Woman Indicted for Visa Fraud, Tax Fraud, and Identity Theft

A federal grand jury indicted Karen Kimble, aka Karen Kimble-Mamah and Karen Mamah, 38, of Owings Mills, Md., on charges of wire fraud, subscribing to a false tax return, aiding in the filing of a false tax return, aggravated identity theft and visa fraud.

The indictment was returned Jan. 24 and Kimble had her initial appearance Jan. 28 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan K. Gauvey.

The 21-count indictment alleges that from February 2008 through at least April 2012, Kimble, who falsely held herself out to others as a "certified tax preparer," conducted a tax fraud scheme by submitting fraudulent tax returns for clients. Specifically, the indictment alleges that Kimble falsely inflated credits and deductions and clients' tax returns, as well as on her own tax returns, in order to fraudulently increase the tax refund. Kimble provided her clients with a tax return that did not reflect the false deductions and credits, nor did she inform them of the fraudulent deductions and credits. Kimble filed the fraudulent returns without her clients' knowledge or permission, using their personal identifiable information.

Kimble directed that the tax refunds be mailed or directly deposited with all of the refund sent to Kimble, or with some of the refund sent to the taxpayer and some to Kimble. The indictment alleges that Kimble received a total of more than $221,000 in fraudulent federal tax refunds, none of which she reported as income on her own tax returns. The indictment seeks forfeiture in the amount of $221,698, alleged to be the proceeds of the scheme.

The indictment also alleges that on Feb. 14, 2008, Kimble married a Ghanian citizen, knowing that the marriage was not valid because the Ghanian was not legally divorced from his first wife.

Kimball faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for each of six counts of wire fraud, three years in prison for each of five counts of subscribing to a false tax return and for each of five counts of aiding in the filing of a false tax return, a mandatory two years in prison consecutive to any other sentence for each of four counts of aggravated identity theft and 10 years in prison for visa fraud.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; The Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Baltimore District Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Nothstein.

Connecticut Teacher Sentenced to Prison for Child Sexual Exploitation

A former Connecticut teacher was sentenced Monday, January 28, 2013, by Senior U.S. District Judge Ellen Breen Burns to 121 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for child sexual exploitation offenses. The sentence is the result of an extensive investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Richard D. Hendricks, 32, of Ashford, Conn., was formerly employed as a computer teacher at the East Hampton Middle School in East Hampton, Conn.

"This solemn but important prosecution revealed that the defendant, a middle school teacher, paid for and viewed live webcasts showing the sexual abuse of children overseas, and voyeuristically photographed and videotaped female students in his classroom," said U.S. Attorney David B. Fein, District of Connecticut. "His criminal behavior represents an extreme violation of trust, which we at the U.S. Attorney's Office, along with our law enforcement investigative partners, are committed to combating."

"The receipt and of possession of child pornography by a teacher is one of the most heartbreaking violations of trust imaginable," said Bruce M. Foucart, special agent in charge of HSI Boston. Foucart oversees HSI throughout New England. "We have an obligation to ensure that individuals who hold positions of trust in our community are held accountable for their actions. Today's sentence is a stern reminder about the consequences awaiting those who use the Internet to sexually exploit innocent children."

According to court documents and statements made in court, a national HSI investigation revealed that Hendricks purchased Internet access to live sex shows involving minors from approximately October 2009 to April 2010. The abusive shows originated in the Philippines.

HSI special agents seized two laptop computers, one desktop computer and two external hard drives from Hendricks's residence June 6, 2011. Subsequent forensic evaluation revealed that Hendricks used his computer to receive numerous images and video files of child pornography – including images of children under the age of 12 – and images portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.

Investigators also discovered numerous images and videos of Hendricks' students at East Hampton Middle School. While many of the pictures were related to Hendricks' duties as yearbook advisor, investigators discovered that Hendricks secretly took voyeuristic photos and videos of female students in his classroom. He also manipulated some of these images to enhance their visibility, and used a software program to attempt to visualize the private areas of clothed girls.

During the course of the investigation, parental notification was made when investigators identified children who Hendricks secretly photographed or video recorded. With parental consent, agents conducted dozens of forensic interviews of the children.

Hendricks has been detained since his arrest June 9, 2011. On Jan. 19, 2012, he pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

HSI received assistance in investigating this case from the Connecticut State Police and the East Hampton Police Department.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ray Miller and Deborah Slater, District of Connecticut, prosecuted this case on behalf of the U.S. government.

US Citizen Sentenced for Connection to Terror Plots in India and Denmark

A U.S. citizen, partly of Pakistani descent, was sentenced Thursday, January 24, 2013, to 35 years in prison for a dozen federal terrorism crimes relating to his role in planning the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, and a subsequent proposed attack on a newspaper in Denmark.

David Coleman Headley, 52, pleaded guilty in March 2010 to all 12 counts that were brought against him following his arrest in October 2009 as he was about to leave the country. 

Immediately after his arrest, Headley began cooperating with authorities.

This prison sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by the Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force, led by the Chicago Office of the FBI, with assistance from FBI offices in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also provided assistance.

Headley was ordered to serve 35 years, followed by five years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber. There is no federal parole, and defendants must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.

"Mr. Headley is a terrorist," Judge Leinenweber said in imposing the sentence. "There is little question that life imprisonment would be an appropriate punishment for Headley's incredibly serious crimes but for the significant value provided by his immediate and extensive cooperation," the government argued in seeking a sentence of 30 to 35 years.

In pleading guilty and later testifying for the government at the trial of a co-defendant, Headley admitted that he attended training camps in Pakistan operated by Lashkar e Tayyiba, a terrorist organization operating in that country, on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005. In late 2005, Headley received instructions from three members of Lashkar to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks in 2008 that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, and wounded hundreds more.

Headley's plea agreement in March 2010 stated that he "has provided substantial assistance to the criminal investigation, and also has provided information of significant intelligence value." 

In consideration of Headley's past cooperation and anticipated future cooperation, including debriefings for gathering intelligence and national security information, the Attorney General of the United States authorized the U.S. Attorney's Office not to seek the death penalty. Headley's cooperation also includes testifying in any foreign judicial proceedings by way of deposition, via video-conferencing or letters.

"Today's sentence is an important milestone in our continuing efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the Mumbai terrorist attacks and to achieve justice for the victims. Our investigations into Mumbai attacks and the Denmark terror plot are ongoing and active. I thank the many agents, analysts and prosecutors responsible for this investigation and prosecution," said Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

Headley was convicted of the following crimes:

·                             conspiracy to bomb public places in India;

·                             conspiracy to murder and maim persons in India;

·                             six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India;

·                             conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in India;

·                             conspiracy to murder and maim persons in Denmark;

·                             conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism in Denmark; and

·                             conspiracy to provide material support to Lashkar.

According to Headley's guilty plea and testimony, he attended the following training camps operated by Lashkar:

·                             a three-week course starting in February 2002 that provided indoctrination on the merits of waging jihad;

·                             a three-week course starting in August 2002 that provided training in the use of weapons and grenades;

·                             a three-month course starting in April 2003 that taught close combat tactics, the use of weapons and grenades, and survival skills;

·                             a three-week course starting in August 2003 that taught counter-surveillance skills; and

·                             a three-month course starting in December 2003 that provided combat and tactical training.

Mumbai Terror Attacks

After receiving instructions in late 2005 to conduct surveillance in India, Headley changed his given name from Daood Gilani in February 2006 in Philadelphia to facilitate his activities on behalf of Lashkar by portraying himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities.

Headley eventually made five extended trips to Mumbai - in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 - each time making videotapes of various potential targets, including those attacked in November 2008. Before each trip, Lashkar members and associates instructed Headley regarding specific locations where he was to conduct surveillance. After each trip, Headley traveled to Pakistan to meet with Lashkar members and associates, report on the results of his surveillance, and provide the surveillance videos. Before the April 2008 surveillance trip, Headley and co-conspirators in Pakistan discussed potential landing sites in Mumbai for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea. Headley returned to Mumbai with a global positioning system device and took boat trips around the Mumbai harbor, and entered various locations into the device.

Between Nov. 26 and 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Chabad House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station. Headley had scouted each site in advance, which the resulting terrorist attacks killed 164 victims and wounded hundreds more.

The six Americans killed during the siege were Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr, and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum. In March 2009, Headley made a sixth trip to India to conduct additional surveillance, including of the National Defense College in Delhi, and of Chabad Houses in several cities.

Denmark Terror Plot

Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley admitted and testified that in early November 2008, he was instructed by a Lashkar member in Pakistan, to conduct surveillance of the Copenhagen and Aarhus offices of the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten in preparation for an attack in retaliation for the newspaper's publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. After this meeting, Headley informed co-defendant Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), also known as "Pasha," of his assignment. Abdur Rehman told Headley words to the effect that if Lashkar did not go through with the attack, Abdur Rehman knew someone who would. Although not identified by name at the time, Headley later learned this individual was co-defendant Ilyas Kashmiri. Abdur Rehman previously told Headley that he was working with Kashmiri and that Kashmiri was in direct contact with a senior leader of Al Qaeda.

While in Chicago in late December 2008 and early January 2009, Headley exchanged emails with Abdur Rehman to continue planning for the attack and to coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. In January 2009, at Lashkar's direction, Headley traveled from Chicago to Copenhagen to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus and scouted and videotaped the surrounding areas.

In late January 2009, Headley met separately with Abdur Rehman and a Lashkar member in Pakistan, discussed the planned attack on the newspaper, and provided them with videos of his surveillance. About the same time, Abdur Rehman provided Headley a video produced by the media wing of Al Qaeda in about August 2008, which claimed credit for the June 2008 attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and called for further attacks against Danish interests to avenge the publication of the offending cartoons.

In February 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman met with Kashmiri in the Waziristan region of Pakistan, where they discussed the video surveillance and ways to carry out the attack. Kashmiri told Headley that he could provide manpower for the operation and that Lashkar's participation was not necessary. In March 2009, a Lashkar member advised Headley that Lashkar put the newspaper attack on hold because of pressure resulting from the Mumbai attacks. In May 2009, Headley and Abdur Rehman again met with Kashmiri in Waziristan. 

Kashmiri told Headley to meet with a European contact who could provide Headley with money, weapons and manpower for the Denmark attack, and relate Kashmiri's instructions that this should be a suicide attack and the attackers should prepare martyrdom videos beforehand. Kashmiri also stated that the attackers should behead captives and throw their heads on to the street in Copenhagen to heighten the response from Danish authorities, and added that the "elders," whom Headley understood to be Al Qaeda leadership, wanted the attack to happen as soon as possible.

In late July and early August 2009, Headley traveled from Chicago to various places in Europe, and met with and attempted to obtain assistance from Kashmiri's contacts and, while in Copenhagen, he made about 13 additional surveillance videos. When he returned to the United States Aug. 5, 2009, Headley falsely told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspector in Atlanta that he had visited Europe for business reasons. On Oct. 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to deliver about 13 surveillance videos to Abdur Rehman and Kashmiri.

One of Headley's co-defendants, Tahawwur Rana, 52, of Chicago, was sentenced last week to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to the Denmark terror plot and providing material support to Lashkar. Headley testified for the government at Rana's trial in June 2011.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Sarah E. Streicker, Northern District of Illinois, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have worked on a broader investigation of the Mumbai attacks. 

Dominican Republic National and Murder Suspect Deported by ICE

A Dominican Republic man, who resided unlawfully in the Inwood section of Manhattan, was deported early Thursday January 24, 2013, and turned over to Dominican Republic authorities by officers with U.S. Immigration and Custom's Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). The man, who was wanted in connection with four murders, was previously removed from the United States after a felony criminal conviction for selling narcotics. After his prior deportation, he illegally re-entered the country.

Hector Vargas-Valero, 39, a Dominican Republic national, was deported from the United States via an ICE charter flight. ERO officers turned him over to Dominican Republic authorities early Thursday, January 24, 2013. His removal follows his Jan. 7, 2013, arrest by ERO officers assigned to the agency's Criminal Alien Program.

On Aug. 26, 2011, Vargas-Valerio and co-conspirators allegedly kidnapped four individuals in which all were murdered in Santiago, Dominican Republic. On Sept. 22, 2011, a judge in Santiago issued a warrant for Vargas-Valerio's arrest in relation to this alleged crime.

On July 12, 2012, Interpol issued a "diffusion notice" for Vargas-Valerio. This notice requests the arrest or location of an individual - or additional information - in relation to a police investigation.

"Vargas-Valerio is an international fugitive who allegedly kidnapped and ended four lives in the Dominican Republic," said Raymond A. Simonse, acting field office director for ERO New York. "He illegally entered the United States in an attempt to evade justice and start a new life. We discovered who he really is, and now we have returned him to his homeland to face prosecution for his alleged crimes."

Vargas-Valerio was admitted into the United States as a lawful permanent resident July 18, 1984. New York Superior Court convicted him Oct. 6, 1993, for selling a controlled substance. He was subsequently sentenced to 54 months in prison.

Due to the criminal conviction, his legal status was revoked. On Nov. 18, 1998, the legacy Immigration and Nationality Service removed Vargas-Valerio from the United States to the Dominican Republic.

After his deportation, Vargas-Valerio returned to the United States unlawfully. The agency reinstated his final order of removal from 1998.

Since Oct. 1, 2009, ERO has removed more than 566 foreign fugitives from the United States who were being sought in their native countries for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and murder. ERO works with ICE's Office of International Affairs, foreign consular offices in the United States, and Interpol to identify foreign fugitives illegally present in the country.

Brazilian Couple Plead Guilty to Human Trafficking

Two Brazilian nationals pleaded guilty Wednesday, January 16, 2013, to smuggling illegal aliens into the United States for profit. The guilty plea follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Juliana Rose Tome-Froes, 36, and her husband, Fabio Rodrigues Froes, 49, pleaded guilty to six counts of bringing and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for commercial advantage and two counts of bringing and attempting to bring aliens to the United States for private financial gain.

According to plea documents, from at least October 2008 until approximately September 2010, the defendants organized, operated and managed a human smuggling network that operated in Brazil, France, England, the Bahamas and the United States. The defendants met with illegal aliens and negotiated forms of payment to be smuggled into the United States. 

Before the illegal aliens departed Brazil, the defendants instructed them to act like tourists and explained that the itinerary through Europe would support a tourist cover story. In exchange for approximately $16,000, Tome-Froes, with assistance from Froes, arranged air transportation from Brazil to Paris, then London and Nassau, Bahamas. Tome-Froes arranged the illegal aliens' lodging in Paris and Nassau, and then instructed them to fly to Freeport, Bahamas, where they waited for a boat to transport them to the United States. For the final leg into the United States, Tome-Froes coordinated with various individuals in South Florida to pilot a small boat to Freeport, which picked up the illegal aliens and transported them to the United States.

At sentencing, scheduled for March 21, Tome-Froes faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and Froes faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Religious Leader and Indian National Sentenced for Visa Fraud

A religious leader from India, who founded a local Hindu temple, was sentenced Tuesday, January 22, 2013, to more than three years in prison in connection with a religious visa fraud scheme that operated in India and Wisconsin.

This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Sagarsen Haldar, aka Gopal Hari Das, 33, was sentenced Jan. 22 in the Eastern District of Wisconsin to 37 months in federal prison for conspiring to commit immigration fraud. He was found guilty by a federal jury Nov. 10, 2011 of fraudulently obtaining religious worker visas – known as "R-1" visas – for Indian nationals in exchange for substantial cash payments. After he completes his prison sentence, Haldar will be turned over to ICE and placed into removal proceedings.

Haldar identifies himself as the founder, president, CEO and spiritual leader of Gaudiya Vaisnava Society (GVS), a religious temple located at 2425 W. Ramsey Ave. in Milwaukee.

According to evidence at trial, Haldar conspired to sponsor more than two dozen Indian nationals to enter the country under R-1 visas. Typically, the R-1 applications falsely stated that the individuals were religious workers from India who planned to be priests and perform religious work at the GVS temple in Milwaukee. In fact, the Indian nationals had no religious training or experience, and they had no intention of being priests or performing religious work once they arrived in the United States.

Haldar was charged in June 2010 after HSI special agents arrested him at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago as he arrived in the United States from India. A search of Haldar's luggage revealed that he was transporting identification documents – including passports and other Indian identification documents – bearing the names and photographs of other Indian nationals. 

His arrest was the culmination of a lengthy HSI investigation into Haldar and GVS.

The investigation into Haldar was initiated in June 2008 after HSI received information from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's (USCIS) Benefit Fraud Unit that GVS had filed numerous petitions for R-1 religious workers from India. Subsequent investigation by HSI revealed that Haldar used the GVS temple as a front for an elaborate religious visa fraud scheme.

In the scheme, Haldar charged Indian nationals as much as $30,000 each in exchange for his assistance to fraudulently obtain R-1 visas. The fraudulent priests typically made substantial cash payments to Haldar and his associates in India, and were indebted to Haldar for the balance once they arrived in the United States. They worked at convenience stores and other Milwaukee-area locations, drove taxi cabs, and paid Haldar from what they earned.

"This country's immigration system is not for sale, and those who think they can exploit the system for personal gain will pay the price for their crimes," said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge for HSI Chicago. "Visa fraud not only undermines the integrity of our legal immigration process, it also poses a significant security vulnerability."

HSI was assisted in the investigation by USCIS and the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad, Eastern District of Wisconsin, successfully prosecuted the case. 

ICE's Operation Dark Night Busts Sex Trafficking Ring, Rescues 11 Victims

On Thursday, January 17, 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the results of a lengthy investigation, called Operation Dark Night, into a sex trafficking ring operating in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. The investigation, which was led by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), led to a takedown Wednesday, January 16, 2013, in which authorities made 13 criminal arrests and 44 administrative arrests tied to the investigation, as well as the rescue of as many as 11 victims.

"ICE investigates a wide array of crimes, but the trafficking of women and girls for prostitution is among the most sinister," said ICE Director John Morton. "Few crimes so damage their victims and undermine basic human decency. Our fight against this evil must be relentless, both here and abroad."

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Edward Tarver said, "In what essentially amounts to slavery in the year 2013, the conduct described in the indictment against these defendants is reprehensible. This case is a prime example of the United States Attorney's Office and HSI recognizing that human trafficking is a cancer facing our society and taking a stand to stop the victimization of women involved in sex trafficking."

According to the indictment, Joaquin Mendez-Hernandez, aka El Flaco, conspired with each of the other defendants to transport people across interstate boundaries to engage in prostitution. In addition, Mendez-Hernandez allegedly conspired with at least three others to entice women from Mexico, Nicaragua and elsewhere to travel to the United States with false promises of the American dream. Once inside the United States, these women were allegedly threatened and forced to commit acts of prostitution at numerous locations in Savannah and throughout the Southeast. In one such instance identified in the indictment, Mendez-Hernandez is alleged to have told a Mexican woman that she would be sent back to her home country unless she serviced 25 clients a day.

HSI provides relief to victims of human trafficking by allowing for their continued presence in the United States during criminal proceedings. Victims may also qualify for a T visa, which is issued to victims of human trafficking who have complied with reasonable requests for assistance in investigations and prosecutions. Anyone who suspects instances of human trafficking is encouraged to call the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or the Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Anonymous calls are welcome.

Operation Dark Night was led by HSI, with assistance from the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); CBP Air and Marine Operations; the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations; the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department; the Chatham County Sheriff's Office; the Garden City Police Department; and, the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tania D. Groover and E. Greg Gilluly Jr. are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.