Dramatic Drop in Gun Violence Numbers

Gun Homicides in 2011: 11,101

• 39% Decrease from 1993

Nonfatal Gun Crimes in 2011: 467,300

• 69% Decrease from 1993

Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics

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Preview of "The War in Chicago" Upcoming This Saturday from 48 Hours on CBS

An honor student shot dead, an innocent victim of a gang war. An investigation into drugs, guns, gangs and the battle for Chicago. A "48 Hours" special, Saturday, May 18 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

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Leon Benzer Indicted for Income Tax Evasion

A federal grand jury in Nevada yesterday returned an indictment against a former construction company owner for evading federal income and employment taxes, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chief Richard Weber, FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge William C. Woerner of the Las Vegas Field Office, and Sheriff Doug Gillespie of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Leon Benzer, 46, of Las Vegas, was charged in U.S. District Court in the District of Nevada with two counts of tax evasion.

In January 2013, Benzer was indicted in a related case on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. According to court documents, from approximately August 2003 through February 2009, Benzer orchestrated a scheme to direct construction defect litigation and repairs at condominium complexes to a conspiring law firm and Benzer’s construction company, Silver Lining Construction (SLC). As a result of this scheme, the indictment alleges that SLC was awarded a contract worth over $7 million for work at the Vistana Homeowner’s Association (Vistana HOA) in Las Vegas. The case is pending.

According to the indictment, in August 2006, Benzer filed five years’ worth of personal tax forms and business tax returns without any payments accompanying those returns. As of April 2007, Benzer had allegedly failed to pay his personal tax liability of approximately $459,000 and SLC’s employment tax liability of approximately $687,000 and unemployment tax liability of approximately $18,000. In May 2007, the IRS issued a notice of intent to file a levy; Benzer subsequently appealed this process and indicated that he wanted to enter into an “offer-in-compromise” with the IRS to pay a portion of what was owed in full satisfaction of all his tax liabilities. According to the indictment, during this offer-in-compromise process, the IRS requested detailed financial information from Benzer.

Between March 2005 and January 2008, the indictment alleges that Benzer and SLC received over $7 million from the Vistana HOA contract, including a wire transfer of over $1 million on September 21, 2007, to a personal U.S. Bank account that Benzer opened in August 2007. The indictment alleges that when Benzer filed certain IRS forms related to the offer-in-compromise process on September 25, 2007, he failed to disclose this personal U.S. Bank account or the assets contained in it.

The maximum prison sentence for each count of tax evasion is five years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.

The charges and allegations against the indicted defendant are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Chief Kathleen McGovern, Deputy Chief Charles La Bella, and Trial Attorney Thomas B.W. Hall of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case is being investigated by IRS-CI, the FBI, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Criminal Intelligence Section.

Yesterday’s charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions; and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov.

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Clare Thomas Anderson Pleads Guilty to $1 Million International Fraud Scheme

A Cary, Illinois business owner pleaded guilty to wire fraud yesterday in federal court before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala. Clare Thomas Anderson, 44, who owned and operated multiple businesses in Cary, Illinois, and Florida, admitted that between April 2009 and January 2013, he schemed to defraud more than $1 million from more than 10 victims that did business with the companies he operated.

According to the written plea agreement, the businesses Anderson owned and operated were Certifibre LLC; Anderson International Global LLC, which had an assumed name of Worldwide Paper Company Inc.; Anlerican Smplus Supply; Southernmost Exports LLC; Southernmost Holdings LTD; and Sea Consulting LLC. Through these businesses, Anderson contracted to sell wood pulp and other raw materials to manufacturers  brokers, and suppliers, which were usually located in foreign countries.

Anderson obtained payments from his customers before the shipments arrived at their destinations. Often, the customers obtained Letters of Credit from their banks in order to pay for the shipments in advance. Anderson admitted that he caused payments to be disbursed under these Letters of Credit to bank accounts he controlled by creating and presenting fraudulent Bills of Lading, Certificates of Origin, and packing lists. These documents falsely represented that the agreed upon quantity and quality of materials had been shipped.

Anderson admitted that instead of shipping the wood pulp or other raw materials he had agreed to sell, on various occasions he shipped worthless scrap materials to his foreign customers. When the customers called him to complain about the worthless scrap materials they had received, Anderson falsely told them that the scrap materials were intended for another customer in a different country.

Anderson further admitted that on some occasions, instead of shipping the agreed upon weights and volume of wood pulp or other raw materials, he instead shipped substantially smaller amounts of wood pulp or other raw materials. When the customers called and complained about the short shipments, Anderson falsely told them that short shipments were caused by clerical errors.

Anderson acknowledged that, in order to maximize the profits from his scheme to defraud, he often failed to pay for the materials he obtained and for the freight shipping charges. Anderson also admitted that he spent the funds that his customers sent to him on his own personal expenses.

As he acknowledged in the plea agreement, on a few occasions, Anderson refunded some money to his victims in order to avoid detection of his scheme. Anderson paid these refunds only after the victims contacted, or threatened to contact, federal law enforcement officials. Anderson admitted that he obtained the funds used to pay these refunds by defrauding additional customers.

Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced on August 22, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. Wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a term of up to three years of supervised release following imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and mandatory restitution. The court may also impose a fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. The actual sentence will be determined by the United States District Court, guided by the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The guilty plea was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Verseman.

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Chicago Police Officer, Deavalin Page, Convicted of Attempted Extortion

A Chicago Police officer was convicted today of obtaining two extortion payments totaling $3,200 from a cooperating tow truck driver in exchange for steering vehicle tows from accident scenes during an undercover investigation. The defendant, Deavalin Page, who was assigned to the South Chicago District at the time, was relieved of his police powers and assigned to desk duty following the payments that occurred in late 2007 and early 2008. Page was convicted on two counts of attempted extortion by a federal jury that deliberated a little more than two hours this morning after being presented with video recordings and other evidence of the payments during a trial that began Monday in U.S. District Court.

Page, 46, of Chicago, an officer since 1995, faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count of attempted extortion. He remains free on bond pending sentencing, which U.S. District Judge John Darrah scheduled for 1 p.m. on October 23.

Page was indicted last October as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Operation Tow Scam, a corruption probe of police officers who steered vehicle tows at accident scenes to favored tow drivers in exchange for extortion payments. Page is the eighth police officer to be convicted, along with four civilians—three of them tow truck drivers—and charges are pending against two additional police officers.

Evidence at the trial showed that Page obtained two payments from a cooperating tow truck driver, Brian Chandler, in exchange for steering him various tows. Chandler has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and bank larceny and is awaiting sentencing. The first payment, on November 28, 2007, was $2,000 in the bathroom of a coffee shop at 79th Street and Stoney Island. The second payment, on January 28, 2008, was $1,200 in the parking lot of a bank while Page was in his private vehicle. The latter payment, in part, was in exchange for towing three cars, at least one of which did not require towing, from an accident scene at 86th and Burnham involving a teenager who was driving her parents’ insured car.

The guilty verdict was announced today by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Donovan and Steven Grimes.

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