Littleton Man Indicted for Filing $3 Million In False Tax Returns

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

DENVER  – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Anthony Dattilo, 34, of Littleton, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of wire fraud, three counts of false claims, and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. 

DRUG TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Ohagee Curry, a/k/a “Gee”, 28, of Pensacola, Florida, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. 

Defense News in Brief: Department of War Establishes New Acquisition Model to More than Triple PAC-3 MSE Production in Partnership With Lockheed Martin

Source: United States Department of War

Framework agreement with Lockheed Martin is the first in a series of planned Acquisition Transformation Strategy actions with defense industrial base contractors that provide long-term, stable and growing demand signals to encourage industry investment, with a goal of eliminating government facilitization burdens.

District of Arizona Charges 135 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this Week

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

During the week of enforcement operations from Dec. 27 through Jan. 2, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 135 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 75 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 52 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed 8 cases against 8 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.

Justice Department Sues to Revoke Naturalized Citizenship of Individual Facing a War Crimes Arrest Warrant in Bosnia

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Today, the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint to revoke the citizenship of Sead Miljkovic also known as Sead Dukic, who hid his true identity to come to the United States in 1996 and, ultimately, to naturalize as a U.S. citizen in 2007. Among other facts, Miljkovic failed to disclose to immigration authorities that he had used more than one name and had listed more than one date and place of birth, more than one name for his father, and more than one woman as his wife in his various applications.

Miljkovic is a former member of the security forces of the short-lived Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia (APZB), who was subject to an arrest warrant issued by a court in Bosnia for war crimes against civilians when the U.S. Government granted him naturalized citizenship.

“This Administration will not permit aliens to come to this country and hide their past to acquire the precious gift of U.S. citizenship,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Decades might pass, but when we find you, we will take action.”

The warrant, issued on Jan. 23, 2007, led to an INTERPOL Red Notice alleging that, on June 18, 1994, and while acting as a member of the APZB security forces, Miljkovic physically mistreated civilians who were opposed to the APZB government. According to the Red Notice, Miljkovic and accomplices beat twelve civilians with wooden bats and locked them in a morgue for five days without access to light or water. Miljkovic has not yet appeared before a Bosnian court on these charges.

This case is being civilly prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, after investigation by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations.  

Teledyne Electronic Safety Products Agrees to Pay $1.5M to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Involving the Sale of Non-Conforming Parts to the Department of Defense

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Today, the Justice Department announced that Teledyne RISI Inc., also known as Teledyne Electronic Safety Products (Teledyne ESP), an aerospace and defense electronics company based in Chatsworth, California, has agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by supplying aircraft parts to the military that did not meet contract specifications.

The settlement resolves allegations that Teledyne ESP, as a subcontractor for U.S. Navy contracts, knowingly caused false claims to be submitted to the U.S. Navy in connection with its manufacture of Digital Recovery Sequencer (DRS) units containing a microelectronic part that did not conform with the specifications reviewed and approved by the Navy. DRS units were a component of ejection seat systems used by various types of military aircraft. Teledyne ESP allegedly obtained the non-conforming parts from a third-party broker that was neither an Original Equipment Manufacturer nor an authorized re-seller of the part. The DRS units with the alleged non-conforming part were delivered to the Navy between November 2011 and June 2012 and installed as part of ejection seat systems in military aircraft.

“Our military aviators rely on defense supply chains to provide them with equipment that they can depend on, even in the most difficult conditions,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to hold accountable those who supply equipment to the U.S. military that does not conform to the contract specifications.”

“Our military should not only expect the correct, conforming parts for the equipment they need to serve and defend our country, they deserve that proper equipment,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is proud to support this multi-agency investigation to protect our servicemembers from risks introduced by non-conforming parts in our military supply chains.”

“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General (OIG), remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of the DoD supply chain,” said Special Agent-in-Charge John E. Helsing of the DoD-OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Western Field Office. “Non-conforming parts in the DoD supply chain presents a risk to our warfighters and threaten our Nation’s security.” 

“The Air Force Office of Special Investigations remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting the warfighter by rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse in the defense supply chain,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrell Freeman of Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Southeast Field Office. “Today’s $1.5 million settlement demonstrates that AFOSI, working shoulder-to-shoulder with our Department of Justice, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and Air Force Materiel Command partners, will aggressively pursue and hold accountable any contractor that fails to meet contract requirements that protect the safety and readiness of U.S. military personnel.”

In connection with the settlement, the United States acknowledged that Teledyne ESP took a number of significant steps entitling them to credit for cooperation with the government’s investigation, including identifying witnesses and facilitating their interviews; and providing investigative updates to the United States and other customers, including through the Government-Industry Data Exchange Program. Teledyne ESP received credit under the Department of Justice’s guidelines in Justice Manual § 4-4.112 for taking cooperation into account in cases involving False Claims Act allegations.   

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, DCIS, AF OSI, and the Air Force Materiel Command Law Office, Procurement Fraud Division. This matter was handled by Fraud Section attorney Richard W. Hagner and Assistant U.S. Attorney James Leventis for the District of South Carolina.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

OCALA MAN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Jean-Marie Lubin Celestin, 31, of Ocala, Florida, was sentenced to serve eight years and six months in prison, followed by a 10-year term of supervised release, after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.