Category: MIL-OSI

Source: US FBI

NEW BERN, N.C. – An Ahoskie man was sentenced to 102 months in prison for the armed robbery of a Verizon Store and the use of a firearm during and in relation to the robbery.  On June 11, 2024, Marcus Lee Deloatch pled guilty to the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Deloatch, age 40, forced his way into the store through the back door as the manager was closing for the night on December 21, 2023. Deloatch, who was a former employee of the store, pistol-whipped the manager, knocking her to the ground and then went to the front of the store where the register was located. He pointed his firearm at another employee while he grabbed $1,200 out of the register. During the encounter Deloatch complained that the store owed him his last paycheck for $200. Deloatch then fled out the rear of the store. Both victims recognized their former coworker and police were able to quickly find and arrest Deloatch, who commented that he had not planned on getting locked up until after Christmas.

Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The FBI and Ahoskie PD investigated the case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Aubart  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-CR-11-FL.

Source: US FBI

RALEIGH, N.C. – Two New York men were sentenced for fraud they committed against major retailers while living in Raleigh.  Kavon Kerrick Robinson, 25, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, and Christopher Anthony Hilaire, 27, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for their respective roles in the crime.  Both men were also ordered to pay $32,736.74, in restitution.  In July 2024, Robinson pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, and Hilaire pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

“Retail return frauds, including double-dipping schemes like this one, cost retailers billions of dollars in losses every year,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. “These schemes drive prices higher for the rest of us and harm everyday consumers whose credit card information is stolen to facilitate the scheme. We are proud to partner with the NC Retail Merchants Association to raise awareness of these scams and bring them to a stop.”

“Schemes such as retail return fraud are just one example of organized retail crime in North Carolina. North Carolina’s retailers are appreciative of U.S. Attorney Easley’s commitment to fighting organized retail crime in Eastern North Carolina and his willingness to take an aggressive stance against well-organized professional theft networks that prey on North Carolina businesses,” said Andy Ellen, president and general counsel of the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association. “Organized retail crime is not only a crime against property, but a crime against people, often tied to other serious crimes such as opioids, identity theft, and human trafficking. It is very important that offenders be prosecuted to the fullest extent of North Carolina’s law for the good of the economy and the safety of our communities.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Robinson and Hilaire lived together in Raleigh from April 2022 until November 2022.  During this time, Robinson would purchase stolen credit card information from the dark web using cryptocurrency.  Robinson, Hilaire, and others would use that stolen information to make online purchases from a variety of major retailers (including Lowe’s Home Improvement, Home Depot, Michaels, and Walmart), restaurants, and gas stations.  For items purchased from major retailers, Robinson would focus on certain items he knew he could resell.  For example, Robinson purchased a large number of Google Nest thermostats from Lowe’s Home Improvement because he had a buyer for those items.  Sometimes, Robinson would travel to New York to sell the items.  In other instances, he would return the items to obtain a cash refund.  In addition to assisting Robinson and obtaining goods for his own use, Hilaire would provide instructions to others regarding how to execute similar schemes.

Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the cases and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe prosecuted the cases.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 5:23-CR-22 and 5:24-CR-46.

Source: US FBI

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The fifth of five defendants charged with targeting an energy facility has been sentenced. The combined sentences total 324 months in prison. Jordan Duncan, 29, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for manufacturing a short barrel rifle in violation of the National Firearms Act.  Previously, co-defendant Liam Collins, 25, was sentenced to 120 months for interstate transportation of a short barrel rifle, Paul James Kryscuk, 38, was sentenced to 78 months for conspiracy to damage an energy facility, and both Joseph Maurino, 25, and Justin Wade Hermanson, 25, were sentenced to 21 months in prison for conspiracy to manufacture firearms for criminal purposes. Duncan, Collins, and Hermanson are former Marines who were previously assigned to Camp Lejeune.

“We have now brought to justice all five of the defendants involved in a self-described ‘modern day SS,’ who conspired, prepared, and trained to attack America’s power grid in the name of violent white supremacist ideology,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department is aggressively investigating, disrupting, and prosecuting these kinds of hate-fueled plots that seek to sow violence and chaos and endanger our national security.”

“Attacks on our critical infrastructure pose a threat to all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. “We will relentlessly pursue anyone who seeks to destabilize our national security and institutions through hate-fueled violence.”

“This NCIS-led investigation has been crucial in dismantling a domestic terrorist cell intent on targeting innocent people and destroying critical infrastructure,” said NCIS Director Omar Lopez. “The tireless efforts of NCIS, our dedicated law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that those who conspire to undermine our national security are thoroughly investigated and held accountable.”

“There is no place for hate in America,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The Department of Homeland Security is proud to support the whole-of-government, and in fact whole-of-society, effort to disrupt acts of hate-fueled violence and bring the perpetrators to justice. Every single day, Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations bring tremendous dedication, bravery, and skill to this vital mission, and our whole country is safer for their service — because whenever one community is targeted by an act of hate, we are all the victims.”

“Today’s sentencing is the final step in holding accountable five men who were planning to attack an energy facility and were inspired by racially motivated violent extremism,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “If the defendants had been able to carry out an attack it could have caused suffering to thousands of American citizens. The FBI is committed to detecting and stopping such acts and will continue to work with prosecutors to see justice is served in such cases.”

“Driven by a white supremacist ideology, these defendants set out to terrorize the nation by targeting America’s power grid, aiming to create chaos, instill fear, and put countless innocent lives at risk,” said Director Steven Dettelbach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). “The sentences handed down reflect not only the depravity of their intentions but also ATF’s steadfast commitment—alongside our law enforcement partners—to protect our nation from extremist threats and violent attacks, regardless of the motives behind them.”

“HSI, along with its law enforcement partners, keep the safety and security of the American public at the forefront of our actions,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations. “This case sends a clear message to those who wrongfully believe they can plot in the shadows undetected; they will be caught and there will be consequences.”

Previously filed charges alleged that Collins and Kryscuk were members of and made multiple posts on the “Iron March” forum, a gathering point for young neo-Nazis to organize and recruit for extremist organizations, until the forum was closed in late 2017. Collins and Kryscuk met through the forum and expanded their group using an encrypted messaging application as an alternate means of communication outside of the forum.  Collins and Kryscuk recruited additional members, including Duncan, Hermanson, and Maurino.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, the group researched, discussed, and reviewed at length a previous attack on the power grid by an unknown group who used assault-style rifles in an attempt to explode a power substation. Between 2017 and 2020, Kryscuk manufactured firearms while Collins stole military gear, including magazines for assault-style rifles, and had them delivered to the other defendants.  During that time, Duncan, gathered a library of information, some military-owned, regarding firearms, explosives, and nerve toxins and shared that information with Kryscuk and Collins.  Members of the group went on to conduct training, including a live-fire training in the desert near Boise, Idaho.  From video footage recorded by the members during the training, Kryscuk, Duncan, and others produced a montage video of their training.  In the video, the participants are seen firing short barrel rifles and other assault-type rifles, and the end of the propaganda video shows the four participants outfitted in AtomWaffen masks giving the “Heil Hitler” sign, beneath the image of a black sun, a Nazi symbol.  The last frame bears the phrase, “Come home white man.”

In October 2020, during his arrest, a handwritten list of approximately one dozen intersections and places in Idaho and surrounding states was discovered in Kryscuk’s possession, including intersections and/or places containing a transformer, substation, or other component of the power grid for the northwest United States. Prior to their arrests, Collins and Duncan had relocated to Idaho from North Carolina and Texas, respectively, to be near Kryscuk.

Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI Salt Lake City and Charlotte Field Offices with assistance from Fields Offices in Boston, New York, and Newark, the Boise Police Department, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara Kocher and Gabriel Diaz of the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney John Cella of the Justice Department’s National Security Division prosecuted the case, with assistance from Assistant United States Attorneys for the District of Idaho, District of New Jersey, Eastern District of New York, and the District of Rhode Island.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:20-CR-167-M.

Source: US FBI

RALEIGH, N.C. – Grotez Simpson of New York City, New York, age 25, was sentenced to three years followed by three years of supervised release, for conveying false information concerning an alleged attempted attack on a mass transportation vehicle. On May 25 and May 26, 2022, Simpson sent fake bomb threats to Amtrak concerning its daily train from Miami to New York City.

“Hoaxes are no joke,” said U.S Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. “Bomb threats on mass transit get real prison time. This three-year prison sentence sends a strong message that we will not normalize threats of mass violence in this country.”

According to court documents and information presented in court, Simpson boarded the 92 Silver Start in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on its way to New York City. During the trip, Simpson repeatedly texted Amtrak’s “Txt-a-Tip” phone application. In those text messages, Simpson claimed on multiple occasions there was a bomb on-board the train located in another passenger’s luggage. While pleading with Amtrak to stop the train, Simpson stated he was a military veteran and knew what a bomb looked like.

Based on those repeated tips, the Amtrak Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orange County, Florida, stopped the train just outside of Orlando, Florida. They had the approximately 225 passengers, including Simpson, deboard the train. During the next roughly five hours, law enforcement swept the train and did not find any explosive devices. After the delay, the passengers reboarded the train and continued their journey to New York. The next morning, Simpson made further claims that there was a bomb on board the train. As the train continued to its destination, Special Agents with the Amtrak Office of Inspector General determined that the threats had come from Simpson. When the train reached Raleigh, FBI agents took Simpson into custody.

Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced the defendant. The case was investigated by the FBI, Amtrak OIG, and the Amtrak Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Logan Liles prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-127-D.