DENVER, COLORADO  – United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn announced that Maximillian Zeferino Esquibel, age 32 of Pueblo, was sentenced to serve 58 months (nearly 5 years) in federal prison, followed by 3 years on supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Esquibel was convicted after the first criminal jury trial in the District of Colorado since COVID-19 impacted the court system in March.  The FBI and Southern Colorado Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force joined in this announcement.

According to court documents and facts presented at trial, on August 9, 2019, law enforcement agents and officers executed a search warrant at Esquibel’s residence.  He was present during the execution of the warrant, along with his girlfriend.  There were children present as well.

During the search investigators found four firearms, including an AR-15 style rifle, with the safety switch turned to the “fire” position, loaded with an extended magazine that contained multiple rounds of live ammunition.  Three other firearms and over 100 rounds of ammunition were also seized.  Esquibel had a prior felony conviction in Pueblo County in 2006 for aggravated robbery, making it a crime for him to possess firearms.

“Reducing gun crime in Pueblo has been a focus of this office and the Safe Streets Task Force for several years now,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn.  “This case is just one example of how, working with the Pueblo Police Department and the District Attorney’s office, we are clearly having a significant impact.”

“The recent sentencing of Maximillian Zeferino Esquibel is a result of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies working together to remove violent criminals from our neighborhoods,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider. “The citizens of Colorado deserve this collective effort, and I want to thank our Southern Colorado Safe Streets Task Force for helping to keep our community safe.”

Esquibel was first charged by Criminal Complaint on August 9, 2019.  He was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 12, 2019.  He was found guilty following the first post COVID shutdown trial on September 1, 2020, and was sentenced on December 4, 2020.

This case was investigated by the FBI and Southern Coloarado Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force.  Esquibel was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason St. Julien and Thomas Minser.

This case is part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from Project Guardian partners.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.  Related court documents can be found on PACER by searching for Case Number 19-cr-376.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice.  Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

ST. THOMAS, USVI – United States Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert for the District of the Virgin Islands announced today that Marvellous Eghaghe was arrested in Houston, Texas in connection with international wire fraud and money laundering schemes.

According to the indictment filed in the case, Eghaghe created a Texas company and an associated bank account that he used to funnel money fraudulently obtained from victims in the United States Virgin Islands, Alabama, Texas and Colombia.  Part of the scheme involved “spoofing,” in which perpetrators intrude upon victims’ business email communications by setting up an email address similar to that of one of the legitimate participants, thereby diverting money transfers to unknown subjects inside and outside of the United States. The indictment also alleges that in another instance, coconspirators forged over $2 million in checks from the account of an unsuspecting business.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nathan Brooks.

An indictment is merely a formal charging document, and it is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Kenyatta Banks, Jr., of Canal Winchester, Ohio was sentenced today to 57 months of incarceration for his role in a drug conspiracy that spanned several states, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Banks, also known as “Yatta,” age 30, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with the Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances” in August 2020.  Banks admitted to working with others to traffic methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin in Wetzel County, Ohio, Georgia, as well as into the southern district of West Virginia.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert H. McWilliams, Jr. and Shawn M. Adkins prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the West Virginia State Police, the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, and the New Martinsville Police Department investigated.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.