Atlanta, GA - Federal firearms dealer and her employee sentenced for selling guns to felons

Dawn Anderson, a/k/a “Prestige,” a federally licensed firearms dealer in Atlanta, doing business as Distincvision, LLC, a/k/a “Liquidation Outlet Center,” was sentenced on May 16, 2018 for making false entries in the records required to be kept by federal firearms dealers. Shawn Lewis, an employee... More...   $0 (05-21-2018 - GA)

Albany, GA - Cairo Convicted Felon Cary Brandon Smith Sentenced For Narcotics And Gun Charges Under Project Safe Neighborhoods

Senior United States District Court Judge W. Louis Sands sitting in Albany, Georgia, sentenced Cary Brandon Smith, age 33, of Cairo, GA, to 360 months imprisonment as the result of his plea of guilty earlier this year to 31 of 32 counts in an indictment charging ... More...   $0 (05-21-2018 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Former Atlanta Police Sergeant Sentenced To Prison for Using Excessive Force and Obstructing Investigation

Federal District Court Judge Steve C. Jones on May 7, 2018 sentenced Trevor King, 50, a former sergeant with the Atlanta Police Department to five years in prison for using excessive force when he arrested a Walmart shopper who the officer wrongfully suspected of shopli... More...   $0 (05-08-2018 - GA)

Valdosta, GA - Co-Conspirators Plead Guilty To Tax Fraud

Belinda Harris, age 33, of Valdosta, GA; Cynthia Clarkston, age 38, of Valdosta, GA; and Susie Hall Sherman, age 46, formerly of Valdosta, GA, all entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court April 4, 2018 before Senior District Court Judge Hugh Lawson. Co-defendants Tanya Franklin, age 42, of Valdosta, Georgia and Johnny Gary a/k/a ... More...   $0 (04-11-2018 - GA)

Dublin, GA - Physician Pleads Guilty To Drug Distribution and Money Laundering Conspiracies

Gynecologist George “Mack” Bird, III, 59, entered a guilty plea before Senior United States District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen, Jr. to charges of Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances and Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, both federal felonies carrying up to five years of imprisonme... More...   $0 (03-26-2018 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Orthopaedic and anesthesia providers to pay $3.2 million to settle false claim act allegations

Georgia Bone & Joint (GBJ), Southern Bone & Joint a/k/a Summit Orthopaedic Surgery Center (Summit Surgery Center), Southern Crescent Anesthesiology, PC (SCA), Sentry Anesthesia Management, LLC (Sentry), and David LaGuardia (LaGuardia) agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle allegatio... More...   $3200000 (03-29-2018 - GA)

Macon, GA - Felon With Firearm Sentenced To 98 Months In Prison

Charles E. Peeler, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announces that on March 15, 2018, Senior United States District Court Judge Hugh Lawson sentenced Michael Trevor Haynes, age 37, of Moultrie, GA, to 98 months imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted... More...   $0 (03-21-2018 - GA)

A jury awarded the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) and Contrice Travis back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages after finding that Travis’s employer, Exel, Inc., discriminated against her because of her sex. The discrimination occurred when Dave Harris, Travis’s supervisor, denied her a promotion in favor of Michael Pooler, a male employee. After the verdict, Exel ... More...   $0 (03-21-2018 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Georgia Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Filing Fraudulent Tax Return

An Atlanta, Georgia, woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison for filing a false tax return.

According to documents and evidence presented in court, Gianna C. Liady co-owned K-1 Financial, a tax return preparation firm operating in Atlanta, Georgia. In November 2017, Liady pleaded gu... More...   $0 (03-20-2018 - GA)

Macon, GA - Felon With Firearm Sentenced To 75 Months In Prison

Senior United States District Court Judge Hugh Lawson sentenced Jahmal Malcom McGee, age 24, of Valdosta, GA, to 75 months of imprisonment for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sentence was handed down on March 14, 2018 in Valdosta, Georgia.

Mr. McGee pled guilty to the charge on Octob... More...   $0 (03-18-2018 - GA)

Tifton Drug Dealer Held Accountable For Heroin Overdose Death

United States District Court Judge Leslie J. Abrams sentenced Bobby Earl Grantham, Jr., age 49, of Tifton, GA, to 150 months imprisonment for the offense of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Mr. Grantham had pled guilty to the offense on March 1, 2107. The drug distribution conspiracy to wh... More...   $0 (02-23-2018 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Former Jail Sergeant Sentenced to Federal Prison For Abusing Inmate at DeKalb County Jail

Dwight Hamilton, 54, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on February 9, 2018 to one year in prison, three years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment for abusing a female inmate by tasing her without any legitimate justification. Leonard Dreyer, Hamilton’s former supervisor... More...   $0 (02-09-2018 - GA)

Columbus, GA - Columbus Man Sentenced For Receiving Child Pornography

William Tooley, 53, of Columbus, Georgia, entered a plea on January 29, 2018 to receipt of child pornography. Mr. Tooley entered his plea of guilty before the Honorable Clay D. Land of the United States District Court in Columbus, Georgia, who imposed a sentence of 360 months imprisonment (30 years). Mr. Tooley will a... More...   $0 (01-31-2018 - GA)

Gainesville, GA - Eye care provider convicted of Medicare and Medicaid fraud

Matilda Lynn Prince has been convicted by a federal jury on January 16, 2018 of twenty-nine counts of health care fraud for filing fraudulent claims with Medicare and the Georgia Medicaid program for optometry and ophthalmology services that were never provided to patients.

“Prince stole hundreds of thou... More...   $0 (01-22-2018 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Senior MARTA executive sentenced to federal prison for causing MARTA to pay $500,000 for work never performed

Joseph J. Erves was sentenced on January 16, 2018 to two years, nine months in federal prison for orchestrating a false invoicing scheme that resulted in MARTA paying more than $500,000 for maintenance work that was never performed and for then funneling most of that... More...   $0 (01-22-2018 - GA)

Athens, GA - Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced To 188 Months In Prison

Shannon Dale Cooper, age 33, of Sumner, Georgia, was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine by United States District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal in Athens, Georgia on January 4, 2018.

In his plea agreement, Mr. Cooper admitted that on December ... More...   $0 (01-11-2018 - GA)

This appeal requires us to decide whether Georgia aggravated assault as defined by O.C.G.A § 16-5-21(a)(2) is a crime of violence under the operative version of § 2L1.2 of the Sentencing Guidelines. Defendant Paulino Morales-Alonso was convicted in 2016 of illegally reentering the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(2), after having been deported following a conviction for a... More...   $0 (01-05-2018 - GA)

Athens, GA - Armed Heroin Dealer Sentenced To 262 Months In Prison

Darren Shawn Smith, age 49, of Athens, Georgia, was sentenced to 262 months imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute heroin and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking by United States District Court Judge C. Ashley Royal in Athens, Georgia on January 4, 2018.

In his plea agreement, Mr... More...   $0 (01-05-2018 - GA)

Jacqueline Lewis, an African-American police detective in Union City,
Georgia, was terminated abruptly from her position after about ten years of service.
The ostensible reason was that Ms. Lewis was absent without leave—this
notwithstanding that the Union City Police Department (“UCPD”) only days
earlier had placed her on indefinite administrative leave pending resolution of theMore...   $0 (12-15-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Senior MARTA executive pleads guilty to false invoice scam causing MARTA to pay $500,000 for work never performed

Joseph J. Erves, MARTA’s former Senior Director of Operations, has pleaded guilty in federal court to orchestrating a false invoice scheme that resulted in MARTA paying more than $500,000 for maintenance work that was never performed and for funneling most of the... More...   $0 (09-20-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - ANMED Health agreed to pay $7 million to settle False Claims Act allegations

AnMed Health, a South Carolina hospital based in Anderson, South Carolina, agreed to pay over $7 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting false Medicare claims. The settlement announced today resolves allegations that AnMed Health knowingly disregarded the ... More...   $7000000 (10-01-2017 - GA)

We granted rehearing en banc to review the constitutionality of a municipal
ordinance prohibiting the sale of sexual devices in light of several recent Supreme
Court decisions which, it was argued, call into question the continued vitality of
this Court’s decision in Williams v. Attorney General (Williams IV), 378 F.3d
1232 (11th Cir. 2004). After we agreed to take the case en ba... More...   $0 (08-23-2017 - GA)

Savannah, GA - Armed Con Artist Convicted Of Bank Fraud and Federal Firearms Offenses

July 26, 2017, following a two-day trial before U. S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood, a federal jury convicted Savannah resident Maynard Sanders, 33, of 15 counts of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and aiding and abetting theft by a bank employee. Sanders’ convictions came on the heels of a... More...   $0 (07-26-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Pain Clinic and its owner agree to pay $250,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act

Atlanta Medical Clinic (“AMC”), which is an Atlanta-based pain management clinic, and Dr. Timothy Dembowski (AMC’s owner), have agreed to pay the United States $250,000 to resolve allegations that they violated Medicare rules and the False Claims Act (“FCA”)... More...   $0 (08-02-2017 - GA)

While in Texas, James Dale Little received and opened on his smartphone an email containing child pornography. He didn’t delete it. After Little moved from Case: 16-10664 Date Filed: 07/28/2017 Page: 1 of 15
2
Texas to Tampa, Florida, he used that same email account (which contained the email he received in Texas) to send at least one email containing child pornography. He was convicted of... More...   $0 (07-31-2017 - GA)

Savannah, GA - South Georgia Farmers to Pay Up To $675,000 to Resolve False Claims Act Suit

Bacon County (Georgia) farmers Julian Rigby, Jasper Allen and Benjamin Swain, as well as several entities owned by Rigby, agreed to pay up to $675,000 to resolve allegations that they violated and conspired to violate the False Claims Act. This settlement is the first False Claims Act recovery invo... More...   $675000 (06-14-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Georgia Dealer and Title Clerk Sentenced in Odometer Fraud Scheme

Two Georgia residents were sentenced in Atlanta, Georgia for their roles in a conspiracy to alter odometers of used motor vehicles.

Burnett owned and operated Lifestyle Auto Broker LLC, a Georgia corporation that bought and sold used motor vehicles; McLaughlin was a former customer service specialist ... More...   $0 (05-31-2017 - GA)

When Donald Mikko was hired by the Atlanta Police Department as the
director of its crime lab, he negotiated a contract that allowed him to perform
forensics consulting work for private parties in his spare time. After a Georgia
district attorney learned that Mikko had written an expert report for and planned to
testify in Florida on behalf of the defense in a criminal case, the di... More...   $0 (05-30-2017 - GA)

Defense Contractor Resolves Criminal, Civil and Administrative Liability Related to Food Contracts

Agility Public Warehousing Co. KSC (Agility), a Kuwaiti company, has agreed to globally resolve criminal, civil, and administrative cases arising from allegations that Agility overcharged the United States when performing contracts with the Department of Defense (DOD) to supply food for U.S.... More...   $0 (05-26-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Fourth Defendant Convicted for Role in Atlanta-Based Mexican Sex Trafficking Ring

Severiano Martinez-Rojas, also known as “Negro” and “Gato,” of Tenancingo, Tlaxcala, Mexico, has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of sex trafficking and admitted his participation in the sex trafficking of three victims.

“This defendant’s guilty plea represents another succ... More...   $0 (04-25-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Energy & Process Corp. agrees to pay $4.6 Million for alleged False Claims Regarding Defective Steel Rebar and Quality Control Failures in Nuclear Waste Treatment Facility

Energy & Process Corporation (“E&P”), of Tucker, Georgia, agreed to pay the United States $4.6 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly failing to perform mandator... More...   $4200000 (04-25-2017 - GA)

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows
that Morrison and Byrd were involved romantically and lived together in an
1 Byrd was killed on July 10, 2008. On August 27, 2010, a grand jury indicted Morrison and charged him with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Morrison’s trial ... More...   $0 (04-13-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Atlanta area Brothers Sentenced for Corporate Hijacking Scheme

Antonio Sandridge and Rodney Sandridge were sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for mail fraud conspiracy. The defendants, who are brothers, operated a fraud ring where they hijacked corporate identities and used them to fraudulently order over $500,000 in electronics. Both defendants were previous... More...   $0 (04-05-2017 - GA)

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows
that Morrison and Byrd were involved romantically and lived together in an
1 Byrd was killed on July 10, 2008. On August 27, 2010, a grand jury indicted Morrison and charged him with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and unlawful possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Morrison’s trial... More...   $0 (04-04-2017 - GA)

Former Bibb County Public Schools Employee Pleads Guilty To Student Loan Fraud

Queen Adeboyejo, age 64, of Perry, Georgia entered a guilty plea in federal court in Macon to Student Loan Fraud on March 15, 2017 before the Honorable Leslie Abrams, United States District Judge. Through her plea, Ms. Adeboyejo admitted that she obtained federal student loans fraudulently by using the personal... More...   $0 (03-15-2017 - GA)

Jameka Evans appeals the sua sponte dismissal of her employment discrimination complaint, filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., in which she alleged that she was discriminated against because of her sexual orientation and gender non-conformity, and retaliated against after she lodged a complaint with her employer’s human resources department. We have carefully reviewed the Appellant’s and a... More...   $0 (03-14-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Atlanta-area Dentist Sentenced for nearly $1 Million in Medicaid Fraud

Dr. Oluwatoyin Solarin has been sentenced to one year, six months in federal prison for filing false claims with the Georgia Medicaid program totaling nearly $1 million.

“Solarin cheated the Medicaid program by submitting fraudulent claims, even billing the government for procedures she allegedly... More...   $0 (02-16-2017 - GA)

Atlanta, GA - Antique Bookbinder Sentenced to Prison for False Invoices in Gutenberg Bible Fraud Scheme

Michael Chrisman, an Ohio bookbinder, has been sentenced to one year and nine months in federal prison for stealing nearly $500,000 from his Atlanta business partner in a bookbinding project. The defendant sent false invoices claiming that he completed more than 70 sets of replica Guten... More...   $0 (12-19-2016 - GA)

Viewed in a light most favorable to the jury’s verdicts, the evidence
adduced at trial established as follows. Adams is a Vietnam War veteran who
has been diagnosed and treated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); he
1 In January 2007, a Laurens County grand jury returned an indictment charging Adams with malice murder, felony murder (aggravated assault), and aggravated assault.... More...   $0 (11-19-2016 - GA)

Appellant James Etheridge McGuyton, Jr., faced multiple charges,
including murder, relating to the November 22, 2012, shooting death of Kenneth
Seek, Jr. As a result of the State’s filing of a recidivist notice, appellant was
facing a mandatory sentence of life without parole if convicted. On the eve of
trial, appellant entered negotiated guilty pleas, pursuant to Alford,1 to the... More...   $0 (11-19-2016 - GA)