Twice-Deported Man Sentenced For Illegally Reentering US Twice-Deported Man Sentenced For Illegally Reentering US
Twice-Deported Man Sentenced For Illegally Reentering US A man already deported out of the country twice will spend nearly two years behind bars after admitting to illegally entering the United States. Hector Ovidio Diaz Garrido, a citizen of Guatemala last known to live in Norwalk, has been sentenced in Bridgeport district court to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to reentry of a removed alien. U.S. Attorney John Durham said that Diaz Garrido, 41, who has never had legal status in the country, was deported from the U.S. to Guatemala in June 2011 following a March 2010 conviction for assaulting a police officer. In April 2012, Diaz Garr…
Romanian National Sentenced For Role In CT Home Invasion, Fake Virus Threat Romanian National Sentenced For Role In CT Home Invasion, Fake Virus Threat
Romanian National Sentenced For Role In CT Home Invasion, Fake Virus Threat A Romanian national has been sentenced for his role in a Connecticut home invasion that mirrored the script of a Hollywood film. Alexandru Lucian Nicolescu has been sentenced to 121 months in prison for his role in a 2007 home invasion in South Kent, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced this week. Nicolescu pleaded guilty to one count of attempted extortion and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. Shortly before midnight on April 15, 2007, Nicolescu, Emmanuel Nicolescu - who are not related - and a third man brandished masks, knives and guns and broke into the South Kent home. The th…
Barr Assigns US Attorney In Connecticut To Review Origins Of Russia Inquiry Barr Assigns US Attorney In Connecticut To Review Origins Of Russia Inquiry
Barr Assigns US Attorney In Connecticut To Review Origins Of Russia Inquiry United States Attorney General William Barr has appointed John Durham, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, to review the origins of the Russia investigation into interference in the 2016 presidential election and the FBI’s surveillance activities. Durham has been assigned to conduct the inquiry into allegations of misconduct and improper surveillance of President Donald Trump’s campaign during the 2016 election. The concerns were first raised in congressional testimony following the release of Robert Mueller’s report on the Russia probe. "I am not saying that improper survei…
Third Person Admits To Role In Email Scheme Targeting CFOs, Controllers Third Person Admits To Role In Email Scheme Targeting CFOs, Controllers
Third Person Admits To Role In Email Scheme Targeting CFOs, Controllers A third man has admitted to his role in a scheme to defraud business leaders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through an email scam. Stanley Hugochukwu Nwoke - also known as “Stanley Banks,” “Banks,” “Hugo Banks,” “Banky,” and “Jose Calderon” - a citizen of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in district court in New Haven this week, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced. Nwoke, 28, admitted to conspiring with Adeyemi Odufuye and others in a business compromise scheme that targeted hundreds of CFOs, controllers, and others at businesses, nonprofit or…
Three Admit To Involvement In Large-Scale Marijuana Trafficking Operation Three Admit To Involvement In Large-Scale Marijuana Trafficking Operation
Three Admit To Involvement In Large-Scale Marijuana Trafficking Operation Three men have admitted to their roles in an elaborate, bi-coastal, multi-million dollar marijuana trafficking operation that flooded Connecticut with nearly two tons of the drug. Scott “Pep” Bodnar, of Ansonia, Terrell Givens, of Beacon Falls, and Donald Burns, of Milford, have pleaded guilty to federal offenses in connection to a large-scale marijuana trafficking conspiracy, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced this week. In 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration launched an investigation into a single-engine aircraft, owned by Burns, that made regular flights from Stratford to northern…
Pharmaceutical Company To Pay $17.5M To Resolve Allegations Of Kickbacks Pharmaceutical Company To Pay $17.5M To Resolve Allegations Of Kickbacks
Pharmaceutical Company To Pay $17.5M To Resolve Allegations Of Kickbacks In a case that originated with the filing of whistleblower lawsuits in Connecticut, a pharmaceutical company has agreed to pay $17.5 million to resolve allegations of kickbacks to Medicare patients and physicians. US WorldMeds LLC, based out of Louisville, has agreed to the settlement after it was determined they were paying kickbacks to improperly induce prescriptions of its drugs, Apokyn and Myobloc, U.S. Attorney John Durham announced this week. Durham said that Congress included copay requirements in the Medicare program, in part, to encourage market forces to serve as a check on health…
Brookfield Restaurant To Comply With Disabilities Act Brookfield Restaurant To Comply With Disabilities Act
Brookfield Restaurant To Comply With Disabilities Act A popular Fairfield County restaurant has agreed to make a myriad of changes in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. U.S. Attorney John Durham announced that his office will issue a Letter of Resolution to Hacienda Don Manuel in Brookfield to resolve allegations that the restaurant was inaccessible to patrons with mobility disabilities. The Letter of resolution will resolve a complaint filed by a person with mobility disabilities who alleged that Hacienda Don Manuel’s bar counter was inaccessible to individuals in wheelchairs and that Hacienda Don Manuel failed to provi…
Branch Manager Admits To Bid Rigging, Fraud On Contracts Branch Manager Admits To Bid Rigging, Fraud On Contracts
Branch Manager Admits To Bid Rigging, Fraud On Contracts A branch manager at a Connecticut-based insulation business has admitted to bid-rigging and fraud on insulation contracts that bilked his victims out of millions of dollars. Gary DeVoe, the branch manager for the New England division of an insulation contractor pleaded guilty in Bridgeport federal court for his role in schemes to rig bids and engage in fraud on insulation installation contracts. This is the first conviction in an ongoing investigation, the Department of Justice announced, with more expected. “Today’s conviction is the result of a coordinated effort between the Department o…
Convicted Felon Charged With Stealing Credit Cards IDs, Making Fraudulent Purchases In CT Convicted Felon Charged With Stealing Credit Cards IDs, Making Fraudulent Purchases In CT
Convicted Felon Charged With Stealing Credit Cards IDs, Making Fraudulent Purchases In CT A convicted felon who had been recently released from prison is facing new charges for allegedly stealing credit cards in Connecticut and making thousands of dollars in fraudulent purchases throughout the state. Rhode Island resident Henry Fellela, Jr., 61, has been indicted on charges that allege he was involved in credit card fraud and identity theft offenses. U.S. Attorney John Durham said that in March last year, Fellela was released from federal prison after four years after being convicted of credit card fraud, aggravated identity theft and other criminal offenses. While he was out o…
Syrian National Faces Stalking Charge In CT Syrian National Faces Stalking Charge In CT
Syrian National Faces Stalking Charge In CT A Syrian national who allegedly threatened and bullied his wife while in federal custody is facing prison time after being charged by a federal grand jury in Connecticut. Alaa Hasan Qalb Allouz, 34, a resident of Syria living in New Haven has been indicted on a charge of stalking in violation of a protective order after allegedly abusing his former wife. In July 2016, Allouz, his wife and their children emigrated from Syria and settled in New Haven, U.S. Attorney John Durham said. In April the following year, Allouz’s wife filed a petition for a dissolution of marriage following several dom…
Man Faces Decades In Prison After Admitting To Robbing Three Banks Man Faces Decades In Prison After Admitting To Robbing Three Banks
Man Faces Decades In Prison After Admitting To Robbing Three Banks A Connecticut man is facing two decades behind bars after admitting to robbing three banks. New Haven resident Vincent Jones, 50, pleaded guilty on Friday, Feb. 1 to one count of bank robbery at U.S. district court in Bridgeport. Jones admitted to attempting to rob the Key Bank on Main Street in East Haven; robbing Webster Bank on Boston Post Road in Orange of $5,469 on July 31, 2017, and robbing the Bank of America located on Boston Post Road in Milford of $6,578 on Aug. 8 last year. U.S. Attorney John Durham said that Jones has been detained since his arrest on Aug. 9 last year, when he …
Convict Admits To Using App To Get Teen Boy To Send Sexually Explicit Photos, Video Convict Admits To Using App To Get Teen Boy To Send Sexually Explicit Photos, Video
Convict Admits To Using App To Get Teen Boy To Send Sexually Explicit Photos, Video A Connecticut convict who already was found guilty of abusing a 14-year-old girl has admitted to using an instant messaging app to exploit a teenage boy into sending sexually explicit photos and video. Manchester resident Luqman Gotti, formerly known as Timothy Pennington, has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges after exchanging photos with a boy, despite his prior conviction. Last June, Gotti, 37, and a teenager began communicating through the Kik instant messaging application. When the boy told Gotti that he was 14 years old, Gotti requested that he send a sexually explicit image …