Submitted at 10:55 AM July 12, 2011
The U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Oregon on July 11, 2011 released thefollowing press release:“PORTLAND, Ore. – Two members of analleged drug trafficking organization werearraigned today on money laundering andmarijuana trafficking charges involvingthe abuse of the Oregon MedicalMarijuana Program (OMMP), U.S.Attorney Dwight C. Holton announced.Tu Ngoc Tran, 37, and Minhthy NgocNguyen, aka Minh Thy Nguyen, MinatyNguyen, Minthy Nguyen, 32, were eachindicted on charges of conspiracy tomanufacture and distribute more than1,000 marijuana plants, manufacturingover 100 marijuana plants, and moneylaundering. Kiet Anh Nguyen, 41, andHuy Anh Nguyen, 36, were also indictedfor their roles in drug trafficking, moneylaundering, and making false statementson mortgage loan applications. They werearraigned on June 28, 2011. All four of thedefendants have been released on pre-trialsupervision pending the August trial date.Included among the release conditions, thecourt ordered the defendants to refrainfrom participating in the OMMP or themedical marijuana program underWashington laws. The indictment alsocontains a forfeiture allegation forproceeds obtained or involved in theoffenses, real property used in theoffenses, and vehicles, including a 2004Acura MDX, 1998 BMW M3, 2005Porsche Cayenne SUV, and a 2001 Lexussedan alleged to have been purchased withproceeds of the offenses.The case arose out of the execution of search warrants by the Multnomah CountySheriff’s Office, the Regional OrganizedCrime Narcotics Task Force, and theClark Skamania Drug Task Force at threeresidences in Portland, Oregon andVancouver, Washington on December 21,2010. Officers seized over 500 marijuanaplants, and over 100 pounds of processedmarijuana from the residences, along withapparently forged OMMP documents,although neither Oregon residence was aregistered OMMP grow site. Furtherinvestigation revealed that theorganization allegedly made falsestatements on mortgage loan applicationsin order to secure mortgages on homesused to house the indoor marijuana grows.One such residence is now in foreclosure.“These allegations are yet anotherexample of criminals exploiting themedical marijuana program to mask sophisticated, multi-million dollar drugtrafficking operations,” said U.S. AttorneyHolton. “We will continue to aggressivelypursue and prosecute such drug traffickingorganizations,” he added.“This group is just one of many that isoperating in Oregon under the cloak of theOregon medical marijuana laws,” said Lt.Ned Walls, Supervisor MCSOInvestigations Division. “Through a multi-agency effort involving MCSO’s SpecialInvestigation Unit, the RegionalOrganized Crime and Narcotics Task Force, the Clark/Skamania County DrugTask Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Officewe were able to identify this group, piercetheir medical marijuana veil, servemultiple search warrants and ultimatelydismantle this drug traffickingorganization.”The investigation and the search of themarijuana grow sites was led by theMultnomah County Sheriff’s Office, andthe Regional Organized Crime NarcoticsTask Force, with the assistance of otherstate, county, local and federal lawenforcement agencies, including Clark Skamania Drug Task Force, and theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office,FBI, and the United States Attorney’sOffice for the District of Oregon are alsoparticipating in the ongoing investigation.Conspiracy to manufacture and distributemore than 1,000 marijuana plants carries amaximum sentence of life in prison, amandatory minimum sentence of 10 yearsin prison, and a fine of $10,000,000.Manufacturing 100 or more marijuanaplants carries a mandatory minimumsentence of 5 years in prison, a maximumsentence of 40 years, and a fine of up to$5,000,000. Money laundering ispunishable by up to 20 years in prison,and making false statements on a loanapplication by up to 30 years in prison anda fine of $1,000,000.An indictment is only an accusation of acrime, and the defendants are presumedinnocent unless and until proven guilty.The case is being prosecuted by AssistantU.S. Attorneys Jennifer J. Martin,AnneMarie Sgarlata, and Bob Nesler.”To find additional federal criminal news,please readThe Federal Crimes WatchDaily.Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and writeextensively on matters involving FederalCriminal Defense, INTERPOL RedNotice Removal, International Extraditionand OFAC SDN List Removal.The author of this blog is DouglasMcNabb. Please feel free to contact himdirectly atmcnabb@mcnabbassociates.comor at oneof the offices listed above.
Submitted at 2:11 PM July 12, 2011
Senior environmental enforcementofficials from the U.S. Justice Departmentand Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) toured sites in Newark, N.J., todayand met with federal partners and withenvironmental and communityorganizations to discuss mutual efforts toaddress environmental challenges andenforce environmental laws, and inparticular efforts to achieve environmental justice.
Submitted at 10:58 AM July 12, 2011
A federal court has permanently barredCharles Klink, Caleb Grodsky and StevenBlock from promoting abusive tax sheltersknown as “intermediary transactions” and“distressed asset trusts.”
2Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers
Submitted at 1:38 PM July 12, 2011
The U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts on July 12, 2011 releasedthe following:“Detention Hearing Scheduled for FiveDefendants Today at NoonBOSTON, Mass. – Five federaldefendants are scheduled to appear in U.S.District Court in Boston today, followinga multi-year federal investigation intotheir roles in illegal activity in Chinatownand elsewhere. A total of 26 individualsfrom Massachusetts, Florida and RhodeIsland have been indicted in connectionwith the alleged organized crimeconspiracy.According to court filings, the FBI’sOrganized Crime Task Force led a long-term investigation into drug-trafficking,illegal gambling, extortion, prostitution,and other criminal activity in theChinatown area of Boston and elsewhere.The investigation included court-authorized wire surveillance of cellulartelephones for seven months, includingthe cell phones of five of the defendants.The investigation to date has resulted inthe seizure of more than $340,000,thirteen firearms and approximately12,000 pills of suspected oxycodone.Investigators also uncovered extensiveevidence of illegal gambling andprostitution, and the use of extortionatethreats to collect loans to gamblers andothers.“Organized crime can paralyze orseriously disrupt small communities,particularly close-knit neighborhoods likeChinatown,” said U.S. Attorney CarmenM. Ortiz. “This criminal organization isalleged to have trafficked large amountsof drugs, threatened and beat upindividuals who failed to pay off largeillegal debts, and moved women aroundthe country to work in their brothels.”“We encourage the victims of thesealleged crimes to contact us to assist inprotecting the community and prosecutingthose responsible,” added U.S. AttorneyOrtiz. “We are very fortunate inMassachusetts to have dedicatedprosecutors, agents and local lawenforcement who challenge themselvesand creatively leverage resources to work these multi-faceted complexinvestigations.”Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent inCharge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, said,“The indictments and arrests stemmingfrom this operation send a clear messageto those involved in organized crimeorganizations everywhere: The FBI and itslaw enforcement partners will pursuethose who engage in drug dealing, illegalgambling, extortion and exploitation of women regardless of the geographicboundaries.”SAC DesLauriers added, “In this case,law enforcement’s jurisdictional reach andinvestigative tenacity culminated in thearrest of multiple individuals. Themethodical nature and duration of thisinvestigation reflects our collectivededicated effort to secure justice for thevictims. Organized crime groups areemerging from every corner of the globe.Through our task-force and intelligencebased model, we will use every tool at ourdisposal to disrupt and dismantleorganized criminal enterprises.”In late May, 13 men and women werecharged in the first of three indictmentswith conspiracy to distribute andpossession with intent to distributeoxycodone, marijuana and human growthhormone in the Massachusetts, Florida,South Carolina, and elsewhere. Accordingto an affidavit filed in connection withdetention proceedings, John Willis, 40, of Dorchester, also known as “Bac GuaiJohn” (“White Devil John”), the leader of this drug-trafficking conspiracy, has along history of involvement in Asianorganized crime.The following were also charged in thedrug-trafficking conspiracy with Willis:Brant Welty, 39, Kevin Baranowski, 41,and Bridget Welty, 38, all of Boston;Vincent Alberico, 29, of Centerville,Mass.; Peter Melendez, 50, of Sunrise,Florida; Aibun Eng, 38,and Steven Le, 21,both of Quincy; Brian Bowes, 42, andMichael Clemente, 29, both of Sunrise,Florida; Michael Shaw, 39, of WiltonManors, Florida; Mark Thompson, 28, of Davie, Florida; and Anevay Duffy, 25, of Cumberland, Rhode Island. Alberico isalso charged with assaulting a federalofficial who was performing his officialduties.With the exception of Melendez, thedefendants in this matter have beenarrested. Willis, Le, and Alberico havebeen detained pending trial. Brant Weltyremains in custody pending the court’sdecision on the government’s motion fordetention and Baranowski remains incustody pending a detention hearing onJuly 14. Alberico is in state custody.If convicted on these charges, Willis andBaranowski face up to 30 years in federalprison. Each of the remaining defendantsfaces up to 20 years in federal prison to befollowed by up to a life term of supervisedrelease, and $1 million fine. In addition,Alberico also faces up to eight years infederal prison to be followed by up tothree years of supervised release, and a$250,000 fine for the assault charge.On June 30, 13 additional defendantswere charged in two separate indictments.One of the indictments charged Minh CamLuong, 46, Vapeng Joe, 44, Hin Pau, 45,Judy Huyen Truong, 41, and Hui Zhou,24, all of Quincy; Jian Ming Chen, 38, of Brighton; Elburke Lamson, 47, of Chelsea; Tan Ngo, 54, of Waltham;Songzeng Cao, 28, of Malden; and YaoZheng Cao, 23, of Somerville, foroperating an illegal gambling businesssince January 2010. That business hasbeen based, since November 2010, at aillegal gambling den at 17-23 Beach Streetin Chinatown. Luong, Pau, Songzeng Cao,Yao Zheng Cao and Zhou were alsocharged with using extortionate means,including threats or actual use of violence,to collect debts, including debts owed tothe illegal gambling business. With theexception of Lamson and Truong, alldefendants are currently in custodypending detention hearings. Fivedefendants are expected to have detentionhearings today at noon.According to a court filing, Luong andNgo were both members of Chinatown’sPing On Gang in the late 1980s and early1990s, when the Gang was vying forcontrol of crime in Chinatown. Both wereconvicted on federal charges includingheroin trafficking, and both have servedsentences in federal prison.If convicted on these charges, each of thedefendants faces up to five years infederal prison to be followed by up tothree years of supervised release, and a$250,000 fine on the illegal gamblingbusiness charge. Luong, Pau, Cao, Cao,and Zhou also face up to 20 years infederal prison to be followed by up tothree years of supervised release, and a$250,000 fine for each count of usingextortionate means to collect extensions of credit.Lastly, Wei Xing Chen, 50, of Cambridge, and Yue Q. He, age unknown,of Boston, were charged in an indictmentwith conspiracy to possess with the intentto distribute 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and 1-benzylpiperazine, both also known asecstasy, and possession with intent todistribute 1-benzylpiperazine. In addition,Chen, He and Xiaohong Xue, 41, also of
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Leader of International Money LaunderingOrganization Sentenced in Manhattan FederalCourt to Nine Years in Prison
Submitted at 9:42 AM July 12, 2011
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)on July 11, 2011 released the followingpress release:“JUL 11 – MANHATTAN — John P.Gilbride, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the DrugEnforcement Administration (DEA) andPreet Bharara, the United States Attorneyfor the Southern District of New York,announced that David Eduardo HelmutMurcia Guzmán, the founder of theColombian marketing giant D.M.G.Group (“DMG”), was sentenced Friday,July 8, 2011 to nine years in prison for hisparticipation in a scheme to laundermillions of dollars’ worth of illicit funds,including narcotics proceeds, throughDMG. Murcia Guzmán was sentenced inManhattan federal court by U.S. DistrictJudge William H. Pauley. Judge Pauleypreviously ordered Guzman to forfeit tenproperties located in southern Florida andCalifornia, and $7 million.Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bhararastated: “Murcia Guzmán wove an intricateweb of deception across continents todisguise his dirty drug money and supporthis lavish lifestyle. But his web has beenuntangled and his lifestyle dramaticallycurtailed by this sentence.”According to the Superseding Indictmentto which Murcia Guzmán pled guilty, andstatements made in court:The DMG OrganizationDavid Eduardo Helmut Murcia Guzmáncreated DMG in 2003 as a vehicle for amulti-level marketing scheme, throughwhich customers could buy pre-paid debitcards. DMG sold these pre-paid debitcards to customers in Latin America, whocould use them to purchase electronicsand other items at retail stores operated byDMG. By 2008, DMG had approximately400,000 customers. DMG ceased itsoperations by January 2009.The Money Laundering ConspiracyMurcia Guzmán and five co-defendants— employees and affiliates of DMG –-laundered narcotics proceeds throughDMG and DMG’s affiliated companies.They used the Colombian Black MarketPeso Exchange, an informal value transfersystem commonly used to launder illicitly-obtained dollars in the United States, inexchange for pesos taken in for“legitimate” purchases in Colombia.For example, in the fall of 2007, MurciaGuzmán and co-defendant MargaritaLeonor Pabon Castro approached anotherindividual in Colombia and said that theyhad cash – apparently in U.S. dollars —that they could not deposit into theColombian banking system. They askedthe individual to set up an account in theUnited States where these funds could bedeposited.Thereafter, the individual opened anaccount at Merrill Lynch in the UnitedStates, under the name “BlackstoneInternational Development” (the“Blackstone Account”). Neither MurciaGuzmán nor Pabon Castro was listed asowners of the Blackstone Account.In March 2008, Murcia Guzmán andPabon Castro told the same individual thatthey had provided $2.2 million worth of Colombian Pesos to co-defendant GermanEnrique Serrano-Reyes in Colombia, and,in exchange, Serrano-Reyes had causedthe nearly $2.2 million to be wired intothe Blackstone Account through eighteenseparate wire transfers. In May 2008, theU.S. Government seized about $2.2million from the Blackstone Accountpursuant to a court order. When MurciaGuzmán was informed of the seizure of the Blackstone Account, he told theindividual who set it up that he should notattempt to retrieve its contents, and shouldnot, under any circumstances inform theauthorities of Murcia Guzmán’s or PabonCastro’s interest in the BlackstoneAccount.Co-defendant William Suárez-Suárezheaded DMG’s Colombian security andcash transportation operations, includingoverseeing the delivery of cash to moneylaundering agents and attempts to paybribes to Colombian officials. Co-defendant Luis Fernando Cediel Rozosupervised wire transfers and bulk cashtransfers of millions of dollars of DMGmoney out of Colombia through the Black Market Peso Exchange. Co-defendantSantiago Baranchuk-Rueda received black market transfers of DMG money,including transfers overseen by cedielrozo, to U.S. bank and brokerageaccounts.On November 23, 2010, Murcia Guzmánpled guilty to conspiracy to launder theproceeds of narcotics trafficking. Suárez-Suárez, Pabon Castro, Cediel Rozo,Baranchuk-Rueda, and Serrano-Reyeshave each previously pled guilty to thesame charge. On January 26, 2011,Serrano-Reyes was sentenced to a periodof time already served.In addition to the prison term, JudgePauley sentenced Murcia Guzmán, 30, of Colombia, to three years of supervisedrelease. Murcia Guzmán was also orderedto pay a $100 special assessment andforfeit $7 million and all right, title, andinterest in 10 properties located in Floridaand California.Mr. Bharara praised the outstandinginvestigative work of the DEA’s NewYork Drug Enforcement Task Force —which is comprised of agents and officersof the DEA, the New York City PoliceDepartment, and the New York StatePolice — DEA’s Bogota Country Office,DEA’s Caracas Country Office, DEA’sCaribbean Division, U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration andCustoms Enforcement (ICE), and ICE’sCaracas Country Office. Mr. Bharara alsothanked the Department of Justice’sOffice of International Affairs for theirongoing assistance in the investigation.The prosecution is being handled by theOffice’s Terrorism and InternationalNarcotics Unit, with the assistance of theAsset Forfeiture Unit. Assistant U.S.Attorneys Benjamin A. Naftalis,Telemachus P. Kasulis, and Michael D.Lockard are in charge of the prosecution.”To find additional federal criminal news,please readThe Federal Crimes Watch
Daily.Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and writeextensively on matters involving FederalCriminal Defense, INTERPOL RedNotice Removal, International Extraditionand OFAC SDN List Removal.The author of this blog is DouglasMcNabb. Please feel free to contact himdirectly atmcnabb@mcnabbassociates.comor at oneof the offices listed above.
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July 12, 2011 - The Federal Crimes Watch Daily
The Federal Crimes Watch Daily is a daily newspaper that discusses current federal criminal issues written by a federal criminal defense attorney.
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