U.S. Attorney | FFXnow

Mount Vernon man pleads guilty to transporting teen for sex

Published November 16, 2022 at 11:45AM

The Justice Department logo (via DOJ)

A 29-year-old man from Mount Vernon could face life in prison after pleading guilty to transporting a teen for sexual purposes, the Department of Justice announced yesterday.

Apipat Vutipawat pleaded guilty last Thursday (Nov. 10) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to charges that, from May 29, 2020 through June 2, 2020, he transported an unidentified minor from Virginia to Pennsylvania “with the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

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Custom home builder pleads guilty to defrauding McLean residents

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 9, 2022 at 11:00AM | Updated November 9, 2022 at 5:08PM

A construction worker on a house building frame (via Josh Olalde on Unsplash)

(Updated at 5:10 p.m.) A 57-year-old contractor from Centreville could face up to two decades in jail for using his custom home building company to defraud McLean homeowners.

Pedro Felipe Valdes Sanchez pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding “several couples” who hired his company to build or remodel their houses in and around McLean, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.

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MS-13 members get life in prison for 2016 murders at Lincolnia park

By Angela Woolsey

Published November 3, 2022 at 9:30AM | Updated February 28, 2024 at 7:05PM

Holmes Run Stream Valley Park (via Google Maps)

(Updated at 6:55 p.m. on 2/28/2024) Five MS-13 members have been sentenced to life in prison yesterday for kidnapping and killing two teens at Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in 2016.

Elmer Zelaya Martinez, Ronald Herrera Contreras, Henry Zelaya Martinez, Pablo Velasco Barrera, and Duglas Ramirez Ferrera were each handed six terms of life imprisonment as well as two 120-month terms by U.S. District Court Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr., the Justice Department announced yesterday.

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Merrifield real estate agent and husband get prison time for stealing identities

By Angela Woolsey

Published October 17, 2022 at 2:15PM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 4:02PM

A model house with a magnifying glass and piggy bank in the background (via Photo by Tierra Mallorca/Unsplash)

A couple in Merrifield have been sentenced to prison for using the wife’s real estate job to steal people’s identities.

Caprice Foster, 51, and Marcus Foster, 33, took personal identifying information from at least nine people and used it to “buy a luxury vehicle, lease high-end residences, and obtain loans and credit,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said Friday (Oct. 14).

News

Serial armed robber convicted for role in Herndon robberies

By Fatimah Waseem

Published September 28, 2022 at 10:15AM

Fairfax County police car lights (file photo)

An Alexandria man was convicted earlier this month in connection with a series of armed gas station and convenience store robberies in Herndon.

Rashawn Perkins, 28, allegedly wore a ski mask and used a firearm during four robberies over five weeks, according to court documents.

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Driver in fatal Mount Vernon crash sentenced to prison, prosecutors say

By Angela Woolsey

Published September 20, 2022 at 11:00AM

The U.S. District Court in Alexandria (via Google Maps)

A 22-year-old man from Alexandria will serve over two years in prison for a fatal, single-car crash on the George Washington Memorial Parkway that involved speeding, alcohol and drug use, the Department of Justice announced last week.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Samuel Meyer was driving south on the GW Parkway on May 31, 2020 when he lost control of his Toyota Tacoma truck around 5:45 p.m. near Mount Vernon Circle.

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McLean man sentenced to 3 years in prison for $1.6M call center scam

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 6, 2022 at 11:45AM

Headphones with mic by a laptop (via Petr Macháček/Unsplash)

A 33-year-old man from McLean will go to prison for three years after participating in a scam involving technical support call centers, Department of Justice prosecutors announced on Friday (June 3).

Bruhaspaty Prasad “conspired with several other individuals” to defraud more than 1,300 people, most of them elderly, out of $1.6 million between April 2016 and September 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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Morning Notes

By FFXnow.com

Published May 25, 2022 at 7:30AM

Reston Town Center set up for theTephra ICA Arts Festival (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

What to Know About Monkeypox — “More monkeypox cases have been reported in the United States since the first illness was reported in Massachusetts last week. But there’s no need for Virginia residents to panic, health officials say as they learn more about how the viral disease is spread.” [Patch]

County to Talk About Youth Mental Health Issues and Drug Use — “As a parent, our kids’ wellbeing is my top priority. Today, the Board supported my motion to convene a roundtable with reps from [Department of Family Services], our Opioid Task Force, clinical pros, the BOS and school board to directly tackle youth mental health & substance use.” [Jeff McKay/Twitter]

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Gang members convicted for 2019 murder after West Falls Church abduction

By David Taube

Published May 9, 2022 at 10:30AM

FBI logo (via FBI)

A federal jury has convicted three gang members of killing a 21-year-old in 2019 after they abducted the man at a Fairfax County shopping plaza.

Peter Le, 24, of Dunn Loring; Young Yoo, 26, of Centreville; and Joseph Lamborn, 28, of California, were convicted in of murder, kidnapping, and other charges on Friday (May 6) in U.S. district court in Alexandria.

Countywide

Great Falls man indicted in alleged health care fraud targeting Walter Reed medical center

By David Taube

Published April 8, 2022 at 9:00AM

Walter Reed medical center in Maryland (via Walter Reed)

A group of eight people, including a 59-year-old Fairfax County man, has been charged with engaging in a scheme to defraud Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the federal government, authorites say.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland said Wednesday (April 6) that Akbar Masood of Great Falls was indicted by a grand jury for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and related charges.