U.S. Marshals Capture Attempted Murder Suspect in Durham, NC

Durham, NC - This afternoon, Shenandoah Freeman, a 41 year old male, was arresedt by the U.S. Marshals Joint Fugitive Task Force (JFTF). Freeman has been charged with a Failure to Appear in Court for Attempted First Degree Murder and Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury. Freeman had been on the run since April 20, 2015 when he failed to appear in Court on the above charges.

Freeman was initially charged by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office after they responded to a shooting at the Scottish Inn located at 5303 Hwy 70 in Orange County. There they found a female who had been shot five times and was seriously injured.

The JFTF arrested Freeman at the Carolina Duke Inn located at 2517 Guess Road in Durham. Freeman was booked into the Orange County Jail where he is being held under a $600,000 secure bond.

The U.S. Marshals Joint Fugitive Task Force for the Middle District of North Carolina is comprised of investigators from the U.S. Marshals Service, Chapel Hill Police Department, Durham Police Department, Greensboro Police Department, High Point Police Department, Winston-Salem Police Department, Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Department of Community Corrections – Probation & Parole.

Former DEA Employee Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Credit Card Fraud Scheme

Used Fraudulently Acquired Government Credit Cards to Obtain Over $113,000 in Cash

A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) employee was sentenced today to two years in prison for defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co. out of more than $113,000 using fraudulently issued government credit cards.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge Michael P. Tompkins of the the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General’s (DOJ OIG) Washington, D.C. Field Office made the announcement.

Keenya Meshell Banks, 41, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty in April 2015 to one count of wire fraud.  In addition to imposing the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow ordered Banks to pay restitution in the amount of $113,841.

According to her plea agreement, Banks was employed by the DEA as a Program Manager, and was responsible for the approval and issuance of government credit cards to DEA employees.  Banks admitted that, while serving in that role, she submitted dozens of fake credit card applications to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for fictitious DEA employees, using names and identifying information of individuals who did not work at the DEA.  In at least one instance, however, Banks submitted the identifying information of an actual DEA employee.  Through this scheme, Banks admitted that she obtained at least 32 fraudulent credit cards, which she then used to withdraw more than $113,000 from ATMs in Maryland and Northern Virginia.  As part of her plea agreement, Banks agreed to forfeit the proceeds she received as a result of the scheme and to pay full restitution.

The case was investigated by the DOJ OIG.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and Justin Weitz of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Windom of the  District of Maryland.

Massachusetts Dentist Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

A Douglas, Massachusetts, dentist was sentenced today to serve 16 months in prison for tax evasion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.  

George Fenzell was indicted in February 2014 by a federal grand jury sitting in Boston on multiple counts of tax evasion and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  In November 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman also sentenced Fenzell to one year of supervised release and ordered him to pay $157,407 in restitution to the IRS.  In sentencing Fenzell, Judge Hillman departed downward from the recommended U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range due, in part, to Fenzell’s cooperation with the government on other matters.

According to court documents, from 1999 through 2012, Fenzell engaged in conduct intended to obstruct the IRS.  For the years 1999 through 2007, he failed to file timely federal income tax returns and concealed income that he earned from his dental practice from the IRS.  Fenzell operated a dental office located in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.  He concealed his dental business receipts by diverting the funds through nominee entities, including River Valley Dental.  He used multiple nominee bank accounts to conceal his ownership of his income and assets.  Fenzell also titled and registered a Lincoln Navigator and Ducati motorcycle with another nominee entity, Smiling Trust, and made extensive use of cash in order to conceal his fraud from the IRS.

In response to a Massachusetts Department of Revenue investigation and collection action in 2007, Fenzell filed his delinquent federal tax returns for 2000 through 2005.  In filing those returns, Fenzell admitted that he owed federal income taxes totaling $129,841.  Fenzell had not made any tax payments to the IRS for those years.  Rather than pay the federal income taxes and additional interest and penalties that were due and owing, between 2007 and 2012, Fenzell evaded IRS collection efforts by diverting his business receipts to nominee entities and using nominee bank accounts in Florida and Rhode Island to hide his income and assets.  During the same period, he falsified his 2006 and 2007 tax returns that he filed late in 2009, and also failed to file his tax returns for 2008 through 2011.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Assistant Chief John N. Kane Jr. and Trial Attorney Thomas Koelbl of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.  Ciraolo also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts for their substantial assistance.