Wyoming Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming Christopher A. Crofts announced today that on May 29, 2012, Perry Verdell Gould, a 32-year-old Northern Arapaho Tribal Member, was sentenced for sexually abusing two minor victims over a two-year period on the Wind River Indian Reservation beginning in April 2006 and ending in April 2008. Mr. Gould was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson to 300 months’ imprisonment, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment. This case was investigated by the FBI.

Auburn Man Sentenced to Nearly Five Years in Prison for Bank Robbery

SACRAMENTO, CA—Paul Michael Schmeer, 30, of Auburn, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to four years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for serial bank robbery, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced. Judge England ordered Schmeer to pay full restitution for the robberies.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.

According to court documents, on December 5, 2011, Schmeer robbed the Roseville Branch of Chase Bank on Douglas Boulevard. He presented a note to a teller, demanding money and threatening that he had a gun. The teller complied, and Schmeer left the bank with $4,000. On January 5, 2012, he robbed the Chase Bank branch on E Street in Davis using the same method. He left the bank with $5,070 and was caught because his likeness was captured on bank surveillance cameras.

Three Individuals Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography

Operation Latin Angels

SAN JUAN, PR—Yesterday, May 30, 2012, a federal grand jury indicted three individuals in three separate indictments for possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. These investigations were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The defendants and the charges are as follows:

■Ángel Luis Pérez-Díaz, Puerto Rico Police Sergeant, was arrested last night by the FBI without incident. Pérez-Díaz is facing one charge of possession of child pornography. The defendant knowingly possessed one or more matters which contained visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct such as visual depictions of the lascivious exhibition of the genital areas of female minors.

■Ramon García-Suárez, local civil lawyer, knowingly transported in interstate and foreign commerce by computer a visual depiction of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct such as actual female minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. A second count charges García-Suárez with possession of one or more visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct such as visual depictions of the lascivious exhibition of the genital areas of male and female minors and simulated or actual sexual intercourse between male and female minors and adults.

■Rafael Rivera-Santos knowingly possessed one or more matters that contained visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct such as visual depictions of the lascivious exhibition of the genital areas of male minors and simulated or actual sexual intercourse between male minors and adults.

The three defendants are facing forfeiture allegations for all materials and properties used or intended to be used in possession, receipt, distribution, or transportation of child pornography. Some of these items are desktop and laptop computers and hard drives.

“The U.S. Department of Justice, through its Project Safe Childhood, will continue prosecuting online sexual predators of minors,” said United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez. “We appreciate the collaboration of local law enforcement in this investigation, and we look forward to future joint efforts in our fight to protect the children of Puerto Rico.”

‪ “Those engaged in child pornography are committing the most egregious of crimes. The FBI will continue to pursue these child predators no matter what their occupation or position,” said Joseph Campbell, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Juan Field Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Dina Ávila-Jiménez is in charge of the prosecutions.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 10 years of imprisonment. Criminal indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Buffalo Police Officer and Co-Conspirator Arrested, Charged with Operating a Large-Scale Marijuana Grow Operation

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jorge Melendez, 41, and Jason Elardo, 42, both of Buffalo, New York, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to manufacture more than 100 marijuana plants, maintaining a premises for manufacturing marijuana, and manufacturing more than 100 marijuana plants. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, a fine of $4,000,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Marangola, who is handling the case, stated that according to the criminal complaint, Melendez, a Buffalo Police officer, owns a warehouse at 2157 South Park Avenue in Buffalo. During the course of an investigation into the cultivation and distribution of marijuana, law enforcement officers installed hidden surveillance equipment on the second floor of the warehouse where a grow operation was located. According to the complaint, Melendez and co-conspirator Elardo were observed tending to over 100 marijuana plants.

Prior to installing cameras inside the warehouse, officers monitored the outside of the building, also using surveillance cameras. According to the complaint, Melendez was observed arriving in a Buffalo Police patrol car, while on duty, and entering and exiting the location. The defendant works in the Buffalo Police Department’s “D” District; however, the warehouse is located in the “A” District.

The outside surveillance cameras also observed defendant Elardo entering the warehouse on a daily basis to tend to the marijuana grow operation. In addition, officers obtained credit card information indicating that Elardo purchased equipment used to sustain an indoor, hydroponic marijuana grow operation. The equipment included a dehumidifier and filters.

At one point during the investigation, officers observed a police badge and credentials belonging to Melendez inside the warehouse. According to the complaint, Melendez claimed to have previously lost the badge and identification.

“Police officers are sworn to protect the public and uphold the law,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “It is particularly disturbing when an officer breaks the law he has sworn to uphold. This defendant chose to not only commit a crime, he did so, at times, in uniform and when he was supposed to be patrolling the streets of the city, protecting its citizens. Our office will not only act to stop illegal narcotics trafficking, we will not tolerate public corruption of any kind.”

The criminal complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Investigators of the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Christopher Cummings; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Wilbert L. Plummer, Acting Special Agent in Charge, New York Field Division; special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota; and the Buffalo Police Department under the direction of Commission Daniel Derenda.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Chicago Investment Advisor Accused of Defrauding Suburban Bank and Two Clients of More Than $3.2 Million

CHICAGO—A Chicago investment advisor was indicted on federal charges for allegedly engaging in a scheme to defraud Oak Brook-based Leaders Bank and two of his clients of more than $3.2 million and ultimately causing the bank to lose more than $2.7 million. The defendant, Robert J. Lunn, was charged with five counts of bank fraud in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury yesterday, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today.

Lunn, 62, of Chicago, who did business as Lunn Partners LLC, an investment advisory business, will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court.

According to the indictment, Lunn fraudulently obtained a $1.32 million line of credit from the bank for his business, as well as separate loans of $1.4 million and $500,000, purportedly on behalf of two clients. Lunn allegedly made a series of misrepresentations to Leaders Bank about his own assets, the purpose of the loans, and the knowing authorization of clients purportedly seeking the financing. Instead, Lunn used substantially all of the fraudulently obtained funds for his own benefit, including to make mortgage payments and approximately $1.4 million in payments to other investment clients, the charges allege.

Lunn initially obtained a business line of credit from Leaders Bank for $480,000 in May 2001. He increased the credit line twice in early 2004, first to $1.2 million and later to $1.32 million, all after he allegedly submitted personal financial statements to the bank falsely stating that he owned millions of dollars of stock in Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers. In September 2002, Lunn arranged for an unsecured bank loan of $1.4 million, purportedly for the benefit of Client A, after submitting a net worth report for Client A and asserting that Client A wanted short-term financing to purchase an interest in an airplane, according to the indictment. In June 2004, Lunn allegedly arranged a bank loan for $500,000 for the benefit of Client B, without Client B’s knowledge or authorization, after submitting a net worth report for Client B and stating that Client B wanted short-term financing for a business investment.

The indictment seeks forfeiture of at least $2.7 million in alleged fraud proceeds.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Collins.

Each count of bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and restitution is mandatory. The court may also impose a fine totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.