U.S. DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT ILLINOIS—The District Court system in the Southern District of Illinois had a busy week this past week in both Benton and East St. Louis. They’re presented here in subheads.
EAST ST. LOUIS MAN SENTENCED TO NEARLY ELEVEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR CRACK COCAINE OFFENSE
An East St. Louis man, convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison on October 17, 2014, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced Friday. Edward A. Banks, 42, of East St. Louis, Ill., received the 130 month sentence for possession of crack cocaine with intent to deliver. Following release from imprisonment, Banks will serve five years of supervised release. Banks pleaded guilty to the charges on July 9, 2014.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI) as part of its Operation Wild Wild East and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura Reppert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Neal Hong.
FAYETTEVILLE, ILLINOIS WOMAN SENTENCED FOR THEFT OF SOCIAL SECURITY SURVIVOR BENEFITS
Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Amber Dawn Adams, 34, of Fayetteville, Illinois, was sentenced today on an indictment charging that she committed theft of government funds. The district court sentenced Adams to three years of probation. Adams was also ordered to pay $9,059.00 in restitution back to the Social Security Administration and a $100 special assessment.
During her plea of guilty on July 1, 2014, Adams admitted that between March 2008 and August 2012, she was falsely claiming and receiving more than $9,000 in Title II – Survivor Benefits that were intended for the benefit of her child, when, in fact, the child did not live with her and Adams did not support the child between March 2008 and August 2012.
This is one of several fraud prosecutions on behalf of the Social Security Administration. On July 1, 2014, United States Attorney Stephen R. Wigginton said: “These cases are yet additional examples of the wide-spread fraud that plagues both state and federal programs that are in place to help those in our society who need that help the most. My office will continue to stand beside both federal and state agencies in taking every step necessary to find and prosecute those who steal from, and continue to defraud these vital programs. This is a theft from not only the needy, but from all of us.”
The investigation was conducted by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy R. Killian.
BELLEVILLE MAN SENTENCED FOR FAILURE TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER
Willie L. Carroll, Jr., a 50-year old, Belleville, Illinois, man was sentenced on October 17, 2014, in federal district court in East St. Louis, Illinois, for failure to register as a sex offender, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Carroll was sentenced to 13 months’ in prison; 5 years’ supervised release, fined $250 and ordered to pay $150 special assessment.
A compliance check conducted at his mother’s residence by law enforcement officials on June 26, 2013, revealed that he had not stayed there consistently since February 2013, and that he had been living with his fiancé in Missouri. Carroll moved to Missouri, after signing the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act Form on January 14, 2013, without registering as a sex offender in Missouri and updating his registration with the State of Illinois, as required under both Illinois law and the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Carroll was convicted of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse on May 1, 1991, in St. Clair County, Illinois.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak.
EAST ST. LOUIS MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FIREARM OFFENSE
On October 17, 2014, William Moore, a thirty year old East St. Louis man, pled guilty in Federal District Court, in East St. Louis, to Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Previously Convicted Felon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Moore is scheduled for sentencing on January 29, 2015, at which at which time he faces a maximum potential sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, not more than three years of supervised release after his prison term, and a mandatory special assessment of $100. Moore also agreed to the forfeiture of the two firearms involved in the offense. Court proceedings revealed that on December 30, 2013, United States Marshals executed a search warrant at Moore’s residence and located a Mossberg shotgun and a Colt revolver.
This case was investigated by the East St. Louis Police Department and the United States Marshals Service, and assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Steve B. Clark and Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hallock for prosecution.