Category: North Carolina

U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced defendant Thuy Tien Luong, 38, of Charlotte, North Carolina, to 15 years in prison and ordered her to pay $75,000 in restitution to the victim. A federal jury previously convicted the defendant of forced labor on Jan. 8, 2021, following a five-day trial.

According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendant compelled the victim’s labor for almost two years through a variety of coercive means. The defendant physically, emotionally and verbally punished the victim when she disobeyed the defendant or otherwise failed to perform the required labor to the defendant’s satisfaction. As an example, the defendant falsely claimed that the victim owed her a debt of $180,000, made her sign a debt contract, and threatened to go to the police if the victim did not continue to work to pay off the fabricated debt. The defendant beat the victim with nail salon tools, including cuticle clippers, nail files and brooms leaving the victim with scars, bruises and marks. She also threatened to ruin the victim’s reputation with her family by threatening to tell them information that would negatively impact the victim’s relationship with her family. The defendant’s scheme caused the victim to continue working for the defendant until a particularly violent assault led her to report the defendant to the Davidson Police Department.

“This defendant used psychological coercion, debt bondage and violence to break down the will of one of her employees, exploit her vulnerabilities and force her to work long hours under threat of serious harm,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “There continues to be no place for such cruel conduct in our society, and the Department of Justice remains committed to identifying and eliminating human trafficking.”

“Human trafficking is human suffering and it has no place in modern society,” said U.S. Attorney Dena J. King of the Western District of North Carolina. “As our nation prepares to commemorate Juneteenth, it’s difficult to grasp that there are still people in our communities subjected to a life of servitude, compelled to work long hours for little or no pay, abused physically and mentally by those who ‘employ’ them. Traffickers who use their victims as commodities, take advantage of their needs and exploit their vulnerabilities for personal gain will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Luong’s egregious criminal conduct is a form of human trafficking that not only exploited our nation’s labor laws, but also subjected the victim to unspeakable harm, including physical and mental abuse,” said Special Agent in Charge Ronnie Martinez, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in North Carolina and South Carolina. “Thankfully, HSI and its law enforcement partners have put an end to Luong’s activity and she is facing appropriately severe consequences. Pursuing human traffickers and protecting their victims remains a top priority of HSI.”

Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney King and Special Agent in Charge Martinez announced today’s sentence. The case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the Davidson Police Department and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani M. Ford of the Western District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Maryam Zhuravitsky of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. Trial Attorney Jessica Arco of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit assisted with sentencing and restitution in this matter.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org.

A drug investigation led by the Western District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) has resulted in the indictment of six members of a poly-drug trafficking organization (DTO), announced United States Attorney Dena J. King.

Brian Mein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

The indictment was returned on March 16, 2022, and was unsealed today after ATF and DEA agents and CMPD officers arrested five of the six men during an early morning round-up. The defendants named in the indictment are:

• Laricco Eugene Sherrill, Jr., 23, of Charlotte (arrested)
• Brian Clinton, 23, of Charlotte (arrested)
• Jakieran Harris, 22, of Charlotte (arrested)
• Sadarian Armstrong, 40, of Charlotte (arrested)
• Quentin Nathaniel Stowe, 27, of Charlotte (arrested)
• Marquez Maxwell, 22, of Charlotte (not arrested).

According to allegations contained in the indictment, beginning as early as January 2020, the DTO distributed fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana in Mecklenburg County and elsewhere. Over the course of the investigation law enforcement seized narcotics, firearms, ammunition, and over $63,650 in cash that is believed to be drug proceeds.

Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute narcotics and related drug offenses.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney King credited the ATF and CMPD’s OCDETF investigation which led to the indictment and thanked the DEA for their invaluable assistance in effectuating the arrests. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is prosecuting the case.

U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. today sentenced a methamphetamine dealer to 120 months in prison, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Christian Allen Garcia, 30, of West Covina, California, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.

Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed documents and statements made in court, in 2018, law enforcement identified Garcia as a member of a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing bulk quantity of narcotics in Western North Carolina, including the greater Charlotte area. On March 27, 2018, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle where Garcia was a passenger and Garcia’s co-defendant, Henry Danny Collao, was the driver. Over the course of the traffic stop, law enforcement recovered nearly a kilogram of methamphetamine from the rear passenger seat. Law enforcement also found a loaded firearm in Garcia’s pants pocket and a second loaded gun in Collao’s right waistband. Officers also located within the vehicle different bank transaction receipts from various U.S. banks totaling over $75,000 in drug proceeds.

On July 8, 2021, Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Collao was previously sentenced to 151 months in prison for his role in the drug trafficking scheme.

The investigation was handled by DEA and CMPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hess of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

A Charlotte, North Carolina, man was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for sex trafficking an Ohio child in numerous states, including Virginia.

According to court documents, in November 2020, Anthony Jermaine Foman, 26, persuaded a 14-year old minor from Ohio on social media to join him and travel to various states to engage in prostitution with promises that he would take care of her. Instead, he used drugs and violence to force her to continue prostituting herself in North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Delaware, Georgia, and Virginia. Foman also filmed his sexual encounters with the minor victim and transported this child pornography from South Carolina to Virginia. In December 2020, the child was found in Hampton with Foman and he was arrested shortly thereafter.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Mark Talbot, Chief of Hampton Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Roderick C. Young.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa McKeel prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:21-cr-28.

Carlos Green, 34, of Craven County was sentenced today to 360 months in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and distribution of 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, 280 grams or more of cocaine base (crack) and 500 grams or more of cocaine, distribution of 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, distribution of a quantity of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, distribution of a quantity of cocaine and cocaine base (crack) and possession of firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, and possession of a firearm by a felon.  A Jury convicted Green on these counts on September 1, 2020.

According to court documents, evidence presented at trial, other evidence and information presented in court on July 17, 2019, the Craven County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made a controlled purchase of 28 grams of methamphetamine from Green at a sweepstakes business in Cove City, North Carolina.  On July 23, 2019, the United States Postal Inspector intercepted a package that was to be delivered to the same business.  The package contained 889 grams of crystal methamphetamine.  On July 24, 2019, Craven County and ATF made a controlled purchase of 56 grams of crystal methamphetamine from Green at the same sweepstakes building in Cove City.  On August 21, 2019, law enforcement was doing surveillance on Green’s residence in Chocowinity, North Carolina.  A Beaufort Police Officer conducted a traffic stop on Green’s car after he left the residence.  Law enforcement conducted a search of the residence following the stop.  The search led to the discovery of 112 grams of cocaine, 9 grams of heroin, a loaded Kel-tec PLR-22 with a high-capacity magazine and items used to cook cocaine into crack cocaine.  On December 10, 2019, Craven County Detectives and ATF agents attempted to locate Green at a residence in New Bern, North Carolina.  Agents heard running within the house.  Green answered the door shortly after that.  A search of Green uncovered a ½ an ounce of crack cocaine on his person and another 80 grams of cocaine in a backpack.  The investigation uncovered that Green had been involved in the distribution and possessing with the intent to distribute more than 2 kilograms of methamphetamine and 4 kilograms of cocaine.   On November 23, 2020, while Green was awaiting sentencing in this case, Green assaulted another inmate.  He was convicted of assault in state court on July 2021.

Green has prior federal convictions for Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base and 500 grams or more of cocaine.

This is part of operation “Fighting Jelly Fish” which is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launders, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Craven, Lenoir, and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Offices and the New Bern, Beaufort, Kinston, Holly Ridge and Goldsboro Police Departments and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:20-cr-00005-FL.

A Bertie County man was sentenced to 300 months in prison for trafficking cocaine, cocaine base, and methamphetamine and conspiring to commit money laundering in northeastern North Carolina.  On August 2, 2021, Levar Anthony Leary pled guilty or was convicted of the charges.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, Leary, 41, organized and led a drug trafficking organization from 2016 to early 2021, that was responsible for distributing cocaine, cocaine base (crack), methamphetamine, heroin, and marijuana throughout northeastern North Carolina. Leary and his associates used a hotel, nightclub, and convenience store in Bertie County as locations to distribute narcotics and launder money. Using surveillance and technical investigative tools, agents were able to track and observe Leary travel all over the country, including California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia, in order to obtain large quantities of drugs and return to North Carolina. A number of Leary’s associates have been convicted and sentenced: Johnny Earl Jordan (72 months); Fred Rudolph Robbins, Jr. (90 months); and Alexander Leander Williams, Jr. (132 months). As a result of the investigation, law enforcement has seized numerous vehicles and properties used to conceal the profits of this illegal activity as well as recovered multiple firearms and additional narcotics.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; and the State Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. They were assisted by the United States Marshals Service; Joseph K. Roberts, Department of Justice Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Financial Investigations Section; the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office; Chowan County Sheriff’s Office; the Dare County Sheriff’s Office; the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office; the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office; the Perquimans County Sheriff’s Office; and the Elizabeth City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick J. Miller  prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-CR-5-D.

A traveler had more than a jacket on when arriving recently at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT).  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at CLT stopped a man attempting to smuggle over six pounds of cocaine into the United States.

On July 17, a CBP officer referred Xavier E. Ramirez, 23, of Brandon, Florida to further examination after Ramirez arrived on a flight from the Dominican Republic. There, CBP officers observed a bulge under Ramirez’s shirt after he removed his jacket. The bulge consisted of a white, powdery substance that field-tested positive for cocaine. The cocaine weighed over six pounds and had an estimated street value of about $215,000.00

“Any day that Customs and Border Protection officers can keep dangerous drugs from reaching our communities is a great day,” said Barry Chastain, CBP Area Port Director in Charlotte. “Narcotics interdiction remains an enforcement priority for CBP and it is one way in which CBP helps protect our citizens and our communities.”

Charlotte CBP officers turned Ramirez over to Homeland Security Investigations and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for state prosecution on felony possession and trafficking of cocaine.

Criminal charges are merely allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

CBP seized an average of 3,677 pounds of dangerous drugs every day across the United States last year. Learn more about what CBP accomplished during “A Typical Day” in 2020.

CBP’s border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. CBP officers screen international travelers and cargo and search for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality.

Follow the Director of CBP’s Atlanta’s Field Office on Twitter at @DFOAtlanta and on Instagram at @dfoatlanta for current events, human-interest stories and photos.