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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Feb. 5, 2008
MORE FEDERAL CHARGES FILED IN HAYSVILLE NIGHTCLUB ARSON
WICHITA, KAN. – James H. Keller, II, 54, was charged in a superseding indictment with four counts of arson and two counts of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud. According to the indictment, on May 12, 2006, he burned the Honky Tonk Bar at 7426 S. Broadway in Haysville, Kan. Then he used the U.S. Postal Service to deliver false insurance claims for the purpose of defrauding Western Heritage Insurance.
Keller initially was charged in a sealed indictment Oct. 17, 2007. The indictment was unsealed Dec. 4, 2007, after Keller was arrested.
If convicted, Keller faces the following penalties:
Arson in count 1: Not less than 6 years and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $250,000.
Mail fraud, wire fraud in counts 2, 3 and 4: A maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Arson in counts 5, 6 and 7: A mandatory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is prosecuting.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
A grand jury meeting Wednesday in Wichita also returned the following indictments:
Shelley Harding, 57, Wichita, Kan., is charged with 81 counts of welfare fraud. According to the indictment, Harding operated a business called A New Beginning, which she used to defraud the Kansas Medicaid program of approximately $3.76 million. She is charged with submitting false claims for community-based drug and alcohol treatment services that were not provided, including claims for treatment reportedly provided to infants and children under 12 years old, claims for beneficiaries who were not addicted to drugs or dependent on alcohol, and claims for services that were not provided. The crimes are alleged to have occurred at various times in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Kansas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Unit investigated. Assistant Attorney General Loren Snell, who is cross designated as an assistant U.S. Attorney, is prosecuting.
Michael Sheeran, 28, Rose Hill, Kan., is charged with four counts of mail fraud. According to the indictments, Sheeran fraudulently caused his employer, Ferguson Enterprises in Wichita, to issue more than $50,000 worth of checks to BL Enterprises in Haysville, Kan. BL Enterprises was controlled by an unindicted coconspirator. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in October 2004, November 20004, January 2005 and June 2005.
Upon conviction, each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The U.S. Secret Service investigated.
Pedro Villa-Campos, 24, who is a citizen of Mexico, is charged with one count of possession of false documents to be employed in the United States, one count of possession of false U.S. government identification documents, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Sept. 17, 2007, in Meade County, Kan.
Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
– Possession of false documents to be employed in the United States: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
– Possession of false U.S. identification documents: A maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
– Aggravated identity theft: A mandatory 2 years in federal prison, which must run consecutively to any underlying term of imprisonment, and a fine up to $250,000.
– Unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Juan Lara-Pena, 41, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of a felony and deported. He was found Feb. 28, 2008, in Salina, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Victor Manuel Barbosa-Sandoval, 36, a citizen of Wichita, is charged with one count of possession of false documents to be employed in the United States, one count of possession of false United States identification documents, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
– Possession of false documents to be employed in the United States: A maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
– Possession of false U.S. identification documents: A maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000.
– Aggravated identity theft: A mandatory 2 years in federal prison, which must run consecutively to any underlying term of imprisonment, and a fine up to $250,000.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Jorge Perez-Vargas, 34, who is a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of a felony and deported. He was found Feb. 12, 2008, in Wichita.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison without parole and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Raul Martinez-Juarez, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found Feb. 25, 2008, in Wichita.
If convicted, a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
Robert E. Ewing, 51, New Century, Kan., is charged with 12 counts of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, one count of unlawful possession of ammunition after a felony conviction, and one county of possession of a stolen firearm. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Oct. 30, 2007, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Lind is prosecuting.
Jose M. Beltran, 24, Wichita; Juan Carlos Medina-Corrales, 23, Wichita, Kan., and Augustin Hendriksson-Mendoza, 24, Wichita, Kan., are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by illegal aliens. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Feb. 25, 2008, in Sedgwick County, Kansas.
If convicted, they face a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $2 million on the charge of possession with intent to distribute, not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of unlawful possession by illegal aliens. The Wichita Police Department investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.
Rocky Prock, 21, Wichita, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Feb. 9, 2008, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.
Kevin I. Starks, 24, Omaha, Neb., is charged with possession with intent to distribute 297 grams of MDMA. The crime is alleged to have occurred Dec. 4, 2007, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blair Watson is prosecuting.
Gulberto Beltran, 28, King of Prussia, Penn., and Daniel Lizarraga-Garcia, 22, Ontario, Ore., are charged with possession of more than 5 kilograms of cocaine. The crime is alleged to have occurred Jan. 17, 2008, in Finney County, Kan.
If convicted, they face a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than 340 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blair Watson is prosecuting.
Gabriel Ubaldo Ornelas, 36, Garden City, Kan., and Jesus Guzman Cortes, 47, Garden City, Kan., are charged with drug trafficking. Ornelas is charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Cortes is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in February and April 2007 in Finney County, Kan.
Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
– Possession with intent to distribute: Not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $2 million.
– Unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking: Not less than 5 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
The Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blair Watson is prosecuting.
As in any criminal case, a person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal
conduct.
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