Eastern District of Louisiana

CRISTIAN EDGARDO MEJIA-DIAZ, age 25, a citizen of El Salvador, pled guilty in federal court today before U. S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to a one-count indictment charging him with illegal re-entry by a removed alien, announced U. S. Attorney Dana J. Boente.

According to court documents, on November 13, 2012, MEJIA, an alien who had previously been removed from the United States, was found in Jefferson Parish, within the Eastern District of Louisiana, without having obtained consent from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States.

The single count carries a maximum statutory penalty of two (2) years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and one (1) year of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for April 18, 2013 at 10:00 A.M.

The case was investigated by U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations with assistance from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Robert Weir.

(Download Indictment )

DARVELL HALL, age 32, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Sarah Vance to seven (7) years for making false claims to an agency of the United States and Wire Fraud, announced United States Attorney Dana Boente. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Vance ordered HALL to pay full restitution in the amount of $317,389. HALL was also ordered to pay a $200.00 special assessment fee.

According to court documents, HALL prepared, and caused to be prepared, taxes for individuals located throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area without their knowledge or authorization. To do this, HALL obtained personal information, including the name, date of birth, and Social Security Number, of individuals without their knowledge or permission, and he used this information to file unauthorized tax returns in the names of these individuals. Many of these individuals were either minors or incarcerated at the time the tax returns were filed. The individuals did not know HALL and did not authorize HALL to prepare or file a tax return using their name or on their behalf. HALL prepared and filed with the Internal Revenue Service, approximately forty-eight (48) United States Individual Tax Returns from March 2009 through in or about March 2011 resulting in an attempted loss to the Government of approximately $317,389. When preparing those forty-eight (48) tax returns, HALL included a variety of false statements and information designed to qualify the returns for various credits and refunds. HALL arranged to have the refunds electronically deposited into bank accounts under his control. He neither informed the individuals for whom he was filing tax returns that he was filing such returns, nor shared any of the refund with the individuals.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.

W&T OFFSHORE, INC., a publicly traded company with offices in Houston, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana was sentenced today to pay a total monetary penalty of $1,000,000 by United States District Court Judge Eldon E. Fallon after pleading guilty to one felony count of violating Title 33, United States Code, Section 1319(c)(4) for tampering with, falsifying or rendering inaccurate a monitoring method required to be maintained under the Clean Water Act, and one misdemeanor count of violating Title 33, United States Code, Section 1319(c)(1)(a) for the negligent discharge of oil into the waters of the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente.

According to the court documents the charges stem from conduct on W&T OFFSHORE, INC.’s, EW 910 Platform, a manned, offshore facility designed for the production of oil and gas located in the Gulf of Mexico. From at least January 1, 2009, and continuing to present, W&T OFFSHORE, INC., operated EW 910 Platform and was required to conduct its production operations on EW 910 Platform in accordance with a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit which imposed limitations upon the type and amount of pollutants that W&T OFFSHORE, INC., was legally allowed to discharge into the Gulf of Mexico. As required by the NPDES Permit, W&T OFFSHORE, INC., collected and submitted monthly samples of its produced water discharged from EW 910 Platform into the Gulf of Mexico to a laboratory for testing to determine whether the quantity of oil and grease contained in the produced water did not exceed a daily maximum of 42mg/l and a monthly average of 29 mg/l as required by its Permit.

However, on at least six occasions from on or about January 1, 2009, through on or about December 31, 2009, employees of a contractor working for W&T OFFSHORE, INC., on EW 910 Platform ran the produced water samples collected through coffee filters before submitting the samples to the laboratory for testing. Running the produced water samples through coffee filters before it went into the sample jars resulted in the samples not being representative of actual produced water discharge conditions. The employees of the contractor working for W&T OFFSHORE, INC., who tampered with the testing believed that running the produced water samples through the coffee filters would ensure that the samples did not fail the laboratory tests, and thus, W&T OFFSHORE, INC., would not incur additional laboratory costs and regulatory scrutiny.

Court documents also reveal that on or about November 22, 2009, a process upset on the EW 910 Platform resulted in the release of oil from the facility’s flare boom that coated sections of the open grating on the platform and production equipment. Visible oil staining remained on the platform after a professional cleaning company worked for three days to clean the platform. On or about November 27, 2009, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) inspectors arrived at EW 910 Platform and observed oil on the platform and a light, visible sheen on the water around the platform due to ongoing cleaning efforts. W&T OFFSHORE, INC., had not reported the sheen to the Coast Guard National Response Center at the time the BSEE inspector arrived despite the visible sheen on the water.

W&T OFFSHORE, INC., was sentenced to pay a total monetary penalty of $1,000,000 with $700,000 designated as fines and $300,000 designated as community service payments. W&T OFFSHORE, INC., was placed on a three year term of probation during which the company is required to have the majority of its 107 offshore facilities audited pursuant to the Safety and Environmental Management Systems (“SEMS”) audit as described in Title 30, C.F.R. Part 250. According to the Environmental Compliance Plan, by the end of the last year of probation, 75% of W&T OFFSHORE, INC.’s, Gulf of Mexico facilities will have been audited.

"We appreciate the efforts of the Department of Justice in reaching this agreement," said
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James A. Watson. "We are committed to holding companies accountable for operating in a safe and environmentally responsible manner, and we will continue to work closely with DOJ to enforce the laws and regulations governing offshore energy exploration, development and production activities."

Mary Kendall, Deputy Inspector General of the Department of Interior, Office of
Inspector General said, "This settlement, the result of collaboration and cooperation between the OIG, DOJ, EPA and BSEE, should send a clear message to deter companies from engaging in fraudulent and noncompliant activities."

“One of EPA’s primary missions is to ensure that federal laws protecting human health and the environment are enforced fairly and effectively. To do that, we must receive accurate and honest tests and measurements,” said Ivan Vikin, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Louisiana. “Violators who submit false information and illegally discharge pollutants undermine our efforts to protect the public and the environment. These illegal actions cannot and will not be tolerated.”

This case was referred by the Houma District of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, investigated by the U.S. Department of Interior-OIG and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-CID. The case was prosecuted by Emily K. Greenfield and Dorothy Manning Taylor.

(Download Joint Factual Statement )

KEVIN ALEXANDER SANTAMARIA-OVIEDO, age 22, a citizen of El Salvador, was sentenced today in federal court by U. S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to twenty-one (21) months imprisonment, announced U. S. Attorney Dana Boente. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Milazzo ordered that SANTAMARIA be placed on three years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment, during which time the defendant will be under federal supervision and risks an additional term of imprisonment should he violate any terms of his supervised release.

According to court documents, on September 27, 2012, SANTAMARIA pled guilty to knowingly transferring a fraudulent Social Security card and a fraudulent Permanent Resident Card (also known as a “green card”) on April 4, 2012, knowing that such documents were produced without lawful authority, and the false identification documents appear to have been issued by or under the authority of the United States. SANTAMARIA also pled guilty to possession of document-making implements, specifically a card printer, with intent that the document-making implements would be used to produce false identification documents. SANTAMARIA illegally entered the United States. SANTAMARIA’s wife, JENNIFER MARILYN HERRERA, was sentenced to a two-year term of probation on December 20, 2012 for her role in the scheme.

The case was investigated by the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Robert Weir.