United States Attorney David Capp

Northern District of Indiana

M01-204 S. Main Street

South Bend, Indiana 46601

Hammond South Bend Fort Wayne

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Mary L. Hatton

October 12, 2012 PHONE: (219) 937-5500

www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/ Fax: (219) 852-2770

WEEK IN REVIEW – SOUTH BEND

South Bend, Indiana - The United States Attorney’s Office announced that:

DISPOSITIONS:

Ø Janak Parekh, 54, of Granger, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Jon DeGuilio to 12 months and 1 day imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of food stamp fraud. Parekh will serve 6 months of that term in a BOP facility and 6 months in a location monitoring program on home detention as a condition of supervised release. According to his plea agreement, Parekh admitted that while operating BLU Quick Mart in South Bend, Indiana, he knowingly, intentionally, and without authorization from the United States Department of Agriculture purchased $201.20 in USDA food stamp benefits for a cash payment of $100. This case was the result of an investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jesse Barrett.

Ø Alicia Hite, 27, of Plymouth, Indiana, a defendant in the case US v Beard et al., was sentenced by District Judge Jon DeGuilio to 108 months imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the felony offense of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. According to the Sentencing Memorandum filed by the government in this case, law enforcement served a Search Warrant at a home in Plymouth, Indiana and discovered Hite, among others, and an active methamphetamine lab in the garage. Hite admitted that they had been cooking methamphetamine in the house over the last couple of years and that she ran the books and oversaw the operation. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.