Weekly Roundup of New Federal Prosecutions for November 12, 2021

Environmental Crime Leads to Charges

Another common crime from years ago saw something of a revival of sorts when two farmers from Western Pennsylvania were arrested and charged with offenses related to their use of a toxic pesticide as a weapon meant to kill migratory birds, which is illegal. 

The announcement of the indictments against Robert Yost, 50, of New Galilee, Pennsylvania, and Jacob Reese, 25, of Enon Valley, Pennsylvania, was made on Nov. 8,, 2021, was made by the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Stephen R. Kaufman. The three-count Information alleges that Yost was the operator of Yost Farms in June 2020, and that Reese was one of his employees at the time. 

It is alleged that the two defendants conspired to kill migratory birds that were present on Yost Farms land, using carbofuran, a registered restricted-use pesticide that the EPA has deemed unsafe for use around such birds since at least 2009. Allegedly, on June 22, 2020, Yost directed Reese to spread whole-kernel corn that was coated with carbofuran in and around a leased field used for soybean cultivation. 

The indictment also alleges that children were also routinely present in that field, thus enhancing the danger potential.

Ransomware Attack Brings Charges Against. Two Foreign Nationals

There was also a new case involving cybercrime offenses and computer fraud this week, after two foreign nationals had been indicted following an investigation of a Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware attack on several businesses and government entities in the United States. 

The indictment charges Yaroslav Vasinskyi, 22, a Ukrainian national, with conducting ransomware attacks, including the July 2021 attack against Kaseya, a multi-national IT software company. At the same time, the Department of Justice announced that they had seized $6.1 million in funds traceable to alleged ransom payments received by Yevgeniy Polyanin, 28, a Russian national.

According to the indictments, both defendants accessed the internal computer networks of several victim companies and deployed Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware to encrypt the data on them. They allegedly victimized multiple business and government entities in Texas on or about Aug. 16, 2019. According to court documents in support of the indictment, Vasinskyi was allegedly responsible for the July 2 ransomware attack against Kaseya. 

Illegal Firearms Possession Leads to Multiple Charges

For example, in the Southern District of Georgia, five defendants were charged via separate indictments returned by a grand jury. The cases in this indictment are being investigated by the ATF and the FBI, as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which means the federal investigations are occurring in collaboration with state and local law enforcement agencies and targeting those who illegally possess firearms.

In this case, the announcement of pending firearms charges was made by the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, David H. Estes, who noted that “Removing guns from the hands of convicted felons is an essential part of fighting violent crime in our community.” 

That seems to be a lasting trend, since over the past three years, more than 700 defendants have been federally charged in the Southern District of Georgia for illegal firearms offenses. The most common reason cited is for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony. 

Health Care Fraud Leads to One Business’s Employees Facing Charges

In Erie County, Pennsylvania, a physical therapy practice, Hertel & Brown Physical and Aquatic Therapy, as well as 20 people who work for them, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Western Pennsylvania, on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and health care fraud and health care fraud. The indictment was announced by the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Stephen R. Kaufman, on November 9, 2021.

Among those indicted on these charges include the founders, Aaron Wilhelm Hertel, of North East, Pennsylvania, and Michael Robert Brown, of Erie, Pennsylvania. The indictment also names Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy, as a defendant, including their main office in Erie, Pennsylvania. 

According to the indictment, from January 2007 to October 2021, all defendants, as employees of the wide-ranging company, used the company’s facilities as part of the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and healthcare fraud.

As an example, they used unlicensed technicians to provide physical therapy treatment, but billed the treatment as if it had been performed by a licensed physical therapist or physical therapy assistant. They also allowed unlicensed technicians to log into the treatment documentation system, WebPT, as if they were licensed, to document treatment as if it had been performed by a licensed therapist. 

They also routinely billed treatment time using the name and credentials of a physical therapist, even if that therapist was not even working on the day in question.

Therapy Business Defunct After 20 Employees Charged

As has been the case so often over the past couple years, in the state of Washington, two people were indicted by a federal grand jury for their role in a scheme to defraud taxpayers to get their hands on money from at least one, and possibly more, benefit programs meant to provide relief to those victimized by the COVID-19 pandemic. In all, those indicted collected more than $1 million from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Washington (state) Employment Security Division through their efforts. 

The Seattle-area couple, Bryan Alan Sparks, 40, and Autumn Gail Luna, 22, have been charged in a 16-count indictment with defrauding Washington State Employment Security Division (ESD) of more than $500,000 in benefits and defrauding the Small Business Administration of approximately $520,000. The two ae already in federal custody in Washington, DC, after they were arrested at Union Station in the District while carrying heroin, cocaine, and meth. 

The indictment alleges that Sparks and Luna, from March 2020 through at least January 2021, used the stolen personal information oof 50 or more Washington residents to apply for expanded unemployment benefits under the CARES Act. They loaded the benefits onto debit cards, which they sent to a number of addresses. 

They also opened numerous phony bank accounts with the stolen information, and collect more than $500,000 in SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) proceeds. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Cindy Chang and Seth Wilkinson.

Taxpayers Defrauded Once Again

As has been the case so often over the past couple years, in the state of Washington, two people were indicted by a federal grand jury for their role in a scheme to defraud taxpayers to get their hands on money from at least one, and possibly more, benefit programs meant to provide relief to those victimized by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In all, those indicted collected more than $1 million from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Washington (state) Employment Security Division through their efforts.

The Seattle-area couple, Bryan Alan Sparks, 40, and Autumn Gail Luna, 22, have been charged in a 16-count indictment with defrauding Washington State Employment Security Division (ESD) of more than $500,000 in benefits and defrauding the Small Business Administration of approximately $520,000. The two ae already in federal custody in Washington, DC, after they were arrested at Union Station in the District while carrying heroin, cocaine, and meth. 

The indictment alleges that Sparks and Luna, from March 2020 through at least January 2021, used the stolen personal information oof 50 or more Washington residents to apply for expanded unemployment benefits under the CARES Act. They loaded the benefits onto debit cards, which they sent to several addresses. 

They also opened numerous phony bank accounts with the stolen information and collect more than $500,000 in SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) proceeds. The case is being prosecuted by AUSAs Cindy Chang and Seth Wilkinson.

Drug Trafficking is Still a Major Factor in Criminal Law

Thirteen people in the state of Arkansas appeared in federal court on November 10, 2021, for preliminary hearings. They were arrested the day before as part of “Operation Hartbreak Kid,” which is an operation meant to target drug trafficking around North Little Rock. The operation was named for the lead defendant in the operation, Derrick Hart, 27, of North Little Rock. 

According to the supporting documents in the case, in December 2020, the DEA began to investigate a meth and cocaine distribution ring in the North Little Rock. During the investigation, Hart and Tetus Jenkins, 43, also of North Little Rock, were identified as the sources of supply to at least eight other individuals. 

During the investigation, DEA agents covertly purchased approximately two pounds of meth from various co-conspirators and seized more than a pound of meth and several firearms during the execution of search warrants. As part of this week’s arrests, officers recovered an additional AR-15 rifle. 

Once again, we find that drug trafficking and interdiction on the part of law enforcement are still major priorities in the criminal justice system. Case in point; On Nov. 10, in Fresno, California, two locals were indicted by a federal grand jury for possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute it. 

The announcement of the indictment was made by the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, Phillip A. Talbert.  Uriel Diaz-Santos, 19, of Fresno, and David Joseph Yama, 38, of Reedley, CA, have been charged in the indictment. In addition to the fentanyl charge, Diaz-Santos was also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to documents filed in court, after two juveniles overdosed on fentanyl pills, investigators interviewed witnesses and reviewed phone records, ultimately developing enough evidence to obtain a search warrant for Diaz-Santos’s residence. On Nov. 2, 2021, investigators searched Diaz-Santos’s house and found thousands of fentanyl pills and a firearm. 

On Sept. 1, 2020, police officers went to a gas station in Clovis after a report of suspicious activity and contacted Yama and two associates. A search of the car Yama was driving uncovered a large amount of cash, ammunition, plastic baggies, vials containing fentanyl, and over 200 counterfeit oxycodone pills that also contained fentanyl.

Another Drug Trafficker Faces Charges

On November 10, 2021, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont, Jonathan A. Ophardt, announced that Pamela Yandow, 49, of Swanton, Vermont, had been arrested earlier in the day on charges regarding the distribution of cocaine base on multiple occasions during October of 2021. Yandow appear later that day to face the charge before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle. 

According to court records, in October of 2021, Yandow distributed cocaine base, commonly known as “crack,” on multiple occasions to a confidential informant at or near her residence in Swanton.  This morning, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Yandow’s residence in Swanton and arrested her pursuant to a federal arrest warrant.  

Yandow previously received an 84-month prison sentence in 2019, but was granted compassionate release on April 2, 2021, due to his health during the COVID-19 pandemic.