All Crime, All The Time – News and Commentary on the Criminal Class
According to their plea agreements, the Patels held the positions of pharmacy technician and lead pharmacy technician, starting at $10/hour and eventually becoming salaried employees, making approximately $1,400 biweekly. In addition, the Patels were provided with housing and transportation, making their total salary and benefits between $70,000 and $120,000. The value of the housing and transportation benefits were not disclosed on the Patels’ income tax returns.
As a result of the scheme, Whitehead and co-conspirator Christopher Johnson received at least 144 bank deposits from governmental agencies totaling approximately $2,321,058.95 which was reasonably foreseeable to Whitehead. The scheme involved between 50 and 250 business victims.
In addition, on June 28, July 16 and August 10, 2010, Whitehead submitted duplicate charges to a government credit card that the Department of Homeland Security had provided to her to pay for goods provided pursuant to a government contract. The resulting loss to the federal government was $39,983.16.
When a multi-agency force took down the operation in 2012, nearly 30 individuals were arrested and charged with various counts of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, as well as other crimes—including money laundering and drug trafficking.
“This was a complex case,” said Special Agent Ron Pascale, who worked the investigation from our Newark Division. “But over time, we identified the entire conspiracy and dismantled it.”
ROUND HILL, VA. —08/17/2014— The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office reports that two 12-year-olds were running a lemonade stand in the area of Evening Star Drive and Heights Circle in Round Hill on Aug. 14, 2014 when they were approached by an unknown male.
According to court documents, beginning in or about 2007, and continuing until on or about January 8, 2010, Chansler used computers and interactive computer services to transmit threatening communications to several minor female victims located all across the United States. Chansler transmitted these threatening communications with the intent to extort things of value from the minors, including digital photographs and webcam videos of the minor female victims in various states of undress, exposing themselves and engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Chansler engaged in a pattern of extortion in which he would at first pretend to be a friend, acquaintance, or admirer of the minor victims on social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook. Chansler used more than 60 different online screen names to conceal his identity and location.
Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program provides funding to preserve large tracts of forestry and agricultural land and natural resources, and for environmental protection while sustaining land for natural resource-based industries. Enacted by the General Assembly in 1997, Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program has to date provided over $249 million to protect approximately 78,000 acres of valuable farmland, forests, and natural areas. The 11-member Rural Legacy Advisory Committee and the Rural Legacy Board, which is comprised of Maryland’s Agriculture, Natural Resources and Planning Secretaries, reviews grant applications annually
Larry A. CHAMBERLIN is wanted on an outstanding warrant for violations of conditions of his release prior to trial. CHAMBERLIN is charged with being an armed career criminal in of possession of firearms, being an unlawful user of marijuana in possession of firearms and manufacturing marijuana. Case 06-05056-01-CR-SW-RED; pursuant to a court order charging CHAMBERLIN with a violation of 18 USC 3148. CHAMBERLIN was previously indicted in the same case for violations of 18 USC 922(g)(1) & (3)/924(e) – Felon (Armed Career Criminal)/Unlawful Drug User in Possession of Firearms; 21 USC 841(a)(1)(D)/(b)(1)(D) – Manufacturing/Cultivating Marijuana.
At his plea hearing, Miserendino admitted that he solicited and accepted regular cash bribes, as well as other things of value, from two Chesapeake, Virginia contracting companies, referred to as Company A and Company B in court documents, in exchange for providing favorable treatment to those companies in connection with U.S. government contract work. More specifically, Miserendino admitted that he accepted $3,000 in cash bribes per month from various employees at Company A, including co-conspirators Dwayne A. Hardman, Roderic J. Smith, Michael P. McPhail, and Adam C. White. Miserendino also admitted that he, along with Toy, accepted a cash bribe payment of $50,000 in May 2009, from Company B’s founders, Hardman and Timothy S. Miller.
HAGERSTOWN, MD. — According to the Maryland Natural Resources Police, a follow-up visit to a Hagerstown seafood shop charged earlier in the month with selling illegal crabs yielded more of the same last Thursday, the Maryland Natural Resources Police reported.
An officer conducting an inspection at Cameron’s Seafood on Dual Highway discovered one bushel with 82 undersized crabs and another with 42 undersized crabs. On Aug. 1, he found one bushel with 110 undersized crabs and another with 59 undersized crabs.
For the latest violations, Hussein Kato Katende, 38, of Columbia, was issued two citations and the crabs were delivered to a Hagerstown food bank.
BALTIMORE, MD—A federal jury convicted Abdulmalik Abdulla, age 37, and Ahmed Mohssen, age 54, both of Baltimore, today on charges of food stamp fraud and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to illegally redeem food stamp benefits in exchange for cash.
The convictions were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William G. Squires, Jr. of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Retailers who trade food stamp credits for cash are on notice that federal authorities are on their trail,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Taxpayers fund the program to provide food for needy recipients, not to turn retail store cash registers into ATM machines.”