Ohio Man Sentenced for Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act Violation, Communicating Interstate Threats and Conspiracy

An Ohio man was sentenced today for threatening to destroy a reproductive health services facility in Columbus, Ohio, and for conspiring to commit money laundering.

Mohamed Waes, 33, was sentenced to 66 months in prison, three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $273,982.08 in restitution.

“This defendant threatened to burn down a reproductive health clinic in order to intimidate its employees from providing care to patients,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Using threats of violence to obstruct access to reproductive health care is simply unlawful. The Justice Department will continue to protect both patients seeking reproductive health services and providers offering those services, wherever and whenever these criminal violations occur.”  

“Threats of violence against healthcare providers and deception against our financial system are acts that must be punished in our courts of justice,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker for the Southern District of Ohio. “We will continue our unified vigilance against such actions and remain prepared to hold accountable those who commit them.”

“IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) enforces the nation's tax laws, but also takes particular interest in cases where someone, for their own personal benefit, has taken what belonged to others. With both law enforcement and financial investigation expertise, our agents are uniquely qualified to assist state and federal law agencies with these types of cases by following the money,” said Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd of IRS-CI’s Cincinnati Field Office. “Today’s sentencing is a reminder that there are real and damaging consequences for not only stealing money from small businesses, the lifeblood of the American economy, but also trying to hide the proceeds of the crime.”

Waes pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to a misdemeanor charge under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits a person from intentionally interfering with or intimidating any person because that person is providing reproductive health services, and to a felony charge of communicating interstate threats. According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 5, 2022, Waes intentionally interfered with and intimidated employees of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio by threatening over the phone to burn down their building because they were providing reproductive health services.

Waes also previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court documents, Waes attempted to launder a total of $1,972,792.84 in business email compromise fraud schemes proceeds, of which he successfully laundered $273,982.08. As part of this conspiracy, scammers created fake email domains which mimicked legitimate email domains and then sent emails to various companies impersonating vendors and asking that payments be made on actual invoices to bank accounts controlled by Waes and others.

The FBI Cincinnati Field Office and IRS-CI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Rausch and Peter K. Glenn-Applegate for the Southern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Daniel Grunert of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.

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Source: Justice.gov