Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury in the Eastern District of New York convicted Joel David Forney, 42, of Kissimmee, Florida, today on two counts of sex trafficking and related charges for his conduct in trafficking two women to work in commercial sex in New York, including at an open-air sex trafficking market along a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn known as the Penn Track, as well as the defendant’s transportation of a woman from New York to multiple other states, including Connecticut and Pennsylvania, with the intent that she engage in commercial sex for his financial benefit. Forney was also found guilty of coercion and enticement of a minor for having sexual intercourse with a teenager when he was 31 years old.

“The defendant used violence and threats to force victims into commercial sex for his profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Such inhumane conduct has no place in a civilized society. The Justice Department is committed to combating human trafficking and securing justice for its victims.”

“The jury found that Forney used violence and threats to compel women to engage in commercial sex acts at the Penn Track for his own profit, and enticed a vulnerable minor into having sex with him,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. “Our office will relentlessly pursue those, like the defendant, who engage in sex trafficking, and I commend the survivors of Forney’s depraved conduct who bravely assisted law enforcement in bringing him to justice.”

“Joel Forney’s actions inflicted lasting harm on his victims through violence, coercion and manipulation,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting everyone in our communities, and we hope today’s sentencing brings some measure of closure to the victims.”

Evidence at trial showed that Forney used false promises to lure women into his trafficking network. The defendant then compelled these women to have sex with multiple men per day for money, while keeping the proceeds for himself. If the women refused to engage in commercial sex for his financial benefit, the defendant subjected them to physical abuse and threatened to hurt or kill them if they did not comply.

The evidence also showed that the defendant lured a third victim to his home by sending her romantic and sexual text messages. Once in his house, the defendant had sex with the victim, even though he was 31 years old at the time and she knew no more than 15. Forney then sent the victim text messages that implied he was recruiting her for commercial sex.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date. Forney faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison as well as mandatory restitution. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Elbert and Antoinette N. Rangel for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Leah Branch of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Hawaii man was sentenced today to over 33 years in prison and a lifetime term of supervised release for enticement of a minor, sex trafficking of a minor, production and receipt of child pornography, and harassment offenses. 

“The defendant was a youth basketball coach who shamelessly sexually exploited, abused, harassed, and threatened his young victims, causing incalculable harm to them,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti. “We remain steadfast in our commitment to secure justice for victims of these atrocious crimes, especially when such acts are committed by individuals who seek and abuse the trust of their communities in order to target and exploit vulnerable children.”

“Dwayne Yuen grossly and repeatedly violated the sacred trust placed in him by his employer and the parents and families of his young female victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson for the District of Hawaii. “He used his power and position to groom and then serially exploit and victimize the young girls entrusted to his care. While nothing can ever undo the harm he has caused these children and their families, it is our sincere hope that today’s sentence will ensure that our community and children are protected from him, and serve to deter other predators like him in the future. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our dedicated law enforcement partners at the FBI will always continue to hunt down and bring to justice all who seek to exploit Hawaii’s children.”

“Yuen held a position of trust that demanded he protect and inspire young athletes,” said FBI Criminal Investigative Division Assistant Director Jose A. Perez. “Instead, he abused his authority by preying upon and threatening his young victims. Today’s sentencing reinforces the message that the victimization of children will not be tolerated by law enforcement. The FBI will continue to meticulously investigate these crimes, which cause irreparable harm and trauma to our nation’s youth.”

According to court documents, Dwayne Yuen, 52, of Honolulu, exploited and harassed at least ten victims, who he met through youth basketball, where he served as a coach and mentor. From 2005 to 2023, Yuen engaged in extensive grooming of his victims, many of whom were especially vulnerable because of financial or family stressors, purchasing elaborate gifts for them and spending an inappropriate amount of time alone with them. Once trust was established, Yuen began engaging in sexual conversations with his victims, including sending them sexually explicit images. In the early 2000s, he engaged in coerced and forced sexual contact with victims as young as 15 years old. He used threats to harm his victims’ reputation and basketball career to stop them from disclosing or attempting to stop his abuse. He threatened at least one victim with rape and death and threatened, blackmailed, and physically assaulted another victim who tried to avoid his sexual advances. In later years, he would pay economically vulnerable players that he coached to send him sexually explicit images or engage in sexually explicit conversations. He got one minor victim, a former player that he knew was a minor, to engage in a sexually explicit video call in 2020, which he then took screenshots of and sent on at least one occasion to another victim. He also used unidentified numbers to send harassing messages to numerous former players, sometimes at the rate of a hundred times a day.

The FBI Honolulu Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Perlmutter of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii prosecuted the case.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

An indictment unsealed today in the District of Maryland charges an Arizona man with embezzling more than $2.4 million from an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) benefit plan and related money laundering offenses.

According to court documents, James Vincent Campbell, 47, of Scottsdale, Arizona, is CEO and founder of Axim Fringe Solutions Group, LLC (Axim), a company that processes employee benefits for employees of federal contractors. At the time of the alleged thefts, the company was headquartered in Maryland.

The indictment alleges Axim’s clients sent funds to the company to pay for health insurance premiums and 401(k) retirement contributions. Axim was responsible for forwarding those funds to insurance carriers and retirement accounts, charging clients a contractual fee of $40 per employee per month for its services.

Before forwarding the funds, Campbell allegedly pooled them in a master trust account. Between 2015 and 2024, he made 135 unauthorized withdrawals – totaling $2,486,905 – beyond the legitimate fees owed to Axim. Campbell used a significant portion of the stolen funds for personal expenses including big game hunting trips in Alaska, Africa, and other locations; taxidermy fees; jewelry; casino gambling; and direct payments to his girlfriend.

The indictment charges Campbell with a single count of theft from an ERISA plan and eleven counts of money laundering.

If convicted, Campbell faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for each count of money laundering and up to five years for theft from an ERISA plan. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting Assistant Secretary Janet Dhillon of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration made the announcement.

The Employments Benefits Security Administration of the Labor Department is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Vincent Falvo and Jared Hernandez of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case.

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