Khairullozhon Matanov Charged with Obstructing Marathon Bombing Investigation

A Quincy man has been charged with obstructing the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Khairullozhon Matanov, 23, of Quincy, is charged in an indictment that was unsealed with one count of destroying, altering, and falsifying records, documents, and tangible objects in a federal investigation, specifically, information on his computer; and three counts of making materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements in a federal terrorism investigation.

It is alleged that, after the release of the photos of the suspected bombers in the late afternoon of Thursday, April 18, 2013, and again early in the morning of Friday, April 19, 2013, Matanov realized that the FBI would likely want to talk with him because of his ties to the bombers, especially in the week following the bombings. Matanov allegedly then took a series of steps to impede the FBI’s investigation into the extent of his friendship, contact, and communication with the suspected bombers and the fact that he shared the suspected bombers’ philosophical justification for violence. In addition to deleting information from his computer, Matanov made a number of false statements to federal investigators. The indictment does not charge Matanov with participating in the Marathon bombings or knowing about them ahead of time.

The maximum sentence for the count of destruction of evidence is 20 years in prison and eight years for each false statement count. All four counts also carry a maximum of three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

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Freddie Howard Pleads Guilty in IRS Fraudulent Tax Refund Scam Involving $22 Million in Claims

Freddie Howard, 56, of Davie, pled guilty to his role in a large-dollar tax refund fraud scam. Sentencing for Howard is scheduled for August 29, 2014 at 10:15 a.m.

Howard pled guilty to one count of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341. At sentencing, the defendant faces a maximum term of 22 years in prison.

According to the plea documents, Howard operated a tax preparation business called QTS1, Inc. (Quality Tax Service) in Broward County. Howard prepared false and fraudulent tax returns using the identity information of willing participants, as well as, stolen identity information. Howard used false and fictitious income and withholding tax information on the returns submitted to the IRS to justify fraudulent large-dollar refund requests. The requested refund amounts generally ranged from $60,000 to $1,400,000, and Howard typically requested payment of these refunds via U.S. Treasury tax refund check. To conceal his identity, Howard submitted the tax returns to the IRS by mail and did not include preparer information. Howard also blocked out the tax preparer software information, and used other people to contact the IRS to inquire about the status of the fraudulent returns.

According to the plea documents, Freddie Howard submitted over $22 million in false and fraudulent large-dollar refund claims to the IRS that resulted in a payout of approximately $4.5 million on these large-dollar refund requests. As part of the scam, Howard caused a false and fraudulent tax return in the name of “J.E.” to be submitted to the IRS that resulted in a U.S. Treasury tax refund check sent to “J.E.” in Coral Springs for $398,502.52.

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Wesley Paul Coonce Jr. and Charles Michael Hall Sentenced to Death for Murder of Another Inmate

Two inmates of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, who were convicted by a federal jury for murdering another inmate at the facility were sentenced to death late yesterday.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and United States Attorney Tammy Dickinson of the Western District of Missouri made the announcement.

“Two federal inmates senselessly killed another inmate, and today, they have been brought to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.   “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all Bureau of Prisons employees and inmates.”

“Achieving justice sometimes requires us to ask our citizens to make the most difficult sentencing decisions,” said U.S. Attorney Dickinson.    “We appreciate their patience and commitment throughout trial.   The defendants’ conduct strikes at the heart of our justice system, which depends upon the safety and security of our penal institutions.   Mr. Castro was targeted for murder, in part, because he intervened to help a Bureau of Prisons employee as he was being attacked by another inmate.”

Wesley Paul Coonce Jr., 34, and Charles Michael Hall, 43, who are both inmates at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, were found guilty on May 7, 2014, of one count of murder in the first degree.   Coonce was also found guilty of one count of murder by an inmate serving a life sentence.  The trial began on April 28, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner of the Western District of Missouri.

The evidence presented at trial demonstrated that another inmate at the prison medical center, Victor Castro-Rodriguez, 51, was found dead on the floor of his cell on Jan. 26, 2010, and had been murdered by Coonce and Hall.   At the time of the murder, Coonce was serving a life sentence for a kidnapping and carjacking that involved the brutal rape of a young woman, and Hall was serving a combined 194-month sentence from the District of Maine for making threatening communications against a federal judge and a federal prosecutor.

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2 Corrections Officers, a Lawyer and 6 Others Walk into Federal Pretrial Detention Facility, Charged in Schemes to Smuggle Contraband

Two corrections officers, a lawyer, and six others were charged in three separate complaints with smuggling contraband, including cell phones and marijuana, into a federal pretrial detention facility at the Essex County Correctional Facility, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Corrections officer Stephon Solomon, 26, of Irvington, New Jersey; Darsell Davis, 28, Dwayne Harper, 30, and Deidra Harrison, 49, all of Newark; attorney Brian Kapalin, 66, of Maplewood, New Jersey; and Vladimir Sauzereseteo, 40, of East Orange, New Jersey, were arrested this morning by special agents of the FBI. Corrections officer Channel Lespinasse, 25, of Florham Park, New Jersey, was issued a summons. Quasim Nichols, 29, and Muhammad Subpunallah, 32, already are incarcerated on unrelated federal charges.

“According to the complaints, the defendants operated contraband marketplace within the walls of the Essex County Correctional Facility,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “Jails are no place for drugs and illicit phones, and it is disappointing that two corrections officers and an attorney allegedly used their authority and access to make them available.”

“The allegations in today’s complaints underscore the commitment of the FBI and the Department of Justice to continue to pursue those employed by the government who undermine the public’s trust and engage in unethical and corrupt practices,” said Special Agent in Charge Ford. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are determined to address public corruption at all levels of government.”

Solomon, Davis, Harper, Harrison, Kapalin, Sauzereseteo, Nichols, and Subpunallah were scheduled to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark, III in Newark federal court. Lespinasse will appear for her initial appearance on June 2, 2014, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark.

According to the complaints unsealed:

• On at least five occasions between October 2013 and April 2014, Solomon, a corrections officer at the Essex County Correctional Facility, smuggled contraband—including cell phones, tobacco, and marijuana—to Nichols, an inmate there, in exchange for cash bribes. Nichols’ friends, Davis and Harper, helped by collecting the items that were to be smuggled into the jail. Davis then handed off the contraband and cash payments to Solomon. Nichols ultimately sold some of the marijuana and cell phones he received from Solomon to other inmates. The inmates purchasing marijuana and cell phones from Nichols had their friends and family pay for the items by sending Western Union money transfers to Nichols, who then enlisted Davis and others to retrieve the payments. Nichols also used the cell phones he received through this smuggling scheme to communicate with his conspirators.
• Lespinasse, another corrections officer at the Essex County Correctional Facility, also smuggled in contraband in exchange for a cash bribe. In November 2013, Lespinasse and an associate, Harrison, agreed to smuggle a cell phone to an inmate in the jail in exchange for a cash bribe. On behalf of Lespinasse, Harrison accepted a $1,000 cash bribe and a cell phone from an undercover agent in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant in Newark. Harrison promised the undercover federal agent that the cell phone would be delivered to its recipient—an inmate in the jail. Three days later, Lespinasse delivered the cell phone to the inmate.
• Kapalin, a lawyer who practiced in New Jersey, used his access to inmates at the Essex County Correctional Facility to smuggle in contraband—including marijuana and tobacco—to inmates, including Subpunallah, in exchange for cash payments. Sauzereseteo, an associate of Subpunallah, delivered the contraband and the cash payments to Kapalin, who then smuggled the contraband into the jail. In January 2014, Kapalin spoke with Subpunallah—at that point an inmate at the Hudson County Correctional Facility—over a recorded jail phone. Subpunallah asked Kapalin to deliver contraband to an inmate at the Essex County Correctional Facility. Sauzereseteo was paid $1,650 via Western Union money transfers, which he used to purchase marijuana he delivered to Kapalin, along with a cash payment. A few days later, Kapalin met an inmate from the Essex County Correctional Facility in the attorney conference room at the jail, during which time he delivered the marijuana to the inmate.
• A search of the federal pods at the Essex County Correctional Facility on May 26, 2014, produced nine hidden cell phones, including one in the light fixture in the ceiling of Nichols’ cell.

The criminal complaints charge Solomon, Nichols, Davis, Harper, Lespinasse, and Harrison each with one count of conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act, punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of the greatest of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense. The criminal complaints charge all nine defendants with one count of conspiring to provide contraband to inmates at the jail, a count that carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for smuggling marijuana or one year in prison and $100,000 maximum fine for smuggling a cell phone.

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International Scheme to Extort Americans by Impersonating DEA Special Agents Foiled

21 citizens of the Dominican Republic have been charged with conspiring to impersonate United States law enforcement officers, extortion, and wire fraud.  Beginning two weeks ago, authorities in the Dominican Republic, acting on requests from the United States, located and arrested 17 of the defendants in the Dominican Republic, who are now awaiting extradition proceedings in that country.  Four defendants remain at-large.

The defendants are alleged to have engaged in a scheme to extort money from individuals located in the United States by posing as DEA Agents or other representatives of the United States Government.  The defendants targeted individuals who they believed had illicitly purchased prescription pharmaceuticals through call centers located in the Dominican Republic.  As part of the defendants’ scheme, a member of the conspiracy would call a victim located in the United States and identify himself or herself as a DEA agent or representative of another United States agency.  The victim would then be told that he or she was under investigation for illegally purchasing prescription drugs, and that the only way to avoid arrest and jail would be to pay a “fine” or some other fee to the DEA.  In total, the defendants and others who participated in this scheme and copy-cat schemes demanded at least $3.5 million, and received at least $880,000, in extortionate payments from victims in the United States.

“These alleged criminals not only bilked thousands of dollars from unsuspecting Americans but they also called into question the integrity and honor of the DEA and all law enforcement,” Administrator Leonhart said.  The DEA, with the assistance of our Dominican Republic counterparts, have worked diligently to identify, target and, ultimately, dismantle this group of alleged scam artists.  We urge anyone who receives a similar threatening phone call to hang up and contact local or federal law enforcement immediately.”

United States Attorney Bharara said: “These defendants generated untold millions of dollars in illicit profits by posing as DEA Agents or other U.S. law enforcement officers.  They carried out the internet or telephone equivalent of displaying phony badges to rip off their victims.  In the process, the defendants assaulted the good name of the DEA.  We commend the DEA for putting a stop to this criminal charade.”

According to the Indictment, which was unsealed in Manhattan federal court:

From at least 2008, up to and including March 2013, JULIO SANTANA JOSEPH, FRANCISCO RUBIO MONTALVO, ANGEL PEREZ AVILES, a/k/a “Mike,” DEIVY BURGOS FELIX, CHENGY PADILLA GARO, GEURY GUZMAN ROSA, DANTE CAMINERO VASQUEZ, SAUL HERNANDEZ BATISTA, MOISES DE LA CRUZ DECENA, CELSO MIGUEL SARITA, EDWARD CUEVAS ESCANO, SANTIAGO GUZMAN GONZALEZ, JOSE ARISMENDY CUESTA ABREU, CARLOS PERDOMO ROSARIO, a/k/a “El Depo,” ELINSON REYES ALMONTE, YEURY AMARANTE ROSARIO, MARIO ANTONIO PLACIDO, YGNACIO ESTEVEZ MESSON, BORIS GIL GUERRERO, VICTOR VELASQUEZ ROCHTTIS, a/k/a “Vitico,” and RAFAELA MEDINA, a/k/a “Carolina,” the defendants, and others known and unknown, engaged in a scheme to extort money from individuals located in the United States by posing as DEA Agents or other representatives of the United States Government (the “Impersonation and Extortion Scheme”).  Each of the defendants made extortionate calls and/or received money from victims who had been extorted.  The Impersonation and Extortion Scheme targeted individuals who the defendants believed had purchased prescription drugs unlawfully over the internet or through call centers.  The illicit websites and call centers at issue sold pills to customers that would typically require a doctor’s prescription to purchase.  The illicit websites and call centers did not require consumers to obtain the required prescriptions before purchase (hereinafter, the pills sold in this manner are referred to as the “Prescription Drugs”).

The DEA Impersonation and Extortion Scheme typically operated as follows: First, certain of the defendants and other individuals not named as defendants who engaged in the Impersonation and Extortion Scheme (the “Extorters”) purchased, or otherwise obtained, lists of individuals who the Extorters believed had previously purchased Prescription Drugs over the internet on illicit websites or through illicit call centers located in the Dominican Republic (“Customer Lists”).  The Customer Lists generally contained the names, addresses, credit card numbers and other information for individuals located in the United States.

Second, an Extorter contacted a customer from the Customer Lists (the “victim”) and identified him- or herself as a DEA agent or representative of another United States agency. Often, the Extorter provided the name of an actual DEA supervisor from a DEA office located in the United States.  The Extorters attempted to extort money from victims throughout the United States, including victims in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York.          

During a call with a victim, an Extorter falsely informed the victim that authorities in the Dominican Republic or elsewhere were investigating or criminally charging the victim as a result of his or her illegal purchase of Prescription Drugs that were sent to the victim from the Dominican Republic.  In a single call or series of calls and emails, the Extorter detailed the purported criminal charges and potential penalties facing the victim, including imprisonment, and the likelihood that the victim would be arrested and extradited to a foreign country for prosecution.

During a call with the victim, an Extorter also generally informed the victim that he or she could dispose of, or avoid, the criminal charges by making a cash payment.  In order to do so, the Extorter had the victim transfer between several hundred and several thousand dollars either (i) through a money remitting service to a particular individual in the Dominican Republic, or (ii) via wire transfer to a particular bank account located in the Dominican Republic.

Following receipt of a payment from a victim, an Extorter typically contacted the victim again.  During the follow-up conversations, the Extorter demanded additional payments and threatened to have criminal charges re-filed against the victim.  If the victim refused to make, or to continue to make, extortion payments to the Extorter, the Extorter threatened the victim with his or her imminent arrest, with searches of the victim’s home in the United States by federal law enforcement officers, or with public disclosure of the victim’s prior purchases of Prescription Drugs.

The Extorters typically made extortion calls from illicit call centers located in the Dominican Republic (the “Call Centers”).  In these Call Centers, the Extorters gathered together and used multiple computers equipped with Voice Over Internet Protocol (“VOIP”) technology to make extortion calls to victims listed on a Customer List.  VOIP is a means of transmitting digital voice communications over the internet via a high-speed internet connection.  The VOIP technology allowed the Extorters to contact their victims by using VOIP lines that made it appear as though the Extorters were calling from telephone numbers with area codes from within the United States.  For example, the Extorters used VOIP lines that made it appear as though the Extorters were calling from, among other places, Washington, D.C., and New York, New York, when, in truth, the Extorters were located in the Dominican Republic.  The Extorters often made hundreds of extortion calls a day from these Call Centers to victims in the United States.

Once a particular victim made an extortion payment to one of the Extorters, the Extorter who received that payment often shared that victim’s contact information with other Extorters, who then besieged the victim with additional, repeated extortion attempts via telephone.  While using these lines to further the Impersonation and Extortion Scheme, the Extorters often traded tips with other Extorters in the same Call Center on the best techniques to use to extort victims.

Beginning in June 2010, the DEA established a telephone hotline (the “Hotline”), to allow victims to report extortion attempts and other contacts with the defendants and other individuals who engaged in the Impersonation and Extortion Scheme and who posed as DEA and other federal agents.  Since the Hotline was established in June 2010, through January 2013, the DEA received approximately 6,500 reports from victims of extortion attempts, nearly all of which followed substantially the same pattern described above.  In sum, through the Hotline, the DEA has learned of the Extorters’ efforts to obtain over $3.5 million in extortion payments from victims, and of actual extortion payments from victims to the Extorters of over $880,000.  These attempted Extortions and actual extortion payment amounts reflect only what was reported to the DEA through the Hotline, and thus represent only a portion of the extortion payments that the Extorters have attempted to obtain, or actually obtained, from their victims.  

Each of the defendants has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, each of which carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.  Each of the defendants has also been charged with one count of conspiracy to impersonate a United States law enforcement officer, which carries a maximum potential penalty of 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.  The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencings of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

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