Law Enforcement | WPN World People News

Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Joshua S. Putter (48, Needham, Massachusetts) with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced ADEMOLA L. EJIRE, 53, to 33 months’ imprisonment followed by two years’ supervised release. The court also imposed restitution in the amount of $470,192.

Egypt’s new law on public assembly will restrict peaceful political demonstrations in violation of international standards. The law was issued by the interim president, Adly Mansour, on November 24, 2013. It effectively grants security officials discretion to ban any protest on very vague grounds, allows police officers to forcibly disperse any protest if even a single protester throws a stone, and sets heavy prison sentences for vague offenses such as attempting to “influence the course of justice.”

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/11/26/egypt-deeply-restrictive-new-assembly...

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Drew J. Breakspear, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, Bureau of Financial Investigations, announce that Daniel Paez, 27, of Miami, Florida, pled guilty to one count of securities fraud before U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas, in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in Florida and several states. Paez faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing has been set for February 4, 2014 before Judge Dimitrouleas in Ft. Lauderdale.

A former administrator with Huntington Housing Authority (HHA) pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating an embezzlement scheme that took thousands of dollars belonging to a housing grant program intended to assist disabled and homeless persons, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.

Lorraine Dispaldo, 58, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in a fraud conspiracy with then-Philadelphia Traffic Court Judge Robert Mulgrew. Dispaldo pleaded guilty to a total of 36 counts including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, filing false personal income tax returns, and bankruptcy fraud.

Three subsidiaries of Weatherford International Limited (Weatherford International), a Swiss oil services company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange, have agreed to plead guilty to anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and export controls violations under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading With the Enemy Act (TWEA). Weatherford International and its subsidiaries have also agreed to pay more than $252 million in penalties and fines.

Ephonia M. Green, 44, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from her embezzlement of more than $5 million from her former employer, the Association of American Medical Colleges, a non-profit corporation.

A 25-count superseding indictment was unsealed charging five defendants—Rosita Vilchez, 39, of Lima, Peru; Armando Pino, 53, of Centerville, Virginia, currently in Peru; Edgar Vilchez, 38, of Manassas, Virginia; Lorene Chittenden, 57, of Centerville, Virginia; and Rocio Benavides, 28, of Manassas, Virginia—with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud affecting a financial institution and operating a continuing financial crimes enterprise. According to the indictment, between August 2005 and August 2007, the conspiracy generated nearly $7.4 million in fraudulent proceeds.

A former Spencer-based oil and gas company bookkeeper who stole more than $800,000 from her employer was sentenced to two years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin.