance. The HSI Assistant Attaché office in the Dominican Republic and International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2), as well as various ICE, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, DSS, and IRS-CI offices around the country, provided invaluable assistance.

Trial Attorneys Frank Rangoussis and Marie Zisa of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Anderson for the District of Puerto Rico are prosecuting the case. 

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with prosecutors to prepare the extradition request for Ruiz-Aguilera. The department thanks the Government of Mexico for their assistance in arresting and extraditing Ruiz-Aguilera.

Potential victims and the public may obtain information about the case at www.justice.gov/criminal/vns/caseup/beltrerj.html. Anyone who believes their identity may have been compromised in relation to this investigation or who may have information about particular crimes in this case should call the ICE toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE (1-866-347-2423) or use its online tip form at www.ice.gov/tipline.

Anyone who believes that they have been a victim of identity theft, or wants information about preventing identity theft, may obtain helpful information and complaint forms on various government websites including the Federal Trade Commission ID Theft Website at www.ftc.gov/idtheft. Additional resources regarding identity theft can be found at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/pubs/ID_theft/idtheft.html, www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html, and www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=186436,00.html.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A federal jury convicted a Florida man today for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Steven King, 45, of Miramar, was the chief compliance officer of a pharmacy holding company that fraudulently billed Medicare over $50 million for dispensing lidocaine and diabetic testing supplies that Medicare beneficiaries did not need or want. King and his co-conspirators operated A1C Holdings LLC, which held pharmacies in various states, including All American Medical Pharmacy in Warren, Michigan. When A1C secured prescriptions and refills on behalf of its pharmacies for medically unnecessary lidocaine and diabetic testing supplies, it violated Medicare and pharmacy benefit manager rules.

King and his co-conspirators took several steps to conceal their scheme, including enrolling their mail order pharmacies as brick-and-mortar retail locations to evade more rigorous oversight, shipping prescription refills for high-reimbursing medications and supplies without patient consent, concealing the ownership of A1C Holdings LLC and its pharmacies, and transferring patients among pharmacies without patient consent. King and his co-conspirators took each of these steps to ensure that Medicare continued to be billed for profitable medications and supplies. As chief compliance officer, King was in a unique position to prevent and report the fraudulent scheme, but he used his position to defraud Medicare instead.    

The jury convicted King of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 14 and he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine King’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI Detroit Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

The FBI Detroit Field Office and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Shankar Ramamurthy and Acting Assistant Chief Andrew Barras of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.