Good Work, Team!

United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley announced today that Larry Allan Brown, age 47, Michael Shane Brown, age 42 and Harold Edward Mills, age 54, were sentenced in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Charlottesville today on a variety of drug and wire fraud charges related to their participation in a large scale drug distribution organization.

In October, Larry Brown pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and one count of wire fraud involving Lowe’s, Inc. Today in District Court, he was sentenced to 130 months of Federal incarceration and five year’s of supervised release thereafter.

Michael Brown and Mills both previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud for their role in a scheme to defraud Lowe’s, Inc. Today, Michael Brown was sentenced to three months of probation. Mills was sentenced to four months in prison followed by four months of home detention and three years of supervised release thereafter.

“Larry Brown was a part of a group of individuals that placed the entire community in harm’s way by bringing large amounts of cocaine powder and crack cocaine into the Fluvanna area,” United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley said today. “I believe the sentence of Larry Brown handed down today is appropriate considering the seriousness of his actions.”

Also charged as being part of the drug conspiracy was Kenneth Brown and Steven Brown. Also charged in the wire fraud conspiracy was Deborah Gentry, James Sandridge and Latisha Willis. In October, Kenneth Brown pled guilty to one count of managing a continuing criminal enterprise. He faces up to life imprisonment. Previously, Steven Todd Brown pled guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute cocaine powder and crack cocaine and one count of wire fraud. He faces a term of imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life. In September, Gentry, Sandridge and Willis had previously pled guilty to wire fraud. Kenneth Brown will be sentenced on January 12, 2009.

Steven Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on January 26, 2009.

The facts of the case are as follows: Since approximately 2001, Kenneth Brown has been the leader of a drug conspiracy organization that distributed multiple kilos of cocaine powder and crack cocaine throughout the Fluvanna area. The organization was comprised of a number of individuals, including his brothers Steven Todd Brown and Larry Allan Brown.

A detailed and thorough investigation revealed that Kenneth Brown was the principal administrator of the organization and had an extensive network of sub-distributors that he personally supervised.

Intelligence gathered during the investigation concluded that during a five-year period, Kenneth Brown received from one source a kilo of cocaine once or twice a month. That cocaine was then disseminated throughout the organization and sold. Kenneth Brown himself admitted during the course of the investigation that between 2004 and 2007 he had purchased between 60-70 kilos of cocaine, paying approximately $25,000 per kilo.

Throughout the term of the conspiracy, Kenneth Brown accumulated sufficient quantities of cash to support himself and others, all while having little or no legitimate source of income.

While Kenneth Brown was certainly the leader of this organization, his brother, Steven Brown, was viewed as the second in command. Most individuals involved with the organization knew Steven Brown as the “cook” because of his ability to process cocaine powder into more potent crack cocaine. In addition to cooking crack cocaine, Steven Brown also served as one of the distributors of both powder and crack cocaine.

In December of 2006, while Kenneth Brown was in custody, Steven Brown devised a plan in which individual members of the conspiracy organization would enter any Lowe’s Home Improvement stores in the area and fill a shopping cart with small, but expensive merchandise. The individual would then walk out of the store without paying for the items. They, or others on their behalf, would then re-enter the original store or an alternate site, whether it be immediately or at some point in the future, and return the items.

Typically, Lowe’s customer service representatives would issue a gift card in the amount of the returned items. Members of the conspiracy would then either sell or trade to other members of the conspiracy. More often however, the gift cards would be used to purchase crack cocaine directly from Steven Brown.

Along with co-defendants Harold Mills, Deborah Gentry, age 41, James Sandridge, age 46, Michael Brown, Harold Mills and Latisha Willis, age 34, Steven Brown and Larry Brown stole approximately $40,000 worth of merchandise and gift cards from Lowe’s Home Improvements.

The investigation of the case was conducted by for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Virginia State Police, the JADE Task Force, the Fluvanna County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, the Albermarle County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and the Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ron Huber is prosecuting the case for the United States.