Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former Belmont County attorney was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 60 months in prison for committing mail fraud related to stealing more than $882,000 from an elderly woman with dementia while purporting to act in her best interests under a Power of Attorney.

From 2012 through August 2019, Mark Alan Thomas, 63, of St. Clairsville, Ohio, defrauded a client and took the victim’s money without her knowledge or permission to use it for his own benefit.

As part of his sentence, Thomas is required to pay $882,502 in restitution.

“Thomas’s grave abuse of power over this vulnerable victim demands today’s serious punishment,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker said. “The victim in this case was 86 years old, exhibiting symptoms of dementia, and living in a senior-care facility. She trusted Thomas, and Thomas abused that trust to steal her money for more than seven years. His actions to take advantage of her were utterly shameful.”

According to court documents, Thomas improperly used the victim’s Power of Attorney and his status as a lawyer – even after his law license was revoked in 2015 – to convince various entities, including banks and life insurance companies, to transfer the victim’s money for his use.

In May 2012, a family member of the victim obtained a separate Power of Attorney for the victim, and Thomas drafted a revocation of the family member’s Power of Attorney for the victim to sign. Thomas acted as the notary to verify the victim’s signature on the revocation.

Furthermore, Thomas falsely told a banker he needed $200,000 from the victim’s investment account to set up an educational fund that the victim wanted to establish. Once he received the money from the bank, Thomas transferred the money to himself instead.

In January 2014, Thomas cashed more than $290,000 of the victim’s U.S. Treasury Bonds, then subsequently transferred $200,000 into his law firm’s bank account, and eventually into his own personal bank account.

According to court documents, in 2016, Thomas wrote letters to three life insurance companies purporting to be the victim asking to cash out the victim’s policies and direct all correspondence to Thomas.

Thomas was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2021 and pleaded guilty in August 2022.

Kenneth L. Parker, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Ohio; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the sentence imposed today by Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. The Ohio Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Unit and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys David J. Twombly and S. Courter Shimeall are representing the United States in this case.

To report elder fraud, please visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center or contact the dedicated National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 or 833–372–8311 Monday – Friday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm EST.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

A former Mississippi tax preparer pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States by preparing false tax returns.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2015 through 2017, John Wells, Jr. worked at Sunbelt Tax Services, a return preparation business with a primary office located in Jackson, Mississippi. Wells conspired with others at Sunbelt Tax Services to claim fraudulently inflated tax refunds for clients by reporting false education credits, itemized deductions, and business profits or losses.

Wells is scheduled to be sentenced on September 20, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. 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 Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

Trial Attorneys Casey Smith, Patrick Elwell, and Mary Frances Richardson of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bert Carraway of the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Memphis, TN – In April 2023, federal grand juries in Jackson and Memphis returned indictments 
against four convicted sex offenders for failure to register or maintain their registration when 
they moved to Tennessee, in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act 
(SORNA). United States Attorney Kevin Ritz announced the indictments today.

According to United States Attorney Ritz and information presented in court, the following sex 
offenders failed to update their registration to reflect travel to the Western District of 
Tennessee (WDTN).

•  Terrell Chase Powell, 40, present in the WDTN from September 27 to December 15, 2022.
•  Edward Elbert Thompson, 75, present in the WDTN from January 2022 to March 2, 2023.
•  Jose Lozano, 45, present in the WDTN from November 29, 2021, to January 6, 2022; and
•  Lorenzo Mitchell, 41, present in the WDTN from October 29 to December 5, 2022

SORNA requires sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction 
in which they reside, work, or go to school.

“Most convicted sex offenders who live and work in West Tennessee meet their registration 
requirements and are productive members of our communities. Compliance with SORNA holds convicted 
sex offenders accountable to law enforcement and helps to keep our communities safe. Failure to 
register is a serious offense, and my office will aggressively pursue those offenders who attempt 
to avoid their legal obligations when
st Tennessee,” said United States Attorney Kevin Ritz.

United States Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee Tyreece Miller said, “Congress directed 
the United States Marshals Service to locate absconded sex offenders through the Adam Walsh Child 
Protection and Safety Act in July 2006. Our office takes this responsibility seriously and is 
proactive in locating and arresting non-compliant sex offenders. These indictments are examples of 
our partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and commitment to protecting the citizens in the 
Western District of Tennessee.”

If convicted, each defendant faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and a 
period of supervised of five years to life. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment only contains charges. Each defendant is 
presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove each defendant’s 
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Davis and Lauren Delery are prosecuting the case.

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For more information, please contact Public Information Officer Cherri Green at (901) 544-4231 or 
cherri.green@usoj.gov. Follow @WDTNNews on Twitter for office news and updates.
 

Source: United States Department of Justice News

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III today sentenced Romesh Vance, age 32, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 150 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute between four and 12 kilograms of fentanyl and for violating his supervised release from a previous federal drug conviction.  Judge Russell also ordered that Vance must forfeit his interest in any assets derived from his criminal activities, including almost $41,000 in cash and jewelry which were recovered from Vance and his residence in the 200 block of Westowne Road in Baltimore; and a 2017 Mercedes Benz recovered from Vance.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration – Washington Field Division; Baltimore City Sheriff Sam Cogen; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and Chief Robert McCullough of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to his guilty plea, from October 2020 through March 1, 2021, Vance was engaged in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving large amounts of fentanyl and other controlled substances.  Vance operated a stash house in Pikesville, Maryland, where he and his co-conspirators processed fentanyl and other drugs, mixed the drugs with cutting agents, and packaged the drugs for re-sale.  Vance and his associates then drove the packaged drug products to drug shops operated by their drug trafficking organization, along Stricker, School and Gilmor Streets in Baltimore.

On March 1, 2021, law enforcement saw Vance leave the Pikesville stash house and travel to the drug shop at 1515 Stricker Street, where he delivered approximately one kilogram of fentanyl to co-conspirator Vashawn Watkins, who brought the drug products into 1515 Stricker Street.  Law enforcement subsequently executed a search warrant at that location and recovered the drugs.  Law enforcement later conducted a search warrant at the stash house in Pikesville and recovered 6.8 kilograms of fentanyl, along with cutting agents and other drug-related paraphernalia.  Vance admitted that it was reasonably foreseeable to him that he and his co-conspirators would distribute more than four kilograms but less than 12 kilograms of fentanyl in furtherance of this conspiracy.   

Co-defendant Vashawn Watkins, age 22, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and to illegal possession of a firearm in a school zone and was sentenced to nine years in federal prison.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA, the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office, the Baltimore Police Department, and the Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason D. Medinger and Ariel Evans, who prosecuted the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psn and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Source: United States Department of Justice News

JUNEAU – A Ketchikan man pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography charges.

According to court documents, Walter William Onstad, of Ketchikan, plead guilty to a charge of  distribution of child pornography.  Onstad admitted in court that he was an administrator of a Kik group “Anything Goes,” which was used exclusively for the purpose of distributing child pornography.  As administrator of the group, Onstad solicited images of child pornography to be posted to the group from others as a requirement to be admitted to the group. Once images were verified and approved by Onstad, those individuals were admitted to the group where they had complete access to images of children being sexually exploited on the Kik group “Anything Goes.”

Onstad was detained at his change of plea hearing pending his sentencing scheduled on August 17, 2023. Onstad faces a mandatory minimum of five years and/or maximum penalty of life in prison and five years to life on supervised release. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt is prosecuting the case.

This case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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