MIL Security Engine-1

Source: US FBI

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Today, a Vestavia man pleaded guilty to a bank fraud scheme in which he provided fraudulent information to financial institutions for the purpose of purchasing boats, luxury vehicles, and heavy equipment, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.

Christopher A. Montalbano, 38, of Vestavia, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Annemarie C. Axon to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.  

According to the plea agreement, between 2015 and 2020 Montalbano fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in loans from at least sixteen different financial institutions by submitting fraudulent information to the financial institutions in loan applications and in supporting documentation. Montalbano obtained these loan proceeds in his personal name, through a shell company, or in the name of a co-conspirator. Montalbano specifically used the loan proceeds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle which included traveling on a private jet aircraft, employing private pilots, employing a personal assistant, purchasing multiple high-end vehicles including Lamborghinis and Ferraris, and purchasing multiple real properties, including a residential home in a gated community, a lake house, and farmland.

To further facilitate the bank fraud scheme, Montalbano created internet websites for some of his shell companies including Land Work Tractor & Equipment (LWT&E), previously located in Florida and then Vincent, Alabama. On the LWT&E website, Montalbano posted photographs of agricultural and construction equipment, UTVs and boats which were purportedly in LWT&E’s possession and for sale. However, the majority of these photographs were copied and taken from the internet websites of legitimate equipment dealers. As a further part of the scheme, Montalbano purchased adjoining properties totaling approximately 150 acres in Vincent, Alabama, where LWT&E was purportedly located. Montalbano then gated the private access road(s) which both prevented unscheduled access, and severely limited the lenders’ ability to verify LWT&E’s possession of the equipment being sold and/or the validity of the equipment pictures on LWT&E’s internet website.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud is 30 years in prison.

The maximum penalty for money laundering is 10 years in prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robin B. Mark and Kristen Osborne are prosecuting the case.

Source: US FBI

Defendant Brought Firearms and Components of Molotov Cocktails to Area Near U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6

Source: US FBI

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that PORFIRIA MARIBEL RAMOS SANCHEZ, 47, a citizen of Mexico last residing in Vernon, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 36 months of imprisonment for her involvement in a scheme to smuggle aliens into the U.S., harbor them at Hartford area residences, force them to work, and threaten to harm them in various ways if they failed to pay exorbitant fees, interest, and other living expenses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in September 2022, the FBI and Hartford Police interviewed several Mexican nationals who disclosed that they were smuggled from Mexico into the U.S. and transported to Hartford.  The investigation revealed that victims typically arranged with Ramos’s mother, Maria Del Carmen Sanchez Potrero, and others in Connecticut and Mexico, to cross the border into the U.S. in exchange for a fee of between $15,000 and $20,000 that each would need to pay once they were in the U.S.  In most cases, the victims were required to turn over a property deed as collateral before leaving Mexico.  They were then smuggled across the border and transported to Hartford area residences, often at a substantial risk of bodily injury or death.

After the victims arrived in Connecticut, they were told that they would have to pay approximately $30,000, with interest, and that they would have to pay Sanchez, Ramos, and their co-coconspirators for rent, food, gas, and utilities.  The co-conspirators created false documents for the victims, including Permanent Residence cards and Social Security cards, and helped the victims find employment in the Hartford area.  In addition to their own jobs, some victims were required to perform housework and yardwork without compensation and without having their debt reduced.

Victims were rarely provided with an accounting of their debt.  If victims failed to make regular payments, or in amounts that the co-conspirators expected, they were sometimes threatened, including with threats to harm family members in Mexico, to take property in Mexico that had been secured as collateral, to reveal victims’ immigration status to U.S. authorities, and to raise their interest payments.

To date, investigators have identified 19 victims of this scheme.  Multiple victims were minors, and at least two were smuggled into the U.S. unaccompanied by a relative or legal guardian.

Ramos has been detained since her arrest on October 5, 2023.  On October 4, 2024, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to encourage and induce, bring in, transport, and harbor aliens.

Judge Dooley ordered Ramos to pay restitution of $574,608.  As a condition of her plea agreement, in partial satisfaction or her restitution obligation, Ramos and her husband agreed to sell a house they owned at 74 Burnside Avenue in East Hartford, which was used to facilitate this criminal offense.  However, in violation of her plea agreement, Ramos did not inform the government of the pending sale and sold the house in November 2024 to a relative of her husband for $75,000 less than its appraised value.

Ramos faces immigration proceedings when she completes her prison term.

Sanchez pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.

This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hartford Police Department, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel Krull and Shan Patel.

Source: US FBI

Marc H. Silverman, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that STEPHANIE PEREZ, 40, of Bridgeport, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 14 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for her participation in a multistate identity theft and vehicle theft scheme that defrauded dozens of individuals and businesses out of more than $1 million.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Perez was involved in a multistate identity theft scheme led by her husband, Tyshon Walker.  Beginning in September 2020, Walker obtained personal information stolen from residents of Connecticut and other states and used it to apply for vehicle loans at dealerships in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Rhode Island for luxury and performance vehicles, motorcycles, an all-terrain vehicle, and a boat.  Once the loan was approved by the dealership using the identity theft victim’s information, Walker would send “runners,” to pick up the vehicle utilizing a fictitious driver’s license that included the identity theft victim’s information and a photograph of the runner.  The vehicle was then transported back to Connecticut for resale on Facebook Marketplace.

Perez helped Walker select coconspirators, including Ryan Testa, to be runners, provided them with payment to make trips to acquire vehicles, and picked up the vehicles from the coconspirators once they returned to Connecticut.  Perez recruited and supervised Testa after two other runners involved in the scheme were arrested and charged with related offenses.  Between March and May 2023, at the direction of Perez and Walker, Testa used stolen identities to acquire at least nine vehicles with a total value of more than $500,000.

Perez was arrested on April 10, 2024.  On December 6, 2024, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud.

Walker and Testa have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New Haven Safe Streets/Gang Task Force, the Bridgeport Police Department, the Hopkinton (R.I.) Police Department, the Westtown – East Goshen Regional (Pa.) Police Department, and the Washington Township (N.J.) Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren C. Clark and Heather M. Cherry.

Source: US FBI

DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Tiffany Vo, age 37, of Denver, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, and restitution in the amount of $483,393.58 after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud for a scheme to defraud her employer, Amazon.

According to the plea agreement, between approximately the summer of 2020 through at least June of 2022, Vo worked for Amazon in a role in which she administered virtual employee programs during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Vo devised and participated in a scheme to fabricate invoices and expense reports to claim reimbursement for approximately $483,393.58 in purported corporate event expenditures that did not occur. Vo spent the stolen funds on a variety of personal expenses including designer handbags and sunglasses, payments toward her condo, two vehicles, exercise equipment, and thousands of dollars of beauty products.

“White collar crimes like this one cause financial impact to not just corporate entities, but to consumers and taxpayers,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch. “This office will continue to prosecute criminals who exploit access for personal gain.”

“Instead of working for her employer, this defendant was furtively working against her employer. Over the course of her deception, she stole nearly $500,000 and used the money to live exorbitantly beyond her means,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “Members of the FBI Denver complex financial crimes squad were able to unravel the defendant’s embezzlement scheme, and now she faces the justice she earned.”

Judge S. Kato Crews presided over the sentencing.  The FBI Denver Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Weber handled the prosecution.

Case Number: 1:24-cr-00102-SKC

Source: US FBI

DURANGO – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Benjamin Vincent Smith, 28, of Durango, Colorado, was charged by complaint with one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, and one count of possession of child pornography.

According to the complaint, Smith was a former music teacher at Escalante Middle School in Durango. In July 2024, Smith allegedly posed as a 16-year-old female on the social media service SnapChat under username “MTNCHICK69.” Via SnapChat, Smith contacted Minor #1 under the ruse that Smith was a 16-year-old female, and enticed Minor #1 to meet him in a parking lot for a sexual encounter. After meeting Smith, Minor #1 reported the incident to law enforcement, who were able to identify Smith as the suspect. During the investigation, law enforcement seized Smith’s phone and searched it pursuant to a warrant. Smith allegedly possessed numerous photographs of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, apparently belonging to over two dozen school-age minors living in the Durango area. 

The charges contained in the complaint are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent of the charges unless and until proven guilty.

The United States Attorney’s Office encourages anyone with information related to this investigation or who had any contact with “MTNCHCK69” to contact the Homeland Security Investigation tip line at: 1-877-4-HSI-TIP.

The case is being investigated by HSI with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Durango Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey K. Graves.

Case Number: 24-mj-00185-JMC

Source: US FBI

Drug Trafficking
Amanda Rose Brown, 40, of Riverton, Wyoming was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment with three years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine. According to court documents, on Sept. 26, 2023, agents conducted a controlled buy of 3.5 grams of methamphetamine from Brown for $150 on the Wind River Indian Reservation. A review of Brown’s Facebook account showed she was contacted by multiple parties looking for “blues” (fentanyl) and either she had them or sought to get them; she also advised she had methamphetamine and could get “bud”. She was indicted on May 16, pleaded guilty on July 1, and U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Sept. 26, in Cheyenne. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the crime and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy W. Gist prosecuted the case. Case No. 24-00081

Firearm Offenses
John Otis Marsh, 57, of Wamsutter, Wyoming was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment with two years of supervised, release for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm. According to court documents, on June 8, 2022, deputies were called to a Love’s convenience store in Wamsutter to investigate an injured man. The victim said he was threatened with a gun, punched, and dragged by a man who shared a trailer with Marsh. The victim stayed, with the permission from Marsh, in a camper across the road, on Marsh’s land. The investigation led the deputies to the trailer where they found multiple guns and ammunition. Both Marsh and his roommate are convicted felons and unlawfully possessed the firearms. Marsh was indicted on July 19, 2023 and pleaded guilty on July 12. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Sept. 25. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigate the crime and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan C. Coppom prosecuted the case. Case No. 23-00099

Littlefawn Lebeau, 41, of Fort Washakie, Wyoming was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison with three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on Dec. 23, 2023, law enforcement was called to Lander Sage West Hospital for a report of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The defendant denied she had shot herself in the foot at first because she knew she was a felon and illegally possessed the firearm, but later admitted to the accident. She was indicted on Jan. 4, pleaded guilty on July 12, and U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Sept. 25, in Cheyenne. This crime was investigated by the FBI and the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Elmore. Case No. 24-CR-00018

Illegal Re-entry of a Previously Deported Alien

Jesus Montano-Martinez, 32, of Chihuahua, Mexico, was sentenced to time served plus 10 days to allow for deportation proceedings, for illegal reentry of a previously deported alien into the United States. According to court documents, on Feb. 20, Montano-Martinez was arrested by Wyoming Highway Patrol in Carbon County for driving under the influence of alcohol and not having valid immigration documents permitting him to be in the U.S. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was contacted. A Deportation Officer processed the defendant and obtained fingerprints matching pre-existing fingerprints in their database indicating Montano-Martinez was in the U.S. illegally. ICE investigated the crime and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Elmore prosecuted the case. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Sept. 24, in Cheyenne. Case No. 24-CR-00127

About the United States Attorney’s Office
The United States Attorney’s Office is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the District of Wyoming, including all criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits brought by or against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. The Office is involved in several programs designed to make our communities safer. They include:

Environmental Justice

The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Project Safe Childhood

Project Safe Childhood (PSC) is a DOJ initiative that combats the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for sexual contact is well-known and serious.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a nationwide commitment to reducing gun and gang crime in America by networking existing local programs that target gun crime and providing these programs with additional tools necessary to be successful.

Victim Witness Assistance

The Victim Witness Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming is dedicated to making sure that victims of federal crimes and their family members are treated with compassion, fairness, and respect.

To report a federal crime, go to: https://www.justice.gov/actioncenter/report-crime#trafficking

Source: US FBI

DENVER – Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch announces that Assistant United States Attorney Alison Connaughty will lead the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5, 2024, general election.

AUSA Connaughty has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Colorado, and in that capacity is responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of election day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Voting is the cornerstone of American democracy, and our office takes seriously its role in making sure that everyone who is entitled to vote gets to vote,” said Acting United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Matt Kirsch.

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 protects 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.  It 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 where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English.

In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, the District Election Officer will be on duty in the District of Colorado while the polls are open and can be reached at (303) 454-0159.

In addition, 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 local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ .

In the event 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.

Source: US FBI

Law Firm CFO Used Stolen Money to Pay for Three Houses in California and Other Personal Expenses

Source: US FBI

A Jury Concluded in June of 2022 that Defendants Participated in an Enterprise that Engaged in a Broad Array of Violent Crimes Including Murder, Assault, Robbery, Extortion, and Witness Intimidation