Attorney General James Announces Takedowns of Firearms and Fentanyl Trafficking Networks Operating in Dutchess County

 

Four Individuals Indicted for Roles in Trafficking Ghost Guns and Assault Weapons

Seven Individuals Indicted for Roles in Trafficking Thousands of Counterfeit Oxycodone Pills Containing Fentanyl

 New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the takedowns of a gun trafficking network that sold ghost guns and assault-style rifles and a narcotics trafficking network that distributed counterfeit oxycodone pills containing deadly amounts of fentanyl in Dutchess County. The takedowns recovered 31 firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, approximately 5,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl with a street value of about $150,000, and approximately $55,000 in cash. As part of a 154-count indictment, four defendants are charged with trafficking numerous firearms, including ghost guns, assault weapons, and high-capacity magazines. In addition, a 63-count indictment charges seven defendants with trafficking thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl. 

“The individuals arrested operated a dangerous network that trafficked untraceable ghost guns and flooded New York communities with fentanyl,” said Attorney General James. “Today’s takedowns send a clear message that we will not allow anyone to fuel the epidemics of gun violence and drug addiction with their illegal activities. This operation was made possible through my office’s partnerships with state and local law enforcement, and I thank the New York State Police and our other partners for their hard work to bring these individuals to justice. I will continue to use my office to protect the safety of all New Yorkers.”

“I commend the New York Attorney General’s Office, the members of our New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, and our VGNET team for their extraordinary work in dismantling these firearm and drug trafficking networks,” said New York State Police Acting Superintendent Steven G. James. “Their vigilance has stopped the infiltration of these guns and the flow of deadly narcotics into our communities as well as the crimes that are perpetuated by them. Each arrest, each seizure saves lives.”

These takedowns were the result of an eighteen-month joint investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF) and the New York State Police’s (NYSP) Special Investigations Unit – Hudson Valley (SIU-HV) and Troop K – Violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team (K-VGNET).

The investigation began in April 2022 and centered around the activities of Muayad Qader, who sold firearms and drugs out of a Valero gas station in LaGrangeville where he worked, as well as his home in Poughkeepsie. During the investigation, the defendants and their co-conspirators frequently utilized coded and cryptic terminology in an attempt to disguise their illicit activities, such as referring to ghost guns as “ghosties,” and the counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl as “erks,” “urks,” and “percs.”

The investigation included hundreds of hours of physical and covert surveillance, court-authorized wiretapping of cellular telephones, the analysis of electronic evidence, including cellular telephonic communications, and other traditional investigative operations. 

Firearms Trafficking Network

During the course of the investigation, Qader’s primary supplier of firearms was Jason Knapp. Knapp assembled ghost guns and supplied high-capacity magazines for Qader to sell. Qader’s other suppliers included Joseph Silverman and Louis Gonzalez, who supplied him with other firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

The investigation into the firearms trafficking network led to the recovery of:

1. 31 firearms, including 14 un-serialized AR-style ghost gun rifles, two serialized non-compliant AR-style rifles, a defaced AR-style rifle, a defaced magazine-fed shotgun, a Polymer-80 ghost gun pistol, and a defaced Glock-21 pistol.
2. An AR-style ghost gun upper receiver and an AR-style ghost gun lower receiver.
3. 19 high-capacity magazines.
4. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

The 154-count gun trafficking indictment, unsealed before the Honorable Edward McLoughlin of Dutchess County Court, contains counts for various felony firearms offenses, including charges against Qader and Knapp for Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the First Degree, a class B felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, and various counts of Criminal Sale of a Firearm (class C and D felonies) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon (class C and D felonies), as well as Conspiracy to commit those crimes.

Narcotics Trafficking Network

Beginning in January 2023, investigators also uncovered Qader’s drug trafficking operation, in which he sourced counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl from several individuals in Dutchess County. The pills were dyed and stamped to resemble prescription oxycodone, but contained only fentanyl, putting users in grave danger. The investigation revealed a drug trafficking network in which Curtis Holland would supply pills to Isaiah Atkins, who would then supply Qader’s primary source, Aaron Steppe. Steppe would meet Qader at the Valero station, transporting the pills in his car with his roommate, Christopher Evans, or his girlfriend, Angel Williams. Additionally, the investigation revealed that Stephen Gary supplied counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl to Qader at the Valero Gas Station.

The investigation into the narcotics trafficking network led to the recovery of:

1. Approximately 5,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, with an approximate street value of $150,000.
2. Drug paraphernalia, including bags and scales, used to package and measure narcotics.
3. Approximately $55,000 in cash.

The 63-count narcotics trafficking indictment, also unsealed in Dutchess County Court, contains counts for various felony narcotics offenses, including charges against Qader, Steppe, Atkins, and Gary for Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, a class A2 felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and various counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance (class B felonies) and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance (class A2 and B felonies), as well as Conspiracy to commit those crimes. 

Firearms and ammunition recovered by the investigation 

Counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl 

Those charged in these two indictments include:

Muayad Qader a/k/a/ “JUNIOR”, 34 years old, Poughkeepsie, New York

Joseph Silverman a/k/a/ “JOEY”, 30 years old, Port St. Lucie, Florida

Louis Gonzalez, 53 years old, LaGrangeville, New York

Jason Knapp, 43 years old, Verbank, New York

Isaiah Atkins, 27 years old, Poughkeepsie, New York

Christopher Evans, 34 years old, Poughkeepsie, New York

Stephen Gary, 39 years old, LaGrangeville, New York

Curtis Holland, 32 years old, Poughkeepsie, New York

Aaron Steppe, 29 years old, Poughkeepsie, New York

Angel Williams, 24 years old, Poughkeepsie, New York

The charges against the defendants are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The multi-agency investigation brought together the resources of state and local law enforcement agencies led by the Attorney General’s OCTF, including NYSP K-VGNET, NYSP SIU-HV, and the Poughkeepsie Police Department. 

This takedown marks the latest major drug bust in OAG’s Suburban and Upstate Response to the Growing Epidemic (SURGE) Initiative, a law enforcement effort that brings together state and local law enforcement to target New York’s heroin, opioid, and narcotics trafficking networks. Since launching in 2017, SURGE has taken 942 alleged traffickers off the streets.

These are the latest ghost gun and narcotics takedown led by Attorney General James. In December 2023, Attorney General James and the New York State Police indicted a Manhattan man for trafficking guns and narcotics, In November 2023, Attorney General James announced the takedown of a drug trafficking ring in the Capital Region. Also in November 2023, Attorney General James announced the takedown of two major drug trafficking networks that were distributing fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine in Central New York. In June 2023, Attorney General James announced the takedown of a major narcotics trafficking ring in the Finger Lakes region that distributed fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and other dangerous drugs. In March 2023, Attorney General James announced the takedown of a ghost gun and narcotics trafficking operation in New York City. In December 2022, Attorney General James announced the takedown of a ghost gun trafficking operation in Queens and Westchester counties. 

The investigation was led by Investigators from NYSP SIU-HV, under the supervision of NYSP SIU Major Samuel Spezio and Lieutenant Jan Anthony, Investigators from NYSP K-VGNET, under the supervision of NYSP Troop K Major Kathryne Rohde and VGNET Lieutenant Trenee Young, and OCTF Detective Steven Cohan and OCTF Detective David Walsh, under the supervision of OCTF Detective Supervisor Bradford Miller, OCTF Downstate Assistant Chief Ismael Hernandez, and OCTF Deputy Chief Andrew Boss. The Attorney General’s Investigations Division is led by Chief Oliver Pu-Folkes. 

In addition to the above listed law enforcement partners, Attorney General James would also like to thank Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi, the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department, and the Dutchess County Drug Task Force for their assistance throughout the investigation.

As Larceny Offenses Spike, Governor Hochul Proposes Major Expansion of Resources to Fight Retail Theft and Keep New Yorkers Safe

Governor Hochul's FY25 Executive Budget Proposes $45 Million to Fight Retail Theft and Property Crime; Would Create New Joint Operation to Fight Retail Theft

Joint Operation Will Utilize Tools and Strategies New York Has Utilized to Fight Illegal Guns; Shootings and Murders Have Declined Significantly Since 2021

Governor Kathy Hochul today highlighted her groundbreaking State of the State proposal to fight retail theft, as larceny offenses continue to rise, especially in New York City. This initiative would utilize proven crime-fighting strategies that have been used to drive down violent crime and gun offenses since Governor Hochul took office in 2021. Governor Hochul made the announcement after attending the 600th daily meeting of the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership, a joint effort between federal, State and local law enforcement, this morning in lower Manhattan.

“Public safety is my top priority, and I won't rest until every New Yorker feels safe on our streets, subways and storefronts,” Governor Hochul said. “Over the past three years we've made incredible progress on driving down violent crime and fighting the scourge of gun violence. Now, we're using those same strategies to take on the quality-of-life issues like retail theft and property crime.”

Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget includes a plan to fight retail theft and property crime, including by launching a Retail Theft Joint Operation with all levels of law enforcement. The Joint Operation would coordinate a unified law enforcement response, modeled on the successful Interstate Task Force On Illegal Guns. The plan also includes:

• Introducing legislation to establish criminal penalties for online marketplaces and third-party sellers that foster the sale of stolen goods and increase criminal penalties for assaulting retail workers.
• Setting up a New York State Police Smash and Grab Enforcement Unit. The Executive Budget includes $25.2 million in new funding to deploy a dedicated State Police team to build cases against organized retail theft rings and create a new State Police enforcement unit dedicated to this purpose.
• $10 million in funding for DAs to prosecute property crime cases and deploy dedicated Retail Theft Teams in District Attorney (DA) Offices.
• $5 million in additional State funding to build the capacity of local law enforcement efforts to combat retail theft.
• $5 million for a Commercial Security Tax Credit to help business owners offset the costs of certain store security measures.

Governor Hochul's FY25 efforts to fight property crime build on her existing efforts to protect public safety and fight crime. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, New York is a national leader in gun arrests and red-flag laws. Federal CDC data from 2023 shows that New York has the second-lowest homicide rate among the most populous states in the nation, and the fourth-lowest rate among those states of firearm-related injuries resulting in death. Gun violence has decreased across New York State, and murders and shootings have declined to pre-pandemic levels. Since 2021, murders have declined by 37 percent and shootings have declined by 35 percent.

In addition to attending the meeting of the Partnership, Governor Hochul visited the State’s newest Crime Analysis Center, co-located at the headquarters of the New York-New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. The New York City Crime Analysis Center is the 11th in the State-supported network that will provide a centralized intelligence gathering and evidence collection strategy across the State designed to receive intelligence from retailers victimized by organized crime theft. This data, intel and evidence would be collected by the CACs and shared with local law enforcement to enhance the investigation and prosecution of these crimes across State jurisdictions.

MAYOR ADAMS ANNOUNCES LAWSUIT AGAINST SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES FUELING NATIONWIDE YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

 

Adams Administration Files Lawsuit to Hold TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube Accountable for Their Platforms’ Damaging Influence on Mental Health of Children

 

City Issues Action Plan to Address Harms Caused by Social Media

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds Radix, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan, NYC Health + Hospitals (NYC H+H) President Dr. Michell Katz, and New York City Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David C. Banks today announced the filing of a lawsuit to hold five social media platforms — TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube — accountable for fueling the nationwide youth mental health crisis. The city is joining hundreds of school districts from across the country in filing litigation seeking to force tech giants to change their behavior and to recover the costs of addressing this public health threat. The city spends more than $100 million on youth mental health programs and services each year. To help address this ongoing crisis and the harm caused by these platforms, Mayor Adams also today released a social media action plan, “New York City’s Role in the National Crisis of Social Media and Youth Mental Health: Framework for Action, to hold social media companies accountable, provide education and support to young people and families, and study the long-term impacts of social media on youth.

 

Today’s announcement builds on the Health Commissioner’s Advisory that DOHMH Commissioner Dr. Vasan issued last month, identifying unfettered access to and use of social media as a public health hazard, just as past U.S. surgeons general have done with tobacco and firearms. The advisory provides recommendations to parents and caregivers, health care providers, educators, and policymakers on actions that can be taken to protect children, including the recommendation to delay social media use until the age of 14.

 

“Over the past decade, we have seen just how addictive and overwhelming the online world can be, exposing our children to a non-stop stream of harmful content and fueling our national youth mental health crisis,” said Mayor Adams. “Our city is built on innovation and technology, but many social media platforms end up endangering our children's mental health, promoting addiction, and encouraging unsafe behavior. Today, we’re taking bold action on behalf of millions of New Yorkers to hold these companies accountable for their role in this crisis, and we're building on our work to address this public health hazard. This lawsuit and action plan are part of a larger reckoning that will shape the lives of our young people, our city, and our society for years to come.”

 

“Social media companies like TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Meta are fueling a national youth mental health crisis,” said Corporation Counsel Hinds-Radix. “These companies have chosen profit over the wellbeing of children by intentionally designing their platforms with manipulative and addictive features and using harmful algorithms targeted to young people. Social media companies should be held accountable for this misconduct and for the harms they cause to our children, schools, and entire communities.”

 

“Online networks are powerful tools to connect with friends, family, classmates, and so much more,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “However, social media can also be a place for unhealthy comparisons to others, a platform for bullying, and lead to negative mental health implications for our children. Building on our social media summit in 2023, we are now releasing a social media action plan to support young people and families as they navigate social media. We are also taking legal and regulatory action to hold social media companies accountable for their actions and urging them to help build healthier environments for their users, particularly for children and young people. This administration is committed to protecting and promoting the health and well-being of every child and young person in every space whether in everyday life or online.”

 

“This is about protecting our young people,” said City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg. “The U.S. surgeon general was right to say this is ‘just not a fair fight.’ The best product developers in the world have designed addictive feeds and features to maximize the amount of time young people spend on the platform — leaving parents, young people, teachers, and emergency rooms to deal with the harmful consequences. Real relief is needed and real change from the social media companies is long past due.”

 

“Social media is a toxin in our digital environment, like lead, air pollution, and nicotine are in our physical one,” said DOHMH Commissioner Dr. Vasan. “Environmental toxins require regulation, control, and mitigation, and public health must build on its environmental health legacy to address this modern threat. New York City is employing a wide array of tools to fight back, including education and awareness, research, and regulation, and this lawsuit is the latest example of our city’s commitment to ensure young people are safe from the impacts of social media on mental health and wellbeing. The laissez-faire days for tech giants must end and expecting them to self-regulate is naïve. As a parent and as the city’s doctor, to protect the public’s health, we will not remain idle while these platforms damage the health of our children.”

 

“Social media has opened a window to the world for so many, however major social media companies have abused their power, resulting in serious consequences for the mental health of our students,” said DOE Chancellor Banks. “It is clear these companies have failed our young people, and I’m proud to be standing with my city agency partners to call for accountability, and for our nation’s policymakers to take action to protect our kids.”

 

“Social media has become a central part of many of our lives, especially among children and adolescents,” said NYC H+H Chief of Behavioral Health and Co-Deputy Chief Medical Officer Omar Fattal, MD, MPH. “We must maximize our efforts to support the mental health needs of children and adolescents by providing families with tools and resources that foster healthy development. This includes robustly addressing the negative impact of social media on the mental health of children and adolescents. We join the mayor and DOHMH in encouraging all young people and their families to consider their use of social media and how it may be negatively affecting them.”

 

“Social media can be used as a tool for information-sharing and building community. But, as a mental health clinician, I have also witnessed the profound negative impacts it continues to have on the mental health of many of our young people,” said Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health Executive Director Eva Wong. “Often times, social media exposes our children to cyberbullying, body image issues, online predators, privacy concerns, and increasing risk of depression, anxiety, feelings of isolation, and even suicide. As a mother, I’m deeply concerned about the enduring negative effect social media has on shaping youth culture. And today, as a city, we are saying it is not sufficient to merely caution young people about the dangers of social media; we must also hold companies accountable for creating and profiting from an environmental toxin that harms our children and young people.”

 

Today’s lawsuit — filed in California Superior Court by the City of New York, the DOE (the largest school district in the nation), and NYC H+H (the country’s largest public hospital system) — seeks to hold the companies operating TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and YouTube accountable for their role creating the youth mental health crisis in New York City. The lawsuit alleges that companies intentionally designed their platforms to purposefully manipulate and addict children and teens to social media applications with features that include:

• Using algorithms to generate feeds that keep users on the platforms longer and encourage compulsive use.
• Using mechanics akin to gambling in the design of apps, which allow for anticipation and craving for “likes” and “hearts,” and also provides continuous, personalized streams of content and advertisements.
• Manipulating users through reciprocity — a social force, especially powerful among teenagers, that describes how people feel compelled to respond to one positive action with another positive action. These platforms take advantage of reciprocity by, for example, automatically telling the sender when their message was seen or sending notifications when a message was delivered, encouraging teens to return to the platform again and again and perpetuating online engagement and immediate responses.

The complaint specifically states the companies’ intentional conduct and negligence has been a substantial factor in fueling a youth mental health crisis, which constitutes a public nuisance affecting schools, public hospitals, and communities citywide, and, as a result, that the city has had to expend significant resources to address. In New York City, over 38 percent of high school students reported feeling so sad or hopeless during the past year that they stopped engaging in their usual activities. The rate of hopelessness among New York City high schoolers in 2021 was almost 50 percent higher for Latino and Black students than for white students, and almost 70 percent higher for female students than for male students. Today, over one-third of 13- to 17-year-old children nationwide report using social media “almost constantly” and admit this is “too much.” Yet, more than half of these kids report that they would struggle to cut back on their social media use. Likewise, in 2021, 77 percent of New York City high school students reported spending an average of three or more hours per school day in front of screens — not including time spent on schoolwork.

“Our children are facing a mental health crisis fueled by social media companies’ disregard for their safety and wellbeing,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “We owe it to our kids to tackle the damaging effects of social media, and I applaud Mayor Adams for taking this important action today to hold these companies accountable. This lawsuit builds on the important work we’ve done to advance legislation to rein in the most addictive and dangerous features on social media and the legal action we’ve taken to stop them. It is unacceptable that big tech companies can profit off the harm they are doing to young people, and I want to thank Mayor Adams for joining our effort to protect the next generation of New Yorkers.”

 

The Adams administration has taken repeated action to tackle the youth mental health crisis. Last year, Mayor Adams announced that the city launched TeenSpace, a free tele-mental health service available to all New York City teenagers, between the ages of 13 and 17 years old, that allows teenagers to connect with a licensed therapist through phone, video, and text. In the three months of operation, TeenSpace has served over 2,000 youth across the five boroughs.

 

In addition to the city’s work supporting New York City youth in crisis through DOHMH and NYC H+H programming, DOE has devoted significant resources to combatting students’ addiction to social media and the many resulting harms, including by responding to cyberbullying occurring outside of class, providing counseling for anxiety and depression, and developing curricula about the effects of social media and how to stay safe online.

 

In March 2023, the Adams administration launched “Care, Community, Action: A Mental Health Plan for New York City,” a mental health plan focused on improving the mental health of children and young people. Following the plan’s release, the city convened more than 150 advocates, researchers, technologists, mental health providers, community-based organizations, and caregivers in partnership with New York City youth to lay out potential pathways for action to protect the mental health of children and youth. The convening provided the recommendations that built the foundation for today’s social media action plan, outlining New York City’s commitment to protect young New Yorkers against this threat and empower them to use these technologies in ways that are less harmful. As part of today’s plan, the city will also identify where local data can support existing research on this topic and opportunities to survey youth on their experiences with social media, why they use social media, their current social media habits, and social media’s impacts on their mental health. Finally, the city will advocate with state and federal policymakers to put in place laws that require social media companies to ensure that their platforms are safe for youth mental health.

 

Michigan Woman Arrested For Role In Fraud Scheme Involving Theft Of Over $800,000 In Luxury And Designer Apparel And Accessories

 

Brandalene Horn Engaged in a Fraud Scheme to Induce Victim Companies to Send Her Over $800,000 in Luxury and Designer Goods, Which She Then Stole and Sold Online

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging BRANDALENE HORN with mail fraud, wire fraud, and the interstate transportation of stolen property in connection with a scheme to defraud victim clothing rental companies by opening hundreds of accounts to rent women’s apparel and accessories, stealing those rented items, and selling them on an e-commerce marketplace.  HORN was arrested this morning in Freeland, Michigan, and she will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Stafford in the Eastern District of Michigan.   

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Brandalene Horn perpetrated a lucrative scheme in which she defrauded at least three victim companies, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of luxury and designer items, and then sold those stolen items online.  Thanks to the work of the prosecutors and investigators of my Office, Horn now faces criminal federal charges for her alleged deceptive behavior and fraudulent activity.” 

As alleged in the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:[1]

From at least April 2022 through at least February 2024, HORN engaged in a fraud scheme that involved opening hundreds of accounts with at least three victim companies that offer subscription-based clothing rental services.  Those services enable customers to access and rent from the companies’ inventory of apparel and accessories, including luxury and designer items.  After receiving rental items, including pieces worth thousands of dollars, HORN kept, instead of returned, the items from the victim companies and sold them on an e-commerce marketplace.  HORN’s listings for the stolen items on the e-commerce marketplace often used the victim companies’ proprietary photographs and item descriptions that substantially matched the descriptions used by the victim companies. 

An image of HORN’s listing for a stolen designer dress on an e-commerce marketplace is below:

An image of a listing by one of the victim companies for this same designer dress is below:

Although the victim companies attempted to charge HORN for the items she stole, HORN avoided those charges by disputing them with her credit union or canceling the credit and debit cards she had provided to the victim companies.  HORN’s fraudulent activity caused the victim companies to flag or close her accounts, but HORN opened new accounts so she could continue stealing and selling luxury and designer goods.

During this period, HORN stole over 1,000 items, valued at over $823,000, from the victim companies and sold over $750,000 worth of stolen items.

HORN, 42, of Freeland, Michigan, is charged with one count of mail fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Williams praised the exceptional investigative work of the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  Mr. Williams also thanked the New York State Police and the Michigan State Police for their assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Connie L. Dang and Katherine Cheng are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.