On October 17, 2012, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that Eric Prokopi of Gainesville, Florida, was arrested for illegally importing multiple dinosaur fossils into the United States.  He was arrested by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents.  

The complaint against Prokopi states he conspired to import at Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton from Mongolia, a Saurolophus angustirostris skeleton from Mongolia, and a Microraptor skeleton from China.  Prokopi is charged with one count of conspiring to smuggle illegal goods, one count of possessing stolen property, and one count of making false statements.  He faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison.  

According to court documents, Prokopi owns a business in Florida called “Everything Earth,” and he describes himself as a commercial paleontologist.  He trades partial skeletons, but he unlawfully transported fossils from foreign countries from 2010 to 2012.  The fossils from Mongolia are the only ones of their kind, and they lawfully belong to the Mongolian government.  

The Tyrannosaurus bataar fossil is about 70 million years old, and Prokopi misrepresented the contents of the package when he imported it into the United States.  The skeleton was later sold at an auction in New York City for over $1 million.  

Prokopi sold three other fossils from Mongolia as well.  He sold a Saurolophus angustirostris fossil to the I.M. Chait gallery in California, and he also sold two fossils of a Gallimimus and Oviraptor mongoliensis.  He imported fossils of a small flying dinosaur called a Microraptor from China.  

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated, “As alleged, our recent seizure of the Tyrannosaurus bataar skeleton from Eric Prokopi was merely the tip of the iceberg—our investigation uncovered a one-man black market in prehistoric fossils.  In addition to our commitment to ensuring that these relics are returned to their countries of origin, we are equally committed to shutting down Prokopis illegal business and holding him to account for his alleged crimes.”

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

On October 16, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced that Oscar Marquez was charged with four counts of violating the Hobbs Act and four counts of using a firearm to commit the crime of violence.  He violated the Hobbs Act by “interfering by robbery with a business involved in interstate commerce.”

According to the indictment, Marquez robbed a total of four businesses in Albuquerque between May 28, 2012 and June 9, 2012.  He used a firearm in all of the robberies, and he discharged the firearm in the last two robberies.  The co-defendant, Rebecca Aquilar, was involved in the last set of robberies.  

Marquez is charged with robbing Captain D’s restaurant on May 28, robbing Cricket Wireless Store on May 29, robbing King Wireless Store on June 7, and robbing another Cricket Wireless Store on June 9.  He used a firearm during all of the robberies, and he discharged the weapons during the robberies of the Cricket Wireless Stores.  

Marquez faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 for each count of violating the Hobbs Act.  Using a firearm in furtherance of a crime has a mandatory sentence of 7 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.  Discharging a firearm during a crime of violence has a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.  

Rebecca Aguilar was arraigned and released on the same day to a halfway house.  She is on supervision until her trial.  

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Violent Crimes and Major Offender Squad as well as the Albuquerque Police Department’s Armed Robbery Unit.  The two squads work under a program called that New Mexico Federal Gang Task Force which targets the most dangerous offenders.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On November 28, 2012, Ashley Nicole Richards and Brent Justice of Houston were indicted for making what US Attorney Kenneth Magidson calls “animal crush videos.”  Both of the defendants have remained in state custody since August 15, 2012, but they are expected to go into federal custody and make an initial court appearance soon.  

An “animal crush video” is any “photograph, motion-picture film, video or digital recording, or electronic image that depicts actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians is intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury, and is obscene” as defined under the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010.  

According to the seven-count indictment, Justice and Richards created eight videos showing the torturing and killing of puppies and kittens.  The disturbing and obscene videos were created from February 2010 to August 2012 and then distributed.  Authorities have not noted if the heinous videos were distributed over the internet or by hand.  

Richards and Justice remain innocent until proven guilty.  

If they are convicted, Richards and Justice face a maximum penalty of seven years in prison for each of the animal crush charges and up to five years for each obscenity charge.  Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release as well.  

The Houston Police Department initially investigated the case and began to work with the FBI’s Field Office in Houston.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack is in charge of prosecution.  

It’s a sad reality when innocent animals that could have otherwise had a happy and long life are subjected to such grotesque human acts.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
 

On November 21, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced that Joshua Bodean Smith of Colorado Springs, Colorado was found guilty of two counts of armed robbery that violated the Hobbs Act.  He was also convicted of two counts of possessing a firearm during a violent crime.  

Bianca Sota, the co-defendant, was named in the indictment, but she was acquitted of similar crimes.  

Smith is scheduled for sentencing on February 22, 2012 before U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello.  

The indictment and facts made at trial indicate Smith robbed a store on South Nevada Avenue called Cricket Communication Store on August 31, 2010. He also robbed a Burger King restaurant on October 11, 2010 near the Fort Carson military base, and he used a firearm during both of the robberies.  

Smith now faces up to 20 years for each counts of armed robbery that violated the Hobbs Act.  He faces a mandatory and consecutive 10 years to life for using a firearm during the first robbery, and he faces a mandatory and consecutive 25 years to life for using a firearm during the second robbery.

U.S. Attorney John Walsh stated: “The defendant in this case used a deadly weapon during two robberies. Thanks to the trial team, the FBI, Colorado Springs Police Department, and Army Investigators, he faces decades in federal prison—and Colorado is a safer place.”

The FBI, Colorado Springs Police Department, and the Army Criminal Investigation Division at Fort Carson investigated the case.  

James Yacone, FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge, stated: “On behalf of the FBI, I would like to thank the jury for its service.  The verdict for Smith is a just result in light of the violent acts he committed and the manner in which he endangered innocent citizens.”

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
 

On November 9, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland reported that Jason James Savedoff of New York, New York was sentenced to 366 days in prison and two years of supervised release.  He conspired to steals original documents from Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, John Adams, and multiple other historical figures from museums and historical societies.  

During the plea agreement, Savedoff admitted that he and Barry Landau, the co-defendant, stole manuscripts and other documents from the Maryland Historical Society, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Connecticut Historical Society, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.  

Before stealing the documents, the two men made lists of documents from important historical figures and figured out what signatures had the most value.  They often visited the museums and posed as researchers.  They used aliases to hide their true identities, and they stole the documents by hiding them in hidden pockets in their sport coats and outerwear.  The co-defendants were able to distract museum curators as they stole the documents.  

The defendants made a checklist for each document that included the author, the document’s date, the document’s collection, the museum card catalogue number, any microfilm for the document, markings on the document, and more.  The defendants were able to hide the card catalogue entries so museum aids were unable to notice the document was missing.  

When Landau’s apartment was searched, authorities found of 6,000 items that were stolen around the United States.  These documents were signed by George Washington, John Adams, Franklin Roosevelt, Marie Antoinette, Karl Marx, and Sir Isaac Newton.  The documents are in the process of being returned to museums and proper owners.  

Landau was sentenced to seven years in prison, and he is required to pay restitution of $46,525.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation
 

On October 18, 2012, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that Mohammad Reza “Ray” Hajian of Tampa was sentenced to four years in federal prison for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Iranian trade regulations as well.  Hajian was also sentenced to a year of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $10 million.  

Court documents show that Hajian illegally exported expensive and complex computer equipment to Iran from 2003 to 2011.  The transactions are in direct violation of the U.S. embargo on transactions between Iran and the United States.

Hajian worked with other co-conspirators to ship the computers and electronic equipment.  The co-conspirators routed all shipments, payments and travel between the two countries through the United Arab Emirates.  They contacted only through email, used fake identities, and communicated in code to hide the extent of their activities.  Hajian is believed to have shipped about $14.85 million worth of computers and electronic equipment to Iran during the operation.  

Hajian pleaded guilty to the charges on July 11, 2012, and his companies—RH International LLC, Nexiant LLC, and P & P Computers LLC—pleaded guilty as well.  

Sue McCormick, special agent in charge of HSI Tampa, stated, “The magnitude and scope of the threats facing the United States has never been greater than today, and that’s why Homeland Security Investigations investigates individuals who try to export sensitive technologies to hostile nations.”  

Robert Luzzi, special agent in charge of the Security’s Office of Export Enforcement Miami Field Office, noted: “Parties who conspire to export to embargoed destinations such as Iran will be pursued and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”  

The sentencing of Hajian comes just a week later after the United States declared that Iran may have been responsible for the attempted cyber attack on the White House.  

Tensions continue to grow between the United States and Iran.  

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement