Man Charged with Possession of a Firearm by Illegal Alien

Jose Miguel Perez, 31, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was charged today by indictment with one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The indictment alleges that on or about August 24, 2012, Perez, an alien, knowingly possessed a Taurus Model PT 111, 9mm semi-automatic handgun loaded with 12 live rounds of ammunition.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years.

The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Karen Fox.

Bay Area Resident Sentenced in Illicit Internet Pharmacy Sales

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that a Bay Area resident, Ian Fischman, was sentenced to serve six months in custody, followed by six months of home detention, and was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and to forfeit $100,000 for his role in an illicit Internet pharmacy. Fischman, who had been living in Mexico at the time of the offense, pled guilty to conspiring to launder money.

At the time of his plea, Fischman acknowledged that between May 22, 2002 and November 27, 2007, he conspired to sell $400,000 of prescription pharmaceuticals via the Internet and through the mail to over 250 persons in the United States without a valid prescription. The pharmaceuticals supplied by Fischman included “generic” Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Propecia, and other lifestyle drugs; as well as hundreds of others medications, including Carisoprodal, which requires a prescription to be sold in the United States. Fischman admitted that he knew it was unlawful for him to supply pharmaceuticals in this manner.

In addition, Fischman admitted that he arranged to have pharmaceuticals manufactured in Mexico and India illegally imported into the United States to be shipped to Internet pharmacy customers. The proceeds from the sales were deposited in the accounts of credit card processing firms and then transferred to bank accounts in Mexico and Switzerland, through banks in San Diego and San Francisco, in order to conceal their source. Fischman also acknowledged that he utilized Western Union to receive payments for the illegally imported pharmaceuticals, directing customers to send their payments to Mexico in the names of persons other than himself in order to conceal and disguise their source.

In sentencing Fischman, the Honorable Thomas J. Whelan noted that it was a very serious offense to sell pharmaceuticals to persons known not to have a valid prescription.

Defendant

■Criminal Case No. 08cr2936-W

■Ian Alexander Fischman

Summary of Charge

■Conspiracy to launder money, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h)

Agencies

■Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations

■Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations

■Federal Bureau of Investigation

■Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation

Online Poker Executive Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Money Laundering, Bank Fraud, and Internet Gambling Offenses

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that Nelson Burtnick, who previously served as director of payments for Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker, pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiracy to commit unlawful Internet gambling, bank fraud, money laundering, and gambling offenses in connection with a scheme to deceive banks into processing hundreds of millions of dollars of Internet gambling transactions. Burtnick, a Canadian citizen and resident of Ireland, pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein.

According to the superseding information filed today in Manhattan federal court, the superseding indictments unsealed on April 15, 2011 and July 2, 2012, other documents previously filed in the case, and statements made at court proceedings:

In late 2006, Congress enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), making it a crime to “knowingly accept” most forms of payment “in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling.” Following the passage of the UIGEA, leading Internet gambling businesses withdrew from the United States market. However, Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker, and another company, Absolute Poker (the “poker companies”) did not, and they became the top three Internet poker operators continuing to do business in the U.S. Because U.S. banks were largely unwilling to process payments for Internet gambling because it is an illegal activity, Internet gambling companies turned to third-party payment processors who were willing to disguise the payments so they would appear to be unrelated to Internet gambling.

Burtnick worked first for Pokerstars, where he rose to become director of payments, and then for Full Tilt Poker, where he also worked as director of payments. In these capacities, Burtnick had close working relationships with the leaders and senior executives of both companies. From December 2006 through April 15, 2011, the date when the U.S. operations of Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker were shut down, Burtnick worked with third-party payment processors and other executives at the poker companies to deceive banks into unknowingly processing financial transactions for the poker companies.

Burtnick, 41, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to accept funds in connection with unlawful Internet gambling, commit bank fraud, and commit money laundering; and two counts of accepting funds in connection with unlawful Internet gambling. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. He will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.

Six additional defendants initially charged in the April 15, 2011 superseding indictment have appeared in the United States to date: Brent Beckley, Ira Rubin, John Campos, Bradley Franzen, Chad Elie, and Ray Bitar. Beckley pled guilty in December 2011 and was sentenced to 14 months in prison in July 2012. Rubin pled guilty in January 2012, and was sentenced to 36 months in prison in July 2012. Campos pled guilty in March 2012 and was sentenced to three months in prison in June 2012. Elie pled guilty in March 2012 and is due to be sentenced on October 3, 2012. Franzen pled guilty in May 2011 and also awaits sentencing.

Charges against Bitar are pending. The accusations against him are merely allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Mr. Bharara thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its outstanding work in the investigation, which he noted is ongoing. Mr. Bharara also thanked the New York and New Jersey offices of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations for their continued assistance in the investigation.

This matter is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arlo Devlin-Brown, Niketh Velamoor, Andrew Goldstein, and Nicole Friedlander are in charge of the criminal case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon Cohen Levin, Jason Cowley, and Michael Lockard are in charge of related civil money laundering and forfeiture actions.

TOP STORY: HSI helps secure the Republican and Democratic National Convention

For the past year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents prepared for the 2012 Republican and Democratic National Conventions in conjunction with their counterparts at the U.S. Secret Service, the lead federal law enforcement agency for these events.

"Most don't realize that securing a four-day event like the RNC takes months of preparation," said Susan McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa.

With a presidential nominee, and several high-profile elected officials in attendance, law enforcement agencies had to secure the entire area surrounding the both events. Individuals had to have specific credentials and undergo several checkpoint inspections when entering and exiting these areas.

During the RNC, HSI special agents were assigned to a variety of teams to support convention security. One group of HSI special agents was assigned to the Tampa International Airport, while others provided security for dignitaries attending the event. Many HSI special agents worked in undercover capacities within the Tampa Bay Times Forum, the location where most of the activities took place, and surrounding area. They were there as a precautionary measure in case any disruptions took place within the venue.

"If you scanned the area, you wouldn't see our agents," said McCormick. "I can confidently assure you, we were there, often working around the clock."

If an incident occurred, it was immediately prioritized and entered into a computer system that law enforcement representatives could access. From there, incident information was disseminated to the public through a joint information center, which was staffed by public affairs representatives from local, state and federal agencies.

At the DNC, HSI Charlotte special agents provided security for delegates, family members and visitors, ensured the safety of attendees at the various event venues and staffed the command center. Additionally, HSI Charlotte was the lead in the human trafficking operation, whose mission was to identify any potential sex trafficking victims, according to Delbert Richburg, special agent in charge of HSI Charlotte.

Both the 2012 RNC and DNC, fortunately, took place with very few incidents. McCormick and Richburg attribute this to effective planning, professionalism and coordination amongst law enforcement agencies.

"We could have had a very different outcome, but we were prepared. We were well equipped to handle a variety of scenarios with the ultimate mission of ensuring the safety of the convention's attendees," McCormick added.

Members of Honolulu Investment Group Sentenced for Defrauding Investors

HONOLULU, HI—SYED QADRI , age 39, RUBEN CARRILLO GONZALEZ, age 50, and JEFFREY GREENHUT, age 40, were sentenced yesterday to 51 months, 41 months, and 24 months in prison, respectively, by United States District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, after their wire fraud convictions arising from their roles in connection with a scheme to defraud investors through two Honolulu based companies, Amasse Capital LLC (“Amasse”) and Solomon & Co. LLC (“Solomon”) from approximately January to September 2006. Each defendant was also ordered to pay restitution to victims of the scheme. PATRICIA ROSZKOWSKI, age 48, wife of QADRI, received a one-month prison sentence from Judge Kobayashi yesterday for filing a fraudulent application with a local bank for a line of credit on behalf of Solomon.

Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that according to information produced in court, Amasse and Solomon purportedly invested in high yield bonds, with minimal risk to the investor’s principal, when, in reality, investments were used to pay back earlier investors, with the remainder of the funds being converted to QADRI’s own use in what amounted to a Ponzi scheme. Other information reflected that QADRI, president and chief executive officer of Amasse, had a leadership role in the fraud scheme; GONZALEZ, Amasse’s senior vice president of marketing, had a role soliciting investors; and GREENHUT, Amasse’s chief operating officer, managed investor funds.

According to the court documents, Amasse was marketed as an investment firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The prospectus for Amasse listed the defendants as management and members of the board of directors. The prospectus made materially false claims about the experience and background of the defendants in order to induce investment. In addition, it contained materially false statements about the business activity, capability, and financial stability of Amasse. During the scheme, QADRI and GONZALEZ claimed that the companies could return up to 100 to 400 percent per month on investments. Between Amasse and Solomon, the net loss to victims as a result of this scheme was in excess of $1.6 million.

According to court documents, during the scheme, Qadri and Roszkowski lived in a luxurious Kahala residence, purchased several expensive exotic cars, and leased an entire floor in a downtown office building.

The criminal case resulted from a joint investigative effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Thomas and Ronald Johnson.