Man Arrested for Threatening to Murder Family of FCC Chairman

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A California man was arrested today in Los Angeles on charges of threatening to kill the family of Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, for Pai’s role in repealing regulations relating to net neutrality.

According to court documents, on or about Dec. 19 and 20, 2017, Markara Man, 33, of Norwalk, allegedly sent three emails to Chairman Pai’s email accounts. The first email accused Chairman Pai of being responsible for a child who allegedly had committed suicide because of the repeal of net neutrality regulations. The second email listed three locations in or around Arlington, and threatened to kill the Chairman’s family members. The third email had no message in its body, but included an image depicting Chairman Pai and, in the foreground and slightly out of focus, a framed photograph of Chairman Pai and his family. The FBI traced the emails to Man’s residence in Norwalk, California, and when initially confronted in May 2018, Man admitted to the FBI that he sent the email threatening Chairman Pai’s family because he was “angry” about the repeal of the net neutrality regulations and wanted to “scare” Chairman Pai.

Man is charged with a threatening to murder a member of the immediate family of a U.S. official with the intent to intimidate or interfere with such official while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with the intent to retaliate against such official on account of the performance of official duties. If convicted, Man faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Nancy McNamara, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander P. Berrang is prosecuting the case.

The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, the Federal Protective Service, and the Arlington County Police Department provided significant assistance in this investigation.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-mj-289.

Boston Man Sentenced for Robbing Five Banks

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for robbing five banks throughout April and June 2017.

Thomas W. Nee, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to 92 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In September 2017, Nee pleaded guilty to five counts of bank robbery. Nee’s federal sentence will begin after he completes a three-year state sentence he is currently serving.

Between April and June 2017, Nee robbed five Boston banks of over $8,200. The robberies occurred on April 21, at Santander Bank on Commonwealth Avenue; on May 5, at Citizens Bank on Tremont Street; on May 8, at Century Bank on State Street; on May 22, at Randolph Savings Bank on School Street; and on June 8, at Eastern Bank on West Broadway. Nee committed each of the robberies by handing a teller a note demanding money.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

Federal Grand Jury Indicts Dallas Man For Securities Fraud

          DALLAS – An indictment returned by a federal grand jury yesterday in Dallas charges Patrick O. Howard, 36, of Dallas, Texas, with offenses related to his role in a scheme to defraud investors and to obtain money by materially false and fraudulent pretenses, announced Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

          Specifically, Howard is charged with five counts of securities fraud and nine counts of mail fraud.

          The indictment alleges that from January 2015 through April 2017, Howard owned Howard Capital and OE Capital located in Dallas, Texas, and exercised authority over the companies and Funds.

          Howard represented himself to be a Registered Investment Advisor, and offered and sold membership units to investors for $50,000 apiece.  Investors were told the Funds would invest proceeds from unit sales into third-party companies and that the Funds stood to profit when the companies paid revenue interests.

          Howard mislead investors by telling them that their investment would earn a 12% minimum annual return, that OE Capital had average earnings of 20%, that investors’ investments and minimum returns were protected by insurance, and that the Funds purchased real estate to mitigate investors’ risk.

          Howard mailed investors who elected to reinvest phony quarterly earnings account statements showing their accounts had been credited the minimum preferred return, when they had not.  At the same time, investors who chose to receive their quarterly earnings as distributions were actually given Ponzi payments, or monies paid by other investors, rather than actual earnings of the Funds.

          The indictment further alleges that Howard never used a single dollar of investor funds to purchase real estate, and used investors’ money on things the investors did not approve or even know of, including, a nearly $20,000 payment to buyout a former business partner and approximately a $225,000 payment to Howard’s personal bank account that was neither salary nor a bonus.

           An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  If Howard is convicted, the mail fraud counts carry a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, as to each count.

          The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation that would require the defendants, upon conviction, to forfeit to the U.S. any property traceable to the offense.

          The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Service.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wirmani is prosecuting the case.