April 26, 2010

INDICTMENT: CALIFORNIA MEN HAD HUNDREDS OF COUNTERFEIT CREDIT CARDS

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Adis Poghosyan, 28, Glendale, Calif., Vachagan Baghdasaryan, 24, Los Angeles, Calif., Haykaz Mansuryan, 21, Glendale, Calif., and Artour Hakobyan, 26, Glendale, Calif., are charged with one count of unlawful possession of 247 counterfeit VISA debit cards and one count of unlawful possession of a credit card scanner and computer used to manufacture the cards. The crimes are alleged to have occurred April 2, 2010, in Trego County, Kan.

They initially were charged in a criminal complaint filed April 8, 2010. The complaint alleged the four men were arrested April 2, 2010, when a trooper pulled them over on the eastbound side of I-70 near milepost 133 for speeding. Two of the men were in a black Mercedes and the other two were in a cream colored Mercedes, both rented. They told the trooper they were on their way to a bachelor party in Chicago. Troopers found four plastic bags containing 247 counterfeit VISA debit cards and a laptop computer in the cream colored Mercedes. In the black Mercedes, they found a machine for reading and encoding debit and credit cards.

If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count. The Kansas Highway Patrol and the U.S. Secret Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.

OTHER INDICTMENTS

A federal grand jury meeting in Kansas City, Kan., also returned the following indictments:

Emigdio Vellegas-Cortez, 23, who has been living in St. Joseph, Mo., and Elida Guadalupe Herrera-Morales, 33, Shawnee, Kan., are charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. In addition Vellegas-Cortez is charged with illegally re-entering the United States after being deported. The crimes are alleged to have occurred March 19, 2010, in Johnson County, Kan.

Upon conviction, the drug charge carries a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $2 million. The immigration charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri McCracken is prosecuting.

Alejandro Ray Williams, 39, Kansas City, Kan., and James L. Sutton, 37, Kansas City, Kan., are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and three counts of distributing crack cocaine. In addition, Williams is charged with four counts of distributing crack cocaine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred from July 1, 2009, to Dec. 30, 2009, in Kansas City, Kan.

Upon conviction, the conspiracy charge carries a penalty of not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million. Each count of distribution carries a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri McCracken is prosecuting.

Marshall R. Wilson, 27, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, two counts of distributing crack cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in 2007 and 2008 in Douglas County, Kan.

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine: Not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $2 million on each count.
Distributing crack cocaine: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $1 million on each count.
Possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine: Not less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $4 million.
The Lawrence Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Drug Enforcement Unit investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Zabel is prosecuting.

Edgar Apodaca-Castillo, 26, Wichita, Kan., is charged with three counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. The crimes are alleged to have occurred in March and April 2010 in Sedgwick County, Kan.

Upon conviction, the crimes carry the following penalties:
Possession with intent to distribute 18 grams of methamphetamine: A maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $1 million.
Possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine: Not less than five years and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $2 million.
Unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien: A maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.

The Wichita Police Investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Sublet is prosecuting.

Adrian Tello-Castro, 24, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with one count of unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. He was found April 8, 2010, 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 Wichita Police Department investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Sublet is prosecuting.

Taurus D. Hoyle, 35, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred March 30, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.

Jason D. Hawkins, 32, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. The crimes are alleged to have occurred March 25, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to
$250,000 on the charge of possession by a felon, a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than life and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and a penalty of not less than 5 years and not more than 40 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the crack cocaine charge. The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.

Larry W. Morris, 24, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred March 6, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan.

If convicted he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.

Kathryn A. Rich, 22, Kansas City, Kan., is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred March 23, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan.

If convicted she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terra Morehead is prosecuting.
Luis Araujo-Olivas, 35, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found March 23, 2010, in Johnson County, Kan.

If convicted he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Smith is prosecuting.

Gerald E. Williams, 28, Kansas City, Mo, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The crime is alleged to have occurred Feb. 6, 2010, in Johnson County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000. The Overland Park Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated. Assistant U.S. David Smith is prosecuting.

Jose Acosta-Gutierrez, 35, Kansas City, Mo., is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony and deported. He was found Feb. 28, 2010, in Kansas City, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri McCracken is prosecuting.

Refugio Rodarte-Morales, 60, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully re-entering the United States after being deported. He was found April 4, 2010, in Brown County, Kan.

If convicted, he faces 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 David Zabel is prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.