Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A man who sent letters from state prison expressing a desire to kill federal judges, U.S. Marshals, and federal prosecutors was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison. 

During a hearing in Miami, on Aug. 19, Michael Dean Drew, 51, was sentenced to 240 months in prison, to run consecutive to the sentence he is currently serving. Drew had previously been sentenced, five times, for sending threatening letters to federal judges, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and federal law enforcement officers.

“The public officials who work to keep our country safe and uphold the rule of law should not have to fear for their lives or the lives of their families,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This sentence should make clear that the Justice Department has no tolerance for violence or threats of violence against public servants.”

“Law enforcement officers, judges, and prosecutors work every day to keep us safe against an ever-growing list of threats,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Threatening them for doing their jobs to keep our communities safe strikes at the very heart of our society. This long sentence sends a strong message that we will take all measures to protect the public servants who dedicate their lives to ensure our public safety.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate heinous threats of violence that target prosecutors, the judiciary, and our partners in law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “As evidenced in the case against Michael Dean Drew, we will continue to investigate threats against public servants and aggressively seek penalties against those who engage in such abhorrent crimes. We must protect our dedicated government employees, so that they may carry out their jobs without fear and ensure the functions of our democracy.”

“The U.S. Marshals Service is dedicated to protecting our justice system and those who serve it,” said U.S. Marshal Gadyaces Serralta for the District of Southern Florida. “We will not tolerate threats against prosecutors, judges, or law enforcement. Just as we did in the case of Michael Dean Drew, we will continue to investigate and hold accountable anyone who tries to intimidate public servants. Protecting those who enforce the law is crucial to maintaining our democracy and keeping our communities safe.”

According to the court record, in May 2023, Drew mailed a letter to a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida threating that the judge would die a violent death for presiding over a particular criminal case. In August 2023, Drew mailed two letters to the federal courthouse in Miami, in which he threatened another federal judge and members of the U.S. Marshal Service. In each of the letters, Drew described how he was recruiting other people to violently murder the judge and members of the U.S. Marshal Service. In September 2023, Drew mailed letters from his place of incarceration in Florida to Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Virginia and Georgia stating that he had recruited gang members and members of the Aryan Nation to carry out the violent murder of the Assistant U.S. Attorneys and their family members. In all the letters, Drew expressed his sincere intent to carry out the threats and described in detail how each of the victims would die.   

In one letter, Drew said he would “take great pleasure in knowing you will suffer and die” and that the judge’s body would be “discarded as a piece of trash, thrown in a ditch.” In the letter addressed to the U.S. Marshals Service, Drew said he was “recruiting” as many fellow inmates as possible into the Aryan Nation gang and that “[o]ur first objective is to murder as many U.S. Marshals as possible… I and my fellow comrades have taken a blood oath to kill, harass, terrorize and destroy federal agents.” In each of the letters, Drew explained how the victim’s death would be in retaliation for their role in the judicial system.

On June 6, Drew pleaded guilty to five counts of mailing threatening communications.

The FBI Miami Field Office and the U.S. Marshals Service Miami investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Funk, Zachary E. Keller, and Emily Rose Stone for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Christopher Johnson, of Orlando, Florida, and Jasen Harvey, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a tax fraud scheme called the “Note Program.” 

Arthur Grimes, of Ocoee and Orlando, Florida, previously pleaded guilty on April 2 to obstructing the IRS in connection with the scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2015 to 2018, Johnson and Harvey conspired to promote a scheme in which Harvey and others prepared tax returns for clients that claimed large nonexistent income tax withholdings had been paid to the IRS, and sought large refunds based on those purported withholdings.  The conspirators charged clients fees and required them to pay over a portion of the fraudulently obtained refunds.

Overall, the defendants claimed over $3 million in fraudulent refunds on their clients returns, of which the IRS paid about $1.5 million.

Grimes participated in the scheme by causing four false income tax returns prepared by Harvey to be filed. When the IRS attempted to recover a refund issued to Grimes based on one of those returns, Grimes made false statements and submitted false documents to an IRS revenue officer and transferred funds to a nominee bank account.

Johnson was paid more than $200,000 in 2016 and more than $100,000 in 2017 as his share of the proceeds from the scheme. Johnson filed false tax returns for those years that did not report that income, resulting in a tax loss of $78,259.

A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date for Johnson and Harvey. They each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge.

Grimes is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 12. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for the tax obstruction charge.

All three defendants also face 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 and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind, Jeffrey McLellan and Caroline Pearson of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

On Wednesday, extensive coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department and its domestic and international partners resulted in a major enforcement operation that dismantled a human smuggling network based in Guatemala. In June 2022, this network smuggled people into the United States on a journey that ended with the deaths of 53 migrants in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas. Twenty-one of the deceased migrants were Guatemalan.

This case is part of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), created by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen U.S. enforcement efforts against human smuggling emanating from Central America.

On Aug. 21, Guatemalan law enforcement executed multiple search and arrest warrants across Guatemala, working together with United States law enforcement agents. At the request of the United States, Guatemalan authorities arrested Guatemalan national Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, who has been indicted in the Western District of Texas in connection with the investigation. Six individuals arrested as part of the operation will be charged locally in Guatemala.

Miranda-Orozco, 47, whose indictment was unsealed today, allegedly conspired with other smugglers to facilitate the travel of four migrants from Guatemala through Mexico, and ultimately, to the United States. He allegedly charged the migrants, or their families and friends, approximately $12,000 to $15,000 for the journey. The indictment alleges that three of these migrants perished in the tractor-trailer, and the fourth suffered serious bodily injury. Miranda-Orozco is charged with six counts related to migrant smuggling resulting in death or serious bodily injury. He faces maximum penalties of life in prison.

“Over the past two years, the Justice Department has worked methodically to hold accountable those responsible for the horrific tragedy in San Antonio that killed 53 people who had been preyed on by human smugglers,” said Attorney General Garland. “With these arrests, the Justice Department and our partners in Guatemala have now arrested a total of 14 people for their alleged involvement in this tragedy. We are committed to continuing to work with our partners both in the United States and abroad to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, and Panama.”

“Smugglers prey on migrants and seek profits with complete disregard for human life, as we saw in this tragic incident that killed 53 people,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The men and women at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) work every day to disrupt these sophisticated smuggling networks, and we will continue to work alongside our federal and international partners to dismantle them at every level of operation.”

“In launching Joint Task Force Alpha three years ago, the Department of Justice directed every tool at our disposal to the dismantling of human smuggling networks across the continent. And after the tragic deaths of 53 migrants in June 2022, we pledged to hold accountable those responsible, no matter where they live or operate,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Today’s arrests in Guatemala are a continued fulfillment of that pledge. We will not rest in our efforts to disrupt the smuggling networks that capitalize on desperation and foster misery throughout the Western Hemisphere.”

“As alleged in the indictment, Miranda-Orozco recruited some of the migrants who died in the back of a tractor-trailer near San Antonio, Texas, in June 2022, and worked with a network of smugglers to transport them from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This tragedy is a dire warning of the dangers that human smugglers cause by exposing migrants to life-threatening conditions for the smugglers’ financial gain. Dismantling human smuggling networks is a critical priority for the Criminal Division, and we will continue to work with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute these cases, no matter where the offenders may be found.”

“This was a complex operation and a major success for the progression of this case — apprehending a key orchestrator of the horrendous smuggling operations in which families were charged thousands of dollars for trusted transport across the U.S. border from Guatemala and other countries,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “This significant development in the case demonstrates the commitment of this office, the Department of Justice, and our partners at all necessary levels, to ensure all 53 migrants who died in the 2022 tractor-trailer tragedy get their justice.”

“HSI is deeply immersed in the global fight against human smuggling that includes our international operations within Central and South America. These arrests reflect the disruption of Central American human smuggling organizations that recruit, organize and transport people,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger. “Combating this prolific, transnational crime is one of our top priorities. Our special agents and criminal analysts are actively engaged with law enforcement partners and task forces around the globe working to dismantle criminal networks that treat human life like a commodity. HSI will keep exhausting every resource available to bring human smugglers to justice.”

“The men and women of CBP are unwavering in their commitment to combat and dismantle the human smuggling networks that ruthlessly exploit and endanger the lives of migrants — from the time of this tragic incident in San Antonio, to today’s important step in bringing those responsible to justice,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner Troy A. Miller of the CBP. “Our collective work through Joint Task Force Alpha remains critical to our ongoing efforts at disrupting smuggling operations across the hemisphere and the world.”

The human smuggling organization allegedly loaded 65 migrants into a tractor-trailer, which court documents allege lacked functioning air conditioning as it drove north on a Texas interstate. As temperatures rose, some of the migrants inside the trailer allegedly lost consciousness, while others clawed at the walls, trying to escape. By the time the tractor-trailer reached San Antonio, the indictment alleges, 48 migrants had already died. Another five migrants died after being transported to local hospitals. Six children and a pregnant woman were among the deceased.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas has previously charged seven other defendants for their alleged involvement in this smuggling event, including through indictments filed in 2022 and 2023. Four of these seven defendants have pleaded guilty.

The indictment against Miranda-Orozco and the cooperation between U.S. and Guatemalan authorities were spearheaded by JTFA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. Given the rise in prolific and dangerous smuggling emanating from Central America with effects in the United States, JTFA’s goal is to disrupt and dismantle human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama with a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or exploit migrants, present national security risks, or engage in other types of transnational organized crime.

Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia, and Panama; targeted those organizations who have the most impact on the United States; and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. JTFA is comprised of detailees from southwest border U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, including the Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of Arizona, and Southern District of California, and dedicated support for the program is also provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division that are part of JTFA — led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), and supported by the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations, Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), and Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners.

HSI San Antonio investigated the case, with valuable assistance from HSI Guatemala and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. CBP’s National Targeting Center/Operation Sentinel; U.S. Border Patrol; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; San Antonio Police Department; San Antonio Fire Department; Palestine Police Department, OIA, and OPDAT provided valuable assistance. The Justice Department thanks Guatemalan law enforcement, who were instrumental in furthering this investigation.

HRSP Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jose Luis Acosta, Eric Fuchs, Sarah Spears, and Amanda Brown for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case, with assistance from HRSP Historian/Latin America Specialist Joanna Crandall.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Yuanjun Tang, 67, a naturalized citizen of the United States and resident of Queens, New York, was charged by criminal complaint with acting and conspiring to act in the United States as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and making materially false statements to the FBI. Tang was arrested today in Flushing, Queens, and will be presented this afternoon.

According to court documents, Tang is a former PRC citizen who was imprisoned in the PRC for his activities as a dissident opposing the one-party authoritarian political system controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the PRC’s sole ruling party. In or about 2002, Tang defected to Taiwan; he was subsequently granted political asylum in the United States and has since resided in New York City, where he has regularly participated in events with fellow PRC dissidents and leads a nonprofit dedicated to promoting democracy in China.

Between at least in or about 2018 and in or about June 2023, Tang acted in the United States as an agent of the PRC by completing tasks at the direction of the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), which is the PRC’s principal civilian intelligence agency. The MSS is responsible for, among other things, the PRC’s foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, espionage and political security functions.

Specifically, through a particular email account, encrypted chats, text messages and audio and video calls, Tang regularly received instructions from and reported to an MSS intelligence officer regarding individuals and groups viewed by the PRC as potentially adverse to the PRC’s interests, including prominent U.S.-based Chinese democracy activists and dissidents. He also traveled at least three times for face-to-face meetings with MSS intelligence officers and helped the MSS infiltrate a group chat on an encrypted messaging application used by numerous PRC dissidents and pro-democracy activists to communicate about pro-democracy issues and express criticism of the PRC government. Law enforcement recovered instructions Tang received from the MSS and photographs, videos and documents that he collected or created for transmission to the MSS from numerous electronic devices and accounts belonging to Tang.

Tang also made materially false statements to the FBI. He falsely claimed that he was no longer able to access an email account through which he had communicated with his MSS handler through draft emails.

Tang is charged with one count of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; and one count of making false statements, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Yumi Chong for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Oleg Chistyakov, also known as Olegs Čitsjakovs, 55, of Latvia, made his initial appearance in a federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, today after being extradited from Latvia. Chistyakov is the third defendant in this case to face charges in connection with a years-long conspiracy to sell sophisticated avionics equipment to Russian companies, after Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine and despite heightened additional U.S. economic countermeasures levied against Russia.

According to court documents, Chistyakov allegedly conspired with U.S. citizens Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 61, of Kansas, and Douglas Edward Robertson, 56, of  Kansas, to facilitate the sale, repair and shipment of U.S.-origin avionics equipment to customers in Russia and in other countries that operate Russian-built aircraft, including the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB). Buyanovksy and Robertson were charged and arrested in March 2023 and have both pleaded guilty. Buyanovsky is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14 and Robertson is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 3.

As alleged, Chistyakov, while operating from Latvia and often through his Emirati company RosAero FZC, worked with Buyanovsky and Robertson through their U.S. company, KanRus Trading Company Inc. (KanRus), to circumvent U.S export laws by purchasing avionics equipment from U.S. companies for customers in Russia. Chistyakov allegedly acted as a broker for KanRus by soliciting quotes, negotiating prices and terms of delivery and facilitating payments between KanRus and customers in Russia. As alleged, Chistyakov and his conspirators attempted to conceal their illegal activities by creating false invoices, transshipping items through third-party countries, such as Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), using bank accounts in third-party countries, such as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the UAE, and exporting items to intermediary companies which then reexported the items to the ultimate end destinations. 

Many of the entities and individuals involved in Chistyakov’s alleged scheme were added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List in December 2023, which imposes specific license requirements on transactions made by all listed individuals and entities.

Chistyakov is charged with conspiracy, Export Control Reform Act violations, smuggling and money laundering violations. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Commerce Department, Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI National Security Branch and U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas made the announcement. 

The FBI and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Rask and Ryan Huschka for the District of Kansas and Trial Attorney Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Latvian authorities to secure the extradition of Chistyakov to the United States. 

The investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.