District Not Recorded

A federal grand jury has indicted a Washington woman for false declarations before the grand jury and obstruction of justice.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Raymond Duda of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office and Chief of Police Carmen Best of the Seattle Police Department made the announcement.

According to the indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Washington, on Feb. 28, 2018, Shawna Reid, 34, of Everett, Washington, made false material declarations to a federal grand jury when she denied before the federal grand jury that she previously told a Seattle Police Department Detective and FBI Special Agent during an interview on Aug. 23, 2017, that Suspect #1 told her that Suspect #1 bragged about involvement in the murder of a judge or attorney that lives on top of a hill.  Reid further denied before the federal grand jury that she previously told the detective and special agent on Aug. 23, 2017, that Suspect #1 bragged that the murder victim was someone of importance like a judge or an attorney general.

According to the indictment, Reid is also charged with obstruction of justice for making false material statements to law enforcement officials on Aug. 25, 2017, and Dec.7, 2017, and then on Feb. 28, 2018, before a federal grand jury.  All of the false statements pertained to whether Suspect #1 told Reid about Suspect #1’s involvement in the murder of a lawyer, judge, or attorney general who lived on a hill.

The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Seattle Police Department.  Section Chief David Jaffe and Trial Attorneys Joseph Wheatley and Matthew Hoff of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. Clymer are prosecuting this case.

A former precious metals trader at the London, Singapore and New York offices of a U.S. bank (Bank A) pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and spoofing charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office. 

Christian Trunz, 34, of London, England, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to engage in spoofing and one count of spoofing.  Today’s pleas were accepted by U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 19, 2020.  Trunz resigned from his position as an Executive Director at Bank A earlier today.

According to admissions made as part of his plea and other statements made in court, between approximately July 2007 and August 2016, Trunz placed thousands of orders that he did not intend to execute for gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (NYMEX) and Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX), which are commodities exchanges operated by CME Group Inc.  Trunz learned to spoof from more senior traders, and spoofed with the knowledge and consent of his supervisors.

This case is the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s New York Field Office. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement provided assistance in this case. Trial Attorneys Avi Perry and Matthew F. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Trunz is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today seeking to block Sabre Corporation’s $360 million acquisition of Farelogix, Inc. The Department said that Sabre and Farelogix compete head-to-head to provide booking services to airlines. Booking services are IT solutions that allow airlines to sell tickets and ancillary products through traditional brick-and-mortar and online travel agencies to the traveling public.  The Department said that the acquisition would eliminate competition that has substantially benefitted airlines and consumers.

The Antitrust Division’s lawsuit alleges that the transaction would allow Sabre, the largest booking services provider in the United States, to eliminate a disruptive competitor that has introduced new technology to the travel industry and is poised to grow significantly.

“Sabre’s proposed acquisition of Farelogix is a dominant firm’s attempt to take out a disruptive competitor that has been an important source of competition and innovation,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “If allowed to proceed, the acquisition would likely result in higher prices, reduced quality, and less innovation for airlines and, ultimately, traveling American consumers.”

As alleged in the complaint, Sabre is the dominant provider of booking services in the United States with over 50 percent of airline bookings through travel agencies.  Sabre operates a global distribution system, or GDS, which is a digital platform that provides booking services to airlines in addition to other functionality.  For many years, Sabre has operated outdated technology and resisted innovation.  Farelogix is an innovative technology company that has stepped in to address the needs of airlines and their customers. 

As alleged in the complaint, Farelogix has injected much-needed competition and innovation into stagnant booking services markets.  Airlines have successfully leveraged their ability to turn to Farelogix to negotiate lower fees with Sabre and the other GDSs, and to reduce their reliance on GDSs for booking services.  Farelogix has also pioneered the development of new technology that empowers airlines to make a wider array of offers to travelers who book tickets through travel agencies.  This new technology enables airlines to make more varied and personalized offers to consumers who book through travel agents, including bundles of ancillary products such as wi-fi, lounge passes, entertainment options, and meals – choices not available to travelers through Sabre’s legacy technology.

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, Sabre executives have acknowledged that acquiring Farelogix would eliminate a competitive threat and further entrench Sabre in booking services.  For example, on the day Sabre announced its intention to buy Farelogix, Sabre’s chief sales officer texted a colleague that one major U.S. airline would “hate” it.  The colleague replied, “Why, because it entrenches us more?”  Similarly, a Farelogix executive observed that buying the company would allow Sabre to “tak[e] out a strong competitor vs. continued competition and price pressure.” 

As alleged in the complaint, Sabre’s attempt to acquire Farelogix follows many other attempts by Sabre to neutralize its competitor, including a campaign to “shut down Farelogix.”  Indeed, Farelogix has long complained about Sabre’s tactics, alleging that Sabre has sought to stifle competition.  For example, in 2013, Farelogix’s CEO alleged that “Sabre has wielded its monopoly power in an attempt to destroy Farelogix and prevent competition. . . .” And just last year, Farelogix’s CEO told European antitrust authorities that Sabre and the other two major GDSs “continue to leverage significant market power to preserve their market position and stifle innovation.”  Now that Farelogix has gained a foothold in booking services and is poised to grow, Sabre seeks to eliminate this scrappy competitor once and for all by acquiring it.

Sabre Corp. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Southlake, Texas.  Sabre operates the largest global distribution system in the United States. Sabre’s 2018 revenues were approximately $3.9 billion.

Farelogix, Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida.  Farelogix offers a next-generation booking services solution, known as Open Connect.  In 2018, Farelogix earned approximately $42 million in revenues.

Earlier today, extensive coordination and cooperation efforts between United States and Brazilian law enforcement and prosecution authorities culminated in the Brazil Federal Police (DPF) conducting a significant enforcement operation to disrupt and dismantle a transnational criminal organization.  The human smuggling organization targeted is alleged to be responsible for the illicit smuggling of scores of individuals from East Africa and the Middle East, into Brazil, and ultimately to the United States.  The enforcement operation included the execution of multiple search warrants and the arrests of three prolific, Brazil-based human smugglers on Brazilian charges:  Abdifatah Hussein Ahmed (a Somalian national); Abdessalem Martani (an Algerian national); and Mohsen Khademi Manesh (an Iranian national).

“We commend today’s efforts by our Brazilian counterparts to take decisive action under their recently enacted human smuggling laws against criminal networks that threaten the national security of Brazil, the United States and other nations,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Such collaborative efforts with our foreign law enforcement partners show our collective resolve to hold international human smugglers to account to the fullest extent of the law.” 

Assistance provided by U.S. authorities was coordinated under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department, Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns.  ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources.  ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

HSI Boston led U.S. investigative support efforts, working in concert with HSI Brasilia, HSI San Diego, the HSI Human Smuggling Unit ECT program, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center, the HSI Liaison to the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Southern Command, Operation CITADEL, BITMAP, and the National Targeting Center – Investigations.  The Justice Department, both Criminal Division’s HRSP and the Office of International Affairs, provided significant legal and other assistance in this matter.

A former Kansas bank executive was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday for his participation in a bank fraud scheme to obtain a $15 million construction loan for certain bank customers based upon false and fraudulent representations.  The loan was shared among 26 Kansas banks.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Justin R. Bundy of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General’s (FDIC-OIG) Kansas City Regional Office, Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Langan of the FBI’s Kansas City Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Catherine Huber of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General’s (FHFA-OIG) Central Region Office made the announcement.                                                                                                                                                           

Troy A. Gregory, 52, of Lawrence, Kansas, was found guilty of four counts of bank fraud and two counts of false statements, as charged in a November 2017 indictment.  The jury failed to reach a verdict as to one count of conspiracy.  Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2020, before U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia of the District of Kansas, who presided over the trial.

According to the evidence submitted at trial, Gregory was a bank executive and loan officer who had made millions of dollars in loans to a group of borrowers who were struggling to make payments on the loans.  Beginning in approximately late 2007, Gregory began the process of making a $15.2 million construction loan to build an apartment complex to that same group of borrowers.  Gregory’s bank shared this loan with 25 other Kansas banks.  Gregory made and caused others to make false statements to the banks about the strength of the borrowers, the debt status of the apartment property and the existence of approximately $1.7 million in certificates of deposit for collateral on the loan, all to get the loan approved.  Instead of using the loan funds promised for building the apartments, Gregory immediately diverted over $1 million of the loan to pay for part of the certificates of deposit pledged as collateral, pay off debt on the apartment property, and make payments on unrelated loans, the evidence showed.  Other Kansas banks that shared in this loan would not have participated in the loan without the false representations and promises. The banks ultimately wrote off millions of dollars on the $15.2 million construction loan, the evidence showed.

The FDIC-OIG, IRS-CI, FBI and FHFA-OIG are investigating this matter.  Trial Attorney Andrew R. Tyler and Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department announced today that American Airlines Inc. has agreed to pay approximately $22.1 million to resolve its alleged liability under the False Claims Act for falsely reporting the times it transferred possession of United States mail to foreign postal administrations or other intended recipients under contracts with the United States Postal Service (USPS). American Airlines is an international airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We expect companies doing business with the government to comply with their contractual obligations,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice vigorously pursues all manner of fraudulent conduct that undermines the benefits that the government has bargained for.”

USPS contracted with American Airlines to take possession of receptacles of United States mail at six locations in the United States or at various Department of Defense and State Department locations abroad, and then deliver that mail to numerous international and domestic destinations.  To obtain payment under the contracts, American Airlines was required to submit electronic scans of the mail receptacles to USPS reporting the time the mail was delivered at the specified destinations. The contracts specified penalties for mail that was delivered late or to the wrong location. Today’s settlement resolves allegations that scans submitted by American Airlines falsely reported the time it transferred possession of the mail. 

“The U.S. Postal Service contracts with commercial airlines for the safeguarding and timely delivery of U.S. Mail to foreign posts, including the mail sent to our soldiers deployed to foreign operating bases,” said Scott Pierce, Special Agent in Charge, USPS Office of Inspector General. “The Office of Inspector General supports the Postal Service by aggressively investigating allegations of contractual non-compliance within the mail delivery process, including the falsification of delivery information.  Our special agents worked hand-in-hand with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division to help ensure a reasonable resolution and we applaud the exceptional work by the investigative and legal team.” 

This matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the USPS Office of the Inspector General, and the USPS Office of General Counsel.

The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

PCI FlorTech Inc., an Illinois-based commercial flooring contractor, has been charged for its role in a long-running conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices for commercial flooring services and products sold in the United States, the Department of Justice announced today.  

PCI FlorTech has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $150,000 criminal fine for its role in the conspiracy and to cooperate in the Division’s ongoing investigation. PCI FlorTech’s charge follows the guilty plea of a former vice president of another commercial flooring contractor.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, PCI FlorTech engaged in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the commercial flooring market by submitting complementary bids to ensure that the designated company would win the bidding. PCI FlorTech participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as 2009 until at least June 2017.

“Today marks the first charge brought against a corporation for rigging bids and undermining the competitive process that consumers—including schools and charities—depend upon to get a competitive price for flooring,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “We will continue to investigate and prosecute contractors and their executives who cheat in the bidding process.”

“PCI FlorTech illegally conspired to elevate bid prices, ultimately cheating the public out of the competitive pricing necessary to complete construction projects,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet, FBI Chicago. “This charge demonstrates that the FBI is committed to working with its government partners to hold contractors accountable when they attempt to profit at their community’s expense.”

A violation of the Sherman Act carries maximum penalties of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

The charges are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging, price fixing, and other anticompetitive conduct in the commercial flooring industry, conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Chicago Field Division.

Anyone with information on bid rigging, price fixing, or other anticompetitive conduct related to the commercial flooring industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office at 312-984-7200 or visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

Attorney General William P. Barr today announced he will appoint Dr. Kathleen Hawk Sawyer as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and Dr. Thomas R. Kane as the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Dr. Hawk Sawyer previously served as Director of BOP from 1992 – 2003.  

“I am pleased to welcome back Dr. Hawk Sawyer as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Under Dr. Hawk Sawyer’s previous tenure at the Bureau, she led the agency with excellence, innovation, and efficiency, receiving numerous awards for her outstanding leadership, “ said Attorney General Barr. “I am also pleased to announce Dr. Thomas R. Kane as the Deputy Director of BOP. Dr. Kane served in the Bureau for over thirty years under four Attorneys General and is known for his expertise and proficiency in prison management and organization. During this critical juncture, I am confident Dr. Hawk Sawyer and Dr. Kane will lead BOP with the competence, skill, and resourcefulness they have embodied throughout their government careers. I would also like to thank Hugh Hurwitz, Acting Director of BOP, for his dedication and service to the Bureau over the last fifteen months. I have asked Mr. Hurwitz to return to his responsibilities as Assistant Director of BOP’s Reentry Services Division, where he will work closely with me in overseeing the implementation of one of the Department’s highest priorities, the First Step Act.”

Dr. Kathleen Hawk Sawyer began her Bureau of Prisons career in 1976 as a psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Morgantown, West Virginia, and subsequently held positions of increasing responsibility as Chief of Psychology Services at Morgantown; Senior Instructor at the Bureau of Prisons' Staff Training Academy (STA) in Glynco, Georgia; Associate Warden at FCI Fort Worth, Texas; the Bureau's Chief of Staff Training at STA; and Warden at FCI Butner, North Carolina. In May 1989, she was selected as Assistant Director for the Program Review Division, where she was responsible for developing and implementing a system of internal controls for all Bureau operations. In 1992, Attorney General Barr appointed Dr. Hawk Sawyer as Director of BOP. While serving as Director for over a decade, she introduced the Forward Thinking Initiative, which was designed to prepare the agency to meet future demands and conditions. Additionally, she implemented reengineering initiatives intended to identify and eliminate unnecessary or redundant functions in order to maximize staff attention to inmates and yield agency-wide cost savings. While Director, Dr. Hawk Sawyer received numerous awards for service and leadership, including the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Management in 1992, the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service in 1994 and 2000, and the Presidential Distinguished Executive Award in 1997. She served as Director until she retired in 2003.

Dr. Thomas R. Kane served in the Bureau of Prisons from 1977 to 2018, including 30 years in multiple senior leadership positions such as Chief of Staff, Assistant Director, Deputy Director, and Acting Director under four Attorneys General. While at BOP, he provided long-term leadership for the enhancement of processes to assess prisoner risk level and need for treatment, as well as the BOP business process by reengineering initiatives resulting in significant organizational cost efficiencies and process improvement. Additionally, he served as a member of the FBI Advisory Policy Board for Criminal Justice Information Services, the District of Columbia Sentencing Commission, and the BOP Health Services Governing Board. Dr. Kane received numerous awards and other recognition throughout his career, including the Attorney General’s Medallion, two Meritorious Presidential Rank Awards, and the BOP Distinguished Service Medal.  Dr. Kane also serves as a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Correctional Association.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI) announced that SINGEO I. SINGENES, age 63, and INNOCENCIA ESIROM, age 56, were sentenced in U.S. District Court today by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood. SINGENES and ESIROM were convicted of unauthorized use of food stamp benefits, in violation of Title 7, United States Code, Section 2024(b). Each defendant received a sentence of 12 months and one day imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. The Court also ordered each defendant to pay a $100 special assessment fee and, jointly and severally, a total of $490,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

          SINGENES owned and ESIROM operated S & I Mart, a small convenience store that was located in Barrigada, Guam, and has since closed. On March 1, 2011, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service authorized S & I Mart to participate in the agency’s program known as SNAP, formerly the  Food Stamp Program. SNAP is a 100% federally funded program that provides financial aid to eligible recipients for use at authorized retail food stores. Under the program, SNAP recipients receive  electronic benefits transfer (“EBT”) authorization cards that operate as debit cards. Each month authorized recipients are issued certain amounts of SNAP benefits that could be accessed only with their EBT cards and encrypted personal identification numbers. Under the program, SINGENES and  ESIROM knew that SNAP benefits could not be accepted or redeemed in exchange for credit or loans, and that SNAP recipients could not be discriminated against by charging them interest or different prices, among other things.

          From March 1, 2011 to September 1, 2013, the defendants defrauded the USDA and obtained SNAP benefits in exchange for extending credit to SNAP recipients. The defendants allowed SNAP recipients to purchase items on credit, and used their SNAP benefits from their EBT cards to pay off their credit balances at the beginning of the next month. The defendants also charged higher prices to SNAP recipients who purchased merchandise on credit and charged them a $20 late fee if they failed to pay their credit balances at the beginning of the following month. The practice of accepting SNAP benefits as payment on credit accounts or loans was a violation of the program and accounted for 90% of the store’s sales.

          U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “The USDA investigation revealed a continuous pattern of fraud by these defendants over a substantial period of time. The SNAP program provides essential nutritional benefits to needy families nationwide. That these defendants would defraud not only the program, but also the recipients is unconscionable. Our office will hold dishonest retailers accountable through prosecution and disqualification in an effort to maintain the integrity of this important program.”

          The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the USDA-Office of Inspector General investigated the case.  The case was prosecuted by Marivic P. David, Assistant United States Attorney.

BIRMINGHAM – Birmingham man pled guilty during trial, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, and Special Agent and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

           Monterius King, 31, entered his plea on August 5th before U.S. District Judge Liles Burke at the end of the first day of trial, after several witnesses had testified.  King pled guilty to robbing the ServisFirst Bank on Richard Arrington Blvd. on January 3, 2017.  King also pled guilty to robbing the Jet Pep gas station on Center Point Parkway on April 24, 2017, and to discharging a firearm during that robbery, in which he shot a clerk in the stomach.  King has pending charges remaining in state court for attempted murder and robbery arising from the JetPep robbery, and for robbery arising from the ServisFirst bank robbery.  A sentencing date has been set for December 16th. 

            “Those who threaten the lives of innocent employees and customers are exactly the violent criminals we will remove from our communities and relocate to a bed in federal prison,” Town said.  “The government was fully prepared to present evidence at trial that would prove the guilt of this defendant. He now faces federal time in a federal prison.”

            “Protecting the public by the removal of the criminal element that commits acts of violence with a firearm was the result of the combined efforts by ATF and our partners,” Watson said.

            King faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the robberies, plus a consecutive term of at least 10 years for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. 

            The ATF investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Geer, III, is prosecuting.

William Patrick Syring, 61, of Arlington, Virginia, was today sentenced to 60 months in prison for threatening employees of the Arab American Institute (AAI) because of their race and national origin, threatening AAI employees because of their efforts to encourage Arab Americans to participate in political and civic life in the United States, and transmitting threats to AAI employees in interstate commerce.

“Threats aimed to intimidate individuals based on their ethnic or racial origin are despicable violations of civil rights freedoms protected by our constitution,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “The Department of Justice will continue to fight to preserve the basic rights of people to live, work, and speak in their communities without the fear of hostility based on racism.”

“Investigating hate crimes is one of the FBI’s highest criminal priorities; these hateful acts are not only an attack on the victim, but are meant to intimidate an entire community,” said Timothy R. Slater, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “This sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to holding accountable those who seek to violate the civil rights of the people of our community through violent threats.”

Evidence presented at trial established that from 2012 to 2017, Syring sent over 700 emails to AAI employees, culminating in five death threats in 2017. According to court documents, Syring previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to sending threatening emails to AAI employees. Evidence presented at trial showed that Syring used nearly identical language that he admitted were threats in 2008 as he did in 2017.

According to testimony in court, AAI employees were frightened of Syring because he had sent them death threats in the past and continued to do so over a decade later. Additionally, according to witness testimony, many AAI employees lived in fear that Syring would follow through on his threats and physically harm them. They further testified to the toll it took on them personally and their families and loved ones.

On May 9, Syring was convicted on all 14 counts in the indictment, including seven hate crime charges and seven interstate threats charges. The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, and is being prosecuted by Civil Rights Division Senior Legal Counsel Mark Blumberg and Trial Attorney Nick Reddick.

Nathaniel Griffin, 29, today pleaded guilty to using unlawful force on an inmate while Griffin was serving as a correctional officer with the Tennessee Department of Corrections, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee D. Michael Dunavant, and FBI-Memphis Special Agent in Charge M.A. Myers.

“The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute correctional officers who violate the public’s trust by committing crimes and attempting to cover up violations of federal criminal law,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “Officer Griffin abused his power in this case, and the Department of Justice held him accountable for his unlawful actions.”

"Correctional officers must abide by and adhere to the same laws they take an oath to uphold and enforce. Instead of serving and protecting the public, this officer used physical force to violate the civil rights of an individual and will now be held accountable, vividly illustrating that no one is above the law,” said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant.

"The FBI takes all allegations of civil rights violations seriously, and we will work tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice system," said M.A. Myers, Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  "Those who choose to ignore the oath they took to protect and serve will be investigated and brought to justice."

On or about Feb. 1, Griffin and fellow correctional officers T.P., J.Y., C.M., and C.S. entered the cell of R.T., an inmate in the mental health unit at the Northwest County Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Inmate R.T. spit and then remained seated on a bench, with his arms by his sides.

Correctional officer J.Y. looked in the direction of the surveillance camera in the cell and said, “Cover the camera.” Officer C.S. then covered the camera with his hand. When the camera was covered, Griffin saw inmate R.T. sitting with his arms by his side.  Correctional Officer J.Y. then repeatedly punched R.T. Griffin estimated that Officer J.Y. hit R.T. between 20-30 times. At some point, Officer J.Y. stopped hitting R.T., looked back at Officer T.P., and said, “Get you some.” Officer T.P. then stepped up and punched R.T. between four to five times. 

During the assault by the officers, inmate R.T. sat on the bench and covered his face and head with his hands. Griffin knew that punching R.T. was unlawful, but he did not step in to stop it.  Officers T.M., C.S., and C.M. were in a position to watch as J.Y. and T.P. punched inmate R.T., but none of them attempted to stop the officers from hitting R.T.

Griffin heard an officer in the cell ask for paper towels. Correctional Officer C.M. handed the towels to Griffin. Griffin wet them in the sink, and handed them to Officer C.S. Griffin knew when they wet the towels, they would be used to cover the camera. After R.T. was punched by J.Y. and T.P., Griffin observed that R.T. was bleeding. 

After Officers J.Y. and T.P. stopped punching R.T., the inmate spit on Griffin’s chest and arm.  Griffin punched R.T. multiple times. Griffin then left the cell.

Outside of the cell, Griffin spoke with T.P., J.Y., and Corporal T.M.  Corporal T.M., who was the ranking officer, told the other officers that they should come up with a false cover story about what happened to R.T.  Griffin understood that any subsequent discussion of the incident would not include that he and other officers had punched R.T. 

Griffin admitted in today’s guilty plea that he violated 18 U.S.C. § 242 when he repeatedly punched and injured inmate R.T. without legal justification. The maximum penalty for this civil rights offense is 10 years imprisonment. Sentencing is set for Nov. 13. 

This case was investigated by the Memphis Division of the FBI with the support of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Rebekah J. Bailey of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorney David Pritchard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.

Robert Hammac, 45, a former officer of the Lake Charles Police Department, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge James D. Cain, Jr., for using excessive force against an arrestee, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph for the Western District of Louisiana, and FBI’s New Orleans Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Anderson.   

Hammac pleaded guilty to a single count of deprivation of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242.  According to documents filed today, Hammac was involved in a vehicle pursuit of G.T. on May 8, 2017, for several miles. The car was brought to a stop, and G.T. raised his hands in the air in a manner indicating surrender. Other officers then ordered G.T. out of the car and began pulling him out of the car. Hammac ran to the front passenger side door, opened it, grabbed G.T. before he could exit, pulled him back into the car, and repeatedly punched G.T.’s head with a closed fist. The victim was not resisting in any way or posing a threat.

“Law enforcement officers must uphold and defend the constitution,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “When an officer abuses their power, the public’s trust in law enforcement is compromised. The Department of Justice will continue to hold such officers accountable under the law.”

“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph. “The vast majority of law enforcement officers perform their difficult and dangerous duties with integrity and courage.  However, law enforcement officers who betray the badge and the public’s trust, as the defendant did here, also dishonor their profession and their fellow officers.  This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the Western District of Louisiana.”

“Police officers respond to challenging and dynamic situations every day,” stated FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Anderson. “They are trained to maintain professionalism and adhere to standards of conduct in any situation. In this instance, the officer did not apply his training and violated the constitutional rights of the victim. Instances such as this are unacceptable and will continue to be high priority investigations of the FBI."

Hammac faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for Nov. 14.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla Bynog of the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Mary J. Hahn of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

Two former correctional officers at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, were sentenced today for their roles in assaults on a handcuffed inmate in January 2017. Adrian Almodovar III and Charles Philson III previously pleaded guilty to depriving the inmate of his constitutional rights while acting under color of law.

“The Justice Department is committed to holding correctional officers who deprive inmates of their right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment accountable to the public,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “The Civil Rights Division will continue to obtain justice for victims of these atrocious crimes.”

“The vast majority of law enforcement officers maintain a high standard of conduct and perform their duties with honesty, integrity, and bravery. Law enforcement officers at every level should be held to a high standard and those who deprive citizens of their civil rights and undermine the public trust should be held accountable. I want to thank the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the FBI, and Louisiana Office of the State Inspector General, and our staff for their efforts in this case.”

"Along with our partners, the FBI will aggressively pursue allegations wherein correctional officers abuse their position of power and authority to deny persons their constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment,” stated Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Anderson. “The FBI is appreciative of its partnership with the LA Department of Corrections to root out correctional officers who choose to break the law and physically abuse defenseless inmates.”

“Corrections Officers are given great authority and trust, and when they abuse that trust, it undermines the entire system,” said Louisiana Inspector General Stephen Street. “Physically abusing a handcuffed inmate can never be tolerated. It was entirely appropriate that these individuals be prosecuted and punished. The Louisiana OIG will continue working these criminal cases with our law enforcement partners for as long as necessary to protect the integrity of our system.  I want to thank U.S. Attorney Brandon Fremin and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for all their efforts on this case.”       

During his previous plea hearing, Almodovar admitted to unlawfully striking inmate J.H. on multiple occasions while J.H. was handcuffed. He also admitted to failing to intervene to stop his fellow correctional officers from using unlawful force on J.H.  Almodovar further admitted to unlawfully striking a second inmate, L.B., in the head while L.B. was handcuffed. Almodovar was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Philson previously pleaded guilty to witnessing other correctional officers using unlawful force on J.H. and failing to intervene to stop them. He was sentenced to 12 months probation.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Baton Rouge Resident Agency Office and the Louisiana Office of the State Inspector General. Trial Attorney Christopher J. Perras and Assistant United States Attorney Cal Leipold also assisted in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Zachary Dembo of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.

A Portland, Maine tax return preparer pleaded guilty today to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank of the District of Maine.

According to plea documents and statements made in court, Ashraf Eldeknawey operated a tax return preparation business located inside the Ahram Halal Market in Portland during the years 2015 through 2018. Eldeknawey admitted to willfully preparing a false 2015 tax return for two clients that intentionally included overstated self-employment income in order to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit and a fraudulently increased refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Eldeknawey admitted that his preparation of false tax returns caused a loss to the government between $40,000 and $100,000.

Eldeknawey faces up to three years in prison, as well as monetary penalties.  As part of the plea, Eldeknawey also agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of the loss caused by his conduct. 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Frank thanked Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and William Guappone of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.  Zuckerman and Frank also commended IRS Criminal Investigation; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General; and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unit, who investigated the case. 

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the Division’s website.

Chairman Ajit Pai of the Federal Communications Commission announced today that his office has circulated a draft order approving the combination of T-Mobile and Sprint along with the divestiture of Sprint’s prepaid business to Dish Network Corp.  Just as the Department determined last month, the FCC’s draft order concludes that the merger and divestiture should move forward.  As the FCC explained, the circulation of the draft order means that the matter is now ready for consideration by the full Commission.

“I commend the FCC on passing this important milestone toward approval of the merger and divestiture, and congratulate them on completing their thorough review and analysis,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “We are now one step closer to strengthening competition for high-quality 5G networks that will benefit American consumers nationwide.” 

The Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the offices of five state Attorneys General (Plaintiff States), filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on July 26 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction.  At the same time, the Department and the Plaintiff States filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Department’s and the Plaintiff States’ competitive concerns. The participating state Attorneys General offices represent Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, T-Mobile and Sprint must divest Sprint’s prepaid business, including Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Sprint prepaid, to Dish Network Corp., a Colorado-based satellite television provider.  The proposed settlement also provides for the divestiture of certain spectrum assets to Dish.  Additionally, T-Mobile and Sprint must make available to Dish at least 20,000 cell sites and hundreds of retail locations.  T-Mobile must also provide Dish with robust access to the T-Mobile network for a period of seven years while Dish builds out its own 5G network.

T-Mobile US Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.  In 2018, T-Mobile posted revenues of more than $43 billion.  Deutsche Telekom AG, a German corporation headquartered in Bonn, Germany, is the controlling shareholder of T-Mobile US Inc. 

Sprint Corporation is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.  In 2018, its posted revenue was over $32 billion.  Sprint is controlled by SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese Corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with four car reconditioning companies in California: Automotive Creations, Inc., Dynamic Auto Images, Inc., Prestige Auto Specialists, Inc., and Expert Automotive Reconditioning, Inc. (collectively, the Companies). The settlement resolves the Department’s investigation into whether the Companies violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against lawful permanent residents when verifying their authorization to work in the United States.

“The Civil Rights Division remains committed to ensuring that employers do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of citizenship, immigration status, or national origin when requesting documents to verify employees’ work authorization,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “We commend the Companies for their commitment to ensuring that all future documentary requests will comply with the law.”

The Department’s independent investigation concluded that, from at least October 2015 through at least August 2018, the Companies requested that lawful permanent residents produce unnecessary and specific immigration documents to prove their work authorization, even when they had provided other legally acceptable documents. The anti-discrimination provision of the INA prohibits employers from requesting more or different documents than necessary to prove work authorization based on the employees’ citizenship, immigration status, or national origin. All work-authorized individuals, regardless of citizenship status, have the right to choose which legally acceptable documents to present to demonstrate their ability to work in the United States.  

Under the settlement, the Companies will pay $159,000 in civil penalties to the United States and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements. Additionally, certain employees will be required to attend training on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation. 

More information on how employers can avoid unlawful discrimination is available here.  Workers can find information about their rights under the anti-discrimination provision of the INA here.  For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected]; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; or discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

A federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, has issued an order permanently barring Jeffrey Cadet, Kersh Tax Service, LLC, and Kersha Lewis from preparing federal tax returns for others, or owning or operating a tax preparation business, the Justice Department announced today.

The court also ordered the defendants to mail copies of the court order and complaint to all persons or entities for whom they prepared federal tax returns after Jan. 1, 2014.

The complaint filed by the government alleged that defendants prepared tax returns containing fictitious itemized deductions and/or fictitious business expenses. The complaint also alleges that the defendants filed returns containing fictitious and/or inflated education expenses to improperly claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and Lifetime Learning Credit on behalf of customers. According to the complaint, the defendants circumvented due diligence requirements for claiming the AOTC and the Earned Income Tax Credit, charged deceptive and/or unconscionable fees to customers, failed to provide customers with complete copies of their tax returns, and failed to sign or identify themselves as the preparer on many returns they prepared.

The injunction against Cadet, Kersh Tax Service, and Kersha Lewis was entered by default because those defendants failed to defend against the government’s allegations. Saglenda Johnson, who was also named as a party to the lawsuit, consented to a similar injunction entered earlier in the case.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. 

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

United States Attorney’s Office today announced the sentencing of Shakeel Kahn and his brother Nabeel Kahn on federal charges of operating a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiring to distribute prescription medications, which resulted in the death Jessica Burch.  The sentencing follows a nearly four week trial that concluded in May 2019. 

Shakeel and Nabeel Kahn were sentenced by United States District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson. 

Shakeel A. Kahn, (53) received a 25 year sentence for counts including drug distribution resulting in death, operating a continuing criminal enterprise, and the use of a firearm in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime.  Nabeel Aziz “Sonny” Kahn (46), received a 15 year sentence, including a 5 year consecutive sentence for use of a firearm in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime.

“This is a substantial sentence that reflects the severity of the offenses in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Klaassen.  “In concert with the ongoing nationwide effort to combat opioid abuse, my office will continue to focus on stemming the tide of illegally prescribed drugs.  These are particularly addictive and dangerous drugs that must be used with care, and we must ensure the integrity of the prescribing process to prevent abuse,” said Klaassen.  “I appreciate the effort of the DEA diversion team in the investigation of this case.”

Numerous other defendants were charged and convicted in State court on drug trafficking charges for their involvement in selling prescription medications received through Shakeel Kahn’s practice. 

The investigation of this case began in April 2016, based on a complaint from the Wyoming Board of Pharmacy indicating Shakeel Kahn was prescribing large amounts of controlled substances under two DEA registration numbers – one in Arizona and one in Wyoming.  Trial testimony revealed that the Kahn drug distribution organization was unlawfully prescribing opioids in small rural communities located in and around Fort Mohave, Arizona; Casper, Wyoming; and the Wind River Indian Reservation between January of 2011 and December of 2016. 

Shakeel Kahn purported to be a pain management physician.  He targeted vulnerable addicts as customers.  They received prescriptions for highly addictive opioids at rapidly escalating volume and in potentially deadly combination with other drugs.  It was not uncommon for customers to pay as much as $4,000 per month to Kahn in exchange for the prescription opioids.  The patients who received the medications often had no visible source of income that would allow them to afford the prescriptions – other than what they were earning re-selling the drugs on the street.  Tragically, at least one patient, Jessica Burch, died as a result of an overdose of medications received from Shakeel Kahn’s practice.       

This case was investigated with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

“I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody. Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered. In addition to the FBI’s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein’s death."

A Waco, Texas, tax return preparer pleaded guilty Tuesday before United States Magistrate Judge Jeffrey C. Manske to conspiracy to defraud the United States announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to the indictment and information presented at the plea hearing, Janell Lightner, assisted co-defendant Stacey Anderson in the preparation and filing of false tax returns. Anderson operated her tax return preparation business, Anderson Professional Tax Services, out of Anderson’s residence in Waco. Lightner and Anderson conspired to defraud the United States by preparing false 2013 and 2014 individual income tax returns, which claimed false business items and/or education tax credits in order to fraudulently increase their clients’ tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Lightner and Anderson prepared returns for clients in Texas, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Lightner has admitted to causing a tax loss of over $1.3 million.  

In June 2019, Anderson also pleaded guilty to the aforementioned conspiracy charge as well as filing a false 2014 income tax return.  Anderson admitted to causing a tax loss of over $10 million. Anderson’s sentencing is set for Oct. 9, 2019.

The Court scheduled Lightner’s sentencing for Dec. 5, 2019.  Lightner faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge as well as a term of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Robert Kemins and David Zisserson, who are prosecuting the case. Mr. Zuckerman also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas (Waco Division) for their substantial assistance on this case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website. 

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that BRANDON HALL, a/k/a “B-Hilly,” age 29, and DWAYNE LABRANCH, a/k/a “Mondo,” a/k/a “Black,” age 37, both of New Orleans, were sentenced on Wednesday, August 7, 2018 after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of fentanyl, along with firearm charges. 

United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced HALL to 196 months of imprisonment followed by four years of supervised release.  LABRANCH was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment followed by four years of supervised release.

According to court records, during the timeframe of the charged drug conspiracy, HALL and LABRANCH conspired with codefendants Jonathan LAWRENCE, Aloysius KORIEOCHA, Brian MAXSON, Donald MARCELIN, Lance STOVALL, Vonzo MAGEE, and others, to distribute heroin and fentanyl throughout the New Orleans area.  These individuals were members of a drug-trafficking organization that operated primarily in the Eastside Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans.  Collectively, the group referred to their neighborhood as “The Zoo,” a name derived from a popular rap song and video filmed in the neighborhood.  Each of the eight defendants has been linked to drug activity in Eastside Hollygrove through law enforcement controlled purchases, Title III wire and electronic interceptions, witness statements, drug seizures, and other evidence.  Each of the eight defendants in this case has pleaded guilty.  Thus far, MARCELIN, KORIEOCHA, HALL, and LABRANCH have been sentenced. 

The FBI New Orleans Gang Task Force (NOGTF), which led this investigation and was assisted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Orleans Police Department, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys Brandon S. Long, David Haller, and Edward Rivera are in charge of the prosecution.              

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Beaver Medical Group L.P. (Beaver) and one of its physicians, Dr. Sherif Khalil, have agreed to pay a total of $5,039,180 to resolve allegations that they reported invalid diagnoses to Medicare Advantage plans and thereby caused those plans to receive inflated payments from Medicare, the Justice Department announced. Beaver is headquartered in Redlands, California.    

“The United States relies on healthcare providers to submit accurate diagnosis data to Medicare Advantage plans to ensure those plans receive the appropriate compensation from Medicare,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We will pursue those who undermine the integrity of the Medicare program and the data it relies upon.” 

Under the Medicare Advantage program, also known as the Medicare Part C program, Medicare beneficiaries may opt to obtain health care coverage through private insurance plans that are owned and operated by private insurers known as Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs). Medicare pays MAOs a fixed, monthly amount to provide health care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in their plans. Medicare adjusts these monthly payments to reflect the health status of each beneficiary. In general, Medicare pays MAOs more for sicker beneficiaries and less for healthier ones.

MAOs often contract with physician groups and other healthcare providers to provide care to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in their plans. These healthcare providers report diagnoses and other information to the MAOs, which the MAOs then submit to Medicare in order to obtain higher risk-adjusted payments. 

In this case, several MAOs in California contracted with Beaver to provide health care to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in their plans. The MAOs often compensated Beaver with a share of the payments that the MAOs received from Medicare for the beneficiaries under Beaver’s care. Thus, Beaver had a financial incentive to submit additional diagnosis codes to the MAOs in order to increase the payments that the MAOs received from Medicare. The settlement resolves allegations that Beaver and Dr. Khalil knowingly submitted diagnoses that were not supported by the beneficiaries’ medical records in order to inflate the payments that the MAO received from Medicare.

“As enrollment in Medicare Advantage continues to grow, investigation into accuracy of diagnosis data becomes ever more important,” said Timothy B. Francesca, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “Those who inflate bills sent to government health programs can expect to pay a heavy price.”  

The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr. David Nutter, a former employee of Beaver. The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. Dr. Nutter will receive approximately $850,000.

The government’s intervention in this matter illustrates its emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

This matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

The case is docketed as United States ex rel. David Nutter, M.D., and David Nutter, M.D., individually, v. Sherif F. Khalil, M.D., Beaver Medical group, L.P., The Beaver Medical Clinic, Inc., Epic Management, L.P., and Epic Management, Inc., No. CVC17-02035-PSG-KKX (C.D. Cal.).    

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

The former CEO of the Israel-based company Yukom Communications, a purported sales and marketing company, was found guilty yesterday for orchestrating a scheme to defraud investors in the United States and worldwide by fraudulently marketing approximately $145 million in financial instruments known as “binary options.”

Lee Elbaz, 38, a citizen of Israel, was found guilty after a three-week jury trial of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud.  Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 9, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang of the District of Maryland, who presided over the trial.  Elbaz was arrested on a criminal complaint in September 2017 and indicted in March 2018.

“This verdict demonstrates that the Department will hold accountable those who deceive American investors with false claims and rates of returns,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “We are committed to prosecuting financial fraud, even when perpetrated from abroad.”

“I would like to commend the FBI agents, analysts and our DOJ colleagues for their hard work to seek justice for the victims of Lee Elbaz’s fraud,” said Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office, John P. Selleck.   “We would not be successful in our work if not for our partners around the world; and this investigation demonstrates that no matter where fraudsters and criminals try to hide, we will work tirelessly to locate them.”

According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendant and her co-conspirators fraudulently sold and marketed binary options to investors located in the United States and throughout the world through two websites, known as BinaryBook and BigOption.  The evidence showed that in her role as CEO of Yukom, Elbaz, along with her co-conspirators and subordinates, misled investors using BinaryBook and BigOption by falsely claiming to represent the interests of investors when, in fact, the owners of BinaryBook and BigOption profited when investors lost money; by misrepresenting the suitability of and expected return on investments through BinaryBook and BigOption; by providing investors with false names and qualifications and falsely claiming to be working from London; and by misrepresenting whether and how investors could withdraw funds from their accounts.  Representatives of BinaryBook and BigOption, working under Elbaz’s supervision, misrepresented the terms of so-called “bonuses,” “risk free trades” and “insured trades,” and deceptively used these supposed benefits in a manner that in fact harmed investors, the evidence showed.  

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  Principal Assistant Chief Henry Van Dyck and Trial Attorneys L. Rush Atkinson and Caitlin Cottingham of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  Assistant Chief Tracee Plowell and Trial Attorney Ankush Khardori previously prosecuted the case.

Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information at: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/lee-elbaz.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice will hold a public workshop on September 23, 2019, to discuss the role of antitrust enforcement in labor markets and promoting robust competition for the American worker. The workshop will cover a variety of labor competition issues, including, among other topics: anticompetitive no-poach and wage-fixing agreements, approaches to labor market definition, the role of employer collaboration and contractual arrangements between employers on competition for workers, labor monopsony in merger enforcement, and antitrust exemptions for collective bargaining and other labor union activity. Panelists will discuss recent developments in the law, economic research, and policy proposals, as well as how to effectively develop cases challenging labor monopsony. 

Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim will open the workshop, which will bring together economists, attorneys, labor representatives, and industry experts who examine competition in labor markets and who have experience litigating or studying labor antitrust cases. The Division intends to explore the practical considerations that antitrust enforcers and private litigants face in bringing cases that involve labor markets. The workshop will begin with an overview of the status of labor economics, followed by a series of panels examining (1) approaches to defining labor markets; (2) antitrust analysis of labor restraints arising out of competitor collaborations and contractual partnerships between employers; and (3) statutory and non-statutory antitrust exemptions for labor union activities.

The Department of Justice invites comments from the public on the topics covered by this workshop. Interested parties may submit public comments online now through October 23, 2019 at [email protected].  

The workshop is free and open to the public and will take place in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST on September 23, 2019. A recording of the workshop will be available on the Division’s website. Registration information, an agenda, directions to the event, and a list of speakers will be available in the near future on the event web page. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to register in advance for the workshop at [email protected]. Members of the press also should copy [email protected] on their registration email. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees should bring a valid government-issued photo ID (government badge, license, passport, etc.) and arrive in time to go through security.

Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. If you need such an accommodation, please contact Alexei Woltornist in the Office of Public Affairs at [email protected]. Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodations needed and a way to contact you if we need more information.

The Department of Justice announced today the FBI-led recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through Operation Independence Day.  This initiative — a revamping of a previously successful program — was executed during the month of July through 161 operations conducted nationwide.

Operation Independence Day relied on the 86 FBI-led Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs), which leveraged the resources and intelligence of other federal, state, local, and tribal partners.  Overall, more than 400 agencies participate in these task forces.

Operation Independence Day prioritized locating and rescuing missing minors who are at great risk for sexual exploitation, and arresting the traffickers exploiting them.  To that end, through its partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), FBI special agents and intelligence analysts reviewed information provided through NCMEC’s CyberTipline, to identify missing minor children at risk for sexual exploitation, and then worked with state and local partners to execute law enforcement activity designed to recover those children and arrest traffickers.

The health and welfare of recovered minor and adult trafficking victims was a further priority.  To facilitate these efforts, the FBI’s Victim Services Division and victim specialists stationed in each of our 56 field offices also worked closely with the task forces during the operation to ensure recovered children received the help they needed.  Victim specialists put internal and external resources in place before the operation to ensure victim assistance was a priority in the aftermath of the law enforcement operations.   

“This initiative has two crucial goals: rescuing children being sold for sex and prosecuting their adult traffickers,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “Child sex trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable in our society.  Perpetrators victimize children in communities throughout the country, and we are determined to find and rescue them.  Through the FBI’s leadership, we have recovered thousands of child victims, and this latest operation adds to the success of that decades-long effort.”  

“Make no mistake, the FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the sex traffickers who exploit them,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.  “Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive life of sex trafficking.  Our agents, intelligence analysts, professional staff, and victim specialists work tirelessly before, during and after these operations to make sure that victims get the help they need to reclaim their lives.”

“The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is proud to be part of this extraordinary partnership with the FBI.  The FBI and the Department of Justice have been instrumental in spearheading multi-agency collaboration between organizations to locate and provide resources to victims of child sex trafficking,” said John Clark, President and CEO of NCMEC.  “We know this horrendous crime impacts communities across our country every day and we applaud the FBI for continuing to work tirelessly to locate these victims and hold accountable those who are selling children for sex.”

In June 2003, the FBI, in conjunction with the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and NCMEC, launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI).  This combined effort was aimed at addressing the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States.  In the years since its inception, the ILNI has expanded to 86 dedicated CEHTTFs.  These task forces, with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the FBI’s Victim Services Division, have worked successfully to rescue thousands of children.

Through ILNI, the FBI, along with its local law enforcement partners, uses task forces to leverage resources and intelligence to identify and recover child victims and prosecute those responsible for their exploitation.  This collaborative effort has led to the recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims.  The initiative has also led to more than 2,750 convictions, including more than 15 life sentences and many other sentences ranging from 25 years to life.

In 2008, the ILNI initiated Operation Cross Country (OCC)—a focused, national campaign that targeted the venues where children were the victims of commercial sex trafficking.  Since 2008, there have been 11 iterations of OCC, recovering more than 900 child victims and arresting nearly 1,400 traffickers.  The last operation was held in October 2017 with 78 task forces participating.

The FBI determined that after 11 years of OCC success, it was time to re-evaluate the program.  The newly renamed Operation Independence Day was conducted over an entire month, rather than a few days, but continued to focus on the recovery of child victims from commercial sex trafficking.

The FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit and DOJ coordinated the operation.  For additional information on Operation Independence Day and the Innocence Lost initiative, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/operation-independence-day-2019.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today the FBI-led recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through Operation Independence Day.  This initiative — a revamping of a previously successful program — was executed during the month of July through 161 operations conducted nationwide.

Operation Independence Day relied on the 86 FBI-led Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs), which leveraged the resources and intelligence of other federal, state, local, and tribal partners.  Overall, more than 400 agencies participate in these task forces.

Operation Independence Day prioritized locating and rescuing missing minors who are at great risk for sexual exploitation, and arresting the traffickers exploiting them.  To that end, through its partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), FBI special agents and intelligence analysts reviewed information provided through NCMEC’s CyberTipline, to identify missing minor children at risk for sexual exploitation, and then worked with state and local partners to execute law enforcement activity designed to recover those children and arrest traffickers.

The health and welfare of recovered minor and adult trafficking victims was a further priority.  To facilitate these efforts, the FBI’s Victim Services Division and victim specialists stationed in each of our 56 field offices also worked closely with the task forces during the operation to ensure recovered children received the help they needed.  Victim specialists put internal and external resources in place before the operation to ensure victim assistance was a priority in the aftermath of the law enforcement operations.

“This initiative has two crucial goals: rescuing children being sold for sex and prosecuting their adult traffickers,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “Child sex trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable in our society.  Perpetrators victimize children in communities throughout the country, and we are determined to find and rescue them.  Through the FBI’s leadership, we have recovered thousands of child victims, and this latest operation adds to the success of that decades-long effort.”  

“Make no mistake, the FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the sex traffickers who exploit them,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.  “Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive life of sex trafficking.  Our agents, intelligence analysts, professional staff, and victim specialists work tirelessly before, during and after these operations to make sure that victims get the help they need to reclaim their lives.”

“The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is proud to be part of this extraordinary partnership with the FBI.  The FBI and the Department of Justice have been instrumental in spearheading multi-agency collaboration between organizations to locate and provide resources to victims of child sex trafficking,” said John Clark, President and CEO of NCMEC.  “We know this horrendous crime impacts communities across our country every day and we applaud the FBI for continuing to work tirelessly to locate these victims and hold accountable those who are selling children for sex.”

In June 2003, the FBI, in conjunction with the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and NCMEC, launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI).  This combined effort was aimed at addressing the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States.  In the years since its inception, the ILNI has expanded to 86 dedicated CEHTTFs.  These task forces, with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the FBI’s Victim Services Division, have worked successfully to rescue thousands of children.

Through ILNI, the FBI, along with its local law enforcement partners, uses task forces to leverage resources and intelligence to identify and recover child victims and prosecute those responsible for their exploitation.  This collaborative effort has led to the recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims.  The initiative has also led to more than 2,750 convictions, including more than 15 life sentences and many other sentences ranging from 25 years to life.

In 2008, the ILNI initiated Operation Cross Country (OCC)—a focused, national campaign that targeted the venues where children were the victims of commercial sex trafficking.  Since 2008, there have been 11 iterations of OCC, recovering more than 900 child victims and arresting nearly 1,400 traffickers.  The last operation was held in October 2017 with 78 task forces participating.

The FBI determined that after 11 years of OCC success, it was time to re-evaluate the program.  The newly renamed Operation Independence Day was conducted over an entire month, rather than a few days, but continued to focus on the recovery of child victims from commercial sex trafficking.

The FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit and DOJ coordinated the operation.  For additional information on Operation Independence Day and the Innocence Lost initiative, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/oid2019.

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WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today the FBI-led recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through Operation Independence Day.  This initiative — a revamping of a previously successful program — was executed during the month of July through 161 operations conducted nationwide.

Operation Independence Day relied on the 86 FBI-led Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs), which leveraged the resources and intelligence of other federal, state, local, and tribal partners.  Overall, more than 400 agencies participate in these task forces.

Operation Independence Day prioritized locating and rescuing missing minors who are at great risk for sexual exploitation, and arresting the traffickers exploiting them.  To that end, through its partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), FBI special agents and intelligence analysts reviewed information provided through NCMEC’s CyberTipline, to identify missing minor children at risk for sexual exploitation, and then worked with state and local partners to execute law enforcement activity designed to recover those children and arrest traffickers.

The health and welfare of recovered minor and adult trafficking victims was a further priority.  To facilitate these efforts, the FBI’s Victim Services Division and victim specialists stationed in each of our 56 field offices also worked closely with the task forces during the operation to ensure recovered children received the help they needed.  Victim specialists put internal and external resources in place before the operation to ensure victim assistance was a priority in the aftermath of the law enforcement operations.

"This initiative has two crucial goals: rescuing children being sold for sex and prosecuting their adult traffickers,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “Child sex trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable in our society.  Perpetrators victimize children in communities throughout the country, and we are determined to find and rescue them.  Through the FBI’s leadership, we have recovered thousands of child victims, and this latest operation adds to the success of that decades-long effort.”  

“Make no mistake, the FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the sex traffickers who exploit them,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.  “Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive life of sex trafficking.  Our agents, intelligence analysts, professional staff, and victim specialists work tirelessly before, during and after these operations to make sure that victims get the help they need to reclaim their lives.”

“The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is proud to be part of this extraordinary partnership with the FBI.  The FBI and the Department of Justice have been instrumental in spearheading multi-agency collaboration between organizations to locate and provide resources to victims of child sex trafficking,” said John Clark, President and CEO of NCMEC.  “We know this horrendous crime impacts communities across our country every day and we applaud the FBI for continuing to work tirelessly to locate these victims and hold accountable those who are selling children for sex.”

In June 2003, the FBI, in conjunction with the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and NCMEC, launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI).  This combined effort was aimed at addressing the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States.  In the years since its inception, the ILNI has expanded to 86 dedicated CEHTTFs.  These task forces, with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the FBI’s Victim Services Division, have worked successfully to rescue thousands of children.

Through ILNI, the FBI, along with its local law enforcement partners, uses task forces to leverage resources and intelligence to identify and recover child victims and prosecute those responsible for their exploitation.  This collaborative effort has led to the recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims.  The initiative has also led to more than 2,750 convictions, including more than 15 life sentences and many other sentences ranging from 25 years to life.

In 2008, the ILNI initiated Operation Cross Country (OCC)—a focused, national campaign that targeted the venues where children were the victims of commercial sex trafficking.  Since 2008, there have been 11 iterations of OCC, recovering more than 900 child victims and arresting nearly 1,400 traffickers.  The last operation was held in October 2017 with 78 task forces participating.

The FBI determined that after 11 years of OCC success, it was time to re-evaluate the program.  The newly renamed Operation Independence Day was conducted over an entire month, rather than a few days, but continued to focus on the recovery of child victims from commercial sex trafficking.

The FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit and DOJ coordinated the operation.  For additional information on Operation Independence Day and the Innocence Lost initiative, please visit www.fbi.gov/oid2019.

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The Department of Justice today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with R.E.E. Inc., which owns and operates McDonald’s restaurants in the Texas Rio Grande Valley.  The settlement resolves a claim that the restaurants R.E.E. operated violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens when verifying their work authorization.

“Employers should not impose discriminatory restrictions on the choice of valid, legally acceptable documents workers can present to prove they are authorized to work,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division.  “We are pleased that R.E.E. will work with the Division to ensure that, in the future, it doesn’t impose unlawful discriminatory barriers on workers during the employment eligibility verification process.”

The Department’s investigation concluded that from at least Oct. 14, 2015, to at least Dec. 31, 2017, R.E.E. required non-U.S. citizens to provide specific documentation issued by the Department of Homeland Security to prove their work authorization because of their citizenship or immigration status, even though some had already presented other valid proof of their authorization to work.  The Department also concluded that R.E.E. improperly rejected valid documents some non-U.S. citizens tried to present to prove their work authorization, such as their state IDs and unrestricted Social Security cards.  All work-authorized individuals, regardless of citizenship status, have the right to choose which valid, legally acceptable documents to present to demonstrate their ability to work in the United States.   

Under the settlement, R.E.E. will pay $82,800 in civil penalties to the United States, pay $8,746.43 in back pay to a worker who lost work as a result of R.E.E.’s hiring practices, and be subject to departmental monitoring, training, and reporting requirements.

The Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.  Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation. 

More information on how employers can avoid unlawful discrimination is available here.  Workers can find information about their rights under the anti-discrimination provision of the INA here.  For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected]; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; or discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.   

LLB Verwaltung (Switzerland) AG, formerly known as “Liechtensteinische Landesbank (Schweiz) AG” (LLB-Switzerland), a Swiss-based private bank, reached a resolution with the United States Department of Justice, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division today. As part of the agreement, LLB-Switzerland will pay a penalty of $10,680,554.64 to the United States.

“This resolution is another step forward in the Department of Justice’s pursuit of tax evaders, who use foreign bank accounts to commit criminal activity, and those institutions, who enable such criminal tax activity,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman. “The Department is dedicated to holding both financial institutions and individual offenders accountable for tax evasion.”

According to the terms of the non-prosecution agreement, in addition to paying a penalty, LLB-Switzerland has agreed to cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings in return for the Department’s agreement not to prosecute the company for tax-related criminal offenses committed by LLB-Switzerland.

According to the statement of facts agreed to by the parties, LLB-Switzerland and some of its employees, including members of the bank’s management, conspired with a Swiss asset manager and U.S. clients to conceal those U.S. clients’ assets and income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through various means, including using Swiss bank secrecy protections and nominee companies set up in tax haven jurisdictions. At its peak, LLB-Switzerland had approximately one hundred U.S. clients holding nearly $200 million in assets. The majority of those accounts were in the names of nominee entities.

In 1997, Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG (LLB-Vaduz), a bank headquartered in Liechtenstein, acquired LLB-Switzerland (LLB-Vaduz reached a separate agreement with the Justice Department in 2013 that excluded LLB-Switzerland from the resolution). At that time, LLB-Switzerland provided banking and asset management services to individuals and entities, including citizens and residents of the United States, principally through private bankers based in Zurich, Geneva and Lugano, Switzerland. LLB-Switzerland also acted as a custodian of assets managed by third-party external investment advisers.

In 2003, LLB-Switzerland began a relationship with a Swiss asset manager. The asset manager offered to create nominee structures, including corporations, foundations, and trusts, to conceal accounts owned by his U.S. clients at Swiss financial institutions. LLB-Switzerland delegated to the Swiss asset manager the authority to prepare account opening and “know your customer” (KYC) documents. 

The Swiss asset manager provided prospective customers with a sales letter, pitching his ability to conceal a client’s assets and income from taxing authorities through the use of multiple layers of sham offshore entities and nominee directors in countries or regions that the Swiss asset manager thought would resist requests for information and assistance from foreign law enforcement, including law enforcement in the United States. LLB-Switzerland and its management knew that the Swiss asset manager was marketing structures to clients as a means of tax evasion as the bank kept a copy of the manager’s sales letter in the bank’s files.

In 2008, after it became publicly known that UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, was the target of a U.S. criminal investigation focusing on tax and other violations, the amounts that LLB-Switzerland held for U.S. clients swelled. At the end of 2007, the Bank had 72 U.S. clients with almost $80 million in assets. By the end of the next year, the number of U.S. clients increased to 107, but the assets more than doubled to over $176 million. LLB-Switzerland’s management knew that many of the U.S. clients coming to LLB‑Switzerland were bringing undeclared funds with them. 

Although LLB-Switzerland’s management monitored the United States’ investigation of UBS, LLB-Switzerland failed to take actions to cease assisting U.S. taxpayers to evade their taxes. While in August 2008, LLB-Vaduz prohibited U.S. persons from becoming clients of the Liechtenstein bank, LLB-Switzerland did not implement a similar policy. Despite press reports, indicating the Swiss asset manager was under investigation for helping clients evade U.S. taxes, LLB-Switzerland waited two years – until a grand jury had indicted the Swiss asset manager - to close the accounts he managed. 

LLB-Switzerland’s remediation efforts since 2012 have been comprehensive. It halted and terminated all U.S. cross-border business with U.S. clients. All of LLB-Switzerland’s U.S. clients and its relationship with the Swiss asset manager ended. It also dismissed its managers and employees implicated in the Department’s investigation of the bank’s U.S. cross-border business, and LLB-Vaduz has shut down the operations of LLB-Switzerland. In 2013, LLB-Vaduz closed LLB-Switzerland and returned LLB-Switzerland’s banking license to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman thanked Senior Litigation Counsel Mark F. Daly and Assistant Chief Jason Poole of the Tax Division, who served as counsel on this matter. Zuckerman also thanked the Internal Revenue Service for its assistance.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

"The Justice Department joins in mourning with the people of El Paso, Texas. Those who commit such atrocities should be held accountable swiftly and to the fullest extent the law allows."

A federal jury in Flint, Michigan, convicted Gerri Avery today of engaging in a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Avery obstructed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in its attempts to collect payroll taxes due and owing for Integrated HCS Practice Management (Integrated), a Southfield, Michigan, company, by providing false and misleading information to the IRS Revenue Officer attempting to collect the taxes owed. Integrated, a management services business for healthcare providers, failed to pay payroll taxes due from its employees for the third quarter of 2013, the fourth quarter of 2013, and the first quarter of 2014. Avery, whose duties at Integrated were central to the business’s operations, made statements to the IRS Revenue Officer that attempted to minimize her involvement in and knowledge of the business as well as the involvement of Joseph DeSanto, one of the owners of the business. Avery also told the IRS she did not know how to obtain bank statements and other documents related to the business, despite regularly accessing such records as part of her responsibilities for the company.

In a related case, DeSanto himself has pleaded guilty to failing to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over payroll taxes relating to Integrated and to failure to file his personal tax return for 2013.

United States District Judge Laurie J. Michelson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2019. Avery faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, in addition to a term of supervised release and restitution.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Mark McDonald and William Guappone, who are prosecuting the case, and paralegal Eric Mahoney.   

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the Division’s website.

The Department of Justice today announced that it reached a settlement agreement with Pete Pappas and Sons Inc. (Pappas and Sons), a produce distribution company located in Jessup, Maryland. The settlement resolves claims that Pappas and Sons violated the antidiscrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by unlawfully requesting specific work authorization documents from non-U.S. citizens based on their citizenship or immigration status.

“Employers cannot reject valid work documentation based on the citizenship, immigration status, or national origin of their employees,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “We appreciate Pete Pappas and Sons’ cooperation and look forward to working with the company to ensure compliance with the settlement.”

The Department of Justice initiated an investigation after a refugee filed a charge alleging that Pappas and Sons required him to present an unnecessary immigration document during onboarding, even though he had already presented a driver’s license and unrestricted Social Security card, which were sufficient to prove his identity and work authorization. The investigation concluded that a human resources employee at Pappas and Sons rejected valid documents and routinely requested unnecessary immigration documents from non-U.S. citizens because of their citizenship or immigration status, which, in the refugee worker’s case, delayed his start date. The INA prohibits employers from rejecting valid documents and making unnecessary requests for additional work eligibility documentation based on a worker’s citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.

Under the settlement, Pappas and Sons will pay a civil penalty to the United States, provide back wages to the injured worker, train the company’s human resources personnel on the requirements of the INA’s antidiscrimination provision, and be subject to Department compliance monitoring. 

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination against individuals who are authorized to work based on citizenship, immigration status, and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation.

Employers can find information on how to avoid unlawful discrimination in the Form I-9 and E-Verify processes here. Employers can find additional information on how to avoid unlawful discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin here. Workers can find information about their rights under the antidiscrimination provision of the INA here. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the INA, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected]; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Nexstar Media Group Inc. and Tribune Media Company to divest broadcast television stations in thirteen markets as a condition of resolving a challenge to the proposed $6.4 billion merger between Nexstar and Tribune.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the offices of three state Attorneys General, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed merger. At the same time, the Division filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the suit by remedying the competitive harms alleged in the complaint, through the divestitures and related conditions.  The participating state Attorneys General offices represent Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

“Without the required divestitures, Nexstar’s merger with Tribune threatens significant competitive harm to cable and satellite TV subscribers and small businesses,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “I am pleased, however, that we have been able to reach a resolution of the Division’s concerns, thanks in part to the parties’ commitment to engage in good faith settlement talks from the outset of our investigation.”

According to the complaint, without the divestitures the merger would eliminate head-to-head competition between Nexstar and Tribune in the thirteen local markets in which the divestitures are being required. These markets are centered in Davenport, Iowa; Des Moines, Iowa; Ft. Smith, Arkansas; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Hartford, Connecticut; Huntsville, Alabama; Indianapolis, Indiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Norfolk, Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

As a result of the merger, the combined company would likely charge cable and satellite companies higher retransmission fees to carry the combined company’s broadcast stations, resulting in higher monthly cable and satellite bills for millions of Americans.

The merger would also enable the company to charge local businesses and other advertisers higher prices for spot advertising in the divestiture markets. Businesses that rely on broadcast advertising benefit from price competition among broadcast station owners. Nexstar and Tribune compete with one another for the business of local advertisers, and the proposed merger would eliminate that competition, harming local businesses.

The Antitrust Division has determined that the divestitures would resolve aforementioned antitrust concerns related to the licensing of retransmission consent and the sale of broadcast television spot advertising that would otherwise result from the merger. The divestitures required under the settlement announced today would, if approved by the court, require Nexstar to sell one or more stations currently owned by either Nexstar or Tribune in each of the thirteen markets. The settlement requires that the divestitures be accomplished in such a way as to satisfy the United States that the divested stations, in consultation with the Attorneys General of Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and associated assets will be used by the buyers as part of a viable and competitive commercial television broadcasting business.

Nexstar is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Irving, Texas.  Nexstar owns 171 television stations in 100 local markets.  In 2018, Nexstar reported revenues of $2.8 billion.

Tribune is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.  Tribune owns 44 television stations in 33 local markets.  In 2018, Tribune earned revenues of more than $2.0 billion.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Owen Kendler, Chief, Media, Entertainment, and Professional Services Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.

A Micronesian government official was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release yesterday for his participation in a money laundering scheme involving bribes made to corruptly secure engineering and project management contracts from the government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Eli S. Miranda of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office.

Master Halbert, 44, a Micronesian citizen, was sentenced in Honolulu by U.S. District Judge Susan O. Mollway of the District of Hawaii.  Halbert pleaded guilty on April 2 to a one-count information filed in the District of Hawaii charging him with conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Halbert was a government official in the FSM Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure who administered FSM’s aviation programs, including the management of its airports.  Halbert admitted that between 2006 and 2016, a Hawaii-based engineering and consulting company owned by Frank James Lyon paid bribes to FSM officials, including Halbert, to obtain and retain contracts with the FSM government valued at nearly $8 million, in violation of the FCPA.  Lyon and Halbert agreed that these bribe payments would be transported from the United States to the FSM.

Lyon, 53, of Honolulu, Hawaii, pleaded guilty on Jan. 22 to a one-count information filed in the District of Hawaii charging him with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and to commit federal program fraud.  Lyon was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison on May 13. 

The FBI investigated this case.  Trial Attorney Katherine Raut of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General provided significant assistance. 

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters.  Additional information about the Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

The Department of Justice today announced that it reached a settlement agreement with United General Bakery Inc., or Upper Crust Bakery (UCB), a baked goods supplier located in Phoenix, Arizona. The settlement resolves the Department of Justice’s investigation into whether the company discriminated against authorized workers based on their citizenship status in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when verifying their authorization to work.

“Employers must not request additional, unnecessary work authorization documents from employees based on their citizenship status,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “We look forward to working with Upper Crust Bakery to ensure its compliance in the future.”

The investigation concluded that UCB discriminated against non-U.S. citizen workers by requiring them to present unnecessary and specific immigration documents to prove their work authorization at both initial hire and reverification, even when the workers had other valid, legally acceptable documents proving that they were authorized to work in the United States. The antidiscrimination provision of the INA prohibits employers from making unnecessary requests for documentation to prove work authorization based on a worker’s citizenship status or national origin.

Under the settlement, UCB will pay $45,000 in civil penalties to the United States, train its human resources personnel on the requirements of the INA’s antidiscrimination provision, and be subject to compliance monitoring by the Department of Justice over a two-year period. 

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination against work-authorized individuals based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation.

Employers can find information on how to avoid unlawful discrimination based on citizenship status or national origin here. Workers can find information about their rights under the antidiscrimination provision of the INA here. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the INA, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email [email protected]; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.  Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

The Department of Justice today announced a series of settlements to resolve allegations that several California-based mortgage loan modification service providers engaged in national origin discrimination in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act when they targeted Hispanic homeowners for predatory mortgage loan modification services and interfered with those individuals’ ability to keep their homes.

The Settlement Agreements resolve a lawsuit that the Department filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.  Among other relief, the agreements establish a restitution fund of more than $148,000 to reimburse the discrimination victims for fees collected by defendants as part of the predatory scheme. The lawsuit arose from complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by two of the defendants’ former clients, Eberardo Perez and Roberto Hernandez, who intervened in the lawsuit along with their attorney, Housing & Economic Rights Advocates (HERA), and members of Hernandez’s family.

“The defendants in this case violated federal law and harmed working families when they exploited Hispanic homeowners and targeted them with predatory mortgage services,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “These settlements reflect the Department’s unwavering commitment to stop such schemes and to ensure that all homeowners can access mortgage services free from discrimination.”

“Hispanic families struggling to stay in the homes they worked hard to purchase need real help, not phony loan services that make a bad situation worse,” said Anna María Farías, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD will continue working with the Justice Department to take action when individuals and companies take advantage of homeowners because of where they come from or because they speak Spanish or other languages.”      

The Department of Justice alleged in its Amended Complaint that in 2009 and 2010 three companies based in Modesto, California – The Home Loan Auditors LLC (THLA), Century Law Center LLC (CLC), and SOE Assistance Center Inc. (SOE) – along with the principals of these entities and a law firm, convinced as many as 400 Hispanic homeowners to pay approximately $5,000 for unnecessary loan audits. The defendants told homeowners that audits were essential for loan modifications, but in fact the audits had no impact on the loan modification process and provided no financial benefit. The Department of Justice also alleged that the defendants, as part of their advertised loan modification service, encouraged their clients to stop making mortgage payments and instructed them to cease contact with their lenders. This advice resulted in many homeowners defaulting on their mortgage payments and ultimately losing their homes.

The three companies named in the lawsuit – THLA, CLC, and SOE – ceased operations several years ago.  As of today, the Justice Department resolved its lawsuit against individuals who owned and operated those companies: Raul Luna, Omar Alcaraz, Hortencia Leon, Oralia Gutierrez, Elena Ramirez, and Araceli Castro. It also resolved its lawsuit against David Spieker, an attorney who worked for the companies on aspects of their scheme. As part of their settlements, the defendants agreed to refrain from engaging in discriminatory conduct. Collectively, the defendants also agreed to contribute more than $148,000 into a restitution fund that will be used to reimburse former clients for fees paid to THLA, CLC, or SOE, with five defendants agreeing to an additional $405,699 in suspended judgments, which would be collected only if they have misrepresented their current financial situations.  

In addition to the restitution fund established in connection with the United States’ claims, HERA, Perez, and Hernandez have reached separate settlement agreements with defendants, which include additional compensation totaling $91,650.

Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, email the Justice Department at [email protected] or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con United General Bakery Inc., o Upper Crust Bakery (UCB), un proveedor de productos de panadería ubicado en Phoenix, Arizona. El acuerdo resuelve la investigación del Departamento de Justicia, cuya meta era determinar si la empresa había discriminado a trabajadores autorizados con base en su estatus de ciudadanía, en contra de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad («INA», por sus siglas en inglés), a la hora de verificar su autorización para trabajar.

«Los empleadores no deben pedir que sus empelados entreguen documentos adicionales e innecesarias de autorización para trabajar por motivos del estatus de ciudadanía de ellos», afirma Eric Dreiband, el Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles. «Esperamos colaborar con Upper Crust Bakery para garantizar su cumplimiento en el futuro».

La investigación concluyó que UCB había discriminado a trabajadores que no eran ciudadanos de los EE. UU. al requerir que presentasen documentos migratorios específicos e innecesarios para demostrar su autorización para trabajar, tanto para la contratación inicial como para la reverificación, incluso cuando aquellos trabajadores disponían de otros documentos válidos y legalmente aceptables que probaban que estaban autorizados para trabajar en los Estados Unidos. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores realicen solicitudes innecesarias de documentos basadas en el estatus de ciudadanía o la nacionalidad de origen de un trabajador para demostrar su autorización para trabajar.

Conforme al acuerdo, UCB pagará $45,000 en sanciones civiles a los Estados Unidos, capacitará a su personal de recursos humanos en cuanto a los requisitos de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA y se someterá a la supervisión del cumplimiento por el Departamento de Justicia durante un período de dos años.

La Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados («IER», por sus siglas en inglés), de la División de Derechos Civiles, es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, la ley prohíbe que se discrimine a individuos con autorización para trabajar por motivos de su estatus de ciudadanía y nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión; las prácticas documentales injustas; las represalias o la intimidación.

Los empleadores pueden buscar más información aquí sobre cómo evitar la discriminación ilícita por motivos del estatus de ciudadanía o la nacionalidad de origen. Los trabajadores pueden buscar más información aquí sobre sus derechos en virtud de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Para más información sobre protecciones al amparo de la INA contra la discriminación en el empleo, llame a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llame a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); inscríbase a un seminario en línea gratuito; mande un correo electrónico a [email protected] o visite las páginas web de la IER en inglés y español. Inscríbase a GovDelivery para recibir información actualizada de la IER.

Aquellos postulantes o empleados que creen haber sido sometidos a la discriminación por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión; la discriminación en el proceso de verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify) por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen; o represalias pueden presentar una denuncia o llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores para pedir ayuda.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy una serie de acuerdos cuyo objetivo es resolver las alegaciones de que varios proveedores de servicios de modificación de préstamos hipotecarios con sede en California discriminaron a ciertos individuos con base en su origen nacional, en contra de la ley federal de Vivienda Justa, al tener como público objetivo para sus servicios depredadores de modificación de préstamos hipotecarios a propietarios de viviendas hispanos y al interferir en la posibilidad de estos individuos conservar sus viviendas.

El Acuerdo resuelve un pleito que el Departamento presentó ante el Tribunal de Distrito de los EE. UU. para el Distrito Norte de California. Entre otros tipos de compensación, los acuerdos establecen un fondo de restitución de más de 148.000 $ para reembolsar a las víctimas de discriminación por los honorarios cobrados por los demandados como parte del plan depredador. El Pleito es el resultado de las denuncias presentadas ante el Departamento de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano de los EE. UU. (HUD) por dos ex clientes de los demandados, Eberardo Pérez y Roberto Hernández, quienes se intervinieron en el pleito junto con su abogado, Housing & Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) y algunos miembros de la familia de Hernández.

«Los demandados en este caso vulneraron la ley federal y perjudicaron a las familias trabajadoras al explotar a propietarios de viviendas hispanos y tenerlos como público objetivo para sus servicios hipotecarios depredadores», indicó Eric Dreiband, el Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «Estos acuerdos reflejan el compromiso inquebrantable del Departamento a poner fin a tales esquemas y a asegurar que todo propietario pueda acceder a servicios hipotecarios libres de discriminación».

«Las familias hispanas que están luchando por permanecer en las viviendas que trabajaron duro por comprar necesitan una ayuda real y no unos servicios hipotecarios falsos que empeoran una situación que ya de por sí está mal», declaró Anna María Farías, la Secretaria Auxiliar del HUD para la Vivienda Justa y la Igualdad de Oportunidades. «HUD seguirá colaborando con el Departamento de Justicia para tomar medidas contra aquellas personas y empresas que se aprovechen de propietarios de viviendas debido a su lugar de origen o porque hablen español u otros idiomas».

En su Denuncia Enmendada, el Departamento de Justicia alegó que del 2009 al 2010 tres compañías con sede en Modesto, California —The Home Loan Auditors LLC (THLA), Century Law Center LLC (CLC) y SOE Assistance Center Inc. (SOE)— junto con los directores de estas entidades y un bufete de abogados, convencieron a hasta 400 propietarios de viviendas hispanos que pagaran aproximadamente 5.000 $ para auditorías de préstamo innecesarias. Los demandados les dijeron a los propietarios de viviendas que las auditorías eran necesarias para las modificaciones de préstamo, pero en realidad las auditorías no tuvieron ningún impacto sobre el proceso de modificación de préstamo y no ofrecieron ningún beneficio financiero. Asimismo, el Departamento de Justicia alegó que como parte del servicio de modificación de préstamo que anunciaron, los demandados animaron a sus clientes a dejar de realizar pagos hipotecarios y les indicaron que dejaran de comunicarse con sus prestamistas. Estos consejos llevaron a que muchos propietarios de viviendas no pagaran sus hipotecas y que finalmente perdieran sus viviendas.

Las tres compañías nombradas en el pleito —THLA, CLC y SOE— cesaron sus actividades hace varios años. Hasta la fecha, el Departamento de Justicia ha resuelto su pleito contra los individuos que eran dueños y operadores de dichas compañías: Raúl Luna, Omar Alcarez, Hortencia León, Oralia Gutierrez, Elena Ramírez y Araceli Castro. También ha resuelto su pleito contra David Spieker, un abogado que trabajó para las compañías en ciertos aspectos de su esquema. Como parte de los acuerdos, los demandados acordaron abstenerse de conductas discriminatorias. Colectivamente, los demandados también acordaron contribuir más de 148.000 $ a un fondo de restitución que se utilizará para reembolsar a ex clientes por los honorarios pagados a THLA, CLC o SOE, y cinco de los demandados acordaron contribuir otros 405.699 $ por concepto de fallos suspendidos, lo cual solamente se podría cobrar si han hecho representaciones falsas en cuanto a su situación financiera actual.

Además del fondo de restitución establecido en conexión con las alegaciones de los Estados Unidos, HERA, Peréz y Hernández han llegado a acuerdos por aparte con los demandados, los que incluyen una indemnización adicional de 91.650 $.

La lucha contra la discriminación ilícita en la vivienda es de máxima prioridad para el Departamento de Justicia. La ley de Vivienda Justa prohíbe la discriminación en la vivienda por motivos de raza, color de piel, religión, género, estatus familiar, origen nacional y discapacidad. Para más información sobre la División de Derechos Civiles y las leyes que hace cumplir, consulte www.justice.gov/crt-espanol. Aquellos individuos que creen haber sido víctimas de la discriminación en la vivienda pueden llamar al Departamento de Justicia al 1-800-896-7743, enviar un correo electrónico al Departamento de Justicia a [email protected] o comunicarse con HUD al 1-800-669-9777.

President Donald Trump today signed into law H.R. 1327, The Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) (VCF Permanent Authorization Act).  The Act extends the VCF’s claim filing deadline from Dec. 18, 2020, to Oct. 1, 2090, and appropriates such funds as may be necessary to pay all approved claims.   

Attorney General William P. Barr noted the Department’s strong support for the VCF and its continuing commitment to providing compensation to those who have suffered as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  “The VCF is an extraordinarily successful program, having awarded over $5.2 billion in compensation on more than 23,000 claims from individuals who have suffered physical health conditions, or from families of those who have died, as a result of exposure at the sites in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville.  With 20,000 claims currently awaiting consideration, and more certain to be filed in the months and years ahead, today’s action ensures that the VCF can continue in its successful effort to compensate every deserving individual impacted by the tragic events of September 11,” said Attorney General Barr.

The VCF’s Special Master Rupa Bhattacharyya, who was appointed to her position by the Attorney General in July 2016, reflected on the significance of today’s signing: “This is a momentous day for the VCF and the 9/11 community, and we are extremely grateful for this show of confidence from Congress and the President.  The entire VCF team is ready and eager to move forward into the next phase of this successful program with renewed energy and a reinvigorated clarity of purpose, and, as always, we remain dedicated to serving the needs of the 9/11 community.” 

In February of this year, the Special Master announced that she had determined that the $7.375 billion of appropriated available funding was insufficient to compensate all pending claims and all claims anticipated to be filed by the previous claim filing deadline of Dec. 18, 2020.  As a result, she implemented reductions to awards to ensure, as required by law, that the VCF did not expend funds beyond its appropriated limit.  With the enactment of the VCF Permanent Authorization Act, the Special Master has determined that the VCF’s funding is now sufficient to pay all pending and projected claims without the need for any continued reductions in awards. 

Under the Act, the VCF is required to issue payments to any claimants who were impacted by the reductions in order to make up the difference between the reduced award that was paid and the unreduced value that would have been awarded had the reductions not been necessary.  The law requires that the VCF issue these payments in the first fiscal year beginning after enactment of the VCF Permanent Authorization Act, which is the government’s fiscal year 2020 beginning on Oct. 1, 2019.  Recognizing the urgent needs of this community, the VCF is committed to beginning this process immediately, taking the steps necessary to notify each of the nearly 1,700 affected individuals of their unreduced award prior to Sept. 11, 2019.  The VCF will begin processing the additional payment immediately following that notification, assuming the VCF has the documentation required to pay the claim. 

“By this year’s anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, we hope to have begun the payment process on unreduced awards for all previously-reduced claims,” said VCF Special Master Bhattacharyya.  “We look forward to completing that process as quickly as possible so that we can continue the important work of providing needed compensation to those who are suffering.” 

For additional information about the VCF and how to file a claim, and for detailed information about the implementation of the VCF Permanent Authorization Act, please visit the VCF’s website at www.vcf.gov.  If you have any questions about the claim form, the website, or the VCF process, please contact the VCF’s toll-free Helpline at 1-855-885-1555.  

NHK Spring Co. Ltd. (NHK Spring), a Japanese manufacturer of suspension assemblies used in hard disk drives, has agreed to plead guilty for its role in a global conspiracy to fix prices, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, NHK Spring reached agreements with co-conspirators to refrain from price competition and allocate their respective market shares for suspension assemblies used in hard disk drives.  Pursuant to their agreements not to compete, NHK Spring and its co-conspirators exchanged pricing information including anticipated pricing quotes, which they used to inform their negotiations with U.S. and foreign customers that purchased suspension assemblies and produced hard disk drives for sale in, or delivery to, the U.S. and elsewhere.  NHK Spring participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as May 2008 and continuing until at least April 2016.  Subject to court approval, the company has agreed to plead guilty, to pay a $28.5 million criminal fine, and to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.

“Today’s charge affirms the Antitrust Division’s commitment to eradicate price fixing by companies, foreign or domestic,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division.  “While these parts are physically small, they are critical to the operation and performance of electronic devices, and their impact on American consumers and businesses is direct and substantial.” 

“The FBI will aggressively investigate price-fixing schemes to ensure American businesses and consumers are not negatively impacted,” said Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division Robert Johnson.  “Our international corruption squads will pursue these cases at home or abroad in order to uncover this type of illegal activity.  No one should underestimate the broad reach of the FBI.”

“Activities related to illegal price-fixing and market allocation do not promote an environment conducive to open competition.  When this occurs, the consumer is not guaranteed the best products at the lowest prices,” said Special Agent in Charge Scott Pierce, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  “The U.S. Postal Service spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year on supplies and services related to information technology, including computers and associated hardware.  Along with the Department of Justice and our federal law enforcement partners, the USPS Office of Inspector General will aggressively investigate those who would engage in this type of harmful conduct.”

Suspension assemblies are components of hard disk drives, which are used to store information electronically and are incorporated into computers or sold as stand-alone electronic storage devices.  Hard disk drives use magnetic recording heads to read from and write onto rapidly spinning disks.  Suspension assemblies hold the recording heads in close proximity to the disks and provide the electrical connection from the recording heads to the hard disk drives’ circuitry.

The charge against NHK Spring resulted from an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Office, the International Corruption Unit of the FBI, and the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  Anyone with information in connection with this investigation is urged to call the Washington Criminal II Section at 202-598-4000, or visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division, today announced that current Senior Counsel Rene Augustine will serve as Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General responsible for the Division’s international and policy matters.  Augustine will replace outgoing Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford, who will return to Notre Dame Law School as a tenured professor of law.

“Rene has distinguished herself in her service as Senior Counsel in the Antitrust Division’s Front Office, overseeing both the Competition Policy and Advocacy section, and the Media, Entertainment and Professional Services section.  Her proven effectiveness, sound judgment, and excellent diplomacy skills make her uniquely qualified for this position,” said Delrahim.

Recently, Augustine represented the Antitrust Division in Seoul, South Korea, alongside the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in the first-ever consultations on competition-related matters pursuant to the U.S. – Korea Free Trade Agreement. 

Augustine has served in all three branches of government and in the private sector.  Prior to coming to the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice, she was Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Counsel to the President.  She also served as Associate Counsel to the President in the George W. Bush Administration.  Previously, Augustine was Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where she was responsible for Antitrust, Business Rights and Competition issues, and was a lead counsel to the Chairman on passage of legislation increasing the Hart-Scott-Rodino filing threshold and improving the second request process.  Augustine clerked for Judge John Hargrove of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.  In the private sector, Augustine was an attorney at a national law firm, worked at the Neighborhood Legal Services Program, and was an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University Law School.

Augustine earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University and her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School, where she was an editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review, served on the Vanderbilt Moot Court Board, and graduated Order of the Coif. 

The Department of Justice announced today that it and the Attorneys General for five states reached a settlement with T-Mobile and Sprint regarding their proposed merger.  The settlement requires a substantial divestiture package in order to enable a viable facilities-based competitor to enter the market.  Further, the settlement will facilitate the expeditious deployment of multiple high-quality 5G networks for the benefit of American consumers and entrepreneurs.

The Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the offices of five state Attorneys General (Plaintiff States), filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction.  At the same time, the Department and the Plaintiff States filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Department’s and the Plaintiff States’ competitive concerns. The participating state Attorneys General offices represent Nebraska, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, T-Mobile and Sprint must divest Sprint’s prepaid business, including Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Sprint prepaid, to Dish Network Corp., a Colorado-based satellite television provider.  The proposed settlement also provides for the divestiture of certain spectrum assets to Dish.  Additionally, T-Mobile and Sprint must make available to Dish at least 20,000 cell sites and hundreds of retail locations.  T-Mobile must also provide Dish with robust access to the T-Mobile network for a period of seven years while Dish builds out its own 5G network.

“With this merger and accompanying divestiture, we are expanding output significantly by ensuring that large amounts of currently unused or underused spectrum are made available to American consumers in the form of high quality 5G networks,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s settlement will provide Dish with the assets and transitional services required to become a facilities-based mobile network operator that can provide a full range of mobile wireless services nationwide.  I want to thank our state partners for joining us in this settlement.”  Delrahim added, “In crafting this remedy, we are also mindful of the significant commitments T-Mobile, Sprint, and Dish have made to the Federal Communications Commission.”

The Department and the Plaintiff States said that, without the divestiture, the proposed acquisition would eliminate competition between two of only four facilities-based suppliers of nationwide mobile wireless services.  According to the complaint, T-Mobile and Sprint both operate mobile networks and offer nationwide coverage to consumers, and they are particularly close competitors to each other for the roughly 30% of retail subscribers who purchase prepaid mobile wireless service.  The combination of T-Mobile and Sprint would eliminate head-to-head competition between the companies and threaten the benefits that customers have realized from that competition in the form of lower prices and better service. 

T-Mobile US Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.  In 2018, T-Mobile posted revenues of more than $43 billion.  Deutsche Telekom AG, a German corporation headquartered in Bonn, Germany, is the controlling shareholder of T-Mobile US Inc. 

Sprint Corporation is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.  In 2018, its posted revenue was over $32 billion.  Sprint is controlled by SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese Corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree, along with the Department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register.  Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Scott Scheele, Chief, Telecommunications and Broadband Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 7000, Washington, D.C. 20530.  At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.

A Brooklyn, New York, business owner pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of New York to failing to pay over employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

From 2011 through 2014, Michael Jaramillo (Jaramillo), 49, was the president, part owner and sole operator of MT Electric Corp. (MT Electric), a business in Brooklyn.  During this time, Jaramillo cashed business receipt checks at a local check casher and used the cash to pay employees more than $3 million in wages “under the table.”  Jaramillo also filed false employment tax returns, which failed to report the cash wages and the employment taxes due.  Jaramillo admitted that he caused a tax loss of approximately $453,460.

The Honorable Kiyo A. Matsumoto scheduled sentencing for Nov. 21, 2019.  Jaramillo faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison, as well as restitution and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Jessica Moran and Kathryn Sparks of the Tax Division, who prosecuted this case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

Detloff Marketing and Asset Management Inc. (Detloff Marketing), a real estate company based in Hopkins, Minnesota; its owner, Jeffery J. Detloff; and its accountant, Lori K. Detloff, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota, for their participation in a long-running fraudulent bidding and kickback scheme in connection with foreclosed properties, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to court documents, from September 2007 and continuing until June 2015, Jeffery Detloff, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, conspired to defraud mortgage lenders and guarantors who had hired Detloff, a realtor, to oversee maintenance and repairs on foreclosed homes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.  Jeffery Detloff steered maintenance and repair contracts to contractors who would pay a kickback to Detloff Marketing.  Unbeknownst to his customers, Jeffery Detloff and Detloff Marketing included the kickbacks within bids and invoices sent to the lender or guarantor for reimbursement on maintenance and repairs.  Lori Detloff, also of Minnetonka, Minnesota, was an accountant responsible for ensuring the kickbacks were paid by contractors to Detloff Marketing.  In all, Detloff Marketing received over $291,505 in kickbacks. 

“For years, the defendants orchestrated and executed a scheme that allowed them to reap illicit profits from homes in foreclosure,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “These plea agreements demonstrate the Justice Department’s continued commitment, and that of our law enforcement partners, to protect victims, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, from those who subvert competition using false, fraudulent, and sham bids.”

“In this case, the Detloffs abused their power and position with self-serving behavior that essentially increased mortgage costs to customers of the victim lenders,” said Jill Sanborn, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Minneapolis Division.  “The FBI works hand in hand with federal prosecutors to root out this type of fraud and hopes this case has a chilling effect on others who may have designs on similar behavior when put in positions of trust by lenders.”

Detloff Marketing and Jeffery Detloff pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the Indictment, which charged a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud affecting a financial institution.  Lori Detloff pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the principal offense described in Count 4 of the indictment, mail fraud affecting a financial institution.  As part of their plea agreements, the Antitrust Division agreed to move to dismiss the remaining counts against Detloff Marketing, Jeffery Detloff, and Lori Detloff upon sentencing. 

This is the second case involving fraud and kickbacks relating to maintenance and repair contracts for foreclosed properties in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.  The conspiracy and fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000.  The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

In addition to their guilty pleas, the defendants agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $291,505.  The terms of the plea agreements are subject to the approval of the Court. 

The plea agreements announced today are the result of a federal investigation of housing repair contracts in the Minneapolis area.  The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Minneapolis Division.  Anyone with information on customer allocation, bid rigging, price fixing, or other anticompetitive conduct related to the real estate industry in Minnesota should contact the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office at 312-984-7200.

A former precious metals trader at the New York offices of a U.S. bank and a Canadian bank pleaded guilty today to attempted price manipulation of precious metals futures contracts, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office.

Corey Flaum, 41, of Mount Kisco, New York, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to an information charging him with one count of attempted commodities price manipulation.  Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan of the Eastern District of New York, who accepted his plea today.

According to admissions made as part of his plea and other statements made in court, between approximately June 2007 and July 2016, Flaum placed thousands of orders to manipulate the prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (NYMEX) and Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX), which are commodities exchanges operated by CME Group Inc.  Flaum routinely placed orders for precious metals futures contracts with the intent to cancel those orders before execution.  This trading strategy was intended to deceive other market participants about the existence of supply and demand, and to artificially move the price of precious metals futures contracts in a direction that was favorable to Flaum and the two banks for which he worked.

This case is the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s New York Field Office. Trial Attorneys Avi Perry, Matthew F. Sullivan and Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement provided assistance in this case.

The defendant is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in these cases should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information.

Attorney General William P. Barr has directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to adopt a proposed Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol—clearing the way for the federal government to resume capital punishment after a nearly two decade lapse, and bringing justice to victims of the most horrific crimes.  The Attorney General has further directed the Acting Director of the BOP, Hugh Hurwitz, to schedule the executions of five death-row inmates convicted of murdering, and in some cases torturing and raping, the most vulnerable in our society—children and the elderly.

“Congress has expressly authorized the death penalty through legislation adopted by the people’s representatives in both houses of Congress and signed by the President,” Attorney General Barr said.  “Under Administrations of both parties, the Department of Justice has sought the death penalty against the worst criminals, including these five murderers, each of whom was convicted by a jury of his peers after a full and fair proceeding.  The Justice Department upholds the rule of law—and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system.”

The Federal Execution Protocol Addendum, which closely mirrors protocols utilized by several states, including currently Georgia, Missouri, and Texas, replaces the three-drug procedure previously used in federal executions with a single drug—pentobarbital.  Since 2010, 14 states have used pentobarbital in over 200 executions, and federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have repeatedly upheld the use of pentobarbital in executions as consistent with the Eighth Amendment.

Upon the Attorney General’s direction, Acting Director Hurwitz adopted the Addendum to the Federal Execution Protocol and, in accordance with 28 C.F.R. Part 26, scheduled executions for the following individuals:

• Daniel Lewis Lee, a member of a white supremacist group, murdered a family of three, including an eight-year-old girl. After robbing and shooting the victims with a stun gun, Lee covered their heads with plastic bags, sealed the bags with duct tape, weighed down each victim with rocks, and threw the family of three into the Illinois bayou.  On May 4, 1999, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas found Lee guilty of numerous offenses, including three counts of murder in aid of racketeering, and he was sentenced to death.  Lee’s execution is scheduled to occur on Dec. 9, 2019.
• Lezmond Mitchell stabbed to death a 63-year-old grandmother and forced her nine-year-old granddaughter to sit beside her lifeless body for a 30 to 40-mile drive. Mitchell then slit the girl’s throat twice, crushed her head with 20-pound rocks, and severed and buried both victims’ heads and hands.  On May 8, 2003, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona found Mitchell guilty of numerous offenses, including first degree murder, felony murder, and carjacking resulting in murder, and he was sentenced to death.  Mitchell’s execution is scheduled to occur on Dec. 11, 2019.
• Wesley Ira Purkey violently raped and murdered a 16-year-old girl, and then dismembered, burned, and dumped the young girl’s body in a septic pond. He also was convicted in state court for using a claw hammer to bludgeon to death an 80-year-old woman who suffered from polio and walked with a cane.  On Nov. 5, 2003, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri found Purkey guilty of kidnapping a child resulting in the child’s death, and he was sentenced to death. Purkey’s execution is scheduled to occur on Dec. 13, 2019.
• Alfred Bourgeois physically and emotionally tortured, sexually molested, and then beat to death his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. On March 16, 2004, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found Bourgeois guilty of multiple offenses, including murder, and he was sentenced to death.  Bourgeois’ execution is scheduled to occur on Jan. 13, 2020.
• Dustin Lee Honken shot and killed five people—two men who planned to testify against him and a single, working mother and her ten-year-old and six-year-old daughters. On Oct. 14, 2004, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa found Honken guilty of numerous offenses, including five counts of murder during the course of a continuing criminal enterprise, and he was sentenced to death.  Honken’s execution is scheduled to occur on Jan. 15, 2020.

Each of these inmates has exhausted their appellate and post-conviction remedies, and currently no legal impediments prevent their executions, which will take place at U.S. Penitentiary Terre Haute, Indiana.  Additional executions will be scheduled at a later date.

John Riazzi of Dayton, Ohio, pleaded guilty in federal court today to a felony charge stemming from the illegal removal of asbestos-containing roofing material from a building located in downtown Dayton (known as the “Steam Plant”).

According to court documents and statements made in court, in September 2015, Riazzi, the sole owner and operator of St. Peters Partners LLC, purchased the Steam Plant from the City of Dayton for $10. Later, after being told by his contractor that the roof of the Steam Plant contained asbestos and would cost approximately $20,000 to remove, Riazzi hired two men to remove the roofing over a weekend for $5000 – without warning them about the asbestos. Riazzi admitted that he knew, or should have known, that the roof contained asbestos. He also admitted that he did not have the roof inspected for asbestos prior to its removal, as the law required.

“Mr. Riazzi purposefully cut corners and endangered the health of those performing the roof removal. To make matters worse, he then lied to and misled investigators when asked about his wrongdoing” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice is committing to prosecuting all who deliberately harm the environment and risk public health in order to save money.”

“Renovating old buildings is great. Doing so without regard to air safety is not. And knowingly declining to inspect a roof before removing it, after having been warned that the original materials contained asbestos, is a federal crime,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman for the Southern District of Ohio. “This case is a good example of federal and state authorities working together to hold accountable someone who jeopardized his workers’ safety, as well as the quality of the air in Dayton, just to save a few bucks in construction costs.”

As part of his plea, Riazzi also acknowledged that he had personally used a leaf blower to blow roofing debris from the outside of the Steam Plant into the median of Third Street and had dumped a load of roofing material in some bushes opposite the Steam Plant. He likewise admitted to making several false statements to the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency (RAPCA), which was investigating the roof removal.

This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations, with the assistance of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Criminal Chief Laura Clemmens of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, and Adam Cullman, Trial Attorney for the Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section.

A former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives was sentenced today after pleading guilty to wire fraud and willfully violating the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by operating fraudulent and unregistered political action committees.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Harold Russell Taub, 30, of Cranston, Rhode Island, was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge William E. Smith for the District of Rhode Island.  Taub was also ordered to pay $1,102,439 in restitution to the victims of his crimes.

According to Taub’s guilty plea, in late 2016, Taub began soliciting donations to an organization he called Keeping America in Republican Control (KAIRC), which he represented to be a legitimate political committee organized in accordance with federal law to support Republican candidates at the state and federal level.  In March 2018, Taub began soliciting donations to another purported political action committee, Keeping Ohio in Republican Control (KOIRC), with the stated purpose of supporting Republican candidates in Ohio.  Taub collected a total of approximately $1,630,439 in contributions to KAIRC and KOIRC, but never registered either entity with the FEC or made required reports to the FEC, as required by FECA.

Taub admitted as part of the plea that he held KAIRC and KOIRC out as legitimate, federally-registered political actions committees on his website, in social media posts, and in email solicitations that reached hundreds of donors.  Taub represented that all of KAIRC and KOIRC’s staff were volunteers and that “100 percent” of donations were used to support candidates.  However, of the more than $1.6 million in contributions to KAIRC and KOIRC, Taub used more than $1 million for purely personal expenses.  In furtherance of his fraudulent scheme, Taub also repeatedly used the name of a former Ambassador and high-level military officer without the knowledge or permission of the person, even after being instructed not to do so. 

The FBI investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Peter M. Nothstein of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section is prosecuting the case.

An indictment was unsealed today from a federal grand jury sitting in Tampa, Florida, which charges Novita Indah, 48, and Larry Malugin, 51, of Port Richey, Florida, with conspiracy and trafficking in protected wildlife. The indictment charges the couple with smuggling wildlife from Indonesia to the United States and reselling the wildlife from their Florida home.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) seized approximately 369 wildlife articles from their home during the execution of search warrant on Jan. 12, 2017. The agents recovered assorted Javan spitting cobra, reticulated python, and monitor lizard mounts, belts, and wallets, as well as a babirusa skull. A babirusa is a rare Indonesian pig prized for its distinctive curving tusks.

The indictment alleges that beginning in 2011, Indah and Malugin sold wildlife on eBay from their Indonesian home to buyers across the world. They would smuggle the items to purchasers in the United States in packages falsely labeled to conceal their contents. Indah and Malugin continued to sell wildlife after they moved to Puerto Rico and ultimately Florida in 2013. All of the wildlife was protected by an international treaty, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The United States, Indonesia, and approximately 181 other countries are signatories to CITES, which provides a mechanism for regulating international trade in species whose continued survival is threatened by trade. In addition to the seized wildlife, Indah and Malugin also trafficked in taxidermy mounts and bones of leopard cats, owls, and Southeast Asian primates, including slow loris, macaques, lutungs, and langurs.

“The CITES agreement was created to prevent the international trade of protected wildlife, and the Department of Justice will seek to prosecute individuals who flout this treaty and other important environmental laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department commends the actions taken by USFWS and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to combat illegal wildlife trafficking.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement is committed to combating wildlife trafficking and protecting imperiled species at home and abroad,” said Edward Grace, Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement. “The increased use of the internet has opened a growing pathway for the illegal wildlife trade and wildlife traffickers go to great lengths to smuggle reptiles, birds, primates, and other species in and out of the U.S. The Service would like to thank the U.S. Department of Justice for their assistance with this case. Together, we can combat wildlife trafficking and protect species across the world.”

From 2011 to 2017, Indah and Malugin made approximately 4,596 online sales of CITES-protected wildlife worth about $211,212. USFWS and Customs inspectors repeatedly seized packages shipped by Indah and Malugin, but they continued to sell wildlife using various eBay and PayPal accounts. This investigation was part of Operation Global Reach, a USFWS long-term taskforce into the flow of illegal wildlife from Indonesia to the United States.

If convicted, Indah and Malugin face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ incarceration on the smuggling charges and five years for the Lacey Act violations. The indictment also seeks to forfeit the wildlife seized from their residence.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The USFWS Office of Law Enforcement in Redmond, Washington, led the investigation, with assistance from agents in Tampa. The government is represented by Trial Attorneys Ryan Connors and Matthew Evans of the Environmental Crimes Section.