US Attorney’s Office New Mexico, Prosecutions, Arrests and Pleas Week of 5-25-24

Prosecutions, arrests and plea deals for week of 5-25-24Photo by2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.org

The US Attorneys office for New Mexico released the following information on cases prosecuted or plead out this week...

A Dulce man was sentenced to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to domestic assault by a habitual offender and assault by an intimate partner by strangling, suffocating or attempting to strangle or suffocate.

According to released information, on December 26, 2021, Matthew Vicenti, 34, an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, assaulted the mother of his two children over two days at his Dulce home on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. Vicenti slapped, pushed, punched and strangled the victim, breaking her phone and taking her shoes to prevent her from leaving. When police arrived, Vicenti turned off lights, cut the WiFi and covered the victim's mouth, and choked her, causing bruising to her throat. Vicenti was on probation at the time and was concerned about getting in trouble.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Vicenti will be required to serve three years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez made the announcement.

The Jicarilla Apache Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Bell is prosecuting the case.

A federal judge handed down a 20-month prison sentence to an Arizona man who pleaded guilty to an alcohol-fueled assault on his then-girlfriend that left her in need of extensive medical treatment.

According to available court records, on November 3, 2022, Norbert Michael Tsosie, 31, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Lukachukai, Arizona, assaulted his then girlfriend, Jane Doe, in Dulce, New Mexico. The couple had gotten into an argument earlier in the afternoon while shopping in Farmington. Although it seemed that they had resolved the argument, Tsosie suddenly and without warning became violent in the vehicle Jane Doe was driving. He punched the windshield and dashboard, kicked the window, then turned his attack on Jane Doe. He punched her face, kicked her with his boots, and choked her until she was nearly unconscious. Though she was injured, Jane Doe and Tsosie returned to Doe’s parents’ house.

The next day, Tsosie claimed not to remember what happened. Jane Doe told Tsosie that she wanted to end their relationship, then drove Tsosie around to try to find him a place to stay before she went to the emergency room at San Juan Regional Medical Center. Jane Doe suffered a concussion, cervical strain, ankle sprain, and facial contusion and required additional medical care in the weeks following due to the ongoing pain and injuries from the attack.

Upon his release from prison, Tsosie will be subject to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with the assistance of the Jicarilla Apache Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Bell is prosecuting the case.

U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker today sentenced Judy Grace Sellers to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to submit false tax returns and defraud the U.S. Treasury, substantive counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and filing a false lien against the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, followed by a consecutive four-year sentence for failure to appear. Sellers was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $23,264.08, representing the unrecovered loss from the tax counts. Sellers originally was indicted in December 2014. Her indictment was superseded to add a charge for absconding while on bond in February 2024. She was convicted on all counts by a federal jury on March 1, 2024.

According to evidence presented at trial, in 2008 and 2009, Sellers operated a website called commercialredemption.com on which she promoted the use of IRS Form 1099-OID to commit tax fraud. Sellers identified as a “sovereign citizen” and perpetuated the false premise that the U.S. Treasury maintains secret accounts attributed to every U.S. citizen that can be drawn on by filing a series of bogus documents with the Treasury and other government entities.

As part of this fraud scheme, Sellers also promoted the use of IRS Form 1099-OID to fraudulently report to the IRS debts – including mortgages, student loans, credit card debts, and court judgments – as income, along with 100% withholdings of that “income” in informational returns to overcome the IRS’s internal controls and induce the IRS to issue refunds that were not owed. The proper use of the 1099-OID form is for companies such as brokers to report to the IRS income received by the purchaser of a discounted security. Sellers personally created and submitted to the IRS 1099-OID forms that were fraudulent on their face. After submitting the fraudulent 1099-OID forms, Sellers’s co-conspirators prepared and submitted fraudulent returns seeking massive refunds, in one case exceeding half a million dollars on a single return. All these refunds were based on non-existent 1099-OID “income” and withholdings. The conspiracy resulted in the submission of at least 22 returns requesting fraudulent refunds totaling at least $3.4 million from the IRS.

In 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida filed a civil action to enjoin Sellers from promoting her fraudulent scheme on her commercialredemption.com website. In retaliation, Sellers filed a false lien against the then-U.S. Attorney and a Department of Justice tax attorney who was leading the civil action.

In 2014, Sellers was indicted and arrested on charges of tax fraud and filing a false lien. In January 2015, she was placed on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor pending trial. In May 2015, Sellers was granted permission by her probation officer to leave her home to get her hair done in preparation for her pretrial hearing a few days later. The next day, Sellers cut off her GPS ankle monitor, flung it on the side of the highway, and absconded.

Sellers was located more than eight and a half years later in New Mexico. Prior to this, Sellers had pleaded guilty to failing to appear for her sentencing in her previous federal counterfeiting case in 2002. In her previous case, Sellers was apprehended living under a false name in Mississippi.

“Today's sentencing emphasizes our resolve in pursuing those who attempt to corrupt our nation's tax system,” said Lani Rosado-Espinal, Acting Special Agent in Charge, CI Tampa Field Office. “No one is above the law in this great nation. Our law enforcement partners are just as committed as we are to ensuring that those seeking to live above the law are brought to justice.”

This case was investigated by IRS – Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Laura Cofer Taylor and Kelly Milliron.

A Gallup man was charged by criminal complaint in connection with a shooting incident that occurred during a confrontation over barking dogs.

Harley Davidson Joe, 38, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, appeared before a federal judge today and was released pending trial.

According to the criminal complaint, on May 11, 2024, three individuals were walking their dogs in Gallup when Joe drove past them in a truck. The dogs began barking at the truck but did not go towards the vehicle. Joe stopped and exited the vehicle and confronted the group about their dogs barking.

An argument ensued, during which Joe brandished a handgun. John Doe 1 saw Joe firing shots towards him and returned fire in self-defense, firing approximately ten rounds until his firearm was empty. Joe then entered his truck and drove away. John Doe 1, and the two other individuals ran back to their residence.

Joe later called for an ambulance, claiming he had been shot by an unknown person. Medical personnel found Joe at a residence in Gallup and determined that he had suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was transported to the Gallup Indian Medical Center where he was treated.

At Joe's residence, investigators found his green Dodge pickup with blood inside and a Glock 17 handgun, which Joe initially denied possessing. However, he later told agents that he retrieved the firearm from under the driver's seat after he had been shot and fired approximately five rounds towards two males who ran towards him.

If convicted of the current charges, Joe faces not less than ten years up to life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

An Albuquerque man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. This case was adopted from state prosecution in cooperation with the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

According to released documents, on November 13, 2022, a husband and wife were waiting for food at a Church's Chicken drive-thru on Broadway Blvd SE. Joseph Dino Lopez, 59, approached their car, banged on the window, and yelled at them while appearing under the influence.

Surveillance footage shows Lopez retrieving a blue bag containing a shotgun and approaching the victims' parked car. After an altercation where the male victim pepper sprayed him, Lopez pulled out the shotgun, loaded it, and pointed it at the couple before they fled. Lopez briefly left the scene to wash the pepper spray out of his eyes, but returned, and APD arrested him as he exited the Church's Chicken restaurant. The loaded shotgun was recovered from the blue bag he had left behind, and additional ammunition was discovered in his shirt pocket.

At the time of the offense, Lopez had previously been convicted of a total of nine felonies.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Lopezwill be required to serve 3 years of supervised release.

There is no parole in the federal system.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman made the announcement today.

The Albuquerque Police Department investigated this case with assistance from the FBI Albuquerque Field Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Haynes prosecuted the case as part of an agreement with the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Through the agreement, Assistant District Attorneys are designated Special Assistant United States Attorneys (SAUSAs) in the United States Attorney’s Office. The SAUSA from the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office screens felony criminal complaints filed in Bernalillo County for federal criminal offenses, prioritizing federal charges against those who drive violence in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. Since 2020, the United States Attorney’s Office has reviewed almost 3,000 cases and has charged more than 300 criminal cases pursuant to this program.

The United States Attorney’s Office has similar agreements with the New Mexico Department of Justice and the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office and plans to expand the program throughout the state.