Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: US FBI

LOS ANGELES – United States Attorney Martin Estrada announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas F. Rybarczyk and Anna P. Boylan will lead the efforts of his office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5 general election.

Rybarczyk has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Central District of California, which is comprised of the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. In that capacity, he is responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “My office will be vigilant in upholding the ability of each citizen to vote freely and fairly – without interference or discrimination. Likewise, election officials and staff must be able to work in safety. We will continue our tireless efforts to safeguard our nation’s elections.”

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. In the months leading up to the election, the United States Attorney’s Office has been leading a working group that includes county voting officials and law enforcement leaders to coordinate our protective efforts and ensure a swift and effective response to any election-related security issues and threats. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).

To respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, DEO Rybarczyk and AUSA Boylan will be on duty in this district while the polls are open.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at (310) 477-6565.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C. by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov or by phone at (800) 253-3931.

Please note, however, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency. 

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK—A Jonesboro man has been sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for his involvement in multiple crimes including a methamphetamine conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. United States District Judge Brian S. Miller sentenced Eiichi Moore, 44, this morning in Little Rock. In addition to the sentence of imprisonment, Judge Miller sentenced Moore to five years of supervised release.

      From April 2019 to January 2020, Moore and others conspired to distribute methamphetamine in the Jonesboro area. Moore provided methamphetamine to other dealers who distributed it at Moore’s direction. Law enforcement conducted several controlled purchases of methamphetamine in which Moore typically sold a pound of methamphetamine for $7,000.

      After several of these controlled drug purchases, on January 15, 2020, FBI went to arrest Moore, who fired shots at federal agents during his arrest. After Moore was taken into custody, he was found to be in possession of two semi-automatic pistols and a semi-automatic shotgun. He was charged later that month and pleaded guilty in May 2021.

      “Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect the public,” stated United States Attorney Jonathan D. Ross. “This defendant brazenly shot at the agents who came to arrest him for the crimes he committed. This 20-year sentence should clearly convey to anyone who would harm law enforcement officers that these violent acts will be met with a long prison term.”

      “Today’s federal court sentence puts an end to Eiichi Moore’s well-documented criminal history in northeast Arkansas,” said FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson. “Mr. Moore’s crimes not only preyed upon Jonesboro citizens but also endangered federal agents when he shot at an FBI SWAT team during a lawful arrest operation in January 2020. Mr. Moore’s period of incarceration should give pause to anyone attempting to peddle narcotics in our Arkansas communities or threaten federal law enforcement officers.”

      The investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from the Jonesboro Police Department, Arkansas State Police, Second Judicial Drug Task Force, and Craighead County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin O’Leary and Bart Dickinson.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

Source: US FBI

LITTLE ROCK—A Beebe man was sentenced yesterday afternoon for production of child pornography. United States District Court Judge Lee P. Rudofsky sentenced Joshua Sweat, 30, to 25 years in federal prison.

In April 2019, police in Allen, Texas, notified the Little Rock Police Department that they had located messages between an individual they were investigating in Texas and Joshua Sweat, who lived in Arkansas. In the messages, Sweat stated he was caring for a “little boy” each day and began sending nude images of the child, who appeared to be approximately three years old. 

Law enforcement located and interviewed Sweat, who told them he babysat locally and had access to small children. Sweat confessed to law enforcement that he had images of child sexual abuse on his phone that included children under the age of 10 engaging in oral and anal intercourse. Sweat also admitted to taking photos of the victim and texting them to others.

            Sweat was indicted in May 2019 and pleaded guilty in May 2022. In addition to the prison term, Sweat was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release following his imprisonment. The investigation was conducted by the FBI; the Allen, Texas Police Department; and the Little Rock Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar 

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

Source: US FBI

TEXARKANA, AR – A federal jury convicted a Texarkana Doctor yesterday on two counts of Distribution of a Schedule II Controlled Substance Without an Effective Prescription and two counts of Distribution of a Schedule V Controlled Substance Without an Effective Prescription.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Little Rock District Office (LRDO), Tactical Diversion and Diversion Groups initiated an investigation into Dr. Lonnie Joseph Parker, age 58, of Texarkana, Arkansas in 2018 after receiving complaints from local law enforcement about a suspected pill mill and possible overdose death of a patient.  Investigators analyzed prescription drug monitoring data attributed to Dr. Parker, and the investigation revealed Dr. Parker was an over-prescriber of controlled substances, to include opioids, benzodiazepines, and promethazine with codeine cough syrup in the Texarkana area.  In the two-year period analyzed, Dr. Parker prescribed approximately 1.2 million dosage units of opioid pain medications, including oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl, to approximately 1,508 patients (approximately 847 dosage units per patient). Dr. Parker also prescribed approximately 16 gallons of Promethazine with Codeine cough syrup to approximately 29 patients during the same time frame. The prescriptions included narcotics written in combination with sedatives, creating a high risk of addiction and overdose to patients.

Parker is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes made the announcement.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Little Rock District Office (LRDO), Tactical Diversion and Diversion Group, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Texarkana Police Department, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS).

Assistant United States Attorney Anne Gardner and Assistant United States Attorney Graham Jones prosecuted the case for the United States.

Source: US FBI

FORT SMITH – A Lavaca, Arkansas, man plead guilty today to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Healthcare Fraud and one count of Money Laundering. The Honorable Judge Mark E. Ford presided over the hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

In the plea agreement, Billy Joe Taylor, 43, admitted that from approximately November 2017 through approximately May 2021, he and his co-conspirators submitted and received payment for thousands of Medicare claims totaling millions of dollars for lab tests that had never been ordered by the referring medical provider or performed for the benefit of the beneficiary listed on the claims. The fraudulent claims were submitted on behalf of five clinical labs during the time that they were owned or controlled by Taylor and his co-conspirators, namely, Vitas Laboratory LLC in Barling, Arkansas, Corrlabs LLC in Southern Pines, North Carolina, Nations Laboratory Services LLC in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, Beach Tox LLC in Torrance, California, and Imaginus Diagnostic Laboratory LLC in Spiro, Oklahoma. More than $130 million in Medicare claims were submitted by these labs during the time they were owned or controlled by Taylor and his co-conspirators and Medicare paid approximately $38 million on these claims.

Taylor’s sentencing is expected to take place in approximately four months. Taylor faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the crimes he plead guilty to. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The FBI, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Elser of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas, and Trial Attorney D. Keith Clouser of the Department of Justice National Rapid Response Strike Force are prosecuting the case.

This case was initiated in coordination with the Health Care Fraud Unit’s COVID-19 Interagency Working Group, which is chaired by the National Rapid Response Strike Force and organizes efforts to address illegal activity involving health care programs during the pandemic.

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK—A Little Rock man was sentenced to life in prison today for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a six-year-old child. DeMarcus George, 28, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller.

      In February 2018, a 6-year-old child was taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital due to symptoms that were later determined to be caused by several sexually transmitted diseases. The child was interviewed by an FBI forensic interviewer and disclosed that a man, later determined to be DeMarcus George, had raped her. The child also disclosed that another man, later determined to be Mario Waters, had also raped her. The child told interviewers that the rape occurred in a hotel room with a curtain in the middle of the room, and she described a picture hanging on the wall in the hotel room.

     Law enforcement was able to locate a hotel in Little Rock that matched the description provided by the minor, including the picture on the wall and the curtain in the room. Financial records from the hotel showed that the minor’s mother had rented a room at the hotel in March 2018 and paid with a credit card. The child has since been removed from the mother’s custody.

      Doctors at Arkansas Children’s Hospital determined that it was unlikely the child had obtained each sexually transmitted disease from the same offender and that there were likely multiple offenders. Officers obtained search warrants for George and Waters’ blood and urine. Results indicated that George and Waters tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases that the minor had contracted.

      Both George and Waters were indicted in September 2019, and both pleaded guilty in November 2021. Both defendants admitted in court that they had sexual contact with the minor and were involved in trafficking her with others. Waters is awaiting sentencing.

      The case was investigated by the FBI and the Little Rock Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin Bryant and Allison Bragg are prosecuting the case.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

 Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

Source: US FBI

EL DORADO – The final member of a South Arkansas drug trafficking organization was sentenced yesterday to federal prison for the Distribution of Methamphetamine. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearings for the United States District Court in El Dorado.

According to court documents, beginning in February of 2019, investigators with the 13th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating out of the El Dorado Division of the Western District of Arkansas. During the course of that investigation, Pharell Jackson and his drug trafficking organization were identified by investigators to be responsible for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine from Magnolia, Arkansas, to other locales in the Western District of Arkansas and the Eastern District of Arkansas.

Those members of the drug trafficking organization indicted federally have been sentenced as follows:

Pharell Bronse Jackson:  age 32, El Dorado, Arkansas – Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine – 168 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.

Michael Fitzgerald Williams Jr.:  age 31, North Little Rock, Arkansas – Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine – 120 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.

Gary Bernard Green II: age 33, Camden, Arkansas – Distribution of Methamphetamine -168 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.

Jacovas Deonta Mitchell: age 32, El Dorado, Arkansas – Knowing and Intentionally Distributing Methamphetamine – 108 months imprisonment and 3-year term of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The 13th Judicial District Drug Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration Little Rock, and the FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Wulff, Graham Jones, and Steven Mohlhenrich prosecuted the case for the United States.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Source: US FBI

FORT SMITH – A Fort Smith mother and daughter were sentenced today to a combined sentencing of seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay $53,000.00 in restitution for Bank Fraud, Identity Theft and Theft of Government Funds. Amanda Komp, 39, was sentenced to 4 years in prison while Tammy McCullough, 58, was sentenced to 3 years in prison. The Honorable Judge P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fort Smith.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Komp worked as Housing Manager at Fort Chaffee from approximately 2014 to September 2019. Komp’s duties included processing payments from funds belonging to the United States government held in the Fort Chaffee billeting fund checking account at Regions Bank. The approval process for expenditures from this account required Komp to obtain the signatures of two members of the Fort Chaffee Lodging Advisory Council on purchase requests and checks payable from the billeting fund account.   

From on or about December 26, 2017, to on or about September 3, 2019, sixty-eight checks totaling $53,000 were issued and paid from the Fort Chaffee billeting fund account at Regions Bank for furniture moving services claimed to have been provided to Fort Chaffee by Triple M Enterprises, a company owned by Komp’s mother, Tammy McCullough. Several of the checks and purchase orders contained forged signatures and the furniture moving services for which the checks were issued were not provided as claimed in invoices submitted by Triple M Enterprises. 

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Kenneth Elser and Bryan Achorn prosecuted the case.

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK—Five defendants were sentenced yesterday for their involvement in crimes carried out on behalf of a white supremacist gang. Each defendant previously pleaded guilty to various crimes associated with the New Aryan Empire (NAE), a white supremacist organization that began as a prison gang and functioned as a drug trafficking organization.

      Russell Robinson, 35, of Dover, Arkansas, was sentenced to 204 months imprisonment for kidnapping in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and maiming in aid of racketeering. The remaining four defendants were sentenced for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine: Jeffrey Howell, 38, of Russellville, was sentenced to 188 months imprisonment, Richard Hampton, 42, of Pottsville, and Tiffany Parker, 42, of Russellville, were both sentenced to 96 months imprisonment, and April Teeter, 40, of Russellville, was sentenced to 90 months imprisonment. In addition to prison time, United States District Judge Brian S. Miller also sentenced each defendant to five years of supervised release following their terms of imprisonment.

      The investigation began in 2016, when local and federal agencies initiated a joint investigation to identify, infiltrate, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations in Russellville. Agents identified multiple individuals who were trafficking methamphetamine in the Pope County area. 

      In June 2017, NAE members and associates kidnapped two individuals that they suspected of cooperating with law enforcement, which violated the rules of NAE. One victim was held against their will and subsequently beaten and stabbed multiple times. While the victim was held to the ground, another NAE member heated a knife with a torch and burned the victim’s cheek, leading to permanent disfigurement. Another victim was kidnapped at the same time and restrained and repeatedly beaten.

      The overall indictment in this case charged more than 50 people from the Pope County area with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering, and numerous gun and drug violations. The case is named “To The Dirt,” a reference to the NAE slogan referring to the rule that members must remain in the NAE until they die. The charges allege acts involving attempted murder, kidnapping, maiming, and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Of the 55 total defendants charged in “Operation ‘To The Dirt,’” 53 defendants have pleaded guilty, 1 defendant was found guilty at trial, and 35 of those defendants have already been sentenced to prison terms: Courtney Talley 94 months; Corey A. Ford 45 months, Henri T. Keener, II 84 months, Jared Dale, 84 months; Britanny Conner, 120 months; Keith Savage, 120 months; Joseph Pridmore, 150 months; Daniel Adame, 262 months; Justin Howell, 155 months; James George, 70 months; Amos Adame, 121 months; and Skippy Don Sanders, 262 months; Andrew Syverson 151 months; Amanda Rapp 262 months; Jayme Short 90 months; Cory S. Donnelly 188 months; Wesley Pierson 120 months; Ralph Ross 36 months; Jeffrey L. Knox 180 months; Robert Chandler 65 months; Timothy Ferguson 180 months; Paula S. Enos 180 months; Heath Kizer 96 months; Christopher S. Helms 102 months; David D. Singleton 131 months; Kathrine R. Ross 60 months BOP; Courtney Talley 94 months; Corey A. Ford 45 months; Henri T. Keener, II 84 months; April Howell 198 months; Kevin M. Long 369 months; James Scott Oliver 327 months; and Wesley S. Gullett 420 months. The remaining defendant, Troy L. Loadholt, remains a fugitive.

      The investigation was conducted by ATF, DEA, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Pope County Sheriff’s Office, Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force, and the Russellville Police Department, with assistance from the FBI.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS

Source: US FBI

      LITTLE ROCK—Former Craighead County Clerk Jacob Kade Holliday was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison today for taking more than $1.5 million in county money for his personal use.  Holliday, 34, of Jonesboro, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge James M. Moody, Jr., who also imposed three years of supervised release after Holliday completes his prison term.

      In June 2020, Craighead County officials reported that a theft had occurred from the Craighead County Clerk’s office. The bank that managed the Clerk’s office account had flagged suspicious activity, and auditors concluded that approximately $1,579,057.03 was missing and had been moved to Holliday’s personal banking accounts.

      Law enforcement interviewed Holliday, who admitted to taking the money to fund his businesses: Holliday Development and Management, LLC, and Total Healthcare, LLC, both of which operated restaurants and coffee shops in Jonesboro. Holliday told investigators he planned to pay the money back, but once the COVID-19 pandemic caused most of his businesses to close, he could not replace the money.

      Holliday was indicted in December 2020, when a grand jury charged him with 11 counts of wire fraud for each withdrawal he made from the county account. He pleaded guilty in February of this year and acknowledged that his method was to make a transfer from the county account to one of his personal accounts and then get a cashier’s check from his personal account for the same amount. He pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the indictment, which charged him with wire fraud for his first fraudulent transfer of $101,782.97 on January 29, 2020. In his plea agreement, Holliday agreed to pay $1,579,057.03 in restitution to Craighead County.

      Holliday is currently serving a 120-month sentence in a state case for forgery, and Judge Moody ordered that his federal sentence will not begin until the state sentence is completed. The FBI, Arkansas State Police, and Craighead County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Allison W. Bragg prosecuted the case.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

Twitter:

@EDARNEWS