New Jersey Gang Member Admits Mistaken Identity Murder

NEWARK, NJ—Emmanuel Jones, a set leader in the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang, admitted today to murdering an innocent teenager in a case of mistaken identity in July 2004 and conspiring to murder a rival gang member in October 2006 as part of a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Jones, 27, a/k/a “Killer E,” a/k/a “Killer,” a/k/a “Emo,” of Jersey City, N.J., pleaded guilty to one count of a second superseding Indictment filed against him in January 2011, which charged with him conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Jones entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.

“This case illustrates the horror of gang violence and its devastating effect on innocent children in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “We will continue to use federal statutes, like RICO, to put those responsible in federal prison as we fight to keep New Jersey’s streets safe.”

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

Jones admitted that he was responsible for a July 19, 2004, murder that occurred in Jersey City. Jones stated that along with co-defendant Torien Brooks, 30, of Paterson, N.J., a/k/a “B.G.,” a/k/a “T-Bird,” a/k/a “Reek Boy,” he shot and killed a person they believed was responsible for an earlier shooting of a fellow gang member, but was actually an innocent teenager identified in court documents as “M.T.” Three other bystanders were hit by stray bullets during the incident.

Jones also admitted that he was responsible for conspiring to murder a rival gang member in October 2006 while they were both incarcerated in the Hudson County Jail. As part of that dispute, Jones ordered other members of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims to kill the rival gang member, identified in court documents as “C.C.” As a result of Jones’ order, C.C. was struck with a broom handle, causing him to fall down a flight of stairs in the jail.

Jones was previously indicted by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for the July 2004 murder.

The racketeering conspiracy count to which Jones pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Jones is currently scheduled to be sentenced on October 25, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Horace; law enforcement officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Frank X. Schillari; the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Chief James F. Wittig; and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director Samuel Jefferson and Chief Thomas J. Comey, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Edward J. De Fazio; the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Acting Police Director Samuel DeMaio; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; the Special Operations Division’s National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, under the direction of Director John Sieder; the New Jersey Department of Corrections, under the direction of Commissioner Gary M. Lanigan; and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent, for their important roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

As for Brooks, the charges contained in the second superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Former Proctor High School Bookkeeper Sentenced for Theft

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Deborah Clough, former bookkeeper for Proctor High School, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court by Chief Judge Christina Reiss to 14 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release on charges of theft from an organization receiving federal funding and filing false tax returns.

According to the information to which Clough pled, from in or about August 2007 until in or about August 2009, Clough repeatedly prepared unauthorized checks to herself from the Proctor High School Student Activities Account and fabricated supporting documents to justify the issuance of the checks. Clough obtained a total of approximately $106,000.00 from her fraud against the school. Because she failed to declare the stolen funds as income, she failed to pay over $19,000.00 in taxes during the years of the fraud.

During the sentencing hearing, Proctor Junior-Senior High School principal June Sargent described the account from which Clough stole funds as including money raised by students and their parents for class activities and special events, as well as funds given to the school in memory of former alumni, teachers and community members. Sargent spoke about the impact of Clough’s deceit on the entire school community. Town of Proctor School District Business Manager Cheryl Scarzello reminded the Court that Clough had stolen the money systematically from people she saw every day both at work and in the community.

In imposing sentence, the Court noted the length and complexity of Clough’s scheme, Clough’s role as a trusted employee of the school, Clough’s attempts to conceal her conduct, and the impact on the school community. In addition to the term of imprisonment, the Court ordered Clough to repay $111,495.43 in restitution to the school through its insurers, as well as $19,440.00 to the Internal Revenue Service.

The United States Attorneys Office credits the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Rutland, Vermont, and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, in Springfield, Massachusetts, for their detailed work on this investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Geni Cowles, and Clough was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Alison Arms.

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St. Clair County Man Pleads Guilty to Mailing Series of Hoax Anthrax Letters

BIRMINGHAM—A St. Clair County man pleaded guilty today in federal court to mailing a series of hoax anthrax letters in Alabama in March and April last year, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.

Just before his trial was to begin, CLIFTON LAMAR “CLIFF” DODD, 39, of Lincoln, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon to 23 counts of mailing letters that contained a threat in the form of white powder that could reasonably have been perceived as the biological toxin, anthrax. He also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to mail eight of the hoax anthrax letters.

One of the threat letters was delivered to U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby’s office in the Robert S. Vance Federal on March 8, 2010. Other recipients of the white-powder letters Dodd has pleaded guilty to sending include Alabama Sen. Jim Preuitt of Talladega, two Talladega County state court judges, Talladega County Sheriff Jerry Studdard, several Talladega County Jail inmates who were in the jail at the same time as Dodd, and police investigators from both the Lincoln and Oxford police departments who previously had interviewed Dodd.

“We are pleased with the defendant’s decision to plead guilty and look forward to sentencing,” Vance said.

Dodd acknowledged sending 15 hoax anthrax letters between March 6 and April 5, 2010. He also pleaded guilty to mailing another eight letters containing white powder on April 24, 2010, and to conspiring with another man to mail those letters. His co-defendant pleaded guilty last year to the conspiracy charge.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the FBI, the Federal Protective Service, and the Talladega County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Whisonant prosecuted the case.

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Eighteen Members of Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Arrested in Multiple States

ST. LOUIS—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the arrests of 15 members of the Wheels of Soul Outlaw Motorcycle Gang in seven states on an indictment alleging a racketeering conspiracy. Three other gang members were arrested on separate charges involving firearms violations.

The indictment alleges that between 2009 and the present time, the Wheels of Soul Outlaw Motorcycle Gang constituted an “enterprise” engaged in racketeering activity as defined by the federal RICO statute, and that the 18 charged current and former members conspired to commit racketeering acts in furtherance of that “enterprise.” In addition to the conspiracy charge, some defendants are accused of committing specific acts of violence including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and kidnapping. Several of the defendants are alleged to have engaged in narcotics trafficking. According to the indictment these offenses occurred in various locations throughout the midwest, including St. Louis, Chicago, Denver, and Marion, Ohio. The charges carry punishments ranging up to life imprisonment.

Arrested and charged locally:

Dominic Henley, 33, St. Louis, 63110, chapter president;
Lawrence Pinkston, 42, St. Louis, 63120, former vice president;
Norman Vick, 44, St. Louis, 63135, former secretary;
Sean Jackson, 42, St. Louis, 63112, former enforcer; and
Timothy Balle, 58, St. Louis, 63107, member.
The announcement was made in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, St. Louis Field Division, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Chicago Field Division, which conducted a two-year joint investigation into the Wheels of Soul Outlaw Motorcycle Gang which has chapters in at least 20 states. The list of those indicted includes national and regional officers of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based club.

“The significance of today’s arrests is not just the fact that these members are considered the most violent of the group,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Dennis L. Baker. “Today’s nationwide takedown has disrupted and dismantled the Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Outlaw Gang by targeting the senior leaders.”

In addition to the FBI and ATF, this case was investigated by the St. Louis County Police Department and Police Departments in Chicago, IL; Columbus, Ohio; and Marion, Ohio. United States Attorney Richard Callahan praised the local police departments for their contributions to the investigation and thanked them for their willingness to forego individual action until all aspects of the investigation could be completed and everyone involved in the conspiracy could be charged.

As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If you have questions, please contact Public Information Officer Jan Diltz at jan.diltz@usdoj.gov or 314-539-7719.

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Real Estate Agent, Loan Officer Among Five Defendants to Plead Guilty to $11 Million Mortgage Fraud

KANSAS CITY, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former real estate agent and a former loan officer are among five co-defendants who have pleaded guilty in federal court to their roles in an $11 million mortgage fraud scheme that involved upscale homes in Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, Liberty, Parkville, and elsewhere.

Carole L. Colson, 68, of Lake Worth, Fla., a former real estate agent, Anthony E. Hicks, 39, of Little Rock, Ark., a former mortgage loan officer, and Zelda Ann Jackson, also known as Zelda Ann Aberin, 38, of Woodland Hills, Calif., pleaded guilty today in separate appearances before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to the charge contained in a Nov. 19, 2010, federal indictment.

Bruce Q. Williams, 42, of Kansas City, Kan., a former mortgage loan officer, and Mark P. Billey, 38, of Buena Park, Calif., have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy.

Each of the defendants pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy that began in early 2005 and operated until Aug. 4, 2006. As a result of the fraud scheme, mortgage lenders made loans totaling $11,092,886. From that total, buyers received approximately $2,006,845 in kickbacks without the knowledge or consent of the lenders.

The mortgage fraud scheme involved purchasing homes at inflated prices in order to obtain loan proceeds in excess of the actual sales prices. The purchases were structured in such a way that the buyers would receive kickbacks from the loan proceeds. Conspirators submitted false and fraudulent loan applications and supporting documents to mortgage lenders, who were not aware that the buyers would receive kickbacks. Conspirators used false invoices to conceal the kickback payments from the lenders.

For the purchase of eight properties in which Colson participated, mortgage lenders approved approximately $5.1 million in loans. Her business, Carole Colson Real Estate L.L.C., received commissions totaling $165,776. The loss resulting from the eight loans is approximately $2.3 million.

Hicks was involved in the purchase of two properties. On one property, he was the mortgage broker who obtained loans for the purchaser, and on one property he was the purchaser; both properties went into default and were foreclosed. Hicks received a $100,000 kickback from the purchase of the second property. He received fees for his services in connection with the purchase of the first property, for which co-conspirators received $125,000 in kickbacks. The estimated losses on the two loans is $650,025.

Jackson aided and abetted her husband, Mark Jackson, in the purchase of the Lee’s Summit home in which Hicks was involved as mortgage broker, as well as other properties in the Kansas City area. Mark Jackson was charged and pleaded guilty in a separate mortgage fraud case. From the purchase of the Lee’s Summit property, unbeknownst to the lender, Mark Jackson received a $100,000 kickback. The property went into default and was foreclosed, resulting in a loss of $314,870.

Williams was the mortgage broker who obtained a total of $6.8 million in fraudulent loans for 10 properties as part of the mortgage fraud scheme. Williams obtained a total of $50,336 in kickbacks, in addition to his fees.

Billey purchased two properties for nearly $1.4 million, for which he received $190,000 in kickbacks.

Under federal statutes, each of the defendants is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000 and an order of restitution. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Linda Parker Marshall. It was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.

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Leawood Man Sentenced for Smuggling Counterfeit Cisco Computer Equipment

KANSAS CITY, KS—A Leawood, Kansas man has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for selling $1 million worth of counterfeit Cisco computer equipment, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Christopher Myers, 42, Leawood, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to bring goods into the United States by false statements, to smuggle goods into the United States, and to traffic in counterfeit goods.

In his plea, Myers admitted he conspired with co-defendant Timothy Weatherly of Overland Park, Kan. They operated a business called Deals Direct, Inc., from a warehouse in Merriam, Kansas. Beginning in 2005 and continuing through Nov. 14, 2006, Myers and Weatherly imported computer equipment from China. They put counterfeit Cisco labels on the equipment and placed the counterfeit goods in Cisco boxes with counterfeit Cisco manuals. The counterfeit equipment was sold on Deal Direct’s website and on eBay as genuine Cisco equipment.

They obtained access to Cisco’s confidential serial number verification website in order to obtain legitimate serial numbers. Working with a manufacturer in Hong Kong, the conspirators used multiple shippers and other methods to attempt to keep shipments from being seized by customs officials. When investigators served a search warrant Nov. 8, 2006, in Merriam, Kansas, they found hundreds of counterfeit Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, and documentation as well as thousands of counterfeit Cisco goods.

Co-defendant Weatherly is set for sentencing Oct. 3.

Grissom commended Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask for their work on the case. This case was prosecuted in cooperation with the Justice Department’s Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force).

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Toms River, New Jersey Man Admits Posing as a Doctor, Treating Elderly Patients in Medicare Fraud Scheme

NEWARK, NJ—A Toms River, N.J., man today admitted to unlawfully treating patients, prescribing medicine, and ordering procedures while posing as a licensed physician with an Ocean County, N.J., medical practice, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Patrick Lynch, 54, pleaded guilty in connection with the scheme he orchestrated through Toms River-based Visiting Doctors of New Jersey, in which he conducted hundreds of visits with elderly, home-bound patients and billed them to Medicare. Lynch entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count each of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft.

“Patrick Lynch defrauded a government program designed to help Americans most in need of health support,” U.S. Attorney Fishman stated. “To further his deception, he misused the identities of skilled professionals and put elderly patients at risk. Homebound individuals with pressing medical concerns should not have to worry that they are receiving substandard care from untrained hands.”

“The threat to the public well being in this case is considerable,” said Michael B. Ward, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Newark field office. “Without sufficient training and lacking minimal credentials, Patrick Lynch attempted to profit by presenting himself as a licensed medical professional, conducting home healthcare visits with elderly patients, writing prescriptions, and falsely billing Medicare. His actions placed these unsuspecting patients at undeterminable risk.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made during today’s guilty plea proceeding:

Lynch created Visiting Doctors of New Jersey in order to provide medical care for elderly home-bound patients in the Monmouth and Ocean County areas. Because he was neither a licensed physician nor a nurse practitioner, he hired licensed individuals to conduct patient visits. When Lynch failed to pay the licensed physicians and nurse practitioners, they quit working for him. Lynch then carried on the business by posing as the licensed professionals, using their names and government-issued identification numbers to write prescriptions and submit billings to Medicare, among other things.

Over the course of the scheme, hundreds of claims were billed to Medicare for hundreds of illegal visits to elderly patients.

The health care fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense; the aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, to run consecutive to any sentence imposed on the health care fraud charge. Sentencing is currently scheduled for October 17, 2011. The amount that the defendant will be required to pay in restitution is still being determined and will be decided at sentencing.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the Red Bank FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General region covering New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tom ODonnell; the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Marlene Lynch Ford; and the Toms River Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael G. Mastronardy, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Marasco of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.

Defense counsel: Steven Secare Esq., Toms River, N.J.

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Former Hospital CFO Sentenced to 33 Months in Federal Prison for Fraud Scheme

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that WILLIAM ROE, 55, formerly of Archbald, Pennsylvania, and Wilton, Connecticut, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 33 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for defrauding two hospitals where he was employed of approximately $200,000.

According to court documents and statements made in court, ROE was employed as chief financial officer (CFO) of St. Rita’s Hospital in Lima, Ohio, from 2006 through early 2009, and as CFO of Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Connecticut, from early 2009 through August 2010. ROE also created a company called Cycle Software Solutions. Beginning in July 2008 and continuing for approximately two years, ROE used Cycle Software Solutions to defraud both St. Rita’s Hospital and Danbury Hospital by billing the hospitals for software and services that were never provided.

Specifically, ROE billed and received from St. Rita’s Hospital approximately $75,000 for services that were never provided, and billed and received from Danbury Hospital approximately $95,000 for software that was never provided. ROE also billed Danbury Hospital for an additional $25,000, the payment on which was stopped.

On January 4, 2011, ROE pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud stemming from this scheme.

Today, Judge Bryant ordered ROE to pay restitution of $75,000 to St. Rita’s Hospital, and $141,166 to Danbury Hospital. The Danbury Hospital restitution figure includes an additional $46,166 that ROE improperly received from the hospital.

On August 17, 2010, ROE was arrested on a federal criminal complaint stemming from this fraud scheme. He was released on bond from September 9, 2010, until March 29, 2011, when ROE’s bond was revoked after Judge Bryant determined that ROE had violated a condition of his bond, which prohibited ROE from using the Internet, by sending his probation officer an e-mail using his wife’s e-mail account, and under his wife’s name.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rahul Kale and Senior Litigation Counsel Richard J. Schechter.

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Leader of Armenian Organized Crime Ring Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Racketeering

PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ARMEN KAZARIAN pled guilty today in Manhattan federal court to racketeering in connection with his involvement with the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization, an Armenian-American organized crime enterprise engaged in a wide range of criminal activity. KAZARIAN pled guilty before U.S. District Judge PAUL A. GARDEPHE.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA said: “International organized crime has emerged as one of the most serious law enforcement problems of the 21st century. It is a problem that this office—and the Department of Justice as a whole—is committed to rooting out. Today, crime boss Armen Kazarian becomes the first known “Vor” to have been convicted of racketeering, but he will not be the last. His guilty plea should send a strong message to international gangsters all over the world that if you commit crimes in this country, we will find you, and we will prosecute you with the full force of the law.”

According to the indictment, other documents filed in this case, and statements made during today’s guilty plea proceeding:

ARMEN KAZARIAN was a “Vor,” a term translated as “Thief-in-Law.” The term, refers to a member of a select group of high-level criminals from Russia and the countries that had been part of the former Soviet Union, including Armenia. “Vors” offer prestige and protection to criminal organizations in return for a share of criminal earnings, and use their position of authority to resolve disputes among criminals. KAZARIAN admitted that he was a “Vor” when he was arrested on racketeering charges in October 2010. The indictment charged him with using his leadership position in the criminal community to assist Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization, an Armenian-American organized crime ring that engaged in an extensive range of criminal offenses including the operation of a $100 million dollar Medicare fraud billing ring.

* * *

KAZARIAN, 47, pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. In connection with his plea, KAZARIAN admitted his association with the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization and further acknowledged engaging in extortion on the organization’s and his own behalf.

KAZARIAN is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge GARDEPHE on October 6, 2011, at 3:00 p.m.

U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA thanked the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, the New York Office of Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services for their work in the investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by the Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys JENNIFER BURNS and ARLO DEVLIN-BROWN are in charge of the prosecution.

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Ellenwood Woman and Minister Husband Plead Guilty to Human Trafficking-Related Offenses

ATLANTA—JUNA GWENDOLYN BABB, 56, and MICHAEL J. BABB, 54, of Ellenwood, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in federal court to felony offenses related to a scheme to compel the labor of a young woman from the Kingdom of Swaziland in Southern Africa.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This case reminds us that modern-day slavery is occurring in our communities. This young woman believed that she was traveling to the United States for a brief visit to help with a wedding. Instead, she was forced to work for the defendants for more than two years. It is especially disturbing that the victim was exploited by a minister and his wife.”

In Washington, D.C., Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division said, “The Department is committed to prosecuting individuals who engage in schemes to exploit and compel the labor of vulnerable persons.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin said, “Human trafficking, while taking on many forms, consists primarily of those who prey on the vulnerabilities of others for personal gain. That was, in fact, the case in this matter as a young woman from Swaziland was being forced into labor and was unsure of who to turn to for help. The FBI continues to aggressively pursue all allegations of human trafficking matters and is proud of the role that it played in bringing this case to a successful conclusion.”

Brock Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of ICE’s Office of Investigations in Atlanta said, “Few crimes are more shocking than the trafficking of human beings in this country. No one should have to live in a world of isolation and forced servitude. Together with our federal, state and local partners, ICE HSI is committed to protecting those who cannot protect themselves.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the indictment, and information in court: In March, 2005, JUNA BABB, while visiting the Kingdom of Swaziland Africa, invited the victim, then a 29-year-old cook, to travel to the United States to cater for a family wedding. In fact, there was no wedding, and JUNA BABB then knew that she intended to harbor the victim as a housekeeper in the United States for the purpose of JUNA BABB’s financial gain. Subsequently, upon the victim’s arrival at the defendant’s home in Ellenwood, Georgia, JUNA BABB concealed her from detection by law enforcement while compelling her to work in the defendants’ home as a housekeeper from in or about June 2005, through in or about February 2007. JUNA BABB also threatened the victim with the debt that JUNA BABB said the victim owed for her travel to the United States, and with arrest and deportation because she was in the United States illegally.

MICHAEL BABB, a minister, knew of his wife’s harboring of the victim in the United States, and he knew that his wife JUNA BABB was compelling the victim’s labor. However, MICHAEL BABB failed to notify an authority of the United States as soon as possible of the alien harboring, and affirmatively concealed his wife’s crime by denying that the victim worked as the defendants’ housekeeper to special agents of the FBI.

JUNA BABB pleaded guilty to the offense of harboring an alien for financial gain, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ incarceration. MICHAEL BABB pleaded guilty to the offense of misprision of a felony for concealing his wife’s criminal conduct and for lying to federal agents. This offense carries a maximum penalty of three years’ incarceration. The defendants have agreed to pay a total of $25,000 in restitution to the victim for her unpaid labor. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for October 6, 2011, at 3 p.m. before Chief United States District Judge Julie L. Carnes.

This case was investigated by special agents of the FBI and ICE-HSI.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Moultrie, Jr. and Stephanie Gabay-Smith, Trial Attorney Nicole Lee Ndumele, and Deputy Chief Karima Maloney of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

For further information, please contact Sally Q. Yates, United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.

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