WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following litigation release (No. 2:24-cv-00479; S.D. W. Va. filed Sept. 4, 2024) involving Theodore Miller, et al.: * * * The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday charged West Virginia resident Theodore "Teddy" Miller and his companies, Bear Industries, LLC and Bear Investments and Business Consulting, LLC (collectively "Bear Entities"), for operating two unregistered, fraudulent real estate schemes that raised a  more

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia, Sept. 6 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia issued the following news release: Olona Roba, a federal inmate at United States Penitentiary Hazelton, and Sakile G. Fiddermon, of Fort Washington, Maryland, were indicted on heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine charges. Roba, 26, and Fiddermon, 23, were each charged with conspiring to smuggle heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and suboxone into the penitentiary. According to the   more

WHEELING, West Virginia, Sept. 6 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia issued the following news release: Daryl Smith, 50, of Wheeling, West Virginia, has admitted to the distribution of cocaine base. According to court documents, Smith was selling cocaine base in Ohio County. Smith is one of 12 defendants involved in a drug trafficking operation that spanned from Las Vegas, Nevada to the Ohio Valley. Smith faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A fede  more

WHEELING, West Virginia, Sept. 6 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia issued the following news release: Stephan G. Ward, 32, of Akron, Ohio, has admitted to the distribution of methamphetamine. According to court documents, Ward, also known as "YG," was delivering methamphetamine to others for distribution in Marshall County. Ward faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U  more

CHARLESTON, West Virginia, Sept. 6 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia issued the following news release on Sept. 5, 2024: Timothy Edwin Payne Jr., 43, of Belpre, Ohio, was sentenced today to 11 years and eight months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue. According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 4, 2022, Payn  more

CHARLESTON, West Virginia, Sept. 6 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia issued the following news release on Sept. 5, 2024: A federal grand jury returned a 15-count indictment yesterday charging Theodore Miller, 34, of South Charleston, with wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction. The indictment alleges that, beginning as early as October 2021, Miller conceived and perpetrated two fraudulent schemes to bolster his businesses' monthly cash flow an  more

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia, Sept. 6 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia issued the following news release on Sept. 4, 2024: Kenneth Ray Frye, 51, of Kingsport, Tennessee, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl charges. Frye was charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.  more

ELKINS, West Virginia, Sept. 7 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia issued the following news release: David Laquan McGowan, 41, of Huntington, West Virginia, has admitted to possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl. According to court documents, McGowan was selling fentanyl in Randolph County. During a traffic stop, a search of the vehicle revealed narcotics hidden in the ceiling of McGowan's car. McGowan is facing at least   more

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia, Sept. 7 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia issued the following news release: Three West Virginia residents have admitted to their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in the Northern District of West Virginia. Joshua Noel, 42, of Elkins, West Virginia; Jennifer Clapper, 37, of Morgantown, West Virginia; and Jamie Purtee, 33, of Morgantown, West Virginia, each pled guilty to methamphetamine charges. According to   more