Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice

A North Carolina land appraiser pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States as part of a syndicated conservation easement tax shelter scheme – involving inflated charitable contribution deductions based on a fraudulent appraisal value of a conservation easement on land – that claimed more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent tax deductions.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2008 to 2019, Walter “Terry” Douglas Roberts II of Shelby, North Carolina, conspired with others to defraud the United States by fraudulently inflating the value of the conservation easements upon which the tax deductions were based.

Roberts became a licensed appraiser in 2007 and began providing appraisals of conservation easements that same year. From 2008 through 2019, as part of the scheme, Roberts fraudulently inflated the values of at least 18 conservation easements by, among other things, not following normal appraisal methods, making false statements, and either personally manipulating or relying on knowingly manipulated data, in order to reach a targeted appraisal value – communicated to him by coconspirators – that would result in the desired tax deduction amount.

Roberts inflated some of his appraisals by at least 70%. The 18 conservation easements Roberts fraudulently appraised claimed approximately $466,961,000 in tax deductions, resulting in a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $129,000,000.

Roberts is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, as well as 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 Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, and IRS Criminal Investigation Chief James C. Lee made the announcement.

IRS-CI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing, Grace Albinson, Parker Tobin, Jessica Kraft, and Nicholas J. Schilling Jr., of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section for the Northern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittney Campbell for the District of Idaho, formerly of the Tax Division, also previously worked on this case.

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a civil enforcement action against XCast Labs, Inc. for allegedly violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by assisting and facilitating illegal telemarketing campaigns.

According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, XCast Labs, Inc., provided voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services that transmitted billions of illegal robocalls to American consumers, including scam calls that fraudulently claimed to be from government agencies. These robocalls delivered prerecorded marketing messages, and many of them were delivered to numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, failed to truthfully identify the seller of the services being marketed, falsely claimed affiliations with government entities, contained other false or misleading statements to induce purchases, or were transmitted with “spoofed” caller ID information. The complaint alleges that XCast Labs continued to allow its services to transmit these calls even after being alerted to their illegality.

The complaint seeks monetary civil penalties and a permanent injunction to prohibit the defendant from future violations.

“The Department of Justice is committed to stopping telecommunications providers from enabling unscrupulous telemarketers to bombard American consumers with illegal robocalls,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to work with the FTC to enforce the Telemarketing Sales Rule.”

“XCast Labs played a key role in helping telemarketers flood homes with unlawful robocalls, including robocalls impersonating the Social Security Administration,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “VoIP providers like XCast Labs that bury their heads in the sand when their customers use their services to break the law can expect to hear from the FTC.”     

A complaint is merely a set of allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence.

The case is being handled by attorneys in the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, including Trial Attorney Zachary A. Dietert, in conjunction with staff at the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices. 

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the FTC, visit its website at https://www.FTC.gov.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Two cousins were found guilty in the District of Columbia of felony and misdemeanor charges for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. Their 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.

            Thomas Harlen Smith, 44, of Mathiston, Mississippi, was found guilty of 11 charges, including nine felony counts and two misdemeanors, following a jury trial before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, who scheduled sentencing for August 17, 2023. Smith was convicted of assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon; obstruction of an official proceeding; two counts of civil disorder; two counts of assaulting, impeding, or resisting officers; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds with a dangerous weapon. He was also convicted of two misdemeanors: disorderly conduct in the Capitol grounds or buildings and an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

            Donnie Duane Wren, 44, of Athens, Alabama, was found guilty of three charges, including two felony counts and one misdemeanor. His sentencing is also set for August 17, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton. Wren was convicted of assaulting, impeding, or resisting officers; civil disorder; and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

            According to evidence presented in court, Smith and Wren traveled from Mississippi and Alabama to D.C. to attend former President Trump’s rally. After reaching the Capitol grounds, Smith entered the Tunnel, attempted to break a window with his flagpole, and pushed into the Capitol. Later, on the Upper West Terrace, Smith and Wren pushed against a police line –holding them back for twenty seconds. Smith then kicked an officer to the ground and threw a metal pole — hitting an officer in the head. After the he left Capitol grounds, Smith messaged on Facebook, “we stormed the capitol.”

            Smith’s most serious assault charge and the obstruction charge each carry a statutory maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Wren’s assault charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of up to 8 years in prison. A federal court judge will determine the appropriate sentence after considering all factors and the U.S. Sentencing guidelines.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Mississippi, the Northern District of Alabama, and the Southern District of Florida.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington and Birmingham Field Offices and the Homestead Florida and Oxford Mississippi Resident Agencies which listed Wren as #219 on their seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the Prince George’s County Police Department.

            In the 28 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 more than 320 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

Defendant Threatened Victim With a Gun at a Metro Station

            WASHINGTON – Kalil Ameer Xavier Pitts, 31, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today to one count of attempted assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, one count of simple assault, and one count of criminally negligent storage of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Michael Anzallo, of the Metro Transit Police Department.

            Kalil Pitts pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before the Honorable Erik P. Christian. Pitts will be sentenced on July 28, 2023. He faces up to five years’ imprisonment for attempted assault with a dangerous weapon, up to 10 years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of firearms, up to 180 days’ imprisonment for simple assault, and up to 180 days’ imprisonment for criminally negligent storage of a firearm.

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 9, 2022, Kalil Pitts followed a former friend to the train platform at Brookland-CUA Metro Station in Washington, D.C., and threatened him with a handgun. The victim fled, but Pitts chased him through the station and started a fistfight. Pitts punched the victim multiple times, cutting the victim near his eye. The assaults were recorded by WMATA’s surveillance system. A week later, members of the Metro Transit Police Department executed a search warrant at the D.C. apartment of Kalil Pitts. Inside, police found a loaded handgun and a “ghost” rifle—both of which were accessible to two young children under the age of 10 years. Pitts was not permitted to possess the firearms due to a prior conviction and he did not store the firearms securely.

            In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Anzallo commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metro Transit Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the work of those who handled the cases at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carlos A. Valdivia and Omeed Assefi, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Defendants Abducted Maryland Man and Held Him for Ransom

            WASHINGTON – Four Washington, D.C. men were sentenced today in U.S. District Court to life in prison for murder and other charges in the kidnapping of a Maryland man, whose body was found in June 2018 in an alley in Southeast Washington. The victim had been shot numerous times and his hands were still bound with zip-ties.

            Defendants Darin Moore, Jr. 29, of Bowie, Md., Gabriel Brown, 33, and John Sweeney, 29, both of Washington, D.C., were each sentenced to life in prison on the charge of kidnapping resulting in death, and 45 years in prison on counts of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, first degree premeditated murder and felony murder, all to run concurrent to each other.  Defendant James Taylor, 33, also of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping resulting in death and 45 years in prison for felony murder, to run concurrently. All four were found guilty, on November 1, 2022, following a trial in U.S. District Court.

            The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Robert J. Contee III, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            According to the government’s evidence, on June 19, 2018, the victim, Andre Simmons, Jr., 28, from Bowie, Maryland, was abducted at gunpoint in Maryland, bound with zip ties, and forced into a vehicle by Moore and Sweeney. During the following few hours, several ransom calls were made from Taylor’s phone to Mr. Simmons’ family, who delivered $7,000 in cash to a drop location as instructed by the kidnappers. The money was subsequently picked up by Brown.

            Just over an hour after the ransom payment, at about 6:25 a.m. on June 20, 2018, the defendants shot Mr. Simmons 19 times and left his zip-tied body in an alley off the 600 block of Atlantic Street SE. The four men then met up in Capitol Heights, Maryland, to divide up the proceeds of the ransom demand.

            Moore was arrested on June 20, 2018; Brown was arrested on June 27, 2018; Taylor was arrested on Aug. 17, 2018; and Sweeney was arrested on Jan. 14, 2019. All have been in custody since their arrests.

            This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office Violent Crimes Task Force and MPD’s Homicide Division. Valuable assistance was provided by Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department, and the U.S. Marshal Service.

            The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Wasserman and Will Hart, of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Crane and former Paralegal Specialist Genevieve De Guzman also assisted in the prosecution.