Category: Security

Source: US FBI

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Scott Solomon, age 38, of Albany, was sentenced today to 13 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, for defrauding a loan program meant for businesses struggling with the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

In previously pleading guilty to two counts of bank fraud, Solomon admitted that in 2020, he fraudulently applied for and obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for two restaurants in Saratoga Springs, New York, that he had once operated. Solomon submitted false and forged tax documents as part of each loan application, and lied about each restaurant’s number of employees and payroll.

At the time Solomon applied for the loans, neither restaurant was operational, and Solomon used the loaned funds, totaling $163,993, in ways he knew were prohibited by the PPP. Solomon also fraudulently obtained forgiveness of one of the loans, in the amount of $87,500, by falsely telling the lender that he used the loaned funds for payroll.

PPP loans, which were issued by financial institutions in 2020 and 2021 and guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, needed to be used by the borrowing business only on certain, permissible expenses, such as payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. 

Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. also ordered Solomon to pay $163,993 in restitution and to forfeit that same amount as proceeds of his crimes.

Solomon has two prior felony convictions for grand larceny, as well as a prior misdemeanor conviction for possession of a forged instrument.

The FBI investigated this case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett prosecuted this case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Source: US FBI

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Daniel Fuino, age 75, of Slingerlands, New York, pled guilty today to sexual exploitation of a child. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

Fuino admitted that between the summer of 2022 and April 2023, he babysat a young female child at his residence.  During this period, Fuino used the child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.  The victim was 6 years old when the conduct began.

If United States District Judge Mae D’Agostino accepts the parties’ agreed-upon disposition at sentencing on November 26, 2024, Fuino will receive a prison term of 180 months, at least 15 years of supervised release to follow that term of imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000.  He will also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim, forfeit the device used in the offense, and will be required to register as a sex offender.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force – comprised of FBI Special Agents, and state and local police investigators, including from the New York State Police and Colonie Police Department – investigated this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin S. Clark as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: US FBI

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Derbie Michel, age 33, formerly of Troy, New York, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for illegally possessing ammunition as a convicted felon. 

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

In previously pleading guilty, Michel, who has three prior felony convictions, admitted that he possessed five rounds of ammunition on October 15, 2022. According to court documents filed by the Government, Michel threw these rounds of ammunition from a car while fleeing from members of the Troy Police Department on October 15, 2022.  He also threw a privately made firearm, or “ghost gun,” from the car during the same pursuit. 

In imposing the sentence, Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. found that Michel recklessly endangered others by instructing the driver of the car to engage in the car chase and later obstructed justice by making materially false statements about that conduct in connection with his sentencing.  Judge Scullin also ordered Michel to serve a 3-year term of supervised release upon Michel’s release from prison.  

The FBI’s Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes FBI Special Agents and members of state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Troy Police Department, investigated the case.  The U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) assisted in the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua R. Rosenthal and Allen J. Vickey prosecuted the case.   

Source: US FBI

ALBUQUERQUE – Two defendants have each been sentenced to 19 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $5,355.60 for their roles in the brutal 2020 murder of Jane Doe.

There is no parole in the federal system.

On January 23, 2020, Stacey Yellowhorse, 53, and her then-boyfriend Timothy Chischilly, 51, both enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, invited Jane Doe to Chischilly’s home in Mexican Springs. That night, they restrained Doe by nailing her hands and head to the floor and then bludgeoned her to death before burning her remains and scattering them across various locations in the Navajo Nation.

Following the murder, Yellowhorse and Chischilly misled Doe’s family about her whereabouts, falsely claiming that Yellowhorse had dropped Doe off at a local restaurant. They visited Doe’s family a few days after the murder, and Yellowhorse assured them that they would find her safe, including telling Doe’s seven-year-old daughter that Yellowhorse was going to look for the girl’s mother and would bring her back safe.

On January 27, 2020, after Jane Doe was reported missing, Chischilly confessed to his family, detailing how he and Yellowhorse had killed Doe. This confession led to their arrest on February 1, 2020.

Chischilly pled guilty to second-degree murder in February 2024. Shortly before trial was set to begin in March 2024, Yellowhorse also pled guilty to second-degree murder.

Upon their release from prison, Yellowhorse and Chischilly will be subject to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department, Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations and the Gallup Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Brawley and Tavo Hall are prosecuting the case.

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Source: US FBI

ALBUQUERQUE – A Dulce man is facing federal charges for assault by strangulation after the victim was hospitalized with serious injuries.

According to court documents, on February 19, 2024, officers responded to a fight on Veneno Street in Dulce. There they encounter Chalmers Dedios, 32, and the victim. Officers determined that the victim was in distress, showing signs of fear and wearing heavy clothing despite warm weather. After Dedios was arrested on unrelated charges, the victim told officers they had been assaulted multiple times, including strangulation incidents on February 10 and 14.

The victim was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center for serious injuries, including an active brain bleed. During a subsequent interview, Dedios admitted to strangling the victim. Dedios and the victim are enrolled members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation Indian Tribe.

Dedios is in custody pending trial, which has not been set. If convicted of the current charges, Dedios faces up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez made the announcement today.

The Jicarilla Apache Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse Pecoraro is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: US FBI

ALBUQUERQUE – Three individuals face federal charges for allegedly kidnapping a woman, with one defendant facing multiple assault charges, including the use of a firearm.

The indictment alleges that Michael Clubfoot, 45, Carlyn Calavaza, 41, both of Zuni, and Alexis Mahooty, 40, of Pine Hill, all enrolled members of the Zuni Pueblo, unlawfully kidnapped Jane Doe in 2024, and held her for ransom, reward, and otherwise. Clubfoot faces additional charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, use of a firearm during a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Clubfoot will remain in custody pending trial. Calavaza and Mahooty, will remain in the third-party custody pending trial, which is currently set for February 10, 2025.

If convicted, Clubfoot, Calavaza and Mahooty face any term of years up to life in prison for the kidnapping charge.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eliot Neal is prosecuting the case.

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

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Source: US FBI

ALBUQUERQUE – A Zuni man has been charged with second degree murder in Indian Country.

The indictment alleges that on or about December 1, 2024, Glendon Laate, a member of the Zuni Pueblo, allegedly killed John Doe with malice aforethought by shooting him with a homemade firearm.

Laate will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted, Laate faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.

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

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Source: US FBI

ALBUQUERQUE – Following a four-day trial and less than three hours of deliberation, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict against two Nigerian nationals who participated in an international romance scheme.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the scheme, which began in January 2016, involved the creation of a fictitious persona named “Glenn Brown” on the dating website eHarmony.com. Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, both Nigerian nationals, worked with another individual who used this fake profile to initiate a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico and subsequently request money from them. Throughout the course of the fraud, the victim was led to believe that their financial assistance was necessary for “Glenn Brown” to complete a purported construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.

The victim sent approximately $560,000 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017. On September 27, 2016, the victim wired approximately $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account in the name of Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona. Daramola subsequently wired $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a check for $14,000.

Daramola denied any knowledge of the romance scheme, however the FBI’s investigation uncovered extensive evidence, including text and WhatsApp correspondence on Daramola‘s phone, revealing his role as a provider of bank accounts for various fraud schemes including romance fraud schemes.

Ogunlaja‘s involvement included using his Bank of America account for receiving fraudulent funds. Specifically, on March 9 and March 15, 2016, “Glenn Brown” instructed the victim to deposit $20,000 cash into Ogunlaja‘s account. Following these deposits, Ogunlaja made multiple cash withdrawals and transfers to Daramola’s account.

Following the verdict, the Court ordered that Ogunlaja and Daramola remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Ogunlaja and Daramola each face up to 20 years in prison.

There is no parole in the federal system.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña is prosecuting the case.

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Source: US FBI

NEWARK, N.J. – Federal law protects elections 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.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today that the public can call the office’s Election Day Hotline at 888-636-6596 to report voting rights concerns, threats against election officials, or any other activity that would interfere with the right to vote in the District of New Jersey. This number will be active Oct. 26, 2024, through Nov. 8, 2024, and will be staffed live on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.

“We are committed to ensuring that every citizen in New Jersey is able to vote without interference or discrimination, and to have that vote counted. In coordination with the Department’s Election Day Program, our office will do everything in its power to protect voters and election workers throughout New Jersey.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

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. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also 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 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 (when voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).   

In addition to the Election Day Hotline, 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 FBI can be reached by the public at 973-792-3000.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws, or any civil rights violation, can be made at any time to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Hotline, 855-281-3339, or by submitting an online complaint here, or to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form here.

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.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Susan Millenky, Mark McCarren, and Joseph McFarlane will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming general election.

Source: US FBI

CAMDEN, N.J. – A former branch manager of a national financial institution was sentenced to 65 months in prison for using his position to organize a conspiracy to help individuals obtain at least 38 fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling approximately $5 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Tommy Hawkins, 61, of Philadelphia, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Karen M. Williams to one count of bank fraud conspiracy. Judge Williams imposed the sentence on Oct. 18, 2024, in Camden federal court. A codefendant, Sieff Robert Sargeant, 44, of Island Park, New York, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Williams to one count of money laundering and was sentenced on Oct. 2, 2024, to six months in prison and six months of home confinement.

According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court: 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of hundreds of billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying small business was required to apply and provide information on its operations, including the number of employees and expenses. In addition, businesses generally had to provide supporting documentation.

In 2020 and early 2021, Hawkins worked as the branch manager of the Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, branch of a national bank that was accepting Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)  loan applications. Hawkins worked with Eric Rivera, Lisa Smith, and others to recruit individuals who owned companies with little or no operations to open bank accounts at Hawkins’ branch and apply for PPP loans. Hawkins helped the recruited individuals submit PPP loan applications that contained materially false representations about the companies’ number of employees and payroll expenses. The applications also included false documentation, including tax forms. Based on these applications, Hawkins’ bank approved at least 38 PPP loans and disbursed approximately $5 million. Hawkins received incentive compensation through the bank for opening business bank accounts for the companies that received fraudulent PPP loans and also had an agreement with Rivera and Smith for them to pay Hawkins $5,000 of the loan proceeds for each PPP loan that Hawkins helped to obtain.

In April 2021, Sargeant’s business received a PPP loan based on a fraudulent application that was submitted through Hawkins’ branch. Sargeant then paid another individual, James Wessels, to create fake payroll checks. Sargeant distributed fake payroll checks to a friend, who cashed the checks and returned the majority of the cash to Sargeant. This was done to conceal that the proceeds actually were being spent on non-payroll expenses.

In addition the prison term, Judge Williams sentenced Hawkins to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $5.3 million.

Lisa Smith has pleaded guilty to her role in the scheme. Charges remain pending against Rivera and Wessels, and they are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of the Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Patricia Tarasca; special agents of the FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs in Philadelphia; special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Boston-New York Field Division, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Corwin Rattler; and special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Friedman and Attorney-in-Charge Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Camden.