Man Arrested in New Mexico for Sending Threatening White-Powder Laced Hoax Letters...

Man Arrested in New Mexico for Sending Threatening White-Powder Laced Hoax Letters to Banks Across the U.S.

DALLAS— At a press conference held today in Dallas, acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas, Robert E. Casey, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas FBI, and Randall C. Till, Postal Inspector in Charge of the Fort Worth Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced that special agents and postal inspectors arrested Richard Leon Goyette, a/k/a Michael Jurek, 47, yesterday at the airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on a charge in a federal complaint related to his mailing 65 threatening letters to financial institutions in October 2008. Sixty-four of the 65 letters contained an unidentified white power, along with a threat that the person breathing the powder would die within 10 days.

The powder tested negative for any hazardous materials. All 65 threat letters were mailed through the U.S. Postal Service and were postmarked from Amarillo, Texas, on October 18, 2008. Goyette is scheduled to make his initial appearance today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Albuquerque.

“Mr. Goyette’s alleged criminal actions caused emergency responders and hazardous response teams immense unnecessary labor and expense, diverted personnel from actual emergencies, completely disrupted business at these financial institutions, and caused untold emotional distress to those who received the letters,” said acting U.S. Attorney Jacks. “Those who send threatening letters, whether they contain white powder or not, even if their threat is a hoax, will be prosecuted with the full resources of this office,” Jacks continued.

Robert E. Casey, Jr. stated “I would like to thank the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the FBI Agents from the Albuquerque and Dallas FBI Offices whose determination, methodical investigation, and expertise led to today’s developments. Sending a hoax letter threatening imminent death and containing unknown substances is a serious crime that drains precious, limited, first responder resources. The mailings resulted in police, fire, and hazmat teams responding to emergency calls in numerous states, causing anxiety, disruption, and financial costs . As the arrest in Albuquerque reflects, these crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”

“Richard Goyette's arrest as the mailer of the "Chase Bank letters" should serve as a warning to those who believe they can anonymously use the mail to terrorize the American public,” said Inspector in Charge Till. “As Postal Inspectors, our mission is to ensure the safety of the Postal Service and we will spare no resource to uncover your identity and to bring you to justice. The American public should know this arrest is the result of exceptional interagency cooperation between U.S. Postal Inspectors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Offices in the Northern District of Texas and the District of New Mexico, as well as the numerous state and local agencies throughout the U.S. that responded to the more than 60 letters mailed by the suspect.”

The criminal complaint charges that on October 18, 2008, Goyette knowingly and intentionally conveyed false and misleading information when he sent letters to Chase Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) that contained an unknown white powder and the threat that the person breathing the powder would die within 10 days, in violation of 18 USC § 1038. Each offense carries a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

On September 25, 2008, the OTS seized Washington Mutual Bank from its holding company, Washington Mutual, Inc., and placed it into receivership. The FDIC was named receiver and as a result, the value of the stock in the holding company, Washington Mutual, Inc., fell to less than one dollar per share. The following day, the FDIC sold the bank’s deposits, branches, and loan portfolio to JP Morgan Chase & Co.

On September 26, 2008, and September 29, 2008, a person using “richgoyet@yahoo.com” sent two emails to OTS, both critical of the handling of the Washington Mutual Bank closure and subsequent sale of assets to JP Morgan Chase & Co. In the September 26, 2008 email, he said he lost $63,525 on his stock in Washington Mutual, Inc. He also accused OTS and FDIC of being corrupt and accused JP Morgan Chase of “shaft[ing] a second set of shareholders.” He sent a nearly identical email to the FDIC that same day.

In the September 29, 2008, email from “richgoyet@yahoo.com” to OTS, the writer provided his name and address as Richard Goyette, PO Box 2322, Tijeras, NM. He stated in part:

“I told myself I was not going to accept anymore losses due to the reasons I mentioned. I have pursued a path of doing things right, but unfortunately I’ve paid a terrible price for those who will do whatever it takes to defraud, steal, manipulate, and screw over average stockholders. This seizure was the final straw and I will now pursue any path to get the return of my investment. Since legal means are apparently useless, I will have to consider any viable method applicable to rightfully reclaim my stolen funds.”

Goyette sent a nearly identical email to the FDIC that same day, September 29, 2008. On October 7, 2008, he sent an email to an attorney who had been retained to handle investor inquires for Washington Mutual and in that email stated “[I will] most likely have to employ the same type of tactics used to cheat WaMu shareholders to recover stolen assets if all meaningful efforts to rectify this situation don’t come to fruition.”

On October 20, 2008, anonymous threat letters began arriving at Chase Bank, OTS, and FDIC offices nationwide. Over the next several days, a total of 65 threat letters were received in 11 different states and the District of Columbia. Also included in the letters was the sentence fragment “Steal tens of thousands of people’s money and not expect reprecussions(sic).”

The 65th letter to JP Morgan Chase & Co. did not contain white powder but included a threat of the “McVeighing of your corporate headquarters within six months.” This letter also threatened to “utilize any strategy and tactic to inflict financial damage to your company.”

The investigation revealed that a computer in a library on the University of New Mexico’s Albuquerque campus was used in early October to access Chase’s web site and search for addresses for nearly all of the Chase Bank locations that later received white powder threat letters. The same computer was used the same day to access OTS’s website and search for all the OTS office locations that later received white powder threat letters.

It was also used the same day to access the FDIC’s website. Richard Goyette’s listed his address in the emails as Tijeras, New Mexico, which is a small community located on the outskirts of Albuquerque.

In addition, a computer at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque was also used to conduct branch locator searches on Chase’s website on September 30, 2008 — six days prior to the computer searches at the University of New Mexico. Records obtained from Yahoo! show that Goyette’s angry emails to FDIC and OTS in late September were also sent from a computer at Central New Mexico Community College.

According to records obtained from Citibank, Jurek used a credit card to rent a car in Albuquerque on October 17, 2008, the day before the threat letters were postmarked. Goyette, using his New Mexico driver’s license under the Jurek name, rented the car at 11:51 a.m. at Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Albuquerque and obtained permission to drive the car into Texas. He returned the car approximately 24 hours later on October 18, 2008, at 11:48 a.m., putting 630 miles on the car. It is approximately 284 miles from Albuquerque to Amarillo.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged, and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jacks praised the excellent, cooperative investigative efforts of the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Drake of the Amarillo, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting.

February 24, 2009

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://dallas.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/dl022409.htm

Federal Grand Jury Returns 65-Count Indictment Against Man for Sending Threatening White Powder-Laced Hoax Letters to Banks
AMARILLO , TX—A federal grand jury in Amarillo returned an indictment today charging Richard Goyette, a/k/a Michael Jurek, 47, with one count of threats and false information and 64 counts of threats and hoaxes, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Goyette has been in federal custody since his arrest on February 2, 2009, on a charge outlined in a federal criminal complaint related to his mailing 65 threatening letters to financial institutions from Amarillo in October 2008.

The indictment alleges that on October 18, 2008, Goyette mailed a letter to the attention of Jamie Dimon at JP Morgan Chase & Company, at 270 Park Avenue in New York, that contained threats of bombing and killing people at the JP Morgan Chase & Company’s corporate headquarters within six months. The criminal complaint filed in the case stated that the threat in this letter included the threat of “McVeighing of your corporate headquarters within six months.” This letter also threatened to “utilize any strategy and tactic to inflict financial damage to your company.”

The indictment further alleges that Goyette mailed 64 letters to 52 various locations of Chase Bank; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) offices in Arlington, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Dallas, Texas; and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) offices in Chicago, Illinois; Daly City, California; Jersey City, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; and Irving, Texas. Each of these letters contained an unknown white powder and the threat that the person breathing the powder would die within 10 days.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. Upon conviction, however, the threats and false information count carries a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine and each of the 64 threats and hoaxes counts, upon conviction, carries a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted on all counts, Goyette faces a maximum statutory sentence of 330 years in prison and a $16.25 million fine.

June 4, 2009

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://dallas.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/dl060409.htm

Man Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Federal Prison for Sending Threatening White Powder-Laced Hoax Letters

AMARILLO, TX—Richard Goyette, a/k/a Michael Jurek, 47, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to serve a total of 46 months in federal prison and pay a $5000 fine and $87,734.40 in restitution to law enforcement for mailing 65 threatening letters from Amarillo to financial institutions in October 2008, announced Acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Goyette pled guilty in March 2009 to one count of threats and false information and one count of threats and hoaxes, related to his mailings. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on February 2, 2009.

“Richard Goyette’s 46-month sentence should serve as a warning to those who intend to misuse the U.S. Mails for this type of criminal activity,” said Inspector in Charge Randall C. Till, Fort Worth Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “The Postal Inspectors, Special Agents of the FBI, state and local investigators and the U.S. Attorney’s Office involved in the investigation deserve praise for the effort and dedication it took bring Goyette to justice. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service remains vigilant, pursuing criminals like Goyette to ensure public’s trust in a safe and secure mail system.”

According to documents filed in the case, on September 25, 2008, the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) seized Washington Mutual Bank from its holding company, Washington Mutual, Inc., and placed it into receivership. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named receiver. The value of the stock in the holding company, Washington Mutual, Inc., plunged to less than a dollar per share as a result. The next day, the FDIC sold the bank’s deposits, branches, and loan portfolio to JP Morgan Chase & Co. for a small fraction of their combined value.

On October 20, 2008, anonymous threat letters began arriving at Chase Bank, OTS, and FDIC offices nationwide. Over the next several days, a total of 65 threat letters were received in 11 different states and the District of Columbia. Sixty-four of the 65 contained an unidentified white powder, along with a threat that the person breathing the powder in would die within 10 days. The 65th letter to JP Morgan Chase & Company did not contain white powder but included a threat of the “McVeighing of your corporate headquarters within six months” - a reference to the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh.

All 65 threat letters were sent via the U.S. Postal Service, and all were postmarked from Amarillo on October 18, 2008. All of the letters containing powder were field screened and then

tested at laboratories. All tests were negative for any hazardous materials. The letters required the attention of emergency responders and hazardous material response teams for hours at an unknown cost. The letters disrupted operations for Chase, FDIC, and OTS at each location where one was received.

The investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) revealed that a computer located in a library at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was used on October 5, 2008, to access Chase’s web site and search addresses for nearly all of the Chase Bank locations which received white powder threat letters. That same UNM computer was used on the same date to access OTS’s website and search for all the OTS offices which received white powder threat letters. That same UNM computer was also used to access the FDIC website on that same date. The Chase branch locator searches from the UNM computer were the only searches conducted in the months leading up to the mailings which covered that many victim branches. A computer at Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was also used to conduct branch locator searches on Chase’s website on September 30, 2008. This took place six days prior to the computer searches conducted at UNM. Goyette had been a student at both UNM and Central New Mexico.

The investigation also showed that on October 17, 2008, the day before the letters were mailed, a car was rented in Albuquerque, New Mexico using a credit card under the name Michael Jurek. According to records obtained from the rental car company, Richard Leon Goyette, using his New Mexico driver’s license under the name of Michael Jurek, rented the car and obtained permission to drive the car into Texas. Goyette returned the car approximately 24 hours later on October 18, 2008, at 11:48 a.m. in Albuquerque, having put 630 miles on the car. The approximate one-way distance between Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas, is 284 miles.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jacks praised the excellent, cooperative investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Drake of the Amarillo, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.

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