David Lewisbey Sentenced to Nearly 17 Years in Prison for Illegally Trafficking Hundreds of Guns from Indiana to Chicago

A south suburban man was sentenced to nearly 17 years in federal prison for buying hundreds of high-powered firearms at guns shows in Indiana and illegally transporting them to Chicago where he sold them without a federal firearms dealer license. The defendant, David Lewisbey, was sentenced late yesterday in U.S. District Court.

After a two-week trial last September, Lewisbey, 24, of South Holland, was convicted of dealing firearms without a federal license, two counts of illegally transporting firearms across state lines, and two counts interstate travel to sell guns without a license.

“This case is a perfect example of where the guns come from...and into the hands of gangbangers who then shoot them and kill and wound people,” U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman said before imposing a 200-month sentence.

“During one of the deadliest years in Chicago’s history, the defendant was pumping numerous unregistered and untraceable firearms into the most violent neighborhoods in Chicago. The defendant ran his business on the side streets and back alleys of Chicago’s neighborhoods. No background checks, no receipts, no written record,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany Biesenthal and Christopher Parente argued in a sentencing memo.

Evidence at the trial showed that between January 2008 and September 2012, Lewisbey, who had no criminal record that disqualified him from buying firearms, routinely traveled to various gun shows in Indiana and purchased duffel bags full of guns that he brought back to Chicago. A government witness testified that he personally observed Lewisbey buy more than 100 firearms, as well as dozens of high-capacity magazines, at Indiana gun shows.

During just one 48-hour period, on April 22-23, 2012, Lewisbey bought 43 guns in Indiana and brought them to Chicago, where he delivered them to co-defendant Levaine Tanksley, who with two other co-defendants, sold them to an individual who was cooperating with ATF agents. All those guns were recovered by law enforcement.

Last month, Judge Guzman sentenced Tanksley, 29, of Chicago, to more than 11 years in prison, and Charles Lemle, 28, of Chicago to 10 years in prison. Michael Hall, 29, of Chicago, who cooperated with the government and testified against Lewsibey, is awaiting sentencing. Tanksley, Lemle, and Hall each pleaded guilty to illegally possessing firearms as previously convicted felons.

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General Motors agrees to pay maximum $35 million penalty for violating federal safety laws in Chevrolet Cobalt investigation

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that General Motors (GM) has agreed to pay a record $35 million civil penalty and to take part in unprecedented oversight requirements as a result of findings from NHTSA’s timeliness investigation regarding the Chevrolet Cobalt and the automaker’s failure to report a safety defect in the vehicle to the federal government in a timely manner. The defect resulted in the non-deployment of airbags in certain Chevrolet Cobalt and other GM models. This action represents the single highest civil penalty amount ever paid as a result of a NHTSA investigation of violations stemming from a recall.

As part of the agreement, set forth in a Consent Order signed with NHTSA, the agency also ordered GM to make significant and wide-ranging internal changes to its review of safety-related issues in the United States, and to improve its ability to take into account the possible consequences of potential safety-related defects. GM will also pay additional civil penalties for failing to respond on time to the agency’s document demands during NHTSA’s investigation.

“Safety is our top priority, and today’s announcement puts all manufacturers on notice that they will be held accountable if they fail to quickly report and address safety-related defects,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx. “While we will continue to aggressively monitor GM’s efforts in this case, we also urge Congress to support our GROW AMERICA Act, which would increase the penalties we could levy in cases like this from $35 million to $300 million, sending an even stronger message that delays will not be tolerated.”

Federal law requires all auto manufacturers to notify NHTSA within five business days of determining that a safety-related defect exists or that a vehicle is not in compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards and to promptly conduct a recall. GM admits in the Consent Order that it did not do so.

This action is historic in that the provisions of the Consent Order will be immediately enforceable in federal court if GM does not fully comply.  The Consent Order will hold GM accountable, push the automaker to make needed institutional change, and ensure that replacement parts are produced quickly and recalled vehicles are repaired promptly.

“No excuse, process, or organizational structure will be allowed to stand in the way of any company meeting their obligation to quickly find and fix safety issues in a vehicle,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator David Friedman. “It’s critical to the safety of the driving public that manufacturers promptly report and remedy safety-related defects that have the potential to lead to deaths or injuries on our nation’s highways.”

In the Consent Order, GM agreed to provide NHTSA with full access to the results of GM’s internal investigation into this recall, to take steps to ensure its employees report safety-related concerns to management, and to speed up the process for GM to decide whether to recall vehicles.

The Consent Order also requires GM to notify NHTSA of changes to its schedule for completing production of repair parts by October 4.  GM must also take steps to maximize the number of vehicle owners who bring in their vehicles for repair, including targeted outreach to non-English speakers, maintaining up-to-date information on its website, and engaging with vehicle owners through the media.  The Consent Order requires GM to submit reports and meet with NHTSA so that the agency may monitor the progress of GM’s recall and other actions required by the consent order.

Both in 2007 and again in 2010, NHTSA reviewed data related to the non-deployment of airbags in certain Chevy Cobalt models but each time, determined that it lacked the data necessary to open a formal investigation.  However, on February 7, 2014, GM announced it would recall certain model vehicles for a defect where the vehicle’s ignition switch may unintentionally move out of the “run” position that could result in the air bag not deploying in the event of a crash.  GM had failed to advise NHTSA of this defect at the time of the agency’s earlier reviews.

After review and consultation by NHTSA, GM twice expanded the recall to include a total of 2,190,934 vehicles in the United States.  The GM recall covers the 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, 2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR, 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky vehicles.

Over the past ten years, NHTSA defect investigations resulted in 1,299 recalls involving more than 95 million vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment, which has helped the agency to reduce vehicle fatalities to historic, all-time lows. Including today’s consent order, the agency has obtained record fines of $124.5 million in the last five years from automakers who have failed to promptly report defects to NHTSA.

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Former County Sheriff’s Officer Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Collecting a Debt Through Extortion

A Monmouth County, New Jersey man who formerly worked as a sheriff’s officer in Essex County was sentenced to 15 months in prison for conspiring to collect a debt using extortionate means, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

John Balsamo, 50, of West Long Branch, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to an indictment charging him with using threats of violence and economic harm to collect a debt from the victim, an Ocean County, New Jersey construction contractor. Judge Hayden imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Balsamo and conspirators Timothy Kelly, 38, of Jersey City, New Jersey, and Robert C. Bantang, Jr., 45, of Oceanport, New Jersey, used extortionate means in order to collect $50,000 the contractor owed to Kelly from 2009. The conspirators made the victim believe that the money he had borrowed from Kelly was owed to the “Old Man,” a member of organized crime who would cause physical harm to the victim if the debt was not paid. Balsamo also displayed a key to a construction site where the victim was working in Brick, New Jersey, and warned that the key could be used to gain access to and cause damage to the site, due to the victim’s failure to fully repay the debt. Balsamo and Kelly sent Bantang to the construction site on three occasions to deliver threats purportedly on behalf of the Old Man.

On March 24, 2011, Balsamo and Kelly went to the Brick construction site, which was now a completed restaurant, to confront the victim. Kelly told the victim that if he had brought his “boys” that it would have gotten “done right in here, right in this place, right like this, in front of everybody...and your wife gets it too.” Kelly also told the victim that he deserved “a beatin’ just out of f-—kin’ principle.” Balsamo warned that the Old Man wanted to “beat the shit” out of the restaurant owner due to the victim’s failure to repay the debt, which Balsamo and Kelly now stated had grown to $70,000. Balsamo also advised the victim that the Old Man has been “promoted,” implying that the Old Man now possessed a higher position in organized crime.

Kelly and Bantang previously pleaded guilty in February 2012 to conspiring to collect a debt from the victim using extortionate means, before Judge Hayden. Kelly was sentenced today to three years of probation, including four months of house arrest and 40 hours of community service. Bantang was sentenced to three years of probation.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Hayden sentenced Balsamo to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $2,500 in cash and a Rolex watch he had taken from the victim.

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Former Transit Official Admits Agreeing to Accept $8,000 Bribe

A former New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) official admitted she agreed to accept an $8,000 bribe and power-washing services in connection with a snow removal contract, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Donna Schiereck, 56, of Jackson, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to an information charging her with one count of agreeing to accept a bribe.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From September 2012 to December 2012, Schiereck was a supervisor at NJ Transit. Schiereck agreed to accept $8,000 in exchange for her assistance with maintaining snow removal work for a Lakewood, New Jersey company. She also sought and received free power washing services from the company in return for her official assistance.

The bribery count to which Schiereck pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for September 9, 2014.

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Khawaja Ikram Admits Role in International $200 Million Credit Card Fraud Conspiracy

A New York man admitted his role in one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Khawaja Ikram, 41, of Staten Island, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Two co-defendants, Tarsem Lal, 73, of Iselin, New Jersey, and Azhar Ikram, 40, of Howard Beach, New York, pleaded guilty before Judge Thompson in Trenton on April 2, 2014, to informations charging them with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Khawaja Ikram was originally charged in February 2013 as part of a conspiracy to fabricate more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards. Members of the conspiracy doctored credit reports to pump up the spending and borrowing power associated with the cards. They then borrowed or spent as much as they could, based on the phony credit history, but did not repay the debts—causing more than $200 million in confirmed losses to businesses and financial institutions.

The scheme involved a three-step process in which the defendants would make up a false identity by creating fraudulent identification documents and a fraudulent credit profile with the major credit bureaus; pump up the credit of the false identity by providing false information about that identity’s creditworthiness to those credit bureaus; and finally, run up large loans.

The scope of the criminal fraud enterprise required Ikram and his conspirators to construct an elaborate network of false identities. Across the country, the conspirators maintained more than 1,800 “drop addresses,” including houses, apartments, and post office boxes, which they used as the mailing addresses of the false identities.

Ikram admitted he helped obtain credit cards in the name of third parties—many of which were fictional—and then directed the credit cards to be mailed to addresses controlled by members of the conspiracy. He also admitted he knew the cards would be used fraudulently at businesses.

The charge to which Ikram pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for September 23, 2014. Azhar Ikram and Lal are scheduled to be sentenced September 17, 2014.

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