Category: Security

Source: US FBI

LAS VEGAS – A Nevada woman pleaded guilty Monday to fraudulently seeking over $1 million in COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

According to court documents, Karen Chapon, aka Karen Hannafious, 53, submitted six fraudulent PPP loan applications to three financial institutions for her companies. From April 2020 to July 2020, Chapon made multiple false statements about her companies’ respective business operations and payroll expenses, and submitted false documents to support the loan applications, including false federal tax filings. As part of the loan applications, Chapon falsely stated that she had not been convicted of a felony in the past five years, but in fact, she pleaded guilty to felony fraud offenses in 2016. She received four loans totaling approximately $596,931. Chapon used fraudulently obtained funds for her own benefit, including the purchase of a Mercedes Benz SUV.    

Chapon pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan scheduled sentencing for November 29, 2023. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, a five-year term of supervised release, restitution, and a fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted March 29, 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada; Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI; Inspector General J. Russell George for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and Special Agent in Charge Weston King for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Western Region, made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI, TIGTA, and SBA-OIG. Trial Attorneys Lucy Jennings and Jennifer Bilinkas of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Oliva of the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.

In May 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 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 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 Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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Source: US FBI

LAS VEGAS – Captain David E. Boruchowitz (42), a deputy Sheriff with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, appeared in federal court today following his arrest on federal wire fraud, perjury and civil rights violations, arising from the February 2019 false arrest of the former CEO of Valley Electric Association (VEA), a Pahrump-based utility cooperative.

United States Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler arraigned Boruchowitz on the charges contained in a federal indictment and set the date for trial to begin on October 16, 2023, before United States District Judge Andrew P. Gordon.

According to the indictment, Boruchowitz falsely arrested the former CEO without probable cause on charges that she embezzled services from VEA. The indictment further alleges that the false arrest was part of a larger scheme to defraud the former CEO of her job by falsely alleging in various court documents that the CEO embezzled services from the VEA. According to the indictment, Boruchowitz made false statements and omitted material facts in order to obtain the court documents under false pretenses as part of a broader plan to get the CEO fired from her job at VEA. The indictment alleges that Boruchowitz committed federal wire fraud when he caused press releases to be issued from the Nye County Sheriff’s Office that falsely alleged that the investigation and arrest of the CEO was the result of court authorized process when, in truth and in fact, he obtained the process under false and fraudulent pretenses and without probable cause.

Lastly, the indictment charges that Boruchowitz perjured himself when he falsely testified during a federal civil deposition about his knowledge and level of involvement in the circumstances surrounding the arrest.

A conviction on the civil rights charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of one year. The wire fraud and perjury violations each carry a 20-year and five-year term of imprisonment, respectively, for each count.  

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Myhre and Bianca Pucci are prosecuting the case.

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

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Source: US FBI

DETROIT – A Las Vegas man who sex trafficked children in metro-Detroit while visiting the area in December 2020 was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Devin J. Kowalski, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Field Division.

Jquon Wroten, 31, pled guilty to two counts of sex trafficking of a minor in April 2023. Wroten was sentenced today by United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman.

Law enforcement first began investigating Wroten while attempting to locate two minor females who had run away from the Lansing area in late 2020. A relative of one of the minors contacted law enforcement with information and expressed fears that the minors were being trafficked in the Detroit area. Law enforcement recovered the minors from a motel room in Southfield, Michigan in December 2020 and learned that Wroten had recruited the minors to work for him after meeting them in a local motel while he was in town. Wroten and an adult female associate took the minors to a local beauty supply store and bought items in an effort to make them look older. Wroten then set up a commercial sex date for the minors at a residence in metro-Detroit and drove the minors to the date, where they engaged in commercial sex with multiple men. Wroten took proceeds from the sex trafficking for his own use.

“The sex trafficking of children is a hideous crime that preys on some of our district’s most vulnerable citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “The court’s sentence today is a just punishment and will prevent the defendant from further victimizing children here or anywhere else.”

“Protecting young people from dangerous predators is a top priority for the FBI in Michigan and across the country,” said Devin J. Kowalski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “Mr. Wroten in an example of how manipulative these criminals can be. I commend the work of the special agents, deputies, police officers, and prosecutors who worked to make our children safer by ensuring he remains behind bars for a significant period of time.”

This case was investigated by the FBI Detroit Division, FBI Las Vegas Division, FBI San Francisco Division, SEMTEC (Southwest Michigan Trafficking and Exploitation Crimes), and State of Michigan Children’s Protective Services.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan Sweeney Bean and Eaton Brown.

Source: US FBI

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard F. Boulware II to 10 years in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release for attempted child sex trafficking and possession of child sexual abuse material.

James Allen Wynhoff (41) pleaded guilty in September 2022 to attempted sex trafficking and possession of child pornography. In addition to the prison term, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Wynhoff is required to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, on March 31, 2022, Wynhoff contacted a person he believed to be a 15-year-old child on the messaging application Kik. Through Kik messages, he solicited and agreed to pay $100 to the child to have sex with him. Furthermore, Wynhoff admitted to possessing 11 videos of child sexual abuse material depicting children as young as toddlers. He has a federal felony conviction in Utah for Interstate Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Contact.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.

The FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Supriya Prasad prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

If you suspect that you have information about possible child sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

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Source: US FBI

LAS VEGAS – A Pahrump, Nye County, resident was sentenced today by United States District Judge James C. Mahan to 108 months in prison followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for distributing and receiving more than 250,000 images depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as infants on an online peer-to-peer file sharing network.

David Michael Burak (41) pleaded guilty on February 24, 2023, to distribution or receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents, investigators with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force were investigating the sharing of child sexual abuse material on a peer-to-peer file sharing network. During the investigation, it was observed that a device was distributing files depicting child sexual abuse material. On July 19, 2022, investigators executed a search warrant on Burak’s residence. Part of the residence was used for a daycare business catering to pre-school age children. Investigators seized multiple digital devices that were later found to contain more than 250,000 files of child sexual abuse material. Forensics also showed that Burak used these devices to receive and make available for download files of child sexual abuse material on the internet.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.

The FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. United States Attorney Supriya Prasad prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or online at www.cybertipline.org.

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Source: US FBI

NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that JONATHAN SUAREZ (“SUAREZ”), age 29, a resident of Slidell, Louisiana, with was indicted today for receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2).

Source: US FBI

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury today convicted Ramesh Kris Nathan on six counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering in connection with fraudulently obtaining investors’ money for a company that had no legitimate business activities.  The guilty verdict followed an eight-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Nathan, 43, a U.S. national, promised investors that their money would fund Relativity Research Fund, Inc., a company for which Nathan set up a bank account in San Francisco.  He promoted Relativity as being involved in the research and development of advanced technologies, including prototype spacecraft and space-related propulsion systems.  He also made false promises of future trading of the company’s shares on the Nasdaq Private Market.

“Ramesh Nathan spun fantastic tales about space travel technology and advanced robotics to entice investors into funding his company, but all he had to offer was science fiction.  He deceived his investors, many of whom were veterans, about a nonexistent business.  Then he used the ill-gotten funds to line his own pockets,”  said Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins.  “Thanks to the jury’s verdict, Mr. Nathan is being held accountable for the harms he caused to multiple victims.”

“Ramesh Nathan orchestrated a scheme rooted in deception, betraying the trust of investors for his own gain,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. “Today’s guilty verdict reflects the seriousness of his crimes and brings justice to the victims he defrauded. The FBI remains committed to holding financial criminals accountable and protecting the public from fraud.”

The evidence presented at trial showed that Nathan induced potential investors to provide funds by making false and misleading statements on his company’s website, in promotional materials, and in emails to potential investors.  For example, Nathan claimed that the company was developing numerous technology-related enterprises, including advanced robotics and space travel technology.  Nathan also represented that the company had significant capital investments, worldwide offices with over 15,000 employees, and tens of billions of dollars in profits and revenue.

The jury also found that Nathan laundered investor funds through various bank accounts, and then used the funds for his personal expenses and transfers to his mother and his then-girlfriend.  Nathan carried out his fraudulent scheme by recruiting an intermediary to share his lies with investors, many of whom were veterans of the United States military and friends and family of veterans.

The defendant will next appear in court on June 13, 2025, for further proceedings.  Nathan faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud and 10 years in prison for each count of money laundering, and forfeiture of all property that is traceable to his wire fraud and money laundering violations.  Any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roland Chang and Sara Henderson are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Tina Rosenbaum.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.  
 

Source: US FBI

ST. LOUIS – A man from Washington, Missouri on Wednesday admitted recording his sexual activity with a 14-year-old.

Todd Kelly, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography. He admitted making the recordings on his cell phone in June and July of 2023. The victim’s father contacted authorities after learning about the relationship in August of 2023.

Kelly is scheduled to be sentenced July 28. The U.S. Attorney’s office will recommend a prison sentence of 25 years.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Becker is prosecuting 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 the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: US FBI

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

Colt Justin Draggoo, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to five years in federal prison without parole.

On September 12, 2024, C. Draggoo plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.

C. Draggoo admitted that he sold fentanyl pills and collected drug money for his brother and co-defendant, Tiger Dean Draggoo. Between December 29, 2021, and October 22, 2022, C. Draggoo either brokered or sold approximately 263 pills containing fentanyl on behalf of his brother.

C. Draggoo is the third defendant in this case to be sentenced. On Oct. 16, 2024, Tiger Dean Draggoo plead guilty to his role in the fentanyl conspiracy and to three counts of distributing fentanyl resulting in death. Three additional defendants have plead guilty and await sentencing.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brad K. Kavanaugh and Robert Smith. It was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Belton, Mo., Police Department, the Raymore, Mo., Police Department, the Cass County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI.

Source: US FBI

HOUSTON – A 45-year-old Colombian national will make his initial appearance in U.S. federal court on charges of narco-terrorism and distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Adrian Alberto Cano Gomez, an alleged member of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional aka ELN), was extradited from Colombia and is now in Houston. He will make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Hanovice Palermo April 25 at 2 p.m.

The now unsealed indictment, returned March 23, 2023, alleges ELN is a Colombian guerrilla group officially designated as a foreign terrorist organization Oct. 8, 1997. It allegedly continues to operate as one of the largest narco-terrorism organizations in the world.

Cano Gomez is charged with international cocaine distribution conspiracy. He is also charged with distribution of a controlled substance and knowing or intending to provide anything of pecuniary value to a person or organization that engages in terrorism or terrorist activity (narco-terrorism).

“This is not a routine drug case, nor is the ELN the typical drug trafficking organization,” said Ganjei. “Rather, this terror group has used American communities to fund its violent activities and destroyed countless lives in the process. This extradition is a big step towards this office’s goal of dismantling the narcotics-to-terrorism pipeline, and a clear demonstration that no matter where you are, no matter who you are, you are not beyond the reach of the American justice system.”

“The extradition of suspected narco-terrorists like Cano Gomez to the United States is another example of how FBI Houston’s reach extends beyond geographic borders,” said Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI. “For years, Cano Gomez has allegedly been a liaison of international drug trafficking for the ELN-drugs that are smuggled into the United States and make their way onto our streets. His arrest and extradition are a giant step into disrupting the drug trafficking operations and mass violence carried out at the hands of his foreign terrorist organization.”

“For over a decade, this ELN foreign terrorist organization allegedly profited off American communities by trafficking in cocaine and devastating countless lives,” said acting Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell of the Houston division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “Gomez, who is an alleged ELN member believed to have facilitated cocaine distribution from Colombia, is now on American soil to face justice.”

According to the indictment, Cano Gomez and others were involved in an ongoing 16-year conspiracy to distribute cocaine from Colombia to the United States knowing or intending to provide pecuniary support to the ELN.

In November 2021, Cano Gomez and others allegedly participated in distributing approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine in Colombia, knowing it would be imported into the United States.

Colombian authorities took him into custody at the request of the United States in March 2024.

The indictment remains sealed as to those charged but not as yet in custody.

The Houston Field Offices of the FBI and DEA conducted the investigation with assistance of U.S. Marshals Service as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). FBI and DEA agents in Bogota provided substantial support as did the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) multi-agency Special Operations Division, including assigned attorneys from the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) and National Security Division, as well as the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division’s NDDS’ Office of Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia, with the cooperation of Colombian authorities and international partners including the Colombian Army, Colombian National Police, National Prosecutor’s Office and Technical Body of Investigation.

The operation, dubbed Operation Selva Roja, is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey N. MacDonald and Anibal Alaniz of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law