Information for Victims of Large Cases
The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that victims of crime are an integral part of the criminal justice process. We generally personally contact each victim of the crimes we prosecute. For our very largest cases, where individual contact is impossible, we create case websites for victims providing information, updates and services. A listing of the current large cases is below. If you believe you are a victim of one of these cases, search for the defendant’s name or another common name associated with the case. The link provided at the case’s name will direct you to that case’s website. You may visit the case website anytime for the most recent case developments.
| Case Name | Familiar Names and Terms | District or Division | Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Jeffrey L. Shipley | Mail Theft, Postal Service, Mail delay, Postman | District of Maryland (USAO) | From August 1993 through March 2014, defendant Jeffrey L. Shipley was a postman with the United States Postal Service. On May 29, 2014, Shipley was charged by Information with theft of mail by a Postal Service employee, and with delay and destruction of mail by a Postal Service employee. The Information alleges that Shipley failed to deliver over 20,000 pieces of mail, including mail from the Parkville Branch and Catonsville Carrier Annex. Examples of items alleged to be in his possession include money orders, prescription medications, passports and greetings cards containing checks. |
| United States v. Blake Rubin, et al. | Platinum Trust Card | Eastern District of Pennsylvania (USAO) | Blake Rubin, 30, of Huntington Valley, PA, Chase Rubin 28, of Rydal, PA, and Justin Diaczuk, 31, of Philadelphia, PA, were recently charged with running a multi-million dollar telemarketing scam. According to the information, the defendants duped more than 70,000 people into buying what they falsely marketed as a general-purpose credit card that customers could use to buy merchandise over the internet and improve their credit. |
| United States v Vyacheslav Penchukov et.al. | Zeus Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov (aka tank) Ivan Viktorvich Klepikov (aka petrovich, aka nowhere) Alexey Dmitrievich Bron (aka thehead) Alexey Tikonov (aka kusanagi) Yevhen Kulibaba (aka jonni) Yuriy Konovalenko (aka jtkO) | District of Nebraska (USAO) | Nine alleged members of a wide-ranging racketeering enterprise and conspiracy who infected thousands of business computers with malicious software known as "Zeus" have been charged in an indictment. The indictment alleges that the "Zeus" malware captured passwords, account numbers, and other information necessary to log into online banking accounts. The conspirators allegedly used the information captured by "Zeus" to steal millions of dollars from victims' bank accounts. All of the defendants are charged with conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, conspiracy to commit computer fraud and identity theft, aggravated identity theft, and multiple counts of bank fraud. |
| U.S. v. Bernard L.Madoff and Related Cases | Ernica Cotellessa-Pitz, Frank DePascali, Jr., David Friehling, Eric Lipkin | Southern District of New York (USAO) | Criminal information was filed in Manhattan federal court chargin Bernard L. Madoff with eleven felony charges including securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wwire fraud, three counts of money laundering. |
| U.S. v. Thomas Anderson Bowdoin, Jr. (a/k/a Andy Bowdoin) | AdSurfDaily, Inc., ASD, Andy Bowdoin | District of Columbia (USAO) | The indictment alleges that from in or around August 2006 through in or around August 2008, Bowdoin operated a "Ponzi" scheme through a company |
| U.S. v. Jeanne Maher | Studio Pay, Studio Traffic, Studio Rocks | Northern District of New York (USAO) | Studio Traffic was an organization that represented itself to be an investment mechanism whereby members could open an account by depositing money with Studio Traffic and thereafter earn a return on their investment. Rather, Studio Traffic redistributed funds from other members to provide the appearance that profit was being credited to member accounts. |
| U.S. v. Obozokhae | Smoke Shop and Accessories, Emily Obozokhae | Southern District of Texas (USAO) | From February 2005 through October 2007, the defendant operated Smoke Shop and Accessories which conducted money transfer transactions. Counterfeit checks were mailed to individuals who were advised to cash and wire a portion of the proceeds to a third party. The wired monies were then intercepted and used for the defendant’s personal use. |
| U.S. v. Jeffrey K. Skilling | Jeffrey Skilling, Enron, Kenneth Lay | Criminal Division | Skilling and other Enron executives engaged in a scheme to deceive the investing public, the SEC and others about the true performance of Enron’s businesses. The scheme was designed to make it appear that Enron was growing at a healthy and predictable rate, that Enron was comprised of a number of successful business units, and that the company had an appropriate cash flow. It had the effect of inflating artificially Enron’s stock price, and artificially stemming the decline of the stock during the first three quarters of 2001. The fraud scheme eventually unraveled and Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001, making its stock virtually worthless. |
| United States v. Robert Allen Stanford et al. | Robert Allen Stanford, Stanford International Bank, Stanford Financial Group, SIB, Laura Pendergest-Holt, Gilbert Lopez, Mark Kuhrt, Leroy King | Criminal Division | R. Allen Stanford, the former board of directors’ chairman of Stanford International Bank (SIB), was convicted by a federal jury of orchestrating a 20-year investment fraud scheme in which he misappropriated $7 billion from SIB to finance his personal businesses. |
| U.S. v. Quality Egg, LLC, et al. | Wright County Egg, LLC, Environ, Peter DeCoster, Austin (Jack) DeCoster | Northern District of Iowa (USAO) | Quality Egg, LLC (also known as Wright County Egg and Environ), Austin (Jack) DeCoster, and Peter DeCoster pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of introducing adulterated eggs into interstate commerce. The charge resulted from Quality Egg, LLC’s sale of eggs contaminated with Salmonella Enteriditis between about the beginning of 2010 and August 2010. Quality Egg, LLC also pled guilty to one count of bribing a USDA Inspector and one count of selling mislabeled food with intent to defraud or mislead. |