Category: Security

Source: US FBI

CLEVELAND, OH—January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a time to shed light and raise awareness in our communities about a prevalent crime that violates the most basic of human rights—freedom.

Human trafficking is the illegal exploitation of a person. Anyone can be a victim of human trafficking, and it can occur in any U.S. community—cities, suburbs, and even rural areas.

Human trafficking is the exploitation of human beings for profit. Whether it’s domestic servitude, forced labor, or sex trafficking of children and adults, it is a borderless crime without regard to who, what, or where the victims come from.

• As of July 15, 2024, the FBI has more than 1,660 pending human trafficking investigations, with cases in each of the FBI’s 56 field offices. Over 93 percent of the FBI’s human trafficking cases involved sex trafficking, with labor trafficking investigations accounting for over six percent.
• These numbers may be misleading. Labor trafficking is traditionally harder to detect because the underlying labor—such as work performed in hair and nail salons, in restaurants, and by sanitation companies—is normally not illegal.
• In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, the FBI initiated 664 human trafficking cases and conducted 145 federal arrests associated with human trafficking cases.
• Of the 145 federal arrests, 85 were for federal human trafficking crimes (e.g., violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1591 [sex trafficking of children] or § 1594 [conspiracy to sex traffic children]), and 60 were for other federal non-trafficking charges (e.g., 18 U.S.C. § 2422 [coercion and enticement of a minor] or § 2423(a) [transportation of minors], or a variety of other federal criminal violations, such as 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) [felon in possession of a weapon]).
• The FBI investigates all forms of human trafficking, regardless of the victim’s age or nationality.

“Human trafficking is happening across the United States and worldwide, robbing victims of a peaceful life while degrading their existence to a world of dependence. Northern Ohio is not exempt from these dreadful crimes,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen.

The FBI works human trafficking cases under its Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking program. Here in the United States, both U.S. residents and foreign nationals are being bought and sold like modern-day slaves. Traffickers use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to exploit victims. Victims are forced to work as prostitutes or to take jobs as migrant, domestic, restaurant, or factory workers with little or no pay. Human trafficking is a heinous crime that exploits the most vulnerable in society.

“The FBI is laser-focused on finding and identifying the perpetrators associated with human trafficking organizations and stands lockstep with its federal, state, and local partners to not only ensure the safe recovery of survivors, but also collaborate with trauma-informed service providers to protect survivors and connect them with the resources and support that they need and deserve,” Nelsen added.

Under the human trafficking program, the FBI investigates:

• Sex trafficking: When individuals are compelled by force, fraud, or coercion to engage in commercial sex acts. Sex trafficking of a minor occurs when the victim is under the age of 18. For cases involving minors, it is not necessary to prove force, fraud, or coercion.
• Labor trafficking: When individuals are compelled by force, threats, or fraud to perform labor or service.
• Domestic servitude: When individuals within a household appear to be nannies, housekeepers, or other types of domestic workers, but they are being controlled and exploited.

Indicators of Human Trafficking

• Individuals may be victims of human trafficking if:
• They work in the same place they live.
• They have poor living conditions.
• They let someone else speak for them or appear to be coached on what to say.
• They are not in possession of their own travel, immigration, or personal documents.
• There are locks on the outside of doors where they live, rather than inside.
• They have increasing debt.
• Their boss takes their pay.
• They pay their boss for food, clothing, and rent.
• They are not free to leave.
• Someone is always watching or guarding them.
• They are not free to contact family or friends.
• Their boss threatens them.
• They are lied to about the work they will be performing.
• Additional signs of sex trafficking, especially of minors, include:
• Frequent missing incidents or running away.
• Signs of sexual or physical abuse.
• Symptoms of neglect, such as malnourishment.
• Having unexplained hotel keys, prepaid cards, or items inconsistent with their socioeconomic status.
• Multiple hotel reservations under one name for an extended period of time with little or no luggage.
• Frequent absences from school or withdrawing from previously enjoyed activities.
• Abrupt disconnection from family and friends.
• Being overly frightened, annoyed, resistant, or belligerent to authority figures.

• Even if someone seems free to come and go as they please, they may still be a victim of human trafficking: the coercion to remain may be more psychological than physical.
• One indicator is whether the potential victim feels free to leave the situation.
• The potential victims may also be overly reliant on someone else for their physical and/or emotional needs.

• Human trafficking victims are often subjected to debt bondage, in which traffickers demand labor to repay debt.
• Traffickers may charge the victims fees for housing, food, transportation, and other needs.
• They may levy interest and fines for missing daily work quotas.
• Traffickers may also charge for passage to the United States, and then force workers into labor or sex trafficking once they arrive.
• Debt bondage traps a victim in a cycle of debt that can never be paid down, and it can be part of a larger scheme of psychological coercion.

Report Trafficking & Get Help If you are a human trafficking victim or have information about a potential trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733. NHTRC is a national, toll-free hotline, with specialists available to answer calls from anywhere in the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also submit a tip on the NHTRC website.

If you believe a child is involved in a trafficking situation, submit a tip through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline or call 1-800-THE-LOST. FBI personnel assigned to NCMEC review information that is provided to the CyberTipline.

Additional information can be found at Fbi.gov/humantrafficking

Source: US FBI

AKRON, Ohio – Soumya Rudra, 42, of Whitehall, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams, after he pled guilty to traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and to possession of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), also referred to as child pornography. He was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after imprisonment and a $50,000 fine.

According to court documents, Rudra met the victim, who was 14-years old at the time of the incident, on the “Kiss Kiss” dating game app. He then used the Snapchat social platform to text and talk to her via video calls throughout several months in 2023. In late November 2023, Rudra made a 400-mile trek from Pennsylvania to Ohio to meet the underage victim. He admitted to picking her up in his vehicle to drive her to a hotel for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual acts with her. During the investigation, the defendant’s electronic devices recovered in the hotel room were found to contain multiple CSAM images involving other minors.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI-Canton Field Office and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Toni Beth Schnellinger Feisthamel for the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Source: US FBI

DAYTON, Ohio – A Sycamore Township man was arrested by federal agents today and charged with making false statements related to a 1989 rape. Officials ask anyone with information regarding this or any other similar rape to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

It is alleged that Frederick Louis Tanzer, 66, knowingly made a false statement to FBI agents. His home on Kenwood Road and vehicles were searched today, and Tanzer appeared in federal court in Dayton following his arrest.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Tanzer was recently identified as the prime suspect in the cold-case rape. In recent months, agents collected DNA evidence from a Starbucks cup that Tanzer discarded at a local BMV. The DNA extracted from Tanzer’s coffee cup was confirmed by a forensic laboratory as a match to the DNA the rapist had left at the 1989 crime scene.

It is alleged that Tanzer made several materially false statements to federal investigators when approached today, including denying having seen or interacted with the victim on the date she was raped.

Tanzer is a medical doctor who has lived and practiced medicine in Ohio, Kansas and Colorado.

The affidavit details that on Aug. 1, 1989, the victim was violently raped in her condominium on Creighton Place in Cincinnati after arriving home from work.

Federal law enforcement officials ask the public to consider these circumstances of the rape and to contact the FBI with any similar information:

• When the victim arrived home, she noticed an odor that smelled to her like brewed tea or burnt marijuana.
• The rapist was dressed from head to toe in black Lycra, including black gloves and a face mask. He had a black gym bag with him.
• The assailant held a knife to the victim’s throat.
• The rapist used white surgical tape from the gym bag to wrap around the victim’s eyes and head. He used stockings and panty hose from the victim’s dresser to bind her hands and feet to the headboard and footboard of her bed.
• The rapist cut or tore the victim’s clothing and used Vaseline.
• The rapist assaulted the victim vaginally, orally and anally. In between bouts of sexual conduct, the assailant used a cloth to wipe the victim’s mouth and genital areas.
• The rapist said nothing during the entire encounter. He occasionally took breaks from sexually assaulting the victim while the victim remained tied to her bed.
• The rapist listened to and erased answering machine messages. He looked through papers in the victim’s living room and rummaged through her purse. He unplugged and/or disconnected telephones.
• On the handset of the telephone in the bedroom, the rapist taped a piece of newspaper that had been cut from the paper on the couch in the victim’s living room and wrote, “No police or I’ll be back Mis [sic] [name of victim’s employer]”
• The victim described the rapist as white, with dark brown hair, approximately six feet tall with a thin or athletic build.
• The assault took place over the course of more than five and a half hours.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Division; and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge announced the arrest. The IRS-Criminal Investigation Cincinnati Field Office assisted in the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly K. Rossi and Julie D. Garcia are representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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Source: US FBI

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Omoruyi O. Uwadiae, 29, of Columbus, was sentenced in federal court here today to 51 months in prison for harassing, cyberstalking, extorting and stealing the identities of victims in multiple states including Ohio, Colorado and Washington.

For several months in 2019, Uwadiae committed crimes targeting gay and bisexual men.

According to court documents, Uwadiae obtained sexually explicit photographs and videos from potential victims and then used the content to threaten them. Uwadiae threatened to distribute the explicit material widely on the internet and specifically to victims’ friends, family members, employers and others.

The defendant demanded money from some victims. From others, he demanded they meet him, have sex with him, or make damaging admissions such as admissions that they were racist. On multiple occasions, Uwadiae carried through with his threats. He sent sexually explicit photographs and videos to the victims’ friends, family members (including at least one victim’s mother, at least one victim’s brother, and at least one victim’s sister), employers and acquaintances, and also posted sexually explicit photographs and videos widely on the internet.

Multiple victims had not publicly disclosed their sexual orientation, which Uwadiae’s actions disclosed, contrary to their wishes. The defendant also used victims’ identifications to create false accounts on social media and post the victims’ personal information and explicit images online.

Uwadiae targeted young gay men on Grindr and other online sites. He would obtain their sexually explicit photographs and videos consensually and then use them to extort. In some cases, he posted their nude images on Male General and other websites without their consent and then demanded money or other things of value to take down the images. Male General is a blog marketed to gay men containing, among other things, boards where users can post images and text.

For example, one victim was a student at The Ohio State University who communicated with Uwadiae on Grindr. Uwadiae ultimately demanded that the victim either pay him $200 or have sex with him. When the victim did not comply, Uwadiae created false social media accounts using true photos of the victim, stating, “this guy is gay, see pics for evidence.” The victim had not disclosed his sexual orientation to his family and had told Uwadiae he was concerned that his family would react negatively if they learned he was bisexual.

Another victim was a minor at the time of Uwadiae’s crimes. When he and Uwadiae first communicated, he told Uwadiae that he was 18 years old, when in fact he was 17.  After Uwadiae began distributing explicit images of the victim, members of the victim’s family told Uwadiae that he was 17, and Uwadiae ultimately acknowledged that fact.  Even after Uwadiae knew the victim was a minor, he continued to distribute sexually explicit images of the victim, sending them to the victim’s mother and others, and also creating a publicly viewable Facebook page with the explicit images.

Uwadiae was charged in the Southern District of Ohio in April by a bill of information and pleaded guilty in May to 22 total counts, including cyberstalking, making interstate communications with the intent to extort and seven count of unlawfully using a means of identification.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and Senior Litigation Counsel Heather A. Hill are representing the United States in this case, which was investigated by the FBI.

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Source: US FBI

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Anthony J. “A.J.” Williams, 20, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 84 months and one day in prison for crimes related to armed robberies of United States postal carriers. 

“Today’s sentencing shows our continued commitment to holding accountable individuals who break the law in relation to mail theft,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Our investigations and prosecutions will be vigorous, and the end results will be significant. Williams’s seven-year prison sentence is just one example of that.”

According to court documents, on Nov. 9, 2022, Williams committed an armed robbery of a USPS letter carrier who was delivering mail on Michigan Ave. in Columbus. The postal carrier was delivering mail to an apartment complex’s “cluster box” at the time.

After borrowing a Glock19 from one co-conspirator and being driven by another co-conspirator, Williams approached the mail carrier and brandished the handgun directly at the victim. Williams demanded the victim’s postal keys and then yanked the postal keys off of the carrier’s belt.

Williams sent photos of the stolen key to another co-conspirator who was orchestrating the robbery.

The defendant also worked with that same co-conspirator to plan a postal robbery for Christmas Eve 2022 and repeatedly “fished” for stolen mail with stolen postal keys.

Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested in January 2024. He pleaded guilty in July 2024 to brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, committing aggravated robbery of United States property and conspiring to commit an offense against the United States.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division; announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.

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Source: US FBI

Court documents detail 2 additional alleged victims; law enforcement continues to seek information in Ohio, Colorado & Kansas

Source: US FBI

CINCINNATI – A local man was indicted on charges alleging he defrauded victims out of more than $6.5 million through an online laundry and dry-cleaning pickup and delivery business.

Benjamin Cantey, 41, of Cincinnati, was charged in a six-count indictment that was unsealed yesterday.

According to the indictment, in 2019, Cantey started Carbon IQ Inc., doing business as Rumby, as a Delaware corporation that he operated out of Cincinnati. Rumby was a venture-backed startup that purported to provide an e-commerce platform for pickup and delivery of laundry and dry cleaning. Cantey sought to raise investment money as the founder and CEO of the company.

It is alleged that from 2020 through 2022, Cantey defrauded investors and potential investors of money and property. Cantey allegedly lied about his business experience and prior business success to recruit investors. He also allegedly communicated false information that overstated Rumby’s revenue, profits, bank balance, growth and potential growth. He allegedly sent false presentation decks to victims.

For example, Cantey claimed that Rumby ended May 2022 with a $1.5 million bank balance when in reality the account had a negative balance of approximately -$53,000.

The defendant allegedly spent $850,000 in investor money to help purchase a 5,000-square-feet, $1.7 million home on Garden Place in Cincinnati.

Cantey is charged with four counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew C. Singer is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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Source: US FBI

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Ernest Russell Early, Jr., of Greenville, was sentenced today to 11 years in prison for an armed robbery and for possessing fake oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl.  Early, 37, pled guilty to the charges on August 21, 2024.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on August 19, 2023, Early entered the Falkland Mini Mart located on South Main Street in Falkland. He approached the clerk at the back of the store and brandished a black pistol. He then compelled the clerk to return to the register and demanded that he hand over all the money. When the clerk opened the register, Early grabbed $1,500, exited the store, and entered a black Nissan Sentra with New Jersey plates. The cashier followed him outside and was able to obtain a partial license plate number.

Pitt County Sheriff’s Deputies responded and located the suspect’s vehicle, initiating a pursuit. After initially evading the deputies, Early crashed the car and fled on foot. Deputies were able to collect fingerprints from the vehicle, which had been reported stolen, and later confirmed that the prints matched Early’s.

Early remained at large until he was spotted by a detective from the Greenville Police Department on December 8, 2023. The police arrested Early on active warrants in a parking lot in Greenville. During the arrest, they seized 103 counterfeit oxycodone pills and a .40 caliber handgun from his pockets. The pills were subsequently tested and found to contain fentanyl.

Early’s criminal history features three state felony convictions and fifteen misdemeanor convictions.  In 2013, he was convicted in Wake County Superior Court of common law robbery.

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Pitt County Sheriff’s Office, and Greenville Police Department investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phil Aubart and Jake D. Pugh prosecuted.

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. 4:24-cr-0025-M.

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Source: US FBI

RALEIGH, N.C. – A New Bern  man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon.  Nathan Sheptock, 24, pled guilty to the charge on August 22, 20224.   

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Nathan Sheptock, a validated Crip street gang member, illegally possessed two firearms including an AK-style 12-guage shotgun with a 10-round magazine. On August 9, 2023, North Carolina Probation responded to a verbal altercation between Sheptock and a woman at Sheptock’s house on Kinston Street in New Bern. Since Sheptock was actively on probation at the time, probation officers conducted a warrantless search of the house and observed what appeared to be narcotics in plain sight.  A witness also reported that Sheptock was keeping firearms in the house. New Bern Police then obtained a search warrant for the house and found firearms hidden in the backyard. The firearms were DNA tested and lab confirmed to contain Sheptock’s DNA.

Sheptock has a violent criminal history, including multiple convictions for Common Law Robbery from a series of robberies of pizza delivery drivers that Sheptock and an accomplice carried out in 2017.

“When violent felons such as Mr. Sheptock possess firearms, they are committing serious federal crimes and endangering our communities,” Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar stated today.  “I commend the FBI and our state partners at the New Bern Police Department and NC Probation for their hard work in this case, which brought Sheptock to justice.”

“The FBI will not tolerate violent gang members who break the law and then disregard the restrictions they brought upon themselves as convicted felons. Mr. Sheptock was convicted of multiple robberies in 2017, therefore prohibited from owning a weapon. The FBI and our partners at the New Bern Police Department are unwavering in our commitment to making our communities safer for everyone,” said Robert M. DeWitt, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina. 

This case was brought as part of the New Bern Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) which is a collaboration of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the New Bern Police Department, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the District Attorney for the region. A primary objective of VCAP is to investigate and prosecute individuals contributing significantly to crime in New Bern and surrounding areas.

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.  New Bern PD, the FBI, and NC Probation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Aubart and Julie Childress 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. 4:23-CR-61-D-BM.

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Source: US FBI

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced today that Amy Elizabeth Curry, 48, Waynesville, N.C., was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for embezzling at least $1.5 million from a senior assisted living facility. In addition to the prison term imposed, Curry was ordered to pay the facility $1,469,407.24 in restitution.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in North Carolina, and Sheriff William Wilke of the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.

According to court records and proceedings, Curry worked as an office manager and bookkeeper at Silver Bluff, LLC (Silver Bluff), a senior living and care facility in Canton, N.C. As part of her duties, Curry had access to and control over Silver Bluff’s bank accounts and accounting records. From December 2022 to April 2023, Curry made at least 154 unauthorized bank transfers totaling over $1.5 million from the facility’s bank accounts to bank accounts controlled by Curry and her then-boyfriend, J.C. To avoid detection, Curry deleted the wire transfer history from Senior Bluff’s bank accounts and altered the notification settings to prevent Silver Bluff employees and management from receiving alerts. Curry also made handwritten notes on Senior Bluff’s bank statements, falsely noting that the fraudulent transfers were for payroll. Court records show that Curry used the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including to purchase a pick-up truck. Curry and J.C. also spent over $700,000 of the embezzled funds gambling at casinos.

On December 11, 2023, Curry pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Curry will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her sentence upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the FBI and the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville prosecuted the case.