SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas woman on felony charges after a drug investigation.
Luker photo Shawnee Co.
The Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) for the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department followed up on information regarding a non-school aged juvenile boy who was being exposed to unsafe living conditions that include a drug environment, according Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer.
The DEU served a search warrant on the mother’s residence located in the 1100 block of SW Lincoln in Topeka. They located narcotics and paraphernalia that would be in reach of the child. Members of DEU located the child and placed him into Police Protective Custody.
Police arrested the boy’s mother 26-year-old Montanna L. Luker of Topeka and booked her into the Shawnee County Jail on felony narcotic charges.
SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities report that they have seen a decrease this summer in the number of guns stolen from cars in Wichita.
According to Lt. Scott Bruno, 47 guns were stolen from cars during June and July in 2018. Only 26 were stolen in 2019 for a total of 120 guns so far this year after 250 were reported stolen in 2018.
The majority of the guns are stolen between midnight and 5a.m. after they are left in in cars overnight, according to Brunow.
The Wichita police department has started the Operation Save-A-Casing program. It is a partnership with law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal level and the community to combat firearm-related crime, according to the department web site.
The campaign works by submitting two firearm casings to a Wichita Police Department Officer after a gun theft has occurred. These casings are then submitted into National Integrated Ballistic Information Network known as NIBIN, a national database containing digital images of spent bullets and cartridge casings that were found at crime scenes or test-fired from confiscated firearms. This database can be searched for possible matches and if a “hit” occurs, the NIBIN lab sends that information to WPD investigators.
Participation is completely voluntary, however, we encourage the community to take part in an effort to reduce violent crime involving firearms.
DOUGLAS COUNTY—A woman injured in an accident just before 4p.m. August 16 in Douglas County has died.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2018 Jeep Cherokee driven by Kathy L. Robbins, 59, Independence, Mo., was westbound on U.S. 40 just south of 1802 Road driving erratically.
The vehicle left the roadway traveling through the west ditch and struck a tree.
EMS transported Robbins to KU Medical Center where she died Wednesday, according to the KHP. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating two stolen car suspects after they ran from a traffic stop and crashed.
GONZALEZ photo Sedgwick Co.
Just before 11:30p.m. Wednesday, police attempted to stop a Nissan Altima near the intersection of Harry and Bluff View in Wichita for a traffic violation, according to officer Charley Davidson.
The driver of the vehicle later identified as 23-year-old Ana Gonzalez refused to stop and sped away from officers.
A short time later, officers found the vehicle had crashed near the intersection of Harry and Lulu. They found Gonzalez and a passenger 28-year-old Donald Martin in the 1500 Block of South Patty. They were taken into custody without further incident, according to Davidson.
Investigators determined the car had been stolen early Wednesday.
Martin photo Sedgwick Co.
Gonzalez is being held on requested charges of felony evade and elude police, possession of stolen property, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, additional traffic charges and outstanding warrants. Martin is being held on requested charges that included auto theft, possession of a controlled substance, obstruct, possession of drug paraphernalia and a Kansas Department of Corrections Warrant. He has 8 previous convictions for theft, burglary, aggravated assault, criminal discharge of a firearm and aggravated escape from custody, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
LOS ANGELES – A 252-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday charges 80 defendants, most of whom are Nigerian nationals, with participating in a massive conspiracy to steal millions of dollars through a variety of fraud schemes and launder the funds through a Los Angeles-based money laundering network, according to the United State’s Attorney.
Suspects believed involved in a cyber crime and money laundering network as displayed at Thursday DOJ News Briefing
The indictment was unsealed after law enforcement authorities this morning arrested 14 defendants across the United States, with 11 of those arrests taking place in the Los Angeles region. Two defendants were already in federal custody on other charges, and one was arrested earlier this week. The remaining defendants are believed to be abroad, with most them located in Nigeria.
The indictment alleges that the 80 defendants and others used various online fraud schemes – including business email compromise (BEC) frauds, romance scams, and schemes targeting the elderly – to defraud victims out of millions of dollars. According to a criminal complaint also unsealed today, co-conspirators based in Nigeria, the United States and other countries contacted the lead defendants in the indictment – Valentine Iro, 31, of Carson, and Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe, 38, of Gardena, both Nigerian citizens – for bank and money-service accounts that could receive funds fraudulently obtained from victims. Once members of the conspiracy convinced victims to send money under false pretenses, Iro and Igbokwe coordinated the receipt of funds and oversaw an extensive money-laundering network, according to the 145-page indictment.
The indictment and criminal complaint allege that Iro and Igbokwe, who were among those arrested Thursday morning, were involved in schemes resulting in the fraudulent transfer of at least $6 million in fraudulently-obtained funds – and the overall conspiracy was responsible for the attempted theft of at least an additional $40 million.
The fraudsters targeted victims in the United States and across the globe, including individuals, small and large businesses, and law firms. Some of the victims of the conspiracy lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fraud schemes, and many were elderly.
“This case is part of our ongoing efforts to protect Americans from fraudulent online schemes and to bring to justice those who prey upon American citizens and businesses,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna. “Today, we have taken a major step to disrupt criminal networks that use BEC schemes, romance scams and other frauds to fleece victims. This indictment sends a message that we will identify perpetrators – no matter where they reside – and we will cut off the flow of ill-gotten gains.”
“Today’s announcement highlights the extensive efforts that organized criminal groups will engage in to perpetrate BEC schemes that target American citizens and their hard-earned assets,” said Assistant Director in Charge Paul Delacourt of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Billions of dollars are lost annually, and we urge citizens to be aware of these sophisticated financial schemes to protect themselves or their businesses from becoming unsuspecting victims. The FBI is committed to working with our partner agencies worldwide to continue to identify these cyber criminals and to dismantle their networks.”
Iro and Igbokwe essentially were brokers of fraudulent bank accounts. According to the indictment, Iro and Igbokwe collected bank accounts, fielded requests for bank account information, provided that information to co-conspirators around the world, and laundered the money obtained from victims – all of this in exchange for a cut of the money stolen from victims of the various fraud schemes.
If a bank account with a specific business name was required to trick a business-victim into making a payment, Iro and Igbokwe often coordinated with “money mules” to open accounts that could receive funds obtained, according to court documents. In addition to making the fake business name mirror the name of a legitimate company, members of the conspiracy routinely filed fictitious business name statements with the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder’s Office that were presented to banks when the fraudulent accounts were opened.
Once a victim deposited funds into a bank account or a money services account, Iro and Igbokwe allegedly coordinated with others to further launder the funds. Members of the conspiracy sometimes wired funds to other bank accounts under their control; in other cases, they simply withdrew funds as cash or negotiable instruments such as cashier’s checks.
When stolen funds were withdrawn as cash, the defendants frequently used illicit money exchangers to move funds overseas, generally avoiding transferring the funds directly through banking institutions, the indictment alleges. To do this, Iro and Igbokwe coordinated the transfer of a victim’s funds from a fraudulent bank account they controlled to U.S. bank accounts belonging to illicit money exchangers. Those money exchangers, in turn, used a Nigerian banking application to transfer other funds in naira (₦), the currency of Nigeria, from Nigerian bank accounts they controlled to the Nigerian bank accounts specified by Iro and Igbokwe. This method was used to transfer millions of dollars to Nigerian co-conspirators without directly transferring funds overseas. The indictment alleges that Jerry Ikogho, 50, of Carson (who was taken into custody on Sunday), and Adegoke Moses Ogungbe, 34, of Fontana, were among those who served as illicit money exchangers for the conspiracy.
Each of the 80 defendants named in the indictment is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to launder money, and aggravated identity theft. A number of the defendants also face substantive fraud and money laundering charges.
Additionally, Iro, Igbokwe, Ikogho, Ogungbe and three other defendants –Izuchukwu Kingsley Umejesi, 30, of Los Angeles, Tityaye Marina Mansbangura, 33, of Palmdale, and Obi Madekwe, 31, of Nigeria – are charged with operating illegal money transmitting businesses. Ogungbe and Mansbangura were also among those arrested this morning, and Umejesi is a fugitive currently being sought by authorities.
Iro, Igbokwe and Chuks Eroha, 39, face additional charges for attempting to destroy their phones when the FBI executed a search warrant in July 2017. Iro also is charged with lying to the FBI in an interview conducted during the search. The complaint alleges that, when the FBI arrived to conduct the court-authorized search at Iro’s apartment in Carson, Iro broke his phone in half, while Igbokwe and Eroha threw phones from a bedroom window of the apartment. While Iro claimed he previously had broken the phone during an argument with his wife, the complaint details how the FBI was able to determine that the phone was operational until seconds after the FBI knocked on Iro’s apartment door to execute the search warrant. Eroha is believed to have fled to Nigeria shortly after the FBI executed the warrant.
The charges contained in the criminal complaint and indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
This investigation is being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the United States Department of State provided substantial assistance during the investigation.
Several agencies provided support during today’s takedown or during the investigation, including the United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and the California Franchise Tax Board.
Many of the FBI’s Legal Attachés provided assistance throughout this investigation, as did the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, and foreign authorities around the world. In particular, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office thank the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Osnabrück, Germany for their contributions.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that a former Kansas county prosecutor does not have absolute immunity in lawsuits filed by a man who spent nearly 16 years in prison for a murder his brother later confessed to committing in a suicide note.
Floyd Bledsoe was exonerated after spending 16 years in prison. He told lawmakers that financial compensation from the state would help him establish a footing in life that prison denied him. CREDIT STEPHEN KORANDA / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 16 upheld a lower court ruling in a lawsuit filed by Floyd Bledsoe against former Jefferson County prosecutor Jim Vanderbilt and others, who Bledsoe claims fabricated evidence and conspired to convict him in the 1999 rape and murder of 14-year-old Camille Arfmann near Oskaloosa.
Bledsoe was released from prison in 2015 after his brother, Tom, killed himself and said in a note that he had killed the girl. Bledsoe received a $1 million settlement in May from the state of Kansas for his wrongful conviction and incarceration.
Bledsoe filed a federal lawsuit alleging his constitutional rights were violated by Jefferson County officials, including Vanderbilt.
“We affirm the district court’s decision that defendant Vanderbilt does not enjoy absolute immunity from suit for allegedly fabricating evidence against plaintiff during the preliminary investigation of C.A.’s (Camille Arfmann) murder,” the appellate court said.
Arfmann was kidnapped and shot to death in rural Jefferson County in November 1999. Tom Bledsoe was originally charged with murder after he confessed led authorities to the body. But shortly afterward, those charges were dropped and Floyd Bledsoe was arrested. He was convicted in 2000 of murder, kidnapping and indecent liberties with a child and sentenced to life in prison.
Floyd Bledsoe was freed in 2015 after DNA testing showed evidence implicated his brother in the case. Tom Bledsoe killed himself and left several notes confessing to the crimes, including a note that said, in part, “I sent an innocent man to prison. The Jefferson County police and county attorney Jim Vanderbilt made me do it.”
Vanderbilt’s law license was suspended in 2005 and again in 2011 for violations in other cases. It has not been reinstated. His attorney, Patric Linden, said Vanderbilt did not want to comment because the case is still in litigation.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge in Kansas has ruled that a law making it a crime to “encourage” or “induce” immigrants to enter or live in the country illegally is unconstitutional.
CREDIT ROBERT J. DOLE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE
The U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia issued his ruling from the bench Wednesday before throwing out the convictions of Jose Felipe Hernandez-Calvillo and Mauro Papalotzi. Prosecutors said the men, who themselves are in the country illegally, managed crews of workers who installed drywall for a Lawrence company.
After they were convicted of conspiring with supervisors to violate the law, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in a similar case that encouraging immigrants to be in the country illegally is protected speech under the First Amendment.
Kansas isn’t governed by the Ninth Circuit, but Murguia found the argument persuasive. He said in his ruling that he was adopting the Ninth Circuit court’s analysis “in full” and agreed that the law is “overbroad.” Four others who also were charged in 2016 with violating the law, including the company’s owner, pleaded guilty in 2017 to misdemeanors.
The law was passed by Congress in 1952 and has been amended several times since then. Violations carry a sentence of up to five years in prison, with another five tacked on if the defendant acted for “commercial advantage or private financial gain.”
“The important thing, other than the First Amendment issue, is that the government was using this (law) to charge people who did nothing more than make a job available to an undocumented person, whether or not they had direct knowledge that the person was undocumented,” said Hernandez-Calvillo’s attorney, Tom Bradshaw.
“The statute requires that when you ‘encourage’ or ‘induce,’ you know the person was here illegally. But the government has played loose with that.”
Jim Cross, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, said in an email that his office “is evaluating the judge’s ruling at this time” and had not made a decision about its next step. If prosecutors appeal, that sets up the potential for the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Kansas, to overturn Murguia’s ruling. That would create a conflict between two federal circuits, setting the stage for a possible Supreme Court decision to resolve the issue.
The two men whose convictions Murguia threw out could still be deported, although the government has not initiated deportation proceedings against them. Bradshaw said his client is raising a son who was born in the U.S. and just graduated from high school.
BARTON COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 12:30p.m. Thursday in Great Bend.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Toyota Tundra driven by James W. Juergensen, 71, Great Bend, was making a right turn onto 19th Street at Heizer Street when the pickup struck Sreehitha Kadiyala, 23, Great Bend, walking northbound crossing 19th street.
EMS transported Kadiyala to the hospital in Great Bend. Juergensen was not injured.
MANHATTAN — Law enforcement and school district authorities are investigating an alleged social media threat in Manhattan.
Snapchat
On Wednesday, a citizen alerted the Riley County Police Department that a video had been posted to the social media messaging phone app Snapchat which depicted a 15-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl holding what appeared to be a gun and making threatening statements, according to Captain Josh Kyle.
Preliminary investigation indicates the video was directed at a different 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy.
All the parties mentioned are students at Manhattan High School West Campus.
USD 383 has assisted RCPD during this investigation and all involved parties including parents have been contacted, according to Kyle. The video did not include any threats to the safety of Manhattan High School.
No arrests have been made. The RCPD has not heightened its presence at the school in response to this incident.
