Captors Sentenced to Decades in Prison for Kidnapping and Abusing Drug Dealer Over Drug Debt

VICTOR ABILES GOMEZ, 20, OMAR MENDOZA-VILLEGAS, 19, and GERARDO SOLORIO REYES, a/k/a “Gera,” 23, all illegal immigrants from Mexico, have been sentenced to federal prison on hostage-taking and related charges, arising from the week-long kidnapping and abuse of a drug dealer.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “This case demonstrates the danger inherent in the illegal business of drug-dealing. All of these drug dealers—captors and victim—have now been sentenced to federal prison. Fortunately this violent episode did not spill over to innocent members of our community.”

DEA Atlanta Field Division Special Agent in Charge Rodney G. Benson said, “Drug trafficking and violence go hand-in-hand. Traffickers will take extreme measures in order to protect their drugs and money. The capture and eventual prosecution of these individuals was possible because of the concerted efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts. These defendants will now spend well deserved time in prison.”

Both GOMEZ and MENDOZA-VILLEGAS were sentenced to 24 years, six months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. REYES was sentenced to 26 years, seven months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. The defendants pleaded guilty to the charges on March 21, 2009.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: On the afternoon of July 11, 2008, acting on information about a possible hostage taking, federal and local authorities established surveillance of a house located at 755 East Fork Shady Drive, Lilburn, Georgia. Three individuals inside the house apparently saw the police presence and began to flee. DEA Strike Force and FBI SWAT agents, working in conjunction with Gwinnett County authorities, quickly and successfully rescued the victim, later identified as Oscar Reynoso, 31, who is originally from the Dominican Republic but more recently from Rhode Island. At the time agents rescued Reynoso, he appeared to be severely dehydrated and badly beaten. Agents found him bound and gagged, chained to a mattress in the unfinished basement of the home, which is described as a middle-class neighborhood residence in Gwinnett County. Also found in the basement were flex cuffs and firearms, including an assault rifle. When authorities found Reynoso inside the basement, he appeared to be hyperventilating. Agents immediately removed his gag and provided him with fluids and medical attention. VICTOR ABILES GOMEZ, OMAR MENDOZA-VILLEGAS, and GERARDO SOLORIO REYES, each took part in the capture and the beating of the victim, as well as playing roles in keeping him from escaping and threatening him verbally as well as with a weapon.

In speaking to Reynoso, as well as one of his captors, agents learned that Reynoso had been lured to Atlanta from Rhode Island, purportedly to complete a vehicle purchase transaction with an individual identified as “Tio.” Reynoso had met Tio at a nearby fast food restaurant, from where the two then rode to the 755 East Shady Fork Drive residence. Upon entering the garage, Reynoso was ambushed and assaulted by eight men carrying firearms. After being beaten, he was imprisoned in the basement where the agents ultimately found him. While holding Reynoso, his captors, including Tio, contacted Reynoso’s friends and relatives in Rhode Island in an effort to collect the drug debt of $300,000. Reynoso was constantly threatened and beaten during the ordeal. Tio is considered to be a fugitive.

Reynoso pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine and was sentenced to serve three years, 10 months in federal prison.

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Twenty Defendants Sentenced in Million-Dollar Stolen Car Conspiracy Ring

Edmund A. Booth, Jr., United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced June 30 that 20 defendants were sentenced over the last month on their convictions arising from their involvement in a stolen car conspiracy ring centered in Statesboro and Savannah, Georgia.

Booth stated that these defendants were indicted on December 13, 2007, by the federal grand jury for the Southern District of Georgia in a 56-count Indictment. The Indictment charged conspiracy to commit certain offenses against the United States, including trafficking in stolen motor vehicles, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2313; alteration of motor vehicle identification numbers (VINs), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 511; trafficking in motor vehicles with altered VINs, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2321; possession of counterfeit state motor vehicle titles with the intent to defraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 513; and false statements to investigating federal law enforcement officers, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.

Booth said that during the course of the charged criminal conduct, members of the conspiracy stole dozens of vehicles (worth over $1 million total), altered the vehicle identification number, or VIN, on those stolen vehicles, and sold the stolen vehicles, along with counterfeit motor vehicle titles, at a steep discount to their co-conspirators. The stolen vehicles were registered by the purchasers at local tag offices using the counterfeit title and altered VIN. Some purchasers then later faked the theft of their vehicles with the help of the conspiracy in order to claim an inflated insurance loss.

From April to June 2008, many of the defendants plead guilty to the offenses charged in the Indictment. One defendant, WESLEY BERNARD AIKENS, was convicted by a federal court jury at trial in June 2008.

According to Booth, the defendants were sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge William T. Moore, Jr. in U.S. District Court in three separate sessions held in May and June 2009 as set forth below:

* RONNIE LEE, JR., age 27, of Savannah, Georgia, convicted of possession of a counterfeit state security: 77 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $175,978.74 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* JAMES WESLEY EDENFIELD, age 38, of Statesboro, Georgia; convicted of false statements to investigating federal law enforcement officers: six months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $1,000 fine; and $100 special assessment.
* ADISHA JABARI BRYANT, age 31, of Savannah, Georgia, convicted of conspiracy: 46 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $82,546.28 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* WESLEY BERNARD AIKENS, age 33, of Union City, Georgia, convicted of conspiracy: 51 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $16,364.50 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* RANDALL LEE CHAMBERS, age 48, of Statesboro, Georgia, convicted of conspiracy: 18 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $32,808.55 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* JOHN ALLEN WILLIAMS, age 38, of Duluth, Georgia, convicted of conspiracy: 18 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $32,808.55 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* JOHN FITZGERALD JONES, age 45, of Statesboro, Georgia, convicted of possession of counterfeit state security: 27 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $37,154.62 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* ARCHIE DOUGLAS FINCH, age 60, of Portal, Georgia, convicted of conspiracy: five months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; and $100 special assessment.
* ALAN MICHAEL TILLMAN, age 31, of Bluffton, South Carolina, convicted of conspiracy: 18 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $31,851.12 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* WOODARD HOOK LEWIS, JR., age 50, of Statesboro, Georgia, convicted of conspiracy: 21 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $54,441.70 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* TROY JASON EDENFIELD, age 41, of Statesboro, Georgia, convicted of trafficking in vehicles with altered VINs: 60 months' imprisonment; $300,684.29 restitution; three years' supervised release; and $100 special assessment.
* LEON SPENCER PATTERSON, age 41, of Snellville, Georgia, convicted of possession of counterfeit state security: 80 months' imprisonment; $425,770.99 restitution; three years' supervised release; and $100 special assessment.
* JIMMY LEE EVERETT, age 41, of Brooklet, Georgia, convicted of trafficking in vehicles with altered VIN: 108 months' imprisonment; $332,450.34 restitution; three years' supervised release; and $100 special assessment. Everett was also sentenced on the same date for bank fraud in connection with the embezzlement of over $200,000 from a local pavement marking business (see separate press release).
* JUSTIN WAYNE PRINCE, age 25, of Statesboro, Georgia, convicted of possession of counterfeit state security: five years' probation; $47,520.78 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* DAISY VICTORIA SCOTT, age 32, of Sylvania, Georgia, convicted of conspiracy: 10 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $20,222.00 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* TARYN MARIE YORK, age 24, of Nokesville, Virginia, convicted of misprision of a felony: three years' probation; $1,000 fine; and $100 special assessment.
* BRIAN DANIEL HUNT, age 25, of Nokesville, Virginia, convicted of conspiracy: 18 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $81,083.55 restitution; and $100 special assessment.
* WILLIE BATTISE, JR., age 46, of Pooler, Georgia, convicted of possession of counterfeit state security: three years' probation; $7,000 restitution, and $100 special assessment.
* JEFFREY LEE GAINES, age 45, of Pampas, Texas, convicted of conspiracy: five years' probation, $11,629.12 restitution, and $100 special assessment.
* CHARLIE SIMMONS, age 50, of Pooler, Georgia, convicted of possession of counterfeit state security: three years' probation; $15,655.54 restitution; and $100 special assessment.

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Defendant Sentenced on Bank Fraud Conviction

Edmund A. Booth, Jr., United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced today that JIMMY LEE EVERETT, age 41, of Brooklet, Georgia was recently sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge William T. Moore, Jr. for his conviction on bank fraud which involved the embezzlement of more than $200,000 from Thompson Paving Marking, Inc. (“TPM”), a paving marking business located in Chatham County, Georgia.

Booth stated that in April 2008, the federal grand jury for the Southern District of Georgia returned a 36-count Indictment against Everett, charging him with bank fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, and aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A. According to the Indictment, Everett was a minority shareholder in TPM. Everett fraudulently opened a checking account in the business’s name and began diverting payments from TPM customers to that checking account without the knowledge or consent of the other owners. He then drained that account of the embezzled funds in order to pay for a variety of personal expenditures, causing the company over $200,000 in loss.

Booth said that Everett pled guilty to one count of bank fraud in June 2008. On June 24, 2009, the court sentenced Everett to 110 months imprisonment, to run concurrently with the 108-month term of imprisonment that Everett received on the same day on his conviction for his involvement in an unrelated million dollar stolen car conspiracy ring. After release from imprisonment, Everett will be placed on supervised release for a term of 5 years.

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Bank Robber Sentenced to Federal Prison

Maxwell Wood, United States Attorney announced that Wesley Sorrow, age 38, of Knoxville, Georgia was sentenced June 30 before the Honorable C. Ashley Royal, United States District Judge for the Middle District of Georgia. Sorrow was sentenced to 160 months (13 years, 4 months) without the possibility of parole followed by three years of supervised release.

On November 25, 2008, Sorrow entered a guilty plea to one count of bank robbery in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2113. According to the facts stipulated in Court, Sorrow admitted to robbing the BB&T Bank located on Mercer University Drive, Macon, Georgia. Sorrow entered the bank and presented a note stating that the bank was being robbed and demanded $2,000.00. Sorrow received funds from the bank teller and fled the bank. Sorrow was later apprehended by members of the Crawford County Sheriff's Office. Forensic evidence examined by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) linked Sorrow to the bank robbery.

United States Attorney Maxwell Wood stated that: "This case serves as an excellent example of how cooperation among law enforcement agencies can result in dangerous bank robbers being caught, prosecuted and sentenced to prison for a very long time."

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“Alternative Medicine” Clinic Operator Sentenced to Federal Prison for Health Care Fraud Chaunsay Beckwith Defrauded Insurance Companies and Medicare

“Alternative Medicine” Clinic Operator Sentenced to Federal Prison for Health Care Fraud
Chaunsay Beckwith Defrauded Insurance Companies and Medicare in Hyperbaric Therapy Scheme


CHAUNSAY BECKWITH, 46, of Tucker, Georgia, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Marvin H. Shoob to serve nearly 5 years in federal prison on a charge of health care fraud.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “Hyperbaric chambers have a number of legitimate medical uses, as varied as helping burn victims and scuba divers in their recovery. This defendant turned a hyperbaric chamber into a scheme for generating over a million dollars in fraudulent claims. Health care fraud raises the costs of health care for everyone, and those responsible for such fraud may end up prison like this defendant.”

BECKWITH was sentenced to 4 years, 8 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, ordered to pay $1,035,144 in restitution, and perform 50 hours of community service. BECKWITH pleaded guilty to the charge on April 7, 2009.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and other information presented in court: Between 2003 and 2007, BECKWITH, an owner/operator who does not hold any type of medical license, provided hyperbaric oxygen therapy to numerous patients in her clinic, International Alternative Medicine, Inc., located at 4450 Hugh Howell Road, in Tucker, Georgia. None of the patients were diagnosed with medical conditions that made them eligible to receive payments from health care benefit programs. BECKWITH submitted $1,577,827 in claims to insurance companies and Medicare, which included false diagnosis codes that enabled her to fraudulently receive $1,035,144 in payments for the hyperbaric chamber treatments.

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Telfair County Sheriff Sentenced to 36 Months' Imprisonment on Corruption Charges

Edmund A. Booth, Jr., United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced that Jimmie W. Williamson, age 48, the former Sheriff of Telfair County, Georgia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Dublin, Georgia, before U.S. District Judge Dudley H. Bowen, Jr. to 36 months' imprisonment.

Booth noted that Williamson was charged by a criminal Information in December 2008 with devising a scheme to deprive the citizens of Telfair County of his honest services as their Sheriff from approximately 2004 to the present through a variety of corrupt activities, including:

* the embezzlement of fine and bond money paid by individuals arrested in Telfair County for his own personal use instead of properly sending such money to the Telfair County courts;
* the acceptance of bribes from individuals arrested in Telfair County in exchange for reducing or dismissing the pending charges against them; and
* the improper purchase of items for his own personal use with funds belonging to and for the exclusive use of the Sheriff’s Department.

Williamson pled guilty to those charges in January 2009.

Booth stated that the Court sentenced Williamson on those convictions to 36 months' imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. While on supervised release, Williamson will be required to perform 150 hours of community service. Booth further commented that Williamson was also ordered to pay restitution of the embezzled fine and bond money to the Telfair County courts.

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Former Investment Broker Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison for Defrauding Clients

Frederick Barton, 48, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash to serve over six years in federal prison on a charge of wire fraud, for having fraudulently diverted approximately $2 million from several clients and investors.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, "Among other frauds, this so-called securities professional stole nearly the entire life savings of an elderly client with Alzheimer's. His purposeful targeting of such a vulnerable victim appropriately resulted in a longer sentence. The prison sentence imposed today provides a measure of justice to all of the defendant's victims, and sends a message to other financial predators that these crimes do not pay."

BARTON was sentenced to 6 years, 6 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $878,100 in restitution. BARTON was convicted of these charges upon his plea of guilty on March 25, 2009. He was previously sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which obtained a judgment against BARTON and his former investment firms for over $4 million in penalties and disgorgement of profits, as well as various injunctive and other relief.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: BARTON, a registered broker and investment manager, defrauded several clients and investors of approximately $2 million dollars, including almost the entire life savings of a single, retired elderly woman in her 90's who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. From at least 1995 through 2002, Barton was a manager at an Atlanta branch of a national brokerage firm. After he was terminated in 2002, he began his own investment advisory firms, "Barton Asset Management, LLC" and "Twinspan Capital, LLC," both based in Atlanta. On numerous occasions from at least 2001 through 2007, BARTON fraudulently diverted to himself client funds that he was entrusted with investing.

In his victimization of the Alzheimer's patient, identified in Court by her initials, "RF," BARTON first learned of her diagnosis in 2001. He had begun his fraud two years earlier in 1999, and it continued unabated through 2003. In all, BARTON fraudulently diverted nearly $1 million of RF's assets to his own checking account, which he spent on personal lifestyle expenses and to fund the development of Twinspan Capital. Mainly as a result of these frauds, the balance in RF's investment and bank accounts fell from approximately $1.3 million in 1999 to less than $100 in 2004. Prior to the criminal prosecution, RF's estate sued BARTON and his former employer, which repaid all but $200,000 of the improperly diverted funds.

In addition to diverting client money from RF and at least one other client, BARTON committed securities fraud by selling shares in his new company, Twinspan, based on false pretenses. Specifically, he raised over $1 million in investments in Twinspan by claiming that he would use the proceeds to operate and grow the business. However, he instead diverted at least half of these supposed investments to himself, which he used to satisfy personal debts and pay personal lifestyle expenses.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. United States Attorney Nahmias also expressed appreciation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Securities Division of the Georgia Secretary of State's Office, both of which provided substantial information in the investigation of this case.

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