1. FBI Headquarters: FBI Releases Bank Crime Statistics for Fourth Quarter of 2009
During the fourth quarter of 2009, there were 1,312 reported violations of the Federal Bank Robbery and Incidental Crimes Statue, a decrease from the 1,649 reported violations in the same quarter of 2008.
According to statistics released Monday by the FBI, there were 1,294 robberies, 16 burglaries and two larcenies of financial institutions reported between October 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. No extortions were reported during the quarter. Full Story
2. New Haven: Members and Associates of White Supremacist Group Charged with Making Grenades, Selling Guns
A federal grand jury in New Haven returned a seven-count indictment charging five individuals with conspiracy and firearms offenses stemming from an alleged attempt to sell firearms and explosive grenades to a white supremacist group located outside of Connecticut. The group, the Connecticut White Wolves, is now known as Battalion 14. Members are alleged to have planned to rob an individual who had an extensive inventory of weapons at his house. Full Story
3. Detroit: Woman Who Opened Clinics to Fraudulently Bill Medicare Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison
Daisy Martinez was sentenced to 96 months in prison for her role in a series of Detroit Medicare fraud schemes. According to information contained in plea documents, Martinez admitted that in approximately March 2006, she devised a scheme with co-conspirator Jose Rosario to open a clinic that purported to specialize in infusion and injection therapy services in Michigan. She admitted that during the time Sacred Hope was open, the clinic routinely billed the Medicare program for services that were medically unnecessary or were never provided. Full Story
4. Atlanta: Polk County Police Officer Charged with Running a Chop Shop and Obstructing a Federal Investigation
Mark Howell Sparks was indicted by a federal grand jury and arraigned on charges that he operated and maintained a chop shop, possessed vehicles and vehicle parts with altered, obliterated and removed vehicle identification numbers (VINs), and obstructed a federal investigation. Full Story
5. Sacramento: Man Convicted of Federal Hate Crime for Race-Motivated Assault
A federal jury convicted Eric Clawson of a federal hate crime for his assault of an African-American man in a Chico bar. On July 6, 2008, Clawson entered Riley’s Bar & Grill in Chico while the victim was sitting inside with a friend. Shortly after entering the bar, Clawson used a racially derogatory term to object to the victim’s presence. Clawson repeated this slur several times and, a short while later, without any verbal or physical provocation, approached and punched the victim in the face. The assault rendered the victim unconscious and inflicted injuries to his face and mouth. Full Story
6. New York: Former Lieutentant of Genovese Crime Family Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to an Additional Year in Prison
Joseph Leo, nephew and former primary lieutenant to Daniel Leo, aka “The Lion,” former acting boss of the Genovese organized crime family, was sentenced today for conspiracy and participation in the affairs of the Genovese organized crime family through a pattern of racketeering activity, including loan sharking and illegal gambling offenses. Joseph Leo was sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $200,000 as the proceeds of the Genovese family’s illegal gambling business. Full Story
7. Boston: Police Officer Charged in Injury Scam
Eliezer Gonzalez was charged by Indictment with 34 counts of mail fraud. Gonzalez went out on injured leave after allegedly suffering on-the-job injuries in September 2007. He immediately began receiving tax-free injured pay and also filed for accidental disability retirement. According to the Indictment, Gonzalez greatly exaggerated and falsified both his injuries and ongoing physical issues, and he fraudulently collected both injured leave pay from the city of Boston as well as supplemental insurance benefits. It is further alleged that Gonzalez was surveilled and videotaped feigning injuries on or near the same days that he was recorded acting injury-free. Full Story
8. Baltimore: Maryland Trucker Indicted for Transporting an 11-Year-Old-Girl to Have Sex
A federal grand jury indicted Elmer Zelaya-Robles who worked for a Maryland trucking company on charges of transporting an 11-year-old girl from Maryland to engage in sex. According to the indictment and affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, the girl’s parents living in Prince George’s County, Md., reported their daughter missing at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 13. An Amber alert was issued for an orange tractor trailer in which the child was thought to be traveling. Around 10:00 p.m. that same day, a Tennessee highway trooper spotted the tractor trailer. The trooper stopped the vehicle after it turned into a Jackson, Tenn., and identified the driver as Zelaya. Zelaya was handcuffed and the missing girl was found in the sleeper area of the truck. Full Story
9. Jacksonville: Owner of Home Building Company Convicted of Mortgage Fraud
Marshall Craig Scott was found guilty of mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Scott was one of four conspirators who schemed to defraud various lending institutions in connection with residential home mortgages. Scott, one of three owners of American Home Builders Inc. (AHB), participated in a scheme to trick lending institutions into lending money to fund the purchases of new homes built by AHB. He and his co-conspirators did so by fraudulently inflating the price of homes on purchase and sale contracts in order to cause the lending institutions to lend more money on the homes than the true or actual price of the home. Evidence established that the “extra money” extended by the lending institutions was kicked-back to the borrower/buyer by both Scott, the homebuilder and co-conspirator Jean Tan Jones, a real estate agent. Full Story
10. New York/Newark: New Website Profiles Bank Robbers Throughout New York and New Jersey
The website, http://www.bandittrackernortheast.com, features color photos and descriptions of bank robbers throughout the 13 counties covered by the FBI’s New York office and the 18 counties covered by the FBI’s New Jersey office. People can now go to one website to see all the bank robbers who are being sought within the New York and New Jersey FBI Offices’ territories. The site features a map of where the crimes occurred. Full Story
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