Two - Shore News Network

Two Individuals Sentenced in Methamphetamine and Fentanyl Distribution Case

DOJ PressOctober 12, 20210

BOISE – A Boise man and an Arizona man were sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy and for possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute it to others. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye sentenced Derek J. Tuschoff, 36, of Boise, to seven years imprisonment and Robert B. Mahan Jr., 38, of Phoenix, to ten years imprisonment. Both Tuschoff and Mahan were ordered to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of their prison sentences. According to court records, beginning in January 2019, law enforcement investigated Tuschoff for distributing large quantities of methamphetamine in the Treasure Valley.

Human Trafficker Sentenced to Two Decades in Federal Custody

DOJ PressOctober 9, 20210

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Cocaine Base Distribution Charges Filed Against Two Defendants Operating in Burlington, Vermont

DOJ PressOctober 9, 20210

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Tyrish Stevenson, also known as “Skip,” 47, and Christopher Rivers, also known as “Q,” 27, both of Brooklyn, NY appeared today in United States District Court in Burlington for an arraignment on a two-count indictment charging them with the distribution of cocaine base. According to court documents, the Burlington Police Department, with the assistance of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, conducted an investigation into multiple individuals engaged in the distribution of narcotics in Burlington, Vermont. The Burlington Police Department conducted purchases of cocaine base from

Two Men Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison for Role in Trafficking Fentanyl

DOJ PressOctober 9, 20210

Florence, South Carolina — Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that Fernando Contreras-Herrera, 25, and Cesar Inda-Silva, 25, both from Mexico, were each sentenced to eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Evidence presented to the Court showed that, on January 22, 2021, officers with the Myrtle Beach Police Department intercepted a shipped package with indicators of narcotics. A subsequent search revealed that the shipping box contained an inner box. Inside that box was a locked safe, and inside the safe were three wrapped “bricks” consistent with kilogram quantities

Two Parents Convicted by Jury in College Admissions Scheme

DOJ PressOctober 9, 20210

BOSTON – Two former executives were convicted today by a federal jury in Boston in connection with conspiring to bribe athletic officials to facilitate their children’s admission to the University of Southern California (USC) as purported athletic recruits. John Wilson, 62, of Lynnfield, Mass., and Gamal Abdelaziz, 64, of Las Vegas, Nev., were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and honest services mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. Wilson was also convicted of three counts of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud, two counts of

Two Men Sentenced to Prison for Aggravated Identity Theft

DOJ PressOctober 9, 20210

BOISE – Two men were sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for aggravated identity theft. According to court records, Atilla Ferenc Orban, a/k/a David Babos, 37, and Hakim Slafti Hannaoui, 33, admitted that they conspired to commit access device fraud. As part of the scheme, the defendants attached electronic devices known as “skimmers” to ATMs. Once installed, the skimmers captured the information stored on the magnetic strips of payment cards inserted into the ATMs. The defendants retrieved the information captured by the skimmers and used equipment to encode the fraudulently obtained payment card information onto the magnetic strips of

Former Nantucket Bank Employee Pleads Guilty to Role in Two Fraud Schemes

DOJ PressOctober 9, 20210

BOSTON – A former Nantucket Bank employee pleaded guilty today to her role in two fraud conspiracies. Rushell Harris, 32, of Nantucket, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for Jan. 27, 2022. Harris was charged on Sept. 16, 2021. Between approximately June 2014 and November 2018, Harris engaged in two separate wire fraud conspiracies. In the first conspiracy, Harris exploited her position at Nantucket Bank by obtaining personally identifiable information of a customer and surreptitiously taking photographs of the victim’s account information. Harris then shared that

New Orleans Men Sentenced For Two Bank Robberies

DOJ PressOctober 9, 20210

NEW ORLEANS – BYRON WATSON, age 32, and REGINALD LUMAR, age 30, residents of New Orleans, were sentenced this week by the Honorable Susie Morgan, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. WATSON was sentenced to 72 months of incarceration and LUMAR was sentenced to 51 months of incarceration. Both men were ordered to serve three (3) years of supervised release after completion of their prison sentences and payment of $200 mandatory special assessment fees. The defendants were also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $15,576. According to Count One of the indictment, on September 10, 2019, WATSON

Two Corporate Exec Parents Found Guilty In First College Admissions Scandal Trial

The Daily CallerOctober 9, 20210

Two corporate executive parents whose children attend prestigious universities were found guilty in federal court Friday for bribing university staff to rig the admissions process, The Wall Street Journal reported. Gamal Abdelaziz, former chief operations officer of Wynn Resorts Development and John Wilson, a private-equity financier and former chief financial officer of Staples, who were tried together in federal court, each spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to falsify their childrens’ academic and athletic records to gain admission to the University of Southern California (USC), Stanford and Harvard as athletic recruits with the help of scandal ringleader and admissions consultant

Alabama Woman Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Providing False Statements During Purchases of Firearms in Central Illinois

DOJ PressOctober 7, 20210

PEORIA, Ill. – An Alabama woman, April Alexandra Soriano, 31, formerly of the 1800 block of East Bertman Avenue, in Springfield, Illinois, pleaded guilty on October 6, 2021, to making false statements during the purchase of multiple firearms during November 2018 and April 2020. Sentencing has been scheduled for January 27, 2022. In federal court yesterday, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Hawley, Soriano admitted to lying on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives forms when she indicated she was purchasing the guns for herself when, in fact, she was buying them for someone else. During the change-of-plea hearing, the

Business Owners Plead Guilty in Two Separate Tax Fraud Cases

DOJ PressOctober 7, 20210

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The owners of separate and unrelated businesses pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence to charges they failed to report substantial amounts of income to the Internal Revenue Service and failed to pay taxes on the income, announced Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus. On Wednesday, Gladys Rossi, 53, the sole owner and operator of R.I.J. Inc, a Providence-based company that affixes price tags to jewelry for other companies, admitted to a federal court judge that she failed to disclose more than $1.2 million dollars in gross revenue and failed to pay more than $400,000 in

Two Canonsburg Residents Indicted on Fentanyl Possession and Distribution Charges

DOJ PressOctober 7, 20210

PITTSBURGH, PA – Two residents of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal narcotic laws, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today. The six-count Indictment, returned on Sept. 21, 2021, and unsealed yesterday following their arrests, named Troy Terrell, age 32, and Angel Barton, age 36, as the defendants. According to the Indictment, from in and around April 2020 and continuing thereafter until in and around June 2020, Terrell and Barton possessed and distributed fentanyl. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 20 years, a fine

Former SCANA CEO Sentenced to Two Years for Defrauding Ratepayers in Connection with Failed Nuclear Construction Project

DOJ PressOctober 7, 20210

Columbia, South Carolina — Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that Kevin B. Marsh, 66, former SCANA Corporation (SCANA) Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Evidence presented to the Court showed that Marsh intentionally defrauded ratepayers while overseeing and managing SCANA’s operations – including the construction of two reactors at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station – so the company could obtain and retain rate increases imposed on its rate-paying customers and qualify for up

Two Brothers from Ohio Sentenced for Overdose Death from Fentanyl

DOJ PressOctober 6, 20210

DETROIT – Two brothers from Oregon, Ohio have been sentenced on charges of distributing and conspiring to distribute fentanyl resulting in the overdose death of a victim, announced Acting United States Attorney Saima Mohsin. Joining Mohsin in the announcement were Special Agent in Charge Keith Martin, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Division, and Chief Charles F. McCormick IV, Monroe Police Department. Both Harry Clifford Wise, 39, and James Allen Wise, 32, received a sentence of 96 months in federal prison. According to court records, on April 1, 2017, the Monroe Police Department responded to a house in the 300 block of

Two Portland Gang Members Face Federal Charges After Illegally Purchasing More than 80 Firearms

DOJ PressOctober 6, 20210

PORTLAND, Ore.—Two self-identified members of the Unthank Park Hustlers, a local Bloods gang set, are facing federal charges after illegally purchasing 82 firearms from local gun shops since April 2020. Edward Charles Green and his twin brother Thomas Edward Green III, both 23 and residents of Gresham, Oregon, have been charged by criminal complaint with falsifying information in connection with the acquisition of a firearm and making false statements in a federal firearms licensee (FFL) record. According to court documents, in May 2021, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) opened an investigation after receiving information

Two Men Indicted for Fentanyl Trafficking on the Red Lake Reservation

DOJ PressOctober 6, 20210

MINNEAPOLIS – Two men have been charged by a federal grand jury for their roles in distributing fentanyl onto the Red Lake Indian Reservation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk. According to court documents, in March 2021, Christopher Douglas Richard, 40, of Detroit, Michigan, conspired with others to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl on and around the Red Lake Indian Reservation. In a separate indictment, on April 30, 2021, Leroy Varney, 52, of Bemidji, Minnesota, allegedly possessed more than 40 grams of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it on and around the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

Two Lyon County Men Sentenced for Causing 3,900-Gallon Oil Spill into Yellow Medicine River

DOJ PressOctober 6, 20210

MINNEAPOLIS – Two Lyon County men have each been sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $1,138,772.06 in restitution for causing thousands of gallons of oil to spill into the Yellow Medicine River. According to court documents, on April 24, 2019, Eric Jay Weckworth-Pineda, 25, of Cottonwood, Minnesota, and Tanner John Sik, 21, of Ivanhoe, Minnesota, traveled to the northwest side of Cottonwood Lake in Lyon County to a bridge that spans a dam between Cottonwood Lake and a creek called Judicial Ditch 24, which flows into the Yellow Medicine River. Weckworth-Pineda and Sik took guns to

Two Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Deputies Sentenced to 50 Months Imprisonment for Their Roles in Kickback and Bribery Scheme Involving Contract for Privatization of Work Release Program in St. Tammany Parish

DOJ PressOctober 6, 20210

NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DAVID HANSON, age 63, from Abita Springs, Louisiana, and CLIFFORD “SKIP” KEEN, age 53, from Covington, Louisiana, were each sentenced today to 50 months imprisonment by United States District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle, after they previously pleaded guilty as charged to a one-count Bill of Information charging them with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and soliciting a bribe, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ” 371, 1343, 1346, and 666(a)(1)(B). The charges stemmed from their roles in the privatization of a work release program in Slidell, Louisiana, that operated

Tacoma man sentenced to two years in prison for early morning fire in ‘CHOP’ zone

Press ReleaseOctober 6, 20210

Seattle –A former Seattle resident, who prior to his arrest resided in Tacoma, was sentenced today U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years in prison for setting fire to the outside of the Seattle Police East Precinct during the occupied protest known as ‘CHOP’, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Isaiah Thomas Willoughby, 36, used a can of gasoline to set the fire just feet from where protestors were camped, putting them at risk. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour imposed three years of supervised release to follow the prison term. According to the plea agreement, in the

Two New Jersey Men Arrested And Charged With Securities Fraud For Scheme To Defraud Investors In Hemp Company

Press ReleaseOctober 6, 20210

Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the arrests of VITALY FARGESEN and IGOR PALATNIK, and unsealing of an Indictment charging FARGESEN and PALATNIK with securities fraud, wire fraud and related offenses in connection with their fraudulent scheme to defraud investors in CanaFarma Corp. and later CanaFarma Hemp Products Corp. (together “CanaFarma”) by soliciting funds based upon false and misleading representations, failing to invest investor’s funds as promised, manipulating the public stock price of

Former West Hazleton Police Chief Sentenced To Two Months’ Imprisonment For Civil Rights Violation

Press ReleaseOctober 6, 20210

WILKES-BARRE- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Brian Buglio, age 46, of Lattimer Mines, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by United States Magistrate Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr., to two months of imprisonment and a one-year term of supervised release that includes four months of home confinement. According to Acting United States Bruce D. Brandler, Buglio, the former Chief of Police for the West Hazleton Police Department, pleaded guilty to a deprivation of civil rights, after he threatened a private citizen with felony criminal charges, in retaliation for social media posts created by the

Mexican National Sentenced to Over Two Years for Illegally Reentering the Country

Press ReleaseOctober 6, 20210

BANGOR, Maine: A Mexican national with an immigration history of prior removals and felony convictions was sentenced today in federal court for illegally reentering the United States, Acting U.S. Attorney Donald E. Clark announced. U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Galdino Velasco-Santiago, aka Galdino Chavez-Santiago, 40, to 27 months in prison. Velasco-Santiago pleaded guilty on May 15, 2021. According to court records, on October 2, 2020, Velasco-Santiago was arrested on state criminal charges after a car he was operating went off the road in Augusta and was damaged. He had been removed from the U.S. to Mexico four times

Danville Man Convicted of Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Money Laundering in Two Different Jurisdictions

Press ReleaseOctober 6, 20210

URBANA, Ill. –Jeffery T. Henson, 43, of Danville, Illinois, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering in United States District Court in Urbana, Illinois, on October 4, 2021. Sentencing for Henson has been scheduled on February 7, 2022, at the U.S. Courthouse in Urbana. According to court documents, in 2016, Henson pretended to be an online job recruiter to obtain the personal identifying information of a job seeker. He then used the stolen personal information to obtain a job in that person’s name as the Director of Accounting at a Schaumburg, Illinois, consulting firm, thereby preventing

Two South Louisiana Men Sentenced in Federal Court

Press ReleaseOctober 1, 20210

LAFAYETTE, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that two men from South Louisiana have been sentenced by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays. Deondrick W. Brown, 26, of New Iberia, Louisiana, was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for drug trafficking. On June 12, 2020, Louisiana State Police Troopers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle being driven by Brown. Law enforcement officers detected a smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle and a K-9 positively alerted to the presence of narcotics. A search of the vehicle

Two More Mexican Nationals Are Sentenced After Pleading Guilty to International Timeshare Telemarketing Scam

Press ReleaseOctober 1, 20210

NEW ORLEANS – CLAUDUA ANTILLON ZAHUITA, age 38, and SERGIO LEON KURI, age 40, both residents and citizens of Mexico, were sentenced to prison on September 29, 2021 by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the Eastern District of Louisiana after they each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. ANTILLON ZAHUITA received 48 months, while LEON KURI received 60 months. As detailed in the original indictment and superseding bill of information, the defendants, from at least January 1, 2016, to the present, conspired together and with others to