News from March 2019


Former Canton Resident Extradited From Ireland Sentenced On Mortgage Fraud Charges

News Release: First Extradition to the United States from Ireland since 2012


St. Clair County Man Charged With Producing Child Pornography

News Release: The one-count federal indictment alleges that the offense occurred in St. Clair County between Dec. 1, 2018, and Jan. 26, 2019. Wigfall, 47, made his initial appearance in federal district court late last week and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was ordered held without bond pending an April 30, 2019 jury trial.


Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty in Ugandan-Made Counterfeit Currency Scheme

News Release: Cole M. Harris, aka Ink, 23, of Knoxville, TN pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Mark Hornak.


Remaining EPMI Property Managers Sent to Prison for Defrauding Homeowner Associations

News Release: The Powells and Ellerbrock had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering for using stolen Homeowners Association (HOA) fees to enrich themselves. Last month, Harlow White - the father of Kelsey Powell and Rachel Ellerbrock - was sentenced to prison for 15 months and ordered to pay $291,420 in restitution.


Man Who Stole $889K from Employers Sentenced to More Than 3 Years in Federal Prison

News Release: According to court documents and statements made in court, between July 2013 and October 2016, Avridor stole personal bank checks from two Greenwich residents who employed him as a driver. He made the checks payable either to Cash or to himself for various amounts of money and forged the signature of ...



Southern District takes part in largest-ever nationwide elder fraud sweep

News Release: Attorney General focuses on threats posed by technical-support fraud


Four Romanian Nationals Indicted for Using the Identity of Another to Obtain "Skimmer" Equipment

News Release: On Feb. 13, 2019, officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department discovered a package that was being mailed to a UPS store in Richmond Heights, Missouri. After obtaining a search warrant for the package they discovered that it contained two point-of-sale terminals with skimming devices ...


Secret Service Director Names Alfonso Dyson Sr. as Assistant Chief of the Uniformed Division

News Release: Dyson is a veteran of the Secret Service with over 29 years of experience in the agency. He began his career with the Secret Service in February 1990 as an Officer assigned to the White House Branch.


Romanian National Sentenced for ATM Skimming

News Release: Group Used Skimming Devices to Steal Debit Card Numbers, PINs from ATMs in Olathe, KCK, Riverside


Page County Man Sentenced to Prison for Counterfeiting

News Release: In March 2018, Clarinda Police were called to Caseys General Store regarding a patron that passed a counterfeit bill. Upon review of the surveillance tape, officers identified Alexander Milledge as the person who passed the counterfeit money. A search warrant was obtained for his residence and officers recovered numerous computers, printers, printer paper and approximately $35,000 in counterfeit Federal Reserve notes in different stages of manufacturing.


Equine Insurance Agent Sentenced in $1.3 Million Fraud Scheme

News Release: At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Randall N. Levesque, 57, of Middletown, owner of Equine Insurance Services, LLC and Randall Levesque Agency, to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of his term of incarceration and to pay restitution to the victims of his schemes totaling $1,382,815.08.


North Carolina Woman Admits to Embezzling More Than $130K from Connecticut Company

News Release: According to court documents and statements made in court, Kurus formerly resided in Connecticut and was employed as the accounting manager for a company based in Stratford. Between approximately October 2014 and June 2017, Kurus used the companys financial accounting software to transfer customer credits to at least six personal debit card accounts, and then used the money for her personal benefit. Through this scheme, she stole $133,870.55.


Five Argentine Men Charged with Illegally Operating Online Pharmacies and Importing and Distributing Oxycodone

News Release: Conrado Adolfo Frenzel, aka Otto (age: 50), Jorge Alejandro Paura, aka Larry (age: 51), Santiago Videmato, aka James Duggan (age: 35), Luciano Brunetti, aka Biff Tannen (age: 30), and Lucas Daniel Paura, aka Carl Carlson (age: 31), all from Buenos Aires, Argentina, were charged with conspiracy to distribute ...


South L.A. Man Sentenced to More than 10 Years in Federal Prison for Armed Robbery of Undercover Secret Service Agent

News Release: Tyre Jordan Simmons, a.k.a., Reckless, 23, was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Kronstadt.


Fake Nurse Pleads Guilty to Health Care Fraud, Social Security Fraud and Aggravated Identity Fraud

News Release: According to court documents, Danneman was not a nurse, but used the name and nursing license number of an actual licensed registered nurse to obtain work in the St. Louis area at Alexian Brothers Sherbrooke Village, the Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis, and Des Peres Healthcare. Danneman was hired ...


Fraud felony nets more than 12 years in prison

News Release: Career criminal committed latest felony while on supervised release for previous fraud conviction


Third and Final Defendant Pleads Guilty in Pawn Shop Scheme to Sell Stolen Goods

News Release: The guilty pleas were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Sung Jimmy Yi of the United States Secret Service - Baltimore Field Office; and Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler.


Charlotte Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Transporting Stolen Property

News Release: Reginald A. DeMatteis, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Charlotte Field Office, and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department join the U.S. Attorneys Office in making todays announcement.


Greenville Woman Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison Following Second Counterfeiting Conviction

News Release: Evidence presented to the court established that in the summer of 2018, Dishinger passed counterfeit federal reserve notes at various locations throughout the Upstate of South Carolina. Based on a local investigation, Greenville City Police officers developed probable cause and executed a search warrant ...