Federal Grand Jury In South Bend Returns Indictments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Mary L. Hatton

www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/ Fax: (219) 852-2770

South Bend, IN—The United States Attorney's Office announced that a Grand Jury sitting in South Bend, Indiana, returned the following Indictments on February 13, 2013:

Kevin Howell, 46, of Michigan City, Indiana, was charged in a five-count Indictment with four counts of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank E. Schaffer.

Darrius D. Agnew , 33, of Mishawaka, Indiana, was charged in a two-count Indictment with one count of being a felon in possession of firearm(s), and one count of possessing a stolen firearm.These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Mishawaka Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald J. Schmid.

Joseph Carl Brownlee , 48, of South Bend, Indiana, was charged in a one-count Indictment with being a felon in possession of a firearm.These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the South Bend Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald J. Schmid.

John Carlisle , 49, of New Haven, Indiana, was charged in a thirteen-count Indictment with six counts of financial institution fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, and six counts of making false statements regarding mortgage loans.These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Indiana State Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald J. Schmid.

Daniel Haslam , 43, of Converse, Indiana, was charged in a four-count Indictment with one count of possessing an unregistered firearm silencer, one count of manufacturing methamphetamine, one count of possessing firearms, including firearms equipped with silencers, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of being a drug user in possession of firearms.These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Converse Police Department, Peru City Police Department, Miami County Drug Unit, Miami County Sheriff’s Department, Grant County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police Department, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald J. Schmid.

Ian T. Kideys aka Ayhan T. Kideys, 49, of La Jolla, California and K2 Capital Management Inc. dba US Mortgage Bailout dba USMortgageBailout.com dba iLoanAudit were charged in a twenty-seven count Indictment.Kideys and K2 Capital Management were charged with eight counts of wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, and fourteen counts of money laundering.These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald J. Schmid.

Michael A. Volpe , 46, of Staten Island, New York, was charged in a thirty-six count Indictment with twenty-nine counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and five counts of money laundering.These charges were filed as a result of an investigation by the Indiana State Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald J. Schmid.

Christopher A. Wilhite, 32, of Francisville, Indiana, was charge in a one-count Indictment with possession of child pornography.This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John M. Maciejczyk.

The Wilhite 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 exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov .

If convicted in court, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The United States Attorney's Office emphasized that an Indictment is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.