Plamen Georgiev Velinov, a 49-year-old Bulgarian national, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy to traffic child pornography in a federal court.
According to court documents, Velinov helped manage and administer the Newstar Enterprise, an internet-based business that profited from the sexual exploitation of vulnerable children under the guise of ‘child modeling.’
The Newstar Enterprise, which was founded around 2005, built and operated the Newstar Websites on servers in the United States and abroad. To generate content for the Newstar Websites, Newstar Enterprise members sourced, enticed, solicited, and recruited males and females under the age of 18, many of whom were prepubescent, to use as ‘child models’ for the Newstar Websites.
Financial records show that U.S.-based co-conspirators transferred more than $400,000 to Velinov’s Bulgarian bank account in connection with the conspiracy. The sale of Newstar content generated more than $9.4 million during the conspiracy.
Velinov was found to have assisted the enterprise by selecting children to be featured on the Newstar Websites, editing images and videos on those websites, communicating with customers, setting prices for videos, activating new websites, and creating advertising banners.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge John Condon of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa Field Office made the announcement.
In total, seven members of the Newstar Enterprise have been charged in connection with the Newstar Websites. The chart below shows the status of each case:
Tatiana Power – Pleaded guilty; sentenced to 12.5 years in prison
Kenneth Power – Defendant deceased; case dismissed
Pavel Rohel – Charges pending
Patrice Wilowski-Mevorah – Pleaded guilty; sentenced to five years and three months in prison
Anthony Lee Kendall – Defendant deceased; case dismissed
Mary Lou Bjorkman – Pleaded guilty; sentenced to 1.5 years in prison
Related Federal Cases
- Naomi Ruth Smith, Child Sex Trafficking, M.D. Florida, 2023 · Texas
- Charles Adkins, Distributed and Possessed Child Pornography, Waterl… · Iowa
- Andrew Terryll Hudson, Distributing Child Pornography, Orlando FL, … · Iowa
- James Otis Liptak, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography, Orl… · Iowa
- John Dewey Todd, Child Pornography Collection, Jacksonville FL, 2023 · Iowa
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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