FBI Statement on Arrest of Columbus Police Detective

COLUMBUS—Kevin R. Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Cincinnati Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), today announced that the FBI recently arrested Stevie Billups, 48, of Columbus, Ohio, a detective with the Columbus Division of Police on a criminal complaint for the attempted distribution of heroin and for the use or carrying of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
The investigation into Billups was conducted jointly by the Ohio Casino Control Commission and the FBI’s Central Ohio Public Corruption Task Force which includes special agents from the FBI and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).
SAC Cornelius commended the Columbus Division of Police and Police Chief Kim Jacobs for the tremendous cooperation they provided during this investigation. SAC Cornelius also thanked the Homeland Security Investigations directorate (ICE) for assisting in the investigation.
The criminal complaint filed by the FBI in this investigation was recently unsealed by a U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge. The public is reminded that criminal complaints contain only allegations of criminal misconduct and that defendants are presumed to be innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Hudson County Man Convicted of Sexually Abusing Sleeping Woman on Domestic Flight

NEWARK, NJ—A Hudson County, New Jersey man was convicted by a federal jury today of sexually abusing a sleeping woman aboard a flight from Phoenix to Newark Liberty International Airport last summer, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Bawer Aksal, 49, of North Bergen, New Jersey, was convicted of one count of sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact following a five-day trial before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark federal court. The jury deliberated seven hours before returning its guilty verdicts.
According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:
Aksal was a passenger on a United Airlines flight from Phoenix to Newark on August 20, 2012. He was sitting in the middle seat in a row of three seats. Neither Aksal, the victim, who was seated in the window seat, nor the passenger in the aisle seat knew each other. Before take-off, the victim texted a friend complaining about Aksal’s arm encroaching into her seating area.
About one hour before landing, the aisle passenger looked to his right and saw Aksal half into the victim’s seat, with his body against the victim’s, his right arm around the back of her, and his left hand beneath a sweater that was draped over her. The victim awoke to find Aksal’s hands inside her shirt and shorts and struggled out of his grasp. The aisle passenger observed her jolting awake. The aisle passenger and the victim both gathered their belongings and headed to the back of the plane to report what happened to the flight attendants.
Aksal was detained upon arrival in Newark and arrested by agents of the FBI. He now faces a maximum potential sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing before Judge Linares is scheduled for October 23, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford, and the Port Authority Police Department, under the direction of Superintendent Michael Fedorko, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danielle Alfonzo Walsman and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over all sexual abuse cases that occur in American airplanes, as such events are outside the jurisdiction of any state.

California Truck Driver Pleads Guilty to Meat Theft Scam

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Artak Medjbarian of Sherman Oaks, California, pled guilty to conspiring with others to attempt to steal $163,000 worth of beef products from a Nebraska Beef facility in Omaha, Nebraska. Medjbarian, age 33, was charged in May 2012 by a federal grand jury in a scheme with others to steal loads of meat cargo by pretending to be the legitimate freight haulers to whom authority to transport the loads had been given. The indictment specifically charged a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to engage in the interstate transportation of stolen property.
The indictment alleged that Medjbarian used the identity of a legitimate trucking company in Arizona to bid on hauling a load of meat from Nebraska Beef to California. Due to discrepancies with respect to the documentation forwarded by unknown co-conspirators on Medjbarian’s behalf, the freight brokers contacted the owners of the true Lopez Trucking and determined that Lopez Trucking did not have trucks operating under their authority in the state of Nebraska on January 27, 2012, the day Medjbarian showed up at Nebraska Beef pretending to have the transport authority of Lopez Trucking. The Omaha Police were contacted, and Medjbarian was initially arrested on local charges.
The guilty plea was entered before the Honorable Laurie Smith Camp. Judge Smith Camp set the sentencing of this matter for October 7, 2013. Medjbarian is detained pending sentencing. Medjbarian faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison on the conspiracy conviction.
In addition to the Omaha Police Department, the case was also investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Local Real Estate Business Owner Indicted on Fraud Charges

ST. LOUIS, MO—Richard Saddler owned Omicron Capital LLC, a company in the business of assisting customers in refinancing commercial and real estate loans.
According to the indictment, between January 1, 2010 and March 31, 2012, Saddler accepted roughly $250,000 from at least five customers and said that the money would be used for down payments or appraisals. Instead, Saddler actually used the money to pay the mortgage on his home, which was in danger of foreclosure, as well as airline tickets, meals, and other personal expenses.
Saddler, St. Louis County, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three felony counts of wire fraud.
If convicted, wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Topeka Man Pleads Guilty to Commercial Robberies

TOPEKA, KS—A Topeka man has pleaded guilty to two commercial robberies, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Brendon R. Thompson, 26, Topeka, Kansas, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery. On November 16, 2012, he robbed the EZ Payday Advance store at 2613 S.W. 21st Street in Topeka. On January 17, 2013, he robbed the Family Dollar at 1313 S.W. 21st Street in Topeka.
Sentencing is set for November 5. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. Grissom commended the Topeka Police Department, the FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag for their work on the case.

Former Bank Employees Indicted for Embezzling, Staging Robbery

WICHITA, KS—Four former bank employees are charged with embezzling from a bank in Grant County, Kansas, and staging a robbery to cover the thefts, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Four former employees of Western State Bank in Ulysses, Kansas, are charged in a federal grand jury indictment unsealed today. The defendants are:

• Amber Gutierrez, 32, Ulysses, Kansas, who is charged with two counts of embezzlement by a bank employee and one count of bank robbery.
• Hattie Wiginton, 32, Ulysses, Kansas, who is charged with two counts of embezzlement by a bank employee, one count of bank robbery, and one count of making a false statement to the FBI.
• Ashley Cravens, 28, Ulysses, Kansas, who is charged with two counts of embezzlement by a bank employee and one count of bank robbery.
• Linda Wise, 59, Ulysses, Kansas, who is charged with one count of embezzlement by a bank employee.

The indictment alleges:
From 2008 to July 24, 2010, while Gutierrez was head teller and Wiginton and Cravens were clerks, they embezzled up to $84,200 from the bank.
On July 24, 2010, Gutierrez, Wiginton and Cravens staged a robbery at the bank, taking an undetermined amount of cash.
On July 24, 2010, Wiginton made false statements to the FBI, including false claims that she did not know who robbed the bank, that there were two robbers and that one of the robbers was a male with an Hispanic accent.
From late 2010 to March 2013, Gutierrez, Cravens, and Wise, who were still bank employees, embezzled $24,450 from the bank. They created falsified cash deposit slips and deposited funds in their personal accounts.
If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1,000 on the each count of theft by a bank employee; a maximum penalty of 25 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of bank robbery; and a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of making a false statement to the FBI. The FBI, the KBI, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ulysses Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith is prosecuting.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.

Former Bank CEO Sentenced for Money Laundering and Bank Fraud

JACKSON—Larry Barnette Hill, 58, of Meadville, Mississippi, was sentenced in federal court today to 78 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for money laundering and bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen. Hill was also ordered to pay $1,243,703 in restitution to People’s Bank of the South.
From 2004 through 2012, while serving as CEO of People’s Bank of the South in Bude, Mississippi, Hill fraudulently withdrew money from the bank’s Payroll Clearing Account and deposited those funds into the bank accounts of his family members and into a “shell” bank account he created for his own use. He also used the bank’s credit card to pay personal expenses without the bank’s authorization, and he used third-party checks issued in the name of People’s Bank for his own personal benefit, including making payments on a personal loan at another bank.
Hill concealed his fraudulent activities by creating false general ledger tickets at the bank that appeared to be for bank expenses and inflating the bank’s budget each month in order to cover up his embezzlement.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst.