Ralph M. Mariano, 55, of Warwick, Rhode Island, and South Arlington, Virginia, a former senior systems engineer with the United States Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Newport, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C., was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Providence, Rhode Island, today to 120 months in prison for masterminding a kickback scheme that defrauded the U.S. Navy of nearly $18 million dollars. Mariano pleaded guilty in May 2013 to conspiracy and theft of government funds.
Peter F. Neronha, United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island; Craig Rupert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Vincent B. Lisi of the FBI’s Boston Field Office; Cheryl DiPrizio, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; and John Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi.
At the time of his guilty plea, Mariano admitted to the court that from 1999 to 2011 he used his position at NAVSEA to direct Russell Spencer, a computer software specialist in Rhode Island, to submit millions of dollars in fraudulent invoices to Navy contractor Advanced Solutions for Tomorrow (ASFT), a now-defunct Roswell, Georgia and Middletown, Rhode Island company and to ASFT subcontractors. Mariano admitted that he directed ASFT and ASFT subcontractors to pay Spencer the full amount of the invoices with government funding ASFT received from the U.S. Navy. The invoices, processed by Patrick Nagle, chief financial officer of ASFT, totaled approximately $17,957,000.
Mariano admitted that he directed Spencer to distribute the funds to Mariano and to individuals close to him and that he received approximately $3 million dollars in checks beginning in 2003 and bi-weekly $3,500 cash payments from 2004 to 2011.
U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha commented, “Nothing does more to erode trust in government than when a public official acts not in the public’s interest but in his own. Mr. Mariano, whose sole obligation was to the United States Navy and, more broadly, to the taxpayers, instead served only himself and his associates, committing fraud on a massive scale. He spent millions of dollars of taxpayer money in every conceivable way, money that otherwise would have been used to protect the people of this nation. His actions are indefensible, and he deserves every minute of the lengthy sentence he received today.”
At the time of his guilty plea, Mariano admitted to the court that in addition to the money he received, at his direction $2,567,028 was paid to his father, Ralph Mariano, Jr.; $1,692,650 was paid to his brother, Joseph Mariano, and to his companies; $207,900 was paid to a veterinary laboratory company controlled by his sister, Michelle Mariano; $2,446,445 was paid to private entities controlled by Anjan Dutta-Gupta, CEO of ASFT; and $478,880 was paid to a company owned by Attorney Mary O’Rourke, of Warwick, Rhode Island.
“Mr. Mariano’s acts, while especially heinous individually, corrupted others, cost hard working Americans their jobs, and resulted in a tremendous loss to U.S. taxpayers, both financially and in their trust,” said Craig W. Rupert, Special Agent in Charge, Office of the Inspector General, Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service Northeast Field Office. “Mr. Mariano’s actions directly affected the readiness of our naval forces, and his sentence demonstrates the continuing dedication of DCIS and our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute corrupt government officials. Consistent with our mission to 'Protect America’s Warfighters,' DCIS remains vigilant to ensure the integrity of the DoD acquisition process and the safety and security of the U.S. military and the nation.”
“The FBI has a simple message of deterrence: it would be wise for any public official who is considering illegal acts to realize that we have successfully investigated nearly every conceivable corruption scheme that’s been concocted. Should they decide to betray the public’s trust, I promise we will bring them to justice,” said Vincent Lisi, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “We pursue these investigations because the cost of corruption is high and the American public relies on us to do so.”
Cheryl DiPrizio, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Northeast Field Office, added, “At a time when the Navy is making difficult strategic choices due to funding constraints, it’s particularly appalling that Mr. Mariano, who was employed to serve the navy, has instead caused significant harm to the navy, to sailors defending our nation around the globe, and to the American taxpayers who deserve honest and competent government employees. NCIS will continue to dedicate significant resources and work with our law enforcement partners in identifying and investigating all those who seek to steal from or defraud the Department of the Navy."
John Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, stated, “Today’s sentencing of Ralph Mariano brings to justice a key player in a public corruption scheme of massive proportions. Mariano and his co-conspirators developed a sophisticated scheme to defraud the government and they lined their pockets at the taxpayers’ expense. In addition to pleading guilty to conspiracy and theft charges, Mariano pleaded guilty to tax charges based on his failure to report these ill-gotten gains as income. Fraudsters should beware that such ill-gotten gains are taxable income. This investigation highlights the positive impact on justice, which is obtained through the collaborative efforts of multiple federal law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
In addition to pleading guilty to conspiracy and theft of government funds, Ralph Mariano also pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. Mariano admitted that from 2006-2009, he failed to report $1,864,910 in income he received from Russell Spencer and that he failed to pay $726,650 in taxes to the IRS.
At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi ordered Mariano to make restitution to the U.S. Navy in the amount of $17,957,000; to pay a $10,000 fine; and to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his imprisonment. Mariano was ordered to self-surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by November 26, 2013.
Anjan Dutta-Gupta, 60, of Roswell, Georgia, who pleaded guilty on April 28, 2011, to one count of bribery, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 4, 2013; Russell Spencer, 59, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, who pleaded guilty on July 25, 2012, to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and on April 19, 2012, to one count of lying to the FBI, is scheduled to be sentenced December 5, 2013; Patrick Nagle, 52, of Marietta, Georgia, who pleaded guilty on September 13, 2011, to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 15, 2013; Mary O’Rourke, 50, of Warwick, Rhode Island, who pleaded guilty on May 30, 2013, to one count of theft of government property, will be sentenced on December 5, 2013.
Ralph Mariano, Jr., 82, of North Providence, Rhode Island, who pleaded guilty on May 15, 2013, to four counts of tax evasion, was sentenced on August 16, 2013, to four years of probation.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lee H. Vilker, Terrence P. Donnelly and Dulce Donovan.
The matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Defense-Defense Criminal Investigative Service; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The President established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.
The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Friday, November 01, 2013
#OrganizedCrime Expert Panel Hosted by WIU School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration @WIUNews
Faculty from the Western Illinois University School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration will serve as experts for the "Organized Crime: Domestic and International Challenges and Responses" panel event from 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6. in Stipes Hall 121. The event is open free to the public.
Faculty presenters and their topics include:
"Organized Crime: Domestic and International Challenges and Responses" is organized by the Homeland Security Research Program and the School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration.
WIU's School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration in one of the University's signature programs, and as of the Fall 2013 semester, the number of students enrolled in the School of LEJA's homeland security minor is more than 230, making it the fifth largest minor at Western.
For more information, contact Alexander at DC-Alexander@wiu.edu. Learn more about WIU's School of LEJA at www.wiu.edu/leja.
Faculty presenters and their topics include:
- Dean Alexander, associate professor of LEJA, director of the Homeland Security Research Program and member of the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council Executive Board for the Central District of Illinois: "Organized Crime and Terrorism Nexus"
- Gregg Nozum, assistant professor of LEJA: "Terrorism and Drug Trafficking"
- Todd Lough, associate professor of LEJA. Lough is a former Chicago Police Department officer, and during his tenure with the CPD, he worked in a number of different capacities, including patrol officer, gang and tactical officer, neighborhood relations officer and gang violence analyst." Lough's topic for the panel is: "Organized Crime and Violence in Chicago"
"Organized Crime: Domestic and International Challenges and Responses" is organized by the Homeland Security Research Program and the School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration.
WIU's School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration in one of the University's signature programs, and as of the Fall 2013 semester, the number of students enrolled in the School of LEJA's homeland security minor is more than 230, making it the fifth largest minor at Western.
For more information, contact Alexander at DC-Alexander@wiu.edu. Learn more about WIU's School of LEJA at www.wiu.edu/leja.
Four Defendants Indicted in Alleged $10 Million Bank Fraud Scheme Involving the Sale of 26 Gas Stations in Four States
Four defendants were indicted on federal charges for their alleged roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $10 million in loan proceeds from a suburban bank through the sales of 26 gas stations in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Two defendants, Charnpal Ghuman and Aga Khan, co-owned the gas stations and sold them to purchasers financed by the bank loans and guaranteed in part by the Small Business Administration. They allegedly recruited purchasers and arranged the loans through a bank loan officer, Akash Brahmbhatt, based on false financial representations, including false tax returns prepared by Shital Mehta, an accountant, both of whom also were indicted.
A fifth defendant, Khan’s brother, Shabbir Khan, was charged separately with tax offenses arising from the bank fraud investigation.
A 23-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury earlier this month was unsealed yesterday following the arrests of Ghuman, 34, of North Barrington, who was charged with 19 counts of bank fraud, three counts of bank bribery, and one count of filing a false federal income tax return; and Khan, 33, of Schaumburg, who was charged with four counts of bank fraud. Both men pleaded not guilty at their arraignment today and remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing at 10:30 a.m. Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Martin in federal court.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $10 million from Ghuman and Khan, as well as $198,180 in proceeds from the sale of Ghuman’s 2005 Porsche Carrera GT Coupe, which was allegedly purchased with fraud proceeds.
Brahmbhatt, 39, formerly of Naperville and currently living in Texas, and Mehta, 47, of Elk Grove Village, were each charged with one count of bank fraud. They were not arrested and will be arraigned on a date to be determined in U.S. District Court.
The arrests and charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and James C. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, together with officials of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General.
According to the indictment, American Enterprise Bank, based in Buffalo Grove, was authorized to process SBA loans on its own if the loan satisfied SBA qualifications and rules, including a requirement that SBA loans could not be used to finance 100 percent of a business investment.
Between 2006 and 2009, the defendants allegedly engaged in the scheme, which involved the sales of 26 gas stations, including stations in the Illinois towns of Macomb, Mendota, New Boston, Rock Island, and Silvis, as well as three other states.
As part of the scheme, Ghuman and Khan allegedly recruited purchasers of their gas stations who did not qualify for SBA loans and arranged for loans to be made in whole or in part in the name of the purchaser’s relative or friend who had acceptable credit, even though Ghuman, Khan, and Brahmbhatt knew that this straw purchaser would have no role in the gas station or repayment of the loans. In addition, the same three defendants caused false information and documents to be submitted to the bank, including false information about employment, income, assets, and liabilities; false tax returns allegedly prepared by Mehta; and false information about the purchasers’ contributions of equity.
Ghuman and Khan allegedly gave gifts to Brahmbhatt, including cars, in exchange for his alleged assistance in processing the fraudulent loans. The loan proceeds were paid to Ghuman and Khan as payment for gas stations owned by various business entities they controlled.
Ghuman alone was charged with filing a false federal income tax return for 2006, when he reported total and adjusted gross income of $203,583, and the total tax was $37,260, allegedly knowing that the actual amounts substantially exceeded those figures.
Shabbir Khan, 31, of Schaumburg, was charged separately yesterday with two misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal income tax returns for 2008 and 2009. He allegedly had gross income in 2008 in excess of $55,000 from his employment at a cell phone store and from broker’s fees paid to him by American Enterprise Bank as commissions on the loans, and gross income in excess of $30,000 in 2009 from his cell phone store employment.
Each count of bank fraud and bank bribery carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The tax count against Ghuman alone carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The tax charges against Shabbir Khan each carry a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. In addition to criminal penalties, including mandatory costs of prosecution, defendants convicted of tax offenses remain responsible for any taxes and interest due, as well as civil penalties of up to 75 percent of the tax owed. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg.
An indictment contains merely charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
A fifth defendant, Khan’s brother, Shabbir Khan, was charged separately with tax offenses arising from the bank fraud investigation.
A 23-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury earlier this month was unsealed yesterday following the arrests of Ghuman, 34, of North Barrington, who was charged with 19 counts of bank fraud, three counts of bank bribery, and one count of filing a false federal income tax return; and Khan, 33, of Schaumburg, who was charged with four counts of bank fraud. Both men pleaded not guilty at their arraignment today and remain in federal custody pending a detention hearing at 10:30 a.m. Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Martin in federal court.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $10 million from Ghuman and Khan, as well as $198,180 in proceeds from the sale of Ghuman’s 2005 Porsche Carrera GT Coupe, which was allegedly purchased with fraud proceeds.
Brahmbhatt, 39, formerly of Naperville and currently living in Texas, and Mehta, 47, of Elk Grove Village, were each charged with one count of bank fraud. They were not arrested and will be arraigned on a date to be determined in U.S. District Court.
The arrests and charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and James C. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, together with officials of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General.
According to the indictment, American Enterprise Bank, based in Buffalo Grove, was authorized to process SBA loans on its own if the loan satisfied SBA qualifications and rules, including a requirement that SBA loans could not be used to finance 100 percent of a business investment.
Between 2006 and 2009, the defendants allegedly engaged in the scheme, which involved the sales of 26 gas stations, including stations in the Illinois towns of Macomb, Mendota, New Boston, Rock Island, and Silvis, as well as three other states.
As part of the scheme, Ghuman and Khan allegedly recruited purchasers of their gas stations who did not qualify for SBA loans and arranged for loans to be made in whole or in part in the name of the purchaser’s relative or friend who had acceptable credit, even though Ghuman, Khan, and Brahmbhatt knew that this straw purchaser would have no role in the gas station or repayment of the loans. In addition, the same three defendants caused false information and documents to be submitted to the bank, including false information about employment, income, assets, and liabilities; false tax returns allegedly prepared by Mehta; and false information about the purchasers’ contributions of equity.
Ghuman and Khan allegedly gave gifts to Brahmbhatt, including cars, in exchange for his alleged assistance in processing the fraudulent loans. The loan proceeds were paid to Ghuman and Khan as payment for gas stations owned by various business entities they controlled.
Ghuman alone was charged with filing a false federal income tax return for 2006, when he reported total and adjusted gross income of $203,583, and the total tax was $37,260, allegedly knowing that the actual amounts substantially exceeded those figures.
Shabbir Khan, 31, of Schaumburg, was charged separately yesterday with two misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal income tax returns for 2008 and 2009. He allegedly had gross income in 2008 in excess of $55,000 from his employment at a cell phone store and from broker’s fees paid to him by American Enterprise Bank as commissions on the loans, and gross income in excess of $30,000 in 2009 from his cell phone store employment.
Each count of bank fraud and bank bribery carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The tax count against Ghuman alone carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The tax charges against Shabbir Khan each carry a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. In addition to criminal penalties, including mandatory costs of prosecution, defendants convicted of tax offenses remain responsible for any taxes and interest due, as well as civil penalties of up to 75 percent of the tax owed. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg.
An indictment contains merely charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Nichols Kaiga Charged with Attempting to Illegally Export Aluminum Tubes to Malaysian Front for Individual in Iran
A Belgian businessman was scheduled to be arraigned on federal charges alleging that he violated U.S. laws by attempting to export aluminum tubes that were controlled for nuclear non-proliferation purposes from a company in Schaumburg, through Belgium, to a company in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, without obtaining a license from the U.S. Commerce Department, federal law enforcement officials announced. The case follows a lengthy undercover investigation in which the Schaumburg company, which was cooperating with law enforcement, actually shipped different non-controlled aluminum tubes to the defendant’s business in Belgium before they were allegedly illegally transshipped to Malaysia.
Court documents allege that the Malaysian business is a front company operated by an individual who is located at times in Iran.
The case involves 7075 T6 aluminum tubing with an outside diameter of 4.125 inches and an ultimate tensile strength of 572 MPa (megapascals), which is used in the aerospace industry, among other applications. As a controlled material, a license was required from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to export the 7075 aluminum from the U.S. to Malaysia, but not to Belgium.
The defendant, Nichols Kaiga, 36, of Brussels and London, was charged with one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and two counts of making false statements on U.S. export forms in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last Thursday. Kaiga has been in federal custody since he was arrested on June 25 in New York City, approximately a week after he arrived there. A criminal complaint filed at the time of his arrest was unsealed when he was indicted last week.
The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Gary Hartwig, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago; Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Ronald B. Orzel, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, Chicago Field Office. The Justice Department’s National Security Division is providing assistance in the case.
According to the complaint affidavit and the indictment, the Schaumburg company, identified as Company A in court documents began cooperating with law enforcement in December 2007. The cooperation began after a person identified as Individual A, who was at times located in Iran, attempted to purchase 7075 aluminum from Company A, to be shipped to a company in the United Arab Emirates, but was denied an export license. In late 2009, an undercover agent began posing as an employee of Company A.
Between November 2009 and February 2012, the indictment alleges that Kaiga, who was managing director of a Belgian company, Industrial Metals and Commodities, attempted to export 7075 aluminum from Company A to Company B in Malaysia without an export license. The complaint affidavit alleges that Company B was a front for Individual A in Iran. The false statements charges allege that Kaiga lied on Commerce Department export declaration forms, which stated that the ultimate destination and recipient of the 7075 aluminum were in Belgium.
In November 2011, material that was purported to be 7075 aluminum, but was actually substituted with a different aluminum by Company A in cooperation with law enforcement, was picked up from Company A by a freight forwarding company designated by Kaiga’s Belgian company. The material arrived in the Belgian port of Antwerp on December 1, 2011, and two months later it was shipped by a freight forwarding company to Individual A’s front company in Malaysia.
Violating IEEPA carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, while making false statements to government agencies carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raj Laud and Nancy DePodesta.
An indictment contains merely charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Court documents allege that the Malaysian business is a front company operated by an individual who is located at times in Iran.
The case involves 7075 T6 aluminum tubing with an outside diameter of 4.125 inches and an ultimate tensile strength of 572 MPa (megapascals), which is used in the aerospace industry, among other applications. As a controlled material, a license was required from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to export the 7075 aluminum from the U.S. to Malaysia, but not to Belgium.
The defendant, Nichols Kaiga, 36, of Brussels and London, was charged with one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and two counts of making false statements on U.S. export forms in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury last Thursday. Kaiga has been in federal custody since he was arrested on June 25 in New York City, approximately a week after he arrived there. A criminal complaint filed at the time of his arrest was unsealed when he was indicted last week.
The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Gary Hartwig, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago; Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Ronald B. Orzel, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, Chicago Field Office. The Justice Department’s National Security Division is providing assistance in the case.
According to the complaint affidavit and the indictment, the Schaumburg company, identified as Company A in court documents began cooperating with law enforcement in December 2007. The cooperation began after a person identified as Individual A, who was at times located in Iran, attempted to purchase 7075 aluminum from Company A, to be shipped to a company in the United Arab Emirates, but was denied an export license. In late 2009, an undercover agent began posing as an employee of Company A.
Between November 2009 and February 2012, the indictment alleges that Kaiga, who was managing director of a Belgian company, Industrial Metals and Commodities, attempted to export 7075 aluminum from Company A to Company B in Malaysia without an export license. The complaint affidavit alleges that Company B was a front for Individual A in Iran. The false statements charges allege that Kaiga lied on Commerce Department export declaration forms, which stated that the ultimate destination and recipient of the 7075 aluminum were in Belgium.
In November 2011, material that was purported to be 7075 aluminum, but was actually substituted with a different aluminum by Company A in cooperation with law enforcement, was picked up from Company A by a freight forwarding company designated by Kaiga’s Belgian company. The material arrived in the Belgian port of Antwerp on December 1, 2011, and two months later it was shipped by a freight forwarding company to Individual A’s front company in Malaysia.
Violating IEEPA carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, while making false statements to government agencies carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raj Laud and Nancy DePodesta.
An indictment contains merely charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Joseph Mollica, Former Cook County Forest Preserve District Assistant Engineer, Charged with Accepting $10,000 in Kickbacks from Two District Contracts
Two facilities of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, which were spruced up in 2011, became part of an FBI sting investigation that resulted in federal charges against a former assistant engineer for allegedly taking $10,000 in kickbacks from two contracts he steered to a contractor who was cooperating with law enforcement. The defendant, Joseph Mollica, was indicted on two counts of federal bribery, law enforcement officials announced today.
Mollica, 52, of Elmwood Park, will be arraigned next Wednesday in U.S. District Court. He was released on his own recognizance after he was arrested on October 3 and charged initially in a criminal complaint. Mollica was an assistant engineer for the Forest Preserve District for more than 20 years until last week, and he and others had authority to influence and award contracts for work under $25,000.
Together, the indictment and complaint allege that on October 14, 2011, Mollica accepted a $6,000 kickback from a $24,900 contract to refinish and refurbish the Forest Preserve District’s headquarters building, where he worked, located at 536 N. Harlem Ave. in River Forest. On December 16, 2011, he allegedly accepted a $4,000 kickback from a $16,500 contract to power wash and stain the building and boardwalk and do caulking at the Sand Ridge Nature Center in Calumet City.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of $10,000 in alleged kickback payments.
In both instances, a cooperating individual, a construction company owner who recorded conversations and meetings with Mollica in which the contracts were arranged and the kickbacks were paid, appeared to perform the work properly and completely, according to the complaint affidavit of an FBI agent. The kickback payments occurred after the Forest Preserve District paid the cooperating individual for the work that was performed.
The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Each count of federal bribery carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hotaling.
An indictment contains merely charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mollica, 52, of Elmwood Park, will be arraigned next Wednesday in U.S. District Court. He was released on his own recognizance after he was arrested on October 3 and charged initially in a criminal complaint. Mollica was an assistant engineer for the Forest Preserve District for more than 20 years until last week, and he and others had authority to influence and award contracts for work under $25,000.
Together, the indictment and complaint allege that on October 14, 2011, Mollica accepted a $6,000 kickback from a $24,900 contract to refinish and refurbish the Forest Preserve District’s headquarters building, where he worked, located at 536 N. Harlem Ave. in River Forest. On December 16, 2011, he allegedly accepted a $4,000 kickback from a $16,500 contract to power wash and stain the building and boardwalk and do caulking at the Sand Ridge Nature Center in Calumet City.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of $10,000 in alleged kickback payments.
In both instances, a cooperating individual, a construction company owner who recorded conversations and meetings with Mollica in which the contracts were arranged and the kickbacks were paid, appeared to perform the work properly and completely, according to the complaint affidavit of an FBI agent. The kickback payments occurred after the Forest Preserve District paid the cooperating individual for the work that was performed.
The charges were announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Each count of federal bribery carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hotaling.
An indictment contains merely charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
David M. Mark Sentenced to Prison for Role in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
A lawyer from Louisiana who worked locally as a real estate agent, was sentenced to three years in prison for his conviction on conspiracy and fraud charges related to his involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme involving hundreds of Las Vegas homes and more than $50 million in losses, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
David M. Mark, 37, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro. A jury convicted Mark on April 11, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to commit bank, wire, and mail fraud; two counts of bank fraud; and one count of mail fraud. Mark is free on a personal recognizance bond and must report to federal prison by January 31, 2014.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office has been working diligently with its law enforcement partners since the mid-2000s to investigate and prosecute hundreds of persons who took advantage of their positions of trust to commit mortgage fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “The harm to the community has been enormous, and we hope that the prison sentences that have been imposed have sent a message to others that this type of crime will not be tolerated.”
According to the indictment and evidence presented to the jury during the trial, Mark was employed as a real estate agent and transaction coordinator at Distinctive Real Estate and Investments, a company owned and operated by co-conspirator Eve Mazzarella who was convicted of fraud in December 2011 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. From about March 2006 to December 2007, Mark solicited persons with good credit to act as straw buyers to purchase homes in the Las Vegas area. Mark made arrangements to purchase the homes above the sellers’ asking prices and made arrangements for the excess funds to be redirected to business entities controlled by his co-conspirators under the pretense that they would make upgrades or perform repairs to the properties. Mark caused the straw buyers to apply for mortgage loans for the homes, knowing that the straw buyers could not afford and did not intent to make the mortgage payments. Mark caused false information concerning income, employment, assets, liabilities, and intent to occupy the homes to be placed in the straw buyers’ loan applications. Once the mortgage loans were approved by the financial institutions, Mark caused the financial institutions and escrow and title companies to make third party disbursements to shell companies controlled by his co-conspirators who had an interest in the transactions. Mark’s co-conspirators defaulted on the mortgage payments causing the properties to go into foreclosure and causing losses to the financial institutions of more than $50 million.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Pugh and Sarah E. Griswold.
David M. Mark, 37, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro. A jury convicted Mark on April 11, 2013, of one count of conspiracy to commit bank, wire, and mail fraud; two counts of bank fraud; and one count of mail fraud. Mark is free on a personal recognizance bond and must report to federal prison by January 31, 2014.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office has been working diligently with its law enforcement partners since the mid-2000s to investigate and prosecute hundreds of persons who took advantage of their positions of trust to commit mortgage fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “The harm to the community has been enormous, and we hope that the prison sentences that have been imposed have sent a message to others that this type of crime will not be tolerated.”
According to the indictment and evidence presented to the jury during the trial, Mark was employed as a real estate agent and transaction coordinator at Distinctive Real Estate and Investments, a company owned and operated by co-conspirator Eve Mazzarella who was convicted of fraud in December 2011 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. From about March 2006 to December 2007, Mark solicited persons with good credit to act as straw buyers to purchase homes in the Las Vegas area. Mark made arrangements to purchase the homes above the sellers’ asking prices and made arrangements for the excess funds to be redirected to business entities controlled by his co-conspirators under the pretense that they would make upgrades or perform repairs to the properties. Mark caused the straw buyers to apply for mortgage loans for the homes, knowing that the straw buyers could not afford and did not intent to make the mortgage payments. Mark caused false information concerning income, employment, assets, liabilities, and intent to occupy the homes to be placed in the straw buyers’ loan applications. Once the mortgage loans were approved by the financial institutions, Mark caused the financial institutions and escrow and title companies to make third party disbursements to shell companies controlled by his co-conspirators who had an interest in the transactions. Mark’s co-conspirators defaulted on the mortgage payments causing the properties to go into foreclosure and causing losses to the financial institutions of more than $50 million.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Pugh and Sarah E. Griswold.
"Stop and Frisk" Public Safety Program Allowed to Continue Under Court Order
A federal appeals court Thursday blocked a ruling curtailing the New York Police Department's "stop-and-frisk" program, an order that could rattle the New York City political landscape and reverberate in law-enforcement agencies nationwide.
The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 3-0 order, halted a U.S. District Court ruling that ordered a monitor to oversee the stop-and-frisk policy and alter a related training program. The city had appealed the ruling and asked the circuit court to stay any immediate effects of the lower-court ruling pending the appeal.
Under the stop-and-frisk program, the NYPD routinely stopped passersby, especially in high-crime neighborhoods, to pat them down for weapons even when there was limited reason to suspect wrongdoing. The technique has been criticized for disproportionately targeting blacks and Hispanics in poor areas.
In practical terms, Thursday's order means the NYPD can continue the stop-and-frisk practice until the higher court rules on the appeal.
In a court proceeding for a 1999 lawsuit on the stop-and-frisk tactic, Judge Scheindlin asked lawyers suing the city, "[I]f you got proof of inappropriate racial profiling in a good constitutional case, why don't you bring a lawsuit?" according to the appeals court's order. Some of the lawyers involved in that case ultimately brought the lawsuit against the city that led to Judge Scheindlin's ruling curtailing the program.
In a written statement Thursday, the judge noted she had agreed with the city on a key issue. "I sided with the City and directed the plaintiffs to bring a new action rather than a contempt proceeding," she said. "I said I would take the case as related because the plaintiffs charged that the City had violated my order in [the older case]."
Legal experts said Judge Scheindlin's removal was unusual and that such moves happen only several times a year. Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, said the court was likely swayed by the high-profile nature of the case and its potential to affect public safety, coupled with the judge's public interviews and the appearance she gave that she was openly encouraging lawyers to challenge the city in court.
While New York uses stop-and-frisk much more widely than most other cities, other police departments had begun to emulate the NYPD. Experts said the ruling would lead police in those cities to tread more carefully in their own tactics.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has credited the program with helping drive crime in New York City to record lows. But Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio repeatedly attacked the Bloomberg administration for using stop-and-frisk too often against minorities in high-crime neighborhoods, and said he would reduce its use.
Many have credited his outspoken stance against the policy with helping him win the Democratic primary election. He faces Republican Joe Lhota on Tuesday in the city's general election. In a statement, Mr. de Blasio said he was disappointed by Thursday's order. "We have to end the overuse of stop and frisk—and any delay only means a continued and unnecessary rift between our police and the people they protect," he said.
City officials praised it. "We could not be more pleased with the Court's findings," New York City Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo said in a news release. "In short, the ruling of unconstitutional practices is no longer operative, and that question will now receive a fresh and independent look both by the appeals court and then, if necessary, by a different trial court judge."
Lawyers representing the lead plaintiff in the stop-and-frisk case said they were disappointed by the order and were reviewing legal options to challenge the appellate court's decision to remove Judge Scheindlin. "It's remarkable the lengths the appellate court has gone to take this case away from the judge who's worked hard on it for the past 14 years," said Darius Charney, a senior staff attorney at the Center on Constitutional Rights.
The appeals court didn't weigh in on the substantive arguments in the city's appeal in Thursday's order but said it would hear the merits of the case in March.
Thanks to Christopher Matthews.
The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 3-0 order, halted a U.S. District Court ruling that ordered a monitor to oversee the stop-and-frisk policy and alter a related training program. The city had appealed the ruling and asked the circuit court to stay any immediate effects of the lower-court ruling pending the appeal.
Under the stop-and-frisk program, the NYPD routinely stopped passersby, especially in high-crime neighborhoods, to pat them down for weapons even when there was limited reason to suspect wrongdoing. The technique has been criticized for disproportionately targeting blacks and Hispanics in poor areas.
In practical terms, Thursday's order means the NYPD can continue the stop-and-frisk practice until the higher court rules on the appeal.
In a court proceeding for a 1999 lawsuit on the stop-and-frisk tactic, Judge Scheindlin asked lawyers suing the city, "[I]f you got proof of inappropriate racial profiling in a good constitutional case, why don't you bring a lawsuit?" according to the appeals court's order. Some of the lawyers involved in that case ultimately brought the lawsuit against the city that led to Judge Scheindlin's ruling curtailing the program.
In a written statement Thursday, the judge noted she had agreed with the city on a key issue. "I sided with the City and directed the plaintiffs to bring a new action rather than a contempt proceeding," she said. "I said I would take the case as related because the plaintiffs charged that the City had violated my order in [the older case]."
Legal experts said Judge Scheindlin's removal was unusual and that such moves happen only several times a year. Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, said the court was likely swayed by the high-profile nature of the case and its potential to affect public safety, coupled with the judge's public interviews and the appearance she gave that she was openly encouraging lawyers to challenge the city in court.
While New York uses stop-and-frisk much more widely than most other cities, other police departments had begun to emulate the NYPD. Experts said the ruling would lead police in those cities to tread more carefully in their own tactics.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has credited the program with helping drive crime in New York City to record lows. But Democratic mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio repeatedly attacked the Bloomberg administration for using stop-and-frisk too often against minorities in high-crime neighborhoods, and said he would reduce its use.
Many have credited his outspoken stance against the policy with helping him win the Democratic primary election. He faces Republican Joe Lhota on Tuesday in the city's general election. In a statement, Mr. de Blasio said he was disappointed by Thursday's order. "We have to end the overuse of stop and frisk—and any delay only means a continued and unnecessary rift between our police and the people they protect," he said.
City officials praised it. "We could not be more pleased with the Court's findings," New York City Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo said in a news release. "In short, the ruling of unconstitutional practices is no longer operative, and that question will now receive a fresh and independent look both by the appeals court and then, if necessary, by a different trial court judge."
Lawyers representing the lead plaintiff in the stop-and-frisk case said they were disappointed by the order and were reviewing legal options to challenge the appellate court's decision to remove Judge Scheindlin. "It's remarkable the lengths the appellate court has gone to take this case away from the judge who's worked hard on it for the past 14 years," said Darius Charney, a senior staff attorney at the Center on Constitutional Rights.
The appeals court didn't weigh in on the substantive arguments in the city's appeal in Thursday's order but said it would hear the merits of the case in March.
Thanks to Christopher Matthews.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Michael DiFoggio, Key Government Informant, Committs Suicide
He was in tax trouble with the law.
His marriage was on the rocks.
His former pals in his mob-connected neighborhood had labeled him a “rat” for cooperating with the feds. And Tuesday night, it seems, it all got to be too much for Michael DiFoggio.
The 58-year-old — a key government witness who helped convict former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno and former Ald. Ambrosio Medrano of corruption — shot himself in the mouth in the office of his Bridgeport plumbing business, authorities said.
Though DiFoggio’s passing immediately prompted speculation, police ruled out foul play, and his death was Wednesday ruled a suicide by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
His life had been falling apart for years.
Even as DiFoggio remarried in 2010, his tax problems were leading him to become an undercover FBI informant. Revealed by the Sun-Times three months before he pleaded guilty to tax evasion in October 2012, his cooperation meant he was ostracized in his tight-knit neighborhood, sources say.
Though he’d yet to be sentenced, his critical help for the feds meant he had a good chance of avoiding prison.That made him unwelcome at the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, a hangout for businessmen and mobsters that his father co-founded, along with mob boss Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra. DiFoggio was told months ago that his membership wouldn’t be renewed.
At home, too, things were going badly. He’d been trying to sell his luxury house with indoor pool for $1.5 million, without luck. And less than two weeks ago, his wife, Fran Prado, filed for divorce.
His sad, final days were described in court papers she used on Monday to win an order of protection that banned DiFoggio from the family home on the 3700 block of South Normal.
According to Prado, DiFoggio recently canceled her credit card and took back her wedding ring, then — during an ugly argument that saw police called to their home Saturday night — shoved and grabbed her.
DiFoggio falsely told the cops that his wife had held “a butcher knife to his throat” and “had put poison in his ice cream,” Prado wrote, adding, “I fear that Michael will physically grab me again ...”
DiFoggio’s demise at 3126 S. Shields came after he’d had a phone conversation with his wife, sources said. It prompted fresh rumors about his cooperation with the feds and whether more indictments are expected.
“According to my clients on the street, there was a Second Act coming,” said prominent defense attorney Joseph “The Shark” Lopez, who has represented many organized crime figures.“There was actually a feeling that something else was about to happen — whether it’s true or not, who knows?”
Spokesmen for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office both declined to comment.But there’s little doubt DiFoggio proved himself invaluable in his secret recordings of Medrano and Moreno.
Posing as a crooked developer willing to pay bribes to get a garbage transfer station located in Cicero, he, in December 2010, passed $5,000 to Moreno to grease the deal. Just months before, Moreno had been appointed to a Cicero business assistance committee by the town’s president, Larry Dominick.
At one point, Moreno told DiFoggio: “I don’t want to be a hog, I just want to be a pig. Hogs get slaughtered, pigs get fat.”
DiFoggio also helped snare Medrano in a health-care contracting sting last year.
Medrano’s lawyer, Gal Pissetzky, said that DiFoggio’s death left Medrano “shocked and saddened.”
Whatever DiFoggio did, “We’re all human beings,” Pissetzky said.
Thanks to Michael Sneed and Kim Janssen.
His marriage was on the rocks.
His former pals in his mob-connected neighborhood had labeled him a “rat” for cooperating with the feds. And Tuesday night, it seems, it all got to be too much for Michael DiFoggio.
The 58-year-old — a key government witness who helped convict former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno and former Ald. Ambrosio Medrano of corruption — shot himself in the mouth in the office of his Bridgeport plumbing business, authorities said.
Though DiFoggio’s passing immediately prompted speculation, police ruled out foul play, and his death was Wednesday ruled a suicide by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
His life had been falling apart for years.
Even as DiFoggio remarried in 2010, his tax problems were leading him to become an undercover FBI informant. Revealed by the Sun-Times three months before he pleaded guilty to tax evasion in October 2012, his cooperation meant he was ostracized in his tight-knit neighborhood, sources say.
Though he’d yet to be sentenced, his critical help for the feds meant he had a good chance of avoiding prison.That made him unwelcome at the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, a hangout for businessmen and mobsters that his father co-founded, along with mob boss Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra. DiFoggio was told months ago that his membership wouldn’t be renewed.
At home, too, things were going badly. He’d been trying to sell his luxury house with indoor pool for $1.5 million, without luck. And less than two weeks ago, his wife, Fran Prado, filed for divorce.
His sad, final days were described in court papers she used on Monday to win an order of protection that banned DiFoggio from the family home on the 3700 block of South Normal.
According to Prado, DiFoggio recently canceled her credit card and took back her wedding ring, then — during an ugly argument that saw police called to their home Saturday night — shoved and grabbed her.
DiFoggio falsely told the cops that his wife had held “a butcher knife to his throat” and “had put poison in his ice cream,” Prado wrote, adding, “I fear that Michael will physically grab me again ...”
DiFoggio’s demise at 3126 S. Shields came after he’d had a phone conversation with his wife, sources said. It prompted fresh rumors about his cooperation with the feds and whether more indictments are expected.
“According to my clients on the street, there was a Second Act coming,” said prominent defense attorney Joseph “The Shark” Lopez, who has represented many organized crime figures.“There was actually a feeling that something else was about to happen — whether it’s true or not, who knows?”
Spokesmen for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office both declined to comment.But there’s little doubt DiFoggio proved himself invaluable in his secret recordings of Medrano and Moreno.
Posing as a crooked developer willing to pay bribes to get a garbage transfer station located in Cicero, he, in December 2010, passed $5,000 to Moreno to grease the deal. Just months before, Moreno had been appointed to a Cicero business assistance committee by the town’s president, Larry Dominick.
At one point, Moreno told DiFoggio: “I don’t want to be a hog, I just want to be a pig. Hogs get slaughtered, pigs get fat.”
DiFoggio also helped snare Medrano in a health-care contracting sting last year.
Medrano’s lawyer, Gal Pissetzky, said that DiFoggio’s death left Medrano “shocked and saddened.”
Whatever DiFoggio did, “We’re all human beings,” Pissetzky said.
Thanks to Michael Sneed and Kim Janssen.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Rick E. Brown Arrested for Alleged Role in $12 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme Operating Out of Medicall Physicians Group
A Rockford, Illinois man was arrested in connection with an indictment charging three Chicago-area residents for their roles in an alleged $12 million health care fraud scheme.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois, Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Shields, Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Office, and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh, III of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.
According to the 10-count indictment returned on October 23, 2013, Rick E. Brown, 56, and two other individuals allegedly participated in a Medicare fraud scheme operating out of a home visiting physician practice, Medicall Physicians Group Ltd. in Schaumburg, Illinois, that billed for services that Medicall never provided. Medicare allegedly paid the company approximately $4.7 million for fraudulently reported services from January 2007 to December 2011.
Brown and an alleged co-conspirator, Roger A. Lucero, 62, of Elmhurst, Illinois, are charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud. The two men and another defendant, Mary C. Talaga, 53, of Elmwood Park, Illinois, are also charged with making false statements relating to health care matters.
According to the indictment, Lucero and Brown owned and operated Medicall, and Talaga submitted the company’s bills to Medicare. The indictment alleges that Brown instructed employees to bill Medicare for patient oversight and other services that were never provided, and Lucero created backdated records in an effort to conceal the fraudulent billings. Talaga is alleged to have billed Medicare for these services even though she knew they had not been documented, a practice that required her to fabricate the information submitted to Medicare.
The charges of health care fraud conspiracy and health care fraud each carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charges of false statements relating to health care matters carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
An indictment is merely a charge, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted jointly by the FBI and HHS-OIG and brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Brooke Harper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois, Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Shields, Jr. of the FBI’s Chicago Office, and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh, III of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.
According to the 10-count indictment returned on October 23, 2013, Rick E. Brown, 56, and two other individuals allegedly participated in a Medicare fraud scheme operating out of a home visiting physician practice, Medicall Physicians Group Ltd. in Schaumburg, Illinois, that billed for services that Medicall never provided. Medicare allegedly paid the company approximately $4.7 million for fraudulently reported services from January 2007 to December 2011.
Brown and an alleged co-conspirator, Roger A. Lucero, 62, of Elmhurst, Illinois, are charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud. The two men and another defendant, Mary C. Talaga, 53, of Elmwood Park, Illinois, are also charged with making false statements relating to health care matters.
According to the indictment, Lucero and Brown owned and operated Medicall, and Talaga submitted the company’s bills to Medicare. The indictment alleges that Brown instructed employees to bill Medicare for patient oversight and other services that were never provided, and Lucero created backdated records in an effort to conceal the fraudulent billings. Talaga is alleged to have billed Medicare for these services even though she knew they had not been documented, a practice that required her to fabricate the information submitted to Medicare.
The charges of health care fraud conspiracy and health care fraud each carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charges of false statements relating to health care matters carry a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
An indictment is merely a charge, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted jointly by the FBI and HHS-OIG and brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Brooke Harper of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Monday, October 28, 2013
"Organized Crime in Chicago Beyond the Mafia" Explaining Chicago's mix of crime, corruption, and politics
This book provides a comprehensive sociological explanation for the emergence and continuation of organized crime in Chicago. Tracing the roots of political corruption that afforded protection to gambling, prostitution, and other vice activity in Chicago and other large American cities, Robert M. Lombardo challenges the dominant belief that organized crime in America descended directly from the Sicilian Mafia. According to this widespread "alien conspiracy" theory, organized crime evolved in a linear fashion beginning with the Mafia in Sicily, emerging in the form of the Black Hand in America's immigrant colonies, and culminating in the development of the Cosa Nostra in America's urban centers.
Looking beyond this Mafia paradigm, this volume argues that the development of organized crime in Chicago and other large American cities was rooted in the social structure of American society. Specifically, Lombardo ties organized crime to the emergence of machine politics in America's urban centers. From nineteenth-century vice syndicates to the modern-day Outfit, Chicago's criminal underworld could not have existed without the blessing of those who controlled municipal, county, and state government. These practices were not imported from Sicily, Lombardo contends, but were bred in the socially disorganized slums of America where elected officials routinely franchised vice and crime in exchange for money and votes. This book also traces the history of the African American community's participation in traditional organized crime in Chicago and offers new perspectives on the organizational structure of the Chicago Outfit, the traditional organized crime group in Chicago.
Robert M. Lombardo is an associate professor of criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago and a former Chicago Police officer. He is the author of The Black Hand: Terror by Letter in Chicago.
Looking beyond this Mafia paradigm, this volume argues that the development of organized crime in Chicago and other large American cities was rooted in the social structure of American society. Specifically, Lombardo ties organized crime to the emergence of machine politics in America's urban centers. From nineteenth-century vice syndicates to the modern-day Outfit, Chicago's criminal underworld could not have existed without the blessing of those who controlled municipal, county, and state government. These practices were not imported from Sicily, Lombardo contends, but were bred in the socially disorganized slums of America where elected officials routinely franchised vice and crime in exchange for money and votes. This book also traces the history of the African American community's participation in traditional organized crime in Chicago and offers new perspectives on the organizational structure of the Chicago Outfit, the traditional organized crime group in Chicago.
"Lombardo recounts more than 100 years of the rise and decline of various criminal organizations, including the Syndicates, the Forty-Two Gang, and the Outfit, in this history explaining the role of organized crime in Chicago. Because Chicago crime is depicted in many popular books and movies, this history will find eager readers everywhere."--Booklist
"Lombardo argues persuasively that organized crime is not a foreign deviance implanted by will but rather a condition made possible by circumstances of the place. Recommended."--Choice
"An authoritative and colorful history that covers the whole sweep of organized crime in Chicago and puts politics, gangs, and ethnicity into clear perspective."--Dominic Candeloro, coeditor of Reconstructing Italians in Chicago: Thirty Authors in Search of Roots and Branches
Robert M. Lombardo is an associate professor of criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago and a former Chicago Police officer. He is the author of The Black Hand: Terror by Letter in Chicago.
Friday, October 25, 2013
#OrganizedCrime Group Dismantled by @RCMPgrcpoliceand @CanBorder
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) - Serious and Organized Crime Unit - South West District (SOC-SW), in partnership with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and assistance from the Hamilton Police Service (HPS) have dismantled an organized crime group allegedly involved in importing and trafficking cocaine into the Greater Hamilton Area.
Following a six month investigation, numerous search warrants were executed and the members of this crime group were arrested. During the investigation over 5 kilos of cocaine were seized by CBSA officers at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The cocaine originated from different South American destinations. Several illegal marihuana grow operations were also dismantled as a result of this investigation.
"The RCMP and our partners are committed to ensuring a safe and secure Canada by reducing the threat and impact of organized crime groups. The importation and trafficking of harmful, illegal drugs and their related crimes have a devastating effect on our communities, like those in the Greater Hamilton Area. Project OPLATO is a fine example of inter-agency cooperation targeting organized crime groups that only seek to enrich themselves with no regard for the health and safety of our Communities." said Inspector Todd Gilmore, OIC-RCMP SOC-SW.
"I want to congratulate all the officers involved in this project on its successful outcome," said Goran Vragovic, Regional Director General, Greater Toronto Area Region, CBSA. "It's partnerships like these between the RCMP and CBSA, that ensure the safety and security of Canadians by stopping the flow of illegal narcotics at the border that are used to fuel criminal enterprises."
The subjects below have been arrested and charged with the following offenses:
Following a six month investigation, numerous search warrants were executed and the members of this crime group were arrested. During the investigation over 5 kilos of cocaine were seized by CBSA officers at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The cocaine originated from different South American destinations. Several illegal marihuana grow operations were also dismantled as a result of this investigation.
"The RCMP and our partners are committed to ensuring a safe and secure Canada by reducing the threat and impact of organized crime groups. The importation and trafficking of harmful, illegal drugs and their related crimes have a devastating effect on our communities, like those in the Greater Hamilton Area. Project OPLATO is a fine example of inter-agency cooperation targeting organized crime groups that only seek to enrich themselves with no regard for the health and safety of our Communities." said Inspector Todd Gilmore, OIC-RCMP SOC-SW.
"I want to congratulate all the officers involved in this project on its successful outcome," said Goran Vragovic, Regional Director General, Greater Toronto Area Region, CBSA. "It's partnerships like these between the RCMP and CBSA, that ensure the safety and security of Canadians by stopping the flow of illegal narcotics at the border that are used to fuel criminal enterprises."
The subjects below have been arrested and charged with the following offenses:
- Jorge Alejandro Rodriguez-Oliva (age 29) from Stoney Creek, Ontario
- Edson Ariel Rosales (age 40) from Hamilton, Ontario
- Nicolas Salciccioli (age 25) from Stoney Creek, Ontario
- Importing cocaine contrary to section 6 (1) CDSA
- Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence contrary to section 465 (1) of the CC
- Edina Kalmar (age 29) from Waterdown, Ontario
- Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence contrary to section 465 (1) of the CC
Supported by @DeCeccodal1886 “Opening the Vaults: Wonders of the 1893 World Fair” Opens @FieldMuseum
One hundred and twenty years after winning its first Gold Medal in the New World at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, De Cecco, the premiere Italian pasta company, will commemorate that singular honor with a special event at The Chicago Field Museum’s new exhibition: “Opening the Vaults: Wonders of the 1893 World Fair,” which opens October 25. Also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition, the retrospective exhibition takes a look at the Fair that was a glittering showcase of architecture, culture, technology, and food, and attracted people from around the world.
The Fair brought visitors closer than ever before to unique wonders like exotic animals, international cultures, as well as strange new products and technological innovations from around the world. It was the birthplace of Juicy Fruit chewing gum, the Ferris Wheel and The Field Museum as well. “De Cecco pasta was introduced to the world at this Fair as well, and was awarded the Gold Medal for superior manufacture, color and firmness after cooking,” says Marco de Ceglie, CEO of De Cecco USA.
To commemorate their prestigious honor and the innovations of the Victorian Era, De Cecco will sponsor a special luncheon featuring a mouthwatering menu of its award winning pasta, served up at the Museum’s prestigious Founder’s Room, followed by a docent tour of the exhibition on October 25th (also known as World Pasta Day).
De Cecco is Italy’s premium pasta, chosen by renowned chefs because they know the secret to making unsurpassed pasta – the De Cecco difference! Carefully crafted in the mountains of Central Italy, De Cecco uses a proprietary process to make its 160 pasta varieties. Production starts with full control of the milling process and using only the heart of durum wheat to produce premium semolina, then mixing it with cool natural waters from De Cecco’s own mountain spring, drawing the semolina dough through bronze dies and drying the pasta very slowly at low temperature. Over the years De Cecco has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, and was recently inducted to the Italian Trade Commission’s Hall of Fame. Founded in 1886 by the De Cecco brothers in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, today De Cecco exports to more than 87 countries and is the world’s third largest manufacturer of pasta. Their product line includes premium pasta, sauces, and its own brand of olive oil, among other related fine foods.
“Opening the Vaults: Wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair” will be on view at The Field Museum October 25, 2013 – September 7, 2014.
The Fair brought visitors closer than ever before to unique wonders like exotic animals, international cultures, as well as strange new products and technological innovations from around the world. It was the birthplace of Juicy Fruit chewing gum, the Ferris Wheel and The Field Museum as well. “De Cecco pasta was introduced to the world at this Fair as well, and was awarded the Gold Medal for superior manufacture, color and firmness after cooking,” says Marco de Ceglie, CEO of De Cecco USA.
To commemorate their prestigious honor and the innovations of the Victorian Era, De Cecco will sponsor a special luncheon featuring a mouthwatering menu of its award winning pasta, served up at the Museum’s prestigious Founder’s Room, followed by a docent tour of the exhibition on October 25th (also known as World Pasta Day).
De Cecco is Italy’s premium pasta, chosen by renowned chefs because they know the secret to making unsurpassed pasta – the De Cecco difference! Carefully crafted in the mountains of Central Italy, De Cecco uses a proprietary process to make its 160 pasta varieties. Production starts with full control of the milling process and using only the heart of durum wheat to produce premium semolina, then mixing it with cool natural waters from De Cecco’s own mountain spring, drawing the semolina dough through bronze dies and drying the pasta very slowly at low temperature. Over the years De Cecco has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, and was recently inducted to the Italian Trade Commission’s Hall of Fame. Founded in 1886 by the De Cecco brothers in the Abruzzo region of central Italy, today De Cecco exports to more than 87 countries and is the world’s third largest manufacturer of pasta. Their product line includes premium pasta, sauces, and its own brand of olive oil, among other related fine foods.
“Opening the Vaults: Wonders of the 1893 World’s Fair” will be on view at The Field Museum October 25, 2013 – September 7, 2014.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
"The JFK Collection" On DVD - 8 Films Covering His Life, His Death and His Legacy
HISTORY presents The JFK Collection, an impressive 3-disc DVD set exploring one of America’s most legendary families available on October 22 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Chronicling the life and legacy of our nation’s 35th President John F. Kennedy, the 8-film collection arrives just in time for the 50th anniversary of one of the most talked about moments in American history.
Featuring hours of content celebrating his iconic life, The JFK Collection 3-disc DVD set will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.
Go inside the life of John F. Kennedy, a reckless rich kid who lived on the edge and became a WWII hero and a president who challenged the nation as it had never been before. This comprehensive family portrait also includes hour-long biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Joseph P. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Ted Kennedy.
Featuring hours of content celebrating his iconic life, The JFK Collection 3-disc DVD set will be available for the suggested retail price of $19.98.
Go inside the life of John F. Kennedy, a reckless rich kid who lived on the edge and became a WWII hero and a president who challenged the nation as it had never been before. This comprehensive family portrait also includes hour-long biographies of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Joseph P. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Ted Kennedy.
Courtroom Drama Spotlights The Right To Stand Your Ground - A Cry For Justice
No mother should have to endure the ordeal that Jackie Carpenter and her family were put through as a result of her son's arrest after he accidentally shot a man stealing from his worksite. And never in her wildest dreams could this Georgia mom have known that she would become an author as a result of this terrifying experience, that her two books would be made into an award-winning movie, or that her son's case would be considered "textbook” in the annals of legal cases and be taught to future first year law students!
Taking first place recently in the Alaska International Film Festival, Stand Your Ground: A Cry For Justice by Triple Horse Studios is the award-winning movie that tells the gripping story of Jackie Carpenter's quest to save her family. Jackie's idyllic life was frozen in time the day she heard her son was arrested for felony murder when all he did was defend his worksite from constant theft. Unfortunately, as he held the men at bay while waiting for the police to arrive, his gun accidentally fired and one of the men died. This is a movie that everyone needs to see because it shows how something that happens in a split second can change a life forever. While it has all the terror and tragedy of a blockbuster movie hit, this one is real life!
Stand Your Ground, showing in select theaters beginning January 17, 2014, tells the explosive story of the ten-month trial and how Jackie Carpenter's faith was tested to the max. The trailer for the movie won Award of Excellence in the Best Short Competition and Award of Merit in The Accolade Competition, and has been nominated as Best Picture in the ICVM Crown Awards and entered in the Gideon Film Festival! Please watch: http://acryforjusticemovie.com to see the exciting trailer.
Feeling physically, mentally and emotionally ill through the first six months of this ordeal resulted in Jackie questioning her faith. All this loving mom knew was that she needed God on her side throughout the trial and she prayed relentlessly, asking for strength and renewed faith. Once she stopped doubting, courage replaced fear and she knew that God heard her plea.
Jackie's first book, The Bridge: Between Cell Block A and a Miracle is Psalm 91 (Xulon Publishing) tells the traumatic events after her son's arrest and how she used the prayer of protection, Psalm 91, to help face the turmoil of emotions raging through her and help her find the strength to hold her family together. Her second book, Georgia Justice, is a story of building faith. Jackie was able to overcome the grips of doubt and depression and her book acts as a guide for anyone wanting to renew and strengthen faith and hope on the road to ultimate victory.
Jackie Carpenter has been a featured guest on television, radio, and in newspaper articles. For information on Jackie and her books, or the extraordinary movie that will have audiences white-knuckled and hanging on to the edge of their seats, please visit: www.bridgetoamiracle.com.
Taking first place recently in the Alaska International Film Festival, Stand Your Ground: A Cry For Justice by Triple Horse Studios is the award-winning movie that tells the gripping story of Jackie Carpenter's quest to save her family. Jackie's idyllic life was frozen in time the day she heard her son was arrested for felony murder when all he did was defend his worksite from constant theft. Unfortunately, as he held the men at bay while waiting for the police to arrive, his gun accidentally fired and one of the men died. This is a movie that everyone needs to see because it shows how something that happens in a split second can change a life forever. While it has all the terror and tragedy of a blockbuster movie hit, this one is real life!
Stand Your Ground, showing in select theaters beginning January 17, 2014, tells the explosive story of the ten-month trial and how Jackie Carpenter's faith was tested to the max. The trailer for the movie won Award of Excellence in the Best Short Competition and Award of Merit in The Accolade Competition, and has been nominated as Best Picture in the ICVM Crown Awards and entered in the Gideon Film Festival! Please watch: http://acryforjusticemovie.com to see the exciting trailer.
Feeling physically, mentally and emotionally ill through the first six months of this ordeal resulted in Jackie questioning her faith. All this loving mom knew was that she needed God on her side throughout the trial and she prayed relentlessly, asking for strength and renewed faith. Once she stopped doubting, courage replaced fear and she knew that God heard her plea.
Jackie's first book, The Bridge: Between Cell Block A and a Miracle is Psalm 91 (Xulon Publishing) tells the traumatic events after her son's arrest and how she used the prayer of protection, Psalm 91, to help face the turmoil of emotions raging through her and help her find the strength to hold her family together. Her second book, Georgia Justice, is a story of building faith. Jackie was able to overcome the grips of doubt and depression and her book acts as a guide for anyone wanting to renew and strengthen faith and hope on the road to ultimate victory.
Jackie Carpenter has been a featured guest on television, radio, and in newspaper articles. For information on Jackie and her books, or the extraordinary movie that will have audiences white-knuckled and hanging on to the edge of their seats, please visit: www.bridgetoamiracle.com.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Hope Ippoliti, Former Turnberry Controller Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for $6 Million Embezzlement
The former controller for the company that owned or developed the Residences at MGM, Town Square shopping center, Turnberry Place, Turnberry Towers, and the Stirling Club in Las Vegas 
was sentenced to 37 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $5.6 million in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
Hope Ippoliti, 52, of Las Vegas, who pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro. Ippoliti was permitted to self-report to federal prison by January 14, 2014.
“This was a significant amount of money that was embezzled over an almost five-year period,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Ms. Ippoliti victimized not only Turnberry Associates in the amount of $5.6 million but caused irreparable harm and financial damage to the many victims and business entities employed and supported by Turnberry Associates.”
Ippoliti worked as the Western Regional Controller for Turnberry West Realty, a subsidiary of Turnberry Associates LLC. In that capacity, Ippoliti had signatory authority and access to certain Turnberry bank accounts. From about May 17, 2007, to about January 12, 2012, Ippoliti and a co-defendant, Rocco Lazazzaro, conspired to steal from Turnberry Associates and its affiliates. Ippoliti created fund transfer requests containing false information that the funds were intended for business-related purposes when she and Lazazzaro actually intended to withdraw the funds for personal use. Ippoliti faxed or e-mailed the fund transfer requests from Nevada to Turnberry Associates in Florida to cause the transfer of funds into Bank of America accounts over which she had signatory authority. Ippoliti and Lazazzaro deposited and cashed checks and cashier’s checks drawn on Bank of America bank accounts belonging to Turnberry Associates and its affiliates. The total losses to Turnberry Associates and its affiliates were $5.6 million.
Lazazzaro, who has a lengthy criminal history, was sentenced on August 22 to 51 months in prison.
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina M. Brown.
was sentenced to 37 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay approximately $5.6 million in restitution, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.Hope Ippoliti, 52, of Las Vegas, who pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro. Ippoliti was permitted to self-report to federal prison by January 14, 2014.
“This was a significant amount of money that was embezzled over an almost five-year period,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Ms. Ippoliti victimized not only Turnberry Associates in the amount of $5.6 million but caused irreparable harm and financial damage to the many victims and business entities employed and supported by Turnberry Associates.”
Ippoliti worked as the Western Regional Controller for Turnberry West Realty, a subsidiary of Turnberry Associates LLC. In that capacity, Ippoliti had signatory authority and access to certain Turnberry bank accounts. From about May 17, 2007, to about January 12, 2012, Ippoliti and a co-defendant, Rocco Lazazzaro, conspired to steal from Turnberry Associates and its affiliates. Ippoliti created fund transfer requests containing false information that the funds were intended for business-related purposes when she and Lazazzaro actually intended to withdraw the funds for personal use. Ippoliti faxed or e-mailed the fund transfer requests from Nevada to Turnberry Associates in Florida to cause the transfer of funds into Bank of America accounts over which she had signatory authority. Ippoliti and Lazazzaro deposited and cashed checks and cashier’s checks drawn on Bank of America bank accounts belonging to Turnberry Associates and its affiliates. The total losses to Turnberry Associates and its affiliates were $5.6 million.
Lazazzaro, who has a lengthy criminal history, was sentenced on August 22 to 51 months in prison.
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the United States Secret Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina M. Brown.
Former Social Security Administrator, Randolph Hurst, Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Identity Theft, Mail Fraud, Unauthorized Sale of Stolen Stocks, Tax Charges
Randolph Hurst, 50, of West Warwick Rhode Island, a former assistant district manager for the Social Security Administration in Rhode Island, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence on October 9, 2013, to stealing the identity of a Coventry man and using the victim’s identity to fraudulently sell more than $160,000 worth of stock certificates belonging to the victim. Hurst also pled guilty to failing to pay $61,999 in taxes owed to the IRS.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith, Hurst pled guilty to one count each of aggravated identity theft, transportation of stolen securities, and tax evasion; two counts of mail fraud; and three counts of filing a false tax return. Hurst faces up to 45 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1.4 million when he is sentenced on January 10, 2014.
A co-defendant in this matter, Justin Silveira, 29, of Coventry, pled guilty on October 9, 2013, to two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. Silveira admitted to the court that he lied to a grand jury that was investigating this matter. At sentencing on January, 10, 2014, Silveira faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $750,000.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the FBI; Cheryl Garcia, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York region of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; John Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; and Scott E. Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations.
At the time of his guilty plea, Hurst admitted to the court that in September 2010, he stole personal identifying information belonging to the victim and used it to open a joint account at Summit Brokerage Services in Providence in his name and in the name of the victim, without the victim’s permission. Hurst admitted that two days after opening the account, he provided documentation to Summit purportedly authored and signed by the victim, requesting the deposit of two stock certificates owned by the victim. The victim never authorized the deposit of the stock certificates and was unaware that an account had been opened in his name.
Hurst admitted to the court that in October 2010, without the victim’s knowledge, he requested that Summit sell the stocks and issue a check in his name and in the victim’s name for $157,747.49, which represented a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the stocks. The check was sent by courier to the Coventry address of Justin Silveira. On October 22, 2010, the check was deposited into a bank account owned jointly by Hurst and his wife. Hurst admitted to the court that on the same date the check was deposited he requested a second check from Summit in the amount of $3,980.46, in his name and in the victim’s name, for the remaining proceeds from the sale of the stock and that it be sent to the same address in Coventry. On November 8, 2010, the check was deposited into a bank account owned jointly by Hurst and his wife.
Hurst admitted to the court that he and his wife spent the proceeds of the sale of the stock, $161,727.95, on personal items and expenses.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.
The matter was investigated by federal agents from the FBI; U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations.
This law enforcement action is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 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 more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith, Hurst pled guilty to one count each of aggravated identity theft, transportation of stolen securities, and tax evasion; two counts of mail fraud; and three counts of filing a false tax return. Hurst faces up to 45 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1.4 million when he is sentenced on January 10, 2014.
A co-defendant in this matter, Justin Silveira, 29, of Coventry, pled guilty on October 9, 2013, to two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. Silveira admitted to the court that he lied to a grand jury that was investigating this matter. At sentencing on January, 10, 2014, Silveira faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $750,000.
The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the FBI; Cheryl Garcia, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York region of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; John Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation; and Scott E. Antolik, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations.
At the time of his guilty plea, Hurst admitted to the court that in September 2010, he stole personal identifying information belonging to the victim and used it to open a joint account at Summit Brokerage Services in Providence in his name and in the name of the victim, without the victim’s permission. Hurst admitted that two days after opening the account, he provided documentation to Summit purportedly authored and signed by the victim, requesting the deposit of two stock certificates owned by the victim. The victim never authorized the deposit of the stock certificates and was unaware that an account had been opened in his name.
Hurst admitted to the court that in October 2010, without the victim’s knowledge, he requested that Summit sell the stocks and issue a check in his name and in the victim’s name for $157,747.49, which represented a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the stocks. The check was sent by courier to the Coventry address of Justin Silveira. On October 22, 2010, the check was deposited into a bank account owned jointly by Hurst and his wife. Hurst admitted to the court that on the same date the check was deposited he requested a second check from Summit in the amount of $3,980.46, in his name and in the victim’s name, for the remaining proceeds from the sale of the stock and that it be sent to the same address in Coventry. On November 8, 2010, the check was deposited into a bank account owned jointly by Hurst and his wife.
Hurst admitted to the court that he and his wife spent the proceeds of the sale of the stock, $161,727.95, on personal items and expenses.
The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.
The matter was investigated by federal agents from the FBI; U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; and Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General/Office of Investigations.
This law enforcement action is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 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 more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.
Marcos Alonso Zea, An American Citizen, Arrested for Attempting to Join al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Conspiring to Commit Murder Overseas
A five-count indictment was unsealed in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Marcos Alonso Zea, also known as “Ali Zea,” an American citizen and resident of Brentwood, New York, with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, attempting to provide material support to terrorists, attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known as Ansar al-Sharia (AQAP/AAS), and obstruction and attempted obstruction of justice. Zea was arrested earlier this morning at his home on Long Island and is scheduled to be arraigned later today before United States Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, beginning in the fall of 2011, Zea conspired with others to travel overseas in order to wage violent jihad on the perceived enemies of Islam, which included the secular government in Yemen. In furtherance of the conspiracy, on January 4, 2012, Zea flew from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in Queens, New York, to London, England, en route to Yemen in an attempt to join and fight alongside members of AQAP/AAS, a designated foreign terrorist organization that has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks against the United States, including the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound passenger plane.
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, Zea was intercepted by customs officials in the United Kingdom (UK) in transit to Yemen and returned to the United States. Despite being prevented from traveling to Yemen, Zea continued his participation in the terrorist conspiracy. Specifically, Zea encouraged and supported his co-conspirator, Justin Kaliebe, who also was plotting to travel to Yemen to fight jihad. In August 2012, in a covertly recorded conversation between Zea and Kaliebe, Zea bragged about his lies to UK authorities when he was detained, instructed Kaliebe regarding methods to evade electronic surveillance by law enforcement authorities, and discussed Kaliebe’s plans to fight jihad. On January 21, 2013, Kaliebe attempted to travel from New York to Yemen for the purpose of joining AQAP/AAS but was arrested at JFK by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the NYPD’s Intelligence Division. (Kaliebe subsequently pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to terrorists and one count of attempting to provide material support to AQAP/AAS. Kaliebe is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2013, by United States District Judge Arthur D. Spatt in United States District Court in Central Islip.) Several days before Kaliebe attempted to travel to Yemen to join AQAQ/AAS, Zea gave Kaliebe money to support his trip. During this meeting, which was covertly recorded, Zea stated, “I just hope, my story, my, the event that happened to me will help you guys move forward, inspire you.”
In April 2013, after learning that he was under investigation by the JTTF, Zea directed an associate to erase the hard drive on Zea’s home computer and provided the associate two additional hard drives that Zea had used previously, which he also requested be destroyed. Despite Zea’s efforts to thwart the investigation, the JTTF obtained the hard drives and conducted a forensic examination, which revealed an assortment of violent Islamic extremist materials. For example, the drives contained issues of Inspire magazine, an AQAP/AAS publication that promotes violent jihad, containing articles such as “Which is Better: Martyrdom or Victory?” “Why did I choose al Qaeda?” “What to Expect in Jihad?” and an interview with “Shaykh Abu Hurairah, The Military Commander of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.” The electronic media also included a video, disseminated by the propaganda wing of al Qaeda in Iraq, depicting the detonation of an explosive device on a vehicle carrying western military personnel. In addition, investigators recovered a semi-automatic rifle that Zea had given to an acquaintance shortly before he departed for Yemen.
“Despite being born and raised in the United States, Zea allegedly betrayed his country and attempted to travel to Yemen in order to join a terrorist organization and commit murder,” stated U.S. Attorney Lynch. “When that plan was thwarted, Zea continued to support terrorism by assisting his co-conspirator’s efforts to travel to Yemen to fight violent jihad. When the defendant sensed investigators from the JTTF closing in, he engaged in a desperate effort to cover his tracks by attempting to destroy evidence—a tactic that only confirmed his violent aims. This case clearly demonstrates how the FBI and the NYPD, along with their partners on the JTTF and overseas, work diligently and effectively to counter the efforts of al Qaeda’s affiliates and their supporters.” Ms. Lynch also expressed her grateful appreciation to the FBI, NYPD, Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Nassau County Police Department, the Suffolk County Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for their work on the investigation.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “Inspired by terrorist propaganda, Mr. Zea allegedly traveled abroad in 2012 in a vain attempt to reach Yemen, join al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and fight violent jihad. When his attempt failed, Zea turned to financing and inspiring another Long Island man’s commitment to global terror. And when Zea learned he was under investigation, he feverishly attempted to destroy the incriminating evidence.”
NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “Aspirants with lethal intent who seek terror training abroad are of paramount concern. Fortunately, like Kaliebe before him, Zea was stopped due to the close cooperation between the NYPD and FBI.”
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth D. DuCharme, John J. Durham, and Michael P. Canty, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Kelli Andrews of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; John Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and Raymond W. Kelly, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, beginning in the fall of 2011, Zea conspired with others to travel overseas in order to wage violent jihad on the perceived enemies of Islam, which included the secular government in Yemen. In furtherance of the conspiracy, on January 4, 2012, Zea flew from John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in Queens, New York, to London, England, en route to Yemen in an attempt to join and fight alongside members of AQAP/AAS, a designated foreign terrorist organization that has claimed responsibility for several terrorist attacks against the United States, including the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound passenger plane.
As set forth in the indictment and other court filings, Zea was intercepted by customs officials in the United Kingdom (UK) in transit to Yemen and returned to the United States. Despite being prevented from traveling to Yemen, Zea continued his participation in the terrorist conspiracy. Specifically, Zea encouraged and supported his co-conspirator, Justin Kaliebe, who also was plotting to travel to Yemen to fight jihad. In August 2012, in a covertly recorded conversation between Zea and Kaliebe, Zea bragged about his lies to UK authorities when he was detained, instructed Kaliebe regarding methods to evade electronic surveillance by law enforcement authorities, and discussed Kaliebe’s plans to fight jihad. On January 21, 2013, Kaliebe attempted to travel from New York to Yemen for the purpose of joining AQAP/AAS but was arrested at JFK by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and the NYPD’s Intelligence Division. (Kaliebe subsequently pled guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to terrorists and one count of attempting to provide material support to AQAP/AAS. Kaliebe is scheduled to be sentenced on December 6, 2013, by United States District Judge Arthur D. Spatt in United States District Court in Central Islip.) Several days before Kaliebe attempted to travel to Yemen to join AQAQ/AAS, Zea gave Kaliebe money to support his trip. During this meeting, which was covertly recorded, Zea stated, “I just hope, my story, my, the event that happened to me will help you guys move forward, inspire you.”
In April 2013, after learning that he was under investigation by the JTTF, Zea directed an associate to erase the hard drive on Zea’s home computer and provided the associate two additional hard drives that Zea had used previously, which he also requested be destroyed. Despite Zea’s efforts to thwart the investigation, the JTTF obtained the hard drives and conducted a forensic examination, which revealed an assortment of violent Islamic extremist materials. For example, the drives contained issues of Inspire magazine, an AQAP/AAS publication that promotes violent jihad, containing articles such as “Which is Better: Martyrdom or Victory?” “Why did I choose al Qaeda?” “What to Expect in Jihad?” and an interview with “Shaykh Abu Hurairah, The Military Commander of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.” The electronic media also included a video, disseminated by the propaganda wing of al Qaeda in Iraq, depicting the detonation of an explosive device on a vehicle carrying western military personnel. In addition, investigators recovered a semi-automatic rifle that Zea had given to an acquaintance shortly before he departed for Yemen.
“Despite being born and raised in the United States, Zea allegedly betrayed his country and attempted to travel to Yemen in order to join a terrorist organization and commit murder,” stated U.S. Attorney Lynch. “When that plan was thwarted, Zea continued to support terrorism by assisting his co-conspirator’s efforts to travel to Yemen to fight violent jihad. When the defendant sensed investigators from the JTTF closing in, he engaged in a desperate effort to cover his tracks by attempting to destroy evidence—a tactic that only confirmed his violent aims. This case clearly demonstrates how the FBI and the NYPD, along with their partners on the JTTF and overseas, work diligently and effectively to counter the efforts of al Qaeda’s affiliates and their supporters.” Ms. Lynch also expressed her grateful appreciation to the FBI, NYPD, Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Nassau County Police Department, the Suffolk County Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department for their work on the investigation.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “Inspired by terrorist propaganda, Mr. Zea allegedly traveled abroad in 2012 in a vain attempt to reach Yemen, join al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and fight violent jihad. When his attempt failed, Zea turned to financing and inspiring another Long Island man’s commitment to global terror. And when Zea learned he was under investigation, he feverishly attempted to destroy the incriminating evidence.”
NYPD Commissioner Kelly stated, “Aspirants with lethal intent who seek terror training abroad are of paramount concern. Fortunately, like Kaliebe before him, Zea was stopped due to the close cooperation between the NYPD and FBI.”
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth D. DuCharme, John J. Durham, and Michael P. Canty, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Kelli Andrews of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
New Discovery Series #BarHunters, Featuring Chicago Restaurateur Tom Powers, Gives Wannabe Bar Owners the Chance to Turn Their Dreams into Reality
Opening a bar is no party. While many people dream of running a bar of their own, at least half of them fail within the first year. Enter renowned bar expert and sommelier Tom Powers, who has helped open more than two dozen successful restaurants and bars. Now he’s using his expertise to help first-time bar owners find their dream bars in the new series BAR HUNTERS, premiering Monday, October 21, at 10 PM E/P on Discovery.
Each week, Tom will hunt down three high potential spots and reveal how each location can be transformed into the ultimate money making investment. But not all spaces are created equally, with each having its own share of positives and negatives. Tom gives his expert opinion, ranking each space on a scale of one to 10 for success. But ultimately, the decision is in the hands of the bar newbies who must decide which space fits their budget and concept.
The first two 30-minute episodes will air back-to-back beginning at 10PM on Monday, Oct. 21. In the first episode, Tom heads out to the college party town of Tempe, Arizona, where he meets longtime pals Ben and Lars who are looking to open a down and dirty, All-American country western bar complete with a mechanical bull. But can Tom successfully find the right spot without breaking the bank?
Then, in the second episode airing at 10:30PM, Tom meets a father and his two sons looking to open a California beach-themed bar – right in the heart of Dallas, Texas. Can Tom show this trio the spots that give off the California vibes they’re looking for without having to leave their hometown?
From dive bars and brew houses in Pennsylvania to an Irish pub in the American heartland of Kansas to party and sports bars in America’s top cities, BAR HUNTERS travels the country helping everyday people follow their dream of opening a bar of their very own.
BAR HUNTERS is produced for Discovery Channel by Shooters TV. For Shooters TV, Natalie Feldman serves as executive producer. For Discovery, Christo Doyle is executive producer, Jim Beard serves as supervising producer with Meagan Davis as producer.
Each week, Tom will hunt down three high potential spots and reveal how each location can be transformed into the ultimate money making investment. But not all spaces are created equally, with each having its own share of positives and negatives. Tom gives his expert opinion, ranking each space on a scale of one to 10 for success. But ultimately, the decision is in the hands of the bar newbies who must decide which space fits their budget and concept.
The first two 30-minute episodes will air back-to-back beginning at 10PM on Monday, Oct. 21. In the first episode, Tom heads out to the college party town of Tempe, Arizona, where he meets longtime pals Ben and Lars who are looking to open a down and dirty, All-American country western bar complete with a mechanical bull. But can Tom successfully find the right spot without breaking the bank?
Then, in the second episode airing at 10:30PM, Tom meets a father and his two sons looking to open a California beach-themed bar – right in the heart of Dallas, Texas. Can Tom show this trio the spots that give off the California vibes they’re looking for without having to leave their hometown?
From dive bars and brew houses in Pennsylvania to an Irish pub in the American heartland of Kansas to party and sports bars in America’s top cities, BAR HUNTERS travels the country helping everyday people follow their dream of opening a bar of their very own.
BAR HUNTERS is produced for Discovery Channel by Shooters TV. For Shooters TV, Natalie Feldman serves as executive producer. For Discovery, Christo Doyle is executive producer, Jim Beard serves as supervising producer with Meagan Davis as producer.
Friday, October 18, 2013
New Tidbits of Chicago Mob Boss, Al Capone, Revealed in Pismo Beach (Images of America)
Pismo Beach was home to some of Americas earliest people. They thrived in the mild climate and were sustained by abundant natural resources, including the now famous Pismo clam. European settlers developed Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa and Rancho Pismo. With the breakup of the rancho, a small town grew at the beach. The spectacular wide, sandy beach, stretching away from hills and a rugged shoreline, has drawn many photographers to the town, its people, and its progress. An early aerial photograph of Pismo Beach was taken not from an airplane but from kites.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
3rd Annual #ThinkChicago Program Kicks Off
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, University of Illinois, Chicago Ideas Week, and World Business Chicago officially kicked off the 3rd annual ThinkChicago program this week, October 17-19, 2013. The program connects the brightest tech students from Midwestern universities with Chicago innovators by introducing 150 elite students to the leaders of Chicago’s most innovative companies. The program also allows students to explore Chicago’s flourishing tech scene, and gives them the opportunity to attend select programming at Chicago Ideas Week, where some of the world’s brightest thinkers and leaders inspire and enlighten.
“ThinkChicago is integral in introducing the best and the brightest students from across the country to the top innovators and entrepreneurs in Chicago and establishing a highly talented and highly educated workforce right here in the city,” said Mayor Emanuel. “I am excited to continue this partnership with the University of Illinois and Chicago Ideas Week to attract top talent to Chicago and build on our already thriving technology economy.”
ThinkChicago sought students with outstanding academic track records who demonstrated a commitment to innovation and technology. This year, the 150 students attending the program represent 7 states (including Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Missouri) and 18 different universities. Students will also bring a wide array of majors including Economics, Computer Science, MBA, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Business, Finance, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, and Entrepreneurship.
This year’s attendees of ThinkChicago Ideas Week program will meet 25 tech companies including GrubHub, Catamaran, Microsoft, AON Center, Ifbyphone, kCura, and Orbitz and hear from business leaders including Max Levchin , co-founder of Paypal and Chairman of Yelp, Adrian Holovaty, co-creator of Django web framework, and Mike McGee, co-founder of the Starter League. The attendees will also have an opportunity to attend the Chicago Ideas Week “Tech Summit,” attend two Idea Week talks, and visit 1871, Chicago’s premier digital co-working space.
"We’re once again proud to partner with the City of Chicago and the University of Illinois to host the 3rd annual ThinkChicago program,” said Brad Keywell, founder and co-chairman of Chicago Ideas Week. “By highlighting the thriving tech and innovation landscape of Chicago, we hope to showcase Chicago to exceptional graduates as a city to not only kick off their post-graduate life, but also to build new and exciting ventures.”
"By demonstrating why Chicago is a leading destination for the country’s top tech talent, ThinkChicago is delivering on the city’s Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs," said World Business Chicago President & CEO Jeff Malehorn. "We aim to leverage Chicago's assets such as access to transportation, business climate, and cultural amenities to attract entrepreneurs and talent within emerging industries, and Ideas Week provides a perfect opportunity for us to do this."
The inflow of a highly talented and educated workforce is invaluable to Chicago’s business community and the city’s overall economic health. Chicago is already home to a rapidly growing start-up community. Last year alone, 197 new startups received an unprecedented $391 million in funding. Fueled by the flourishing start-up industry, Chicago has climbed from 15th to 10th place in the rankings of the world’s best cities for startups. ThinkChicago is a testament to the commitment by the city to continue and expand that pattern of growth by attracting and retaining a deep talent pool of highly educated and innovative workers, and subsequently drawing more business, jobs, and innovation to the Chicago.
“The University of Illinois is proud to once again partner with Mayor Emanuel, Chicago Ideas Week, and World Business Chicago on this exciting opportunity to showcase the great talent and activity happening here in Chicago,” said Robert A. Easter, President of the University of Illinois. “We look forward to this bigger and more robust program this year.”
The 3rd annual ThinkChicago program also represents Mayor Emanuel’s continued effort to showcase Chicago as a hub for tech innovation and creative entrepreneurship. Mayor Emanuel and Chicago Ideas Week first launched the program within the Mayor’s first 100 days in office, bringing 50 students from 13 Midwestern universities to Chicago. The program has expanded since then, bringing 100 students in 2012 and 150 this year.
In line with efforts to recruit the best minds to Chicago, Mayor Emanuel launched a Lollapalooza edition of the ThinkChicago program this past August, which brought 100 students from across the country to Chicago for two days to explore the city’s vibrant innovation ecosystem. Each admitted student also attended all three days of the Lollapalooza 2013 music festival, which included a walk-through of the artist compound and production areas and a Q&A session with the Lollapalooza producers and founders. In addition to the Ideas Week edition of the program, which focuses on retaining talent from top Midwestern universities, ThinkChicago seeks to strengthen Chicago’s workforce by attracting exceptional talent from top universities across the country through its Lollapalooza program.
“ThinkChicago is integral in introducing the best and the brightest students from across the country to the top innovators and entrepreneurs in Chicago and establishing a highly talented and highly educated workforce right here in the city,” said Mayor Emanuel. “I am excited to continue this partnership with the University of Illinois and Chicago Ideas Week to attract top talent to Chicago and build on our already thriving technology economy.”
ThinkChicago sought students with outstanding academic track records who demonstrated a commitment to innovation and technology. This year, the 150 students attending the program represent 7 states (including Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Missouri) and 18 different universities. Students will also bring a wide array of majors including Economics, Computer Science, MBA, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Business, Finance, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, and Entrepreneurship.
This year’s attendees of ThinkChicago Ideas Week program will meet 25 tech companies including GrubHub, Catamaran, Microsoft, AON Center, Ifbyphone, kCura, and Orbitz and hear from business leaders including Max Levchin , co-founder of Paypal and Chairman of Yelp, Adrian Holovaty, co-creator of Django web framework, and Mike McGee, co-founder of the Starter League. The attendees will also have an opportunity to attend the Chicago Ideas Week “Tech Summit,” attend two Idea Week talks, and visit 1871, Chicago’s premier digital co-working space.
"We’re once again proud to partner with the City of Chicago and the University of Illinois to host the 3rd annual ThinkChicago program,” said Brad Keywell, founder and co-chairman of Chicago Ideas Week. “By highlighting the thriving tech and innovation landscape of Chicago, we hope to showcase Chicago to exceptional graduates as a city to not only kick off their post-graduate life, but also to build new and exciting ventures.”
"By demonstrating why Chicago is a leading destination for the country’s top tech talent, ThinkChicago is delivering on the city’s Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs," said World Business Chicago President & CEO Jeff Malehorn. "We aim to leverage Chicago's assets such as access to transportation, business climate, and cultural amenities to attract entrepreneurs and talent within emerging industries, and Ideas Week provides a perfect opportunity for us to do this."
The inflow of a highly talented and educated workforce is invaluable to Chicago’s business community and the city’s overall economic health. Chicago is already home to a rapidly growing start-up community. Last year alone, 197 new startups received an unprecedented $391 million in funding. Fueled by the flourishing start-up industry, Chicago has climbed from 15th to 10th place in the rankings of the world’s best cities for startups. ThinkChicago is a testament to the commitment by the city to continue and expand that pattern of growth by attracting and retaining a deep talent pool of highly educated and innovative workers, and subsequently drawing more business, jobs, and innovation to the Chicago.
“The University of Illinois is proud to once again partner with Mayor Emanuel, Chicago Ideas Week, and World Business Chicago on this exciting opportunity to showcase the great talent and activity happening here in Chicago,” said Robert A. Easter, President of the University of Illinois. “We look forward to this bigger and more robust program this year.”
The 3rd annual ThinkChicago program also represents Mayor Emanuel’s continued effort to showcase Chicago as a hub for tech innovation and creative entrepreneurship. Mayor Emanuel and Chicago Ideas Week first launched the program within the Mayor’s first 100 days in office, bringing 50 students from 13 Midwestern universities to Chicago. The program has expanded since then, bringing 100 students in 2012 and 150 this year.
In line with efforts to recruit the best minds to Chicago, Mayor Emanuel launched a Lollapalooza edition of the ThinkChicago program this past August, which brought 100 students from across the country to Chicago for two days to explore the city’s vibrant innovation ecosystem. Each admitted student also attended all three days of the Lollapalooza 2013 music festival, which included a walk-through of the artist compound and production areas and a Q&A session with the Lollapalooza producers and founders. In addition to the Ideas Week edition of the program, which focuses on retaining talent from top Midwestern universities, ThinkChicago seeks to strengthen Chicago’s workforce by attracting exceptional talent from top universities across the country through its Lollapalooza program.
Sojin Lim Pleads Guilty to #BankFraud, #MoneyLaundering
Sojin Lim, 60, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, chief executive officer and vice president of General Technologies Corporation, d/b/a CompUtopia, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence on October 15, 2103, to one count each of bank fraud and money laundering, having defrauded the Rockland Trust Company of more than $5 million, announced United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; John G. Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Office of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field office of the FBI; and Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., Lim admitted that she devised a scheme to defraud Rockland Trust Company in order to satisfy a demand for repayment of a $5 million line of credit with Citizens Bank. Lim admitted to the court that she falsified bank documents and overstated company revenues in order to secure funding from Rockland Trust to finance repayment of the line of credit.
According to information presented to the court, in the spring of 2011, Lim and CompUtopia were informed that their line of credit would no longer be carried by Citizens Bank and that CompUtopia was required to seek funding elsewhere. Lim admitted to the court that she devised a scheme to obtain the funding from Rockland Trust Company by providing false, fraudulent, and fictitious information and documentation. Lim falsely stated CompUtopia’s accounts receivables as $7,066,268.04, when in fact CompUtopia’s accounts receivables were substantially less. In June 2011, based on the information and documents provided to Rockland Trust Company, the bank deposited $4,878,378.85 in an account that benefited CompUtopia. In April 2012, the Rockland Trust Company loan was increased to $5,350,000.
According to information presented to the court, in late June 2011, Lim paid Citizens Bank $5,342,997.72 from funds provided by Rockland Trust and from a $464,610.37 loan taken against personal assets. CompUtopia filed for receivership in June 2012.
At sentencing on January 14, 2014, Lim faces statutory penalties of up to 30 years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and five years’ supervised release for bank fraud; and up to 10 years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years’ supervised release for money laundering.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. McAdams and Sandra R. Hebert.
The matter was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and Rhode Island State Police.
This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The President established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., Lim admitted that she devised a scheme to defraud Rockland Trust Company in order to satisfy a demand for repayment of a $5 million line of credit with Citizens Bank. Lim admitted to the court that she falsified bank documents and overstated company revenues in order to secure funding from Rockland Trust to finance repayment of the line of credit.
According to information presented to the court, in the spring of 2011, Lim and CompUtopia were informed that their line of credit would no longer be carried by Citizens Bank and that CompUtopia was required to seek funding elsewhere. Lim admitted to the court that she devised a scheme to obtain the funding from Rockland Trust Company by providing false, fraudulent, and fictitious information and documentation. Lim falsely stated CompUtopia’s accounts receivables as $7,066,268.04, when in fact CompUtopia’s accounts receivables were substantially less. In June 2011, based on the information and documents provided to Rockland Trust Company, the bank deposited $4,878,378.85 in an account that benefited CompUtopia. In April 2012, the Rockland Trust Company loan was increased to $5,350,000.
According to information presented to the court, in late June 2011, Lim paid Citizens Bank $5,342,997.72 from funds provided by Rockland Trust and from a $464,610.37 loan taken against personal assets. CompUtopia filed for receivership in June 2012.
At sentencing on January 14, 2014, Lim faces statutory penalties of up to 30 years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and five years’ supervised release for bank fraud; and up to 10 years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years’ supervised release for money laundering.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. McAdams and Sandra R. Hebert.
The matter was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and Rhode Island State Police.
This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The President established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Euripedes "Caca" Caguana Charged with Federal Murder-for-Hire
A Chicago man was charged today with federal murder-for-hire after he was arrested yesterday without incident by FBI agents and Chicago police officers. The defendant, Euripedes Caguana, also known as “Caca,” 59, of Chicago, allegedly wanted to have killed two individuals he believed were scheduled to testify against his son, who is awaiting trial on murder and related charges in Cook County Circuit Court.
Caguana appeared this morning in U.S. District Court and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing at 11:30 a.m. next Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole.
According to the charges, a cooperating individual told law enforcement that Caguana had called him seeking to have two individuals killed to prevent them from testifying against his son. During the next couple of days, the cooperating individual and an undercover officer, posing as a hitman, engaged in a series of recorded conversations and meetings in which Caguana allegedly provided the cooperating individual with $500 to purchase a gun and offered to pay up to $7,500 to have the two individuals killed.
Murder-for-hire carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must determine a reasonable sentence to impose under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The arrest and charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Salib.
A criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Caguana appeared this morning in U.S. District Court and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing at 11:30 a.m. next Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole.
According to the charges, a cooperating individual told law enforcement that Caguana had called him seeking to have two individuals killed to prevent them from testifying against his son. During the next couple of days, the cooperating individual and an undercover officer, posing as a hitman, engaged in a series of recorded conversations and meetings in which Caguana allegedly provided the cooperating individual with $500 to purchase a gun and offered to pay up to $7,500 to have the two individuals killed.
Murder-for-hire carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must determine a reasonable sentence to impose under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The arrest and charges were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chicago Police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter S. Salib.
A criminal complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Discovery Orders Script for Series on 5 Founding Mafia Families of New York #FiveFamilies
Discovery has ordered its next scripted project, a series about the founding families of the Mafia.
The Five Families will be a dramatic re-telling of the famed five Mafia families in New York. The series will be based off of historical events and will be the first to use the real figures and actual events of those families.
The series comes from Goodfellas' Irwin Winkler and Nicholas Pileggi.
Discovery will produce The Five Families as a global event to debut on one or more of its U.S. or international networks. It joins the miniseries Klondike on its scripted roster.
The Five Families will be a dramatic re-telling of the famed five Mafia families in New York. The series will be based off of historical events and will be the first to use the real figures and actual events of those families.
The series comes from Goodfellas' Irwin Winkler and Nicholas Pileggi.
Discovery will produce The Five Families as a global event to debut on one or more of its U.S. or international networks. It joins the miniseries Klondike on its scripted roster.
Monday, October 14, 2013
The Interloper: Lee Harvey Oswald Inside the Soviet Union
Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 remains one of the most horrifying and hotly debated crimes in American history. Just as perplexing as the assassination is the assassin himself; the 24-year-old Oswald’s hazy background and motivations—and his subsequent murder at the hands of Jack Ruby—make him an intriguing yet frustratingly enigmatic figure. Because Oswald briefly defected to the Soviet Union, some historians allege he was a Soviet agent. But as Peter Savodnik shows in The Interloper, Oswald’s time in the U.S.S.R. reveals a stranger, more chilling story.
Oswald ventured to Russia at the age of 19, after a failed stint in the U.S. Marine Corps and a childhood spent shuffling from address to address with his unstable, needy mother. Like many of his generation, Oswald struggled for a sense of belonging in postwar American society, which could be materialistic, atomized, and alienating. The Soviet Union, with its promise of collectivism and camaraderie, seemed to offer an alternative. While traveling in Europe, Oswald slipped across the Soviet border, soon settling in Minsk where he worked at a radio and television factory. But Oswald quickly became just as disillusioned with his adopted country as he had been with the United States. He spoke very little Russian, had difficulty adapting to the culture of his new home, and found few trustworthy friends; indeed most, it became clear, were informing on him to the KGB. After nearly three years, Oswald returned to America feeling utterly defeated and more alone than ever—and as Savodnik shows, he began to look for an outlet for his frustration and rage.
Drawing on groundbreaking research, including interviews with Oswald’s friends and acquaintances in Russia and the United States, The Interloper brilliantly evokes the shattered psyche not just of Oswald himself, but also of the era he so tragically defined.
Oswald ventured to Russia at the age of 19, after a failed stint in the U.S. Marine Corps and a childhood spent shuffling from address to address with his unstable, needy mother. Like many of his generation, Oswald struggled for a sense of belonging in postwar American society, which could be materialistic, atomized, and alienating. The Soviet Union, with its promise of collectivism and camaraderie, seemed to offer an alternative. While traveling in Europe, Oswald slipped across the Soviet border, soon settling in Minsk where he worked at a radio and television factory. But Oswald quickly became just as disillusioned with his adopted country as he had been with the United States. He spoke very little Russian, had difficulty adapting to the culture of his new home, and found few trustworthy friends; indeed most, it became clear, were informing on him to the KGB. After nearly three years, Oswald returned to America feeling utterly defeated and more alone than ever—and as Savodnik shows, he began to look for an outlet for his frustration and rage.
Drawing on groundbreaking research, including interviews with Oswald’s friends and acquaintances in Russia and the United States, The Interloper brilliantly evokes the shattered psyche not just of Oswald himself, but also of the era he so tragically defined.
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
A Call for Photos of Vietnam Veterans Lost in the War - Submit Photos for Inclusion in Education Center at The Wall in Washington, DC
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has coordinated with local organizations and volunteers nationwide in a call for photographs and back stories of the servicemen and women who gave their lives in the Vietnam War. The photos and stories will be displayed at The Education Center at The Wall in Washington, D.C. VVMF is also calling on the generous support of Americans to help raise the funds to build this facility.
In 2003, legislation passed that authorized the construction of the Educational Center at The Wall by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Plans for the exhibitions at the center include the display of pictures and stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam, some of the 400,000 items left at The Wall and a celebration of American service from Bunker Hill to Baghdad.
Out of the 58,286 men and women who did not return from the Vietnam War there are still over 26,000 Vietnam veterans listed on The Wall who need corresponding photographs and stories. We are losing Vietnam veterans at an alarmingly fast rate. Each day we lose about 390 to illness and age. Their stories are in danger of being lost forever if we don't take action now to ensure they become a part of our collective national memory. Tens of thousands gave their lives during the many years of conflict and their names are etched into the black granite. But as they are on the memorial, they are more than names and so we must do our part to remember them.
The call for photos is part of the Faces Never Forgotten campaign, encouraging friends and families of veterans, as well as every citizen, to ensure that the memories and stories of those inscribed on The Wall are never forgotten. VVMF hopes to give every service member the honor of being fully remembered as a person and not just a name.
"To complete the mission and begin construction of the Education Center, we will continue to depend on the dedication and generosity of those individuals, organizations and communities that make it their goal to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and contribute in their honor," says Jan C. Scruggs, President and Founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The cost of construction for the Education Center is $115 million, of which $26.9 million has been raised to date. Like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Education Center at The Wall will be completely funded through private donations.
Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War.
The Education Center at The Wall will be a place on our National Mall where our military heroes' stories and sacrifice will never be forgotten. With plans to begin construction in 2016, the Center is a technologically-innovative learning facility to be built on the grounds of the Vietnam Veterans and Lincoln Memorials. Visitors will better understand the profound impact that the Vietnam War and other wars had on their friends and family members, their hometowns and the nation. The Center will feature the faces and stories of the more than 58,000 men and women on The Wall, honoring those who fell in Vietnam, those who fought and returned, as well as the friends and families of all who served. The Center will also celebrate the legacy of service that links the heroes of America's past to those still serving today.
In 2003, legislation passed that authorized the construction of the Educational Center at The Wall by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Plans for the exhibitions at the center include the display of pictures and stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam, some of the 400,000 items left at The Wall and a celebration of American service from Bunker Hill to Baghdad.
Out of the 58,286 men and women who did not return from the Vietnam War there are still over 26,000 Vietnam veterans listed on The Wall who need corresponding photographs and stories. We are losing Vietnam veterans at an alarmingly fast rate. Each day we lose about 390 to illness and age. Their stories are in danger of being lost forever if we don't take action now to ensure they become a part of our collective national memory. Tens of thousands gave their lives during the many years of conflict and their names are etched into the black granite. But as they are on the memorial, they are more than names and so we must do our part to remember them.
The call for photos is part of the Faces Never Forgotten campaign, encouraging friends and families of veterans, as well as every citizen, to ensure that the memories and stories of those inscribed on The Wall are never forgotten. VVMF hopes to give every service member the honor of being fully remembered as a person and not just a name.
"To complete the mission and begin construction of the Education Center, we will continue to depend on the dedication and generosity of those individuals, organizations and communities that make it their goal to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and contribute in their honor," says Jan C. Scruggs, President and Founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. The cost of construction for the Education Center is $115 million, of which $26.9 million has been raised to date. Like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Education Center at The Wall will be completely funded through private donations.
Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War.
The Education Center at The Wall will be a place on our National Mall where our military heroes' stories and sacrifice will never be forgotten. With plans to begin construction in 2016, the Center is a technologically-innovative learning facility to be built on the grounds of the Vietnam Veterans and Lincoln Memorials. Visitors will better understand the profound impact that the Vietnam War and other wars had on their friends and family members, their hometowns and the nation. The Center will feature the faces and stories of the more than 58,000 men and women on The Wall, honoring those who fell in Vietnam, those who fought and returned, as well as the friends and families of all who served. The Center will also celebrate the legacy of service that links the heroes of America's past to those still serving today.
Friday, October 04, 2013
Top Ten Questions People Have About Obamacare
Top Ten Questions People Have About Obamacare
10. "Will Obama examine me?"
9. "Should I continue to self-medicate with Sambuca?"
8. "Should there be a hyphen between 'Obama' and 'care'?"
7. "How much to make my knees hinge like a flamingo?"
6. "Is my deductible waived if I'm beaten by the yard dick?"
5. "Will it cover injuries caused by twerking?"
4. "If everyone has health care coverage, won't it stop being cool?"
3. "Will I be reimbursed for strippers dressed like nurses?"
2. "Will I be reimbursed for strippers dressed like nurses?"
1. "Can I still take phony sick days?"
Courtesy of the Late Show with David Letterman
10. "Will Obama examine me?"
9. "Should I continue to self-medicate with Sambuca?"
8. "Should there be a hyphen between 'Obama' and 'care'?"
7. "How much to make my knees hinge like a flamingo?"
6. "Is my deductible waived if I'm beaten by the yard dick?"
5. "Will it cover injuries caused by twerking?"
4. "If everyone has health care coverage, won't it stop being cool?"
3. "Will I be reimbursed for strippers dressed like nurses?"
2. "Will I be reimbursed for strippers dressed like nurses?"
1. "Can I still take phony sick days?"
Courtesy of the Late Show with David Letterman
Thursday, October 03, 2013
U.S. Capitol Police Send Out Shelter in Place Emergency Alert Due to #ActiveShooter Incident!
"SHELTER IN PLACE. Gunshots have been reported on Capitol Hill requiring all occupants in all House Office Buildings to shelter in place. Close, lock and stay away from external doors and windows. Take annunciators, Go Kits and escape hoods; and move to the innermost part of the office away from external doors or windows. If you are not in your office, take shelter in the nearest office, check in with your OEC and wait for USCP to clear the incident. No one will be permitted to enter or exit the building until directed by USCP. All staff should monitor the situation. Further information will be provided as it becomes available."
10 Students Arrested on Felony Mob Action Charges After Brawl Outside of Rich South High School
Ten students are facing felony mob action charges after a brawl outside a suburban Chicago high school.
Authorities say three students were injured at Rich South High School as a fracas erupted Monday between students from the school and Rich Central High.
Officials say about 1,400 Rich Central students were bused to Rich South after a bomb threat. While they were waiting in the gym, someone pulled a fire alarm, sending about 2,800 students from both schools outside.
That's when fights erupted. It took more than two dozen police officers about an hour to control the crowd.
All the teenagers are charged in juvenile court except for one. District 227 Superintendent Doris Langon says more charges are expected.
School board members say their emergency plan had been approved by police.
Authorities say three students were injured at Rich South High School as a fracas erupted Monday between students from the school and Rich Central High.
Officials say about 1,400 Rich Central students were bused to Rich South after a bomb threat. While they were waiting in the gym, someone pulled a fire alarm, sending about 2,800 students from both schools outside.
That's when fights erupted. It took more than two dozen police officers about an hour to control the crowd.
All the teenagers are charged in juvenile court except for one. District 227 Superintendent Doris Langon says more charges are expected.
School board members say their emergency plan had been approved by police.
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Sabirhan Hasanoff Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for Providing Material Support to al Qaeda
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Sabirhan Hasanoff was sentenced in Manhattan federal court to 18 years in prison for providing and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda associates in Yemen and elsewhere and for conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda over the course of nearly three years. Hasanoff, who was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 and transferred to United States custody, pled guilty in June 2012 to one count of providing and attempting to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda and one count of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda. He pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood, who also imposed this sentence.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated, “Today’s sentence reflects the egregiousness of Sabirhan Hasanoff’s conduct. The defendant not only funneled equipment capable of being used for nefarious purposes and thousands of dollars to al Qaeda operatives abroad, he also travelled to U.S. soil to surveil a major New York landmark for a potential terrorist attack. We will not hesitate to continue, with our law enforcement partners, to pursue individuals engaged in similar behavior and do what we can to ensure they are brought to justice.”
According to various public filings and sworn statements made by the defendant during proceedings in Manhattan federal court:
From 2007 through late 2009, Hasanoff supported al Qaeda in a variety of ways. Hasanoff and his co-defendant, Wesam El-Hanafi, sent equipment, including remote-controlled devices capable of use in an explosives attack, to terrorist operatives abroad. In addition, Hasanoff and El-Hanafi together funneled approximately $67,000 to al Qaeda operatives overseas. Hasanoff and El-Hanafi collected some of this money from a third individual who resided in the United States. During this time, both defendants used aliases to disguise the source of their money when making cash donations to their terrorist contacts and made extensive plans for travel to engage in jihad in Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
In August 2008, Hasanoff entered the United States from abroad, travelled to New York City, and performed surveillance on the New York Stock Exchange—all on instructions from overseas terrorists who were considering the location for a possible attack. The information that Hasanoff gathered on the stock exchange was then sent to the terror operatives.
In addition to his prison term, Hasanoff, 37, a dual citizen of the United States and Australia who resided in Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment fee and forfeiture in the amount of $70,000.
El-Hanafi pled guilty in June 2012 to one count of providing and attempting to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda, and one count of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to Al Qaeda. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York-based Joint Terrorism Task Force—which principally consists of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives of the New York City Police Department. Mr. Bharara thanked the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs, the Kansas City-based JTTF, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri for their extraordinary assistance in this matter.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Cronan, Aimee Hector, Glen Kopp, Michael Lockard, and Brendan R. McGuire are in charge of the prosecution.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated, “Today’s sentence reflects the egregiousness of Sabirhan Hasanoff’s conduct. The defendant not only funneled equipment capable of being used for nefarious purposes and thousands of dollars to al Qaeda operatives abroad, he also travelled to U.S. soil to surveil a major New York landmark for a potential terrorist attack. We will not hesitate to continue, with our law enforcement partners, to pursue individuals engaged in similar behavior and do what we can to ensure they are brought to justice.”
According to various public filings and sworn statements made by the defendant during proceedings in Manhattan federal court:
From 2007 through late 2009, Hasanoff supported al Qaeda in a variety of ways. Hasanoff and his co-defendant, Wesam El-Hanafi, sent equipment, including remote-controlled devices capable of use in an explosives attack, to terrorist operatives abroad. In addition, Hasanoff and El-Hanafi together funneled approximately $67,000 to al Qaeda operatives overseas. Hasanoff and El-Hanafi collected some of this money from a third individual who resided in the United States. During this time, both defendants used aliases to disguise the source of their money when making cash donations to their terrorist contacts and made extensive plans for travel to engage in jihad in Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
In August 2008, Hasanoff entered the United States from abroad, travelled to New York City, and performed surveillance on the New York Stock Exchange—all on instructions from overseas terrorists who were considering the location for a possible attack. The information that Hasanoff gathered on the stock exchange was then sent to the terror operatives.
In addition to his prison term, Hasanoff, 37, a dual citizen of the United States and Australia who resided in Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $200 special assessment fee and forfeiture in the amount of $70,000.
El-Hanafi pled guilty in June 2012 to one count of providing and attempting to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda, and one count of conspiracy to provide material support and resources to Al Qaeda. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York-based Joint Terrorism Task Force—which principally consists of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives of the New York City Police Department. Mr. Bharara thanked the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs, the Kansas City-based JTTF, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri for their extraordinary assistance in this matter.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Cronan, Aimee Hector, Glen Kopp, Michael Lockard, and Brendan R. McGuire are in charge of the prosecution.
Details on Lyons Police Officer Jimmy Rodgers Facing Federal Robbery Charge
An officer with the Lyons Police Department (LPD) whose duties included investigating the sale of contraband and counterfeit cigarettes has been charged with robbing and extorting targets of his investigations. The charge was announced by Robert J. Shields, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Jimmy J. Rodgers, 43, was charged in a one-count criminal complaint filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with Hobbs Act robbery, a felony offense. The complaint was unsealed following Rodgers’s court appearance last Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown. Rodgers was released pending his next court appearance, which has not yet been scheduled.
According to the complaint, Rodgers, who was also assigned to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) task force, recruited a cooperating source to assist in setting up transactions in which the source would sell contraband cigarettes to potential targets. The complaint states that Rodgers agreed to pay the source a fee for each transaction the source conducted. The complaint describes two such transactions between the source and targets, for which the source was provided a Village of Lyons check to pay for his services. The complaint alleges the source engaged in subsequent transactions and was paid in cash from money paid to the source during the transactions. The transactions between the source and Rodgers were reported by the source to the FBI last June.
At the direction of the FBI, the source recorded conversations and meetings with Rodgers in connection with another contraband cigarette transaction with a potential target. The complaint alleges that on July 30, the source received $11,280 from the target in exchange for 300 cartons of cigarettes and was told by Rodgers to keep $3,280 of that amount. The source was also given 30 cartons of cigarettes to pass to another source, who helped arrange the transaction with the target. In a recorded meeting a few days later, Rodgers allegedly acknowledged that he was not supposed to pay the source from the proceeds of the transactions and instructed the source to say that all payments to the source were by way of a check from the police department. An FBI agent subsequently reviewed the report of the July 30 transaction filed by Rodgers and noted that the report did not mention the seizure of cash from the target. LPD had no record of Rodgers turning in $8,000 from the transaction.
Mr. Shields expressed his gratitude for the substantial assistance provided by both the Lyons Police Department and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations during the course of this investigation.
If convicted of the charge filed against him, Rodgers faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Jimmy J. Rodgers, 43, was charged in a one-count criminal complaint filed last Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with Hobbs Act robbery, a felony offense. The complaint was unsealed following Rodgers’s court appearance last Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown. Rodgers was released pending his next court appearance, which has not yet been scheduled.
According to the complaint, Rodgers, who was also assigned to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) task force, recruited a cooperating source to assist in setting up transactions in which the source would sell contraband cigarettes to potential targets. The complaint states that Rodgers agreed to pay the source a fee for each transaction the source conducted. The complaint describes two such transactions between the source and targets, for which the source was provided a Village of Lyons check to pay for his services. The complaint alleges the source engaged in subsequent transactions and was paid in cash from money paid to the source during the transactions. The transactions between the source and Rodgers were reported by the source to the FBI last June.
At the direction of the FBI, the source recorded conversations and meetings with Rodgers in connection with another contraband cigarette transaction with a potential target. The complaint alleges that on July 30, the source received $11,280 from the target in exchange for 300 cartons of cigarettes and was told by Rodgers to keep $3,280 of that amount. The source was also given 30 cartons of cigarettes to pass to another source, who helped arrange the transaction with the target. In a recorded meeting a few days later, Rodgers allegedly acknowledged that he was not supposed to pay the source from the proceeds of the transactions and instructed the source to say that all payments to the source were by way of a check from the police department. An FBI agent subsequently reviewed the report of the July 30 transaction filed by Rodgers and noted that the report did not mention the seizure of cash from the target. LPD had no record of Rodgers turning in $8,000 from the transaction.
Mr. Shields expressed his gratitude for the substantial assistance provided by both the Lyons Police Department and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations during the course of this investigation.
If convicted of the charge filed against him, Rodgers faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
James L. Prange Sentenced in Securities Fraud Scheme
A self-described financing consultant to small and emerging companies was sentenced for his role in a kickback scheme.
James L. Prange, 63, of Greenbush, Wisconsin, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 30 months in prison, two years of supervised release, a $15,250, fine and forfeiture. In May 2013, Prange was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud.
Prange was sentenced for his role in a scheme to pay secret kickbacks to an investment fund representative who had agreed to use the fund’s money to buy stock in three companies that had hired Prange’s firm, Northern Equity, to help them raise capital. The kickbacks were concealed through the use of sham consulting agreements and other fraudulent documents. Prange and the company executives were unaware that the purported investment fund representative was actually an undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The conviction and sentence followed a year-long investigation focusing on preventing fraud in the micro-cap stock markets. Microcap companies are small, publicly traded companies whose stock often trades at pennies a share. Fraud in the microcap markets is of increasing concern to regulators as such markets have proven to be fertile grounds for fraud and abuse. This is, in part, because accurate information about microcap stocks may be difficult for the average investor to find, since many microcap companies do not file financial reports with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Executives of three publicly traded companies who were also charged as part of the undercover operation were sentenced in the last two months. In August, Karen L. Person, 62, of Las Vegas, Nevada, the chief executive officer of SBCO, Inc., and John C. Jordan, 62, of Cameron Park, California, the chief executive officer of Vida Life International Ltd., were each sentenced to 30 months in prison for their roles in the scheme. Person pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and Jordan was convicted after trial on multiple counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. In July, Steven Berman, 50, of Ohio, the former chief executive officer of China Wi-Max Communications Inc., and Richard Kranitz, 69, a Wisconsin securities attorney who served as an adviser and a member of the board of directors of China Wi-Max, were each sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, which conducted a parallel civil investigation alongside the FBI undercover operation, cooperated with criminal authorities in bringing these charges and charges against 10 other defendants who participated in the kickback scheme. Eight of those defendants have already pleaded guilty to charges arising out of their involvement in the scheme.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Walters, Stephen E. Frank and Vassili Thomadakis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force visit www.stopfraud.gov.
James L. Prange, 63, of Greenbush, Wisconsin, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 30 months in prison, two years of supervised release, a $15,250, fine and forfeiture. In May 2013, Prange was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud.
Prange was sentenced for his role in a scheme to pay secret kickbacks to an investment fund representative who had agreed to use the fund’s money to buy stock in three companies that had hired Prange’s firm, Northern Equity, to help them raise capital. The kickbacks were concealed through the use of sham consulting agreements and other fraudulent documents. Prange and the company executives were unaware that the purported investment fund representative was actually an undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The conviction and sentence followed a year-long investigation focusing on preventing fraud in the micro-cap stock markets. Microcap companies are small, publicly traded companies whose stock often trades at pennies a share. Fraud in the microcap markets is of increasing concern to regulators as such markets have proven to be fertile grounds for fraud and abuse. This is, in part, because accurate information about microcap stocks may be difficult for the average investor to find, since many microcap companies do not file financial reports with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Executives of three publicly traded companies who were also charged as part of the undercover operation were sentenced in the last two months. In August, Karen L. Person, 62, of Las Vegas, Nevada, the chief executive officer of SBCO, Inc., and John C. Jordan, 62, of Cameron Park, California, the chief executive officer of Vida Life International Ltd., were each sentenced to 30 months in prison for their roles in the scheme. Person pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and Jordan was convicted after trial on multiple counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. In July, Steven Berman, 50, of Ohio, the former chief executive officer of China Wi-Max Communications Inc., and Richard Kranitz, 69, a Wisconsin securities attorney who served as an adviser and a member of the board of directors of China Wi-Max, were each sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, which conducted a parallel civil investigation alongside the FBI undercover operation, cooperated with criminal authorities in bringing these charges and charges against 10 other defendants who participated in the kickback scheme. Eight of those defendants have already pleaded guilty to charges arising out of their involvement in the scheme.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Walters, Stephen E. Frank and Vassili Thomadakis of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.
This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch and, with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force visit www.stopfraud.gov.
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