Federal Sentencing

Published on: December 28, 2021

A mother was sentenced to 30 years for producing child pornography and using her own two children as subjects. Worse yet, she sent it to their pedophile father.

Litzky’s live-in boyfriend, Roberto Oquendo, was a passenger in a car pulled over for a traffic stop in Melbourne, Florida. The officer conducting the traffic stop learned that he had child pornography on his phone. He gave an interview and admitted having pictures of the genital areas of his daughters for his sexual gratification. Law enforcement officers also discovered thousands of lewd images of naked children on his electronic devices. Oquendo was of course a pedophile.

Among those images were screenshots of video conversations between Oquendo and Litzky over several months where Litzky had posed the two children-victims focusing on their vaginal and buttocks area. Litzky was interviewed and eventually she confessed to sending approximately 500 hundred nude images and videos of their children to Oquendo. Litzky was charged with violating various federal child-pornography offenses and convicted.

Published on: December 24, 2021

No protection under the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act for protesters who damaged property at a U.S. Naval submarine base.

by The Swartz Law Firm

Clare Grady, Carmen Trotta, and Martha Hennessy are members of the Plowshares Movement, a Roman Catholic protest and activism group opposed to nuclear weapons. On April 4, 2018, they and others surreptitiously and illegally entered the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in St. Marys, Georgia, to engage in protest of nuclear weapons by engaging in what they referred to as symbolic disarmament. What they did was more destructive. They spray painted numerous anti-nuclear and religious messages on the sidewalk and on monuments, poured donated blood from the movement’s members on the door of a building and the sidewalk, hammered on a decommissioned missile display, placed crime scene tape around the base, removed signage and part of a monument, and cut through wiring and fencing to enter a highly secured area and display banners protesting nuclear weapons.

Published on: December 13, 2021

No sentencing guidelines enhancement for arms smuggler who sold to a paramilitary terrorist group in Columbia

by The Swartz Law Firm

Francisco Arcila Ramirez was charged with several federal crimes in connection with selling firearms to the National Liberation Army (ELN), a paramilitary group in Columbia, designated by the U.S. State Department as a foreign terrorist organization. Through a straw purchaser, he acquired AK-style weapons in the Miami, Florida area, then had them smuggled to Colombia where they were delivered to an ELN weapons broker who then arranged delivery to a farmhouse in rural area of Colombia where they were picked up by members of the ELN. Arcila Ramirez was paid $26,567 in cash for his efforts. After this transaction, Arcila Ramirez began acquiring large quantities of firearm components to send to Colombia where they could be assembled. The firearm parts were cheaper to buy, easier to smuggle, and did not require straw purchasers.

When Arcila Ramirez was arrested in the United States, he waived his right to remain silent after receiving a Miranda warning. He admitted using straw purchaser to buy firearms on his behalf and concealing them in air compressors to be smuggled into Colombia. He admitted the firearms had to be for guerillas or delinquents but said he was not part of or involved with any group.

Published on: November 9, 2021

Conviction and life sentence for sex trafficking a minor and adults upheld as reasonable in light of the evidence

by The Swartz Law Firm

Williams appeals his conviction and sentence by a federal judge for the federal offense of sex trafficking involving a minor, and two adults. The evidence presented at his trial showed Williams used physical abuse and emotional manipulation to force vulnerable young women to work for him as prostitutes. The evidence was graphic because the women who worked for Williams described Williams’ violent behavior and punishments. He was sentenced to five terms of life imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to his victims. In his appeal he raised three issues.

Published on: January 28, 2021

Prior state court sex offense qualified as an enhancement for federal child pornography conviction

by The Swartz Law Firm

Jason Kushmaul was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of distributing child pornography and with possessing material containing child pornography involving a minor under the age of 12 in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 2252A. He was arrested in Florida by Bay County Sheriff Officer who went to his address based on a tip obtained by Homeland Security that he was distributing child pornography through an App known as Kik. Kushmaul was already registered on the Florida Sex Offender Registry having been previously convicted in Florida of promoting the sexual performance of a child. He pled guilty to the federal offense. The federal statute, Section 2252A, enhances the mandatory minimum from 5 years to 15 years if the offender has a prior conviction under the laws of any state relating to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, or abusive sexual conduct involving a minor. The sentencing court found that his 2016 Florida conviction “promoting the sexual performance of a child” qualified as a prior conviction that triggered the sentencing enhancement and imposed a 15-year sentence.

Published on: December 31, 2020

Evidence found sufficient to convict defendant of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud but wrong sentence imposed

by The Swartz Law Firm

Grow formed a company and teamed up with a compounding pharmacy called Patient Care America to market three of its compounded medications: a pain cream, a scare cream, and a metabolic vitamin. He recruited two sales representatives and paid them using a tiered multilevel pyramid structure which meant that commissions for the sales representatives were based on their own referrals and referrals made by representatives brought in by the representatives they brought in. He also recruited patients instead of doctors and used telemedicine companies to prescribe the creams and vitamins to patients. Some recruited patients were paid commissions for just ordering their own creams and vitamins and set up a phony survey program where Grow’s recruited patients were paid $1,000 per month to try the creams and vitamins and write about their experiences. The only purpose of the survey was to refer more beneficiaries and get paid commissions. Nothing was done with the results of the survey. Grow was charged and convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare and wire fraud, committing healthcare fraud, conspiracy to receive and pay kickbacks.

Published on: December 28, 2020

Doctor’s conviction for unlawful distribution of Oxycodone upheld

by The Swartz Law Firm

Gayden’s career as a doctor ended after law enforcement began investigating his medical practice following tips that he was prescribing excessive amounts of Oxycodone. Drug Enforcement Agents reviewed his prescription records through the Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) and discovered that Gayden had a history of irregular prescribing practices including issuing scripts for opioids in higher quantities or greater potency and in greater frequency than the norm. The DEA issued a search warrant for his patient records. Through recordings made by undercover patient who visited his office they discovered long lines of patients waiting to get into Gayden’s office. Investigators also learned that Gayden insisted on cash only for his services.

Just before the five-year statute of limitations ran, a federal grand jury indicted Gayden on seven counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. section 841(a)(1). Gayden was convicted following a jury trial and sentenced to 235 months in prison.

Published on: December 24, 2020

No error to let a Defendant in a Federal criminal trial represent himself if he chooses

by The Swartz Law Firm

Gerti Muho’s scheme led to his conviction of bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity, money laundering, and a 264-month sentence in federal prison. In this appeal he claimed that the district court should have reinstated his court appointed counsel despite his having invoked his right to self-representation. He also claims the trial court should have granted his request for court issued subpoenas, and the trial court erred by enhancing his sentence.

Muho worked for an investment firm “FAM” which gave him a position allowing him access to the personal information of the firm’s employees. After he left the firm, he created and used fraudulent documents purporting to reestablish his authority with the firm and then take control of one of FAM’s entities using a shell company he created. He was able to convince a bank, HSBC-Monaco, that he had legal authority to execute financial transactions on behalf of one of the subsidies and incuduced the bank to wire transfer over $2 million from the firm’s subsidy account to an account Muho controlled in another bank.

Published on: December 3, 2020

Prosecution statements not reversible; restrictions against using the internet not a First Amendment violation

by The Swartz Law Firm

Bobal was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of using a means of interstate commerce to attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity in violation of 8 U.S.C. sec. 2422(b) and committing a felony offense involving a minor after being required to register as a sex offender in violation of 18 U.S.C. sec. 2260A. Bobal had a prior conviction in Florida for using a computer to solicit a child to engage in sexual activity. His trouble began when he sent a picture of his penis to a man posing as a 14-year old girl. The F.B.I. got involved and an agent posing as the 14-year-old girl began exchanging text messages with Bobal which were sexual in nature and eventually arranged a meeting. When Bobal arrived at the meeting location he was arrested.

Published on: December 1, 2020

RICO is not a crime of violence for a 924(c) gun possession offense

by The Swartz Law Firm

A group of brothers, relatives, and friends who operated a drug trafficking organization in Bradenton, Florida, were charged and convicted of participating in a RICO conspiracy, a drug conspiracy, and gun crimes. The defendants raised two issues in this appeal. First, whether the RICO conspiracy qualified as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. 924(c) and second, whether one of the defendant’s sentence was procedurally and substantively reasonable.

The defendants challenging the 924(c) conviction. Section 924(c) which makes it a crime to use, carry, or discharge a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. The defendants argued here that the RICO conspiracy is not a “crime of violence”. The statute defines a crime of violence as a felony offense that (a) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another (the elements clause) or (b) that by its nature involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense (the residual clause).