Last Updated Friday, May 28, 2021, at 11:34 AM
Every Friday, The Criminal Lawyer Group publishes a digest of the latest federal prosecutions nationally. Our goal is to keep the public informed as to recent events in federal courts around the country.
Unless otherwise disclosed, none of the defendants mentioned in these summaries are clients of our firm.
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FRIDAY, May 28, 2021
I. South Dakota Men Indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender
On May 24, 2021, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota, Dennis Holmes made the announcement that a man from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, Charles Moran, 43, and a second man from Rosebud, Jason Kimmel, 39, had both been indicted by a federal grand jury for their Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. The indictment of Moran was handed down on May 11, and Moran first appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on May 18, where he pleaded not guilty to the Indictment.
If he is convicted f the charge, Moran faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. According to the details in the indictment, Moran was convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in December 1997, and because of this, he is required to register as a sex offender for life.
The indictment alleges that between March 20, 2021, and March 31, 2021, and again between November 18, 2020, and February 21, 2021, Moran failed to properly register as a sex offender and update his registration. Likewise, Kimmel’s indictment alleges that between February 10, 2021, and April 1, 2021, Kimmel, a person required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, failed to do so.
II. Alleged Chicago Carjacker Arrested on Federal Charge
A man arrested and charged May 24, 2021 in federal court with carjacking after he allegedly took a vehicle at gunpoint near Garfield Park in Chicago late last week. The man, Kiar Evans, 22, of Chicago, has been charged with one count of carjacking in connection with the May 20 incident. Evans made an initial appearance in federal court May 24, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings.
The arrest and federal charge were announced May 24 by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, John R. Lausch, Jr., along with Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office and others. The government is represented in the case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Walgamuth.
According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Evans approached the driver’s side window of a Nissan Altima at the intersection of West Congress Parkway and Independence Boulevard in Chicago. Evans pointed a firearm at the Nissan’s driver and demanded that the driver exit the vehicle.
The victim then complied with the demand and Evans drove off in the Nissan. Not long after the carjacking, Evans was driving the stolen Nissan when he was involved in a multi-vehicle crash at the intersection of Harrison Street and Ogden Avenue in Chicago. Chicago Police officers arrested Evans and allegedly discovered a loaded semi-automatic handgun in the Nissan.
III. New Jersey Man Charged with Possession if a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking
On May 24, 2021, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Rachael A. Honig, announced that an Essex County, New Jersey man had been charged with possession of a firearm, several rounds of ammunition, and controlled substances with the intent to distribute. John A. Fuller, 31, of Newark, has been charged by complaint with one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, one count of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Fuller made his initial appearance May 24 by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III, where he was ordered detained. According to court documents and other filings, in August 2020, law officers observed Fuller conduct several narcotics transactions from his residence.
On Oct. 3, 2020, law enforcement officers executed search warrants for Fuller’s residence and vehicle and recovered a handgun loaded with an extended magazine containing 31 rounds of ammunition, a box containing additional rounds of ammunition, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, packaging material, and $405 in cash. If he is convicted of the charges, Fuller faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
IV. Charges Unsealed Against Former Diplomats to the U.S. Charged with International Bribery/Money Laundering Scheme
On May 24, it was announced that an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. had been unsealed on May 20, 2021. The indictment charged that the former Ambassador to the U.S. and Canada for the Republic of Chad, as well as Chad’s former Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. and Canada with soliciting and accepting a $2 million bribe from a Canadian start-up energy company. The indictment also alleges that they also conspiring to launder the bribe payment in order to conceal its true nature.
According to court documents in the case, Mahamoud Adam Bechir and Youssouf Hamid Takane engaged in this scheme between August 2009 and July 2014, while serving as diplomats based out of the Embassy of Chad located in Washington, D.C.
According to the indictment, Bechir and Takane demanded the bribe from the Canadian start-up energy company in exchange for a promise to misuse their official positions and their influence with the government of Chad to assist the start-up energy company in obtaining oil rights in Chad. Naeem Tyab, a citizen of Canada and founding shareholder of the start-up energy company, who served as a director of the company from 2009 through 2011, is also charged in the indictment for allegedly arranging for the bribe to be paid to Bechir’s wife.
V. Eight Charged in Residential Burglaries Targeting Asian-Descent Homeowners
On May 25, 2021, eight members of an interstate burglary crew were charged for their roles in a conspiracy that targeted homeowners of Asian descent for residential burglaries. The charges were announced by the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. The defendants charged include the following:
Rabine Armour of Easton, PA; Kevin Burton of Newark; Kevin Jackson of Rahway; Thomas Rodgers of Newark; James Hurt of Tobyhanna, PA; Sherman Glasco of Bethlehem, PA; Randi Barr of Irvington, NJ; and Terrance Black of Irvington, NJ. All have been charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property.
However, Burton is also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and conspiring with Keesha Davis, of Elizabeth, NJ, to tamper with evidence. The defendants appeared via videoconference May 25 before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III.
As alleged in the complaint, all eight defendants were part of a sophisticated, multi-state burglary crew that targeted the homes of business owners who were of Asian descent, intending to steal the cash proceeds of their businesses as well as jewelry, foreign currency, and other property. They are alleged to have committed more than 50 residential burglaries.
According to court documents, the investigation confirmed the robberies and the possession of the proceeds from the burglaries through examination of communications and through search warrants.
VI. Wisconsin Man Indicted for Child Related Sex Crimes
On May 25, 2021, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Richard G. Frohling, announced that a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Paul S. Osterman, 35, of Rhinelander, Wisconsin. The indictment charged Osterman with crimes related to his alleged solicitation of a 13-year-old Illinois girl on the MeetMe social media electronic application for commercial sex.
According to the indictment, from July 3 through July 5, 2019, Osterman allegedly solicited the child for sex in exchange for money, A second count alleges that, on these same dates, Osterman used MeetMe to persuade, induce, and entice the child to engage in illegal sexual activity. Count three of the indictment alleges that during these same dates, Osterman traveled from Wisconsin to Illinois for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex with the child.
If he is convicted of these charges, Osterman faces at least 10 years and up to ;life in prison for each oof the first two counts, while count three carries a maximum of up to 30 years, and a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release.
VII. Arrest Made in the Overdose Death of a Henderson County Kentucky Woman
On May 26, 2021, it was announced that an Evansville, Indiana man, Johntavis Matlock, 28, had been arrested May 21st, 2021 in Evansville, on charges related to his alleged distribution of controlled substances to a woman from Henderson County, KY, who was found dead at a Reed, Kentucky residence back in February 2021.
Matlock is charged with Distribution of a Controlled Substance Causing Serious Bodily Injury and Distribution of a Controlled Substance Causing Death. If he is convicted. Matlock faces at least 20 years and up to life in prison, a minimum of five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
VIII. Former North Shore Resident Charged With COVID-Relief Fraud
On May 25, 2021, a former North Shore resident, Dana L. McIntyre, 57, of Grafton, Vermont, was indicted in connection with alleged attempts to file fraudulent applications for loans and unemployment benefits from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which is part of the CARES Act.
In all, the former owner of a pizzeria managed to obtain more than $660,000 in loan funds, which he used to pay for personal expenses, including the purchase of an alpaca farm in Vermont. McIntyre was indicted on four counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. He was arrested and charged via criminal complaint on May 4, 2021.
According to the indictment, in March 2020, McIntyre, who once was the owner of Rasta Pasta Pizzeria in Beverly, MA, allegedly used the names of his adult children to submit two fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for fictitious businesses. Beginning in April 2020, McIntyre allegedly submitted an application and weekly certifications in order to receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits.
On these filings, McIntyre falsely claimed that he was not working or receiving income as a result of the pandemic. In point of fact, McIntyre in fact was continuing to operate the restaurant, an d he was continuing to pay himself income derived from the business. In August 2020 when McIntyre sold the restaurant , he had allegedly received over $17,000 in PUA and related benefits that he was not entitled to receive.
IX. Six Former Rail Employees Charged With Fraudulently Obtaining Federal Disability Benefits
On May 26, 2021, six former railroad employees were indicted on criminal charges for allegedly fraudulently obtaining federal disability benefits. According to the indictments, the six defendants are accused of working other jobs while providing false information to the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board’s (RRB) Disability Benefits Division.
They have been charged as part of an ongoing, nationwide investigation into alleged fraud perpetrated against RBB-administered benefits programs to rail workers and their families.
According to the indictments, which were returned in the Northern District of Illinois, Scott Carllberg, 50, of Menomonie, WI., who was once an engineer at Soo Line Railroad; Ronald Lee Cribbs, 49, of Hastings, FL., who once worked for Chessie Seaboard Consolidated; Robie Vonderhaar, 58, of Guttenberg, IA, who was once a foreman for Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp.; Richard W. Browner, Jr., 65, of Toms River, NJ, who was once an assistant line engineer at the New Jersey Transit Corp.; James Bonner, 52, of Shalimar, FL., a former engineer for Burlington North Santa Fe; and King Bradley, Jr., 48, of Medina, Tenn., who was a conductor for Illinois Central Railroad, once upon a time.
The indictments were ordered unsealed this week. The defendants will be arraigned in federal court in Chicago on a date to be set by the Court.
X. Illinois Speaker of the House’s Former Chief of Staff Indicted for Lying to Grand Jury Under Oath
On May 26, 2021, the former Chief of Staff to the Illinois Speaker of the House of Representatives was indicted today for allegedly providing false material declarations under oath to a federal grand jury and attempting to obstruct its investigation into allegations of public corruption. Timothy Mapes, 66, of Springfield, Ill., is charged with one count of making false declarations before a grand jury and one count of attempted obstruction of justice.
The indictment was announced by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, John R. Lausch, Jr., and a number of local, state, and federal law enforcement and legal officials on May 26. Those officials noted that the federal investigation into the allegations of public corruption remains ongoing.
According to the indictment, the federal grand jury was investigating possible efforts by the Illinois Speaker of the House and an individual acting on the Speaker’s behalf, to obtain for others private jobs, contracts, and monetary payments, including from Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), the largest electric utility in Illinois, They were also investigating alleged efforts to influence and reward the Speaker in the Speaker’s official capacity.
On March 24, 2021, Mapes was granted immunity to testify before the grand jury. The immunity order provided that no testimony or evidence provided by Mapes could be used against him in a criminal case, except for perjury, giving a false statement, or otherwise failing to comply with the immunity order.
