Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice News

A Georgia physician pleaded guilty today to charges related to the sale of a purported weight loss drug product that contained human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG.

Dr. Audrey Arona, 64, of Gainesville, Georgia, pleaded guilty to causing the introduction into interstate commerce of a misbranded drug product containing HCG and marketed under the name “Releana.” Pursuant to a plea agreement, Magistrate Judge J. Clay Fuller of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Dr. Arona to forfeit approximately $65,000.

HCG is a hormone produced by the human placenta. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved certain injectable HCG drug products for the treatment of some cases of female infertility and for hormone treatment in males. But the FDA has never approved any oral or sublingual HCG drug products for any use, and the FDA has never approved any HCG drug product for weight loss. In fact, FDA has specifically warned consumers to avoid HCG weight-loss products, advising, “If you have HCG products for weight loss, quit using it, throw it out, and stop following the dieting instructions.”

“Doctors who distribute drugs must comply with federal law designed to ensure these products are safe and effective,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to stop the distribution of misbranded HCG drugs and other misbranded drugs, including through criminal enforcement where appropriate.”

“Misbranded prescription drugs can present a serious health risk to those who buy and use them. The drugs may contain unknown ingredients and may be made under unknown conditions,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who traffic in misbranded prescription drugs.”

According to court documents, Dr. Arona admitted to selling a sublingually administered HCG-for-weight-loss drug product to patients around the country. Dr. Arona further admitted that she represented to patients that the HCG-for-weight-loss drug product was FDA-approved and that it could assist with weight loss.

Dr. Arona was the third defendant to plead guilty in connection with the marketing and sale of Releana. In September 2022, Hoschton, Georgia, resident Maurice Bailey also pleaded guilty to causing the introduction into interstate commerce of a misbranded drug product containing HCG. According to court documents, Bailey admitted to preparing the Releana sold by Dr. Arona in a facility that was not properly registered with FDA, and to inaccurately labelling that Releana. In August 2021, Colorado resident Sarah Alberg pleaded guilty to causing the introduction into interstate commerce of a misbranded drug product containing HCG, with the intent to mislead or defraud. According to court documents, Alberg also distributed Releana, and she admitted to smuggling HCG into the United States from India and distributing HCG using bottles and supplies exposed to rodent droppings.

The FDA Office of Criminal Investigations investigated the cases.

Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick Runkle and Trial Attorney Michael Wadden of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the cases against Dr. Arona and Bailey, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keen for the Northern District of Georgia.

For more information about the enforcement efforts of the Consumer Protection Branch visit the Branch’s website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch

Source: United States Department of Justice News

ANCHORAGE – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment on Friday, April 21, charging Air National Guard Technical Sergeant of the 176th Maintenance Group on Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER) with production, distribution, and possession of child pornography.

Richard Anthony Dougherty was arrested on Thursday, April 6, 2023, and was originally charged by complaint. The complaint filed in the case charged that, between 2017 and 2023, Richard Anthony Dougherty distributed child pornography over the internet and possessed “terabytes” of child pornography on a computer and mobile phone. According to court documents, Dougherty confessed to hoarding child pornography for approximately 20 years, some of which he produced using the camera feature of a mobile phone that he had installed behind a mirror in a bathroom at his house in Anchorage.

On April 21, 2023, the grand jury indicted Dougherty with three counts of production of child pornography, one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison on each production count, a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 to 20 years on the receipt and distribution count, and maximum of 10 years in prison for the possession count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.

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

Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case with substantial assistance from the Alaska State Troopers, and additional assistance from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The investigation is ongoing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonas M. Walker and Seth Brickey for the District of Alaska are prosecuting the case.

An indictment and complaint are merely allegations 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 – Decondi Mayo, 46, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

            Decondi Mayo pleaded guilty in September 2022, in the United States District Court, to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. In addition to the seven year prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman ordered three years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on January 29, 2021, at approximately 3 p.m., members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Crime Suppression Team were on patrol in the 2200 block of Bryan Place, S.E., Washington, DC. The officers observed the defendant reaching into the passenger side window of a blue Nissan Maxima with Maryland paper tags. The defendant looked in the officers’ direction as they pulled into the block and he immediately separated himself from the vehicle and continued to look back over his shoulder at officers. Shortly thereafter, the defendant walked up concrete steps toward a boarded up and uninhabitable home located at 2212 Bryan Place, SE. Officers parked, exited their vehicles, and observed the defendant continually pressing his right arm against the right side of his jacket as if he was attempting to secure an object on the front of his person. An officer then observed the defendant discard a pistol from his front waistband area. The defendant was subsequently arrested and found with a magazine with ten live rounds. The recovered firearm that the defendant tossed was a 9mm Glock 26 with one round of ammunition in the chamber and sixteen rounds in the magazine.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves, Acting SAC Weddel, and Chief Contee commended the work of those who investigated the case from Project Safe Neighborhood from both the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Karla Nunez.

            Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shehzad Akhtar, former Assistant United States Attorney Brandon Regan, former Assistant United States Attorney Kaitlin Ann Vaillancourt and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina Cervi who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice News

            WASHINGTON – Gary Jones, 35, of Washington, D.C., was arraigned today at a hearing before the Honorable Marisa Demeo on charges stemming from an incident at a public pool in August 2022. 

            Jones was indicted on April 19, 2023, by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on two counts of second degree child sexual abuse, with aggravating circumstances; one count of attempted second degree child sexual abuse, with aggravating circumstances; and one count of misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child or minor, with aggravating circumstances.

            According to a publicly available document, on August 18, 2022, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Jones entered the shower room at the Anacostia Pool. When two children entered the shower area, they observed Jones wearing underwear that exposed his genitals and rubbing his “private part” in front of them. Jones touched one child on the buttocks and attempted to touch the other child as well. The children immediately reported the incident to pool staff, who detained Jones until police arrived. 

            In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Contee commended the work of those investigating the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan and Paralegal Specialists ReShawn Johnson and Tiffany Fogle. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Wash, Kathleen Houck, and LaVater Massie-Banks, who are investigating and prosecuting the case.

            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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal indictment was returned charging an Ohio man with a violation of the Church Arson Prevention Act for using Molotov cocktails against the Community Church of Chesterland, in Chesterland, Ohio, in an attempt to burn the church to the ground. He was also indicted on one count of using fire to commit a federal felony, one count of malicious use of explosive materials and one count of possessing a destructive device.

According to court documents, Aimenn D. Penny, 20, of Alliance, attempted to burn the church to the ground after learning the church was holding multiple drag show events the following weekend. Penny was initially arrested and charged with federal offenses on March 31.

If convicted, Penny faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison for the violation of the Church Arson Prevention Act. Penny also faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison for the malicious use of explosive materials charge and up to 10 years in prison for the possession of a destructive device charge. In addition, if convicted of using fire to commit a federal felony, Penny faces a 10-year mandatory prison sentence that will run consecutively with any other prison term imposed.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio and Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the FBI Cleveland Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Cleveland Field Office is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Deckert and Matthew W. Shepherd for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorneys Jacob Warren and Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Eric Peffley of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.