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• Statement by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on the Departure of John P. Fishwick Jr. from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia

  2016-12-27 · District not recorded

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  Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch released the following statement on the planned departure of U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. of the Western District of Virginia:

  “Since 2015, U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. has served the people of the Western District of Virginia, and the people of this nation, with integrity and distinction. During John’s tenure as U.S. Attorney, his office made significant progress on many of the difficult challenges facing law enforcement today. Under his leadership, the Western District successfully prosecuted the gang responsible for the murder of a police captain, collaborated with local and state law enforcement officials to fight the scourge of gun violence and tirelessly combated the heroin epidemic. And John personally promoted strong relationships between law enforcement and the community. Among other initiatives, John educated youth about gun violence and drug addiction, and introduced a mentoring program that links law enforcement mentors – such as John – with the young people of Roanoke. I want to thank John for his service, and I wish him the very best in the next phase of his career.”

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Clear Channel Outdoor and Fairway Media Group Required to Divest Billboards in Order to Complete Asset Swap Transaction

  2016-12-22 · District not recorded

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  The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. and Fairway Media Group, LLC to divest billboards in Atlanta and Indianapolis in order to proceed with their $150 million swap of outdoor advertising assets located in multiple U.S. markets. 

  The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the proposed transaction, and simultaneously filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit. The department said that without the required divestitures, advertisers who purchase outdoor advertising on billboards located in the Atlanta and Indianapolis metropolitan markets would likely face higher prices and lower quality services. 

  “The loss of competition between Clear Channel and Fairway as a result of the proposed transaction would have led to higher prices for advertisers who rely on billboards to reach consumers located within the Atlanta and Indianapolis metropolitan markets,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s settlement will ensure that advertisers will continue to enjoy the benefits of competition when they seek to place advertisements on billboards in these areas.”

  According to the department’s complaint, Clear Channel and Fairway own and operate billboards in the Atlanta and Indianapolis metropolitan areas that are located in close proximity to each other and therefore constitute attractive competitive alternatives for advertisers seeking to reach consumers in these areas.  The proposed swap transaction, in which Clear Channel would acquire Fairway billboards in Atlanta in exchange for Clear Channel billboards in Indianapolis and certain other areas, would eliminate substantial head-to-head competition between Clear Channel and Fairway for the business of local and national advertisers seeking to reach customers within the Atlanta and Indianapolis metropolitan markets, resulting in higher prices and lower quality services to these advertisers.

  Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Clear Channel and Fairway must divest 13 billboard structures in Indianapolis to Circle City Outdoor, LLC, and 44 billboard structures in Atlanta to Link Media Georgia, LLC.

  Clear Channel is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in San Antonio, Texas.  Clear Channel is one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in the United States and reported consolidated revenues of $2.8 billion in 2015.

  Fairway is a Delaware limited liability company with its headquarters Duncan, South Carolina.  Fairway owns and operates outdoor advertising displays in 15 states.  Fairway had revenues of approximately $110 million in 2015.

  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 during a 60-day comment period to Owen Kendler, Acting Chief, Litigation III Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Fourth Floor, 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.

  Clear Channel Asset Preservation Stipulation & Order

  Clear Channel Complaint

  Clear Channel Competitive Impact Statement

  Clear Channel Explanation

  Clear Channel Proposed Final Judgement

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Packaged Seafood Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price-Fixing Conspiracy

  2016-12-21 · District not recorded

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  Second Defendant Agrees to Plead Guilty in Ongoing Investigation

  The current senior vice president of trade marketing of a leading packaged seafood company has agreed to plead guilty for his role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of packaged seafood such as canned tuna sold in the United States, the Department of Justice announced.

  According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, Kenneth Worsham and his co-conspirators agreed to fix the prices of packaged seafood from as early as 2011 until about 2013.  In addition to his guilty plea, which is subject to court approval, Worsham has agreed to pay a criminal fine and cooperate with the division’s ongoing investigation.

  “The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners are once again sending a strong signal that high-ranking executives responsible for fixing the price of shelf-stable tuna must be held accountable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “We will continue our work to root out the collusion among packaged seafood companies that targeted American consumers.”

  According to the charge, Worsham and his co-conspirators discussed the prices of packaged seafood sold in the United States and agreed to fix the prices of those products.  The defendant and his co-conspirators negotiated prices and issued price announcements for packaged seafood in accordance with the agreements they reached. 

  Today’s charge is the second to result from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into the packaged seafood industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office.  Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging or other anticompetitive conduct related to the packaged seafood industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at (888) 647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI tip line at (415) 553-7400.

  Worsham Information

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Finds Louisiana Unnecessarily Relies on Nursing Facilities to Provide Services to People with Serious Mental Illness

  2016-12-21 · District not recorded

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  Following a comprehensive investigation, today, the Justice Department released its findings that Louisiana unnecessarily relies on nursing facilities to provide services to people with mental health disabilities, in violation of the community integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C.

  The ADA and the Olmstead ruling require states to make services available to people with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, regardless of the type of disability.  However, many Louisianans with serious mental illness do not have a meaningful choice to receive the services they need in their own homes and communities. 

  The department’s findings, detailed in a letter to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, follow an investigation into the state’s system of care for people with serious mental illness who receive services and supports in nursing facilities.  The department found that people with serious mental illness who rely on Louisiana for needed services must live in nursing facilities, isolated from their communities, to receive those services.  With access to adequate, evidence-based community services, these individuals could instead live in integrated settings.

  “Louisiana residents with mental illness who can and want to live in their own homes and communities deserve the chance to do so,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “We appreciate Louisiana’s cooperation with our investigation and hope to continue working with state officials to ensure that residents with serious mental illness who qualify for state services can live successfully in their communities with appropriate supports.”

  Louisiana houses approximately 4,000 people with serious mental illness in nursing facilities each year.  On average, these residents tend to be younger, live in nursing facilities for longer periods of time and have low-care nursing needs compared to typical nursing facility residents.  Louisiana likely could serve these people more effectively and for less money by using its home- and community-based service system. 

  The findings letter examines the widespread impact of the state’s nursing facility system on people with serious mental illness.  For example, the Justice Department interviewed a man in his sixties who experienced a mental health crisis a few years ago and repeatedly called 911 about his blood pressure.  Instead of connecting him to community treatment services, he was charged with abusing 911, sent briefly to jail and then admitted to a state psychiatric hospital.  The hospital eventually discharged him to a nursing facility that primarily houses people with serious mental illness.  Six years later, the man remains in the same nursing facility, even though he desires to return to the community and could do so with proper physical and psychiatric supports.

  The department’s findings letter includes the following key conclusions:

  • People with serious mental illness who need physical and mental health supports live in nursing facilities because Louisiana does not adequately arrange for community-based services or identify residents who can benefit from such services. 
  • Many people who rely on state services do not know that they could choose community-based services instead of nursing facilities because the state has not told them about these services.
  • Many nursing facility residents with serious mental illness can live successfully in community-based settings rather than in institutions.
  • People with serious mental illness who have similar needs to those living in Louisiana’s nursing facilities successfully receive community-based services in other states, and even in Louisiana.  The state already offers many of the services that people need to live in their own homes and can increase community capacity to ensure that all qualified people with serious mental illness can choose these services instead of nursing facility placement.   

  The investigation was conducted by the Civil Rights Division.  The full letter can be found at www.ada.gov.  Please visit www.ada.gov/olmstead to learn more about the Civil Rights Division’s ADA Olmstead enforcement efforts and www.justice.gov/crt to learn more about the laws enforced by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

  Louisiana Findings Letter

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Executive Office for Immigration Review Announces New YouTube Channel

  2016-12-21 · District not recorded

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  FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced that it has established a YouTube channel to offer its stakeholders another medium in which to acquire information about its policies and programs.

  EOIR’s first YouTube video is a training session on its recently issued final rule titled, Recognition of Organizations and Accreditation of Non-Attorney Representatives. This training video provides an overview of the new rule with a focus on the renewal process for already recognized organizations and accredited representatives.

  The training video can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChnSMSPkWRy9GaQnqyxQgmg. Please note that EOIR’s website, www.justice.gov/eoir, will continue to be the agency’s primary source of information online.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Volkswagen to Recall 83,000 3.0 Liter Diesel Vehicles and Fund Mitigation Projects to Settle Allegations of Cheating Emissions Tests on Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche Vehicles

  2016-12-20 · District not recorded

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  In a second partial settlement announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of California, automakers Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, Porsche AG and related entities (collectively referred to as Volkswagen), have agreed to recall 83,000 model year 2009 through 2016 3.0 liter diesel vehicles sold or leased in the U.S. that are alleged to be equipped with “defeat devices” to cheat emissions tests, in violation of the Clean Air Act and California law. 

  For the older vehicles, Volkswagen is required to offer to buy back the vehicles or terminate leases, and must also offer an emissions modification to substantially reduce emissions if one is proposed by Volkswagen and approved by regulators.  For the newer vehicles, if Volkswagen demonstrates it can make the vehicles compliant with the certified exhaust emission standards, it will have to fix the vehicles and will not be required to buy the vehicles back. Volkswagen is also required to spend $225 million to fund projects that will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx). 

  Today’s partial settlement does not resolve any pending claims for civil penalties, nor does it address any potential criminal liability.  The settlement also does not resolve any consumer claims, claims by the Federal Trade Commission or claims by individual owners or lessees who may have asserted claims in the ongoing multidistrict litigation.  The state of California has secured a separate resolution for the 3.0 liter violations that addresses issues specific to vehicles and consumers in California.  

  The affected older vehicles (referred to as “generation 1” vehicles) are the 2009 through 2012 Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7 diesel models.  The affected newer vehicles (referred to as “generation 2” vehicles) are the 2013-2016 Volkswagen Touareg diesels, 2013 through 2015 Audi Q7 diesels, 2013 through 2016 Porsche Cayenne diesels and 2014 through 2016 Audi A6 quattro, A7 quattro, A8, A8L and Q5 diesel models. 

  “The settlement marks another significant step in holding Volkswagen accountable for cheating Americans out of the promise of cleaner air by selling vehicles equipped with defeat devices,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden.  “This consent decree provides a remedy for every affected vehicle which will be removed from the road or meet enforceable standards that will reduce emissions, and will also require VW to provide additional funding to address the harmful impacts to human health and the environment from VW’s violations.”

  “EPA has a public health imperative to hold Volkswagen accountable and remedy the illegal pollution their cars put into the air,” said Cynthia Giles, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.  “From the start, our team vigorously pursued this case to ensure these cars were fixed or taken off the road. Today we’ve secured another important settlement that delivers on EPA’s essential public health mission.”

  “This settlement highlights the fact that cheating to get a car certified has consequences for air quality and the public’s health – and that cheaters will be caught and held accountable,” said CARB Executive Officer Richard Corey.  “Because California is able to enforce its vehicle regulations, CARB was instrumental in uncovering the cheating in the 3 liter, and before that, in the 2 liter diesel engines.  The mitigation in this settlement will now help California address its serious air quality and climate challenges with a focus on putting the very cleanest vehicles in disadvantaged communities where they are needed most.”

  According to the civil complaint against Volkswagen filed by the Justice Department on behalf of EPA on Jan. 4, 2016, and amended on Oct. 7, 2016, Volkswagen allegedly equipped its 3.0 liter diesel vehicles with illegal software that detects when the car is being tested for compliance with EPA or California emissions standards and turns on required emissions controls only during that testing process.  During normal driving conditions, the software renders these emissions control systems inoperative or reduces their effectiveness, resulting in increased emissions.  This is known as a defeat device.  By using a defeat device, these cars meet emissions standards in the laboratory, but emit up to nine times or more above the EPA-compliant levels for NOx during normal on-road driving conditions.  The Clean Air Act requires manufacturers to certify to EPA that vehicles will meet federal emissions standards.  Vehicles with defeat devices cannot be certified.

  Because Volkswagen cannot modify the affected 2009 through 2012 Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7 generation 1 diesel vehicles to meet EPA-certified exhaust emissions standards, the settlement requires Volkswagen to offer owners of generation 1 vehicles the option to have the company buy back the car and to offer lessees a lease cancellation at no cost.  If a plan is proposed by Volkswagen and approved by EPA and CARB to substantially reduce emissions from the generation 1 vehicles, Volkswagen will also have to offer that as an option for consumers. 

  For the generation 2 vehicles, Volkswagen will recall and fix these vehicles so they meet their certified exhaust emissions standards, after the technical solution is approved by regulators.  If after extensive testing the solution does not perform as expected and is not approved, Volkswagen must offer to buy back the vehicles.  In that case, the company can also seek approval of an emissions modification plan to substantially reduce emissions and, if approved, can offer that as an additional option for generation 2 vehicles.   

  Under the terms of the settlement, Volkswagen must achieve an overall recall rate of at least 85 percent for each of the generation 1 and generation 2 vehicles recall programs or pay additional sums into the mitigation trust fund.  The buyback and lease termination program for generation 1 vehicles will begin within 30 days following court approval of the settlement.  Vehicle modifications will become available to eligible owners and lessees once the modifications are approved by regulators. 

  Vehicle owners and lessees will receive updated information from Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche concerning their available buyback or modification options after today’s settlement is approved by the court, and can also obtain information about these options at: www.VWCourtSettlement.com and www.AudiCourtSettlement.com.

  The settlement requires Volkswagen to pay $225 million to fund projects across the country that will reduce emissions of NOx where the 3.0 liter vehicles were, are or will be operated.  This funding is intended to fully mitigate the past and future NOx emissions from the 3.0 liter vehicles.  That money will be placed in the same mitigation trust to be established under the partial settlement for the 2L vehicles.  This $225 million is in addition to the $2.7 billion that Volkswagen is required to pay into that trust under the prior settlement.  The mitigation trust will be administered by an independent trustee.  Beneficiaries, which may include states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and Indian tribes, may obtain funds for designated NOx reduction projects upon application to the trustee.

  The emissions reduction program will help reduce NOx pollution that contributes to the formation of harmful smog and soot, exposure to which is linked to a number of respiratory- and cardiovascular-related health effects as well as premature death.  Children, older adults, people who are active outdoors (including outdoor workers) and people with heart or lung disease are particularly at risk for health effects related to smog or soot exposure.  NO2 formed by NOx emissions can aggravate respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, and may also contribute to asthma development in children.

  
  The provisions of the settlement are contained in a proposed consent decree filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, as part of the ongoing multi-district litigation, and will be subject to public comment period of 30 days, which will be announced in the Federal Register in the coming days.  The consent decree will be available for viewing at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Mother Found Guilty of International Parental Kidnapping for Taking Child from Illinois to Canada

  2016-12-20 · District not recorded

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  A federal jury today convicted a Canadian woman of international parental kidnapping, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis of the Central District of Illinois.
   
  Sarah M. Nixon, 48, of Montreal, was found guilty of one count of international parental kidnapping for taking her minor-aged child from the United States in July 2015 with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of the father’s rights.  Sentencing has been scheduled for April 24, 2017 before U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce of the Central District of Illinois.
   
  Evidence at trial established that after a custody trial where it was apparent that Nixon would lose custody of her six-year-old daughter, Nixon fled the United States with the child in the middle of the night.  When she did not appear for the custody ruling and neither she nor her daughter could be located, law enforcement issued a child abduction alert.  Nixon and the child were eventually located in a farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada.  Authorities then returned the child to the father.  Nixon was arrested in New York on Sept. 20, 2015 as she attempted to return to the United States. 
   
  The FBI; Urbana, Illinois, Police Department; University of Illinois Police Department; Illinois Department of Children and Family Services; Ontario Provincial Police; and U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigated the case, with assistance from the Champaign County, Illinois, State’s Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.  Trial Attorneys Elly M. Peirson and Lauren S. Kupersmith of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Executive Office for Immigration Review Announces Final Rule on the Recognition of Organizations and Accreditation of Non-Attorney Representatives

  2016-12-20 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced a final rule titled, Recognition of Organizations and Accreditation of Non-Attorney Representatives. This new rule, effective Jan. 18, 2017, amends the regulations governing the requirements and procedures for authorizing representatives of non-profit religious, charitable, social service, or similar organizations to represent persons in proceedings before EOIR and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This announcement comes after EOIR published a proposed version of this rule in the Federal Register in October 2015 and sought public comment through a series of public meetings to discuss the proposed rule’s potential impact.

  The purpose of the rule is to promote the effective and efficient administration of justice before EOIR and DHS by increasing the availability of competent, non-lawyer representation for low-income and indigent persons. The rule is also intended to reduce the likelihood that such persons become victims of fraud and abuse.

  Set forth in the rule are a variety of measures to achieve its objectives. In addition to amending the regulations to increase the number of accredited representatives for underserved populations, the rule also clarifies the recognition and accreditation (R&A) application processes, establishes greater oversight and accountability for recognized organizations and accredited representatives, and enhances the management of the R&A roster. Moreover, the rule updates the disciplinary process to ensure that recognized organizations are subject to sanctions for conduct that violates the public interest. The rule also relocates management of the R&A Program from the Board of Immigration Appeals to the Office of Legal Access Programs (OLAP).

  The rule is published in the Federal Register at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/12/19/2016-29726/recognition-of-organizations-and-accreditation-of-non-attorney-representatives. EOIR will be holding a stakeholder webinar/teleconference on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016 at 1 p.m.to discuss the effects of the rule on the agency’s R&A Program.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Department of Justice Announces Expansion of Program to Enhance Tribal Access to National Crime Information Databases

  2016-12-20 · District not recorded

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  Department of Justice Tribal Access Program Will Continue to Improve the Exchange of Critical Data

  The Department of Justice announced today 11 tribes selected to participate in the expansion of the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP), a program to provide federally recognized tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for both civil and criminal purposes.  TAP allows tribes to more effectively serve and protect their communities by ensuring the exchange of critical data.

  Phase Two of TAP will grant access to national crime information databases and technical support to the following tribes:  

  • Metlakatla Indian Community, Annette Island Reserve, Alaska
  • Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah
  • Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico
  • Yurok Tribe of the Yurok Reservation, California
  • Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota
  • Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona
  • Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota
  • Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana
  • Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Nevada
  • Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Wisconsin
  • Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation, Washington state

  “Since its launch in 2015, this project has not only helped law enforcement locate suspects, rescue victims and extradite captured fugitives, but it’s also made it easier for civil courts to enter and enforce orders of protection for domestic violence victims,” said Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates.  “I’m proud that the Justice Department is continuing to act as a responsible partner with tribal governments in this landmark effort, which strengthens both sovereignty and safety for American Indian and Alaska Native people.”

  This phase was funded by the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART), and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and supported with technical assistance from the Department of Justice Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO).  It will focus on assisting tribes that have either a Sex Offender Registry pursuant to the SORNA, or a tribal law enforcement agency that is not a BIA direct service agency.  The COPS Office and the SMART Office each provided $1 million in prior fiscal year funding towards the expansion, which will be used for the 11 kiosks.

  In the fall of 2015, the department selected tribes to participate in the initial User Feedback Phase of TAP.  This partnership focused on testing the department’s technology solution and training support; it also enabled tribes to identify and share best practices regarding the use of national crime information databases to strengthen public safety.

  During 2016, participating tribes received a kiosk workstation that provided access to national systems as well as training to support whole-of-government needs. User Feedback Phase tribes have elected to implement TAP in a variety of criminal and civil agencies.  Those tribal criminal agencies included law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, criminal courts, jails, and probation departments.  The tribal civil agencies and programs that were eligible to use TAP included agencies whose staff and volunteers have contact with or control over Indian children; public housing agencies; child support enforcement agencies; Head Start programs; civil agencies that investigate allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of children; civil courts that issue orders of protection, restraining orders or other keep away orders; and sex offender registration programs.

  TAP enhances tribal efforts to register sex offenders pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA); have orders of protection enforced off-reservation; protect children; keep firearms away from persons who are disqualified from receiving them; improve the safety of public housing, and allow tribes to enter their arrests and convictions into national databases.

  TAP supports tribes in analyzing their needs for national crime information and includes appropriate solutions, including a-state-of-the-art biometric/biographic kiosk workstation with capabilities to process finger and palm prints, take mugshots and submit records to national databases, as well as the ability to access CJIS systems for criminal and civil purposes through the Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Information Network. TAP, which is managed by the DOJ Chief Information Officer, provides specialized training and assistance for participating tribes, including computer-based training and on-site instruction, as well as a 24/7 Help Desk.

  For more information on TAP, visit www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap.

  For more information about the Justice Department’s work on tribal justice and public safety issues, visit:  www.justice.gov/tribal.

  For more information about the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, visit https://www.indianaffairs.gov/.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• AMC Required to Divest Movie Theatres, Reduce NCM Ownership and Complete Screen Transfers in Order to Complete Acquisition of Carmike Cinemas

  2016-12-20 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Proposed Settlement Preserves Movie Theatre Competition in 15 Local Markets and in Preshow Services and Theatre Advertising Markets

   

   The Department of Justice announced today that it will require AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. to divest theatres in 15 local markets, sell off most of its holdings and relinquish all of its governance rights in National Cinemedia LLC (NCM), and transfer 24 theatres with a total of 384 screens to the network of Screenvision LLC in order to complete its $1.2 billion acquisition of Carmike Cinemas Inc. 

  The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed acquisition.  At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit.  The department said that without the required divestitures and other relief, the merger would result in higher prices and lower quality theatre amenities for moviegoers and weakened competition in the markets for preshow services and theatre advertising, where Screenvision is NCM’s only meaningful rival.

  “Moviegoers across the United States have benefitted from head-to-head competition between AMC and Carmike that has kept ticket prices in check and delivered a higher quality movie experience,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “Today’s settlement will ensure that movie theatre competition is preserved in 15 local markets where AMC and Carmike currently compete.  In addition, by requiring AMC to reduce its equity stake in NCM, terminate its participation in NCM’s business, and transfer screens to Screenvision, the settlement will promote continued vigorous competition between the two leading cinema advertising networks – competition that the division fought to protect when it blocked the NCM-Screenvision merger.”

  According to the department’s complaint, AMC and Carmike compete to attract moviegoers in local markets across the United States by providing affordable ticket prices and a superior viewing experience.  Because AMC and Carmike are each other’s most significant competitor in 15 local markets across the country, the complaint alleges that the proposed acquisition would likely reduce price competition and the quality of the moviegoer’s experience in each of these local markets.  Under the terms of the proposed settlement, AMC must divest AMC or Carmike movie theatres in all 15 local markets to buyers approved by the United States to eliminate the merger’s likely harm in these markets.

  The department’s complaint further alleges that AMC’s acquisition of Carmike would lessen competition in the preshow services and cinema advertising markets, where NCM and Screenvision together serve over 80 percent of U.S. movie screens and compete to win exclusive contracts to provide preshow services to exhibitors.  According to the department’s complaint, as a major owner of both NCM and Screenvision post-merger, AMC would have an incentive to reduce the head-to-head competition between NCM and Screenvision, resulting in less aggressive competition to gain exhibitors and advertisers at the expense of the other.  In addition, the merger would eliminate Carmike – currently Screenvision’s largest and most important exhibitor – as a source of future Screenvision growth because all future AMC new builds and theatre acquisitions will affiliate with NCM under the terms of AMC’s NCM contract. 

  Under the terms of the proposed settlement, AMC must divest the majority of its equity interest in NCM such that it owns no more than 4.99 percent of the company, relinquish all of its NCM governance rights, and transfer 24 theatres comprising 384 screens to the Screenvision network.  The department said that these measures will ensure that movie exhibitors and advertisers continue to enjoy the benefits of vigorous competition between NCM and Screenvision in the preshow services and theatre advertising markets.  The Division filed suit to block the proposed merger of NCM and Screenvision in 2014 and NCM and Screenvision subsequently abandoned their transaction.

  The proposed settlement also requires AMC to establish firewalls to ensure that it does not obtain NCM’s, Screenvision’s, or other movie exhibitors’ competitively sensitive information or become a conduit for the flow of such information between NCM and Screenvision.

  AMC is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Leawood, Kansas.  As of Sept. 30, 2016, AMC operated approximately 388 theatres with a total of 5,295 screens located in 33 states and the District of Columbia.  Its U.S. box office revenues were approximately $1.9 billion in 2015. 

  Carmike is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Columbus, Georgia.  As of Sept. 30, 2016, Carmike operated 271 movie theaters with a total of 2,917 screens located in 41 states.  Its U.S. box office revenues were approximately $490 million in 2015. 

  As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement and the department’s competitive impact statement will be published in the Federal Register.  Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Owen M. Kendler, Acting Chief, Litigation III Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 5th Street, N.W., Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20530.  At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the proposed consent decree upon finding that it serves the public interest.

  AMC-Carmike Complaint

  AMC-Carmike CIS

  AMC-Carmike Explanation

  AMC-Carmike Hold Separate Stipulation and Order

  AMC-Carmike PFJ

   

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• President Obama Grants Commutations and Pardons

  2016-12-19 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Today, President Obama granted commutation of sentence to 153 individuals and pardons to 78 individuals:

  The President granted commutations of sentence to the following 153 individuals:

  • Kendrick Tyshawn Akins – Coppell, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to manufacture or distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana; Eastern District of Texas
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (April 30, 2012)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Dale Wayne Aldridge – Unionville, MO
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute at least 500 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine; Southern District of Iowa
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 28, 2011)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Demetri D. Alexander – Kansas City, KS
    Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture cocaine base "crack" and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base "crack"; possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; District of Kansas
    Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (July 24, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Billy Mel Alford – Terrell, TX
    Offense: Importation of a quantity of marijuana (three counts); possession with intent to distribute a quantity of marijuana (three counts); Western District of Texas
    Sentence: 480 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $200,000 fine (July 22, 1997); amended to 480 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $150,000 fine (July 27, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment, and unpaid balance of $150,000 fine remitted at the time of his release.

   

  • Antonio Jose Alonzo – Pelican Rapids, MN
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute controlled substances; District of North Dakota
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 7, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to 292 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Maurice Anderson – Fort Worth, TX
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture or substance containing cocaine; Northern District of Texas
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (October 20, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Orasama Andrews – Jackson, GA
    Offense:          1. Distribution of more than five grams of cocaine base; distribution of

                          more than 50 grams of cocaine base; Middle District of Georgia

  2. Supervised release violation (Distribution of cocaine base); Middle District of Georgia

  Sentence:         1. Life imprisonment (December 17, 2009)

  2. 24 months' imprisonment (consecutive); 10 years' supervised release (December 17, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 188 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Darrell Atkins – Detroit, MI
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver cocaine and crack cocaine; distribution of crack cocaine (three counts); Eastern District of Michigan
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $10,000 fine (July 23, 1996)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Hilario Avila – Whittier, CA
    Offense:          1. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine;

                          Central District of California

  2. Supervised release violation (Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine)

  Sentence:         1. 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 6,

  2006)

  2. 33 months’ imprisonment (concurrent) (May 9, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Handy Bailey, Jr. – Orlando, FL
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (two counts); Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (April 24, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Darryl Jerome Baker – Seffner, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 22, 2003)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Johnny Ray Basham – Tulsa, OK
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession of a firearm during drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm after former conviction of a felony; Northern District of Oklahoma
    Sentence: 324 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (January 11, 2001)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Rodney Bates – Milan, TN
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 24.1 grams of cocaine base; Western District of Tennessee
    Sentence: 188 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release (August 10, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on July 31, 2017.

   

  • Roger Jerome Baylor – Montross, VA
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; distribution of cocaine base; Eastern District of Virginia
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 23, 2007); amended to 292 months' imprisonment (December 13, 2010); amended to 240 months' imprisonment (February 14, 2013)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 168 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Lee Henry Berry – Bay City, MI
    Offense: Possess with intent to distribute less than five grams of cocaine base; possess with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base; possess with intent to distribute less than 500 grams of cocaine; felon in possession of one or more firearms; Eastern District of Michigan
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; six years' supervised release (December 20, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 180 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Peter Christian Boulette – Hattiesburg, MS
    Offense:          1. Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of

  methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine (two counts); possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (two counts); felon in possession of a firearm; Northern District of Alabama

  2. Possession of a firearm by a convicted person; possession of an unregistered firearm; Eastern District of Arkansas

  Sentence:         1. 600 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 13,

                          2007)

  2. 87 months’ imprisonment (concurrent); three years’ supervised release (March 3, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 300 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Gregory R. Boyd – Oakley, CA
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense; felon in possession of a firearm; District of Montana
    Sentence: 420 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (July 18, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Willie Brazile – Pensacola, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (two counts); Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (September 10, 1996)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Jason C. Brown – Chicago, IL
    Offense: Possession of more than 50 grams of cocaine base "crack" with intent to distribute; Central District of Illinois
    Sentence: 324 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (February 11, 2004)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Jermaine Brown – Hampton, VA
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and marijuana; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime (two counts); distribution of cocaine base; Eastern District of Virginia
    Sentence: 548 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (July 8, 2011); amended to 511 months' imprisonment (June 13, 2016)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 211 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Reuben Bullock – Rochester, NY
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Western District of New York
    Sentence: 210 months' imprisonment; six years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (October 30, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Amilcar Butler – Nashville, TN
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; attempt to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; Middle District of Tennessee
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (July 26, 2004)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Arthur Lee Butler, Jr. – Greenville, NC
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine; District of South Carolina
    Sentence: 120 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (November 18, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Jonathan Rodrico Carter – Anniston, AL
    Offense: Possession with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; Northern District of Alabama
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 19, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Maurice Davon Cawthon – Milton, FL
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; possession of a shotgun in relation to a drug trafficking offense; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of an unregistered firearm with an overall length of less than 26 inches, including a barrel of less than 18 inches; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release; $600 fine (December 17, 2004)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Emilio Chase – Baltimore, MD
    Offense: Distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school; Northern District of West Virginia
    Sentence: 210 months' imprisonment; six years' supervised release; $1,100 fine (June 22, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Calvin Lavan Clark – Garner, NC
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine base (crack) and a quantity of cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; Eastern District of North Carolina
    Sentence: 354 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (September 17, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Leonard A. Clement – Cooleemee, NC
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and cocaine base and possessing with intent to distribute marijuana; Western District of North Carolina
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (November 6, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Troy V. Cleveland – Forestville, MD
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of "crack," use of persons under 18 years to distribute, and distribute "crack" to persons under 18 years of age; distribute 50 grams or more of "crack"; Eastern District of Virginia
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (March 18, 1994)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 328 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Keith O. Cobb – Waco, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine; conspiracy to violate 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (a)(1)(B)(i) -- money laundering; Western District of Texas
    Sentence: 400 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (April 7, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, and unpaid balance of the $10,000 fine remitted at the time of his release, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Gregory Anthony Collins – Greenville, IL
    Offense: Engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise; employing a person under 18 in drug trafficking; money laundering; Southern District of Illinois
    Sentence: Life imprisonment (April 10, 1992)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Jeremy Conner – Tarrant, AL
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; felon in possession of a firearm; Northern District of Alabama
    Sentence: Life plus 60 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (December 10, 2008); amended to 240 months' imprisonment (October 26, 2011)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 180 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Adrian Lyndell Cook – Murfreesboro, NC
    Offense:          1. Possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; Eastern District of

                          Virginia

  2. Supervised release violation (possession with intent to distribute cocaine base); Eastern District of Virginia

  Sentence:         1. 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years’ supervised release (October 6, 2008); amended to 168 months’ imprisonment (October 24, 2013)

  2. 60 months' imprisonment (concurrent) (August 5, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Richard David Courville – Alpine, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; manufacture of methamphetamine (two counts); Northern District of Alabama
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $4,000 fine; $6,146 restitution (April 23, 2002)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Theartis Daniels – Punta Gorda, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: Life plus 60 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 1, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Michael Leroy Darity – Arden, NC
    Offense: Conspiracy to unlawfully manufacture and distribute cocaine base; Western District of North Carolina
    Sentence: 384 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (January 29, 1998); amended to 308 months' imprisonment (January 18, 2016)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Larry Lamont Davie – Oak Grove, KY
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base; aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing cocaine base; possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; Western District of Kentucky
    Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (January 8, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Travis Davis – Galesburg, IL
    Offense: Possession of more than 50 grams of cocaine base (crack); Central District of Illinois
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (August 31, 2007); amended to 280 months' imprisonment (March 13, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Milton DeJesus-Bones – Philadelphia, PA
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; attempt to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; Southern District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 30, 2001)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Terrance Terell Dendy – Seneca, SC
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; felon in possession of a firearm; possession of a firearm in connection with a felony; District of South Carolina
    Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (May 25, 2010)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Marcus Louis Diaz – Amarillo, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture of methamphetamine; Western District of Texas
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (February 21, 2001)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Anthony Timothy Dodd – Davenport, IA
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine; Southern District of Iowa
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 25, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Curtis Drayton – Prattville, AL
    Offense: Engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise; distribution of cocaine base (four counts); possession with intent to distribute cocaine and aiding and abetting; Middle District of Alabama
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (May 22, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Enoch Edison – Baltimore, MD
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, cocaine, and marijuana; District of Maryland
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (December 7, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • George Ralph Ellis – Birmingham, AL
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing marijuana; carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; possession with intent to distribute fifty (50) grams or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; Northern District of Alabama
    Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (July 18, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Korell Ellis – Fairmont, NC
    Offense: Possession with the intent to distribute cocaine base; use or carry a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; Eastern District of North Carolina
    Sentence: 295 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $14,330 fine (March 12, 2002); amended to 248 months' imprisonment (October 7, 2015)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017 and unpaid balance of the $14,330 fine remitted.

   

  • Samuel Stevens Farmer – Madison, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of cocaine base (four counts); Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 15, 2001)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Travis Nathaniel France – Marion, VA
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Western District of Virginia
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $450 fine (December 8, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 188 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Tammie Twyone Francis – Lee’s Summit, MO
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; Western District of Missouri
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 28, 1996)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Marcus Emile Franklin – Chester, SC
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine; District of South Carolina
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (April 21, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Paul Free – Coronado, CA
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of marijuana; Eastern District of Michigan
    Sentence: Life imprisonment (June 14, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Cecil Ray Frye, Jr. – Saraland, AL
    Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine; possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking felony (two counts); Southern District of Alabama
    Sentence: 548 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $9,546 restitution (December 4, 2003); amended to 300 months' imprisonment (September 11, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 211 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.  

   

  • Angel Garcia-Bercovich – Phoenix, AZ
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 or more kilograms of marijuana; possession with intent to distribute 100 or more kilograms of marijuana; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (April 7, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Anthony DeWayne Gillis – Supply, VA
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; false statements (three counts); possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (six counts); possession of a sawed-off shotgun; Eastern District of Virginia
    Sentence: 1,748 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (October 14, 2005); amended to 1,711 months' imprisonment (November 2, 2010); amended to 1,681 months' imprisonment (December 28, 2015)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Aaron Glasscock – Lebanon, KY
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (February 17, 2000); amended to 292 months' imprisonment (November 1, 2015)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Alpidio Gonzalez – McAllen, TX
    Offense:          1. Violation of the Federal Controlled Substance Act; Eastern District of

                          Louisiana

  2. Supervised release violation (Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana)

  Sentence:         1. 360 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (March 12,

              2008)

              2. 37 months’ imprisonment (concurrent) (May 16, 2008)   

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Franklin Goodwin, Jr. – Leavenworth, KS
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base or possess with intent to distribute or distribute cocaine; use of a communication facility to facilitate the offense of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base; District of Kansas
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; one year's supervised release (October 28, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Gary Lee Gordon – Laurel, MT
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; District of Montana
    Sentence: 290 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 25, 2008); amended to 220 months' imprisonment (October 1, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2017.

   

  • Willie Goudeau – Dallas, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute or possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana; Eastern District of Texas
    Sentence: 292 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $25,000 fine (September 20, 2006); amended to 235 months' imprisonment (October 27, 2015)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017 and unpaid balance of the $25,000 fine remitted.

   

  • Robert James Graves – Nathalie, VA
    Offense: Continuing criminal enterprise; Western District of Virginia
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (June 8, 2000)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018,  conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Jeffrey Gray – Alexandria, VA
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine; attempt to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine; possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime; money laundering; felon in possession of a firearm; District of Delaware
    Sentence: 480 months' imprisonment; lifetime supervised release (December 22, 2008); amended to 384 months' imprisonment (December 22, 2015)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • John Gronski – Gillette, WY
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine; District of Wyoming
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $4,000 fine (May 14, 2001)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Joseph Lee Gulledge, Jr. – Chattanooga, TN
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute fifty grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base; Eastern District of Tennessee
    Sentence: 120 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (April 6, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Gregory J. Hall – Alachua, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and more than 50 grams of cocaine base; distribution of more than 5 grams of cocaine base; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 21, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 180 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Cullen Reed Harris – Shreveport, LA
    Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture more than 1,000 grams of methamphetamine; manufacture of more than 1,000 grams of methamphetamine; Western District of Texas
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $50,000 fine (March 27, 1992)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 420 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Demetrius Carvon Harris – Saint Paul, MN
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine; possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime; District of Minnesota
    Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (August 6, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on June 17, 2017.

   

  • Gerald Anthony Harris – Killeen, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute "crack" cocaine; Western District of Texas
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $3,000 fine (June 18, 1997)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017 and unpaid balance of the $3,000 fine remitted.

   

  • Charles B. Harrison – Lecanto, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 30, 2011)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 144 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Malcolm Hartzog – Prentiss, MS
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance; possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; Southern District of Mississippi
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 3, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Chalmers Lavette Hendricks – Charlotte, NC
    Offense: Conspiracy to violate narcotic laws (cocaine); possession/distribution cocaine (crack); possession of a firearm by convicted felon during drug trafficking crime; possession of firearm/ammunition by convicted felon (two counts); Western District of North Carolina
    Sentence: Life plus 300 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (October 26, 1995); amended to life plus 60 months’ imprisonment (March 6, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.   

   

  • Larry Darvell Henricks – Billings, MT
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine (two counts); possession with intent to distribute marijuana; possession with intent to distribute (four counts); using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense (two counts); District of Montana
    Sentence: 420 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (October 13, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.  

   

  • Larry Dwayne Hill – Granite Shoals, TX
    Offense: Aiding and abetting to conspire to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine; felon in possession of a firearm (two counts); Western District of Texas
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (February 2, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • James David Hinkle – New Market, VA
    Offense: Distribution of methamphetamine (two counts); use or possess a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime (two counts); Western District of Virginia
    Sentence: 375 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (September 13, 2004)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Clifton Ladell Holmes – Flint, MI
    Offense: Distribution of 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Eastern District of Michigan
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (August 29, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Michael Dwayne Holmes – Plano, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (four counts); use of a communication facility to commit a controlled substance offense; distribution of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school; establishment of a place for the manufacture and distribution of a controlled substance (two counts); Eastern District of Texas
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; eight years' supervised release; $5,000 fine (October 2, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Daryl Lain Hook – Muldrow, OK
    Offense: Manufacture methamphetamine; possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; Eastern District of Oklahoma
    Sentence: 292 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (April 2, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Cheryl Howard – Sarasota, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (two counts); Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (April 21, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Jack Howton – Central City, KY
    Offense: Conspiracy to knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine; attempted to knowingly possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine; knowingly and intentionally possess with intent to distribute and distributed a mixture of methamphetamine; felon in possession of a firearm; attempted intimidation to influence testimony of witness (two counts); Western District of Kentucky
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; six years' supervised release (February 13, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.  

   

  • Terry Conlenzo Huffman – Calvert, TX
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of "crack" cocaine; Western District of Texas
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $3,000 fine (September 12, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018 and unpaid balance of $3,000 fine remitted at the time of his release, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • George Edward Ingram, Jr. – Midland, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base "crack"; Western District of Texas
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 16, 2011)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 120 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Derrick Isom – Providence, RI
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; District of Rhode Island
    Sentence: 300 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (February 15, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Corey Jacobs – Bronx, NY
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; aid and abet the possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (two counts); distribution of cocaine base (13 counts); interstate travel in aid of narcotics trafficking (two counts); possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; distribution of cocaine; Eastern District of Virginia
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (May 22, 2000)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 264 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Steven P. James – St. Louis, MO
    Offense: Knowingly and intentionally distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base (crack); Knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate, and agree to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base (crack); Eastern District of Missouri
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; six years' supervised release (June 13, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018,  conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Mario Burtram Janssen – Sedalia, MO
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with attempt to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture; failure to appear; Northern District of Iowa
    Sentence: 222 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (March 1, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Harold Dean Jones – Flint, MI
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; felon in possession of a firearm (two counts); distribution of heroin; possession with intent to distribute heroin; Eastern District of Michigan
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 10, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Tyrelle Deyon Jones – Yorktown, VA
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine base; distribution of cocaine base (four counts); Eastern District of Virginia
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (January 5, 2004)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Robert Joyner – West Columbia, SC
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; District of South Carolina
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (November 1, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 300 months' imprisonment.  

   

  • Ray Thomas Kelly, II – Hayward, CA
    Offense:          1. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five

  kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine; Southern District of Indiana

  2. Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine; Western District of Pennsylvania

  Sentence:         1. 70 months' imprisonment; three years’ supervised release (September 9,

  2005)

  2. 240 months' imprisonment (concurrent); 10 years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (April 17, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 191 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.  

   

  • Stanley Knox – Blue Mountain, MS
    Offense: Continuing criminal enterprise; distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; use of a communication facility to facilitate distribution of cocaine base (seven counts); attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base (two counts); distribution of cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a high school (two counts); use of a communication facility to facilitate the attempted distribution of cocaine base (two counts); Northern District of Mississippi
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; eight years' supervised release; $2,000 fine (April 12, 1996)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Dana William Lasich – Sioux Falls, SD
    Offense: Conspiracy, possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance; District of South Dakota
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $2,000 fine (March 12, 2001)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Nathaniel Law – Washington, DC
    Offense: Narcotics conspiracy; maintaining a residence for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, and using a controlled substance; distribution of five grams or more of cocaine base (five counts); distribution of cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school; possession with intent to distribute five grams or more cocaine base; distribution of cocaine; District of Columbia
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 12 years' supervised release (April 19, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Walter Byron Lewis – Jacksonville, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine; Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (February 23, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Gerardo Leyva – Dallas, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance; money laundering; Northern District of Texas
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (October 20, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Kevin B. Lockhart – Mattapan, MA
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine, aiding and abetting; District of Rhode Island
    Sentence: 360 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (October 8, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Donald Steven Looney – Wichita Falls, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and aiding and abetting; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and aiding and abetting (two counts); Northern District of Texas
    Sentence: 548 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (May 19, 2006); amended to 511 months' imprisonment (June 2, 2016)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 211 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Mary Beth Looney – Wichita Falls, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and aiding and abetting; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and aiding and abetting (two counts); Northern District of Texas
    Sentence: 548 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (May 19, 2006); amended to 511 months' imprisonment (June 2, 2016)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 211 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Clinton Stanley Matthews – Norfolk, VA

  Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base and heroin; distribute a mixture or substance containing cocaine base; possess with intent to distribute cocaine (five counts); possess with intent to distribute heroin; Eastern District of Virginia
  Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (November 30, 1993)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Dennis Scott McCullough – Norfolk, VA
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Eastern District of Virginia
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (April 27, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 188 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Demond Trevino McFadden – Kingstree, SC
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of cocaine base; (District of South Carolina)
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (February 14, 2011); amended to 120 months’ imprisonment (January 21, 2016)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Ralph McIver – Crescent, GA
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; distribution of cocaine (three counts); attempt to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; Southern District of Georgia
    Sentence: 300 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 3, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Schearean Jean Means – Birmingham, AL
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance; possession with intent to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana; use of a communication facility to commit, cause or facilitate commission of drug felony (five counts); Northern District of Alabama
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $5,000 fine (May 29, 1996)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Benjamin Meneses, III – Anchorage, AK
    Offense: Distribution of a controlled substance; District of Alaska
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (April 17, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Daniel L. Morgan – Opa Locka, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; attempt to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; conspiracy to use and carry firearms in relation to a drug trafficking crime; using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime; felon in possession of a firearm; Southern District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (February 7, 2002)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.  

   

  • Kareem Myers – Philadelphia, PA
    Offense: Distribution of five or more grams of cocaine base (two counts); Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release; $1,200 fine (March 16, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, and unpaid balance of $1,200 remitted at the time of his release, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Shelia Rochelle Neal – Winston-Salem, NC
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and cocaine hydrochloride; Middle District of North Carolina
    Sentence: 120 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (June 4, 2010)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Jamael Aaron Nettles – Mobile, AL
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; simple possession of marijuana; Southern District of Alabama
    Sentence: 365 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release (August 15, 2006); amended to 293 months' imprisonment (June 4, 2008); amended to 235 months' imprisonment (January 30, 2012); amended to 188 months' imprisonment (July 9, 2015)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Kari Nicole Parks – Bristol, TN
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and oxycontin; Western District of Virginia
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (September 9, 2010)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 120 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Charles Anthony Perry – Lawton, OK
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; maintaining a place for the distribution of a controlled substance; distribution of cocaine base; Western District of Oklahoma
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; five years' supervised release (June 23, 2000)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Lamont Pollard – St. Louis, MO
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute in excess of 50 grams of cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute in excess of five grams of cocaine base, carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; Eastern District of Missouri
    Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (August 11, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Lawrence Maurice Powe – Mobile, AL
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute schedule II (cocaine) controlled substance; Possess with intent to distribute schedule II (cocaine) controlled substance; use of firearm in a drug trafficking felony (two counts); Southern District of Alabama
    Sentence: 480 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release: $100,000 fine; $900,000 forfeiture obligation (July 28, 1992)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018 and unpaid balance of $900,000 forfeiture obligation remitted, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Chad Christopher Pyne – Panama City Beach, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and more than 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: 200 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (August 19, 2004); amended to 262 months' imprisonment (January 5, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Timothy Orlando Rainey – Nashville, TN
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana (two counts); Southern District of Alabama
    Sentence: 300 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (June 21, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 235 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Terrance Range – Chicago, IL
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base after having been previously convicted of a felony drug offense; possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base after having been previously convicted of a felony drug offense; Northern District of Iowa
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 13, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Aaron Duane Rees – Pleasantville, IA
    Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine; use of a minor to manufacture methamphetamine; Southern District of Iowa
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (November 29, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Fabian Roberson – Cincinnati, OH
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute in excess of 50 grams of cocaine base; possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; Southern District of Ohio
    Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (April 3, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Sean Anthony Robinson – Richmond, VA
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (three counts); Eastern District of Virginia
    Sentence: 420 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (December 21, 2006); amended to 360 months’ imprisonment (November 23, 2015)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 188 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Delanjun L. Rogers – Panama City, FL
    Offense: Distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; eight years' supervised release (September 7, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Anthony Dewon Rose – Coffeyville, KS
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base, aka “crack”; possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of MDMA, aka "ecstasy" ; Northern District of Oklahoma
    Sentence: 188 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (August 26, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, and unpaid balance of the $1,000 fine remitted at the time of his release, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Shawn Sadler – Charleston, SC
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; District of South Carolina
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (July 17, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 151 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Lawrence Samuels, Jr. – Tulsa, OK
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance; Northern District of Oklahoma
    Sentence: 210 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $5,000 fine (October 3, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, and unpaid balance of the $5,000 fine remitted at the time of his release, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Angel Santana – Chicago, IL
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine; Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment (February 24, 1993)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2017.

   

  • William Keith Schanck – Vista, CA
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession of ephedrine; possession of hydriotic acid; maintaining a place for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine; Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment (January 30, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Todd Alan Scofield – Flandreau, SD
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess a controlled substance; possession of a firearm by a prohibited person; distribution of a controlled substance (two counts); District of South Dakota
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (December 6, 2004)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Terence Devon Scott – Lynchburg, VA
    Offense: Distribution of 50 grams or more of cocaine base; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; Western District of Virginia
    Sentence: 180 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (February 26, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Derrick Lamont Smith – Brooklyn, NY
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin; District of South Carolina
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 31, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Stacia Smith – Dolton, IL
    Offense: Narcotics conspiracy; use of a telephone in drug conspiracy (two counts); using/carrying a firearm in relation to a drug offense; Northern District of Illinois
    Sentence: 252 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (October 26, 2005)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Melissa Ann Sosa – Midland, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine; Western District of Texas
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (August 5, 2010)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Steven Blair Speal – Oklahoma City, OK
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance; possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute marijuana; possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime; possession of a firearm by a prohibited person (two counts); District of Kansas
    Sentence: Life plus 60 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $5,000 fine (October 30, 1997)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Terry Earl Stewart – Midland, TX
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine; aiding and abetting in the possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine (two counts); Western District of Texas
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (March 28, 2003)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 327 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Kenneth Stover, Jr. – Cleveland, OH
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine; possess with intent to distribute cocaine; conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana; unlawful use of a communication facility (two counts); felon in possession of ammunition; use of a firearm in the commission of a drug trafficking crime; Northern District of Ohio
    Sentence: Life imprisonment (August 27, 2003)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2017.

   

  • Michael Stradford – Newark, NJ
    Offense: Distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of cocaine base; District of New Jersey
    Sentence: 188 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (July 16, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Jerry Strahan – Granite City, IL
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine base; distribution of cocaine base; Southern District of Illinois
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (February 23, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Kenneth Demon Terry – Ballwin, MO
    Offense:          1. Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; Eastern District of

  Missouri

  2. Willful failure to surrender for service of sentence; Eastern District of Missouri

  Sentence:         1. 188 months' imprisonment; four years’ supervised release (November 3,

                          2006)

  2. 15 months' imprisonment (consecutive); two years' supervised release (September 24, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on March 19, 2018.

   

  • Don Thomas, Jr. – Essex, MD
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics (five kilograms or more of cocaine); possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; District of Maryland
    Sentence: 300 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 19, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted a term of 240 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Tracy Maurice Thomas – Weldon, NC
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine base (crack); using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime (two counts); possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of cocaine base (crack); Eastern District of North Carolina
    Sentence: 437 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (July 13, 2009); amended to 420 months’ imprisonment (December 17, 2014)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 180 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Jerry Lee Thompson – Brownwood, TX
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute less than five grams of cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a playground and aiding and abetting; Northern District of Texas
    Sentence: 312 months' imprisonment; 12 years' supervised release (August 30, 2001)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Raphael Marice Tinsley – Panama City, FL
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 13, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Tyrone Trader – Chester, PA
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine; distribution of cocaine (four counts); distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school (three counts); Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release; $1,000 fine (September 29, 2008)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 300 months' imprisonment, and unpaid balance of $1,000 fine remitted at the time of his release, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Mark David Turner – Opelika, AL
    Offense: Conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute 50  grams or more of methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine; possession of pseudoephedrine (precursor chemical) knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that the pseudoephedrine would be used to manufacture five grams or more of methamphetamine (two counts); using and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking offense (two counts); possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; manufacture and possess with intent to distribute five grams or more of methamphetamine (two counts); Middle District of Alabama
    Sentence: 481 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (November 12, 2002)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Vincent Lee Twiggs, II – Cape Girardeau, MO
    Offense: Possession of five grams or more of a substance containing cocaine base with intent to distribute; Eastern District of Missouri
    Sentence: 188 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release (March 27, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 151 months' imprisonment, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Darnell L. Walker – Detroit, MI
    Offense: Conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base; possession of firearm by convicted felon (two counts); Northern District of Ohio
    Sentence: Life imprisonment (December 26, 1995)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 360 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Lafayette Maurice Washington – Panama City, FL
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine and more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (May 18, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Jeffrey Scott Welch – Glendale, AZ
    Offense: Distribution of methamphetamine (two counts); possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime (two counts); unlawful possession of a firearm; District of Arizona
    Sentence: 420 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $5,000 fine (December 10, 1992)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018 and unpaid balance of the $5,000 fine remitted at the time of his release, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Gary Dean White – Gastonia, NC
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base; Western District of North Carolina
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (June 22, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 240 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Albert Wilborn – Michigan City, IN
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; Northern District of Indiana
    Sentence: 204 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release (May 1, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Billy Dee Williams – Charlotte, NC
    Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; using/carrying firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and aiding and abetting; Western District of North Carolina
    Sentence: Life plus 60 months’ imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (July 11, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to a term of 228 months' imprisonment.

   

  • Derwayne A. Williams – Independence, MO
    Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine base 50 grams or more (two counts); Western District of Missouri
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (October 6, 2009)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Jaycee Williams, Jr.  – Panama City, FL
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing cocaine base; Northern District of Florida
    Sentence: 240 months' imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (December 13, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Kevin Wise – Washington, DC
    Offense: Unlawful distribution of five grams or more of cocaine base; District of Columbia
    Sentence: 262 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release (May 11, 2001)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Jason Allen Woody – Huttonsville, WV
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Southern District of West Virginia
    Sentence: 312 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release; $2,000 fine (October 10, 2006)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on December 19, 2018, conditioned upon enrollment in residential drug treatment.

   

  • Harold Dwight Wooten – Clarkton, NC
    Offense: Conspiracy: Possession with intent to distribute and distribute cocaine base (crack); Middle District of North Carolina
    Sentence: 298 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (September 1, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Delmar Anton Zeigler – Oklahoma City, OK
    Offense: Possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute and aiding and abetting; possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute; Western District of Oklahoma
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (August 25, 1998)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  • Michael Antwan Zone – Melbourne, FL
    Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base; Middle District of Florida
    Sentence: Life imprisonment; 10 years' supervised release (August 23, 2007)

  Commutation Grant: Prison sentence commuted to expire on April 18, 2017.

   

  The President granted pardons to the following 78 individuals:

   

  • Ryan Michael Ashbrook – DeWitt, MI

  Offense:  Possession with intent to distribute approximately 56 pounds of marijuana (Southern District of Texas)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation, conditioned upon six months' home confinement and performance of 200 hours of community service (September 8, 2000)

   

  • Robert Spencer Baines – South Thomaston, ME

  Offense:  Conspiracy to possess, possession with intent to distribute over 1,000 pounds of marijuana (District of Maine)

  Sentence:  Six years' imprisonment (July 31, 1986)

   

  • Roy Darrell Benson – Albuquerque, NM

  Offense:  Bank fraud (District of Oregon)

  Sentence:  18 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $50,000 restitution (January 30, 1995)

   

  • Theresa Marie Bishop, aka Teresa Clark – Pittsburgh, PA

  Offense:  Knowingly disposing of a firearm to a person convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year (three counts); falsification of firearms purchase forms (two counts) (Western District of Pennsylvania)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation, conditioned upon one year of home detention (December 8, 2006)

   

  • Tavia Dion Blume – Snohomish, WA

  Offense:  Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute; use of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense (District of Montana)

  Sentence:  42 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (May 21, 1999) (as amended July 12, 1999)

   

  • Bob Edward Bone – St. Louis, MO

  Offense:  Conspiracy to manufacture in excess of 500 grams of methamphetamine (Eastern District of Missouri)

  Sentence:  One year and one day of imprisonment; two years' supervised release (May 2, 2006)

   

  • Philip Stephen Brown, aka Phil Brown – Rock Springs, WY

  Offense:  Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine (District of Wyoming)

  Sentence:  Five months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release, including five months' home confinement (May 11, 2000)

   

  • Jesse Daniel Burgher, aka Jessie Burgher – Montgomery, AL

  Offense:  Possession with intent to distribute at least 100 kilograms of marijuana (Southern District of Florida)

  Sentence:  60 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release (September 8, 1989)

   

  • Caryn Lynn Camp, fka Caryn Lynn Camp-Kenworthy – Taichung, Taiwan R.O.C.

  Offense:  Wire fraud (10 counts); mail fraud (two counts); conspiracy to steal trade secrets; conspiracy to transport stolen goods; interstate transportation of stolen goods (District of Maine)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation; $7,500 restitution (December 7, 1999)

   

  • Randy Dale Cantu – Niwot, CO

  Offense:  Conspiracy; falsely making and forging endorsement on government bonds (Southern District of Georgia)

  Sentence:  Five years' probation; $169.80 restitution (February 8, 1978)

   

  • James Randolph Carter – Wagoner, OK

  Offense:  Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute (Northern District of Oklahoma)

  Sentence:  60 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (May 30, 1991) (as amended May 15, 1997)

   

  • Dolly Ann Chamberlain, fka Dolly Ann Taylor – Herald, CA

  Offense:  Conversion of government money (Eastern District of California)

  Sentence:  36 months' probation, including 180 days of home confinement; $3,000 fine; $82,673.06 restitution (September 23, 2002)

   

  • Tietti Onette Chandler, fka Tietti Chandler-Shelton – Columbus, MS

  Offense:  Embezzlement of mail matter by a postal employee (Northern District of Mississippi)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation, conditioned upon the performance of 150 hours of community service (April 1, 1999)

   

  • Larry Wayne Childress, Jr. – Williamsville, MO

  Offense:  Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine (two counts) (Eastern District of Arkansas)

  Sentence:  One day of imprisonment; four years' supervised release, including 12 months' home detention (March 6, 1997) (as amended November 13, 1997)

   

  • Kristi Lynn Coe, aka Kristi Lynn Coe-Hagan, fka Kristi Hinshaw – Haw River, NC

  Offense:  Mail fraud (mistakenly listed in the judgment as mail theft) (Middle District of North Carolina)

  Sentence:  Five years' probation, conditioned upon four months’ home confinement; $17,785.72 restitution (October 11, 2001)

   

  • Melissa Rae Conley, fka Melissa Faith – Midland, TX

  Offense:  Aiding and abetting distribution of a detectable amount of methamphetamine (Western District of Texas)

  Sentence:  18 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (January 24, 2007)

   

  • Christopher John Darville – Missouri City, TX

  Offense:  Making false statements to a federally insured financial institution (Middle District of Louisiana)

  Sentence:  One day of imprisonment; three years' supervised release conditioned on three months' home detention; $2,000 fine (November 27, 2001)

   

  • Amanda Kucharski DeBlauw, fka Amanda Richmond – Newmarket, NH

  Offense:  Distribution of heroin (District of New Hampshire)

  Sentence:  Five months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release, conditioned upon 11 months’ home detention (November 29, 1999)

   

  • Lehi Victoria Dickey, aka Lahi Dickey, fka Lehi Dickey Bryant – Oakland, CA

  Offense:  Bank embezzlement (Northern District of California)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation; $1,000 fine (September 13, 1985)

   

  • Ronald Lee Eyler – Williamsport, MD

  Offense:  Conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute in excess of one kilogram of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine (District of Maryland)

  Sentence:  Two years' imprisonment (March 9, 1992)

   

  • Michael Anthony Facchiano, Jr. – Venetia, PA

  Offense:  Mail fraud (two counts) (Western District of Pennsylvania)

  Sentence:  Six months' imprisonment; five years' probation; $2,000 fine (February 22, 1985)

   

  • Theresa Renee Gardley, fka Theresa Renee Naper, fka Theresa Renee Thornton – Hillside, IL

  Offense:  Unlawful use of an unauthorized access device (Southern District of Texas)

  Sentence:  Three years’ imprisonment, suspended; five years' probation, conditioned upon 200 hours of community service; $6,411 restitution (December 9, 1988)

   

  • Karim Riad Georgy – Tampa, FL

  Offense:  Acquiring and possessing controlled substances by fraud, deception, or subterfuge (Middle District of Florida)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation; $1,500 fine; $1,000 restitution (November 6, 2001) (as amended January 28, 2002)

   

  • Donald Lee Gilbert – Phoenix, AZ

  Offense:  Interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle (District of Maine)

  Sentence:  Two years' probation (October 19, 1964)

   

  • Pamela Ann Golemba – Enfield, CT

  Offense:  Conspiracy to export cocaine (District of Connecticut)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation, including six months' house arrest; $2,500 fine (December 15, 1989)

   

  • Richard Allen Graham – Callahan, FL

  Offense:  Destruction of mail matter by a postal employee (Middle District of Florida)

  Sentence:  One year of probation, including 25 hours of community service (December 19, 2008)

   

  • Bobby Joseph Guidry, aka Bob Guidry – Youngsville, CA

  Offense:  Conspiracy to import marijuana; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana (Southern District of Mississippi)

  Sentence:  Three years' imprisonment; five years' probation; $1,000 fine (March 4, 1988)

   

  • Edward John Hartman – Westampton Township, NJ

  Offense:  Conspiracy (submitting false and fraudulent documents to FHA and VA) (District of New Jersey)

  Sentence:  Four months' imprisonment; three years' probation; $3,000 fine; unspecified restitution (July 11, 1986)

   

  • William Bernie Heckle, Jr., aka Billy Heckle – Orangeburg, SC

  Offense:  Falsifying medical prescriptions and illegally dispensing controlled substances (Schedule II through Schedule V); dispensing prescription medication without a legitimate written order from a prescribing physician (District of South Carolina)

  Sentence:  18 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (December 4, 1996)

   

  • Juleen Nicole Henry – Duluth, GA

  Offense:  Conspiracy to distribute marijuana (Eastern District of Michigan)

  Sentence:  Time served (115 days’ imprisonment); two years' supervised release (April 23, 2001)

   

  • James Ralph Hoeckelman – Irwin, PA

  Offense:  Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana (Western District of Pennsylvania)

  Sentence:  30 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (April 10, 1992) (as amended April 18, 1997)

   

  • Ralph Allen Hoekstra, aka Ralph Alan Hoekstra – Huntington Beach, CA

  Offense:  Importing wildlife contrary to law (Central District of California)

  Sentence:  One year of probation; $5,000 fine (January 19, 2005)

   

  • Samuel Wesley Howze, aka Sala Udin – Pittsburgh, PA

  Offense:  Unlawfully transporting firearms; possession of untaxpaid distilled spirits (Western District of Kentucky)

  Sentence:  Five years' imprisonment (November 20, 1970)

   

  • Herman Lamont Jackson – Maple Heights, OH

  Offense:  Possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and cocaine (two counts) (Northern District of Ohio)

  Sentence:  63 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release; $2,000 fine (March 29, 1999)

   

  • Mark Edward Johnson – Hanscom Air Force Base, MA

  Offense:  Conspiracy to import more than 100 kilograms of marijuana (Western District of Texas)

  Sentence:  24 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release, conditioned upon 200 hours of community service (April 6, 2004)

   

  • Cathy Mae Jones, fka Cathy Mae Bennett – Alamogordo, NM

  Offense:  Conspiracy (District of New Mexico)

  Sentence:  Time served (nine days' imprisonment); five years' supervised release; $1,423.50 restitution (September 14, 2006)

   

  • Fabius Romero Jones – Oakland, CA

  Offense:  Theft from interstate shipment (Northern District of California)

  Sentence:  One year of probation; $100 fine (August 24, 1977)

   

  • Ricky Eugene Jones – Alamogordo, NM

  Offense:  Conspiracy to manufacture 5 grams or more of methamphetamine; attempt to manufacture 5 grams or more of methamphetamine; maintaining a place for manufacture of methamphetamine; possession with intent to distribute less than 5 grams of methamphetamine (District of New Mexico)

  Sentence:  Time served (42 days' imprisonment); five years' supervised release; $1,423.50 restitution (September 14, 2006)

   

  • James Harold Keaton – Bassett, VA

  Offense:  Possession of a stolen firearm (Western District of Virginia)

  Sentence:  30 months' probation, conditioned upon 50 hours of community service (November 9, 2007)

   

  • Dean Robert Kondo – Daly City, CA

  Offense:  Possession of counterfeit currency (Northern District of California)

  Sentence:  12 months and one day of imprisonment; three years' supervised release (July 19, 2000)

   

  • Mary Ann Krauser, fka Mary Ann Iron Shield – Fort Yates, ND

  Offense:  Involuntary manslaughter (District of North Dakota)

  Sentence:  Three years' imprisonment, suspended; five years' probation (June 1, 1982)

   

  • Emmanuel Gabriel Leeper – Plano, TX

  Offense:  Possession with intent to distribute marijuana (Eastern District of Missouri)

  Sentence:  151 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (April 9, 1993)

   

  • Keith Alan Little – Odessa, TX

  Offense:  Interception of electronic communications (Western District of Texas)

  Sentence:  Five years' probation, including four months in a halfway house; $10,000 fine (June 14, 1990)

   

  • Victoria Hunter Lowe – Tucson, AZ

  Offense:  Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine (Western District of Texas)

  Sentence:  46 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (July 18, 2006)

   

  • Dawn Mascari, fka Dawn Steponavich – North Branford, CT

  Offense:  Aiding and abetting in illegal gambling operation (District of Connecticut)

  Sentence:  Three years’ probation, conditioned upon two months' home confinement; $2,000 fine (April 23, 2002)

   

  • James Willie McGrady, Jr. – Fayetteville, NC

  Offense:  Distribution of cocaine and aiding and abetting; distribution of cocaine in excess of 500 grams and aiding and abetting; possession of a firearm in the commission of a drug trafficking crime (Eastern District of North Carolina)

  Sentence:  37 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release; $5,000 fine; $1,000 restitution (April 11, 1989) (as amended May 3, 1990)

   

  • John Frederick McNeely, Jr. – Santa Ana, CA

  Offense:  Receiving counterfeit government obligations (Central District of California)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation (July 27, 1970)

   

  • Kenneth Shannon Meadows, aka Kenny Shannon Meadows – Celina, TN

  Offense:  Manufacture, assemble, modify, sell and distribute electronic devices for the unauthorized decryption of direct-to-home satellite television services (Western District of Kentucky)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation, conditioned upon six months' home confinement; $36,424 restitution (August 25, 2003)

   

  • Roger Delos Melius – Faulkton, SD

  Offense:  Conspiracy to submit false statements (District of South Dakota)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation; $87,712.91 restitution (October 11, 2007) (as amended December 17, 2007)

   

  • Samuel Nyamongo Mongare – Arlington, TX

  Offense:  Possession of false identification documents with intent to defraud the United States (Western District of Texas)

  Sentence:  Four months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (March 27, 2001)

   

  • Steven Odell Moon – Burleson, TX

  Offense:  Conspiracy to distribute and possess phenylacetic acid (Northern District of Texas)

  Sentence:  60 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (January 24, 1991)

   

  • George Bernard Moran – Federal Way, WA

  Offense:  Conspiracy to import a substantial amount of marijuana into the United States; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute an amount of marijuana over 1,000 pounds; subscribing to a false United States Income Tax Return (District of Maine)

  Sentence:  Eight years' imprisonment (May 11, 1984)

   

  • Thomas Whitfield Morris, Jr. – Pawleys Island, SC

  Offense:  Conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States (District of South Carolina)

  Sentence:  Five years' probation, conditioned upon 300 hours of community service (August 26, 1992)

   

  • Christopher Muratore – Tampa, FL

  Offense:  Devising a scheme to defraud the United States of money and property and devising a scheme to deprive the United States Bankruptcy Court and the citizens of the United States of honest services (Middle District of Florida)

  Sentence:  36 months' probation, including six months' home detention; $107,850 restitution (September 25, 2001)

   

  • Serena Denise Nunn – Atlanta, GA

  Offense:  Aiding and abetting in the attempt to possess with intent to distribute cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base; conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine (District of Minnesota)

  Sentence:  188 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (sentence commuted) (April 11, 1990)

   

  • Francis Joseph O'Hara, Sr. – Camden, ME

  Offense:  Conspiracy to restrain, suppress and eliminate competition by rigging bids; conspiracy with others to knowingly and willfully make and use false documents containing false statements in matters within the jurisdiction of the Defense Personnel Support Command (District of Maine)

  Sentence:  Six months' imprisonment; two years' supervised release; $200,000 fine; $950,000 restitution (September 13, 1991)

   

  • James Allen Palmatier – Highland, NY

  Offense:  Possession with intent to distribute cocaine (mistakenly listed in the judgment as possession of cocaine) (Northern District of Alabama)

  Sentence:  97 months' imprisonment; four years' supervised release, conditioned upon 300 hours of community service (September 21, 1989)

   

  • Allen Wayne Parker – Fort Smith, AR

  Offense:  Officer of U.S. stealing property of another (Western District of Arkansas)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation, conditioned upon an undetermined term of home confinement and five weekends of intermittent confinement; $1,000 fine (May 1, 1991)

   

  • Robert Allen Petty – Mineola, TX

  Offense:  Distribution of methamphetamine (Western District of Oklahoma)

  Sentence:  33 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (April 4, 1994)

   

  • Benjamin Ramos – Jamaica, NY

  Offense:  Conspiracy to transport and sell stolen goods (two counts) (Southern District of New York)

  Sentence:  Four years' probation; $5,000 restitution (September 21, 2000)

   

  • Erica Renee Ramos, fka Erica Renee DeVore, fka Erica Renee Ramirez – Port St. Lucie, FL

  Offense:  Use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug felony (Middle District of Florida)

  Sentence:  Two years' probation (February 20, 2003)

   

  • Doretha Doreen Rhone – Philadelphia, PA

  Offense:  Theft (District of Columbia)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation; $3,060 restitution (March 14, 1989)

   

  • Adam Philip Ricciardiello – Naples, FL

  Offense:  Conspiracy to distribute marijuana (District of Vermont)

  Sentence:  Time served; three months’ residence in a community confinement center; four years' supervised release, conditioned upon 200 hours of community service; $5,000 fine (July 1, 2002) (as amended July 3, 2002 and January 28, 2003)

   

  • Ramon Escalera Sanchez – Cheney, WA

  Offense:  Possession of less than 500 grams of cocaine with intent to distribute (Eastern District of Washington)

  Sentence:  27 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (September 19, 2003)

   

  • Bryan Scot Sandquist – Gig Harbor, WA

  Offense:  Felon in possession of a firearm (District of Oregon)

  Sentence:  40 months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (November 4, 2002)

   

  • Heidi Kay Schmidt, fka Heidi Kay Watt – Denton, NE

  Offense:  Conspiracy to distribute controlled substance (District of Nebraska)

  Sentence:  30 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release, conditioned upon 250 hours of community service (June 30, 2005) (as amended April 12, 2006)

   

  • Allen Thompson Sherwood – Ooltewah, TN

  Offense:  Conduct unbecoming an officer (shoplifting) (United States Air Force general court-martial convened at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana)

  Sentence:  Dismissal from service; four months’ confinement; forfeiture of $500 pay per month for four months; $5,000 fine (January 24, 1990)

   

  • Kaseen Lathell Simmons, aka Ceno Smith – Detroit, MI

  Offense:  Possession with intent to distribute less than 50 kilograms of marijuana (District of New Mexico)

  Sentence:  21 months' imprisonment; two years' supervised release (May 17, 1999)

   

  • Brenda Lorene Sinclair, fka Brenda Lorene Pontius – Boise, ID

  Offense:  Receiving, possessing, concealing and disposing of stolen money (District of Oregon)

  Sentence:  Ten years’ imprisonment; five years' probation; $1,986 restitution (October 27, 1986)

   

  • Michael Slavinsky – Irvine, CA

  Offense:  Misdemeanor illegal supplementation of salary by an employee of the United States (District of Columbia)

  Sentence:  Three years' probation, conditioned upon performance of 50 hours of community service; $10,000 restitution (January 7, 1998)

   

  • Richard Earl Smout – Blackfoot, ID

  Offense:  Possession of stolen mail (District of Utah)

  Sentence:  Time served (77 days' imprisonment) and two years' supervised release (November 20, 2001)

   

  • Robin Shelley Soodeen – Upper Marlboro, MD

  Offense:  Bank embezzlement (District of Columbia)

  Sentence:  Eight months' halfway house confinement; five years' supervised release; $49,000 restitution (October 2, 2001)

   

  • Pamela Joy Stokes – Southfield, MI

  Offense:  False Statement (Eastern District of Michigan)

  Sentence:  Two years' probation, conditioned upon 120 days’ home confinement (May 3, 2006)

   

  • Joseph Eugene Swies – Frederic, WI

  Offense:  Forgery of postal money orders (Western District of Wisconsin)

  Sentence:  Three years’ probation; $1,259.71 restitution (July 27, 1984)

   

  • Shari Dee Trompke – Grand Island, NE

  Offense:  Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine (District of Nebraska)

  Sentence:  36 months' imprisonment; five years' supervised release (April 17, 1997)

   

  • Jessica Ann Tyson, fka Jessica Ann Martin – Grand Rapids, MI

  Offense:  Conspiracy to commit bank fraud (Western District of Michigan)

  Sentence:  Two years' probation; $1,200 restitution (December 2, 1997)

   

  • Robert Steven Warden – Monroe, WA

  Offense:  Simple possession of approximately two grams of heroin (Central District of California)

  Sentence:  One year of probation (December 4, 1972)

   

  • Vera Mae Yurisich – Cashmere, WA

  Offense:  Perjury (Eastern District of Washington)

  Sentence:  Three months' imprisonment; three years' supervised release (April 30, 2007)

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Announces Findings of Investigation into Ville Platte, Louisiana, Police Department and Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office

  2016-12-19 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Justice Department announced today that it found reasonable cause to believe that the Ville Platte, Louisiana, Police Department (VPPD) and the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. 

  The department found that VPPD and EPSO used a procedure the agencies called an “investigative hold” to detain individuals without probable cause during criminal investigations.  As a result of this pattern or practice, people in Louisiana’s Evangeline Parish have been arrested and placed in holding cells without probable cause.  Often, individuals were in holding cells for several days at a time, where they were unable to contact family, friends or employers and had limited access to food and personal items. 

  “When police officers investigate criminal activity, they must do so responsibly and within the boundaries of the law,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division.  “The violations we found in Ville Platte and Evangeline Parish demonstrate a disturbing pattern of officers overstepping legal boundaries by placing residents in holding cells for days at a time without probable cause.  We look forward to working with both agencies and the local municipalities to ensure that officers can effectively protect their communities and safeguard the liberties of the residents they serve.”

  The Justice Department’s findings result from a comprehensive review of EPSO and VPPD’s relevant policies, procedures, training and accountability systems.  The review included meetings with the leadership of both agencies and the city of Ville Platte, interviews with officers throughout the chain of command at both agencies and conversations with other members of the local community.  Throughout the department’s investigation, VPPD, EPSO and the city of Ville Platte provided their full cooperation and were receptive to the department’s initial feedback.  VPPD and EPSO leadership acknowledged that the investigative holds are unconstitutional and have taken laudable steps to begin eliminating their use.  The department will continue to work closely with these law enforcement agencies and municipalities to remedy the issues identified in the report.

  The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section conducted the investigation.  Since the start of the administration, the Special Litigation Section has opened 25 investigations into law enforcement agencies.  The department is enforcing 19 agreements with law enforcement agencies, including 14 consent decrees and one post-judgment order.

  For additional information, please visit the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.

  Ville Platte and Evangeline Parish Findings

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• INTERPOL Washington Provides Critical Support to Cold Case Murder

  2016-12-19 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  On December 8,  2016, a U.S. federal grand jury returned an indictment against Silas Duane Boston, charging him with two counts of first degree maritime murder.  He is accused of killing British tourists, Christopher Farmer and Peta Frampton, aboard his boat in the Caribbean Sea in the summer of 1978. Boston ran a charter boat company that was hired by the two victims who were vacationing in the Caribbean.  According to the indictment, Boston murdered the couple and dumped their weighted bodies overboard. The boat, known as the Justin B. was  owned by Boston, a U.S. citizen; therefore, maritime and territorial laws of the United States apply and the case is being prosecuted under federal jurisdiction. Boston was arrested on December 1, 2016, in Paradise, California, and was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of California. Boston entered a plea of not guilty. 

   

  INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)--has been supporting this cold case investigation since 2012. Since 2015, INTERPOL Washington has worked with INTERPOL Manchester, NCB; the Sacramento Police Department; the FBI Sacramento; and the Manchester (United Kingdom) Police Department. INTERPOL Washington facilitated contacts between the Sacramento and Manchester (United Kingdom) police department investigators; passed witness statements from Sacramento to Manchester; and circulated requests for information to NCBs worldwide. The bureau also researched correspondence and documentation filed with USNCB at the time the victims were reported to have been murdered. The Manchester UK Police Department expressly thanked the USNCB staff on behalf of the victims’ families for their support of the joint investigation, reinforcing the value of international police cooperation and coordination between INTERPOL member countries.

   

  There is also a separate investigation into the disappearance and suspected murder of Boston’s wife in 1968.  Boston’s next court appearance is scheduled for January 10, 2017. To read the full indictment, click here:  https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/former-sacramento-resident-charged-murdering-british-couple-1978

   

  A component of the U.S. Department of Justice, INTERPOL Washington is co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As the designated representative to INTERPOL on behalf of the Attorney General, INTERPOL Washington serves as the national point of contact for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the United States.

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates Statement on the President's Recent Commutations

  2016-12-19 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates released the following statement after President Obama granted commutation of sentence to 153 individuals:

  “Today, another 153 individuals were granted commutations by the President.  Over the last eight years, President Obama has given a second chance to over 1,100 inmates who have paid their debt to society.  Our work is ongoing and we look forward to additional announcements from the President before the end of his term.”

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Un Jurado Declara a Un Hombre De Bakersfield Culpable De Un Crimen De Odio

  2016-12-16 · USAO - California, Eastern (español)

  Read the Press Release

  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Después del quinto día de juicio, un jurado de Fresno declaró a Justin Cole Whittington, de 25 años y residente de Bakersfield, culpable de crímenes del odio federales por disparar con una escopeta mientras gritaba insultos raciales a un hombre latino, anunciaron la Procuradora General Auxiliar Adjunto Principal Vanita Gupta, directora de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia y el Procurador Federal Phillip A. Talbert.      

   

  Whittington fue condenado hoy por interferir con los derechos de vivienda de una persona por motivos de raza, color de su piel u origen nacional mientras empleaba la fuerza o la amenaza de fuerza, por el uso de un arma de fuego durante un crimen de violencia y por hacer una declaración falsa a un agente especial del FBI. Whittington se había declarado culpable anteriormente por la posesión ilícita de armas de fuego prohibidas en conexión al mismo crimen.

  Según documentos del tribunal, el 19 de diciembre de 2012, la víctima, un hombre latino, estaba en el jardín delantero de su casa acompañado por su esposa e hijo cuando un PT Cruiser de color oscuro pasó lentamente y se detuvo por delante de la casa de su vecino. Al pensar que lo sucedido era inusual, la víctima prestó suma atención al coche. Whittington, a quien la víctima desconocía, salió por la puerta del asiento de pasajero del coche cargando una escopeta recortada. Whittington usó lenguaje profano y gritó un epíteto racial a la vez que disparaba una ronda hacia la víctima a unas 15 yardas de distancia además de gritar que la víctima debía mudarse fuera de Oildale. Whittington volvió a entrar al coche y se fue. Poco después, la escopeta volvió a ser disparada desde el PT Cruiser cerca de un pequeño comercio de barrio propiedad de un hombre de origen de oriente medio. La explosión dejó un gran boquete en la puerta de vidrio del comercio y huellas en forma de círculos de pintura desaparecida sobre la reja de metal situada delante del comercio.

  Según las pruebas presentadas durante el juicio, la víctima fue capaz de describir a Whittington y el coche a los oficiales del Sheriff del Condado de Kern quienes fueron los que encontraron a Whittington en un lugar cercano y de pie fuera del PT Cruiser. Los oficiales recuperaron una escopeta recortada del maletero del coche Crown Victoria de Whittington que estaba estacionado cerca del PT Cruiser.   

  Whittington también fue declarado culpable de haber hecho declaraciones falsas a un agente del FBI cuando falsamente alegó que en la noche del incidente, había sido pagado por alguien para guardar la escopeta recortada en el maletero de su coche.

  Según documentos del tribunal y las pruebas presentadas durante el juicio, la víctima y su familia dejaron de sentirse seguros en su hogar y, tan pronto consiguieron los medios económicos para ello, se mudaron del barrio. 

  “Whittington utilizó la violencia para aterrorizar a un hombre inocente y a su familia,” dijo la Procuradora General Auxiliar Adjunto Principal Gupta. “El daño que proviene de los crímenes del odio como este se extiende más allá de los individuos y amenaza a la seguridad, a la libertad y al bien estar de comunidades enteras. Ninguna condena puede reparar ese daño, pero este veredicto sí proporciona una medida de justicia para la víctima, su familia y su comunidad.”  

  El Procurador Federal Talbert dijo, “El Distrito Este de California es una comunidad de distintas razas, etnias y contextos culturales. El demandado intentó golpear la diversidad que nos enriquece atacando cobardemente y sin provocación alguna a un hombre que estaba en su jardín con su familia. Los crímenes del odio como este tienen un profundo efecto no sólo sobre las víctimas, pero también sobre aquellas personas que forman parte en las comunidades de las víctimas, haciéndolos sentir vulnerables e inseguros. Nuestra oficina está comprometida a la investigación y al procesamiento de aquellos que violan los derechos civiles de otros, y el hacer cumplir las leyes en contra de los crímenes del odio seguirá siendo una de las misiones centrales de esta oficina.”

  Este caso es el producto de una investigación de la Oficina Federal de Investigaciones (FBI) y de la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Kern. El Procurador Federal Auxiliar Brian K. Delaney está procesando el caso con la asistencia de la Abogada Litigante Samantha Trepel de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia.

  Whittington está programado para ser sentenciado por el Juez del Distrito Federal Dale A. Drozd en la fecha establecida. Whittington se enfrenta a una pena máxima establecida por la ley de cadena perpetua y a una multa de $250.000 dólares. La sentencia en sí, no obstante, será determinada a discreción del tribunal después de tener en consideración cualquier factor establecido por la ley aplicable y las Normas para Sentenciar Federales que contemplan un número de variables.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Two Attorneys Indicted for Multimillion-Dollar Scheme to Fraudulently Obtain Settlements from Victims Who Downloaded Pornography

  2016-12-16 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Two attorneys were charged today in a federal indictment for their roles in a multimillion-dollar scheme to fraudulently obtain settlement agreements from individuals who supposedly downloaded pornographic movies from file-sharing websites. 

  Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota, Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and Special Agent in Charge Richard T. Thornton of the FBI’s Minneapolis Division made the announcement.

  Paul R. Hansmeier, 35, of St. Paul, Minnesota, and John L. Steele, 45, of Florida, were charged in an 18-count indictment today for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, substantive wire fraud and mail fraud, concealment money laundering and conspiracy to commit and suborn perjury.  Hansmeier was suspended from the practice of law in the state of Minnesota on Sept. 12, 2016. 

  “Abusing one’s position as a licensed attorney and using the courts and legal process to file false and abusive copyright claims that threaten individuals and encourage fraudulent settlements is wrong and will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “The Department of Justice’s action today demonstrates that we will act to protect the integrity of judicial proceedings against attorneys and others who would seek to use them as a mechanism for their own illegal gains.”

  “The defendants in this case are charged with devising a scheme that casts doubt on the integrity of our profession,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “The conduct of these defendants was outrageous – they used deceptive lawsuits and unsuspecting judges to extort millions from vulnerable defendants.  Our courts are halls of justice where fairness and the rule of law triumph, and my office will use every available resource to stop corrupt lawyers from abusing our system of justice.”

  “The charges announced today describe a fraud scheme perpetrated by lawyers and officers of the court who abused their positions of trust for personal enrichment,” said Special Agent in Charge Thornton.  “The FBI remains committed to uncovering fraud such as this to protect the integrity of our civil justice system.”

  “The role of IRS Criminal Investigation becomes even more important in complex financial investigations involving money laundering because of the time it takes to unravel the criminal scheme,” said Chief Weber.  “This case is an excellent example of the lengths to which individuals will go to defraud others in whatever way they can.  We are committed to working these types of difficult financial investigations and following the criminal’s money, wherever it leads.”

  According to the indictment, between 2011 and 2014, Hansmeier and Steele, both practicing lawyers, executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $6 million by threatening copyright lawsuits against individuals who supposedly downloaded pornographic movies from file-sharing websites.  Hansmeier and Steele allegedly created a series of sham entities to obtain copyrights to pornographic movies that they uploaded to file-sharing websites and filed bogus copyright infringement lawsuits in order to learn the subscriber information associated with the IP addresses used to download the pornographic movies.  The indictment further alleges the defendants used extortionate letters and phone calls to threaten victims with enormous financial penalties and public embarrassment unless they agreed to pay a $4,000 settlement fee.  To distance themselves from the specious lawsuits and any potential fallout, defendants created and used Prenda Law, among other firms, to pursue their claims.  

  According to the charges, after various courts began to restrict the defendants’ ability to sue multiple individuals in the same copyright lawsuit, the defendants changed their tactics and began filing lawsuits falsely alleging that computer systems belonging to their sham clients had been hacked.  To facilitate their phony “hacking” lawsuits, Hansmeier and Steele allegedly recruited “ruse defendants,” who had been caught downloading pornography from a file-sharing website, to be sued in exchange for Hansmeier and Steele waiving their settlement fees while pursuing claims against their supposed “co-conspirators.”

  As alleged in the indictment, as courts began to uncover the defendant’s unscrupulous litigation tactics, judges began denying the defendants’ requests to subpoena ISPs, dismissing lawsuits, accusing the defendants of deceptive and fraudulent behavior and imposing sanctions against the defendants and their associates.  For example, on May 6, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued an order imposing sanctions against the defendants.  In total, the defendants obtained approximately $6 million from the fraudulent copyright lawsuits.

  The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

  FBI and IRS-CI are investigating the case.  Senior Trial Counsel Brian Levine of the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Langner of the District of Minnesota are prosecuting the case.

  Hansmeier Indictment

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Street Leader of Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy Including Multiple Murders

  2016-12-16 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  A leader of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation pleaded guilty today to participating in a racketeering conspiracy involving murder, attempted murder, robbery, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and narcotics distribution.

  Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI’s Chicago Division and Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Division made the announcement.

  Rogelio Perez, aka Popeye, 44, of Chicago, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Cecelia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to conduct and participate in the affairs of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation through a pattern of racketeering activity.  Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 24, 2017.

  According to admissions made in connection with his plea, the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation is a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, narcotics distribution, and other criminal activities, and which operated in the Southern District of Florida, the Northern District of Illinois and the Northern District of Indiana, among other places.  Perez joined the Chicago-area chapter of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation in approximately 1990 and rose to the level of “street leader” in approximately 2006, which he remained until his incarceration in June 2012.  While a “street leader,” Perez conducted meetings with Chicago-area Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation and local gang leaders in an effort to strike alliances.  In November 2011 and February 2012, Perez admitted that he traveled to Miami to meet the South Florida-area chapter of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation to facilitate the criminal activities of the gang.  On July 17, 2009, Perez also ordered members of the gang to retaliate against a rival gang in response to a shooting of an Almighty Imperial Gangster’s Nation.

  In addition, Perez that admitted that he and other members of the Almighty Imperial Gangsters Nation earned money for members and financed the gang’s activities through trafficking in controlled substances, including cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana.  Perez and other members of the Almighty Imperial Gangster’s Nation would use firearms, threats and acts of violence to facilitate their drug trafficking. 

  The FBI’s Miami and Chicago Field Offices investigated the case with the Miami-Dade Police Department; the City of Miami Police Department; the Chicago Police Department, the Franklin Park, Illinois, Police Department; and the East Chicago Police Department.  The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Indiana and the Northern District of Illinois; the FBI and ATF field offices in Merrillville, Indiana; the State Attorney’s Offices of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in Florida; the State Attorney’s Offices in Cook and Du Page Counties in Illinois; and the Florida Department of Correction and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office assisted with this case.  Trial Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley, Rebecca A. Staton and Nicolas J. Regalia of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida’s Forfeiture Section are prosecuting the case

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Announces New Steps to Expand Vital Law Enforcement Data Collection Initiatives

  2016-12-16 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Today, the Department of Justice provided an update on its longstanding efforts concerning the nationwide collection of data on law enforcement interactions with civilians, including data related to the use of force by law enforcement officers.  The update includes the submission of a report to Congress outlining its plan for collecting data mandated by the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA), and the publication of a notice in the Federal Register on the details of the collection method going forward under the DCRA.  

  “I am incredibly proud of the work that this department has done, in collaboration with our state, local, tribal and federal partners, to expand and improve data collection,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “This work is vital.  It will allow the nation to have a more informed and robust dialogue regarding use of force; it will improve transparency; and it will help to build stronger bonds of trust between law enforcement and the people we serve.  The Department of Justice will continue to work alongside our partners to build on these efforts and to create a nationwide data collection system that is useful and meaningful for law enforcement and communities alike.”

  In 2014, Congress passed the DCRA, which requires states and federal law enforcement agencies to submit data to the department about civilians who died during interactions with law enforcement or in their custody, whether resulting from use or force or some other manner of death, such as suicide or natural causes, and authorized the Attorney General to penalize non-compliant states.  The DCRA is consistent with the recommendation of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing that law enforcement “collect, maintain and report data . . .  on all officer involved shootings, whether fatal or nonfatal, as well as any in-custody death,” and the department is committed to heeding this call.  

  The department is seeking comment on the Federal Register submission from all interested parties, including local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement, civil rights organizations and other community stakeholders.  After reviewing and addressing these comments, the department will issue a final proposal, and plans to begin the data collection program in 2017.  

  The DCRA also requires federal law enforcement agencies to report information on deaths that occur during interactions with federal law enforcement agencies or in their custody, beginning with Fiscal Year 2016 (FY2016) data.  FY2016 ended Sept. 30, 2016.  On Oct. 5, 2016, the Attorney General issued a memorandum to federal law enforcement agencies formally notifying them of their reporting obligations under the DCRA.  The collection of the FY 2016 data has begun and will continue through March 2017.  In addition to the report submitted to Congress today, the department expects to issue a statistical report in 2017.

  The department continues to implement other, longstanding, data collection programs.  The DCRA does not impose a reporting requirement for ¬non-lethal¬ uses of force by law enforcement.  In the absence of a statutory mandate, and in an effort to close this gap, the department is partnering with local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement to provide a means for national data collection.  In 2015, and in collaboration with local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement the FBI began work on a “National Use of Force Data Collection,” an online portal to collect use-of-force data from law enforcement agencies across the country.  In October 2016, the FBI announced the proposed pilot program in the Federal Register, and it has received comments from interested parties.  After addressing those comments, the FBI will issue a final proposal and plans to begin the pilot data collection program in early 2017.  The pilot study participants are expected to include the largest state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service.  

  The department also is pursuing the Police Data Initiative (PDI), which is a data transparency project led by the department’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office.  PDI encourages participating law enforcement agencies to collect and publicly release various datasets.  The initiative now includes 130 law enforcement agencies that serve more than 44 million people across the country.  As part of the Initiative, the COPS office is working on the development of two open data guidebooks.  The first will be a primer on open data for law enforcement executives and municipal officials and will be released in the summer of 2017.  The second guidebook will provide a more in-depth analysis on effectively producing, releasing and using open data and is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2018.    

  In addition to these efforts, the department continues to collect and analyze data in other ways.  This week, the Bureau of Justice Statistics issued three reports:  1) Mortality in Local Jails, 2000-2014 -Statistical Tables, 2) Mortality in State Prisons, 2001-2014 - Statistical Tables, and 3) Arrest-Related Deaths Program Redesign Study, 2015–16: Preliminary Findings. These reports are available at www.bjs.gov. 

  Separately, the FBI released the 2015 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) report this week.  NIBRS, which will completely replace the traditional Summary Reporting System by Jan. 1, 2021, will provide a more robust and complete data set that will provide greater insight into crime reports throughout the country.   
   
  These initiatives demonstrate once again the department’s deep commitment to the ideals of the President’s Task Force.  The department will continue to work with local, state, tribal and federal agencies to encourage and support data collection and transparency beyond these projects.           

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Four Northern California Real Estate Investors Convicted of Rigging Bids at Public Foreclosure Auctions

  2016-12-16 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  A federal jury yesterday convicted four real estate investors for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in Alameda County, California, the Department of Justice announced.  

  After a two-week trial, the jury convicted Alvin Florida Jr., Robert Alhashash Rasheed, John Lee Berry III and Refugio Diaz of one count each of conspiring to rig bids at foreclosure auctions between May 2008 and December 2010.  The four defendants were charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of California on November 19, 2014.  

  The evidence at trial showed that the defendants conspired with others to rig bids to obtain hundreds of properties sold at foreclosure auctions in Alameda County.  The conspirators designated the winning bidders to obtain selected properties at the public auctions, and negotiated payoffs amongst themselves in return for not competing.  They then held second, private auctions at or near the courthouse steps where the public auctions were held, awarding the properties to conspirators who submitted the highest bids.  

  In addition to yesterday’s convictions, over fifty individuals have pleaded guilty to criminal charges as a result of the department’s ongoing antitrust investigations into bid rigging at public foreclosure auctions in Northern California.  Indictments are pending against several other real estate investors who participated in the conspiracy.

  These convictions are the latest charges filed by the department in its ongoing investigation into bid rigging at public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Alameda counties, California.  These investigations are being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Office, in connection with the president’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. 

  The president established the task force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.  Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. 

  For more information about the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.  Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office at 415-934-5300 or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi Gang Member Sentenced to Life in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy and Related Offenses

  2016-12-16 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi (ABM) gang was sentenced to life in prison for his participation in a variety of violent criminal acts, including racketeering conspiracy, murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and other related offenses.  

  Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Felicia C. Adams of the Northern District of Mississippi, Special Agent in Charge Stephen G. Azzam of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Constance Hester of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) New Orleans Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze of the FBI in Mississippi and Director John Dowdy of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN) made the announcement.

  “Even among criminal organizations, the ABM stands out for its violent and repulsive crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “That is why we will continue to identify, apprehend and prosecute ABM members across the country until the communities that have been living in fear are free from ABM’s grasp.”

  “This prosecution is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between the Department of Justice, federal, state and local law enforcement officers targeting a large-scale prison gang involved in violent organized crime throughout the state of Mississippi,” said U.S. Attorney Adams.  “As a result of this collaborative effort, we have effectively dismantled this violent organization and sent a clear message that the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners have an unwavering commitment to hold those individuals accountable who insist on creating an atmosphere of violence and fear in our communities.”

  “The sentencing of this gang member is an example of DEA’s relentless pursuit to target organizations that plague and pollute our communities.  Because drug trafficking and gang violence isn’t confined to one jurisdiction or community, it is important that law enforcement continues to work together to improve the quality of life for the citizens were serve in our communities and neighborhoods,”  said Special Agent in Charge Azzam.  “DEAs continued pledge to the people of Mississippi is to continue to work with all our law enforcement partners, to pursue these violent thugs, criminals and drug traffickers.”

  “Violence takes a toll on our family and community.  The substantial sentence imposed today drives a strong message to violent gang organizations that they will be held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Hester.  “ATF is committed to providing every available resource to combat violent crime and illegal firearm activity.  We will continue to collaborate with all of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners in identifying, disrupting and dismantling the violent gangs that prey on our communities.”

   “Dismantling organized crime organizations is essential to our society,” said Special Agent in Charge Freeze.  “Violent groups such as the Aryan Brotherhood are an anathema on our society and negatively affect the daily lives of all law abiding citizens.  The FBI and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to disrupting and deterring the most significant gangs throughout Mississippi and enhancing the lives of all Mississippians.”

  “It is a privilege for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to partner with all of these law enforcement agencies to make Mississippi a safer place,” said Director Dowdy.  “The sentence handed down today insures that this defendant can no longer be a menace to public safety.”

  Eric Glenn Parker, 36, of Forrest County, Mississippi, a member of ABM, was sentenced on Dec. 16, 2016 to serve life in prison by U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson of the Northern District of Mississippi.  On April 13, 2016, Parker was found guilty by a federal jury of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, murder and methamphetamine distribution. 

  The ABM is the Mississippi-centered branch of the Aryan Brotherhood, a violent, “whites only,” prison-based gang with members and associates operating inside and outside of state penal institutions.  The ABM is engaged in racketeering activities, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, money laundering, firearms trafficking and trafficking in marijuana and methamphetamine, both inside and outside correctional facilities.  According to trial evidence, Parker and three co-defendants served at varying times on the ABM’s three-member “wheel” that oversaw and directed ABM activity throughout Mississippi during the conspiracy.

  According to evidence presented at trial, ABM leaders ordered other gang members to lure an individual to an ABM house so that they could murder him for an unpaid drug debt.  ABM gang members kidnapped the victim, beat him severely, and delivered him to Parker. Parker, along with Frank George Owens Jr., his co-defendant at trial, beat the victim to death and delivered the body to a co-defendant, who burned the victim’s body for days in order to incinerate it.  In addition, Parker dealt methamphetamine on behalf of the ABM, which garnered him a leadership position in the gang.

  Today’s sentencing marks the culmination of a 2.5-year investigation into and prosecution of the ABM, which resulted in the conviction of 42 members and associates of the gang.  Owens, 44, of D’Iberville, Mississippi, was convicted along with Parker of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, murder and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine.  On Nov. 2, 2016, Owens was sentenced to life in prison and 120 months for attempted murder. 

  The DEA, ATF, FBI and MBN investigated the case.  The U.S. Marshals Service; Federal Protective Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Mississippi Highway Patrol; Mississippi Bureau of Investigation; Mississippi Department of Corrections; Harrison County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team; Tupelo, Mississippi, Police Department; North Mississippi Narcotics Unit; Tishomingo County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; Lee County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; Forrest County, Mississippi, District Attorney’s Office; Prentiss County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; Jones County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; Harrison County, Mississippi, Sheriff’s Office; and South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team provided valuable assistance in the investigation.  The Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices of the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi prosecuted the case.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Three More Individuals Indicted for Their Roles in Capacitors Price-Fixing Conspiracy

  2016-12-15 · District not recorded

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  Grand Jury Has Now Indicted Total of Nine Individuals in Long-Running Conspiracy

  A federal grand jury returned a second superseding indictment today charging three more executives from two different companies for conspiring to fix prices of electrolytic capacitors sold to customers in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.  This indictment supersedes a previous superseding indictment returned on Nov. 2, 2016, in which six individuals from four different companies were charged with price fixing.

  The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California in San Francisco, charges the following individuals for conspiring to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of electrolytic capacitors:

  •    Takeshi Matsuzaka, an executive of Company A, who is charged with conspiring from approximately January 2003 until January 2014;

  •    Kaname Takahashi, also an executive of Company A, who is charged with conspiring from approximately July 2003 until April 2013; and

  •    Takuo Tatai, an executive of Company D, who is charged with conspiring from approximately January 2009 until January 2012.

  “The executives charged today fixed the prices of an electronic component relied upon by American consumers to power devices that are central to our day-to-day life,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “The Antitrust Division will continue to pursue executives and companies who conspire to cheat consumers.”

  Electrolytic capacitors store and regulate electrical current in a variety of electronic products, including computers, televisions, car engine and airbag systems, home appliances and office equipment. 

  Today’s charges are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the electrolytic capacitor industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI.   A total of five companies and nine individuals have been charged in the division’s ongoing investigation.

  An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  

  The charges today result from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the capacitors industry.  Anyone with information related to anticompetitive conduct in the capacitors industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI tip line at 415-553-7400.

  Matsuzaka Second Superseding Indictment

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Public and Environment to Benefit from $50 Million Proposed Settlement for Natural Resources Harmed by Virginia Dupont Facility

  2016-12-15 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Departments of Justice and the Interior joined with the Commonwealth of Virginia today to announce a proposed settlement with DuPont valued at approximately $50 million to resolve claims stemming from the release of mercury from the former E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) facility in Waynesboro, Virginia.  Over 100 miles of river and associated floodplain have been contaminated by mercury in the South River and South Fork Shenandoah River watershed.

  In addition to a cash payment of just over $42 million, DuPont will fund the design and implementation of significant renovations at the Front Royal Fish Hatchery, estimated to cost up to $10 million.  The settlement terms are outlined in a proposed consent decree filed in federal court in Harrisonburg, Virginia, today.

  DuPont will provide the funds to government natural resource trustees, who will oversee the implementation of projects compensating the public for the natural resource injuries and associated losses in ecological and recreational services, such as fishing access.

  The trustees, through U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Commonwealth of Virginia, invite feedback on actions to restore the river and wildlife habitat and improve public lands and recreational resources.  A draft restoration plan and environmental assessment (RP/EA) was also released today for a 45-day public comment period.  The plan results from stakeholder meetings beginning in 2008 to determine how best to compensate the public for the injured natural resources and their uses.

  “This remarkable settlement will help restore the precious natural resources of the South Fork Shenandoah watershed, bringing lasting benefits for future generations of Virginians to enjoy,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “This joint action with the Department of the Interior and the Commonwealth of Virginia is yet another testament to the value and effectiveness of cooperative federalism in action and I am grateful to all of our partners for the efforts that brought us to this resolution.”

  “Today’s settlement, the largest of its kind in Virginia history, is the culmination of a coordinated effort by countless partners at both the state and federal level,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe.  “Thanks to their hard work, Virginians and the environment will benefit from unprecedented investments in land conservation and habitat restoration. I applaud and appreciate the meticulous monitoring by our state agencies, the thorough analysis of the scientific advisory committee, and DuPont’s willingness to come to the table and make this happen.”

  Since 2005, DuPont and the trustees have worked cooperatively to assess and identify potential restoration projects to benefit natural resources affected by mercury releases from the DuPont facility.  Over 100 miles of river and thousands of acres of floodplain and riparian habitat were impacted from the mercury.  Some of the assessed and impacted natural resources include fish, migratory songbirds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.  Recreational fishing opportunities were also impacted from the mercury.

  “Years of input from community leaders, and partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia, have led us to propose over $50 million worth of restoration that will be at no cost to taxpayers,” said Northeast Regional Director Wendi Weber of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  “Fish, wildlife, land and waters, as well as the city of Waynesboro and other communities affected by decades of mercury release, will benefit from natural resource projects improving water and stream quality, protecting and restoring wildlife habitat and increasing river access for recreation.”

  “Clean air, water and land are environmental priorities and economic assets that make Virginia a great place to live, work and raise a family,” said Attorney General Mark Herring of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  “We have an obligation to protect these assets for future generations and this record-setting settlement shows that we take our responsibilities seriously.  This settlement will allow us to protect and enhance lands throughout the Shenandoah Valley and improve the quality of water for wildlife, anglers, paddlers and others who use these waterways for recreation.  I really appreciate the hard work that my team, Governor Terry McAuliffe, Secretary Molly Ward, DEQ and our federal partners put into making this historic settlement a reality.”

  Mercury released into the South River from the DuPont facility in the 1930s and 1940s continues to persist in the environment. Monitoring data collected over the last 20 years indicates that mercury levels remain stable, with no clear decreases over time.  Federal law seeks to make the environment and public whole for injuries to natural resources and ecological and recreational services resulting from a release of hazardous substances to the environment.

  The trustees evaluated a range of restoration alternatives and have ultimately proposed a preferred restoration alternative that includes projects that best meet the requirement that restoration efforts specifically focus on the injured resources.  Proposed projects include:

  • land protection, property acquisition, improvements to recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat restoration
  • improvements to water quality and fish habitat through activities such as streamside plantings and erosion control, as well as stormwater pond improvements
  • mussel propagation and restoration to improve water quality, stabilize sediment and enhance stream bottom structure
  • Front Royal Fish Hatchery renovations to improve production of warm-water fish such as smallmouth bass
  • recreational fishing access creation or improvement
  • migratory songbird habitat restoration and protection

  The draft RP/EA outlines these proposed projects, as well as other restoration alternatives and an evaluation of injuries to the natural resources. It is available online, along with other information on the process, at www.fws.gov/northeast/virginiafield/news/news.html.

  The trustees will host a public meeting to summarize key components of the draft restoration plan and answer questions.  The public meeting will be held on Jan. 10, 2017, at the Waynesboro Public Library lower level meeting room from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM.  The library is located at 600 S. Wayne Avenue, Waynesboro, Virginia, 22980.  Following the comment period, the trustees will review and consider comments and prepare the final RP/EA.  Ultimately, the trustees will work with project partners such as local, state, and federal agencies; nonprofit organizations; and landowners to implement the projects.

  Today’s settlement, lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, is subject to a 45-day public comment period to begin following notification in the Federal Register.  The settlement is subject to final approval by the court.  To view the consent decree, visit the department’s website: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Jamaican National Arrested in Connection with Fraudulent Lottery Scheme Based in Jamaica

  2016-12-15 · District not recorded

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  A 33-year-old woman was arrested yesterday in Boca Raton, Florida, following her eight-count indictment by a grand jury in the Western District of North Carolina, the Department of Justice announced. 

  Shashana Stacyann Smith, a Jamaican citizen residing in Florida, was charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and seven counts of wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent lottery scheme based in Jamaica. Smith’s initial court appearance is today at 10:00 a.m. EST in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida.

  As alleged in the indictment, Smith participated in a conspiracy to defraud Americans and induce them to send thousands of dollars to Smith and others in the United States and Jamaica.  Victims were contacted and falsely informed that they had won a lottery.  They were instructed to send money for so-called fees in order to receive their prize, and were contacted repeatedly with additional requests to pay money.  Victims never received any lottery winnings.

  “International schemes with phony promises of large lottery winnings continue to target unsuspecting Americans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “These international lottery schemes frequently use co-conspirators in this country to perpetuate the fraud.  The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute those who participate in these international based schemes.”

  Beginning in late 2015, Smith is alleged to have joined a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and to have committed wire fraud in furtherance of the conspiracy.  According to the indictment, Smith received victims’ money in the United States, kept a percentage of the money for her own benefit, and sent the rest of the victims’ money to recipients in Jamaica and the United States.  The indictment further alleges that Smith transported thousands of dollars in cash to Jamaica on multiple occasions, and gave the cash to a co-conspirator there.  If convicted of conspiracy, Smith faces a statutory maximum term of 20 years in prison, a possible fine, and mandatory restitution.  If convicted of wire fraud, she faces a statutory maximum term of 20 years in prison on each count.

  “The Postal Inspection Service is dedicated to protecting Americans from fraudsters, whether they are committing the fraud from within the United States or abroad,” said Inspector in Charge David W. Bosch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Division.  “We will continue to work with the Department of Justice to fight these lottery schemes, educate the public, and bring the offenders to justice.” 

  This indictment is part of the Department of Justice’s effort working with federal and other law enforcement to combat fraudulent lottery schemes in Jamaica preying on American citizens.  According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Americans have lost tens of millions of dollars to fraudulent foreign lotteries.

  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer commended the investigative efforts of the Postal Inspection Service.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Raquel Toledo of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.

  An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed.  All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

  For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.  For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Recovers over $4.7 Billion from False Claims Act Cases in Fiscal Year 2016

  2016-12-14 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Department of Justice obtained more than $4.7 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government in fiscal year 2016 ending Sept. 30, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, announced today.  This is the third highest annual recovery in False Claims Act history, bringing the fiscal year average to nearly $4 billion since fiscal year 2009, and the total recovery during that period to $31.3 billion.

  “Congress amended the False Claims Act 30 years ago to give the government a more effective tool against false and fraudulent claims against federal programs,” said Mizer.  “An astonishing 60 percent of those recoveries were obtained in the last eight years.  The beneficiaries of these efforts include veterans, the elderly, and low-income families who are insured by federal health care programs; families and students who are able to afford homes and go to college thanks to federally insured loans; and all of us who are protected by the government’s investment in national security and defense.  In short, Americans across the country are healthier, enjoy a better quality of life, and are safer because of our continuing success in protecting taxpayer funds from misuse.”

  Of the $4.7 billion recovered, $2.5 billion came from the health care industry, including drug companies, medical device companies, hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories, and physicians.  The $2.5 billion recovered in fiscal year 2016 reflects only federal losses.  In many of these cases, the Department was instrumental in recovering additional millions of dollars for state Medicaid programs.  This is the seventh consecutive year the Department’s civil health care fraud recoveries have exceeded $2 billion. 

  The next largest recoveries came from the financial industry in the wake of the housing and mortgage fraud crisis.  Settlements and judgments in cases alleging false claims in connection with federally insured residential mortgages totaled nearly $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2016 – the second highest annual recovery in this area.  

  The False Claims Act is the government’s primary civil remedy to redress false claims for government funds and property under government programs and contracts relating to such varied areas as health care, defense and national security, food safety and inspection, federally insured loans and mortgages, highway funds, small business contracts, agricultural subsidies, disaster assistance, and import tariffs.  In 1986, Congress strengthened the Act by amending it to increase incentives for whistleblowers to file lawsuits alleging false claims on behalf of the government.

  Most false claims actions are filed under those whistleblower, or qui tam, provisions.  If the government prevails in the action, the whistleblower, also known as the relator, receives up to 30 percent of the recovery.  Whistleblowers filed 702 qui tam suits in fiscal year 2016, and the Department recovered $2.9 billion in these and earlier filed suits this past year.  The government awarded the whistleblowers $519 million during the same period. 

  Health Care Fraud

  The Department recovered $19.3 billion in health care fraud claims from January 2009 to the end of fiscal year 2016 – 57 percent of the health care fraud dollars recovered in the 30 years since the 1986 amendments to the False Claims Act.  These recoveries restore valuable assets to federally funded programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, the health care program for service members and their families.  But just as important, the Department’s vigorous pursuit of health care fraud prevents billions more in losses by deterring others who might otherwise try to cheat the system for their own gain.  The Department’s success is a direct result of the high priority the Obama Administration has placed on fighting health care fraud.  In 2009, the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department that administers Medicare and Medicaid, announced the creation of an interagency task force called the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), to increase coordination and optimize criminal and civil enforcement.  Additional information on the government’s efforts in this area is available at StopMedicareFraud.gov, a webpage jointly established by the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.

  The largest recoveries this past year – $1.2 billion – came from the drug and medical device industry.  Drug manufacturers Wyeth and Pfizer Inc. paid $784.6 million to resolve federal and state claims that Wyeth knowingly reported false and fraudulent prices on two drugs used to treat acid reflux, Protonix Oral and Protonix IV.  The government alleged that Wyeth (before it was acquired by Pfizer) failed to report deep discounts available to hospitals, as required by the government to ensure that the Medicaid program enjoyed the same pricing benefits available to the company’s commercial customers.  Wyeth paid $413.2 million to the federal government and $371.4 million to state Medicaid programs.

  In another settlement against a drug company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. paid $390 million based on claims that the company gave kickbacks to specialty pharmacies in return for recommending Exjade, an iron chelation drug, and Myfortic, an anti-rejection drug for kidney transplant recipients.  The settlement includes $306.9 million for the federal government and $83.1 million for state Medicaid programs.

  Hospitals and outpatient clinics accounted for $360 million in recoveries.  Tenet Healthcare Corp., a major hospital chain in the United States, paid $244.2 million to resolve civil allegations that four of its hospitals engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States by paying kickbacks in return for patient referrals.  Tenet paid an additional $123.7 million to state Medicaid programs, and two of its subsidiaries pleaded guilty to related charges and forfeited $145 million, bringing the total resolution to $513 million.          

  In the medical lab arena, Millennium Health (formerly Millennium Laboratories) paid $260 million to settle allegations that it billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs for excessive and unnecessary urine drug and genetic testing and also that it gave free items to induce physicians to refer expensive and profitable lab tests to Millennium, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law.  The settlement included $214.8 million in alleged false claims against federal programs, $26 million in alleged false claims against state Medicaid programs, and $19.2 million in related administrative claims.

  The nation’s largest contract therapy provider paid $125 million to resolve claims that it had induced skilled nursing homes to submit false claims to Medicare for rehabilitation services that were not reasonable, necessary, and skilled, or that weren’t provided at all.  The settlement was with RehabCare Group Inc., RehabCare Group East Inc., and their parent, Kindred Healthcare Inc.  Cases involving nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities accounted for more than $160 million in settlements and judgments this past fiscal year.

  “These health care recoveries benefit vulnerable citizens in Medicare and Medicaid and the taxpayers who pay for those programs,” said Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “Beyond those significant settlements, though, my agency works to improve voluntary observance of federal laws through corporate integrity agreements addressing compliance weaknesses, and self-disclosures that encourage health care providers and other entities to voluntarily report suspected violations.”

  Housing and Mortgage Fraud

  The Department recovered more than $7 billion in housing and mortgage claims from January 2009 to the end of fiscal year 2016, including settlements and judgments totaling $1.6 billion this past fiscal year – the second highest annual recovery in the history of the federally insured mortgage program.  Notable this year were settlements with Wells Fargo for $1.2 billion and Freedom Mortgage Corp. for $113 million.

  Wells Fargo and Freedom Mortgage both admitted that they had originated and endorsed residential mortgages as eligible for federal insurance by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that did not meet requirements intended to reduce the risk of default.  This put consumers at risk of losing their homes in foreclosure and increased the number of claims against the FHA when their loans went into default.  The banks also admitted failing to report such deficiencies to the authorities as required under the program, despite internal reports exposing high rates of underwriting deficiencies that would have put the agency on notice so it could prevent continued program violations and mounting losses.  By originating and endorsing ineligible loans for FHA insurance, the banks increased their mortgage profits at taxpayer expense while incurring little or no risk of their own. 

  As part of the Wells Fargo settlement, the bank’s vice president of Credit Risk – Quality Assurance, Kurt Lofrano, admitted that he annually certified Wells Fargo’s compliance with FHA’s Direct Endorsement Lender program and the bank’s continued qualification to remain in the program. 

  These recoveries are part of the broader enforcement efforts by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  President Obama established the interagency task force in 2009, to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.  The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.  For more information about the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov. 

  Other Fraud Recoveries

  Although health care and mortgage fraud dominated fiscal year 2016 recoveries, the Department has aggressively pursued fraud wherever it is found in federal programs and contracts.  For example, the Department recovered $82.6 million in false claims from BP Exploration and Production Inc. (BP) arising from the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon/Macondo Well explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  The government, through the Department of the Interior, leases portions of the Outer Continental Shelf to companies like BP that operate exploratory oil wells.  In exchange for the lease, the operators pay royalties based on the volume of oil extracted from the wells.  Program regulations applicable to exploration of the Outer Continental Shelf require well operators to maintain a “safe drilling margin” and to report plans to drill further into an open hole if the margin falls below legal limits.  The government alleged that BP provided false reports about its “safe drilling margin” that concealed its improper drilling, which left the well in a fragile state and ultimately resulted in the blowout.  The government’s civil fraud claims were part of a $20 billion consent decree reached with the United States and five Gulf states that also included damages and penalties under state and federal environmental laws, mandatory restoration of the area, and other relief.  

  The government also continued to pursue a variety of procurement fraud matters.  For example, L-3 Communications EOTech Inc. and its parent company, L-3 Communications Corp., paid the United States $25.6 million for defective holographic weapon sites EOTech sold to the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and FBI.  The defendants, including EOTech’s president, admitted knowing the sights failed to perform as represented in cold temperatures and humid environments, but delayed disclosing the defects to federal authorities for years.  Besides compensating the government for critical funds lost through fraud, such settlements ensure that the vital terms of contracts supporting the nation’s defense and security agencies are enforced, and deter other contractors from acting fraudulently or recklessly to increase their profits in the future. 

  The Department had several settlements with for-profit schools that allegedly participated in illegal schemes to secure federal education funds.  For example, the second largest for-profit education company in the country, Education Management Corp., paid the United States $52.6 million to resolve allegations that it unlawfully recruited students, engaged in deceptive and misleading recruiting practices, and falsely certified compliance with Title IV of the Higher Education Act and parallel state laws that prohibited such conduct, as part of a $95.5 million global federal-state settlement.

  The Department also recovered $50 million in customs fraud.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects duties on imports of foreign goods to protect U.S. manufacturers from unfair competition abroad by leveling the playing field for domestic products.  Importers who seek an unfair advantage by knowingly evading or reducing their obligation to pay these duties are subject to damages and penalties under the False Claims Act.  These recoveries both address lost duties and safeguard U.S. markets.

  These suits and settlements illustrate the diversity of cases pursued by the Department and the Department’s quest to root out fraud and false claims against the government wherever it may be found.

  Holding Individuals Accountable    

  On Sept. 9, 2015, the Department issued a memorandum on individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing.  This memorandum reinforced the Department’s commitment to use the False Claims Act and other civil remedies to deter and redress fraud by individuals as well as corporations. 

  Cardiologist Dr. Asad Qamar and his practice, the Institute of Cardiovascular Excellence (ICE), paid $2 million this past fiscal year, and released claims to an additional $5.3 million in suspended Medicare funds, to settle allegations that he and his practice billed Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE for medically unnecessary procedures and paid kickbacks to patients by waiving Medicare copayments irrespective of financial hardship.  Medicare copayments provide beneficiaries with an incentive to be smart health care consumers and avoid unnecessary procedures.  The government alleged that by waiving the required copayments indiscriminately, Dr. Qamar and ICE induced patients to undergo unnecessary and invasive procedures.  This conduct made Dr. Qamar the highest paid Medicare cardiologist in the United States in 2012 and 2013.  Dr. Qamar also agreed to a three-year exclusion from participating in any federal health care program followed by a three-year integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. 

  Additional examples of individuals held personally liable for alleged false claims include George Hepburn ($10.3 million), founder and president of Dynasplint Systems Inc.; Dr. Jonathan Oppenheimer ($9.35 million), former owner and chief executive officer of a Nashville drug testing laboratory; Gottfried and Mieke Kellermann ($8.5 million), founders of Pharmasan Labs Inc. and NeuroScience Inc.; Jacob (Jake) J. Kilgore ($4 million), former co-owner, vice president, and later president of Orbit Medical Inc.; Dr. David G. Bostwick ($3.75 million), founder and former owner and chief executive officer of Bostwick Laboratories Inc.; Mark T. Conklin ($1.75 million), former owner, operator, and sole shareholder of Recovery Home Care Inc. and Recovery Home Care Services Inc.; Dr. David Spellberg ($1.05 million) and Robert A. Scappa, D.O. ($250,000), urologists with 21st Century Oncology LLC; and Ralph J. Cox III ($1 million), former chief executive officer of Tuomey Healthcare System.  

  Recoveries in Whistleblower Suits

  Of the $4.7 billion the government recovered in fiscal year 2016, $2.9 billion related to lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  During the same period, the government paid out $519 million to the individuals who exposed fraud and false claims by filing a qui tam complaint. 

  The number of lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the Act has grown significantly since 1986, with 702 qui tam suits filed this past year – an average of 13.5 new cases every week.  The growing number of qui tam lawsuits, particularly since 2009, has led to increased recoveries.  From January 2009 to the end of fiscal year 2016, the government recovered nearly $24 billion in settlements and judgments related to qui tam suits and paid more than $4 billion in whistleblower awards during the same period.

  “The qui tam provisions provide a valuable incentive to industry insiders who are uniquely positioned to expose fraud and false claims to come forward despite the risk to their careers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer.  “This takes courage, for which they are justly rewarded under the Act.”   

  In 1986, Senator Charles Grassley and Representative Howard Berman led the successful efforts in Congress to amend the False Claims Act to, among other things, encourage whistleblowers to come forward with allegations of fraud.  In 2009, Senator Patrick J. Leahy, along with Senator Grassley and Representative Berman, championed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, which made additional improvements to the False Claims Act and its whistleblower provisions.  And in 2010, the passage of the Affordable Care Act provided additional inducements and protections for whistleblowers.

  Mizer also expressed his deep appreciation for the many dedicated public servants who investigated and pursued these cases – the attorneys, investigators, auditors, and other agency personnel throughout the Department’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, as well as the agency Offices of Inspector General, and the many federal and state agencies that contributed to the Department’s recoveries this past fiscal year. 

  “The Department’s lawyers and staff, together with our law enforcement partners in federal and state governments, work tirelessly and often overcome daunting challenges,” said Mizer. “Their efforts continue to pay for themselves many times over, providing substantial benefits to the taxpayers.”

  The government’s claims in the matters described above are allegations only; except where indicated, there has been no determination of liability.  The numbers contained in this press release may differ slightly from the original press releases due to accrued interest. 

   

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Enters into Agreement to Reform the Family Court of St. Louis County, Missouri

  2016-12-14 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a comprehensive agreement with the St. Louis County Family Court to resolve the department’s findings of serious and systemic violations of juvenile due process and equal protection rights. 

  The agreement aims to ensure that the family court protects the constitutional rights of children throughout their court proceedings and requires the family court to address racial disparities among youth in different stages of the juvenile justice process.  This is the fourth agreement the department has entered into under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to address constitutional violations within a juvenile justice system. 

  “The harms and inequities in our juvenile justice system threaten to limit the opportunities and derail the futures of America’s youth,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division.  “We applaud the St. Louis County Family Court for taking these important steps to begin implementing critical reforms.  We hope that juvenile courts around the country review this agreement and use it as a model to protect the constitutional rights of all children.”

  The agreement provides for comprehensive reforms aimed at remedying the due process and equal protection violations the department found during its investigation, including:

  • Court-Appointed Counsel: The agreement requires the court to double the juvenile defense counsel currently available to represent indigent youth and to ensure that defense counsel are timely appointed to all juveniles.  The agreement also requires that the court appoint private attorneys in a uniform and transparent fashion and that all juvenile defenders practicing in the court receive training.
  • Privilege Against Self-Incrimination: The agreement prohibits police interrogations at the juvenile detention center unless an attorney is present to represent the youth and requires the court to ensure that juveniles understand their rights before waiving them.  The agreement prohibits deputy juvenile officers – the court staff responsible for virtually every aspect of family court operations – from discussing with the young person the substance of the allegations and/or using incriminating statements made by the youth in subsequent delinquency proceedings.
  • Adversarial Probable Cause Hearings: The agreement requires that during detention hearings the court examine whether there is probable cause to believe that the youth has committed the alleged offense and permits the youth to challenge the evidence admitted to support probable cause.
  • Standardized Plea Hearings: The court will adopt a standardized format for hearings to accept juveniles’ pleas to delinquency charges to ensure that pleas are knowing and voluntary.
  • Deputy Juvenile Officer Training: Deputy juvenile officers must receive competency-based training that addresses the role and responsibilities of juvenile defense counsel in delinquency proceedings as well as the due process rights of youth.  This includes the youth’s right to counsel, privilege against self-incrimination and the potential consequences (including collateral consequences) for a youth who is found to be delinquent.
  • Collection, Analysis and Response to Court Data Regarding Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC): The court must collect and analyze data about the gender, race, age and juvenile offense of youth in the system, create bi-annual reports and make changes based on what those reports reveal.
  • Public Meetings: The agreement requires that the court advertise and hold public meetings to review and address the biannual DMC reports.
  • Training: The agreement requires that court personnel who are directly involved in decision-making processes at the court or the juvenile office focused on juvenile delinquency participate in training addressing DMC.

  The investigation, opened in November 2013, was conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section under provisions of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.  In July 2015, the department issued a findings letter concluding that the St. Louis County Family Court violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution by failing to ensure that juveniles facing delinquency charges receive adequate due process protections and failing to provide black youth in the juvenile justice system with equal protection under the law.

  The department has opened four cases examining whether juvenile justice systems comply with children’s rights since 2009.  In 2012, the department settled its first investigation of this kind, reaching an agreement with the Juvenile Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, that calls for comprehensive due process, equal protection and facility reforms.  In June 2015, the department announced a partial settlement of its lawsuit alleging violations of children’s due process rights in Lauderdale County, Mississippi.  In March 2015, the department announced its investigation of due process and disability discrimination issues in the Dallas County, Texas, Truancy Court and Juvenile District Courts.

  St. Louis Family Court Agreement

  Juvenile Justice Fact Sheet

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Collects More Than $15.3 Billion in Civil and Criminal Cases in Fiscal Year 2016

  2016-12-14 · U.S. Attorneys (USAO)

  Read the Press Release

  Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today that the Justice Department collected more than $15.3 billion in civil and criminal actions in fiscal year (FY) 2016 ending Sept. 30, 2016. The $15,380,130,434 in collections in FY 2016 represents more than five times the approximately $3 billion appropriated budget for the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the main litigating divisions of the Justice Department combined in that same period. 

  “Every day, the men and women of the Department of Justice work tirelessly to enforce our laws, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used properly and that the American people are protected from exploitation and abuse,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “Today’s announcement is a testament to that work, and it makes clear that our actions deliver a significant return on public investment.  I want to thank the prosecutors and trial attorneys who made this year’s collections possible, and I want to emphasize that the department remains committed to the well-being of our people and our nation.”

  Civil collections account for more than $12 billion of the total collected and were from affirmative civil enforcement cases, in which the United States recovered government money lost to fraud or other misconduct or collected fines imposed on individuals and/or corporations for violations of federal health, safety, mortgage, financial, civil rights or environmental laws.  In addition, civil debts were collected on behalf of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration and Department of Education.

  Among the largest settlements: the $2.96 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs Group (Goldman Sachs), the $2.6 billion settlement with Morgan Stanley & Company (Morgan Stanley), and the $1.2 billion settlement with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Wells Fargo), all of which related to practices arising from residential mortgage lending activities.  In April 2016, the Justice Department announced the settlement with Goldman Sachs related to its conduct in the packaging, securitization, marketing, sale and issuance of residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) between 2005 and 2007.

  In February 2016, the Justice Department announced the settlement with Morgan Stanley to resolve claims related to marketing, sale and issuance of RMBS.  As part of the agreement, Morgan Stanley acknowledged in writing that it failed to disclose critical information to prospective investors about the quality of the mortgage loans underlying its RMBS, and about its due diligence practices.

  In April 2016, the Justice Department announced a settlement of civil mortgage fraud claims against Wells Fargo and Wells Fargo executive Kurt Lofrano, stemming from Wells Fargo’s participation in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Direct Endorsement Lender Program.  In the settlement, Wells Fargo acknowledged and accepted responsibility for, among other things, certifying to HUD, during the period from May 2001 through December 2008, that certain residential home mortgage loans were eligible for FHA insurance when in fact they were not, resulting in the government having to pay FHA insurance claims when some of those loans defaulted.

  The department also continued to collect monies that will go for penalties and natural resource restoration efforts for the largest environmental case in history, including the landmark $20.8 billion settlement with BP approved by the court earlier this year.  The department collected nearly $378 million in FY 2016 scheduled payments to resolve these and other civil claims from the 2010 Macondo well blowout and the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill that followed in the Gulf of Mexico.

  More than $3 billion of the total was collected in FY 2016 from criminal cases, including the more than $772 million criminal penalty assessed against Alstom S.A., a French power and transportation company charged by the District of Connecticut in a foreign bribery scheme.  The fine was the largest, ever, to resolve a foreign bribery case. 

  The total includes all monies collected as a result of Justice Department-led enforcement actions and negotiated civil settlements.  It includes more than $12 billion in payments made directly to the Justice Department, and more than $3.3 billion in indirect payments made to other federal agencies, states and other designated recipients. 

  In measuring collections recovered in FY 2016, this figure necessarily includes some cases that were resolved in previous years but the proceeds of which were collected in FY 2016.    

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• INTERPOL Washington Internship Program Featured on Federal News Radio

  2016-12-14 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  On Friday, December 9th, Federal News Radio aired a segment featuring the internship program of INTERPOL Washington, formally known as the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB). In a pre-recorded interview, Acting Director Wayne Salzgaber spoke with Tom Temin, host of the morning Federal Drive show, about the unique experiences and opportunities afforded to the bureau’s interns. To listen to the entire interview, click here: http://federalnewsradio.com/federal-drive/2016/12/wayne-salzgaber-interpol-interns-get-first-hand-experience/.

  The INTERPOL Washington internship program gives college age students and recent graduates direct experience working in the law enforcement environment. An internship with INTERPOL Washington offers insight into the growing nexus of transnational crime as well as law enforcement in the United States and around the world. Interns may receive the following opportunities:

  - Exposure to a wide variety of law enforcement partners, including law enforcement detailees onsite from agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies

  - Knowledge of the criminal justice system and both its domestic and international scope, impact, and mechanisms

  - Awareness of issues affecting international criminal investigations

  - Ability to analyze and summarize complex criminal activities

  - Expansion of network for future job opportunities, including mentorship from active law enforcement officers and INTERPOL Washington personnel

  - Field trips to nearby law enforcement headquarters and training sites

  - At this time, INTERPOL Washington offers full-time, nonpaid internships for six-month cycles (January-June; July-December). Submission deadlines are:

  - For the July 11, 2017 – December 8, 2017 Term: Application is due February 15, 2017

  - For the January 9, 2018 – June 29, 2018 Term: Application is due September 15, 2017

  Complete requirements and application procedures can be found at: https://www.justice.gov/interpol-washington/internships

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Former Top Generic Pharmaceutical Executives Charged with Price-Fixing, Bid-Rigging and Customer Allocation Conspiracies

  2016-12-14 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  First Charges Brought By Antitrust Division Involving Generic Drugs

  Two former senior generic pharmaceutical executives were charged by Information for their roles in conspiracies to fix prices, rig bids and allocate customers for certain generic drugs, the Department of Justice announced today. 

  Separate two-count felony charges were unsealed today in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.  According to the Informations, Jeffrey Glazer, the former CEO of a generic pharmaceutical company, and Jason Malek, the former president of the same company, conspired to fix prices, rig bids and allocate customers for an antibiotic, doxycycline hyclate.  Additionally, the Informations allege Glazer and Malek conspired to fix prices and allocate customers for glyburide, a medicine used to treat diabetes.  The doxycycline hyclate conspiracy took place from as early as April 2013 until at least December 2015; the glyburide conspiracy took place from as early as April 2014 until at least December 2015.

  “Millions of Americans rely on prescription medications to treat acute and chronic health conditions.  By entering into unlawful agreements to fix prices and allocate customers, these two executives sought to enrich themselves at the expense of sick and vulnerable individuals who rely upon access to generic pharmaceuticals as a more affordable alternative to brand-name medicines,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “These charges are an important step in correcting that injustice and in ensuring that generic pharmaceutical companies compete vigorously to provide these essential products at a price set by the market, not by collusion.”

  “Conspiring to fix prices on widely-used generic medications skews the market, flouts common decency – and very clearly breaks the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Harpster of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.  “It’s a sad state of affairs when these pharmaceutical executives are determined to further pad their profits on the backs of people whose health depends on the company’s drugs.  The FBI stands ready to investigate and hold accountable those who willfully violate federal antitrust law.”

  Today’s charges are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the generic pharmaceutical industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal I Section with the assistance of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, the FBI headquarters’ International Corruption Unit, the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  Anyone with information on market allocation, price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to the generic pharmaceutical industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at 1-888-647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html or call the FBI’s Philadelphia Division at 215-418-4000.

  Glazer Information

  Malek Information

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim Against Utah Staffing Agency

  2016-12-13 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Justice Department reached an agreement today resolving claims that 1st Class Staffing LLC, a staffing company based in Orem, Utah, discriminated against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

  The department’s investigation conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), found that 1st Class Staffing’s Fontana, California, office routinely requested that non-U.S. citizens, but not U.S. citizens, provide specific immigration documents to establish their authority to work.  Under the INA, all workers, including non-U.S. citizens, must be allowed to choose whichever valid documentation they would like to present from the lists of acceptable documents to prove their work authorization.  It is unlawful for an employer to limit an employee’s choice of documentation because of their citizenship, immigration status or national origin. 

  Under the terms of the settlement agreement, 1st Class must pay for lost wages to the charging party whose complaint initiated the department’s investigation; pay $17,600 in civil penalties to the United States; participate in department-provided training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and be subject to departmental monitoring. 

  “Employers must ensure that their human resources, hiring and recruitment staff understand and implement proper hiring practices to avoid violating anti-discrimination laws,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division.  “We commend 1st Class for its cooperation and commitment to removing unnecessary and unlawful employment barriers.” 

  OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.  The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation.

  For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php; email [email protected] or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.

  Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to: different documentary requirements based on their citizenship status, immigration status or national origin; or discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral, should contact the worker hotline above for assistance.

  1st Class Staffing Settlement Agreement

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Former Guinean Minister of Mines Charged with Receiving and Laundering $8.5 Million in Bribes from Chinese Companies

  2016-12-13 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The former Minister of Mines and Geology of the Republic of Guinea was arrested and charged today with laundering proceeds from bribes that he allegedly received from two Chinese companies that are part of a Chinese conglomerate in exchange for official actions he took to secure valuable mining rights for the conglomerate.

  Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York, Assistant Director Stephen Richardson of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office made the announcement.

  “Former Minister Thiam is accused of enriching himself at the expense of the people of the Republic of Guinea,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “We cannot allow the United States to be a safe haven for the spoils of official corruption.  The department is committed to pursuing both those who pay bribes, and also the corrupt officials who receive them.” 

  “Mahmoud Thiam, a former high-ranking official of Guinea, allegedly used his position to accept millions in bribes from a Chinese conglomerate and laundered the money through New York,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara.  “Thiam, a U.S. citizen, will now face justice in a federal court.”

  “This arrest exemplifies the commitment to personnel and resources the FBI continues to make towards combating corruption,” said Assistant Director Richardson.  “The FBI looks forward to the development of those relationships with our partners both in the United States and around the world.”

  “Today’s action shows that the FBI, along with our partners, is committed to investigating all levels of corruption,” said Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney.  “The United States will be relentless in its efforts to uphold fair, equal and competitive markets.  The actions of a few who use corruption for personal gain will not be tolerated.” 

  Mahmoud Thiam, 50, a U.S. citizen residing in New York City, was charged by complaint with two counts of money laundering.  Thiam was arrested this morning and made his initial appearance this afternoon before a magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York.

  The complaint alleges that in 2009 and 2010, Thiam took part in a scheme to launder, into the United States and elsewhere, approximately $8.5 million in bribes he received from senior representatives of a Chinese conglomerate.  In exchange for the bribes, Thiam allegedly used his official position in the Guinean government to enable affiliates of the Chinese conglomerate to obtain exclusive and highly-valuable investment rights in a wide range of sectors of the Guinean economy, including near total control of Guinea’s valuable mining sector.

  In order to conceal the bribes, Thiam allegedly opened a bank account in Hong Kong and misreported his occupation to conceal his status as a government official.  Thiam later transferred millions of dollars in bribe proceeds into the United States, where he allegedly lied to two U.S. banks to conceal both his position as a foreign government official and the source of the funds.  Thiam allegedly spent the bribe proceeds on, among other things, construction work on his estate in upstate New York.

  A complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

  The FBI’s International Corruption Squads in New York City and Los Angeles are investigating the case.  In 2015, the FBI formed International Corruption Squads across the country to address national and international implications of foreign corruption. 

  Assistant Chief Tarek Helou, Senior Trial Attorney Jason Linder and Trial Attorney Sarah Edwards of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Senior Trial Attorney Steven Parker of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisha Kobre of the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.  AFMLS Trial Attorney Alexis Loeb previously investigated the case.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided substantial assistance in this matter.

  The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters.  Additional information about the department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• El Departamento de Justicia Resuelve Una Queja de Discriminación Relacionada con la Inmigración Contra una Agencia de Empleo del Estado de Utah

  2016-12-13 · District not recorded

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  WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia llegó a un acuerdo hoy que resuelve las quejas de que 1st Class Staffing, LLC (1st Class) discriminó a individuos que no son ciudadanos de los EE. UU pero que sí cuentan con autorización para trabajar, en contra de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés). 1st Class es una agencia de empleo con sede en Orem, Utah. 

  La investigación, liderada por la Oficina del Consejero Especial para Prácticas Injustas en el Empleo Relacionadas con la Inmigración (OSC, por sus siglas en inglés), de la División de Derechos Civiles, halló que la sucursal de 1st Class en Fontana, California había solicitado de forma rutinaria a individuos que no fuesen ciudadanos estadounidenses –pero no a los que sí lo eran– que presentasen documentos migratorios específicos para establecer su autorización para trabajar. Al amparo de la INA, se le debe permitir a todo trabajador, incluidos aquellos que no son ciudadanos de los EE. UU., la posibilidad de elegir de la lista de documentos aceptables la documentación válida que desea presentar para demostrar su autorización para trabajar. Es ilegal que un empleador limite la elección de documentos de un empleado con base en su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio, o nacionalidad de origen.

  Conforme a los términos del acuerdo de resolución, 1st Class deberá efectuar pagos retroactivos por concepto del sueldo perdido a la parte denunciante cuya denuncia motivó la investigación del departamento; pagar $17.600 en sanciones civiles a los Estados Unidos; participar en capacitación brindada por el Departamento sobre la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA y someterse a la supervisión por parte del Departamento.

  “Los empleadores deben asegurar que su personal de recursos humanos, contratación y reclutamiento entienda e implemente las prácticas correctas de contratación para así evitar que se vulneren las leyes antidiscriminatorias,” declaró la Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Adjunta Principal, Vanita Gupta, jefa de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. “Felicitamos a 1st Class por su cooperación y compromiso de eliminar barreras innecesarias e ilícitas al empleo.”

  La OSC es responsable por hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. Entre otras cosas, esta ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de 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 de empleo; las represalias y la intimidación.

  Para más información sobre protecciones contra la discriminación en el empleo en virtud de las leyes migratorias federales, llame a la línea directa de la OSC para trabajadores al 1‑800‑255‑7688 (1‑800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llame a la línea directa de la OSC para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); matricúlese para un seminario en línea gratuito en www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php; mande un correo electrónico a [email protected] o visite la página web de la OSC en www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.  

  Los postulantes o empleadores que creen haber sido víctimas de: (1) requisitos documentales diferentes  con base en su estatus de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen o (2) discriminación con base en su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión deben comunicarse con la antemencionada línea directa para trabajadores para pedir ayuda.

  Online Settlement (en inglés)

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Department of Justice and the National Institute of Standards and Technology Name New Member of National Commission on Forensic Science

  2016-12-13 · District not recorded

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  The Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) today announced the appointment of Randy Hanzlick, M.D. to the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS.) Dr. Hanzlick also accepted the invitation to serve as the NCFS Medicolegal Death Investigation subcommittee co-chair alongside NCFS Commissioner John Fudenberg.

  The commission, created in 2013, develops forward-looking policy recommendations for the Attorney General to enhance the practice and improve the reliability of forensic science. The commission is co-chaired by Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Dr. Willie E. May. Deputy Assistant Administrator Nelson Santos of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Forensic Sciences and Special Assistant John M. Butler to the NIST Director for Forensic Science serve as vice-chairs.

   “The Department of Justice remains committed to advancing the use of forensic science and the commission continues to make important recommendations and be an integral part of that work,” said Deputy Attorney General Yates. “Medicolegal death investigation has been among the commission’s areas of focus and has led to several recommendations. I look forward to Dr. Randy Hanzlick continued discussions and contributions in this area.” 

  “We are grateful to Dr. Hanzlick for his willingness to serve on this very important commission,” said Under Secretary May. “We could not accomplish our goal of improving the practice of forensic science without such nationally respected experts. His addition will really strengthen our efforts around medical death investigations.”

  Dr. Randy Hanzlick is recently retired from his position of 18 years as Chief of the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office. He has 33 years of experience as a forensic pathologist, including nearly a decade at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  He is a past President of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) and co-chaired the Scientific Working Group on Medicolegal Death Investigation with fellow Commissioner John Fudenberg. He has over 200 publications and has been a faculty member of Emory University. Dr. Hanzlick has received numerous professional awards, including the Helpern Laureate Award, the highest honor awarded by NAME. Throughout his career, Dr. Hanzlick has been involved in efforts to improve medicolegal death investigation systems, guidelines and standards of forensic pathology practices and the education of young forensic pathologists. He is credited with assisting in the development of CDC Sudden Unexplained Infant Death forms, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Death Scene Investigation Guidelines and the NIJ National Missing and Unidentified program. 

  Dr. Hanzlick replaces Dr. Vincent Di Maio, who recently resigned from the commission.

  The National Commission on Forensic Science includes federal, state and local forensic science service providers; research scientists and academics; law enforcement officials; prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges; and other stakeholders from across the country. This breadth of experience and expertise reflects the many different entities that contribute to forensic science practice in the U.S. and will ensure that these broad perspectives are represented on the commission and in its work.

  The commission’s next quarterly meeting will be held from Jan. 9 to 10, 2017, at the Office of Justice Programs, 3rd Floor Main Conference Room, 810 7th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20531. More information about the commission can be found at http://www.justice.gov/ncfs.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Department of Justice Will Not Challenge Commercial Mailing Pricing Aggregation Service

  2016-12-13 · District not recorded

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  The Department of Justice announced today that it will not challenge a proposal by corporate affiliates Amadeus Group LLC (Amadeus) and Mystic Logistics LLC (Mystic) for Amadeus to offer a pricing aggregation service to subscribers that are involved in the commercial mailing business.  The department’s position was stated in a business review letter to counsel for Amadeus and Mystic from Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata B. Hesse for the Antitrust Division.  

  According to representations made by Amadeus and Mystic, Amadeus’s service would allow a subscriber to upload details about a particular commercial mailing job, including subscriber data for the specific job request and third party data, such as pricing and other information, related to the job request. The Amadeus pricing algorithm then would calculate various postage, packaging and transportation options that the subscriber could use to fulfill its job, allowing the subscriber to choose the most efficient logistics and pricing for its bulk commercial mailing.  

  Although exchanging price and other competitive information can facilitate anticompetitive coordination among competitors, Amadeus and Mystic have designed the proposed service to prevent such information sharing.  To this end, the proposed service will contain numerous safeguards to ensure that neither the nonpublic information a subscriber provides to the service nor the commercial mailing options provided by the service to a subscriber will be shared with other subscribers or with third parties.   Additionally, although Mystic provides transportation support services for commercial mailings in competition with third parties whose transportation support services data and pricing information might be uploaded by a subscriber, the Amadeus service will include encryption protection to ensure that neither Amadeus nor Mystic can access that third-party information.  

  Based on the information submitted and representations made by Amadeus and Mystic, the department has no present intention to challenge the operation of Amadeus’s proposed pricing aggregation service.

  Under the department’s business review procedure, an organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust Division and receive a statement as to whether the division currently intends to challenge the action under the antitrust laws based on the information provided.  The department reserves the right to challenge the proposed action under the antitrust laws if it produces anticompetitive effects.

  A file containing the business review request and the department’s response may be examined in the Antitrust Documents Group of the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 1010, Washington, D.C. 20530.  After a 30-day waiting period, the documents supporting the business review will be added to the file, unless a basis for their exclusion for reasons of confidentiality has been established under the business review procedure.

  Amadeus Business Review Letter

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Maryland Man Indicted for Conspiracy to File False Claims, Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and False Personation

  2016-12-12 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  A federal grand jury sitting in Washington D.C. returned an indictment on Dec. 7, which was unsealed today, charging a Maryland resident with conspiracy to file false claims, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false personation, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

  Anthony Ferguson of Temple Hills, Maryland, was arrested on the charges Dec. 8 and had his initial court appearance today before U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who ordered him held without bond.  According to the indictment, from January 2012 through May 2016, Ferguson participated in a stolen identity refund fraud conspiracy.  Ferguson and his co-conspirators obtained personal identifying information from several sources and used those identities to file fraudulent tax returns and obtain false refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  The indictment also alleges that in 2016, Ferguson pretended to be a Treasury Department employee and sent text messages to a witness in an attempt to obtain the details of an ongoing criminal investigation into his conduct.

  If convicted, Ferguson faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for conspiring to file false claims for refund, a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for each count of aggravated identity theft and a maximum sentence of three years in prison for false personation.  In addition, Ferguson faces a term of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

  An indictment is not a finding of guilt.  It merely alleges that crimes have been committed.  A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo thanked agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Mark McDonald and Sean Green of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

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

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Wins Breach of Contract Lawsuit Against Nebraska-Based Meat Packing Company

  2016-12-12 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Justice Department announced today that on Dec. 9, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska ruled in the department’s favor in its breach of contract claim against Nebraska Beef Ltd., a meat packing company based in Omaha.  

  In October 2015, the department filed a lawsuit against Nebraska Beef claiming that the company had refused to comply with several terms of the parties’ settlement agreement.  In August 2015, the parties had entered into an agreement to resolve the department’s investigation into whether Nebraska Beef was discriminating against work-authorized immigrants.  When Nebraska Beef refused to pay the agreed-upon $200,000 civil penalty and initiate the required backpay claims process, the United States filed suit to enforce the agreement.  On Friday, the court ordered the company to pay the $200,000 it owed and comply with all of the terms of the agreement.

  “The department looks forward to working with Nebraska Beef to ensure that it complies with all of the provisions of the settlement agreement,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division.  “The court’s ruling, and the underlying agreement, further our efforts to protect the federal employment rights of individuals with legal authorization to work in the United States.”
     
  The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.  The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices in employment eligibility verification; retaliation and intimidation. 

  To learn more about the protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/webinars.php; email [email protected] or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc.

  Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to: different documentary requirements based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin; or discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral, should contact the OSC worker hotline for assistance.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Another Commercial Fisherman Pleads Guilty to Illegally Harvesting and Selling Atlantic Striped Bass

  2016-12-12 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Justice Department announced that today in federal court, Joseph Howard Williams, 61, of Brunswick, Georgia, pleaded guilty to federal charges regarding the illegal harvest and sale of Atlantic Striped Bass from federal waters off the coast of North Carolina in 2010.

  According to information in the public record, in February 2010, a Special Agent with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received information that commercial trawlers were illegally fishing for Atlantic Striped Bass in federal waters off the coast of North Carolina.  Since 1990, there has been a ban on harvesting Atlantic Striped Bass from the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which includes waters located three to 200 miles seaward of the U.S. coastline.  Upon receiving the information, NOAA engaged the assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard.  A single patrol vessel in the area intercepted one of 17 commercial trawlers in the EEZ, the fishing vessel Lady Samaira, boarded the vessel and found 173 Atlantic Striped Bass.  The captain later admitted to taking the fish from the EEZ.

  Given the other commercial trawlers in the same area, NOAA conducted an analysis of electronic data and written reports from those vessels.  Based on the review, NOAA determined that between Jan. 27, 2009, and Jan. 29, 2009, Williams, as the Captain of the fishing vessel Joann B, harvested approximately 2,476 pounds of Atlantic Striped Bass from the EEZ, which he later sold to a seafood dealer in Engelhard, North Carolina.  The investigation further revealed that between Feb. 1, 2010, and Dec. 18, 2010, Williams, harvested at least an additional 8,635 pounds of Atlantic Striped Bass from the EEZ, which he later sold to the same dealer in Engelhard, North Carolina.  Williams’s email traffic during the relevant time frame corroborated the illegal harvesting activities in the EEZ and the use of code words to conceal the true species of the illegal catch.  Williams also made false statements on his federal trip reports to conceal the true location of the harvest.  The estimated fair market retail value of the 11,111 pounds of illegally harvested fish exceeds $88,000.

  Two other commercial fisherman previously entered guilty pleas for conduct uncovered by the same investigation.  United States v. Dewey W. Willis, Jr., No. 2:15-CR-3-F, and United States v. James Ralph Craddock, No. 2:15-CR-7-F.

  “Violating the fishing ban is illegal and can undermine the sustainability of an important natural resource and disadvantage the many law abiding fishermen who depend upon this fishery,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “Today’s plea agreement demonstrates the department’s commitment to pursuing those who violate the laws enacted to protect and conserve important marine resources.”

  “Our office is pleased to partner with the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice in these significant cases,” said U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  “These prosecutions make clear that efforts to circumvent laws regulating commercial fishing -- which are implemented to sustain the species for the benefit of future generations -- will be enforced vigorously.”

  A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for the March 27, 2017, term of court.  Williams faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and forfeiture of the all of the fish illegally harvested and the equipment used to commit the offense, including the commercial trawler, and all gear, electronics and other harvesting and sorting equipment on the trawler.

  The overall investigation was conducted by the Law Enforcement Offices of NOAA, with assistance of the Investigative Service from the U.S. Coast Guard, the North Carolina Marine Patrol and the Virginia Marine Police.  This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Banumathi Rangarajan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Trial Attorney Lauren Steele of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Third U.S.-China High-Level Joint Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues

  2016-12-08 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Joint Summary of Outcomes

  Yesterday, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, together with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of the Ministry of Public Security Guo Shengkun, co-chaired the third U.S.-China High-Level Joint Dialogue on Cybercrime and Related Issues.  The dialogue aims to review the timeliness and quality of responses to requests for information and assistance with respect to cybercrime or other malicious cyber activities and to enhance pragmatic bilateral cooperation with regard to cybercrime, network protection and other related issues.  

  Both sides endorse the establishment of the dialogue mechanism as beneficial to bilateral communication and enhanced cooperation, and believe that further solidifying, developing and maintaining the dialogue mechanism and continuing to strengthen bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity is beneficial to mutual interests.

  The outcomes of the third dialogue are listed as below:

  1. Combatting Cybercrime and Cyber-Enabled Crime.  Both sides re-commit to cooperate on the investigation of cyber crimes and malicious cyber activities emanating from China or the United States and to refrain from cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors.  To that end, both sides:

  • Plan to continue the mechanism of the “Status Report on U.S./China Cybercrime Cases” to evaluate the effectiveness of case cooperation. 
  • Affirm that both sides intend to focus cooperation on hacking and cyber-enabled fraud cases, share cybercrime-related leads and information with each other in a timely manner, and determine priority cases for continued law enforcement cooperation.  Both sides intend to continue cooperation on cases involving online distribution of child pornography.  Both sides seek to expand cyber-enabled crime cooperation to counter Darkweb marketplaces’ illicit sale of synthetic drugs and firearms. 
  • Seek to provide concrete and timely updates on cases brought within the ambit of the dialogue.
  • Exchanged views on existing channels of multilateral cooperation, and intend to continue exchanges regarding this topic.

  2. Network Protection.  Both sides acknowledged the network protection seminar held in August 2016 in China, and believe that enhancing network protection is beneficial to both sides.  Both sides suggest holding regular network protection working-level meetings, either remotely or in-person, the next of which should be planned for 2017.  Both sides seek to promote the protection of our respective networks through multiple methods. To that end, both sides:

  • Plan to enhance network hygiene by promoting the cleaning and patching of malware infections in our respective networks and promoting best network protection practices.
  • Propose to engage in regular reciprocal sharing of malicious IP addresses, malware samples, analytic products, and other network protection information, and to develop standard operating procedures to guide network protection cooperation.
  • Seek to assess the effectiveness of information shared and provide substantive feedback to each side regarding the utility of that information.
  • Plan to provide Principals with regular summaries of network protection cooperation.
  • Intend to continue discussion on future cooperation concerning cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, and to provide timely assistance on cybersecurity incidents impacting critical infrastructure.
  • Intend to hold, as early as possible in 2017, a U.S.-China government and technology company roundtable to discuss cybersecurity issues of mutual concern.

  3. Misuse of Technology and Communications to Facilitate Violent Terrorist Activities.  Both sides acknowledged the seminar on misuse of technology and communications to facilitate violent acts of terrorism held in November 2016 in China, and decided to continue cooperation on information sharing in countering the use of the Internet for terrorist and other criminal purposes.  Both sides will consider holding a second seminar in 2017.

  4. Hotline Mechanism.  Both sides welcomed the launch of the U.S.-China Cybercrime and Related Issues Hotline Mechanism, and decided to continue to use the hotline in accordance with the Work Plan.  Both sides will conduct routine review of the use of the hotline.

  5. Dialogue Continuity.  Both sides recommend that the dialogue continue to be held each year, and that the fourth dialogue occur in 2017.
   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Prison Laundry Employee Sentenced to Prison for Role in Drug Distribution Scheme

  2016-12-08 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

       MISSOULA—Erin Marie Bernhardt, 47, of Deer Lodge Montana, was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and a $200 special assessment by Chief United States District Court Judge Dana L. Christensen on Thursday, December 8, 2016 for conspiring to distribute controlled substances—methamphetamine and Suboxone—into the Montana State Prison and accepting bribes for her role in the scheme.  The charges were part of a scheme where Bernhardt, an employee in the prison laundry, smuggled the controlled substances into inmates at the prison in exchange for bribes.   The crimes occurred between April and August 2015.

       The court previously sentenced another member of the conspiracy, Cordero Robert Metzker, to three years’ imprisonment for his role in the scheme.  Three other defendants—Rachel Ross, Lauren Hoskins, and Ian Barclay—have pleaded guilty to drug trafficking or bribery charges and will be sentenced in the near future.

       The charges against Bernhardt are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspector, the Montana Department of Corrections-Division of Investigations, Montana State Prison Warden Leroy Kirkegard and his staff, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigations.  Criminal Chief Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Thaggard and Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Starnes prosecuted the case.

       United States Attorney Michael Cotter stated, “This is an important case aimed at an ongoing effort to root out public corruption and exclude unlawful controlled substances from the Montana State Prison.  The sentence issued by the court sends a powerful message that those who introduce drugs into the prison will be investigated, prosecuted, and imprisoned.”  Cotter also praised the cooperation of the various agencies  that worked in unison to conduct the investigation and prosecution.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Top Ship Engineers Receive Prison Sentences for Pollution Crimes and Obstruction

  2016-12-07 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Cassius Samson, 52, and Rustico Ignacio, 66, both of the Philippines, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard for the Eastern District of North Carolina to serve jail time for obstructing a U.S. Coast Guard inspection that took place in July 2015 aboard the cargo ship Ocean Hope at the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina.

  Samson was sentenced to a term of 12 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release and Ignacio to a term of nine months followed by a year of supervised release.

  Ignacio was the chief engineer and Samson the second engineer of the Ocean Hope.  In September 2016, both were convicted of conspiracy, violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, obstruction of justice and witness tampering, by a federal jury in Greenville, North Carolina.  The evidence showed that Ignacio and Samson attempted to cover up the dumping of tons of oil sludge and machinery space bilge water into the ocean before the ship arrived in the United States.  In addition, defendant Samson committed perjury at trial.

  “These crewmembers egregiously violated U.S. and international pollution laws, obstructed justice and spoiled the marine waters upon which our planet and its marine life depend,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “This case shows that polluting the ocean with oily waste and sludge will land you in jail, and that we will aggressively prosecute these serious crimes.” 

  “Our office was pleased to partner with the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division in this significant case,” said U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  “We will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws designed to prevent the pollution of the world’s oceans.”

  Several lower-level engineering crewmembers testified at trial that Samson regularly ordered, with Ignacio’s knowledge and approval, the pumping of oily wastes into the ocean over a period of months.  On at least two occasions, Samson ordered the connection of a bypass hose, or “magic pipe,” to pump tons of thick sludge directly overboard.  Coast Guard inspectors and laboratory testing confirmed the presence of heavy oils in overboard discharge piping.

  When the vessel arrived at the Port of Wilmington, the engineers ordered subordinates to lie to Coast Guard inspectors and to cover up evidence.  Chief Engineer Ignacio presented inspectors with a doctored oil record book, in which false accountings of the ship’s production and disposal of oily wastes were recorded.

  “The Coast Guard applauds the efforts of the Department of Justice and all parties involved in investigating this case,” said Coast Guard Rear Admiral Meredith Austin, commander, 5th Coast Guard District in Portsmouth, Virginia.  “As an agency charged with the stewardship of the environment, we remain dedicated to detecting and preventing threats to the well-being of our nation's waters and marine resources.”

  Also convicted at trial were Oceanic Illsabe Limited, the owner of the Ocean Hope, and Oceanfleet Shipping Limited, its managing operator.  Both shipping companies are based out of Greece.  Sentencing of the corporate defendants is scheduled for early January 2017.

  This case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, the Coast Guard Investigative Service and U.S. Coast Guard District Five.  Civil Chief Norman Acker and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Anderson for the Eastern District of North Carolina provided additional expertise and assistance with the pretrial phase of the case.  The attorneys prosecuting the case were Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth Nelson and Trial Attorney Brendan Selby, of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section and Banu Rangarajan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Louisiana Criminal Defense Attorney Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

  2016-12-07 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  WASHINGTON – A Louisiana criminal defense attorney pleaded guilty today to tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

  Michael Thiel, 66, a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to one count of evading the payment of federal income and employment taxes for 2003 through 2013.  According to documents filed with the court, Thiel operated a criminal defense law practice in Hammond, Louisiana.  Despite earning substantial income through his law practice, Thiel did not timely file income tax or employment tax returns, and did not timely pay tax due and owing to the United States.  Thiel agreed that as of April 30, he owed federal income tax, penalties and interest totaling $736,527, and employment tax, penalties and interest totaling $261,725.

  In January 2007, in an effort to conceal the ownership of his property and evade the payment of his tax liabilities, Thiel used nominees and the trusts he beneficially owned to purchase his principal residence for $435,000.  The nominees obtained a mortgage on the principal residence, and used a nominee bank account beneficially funded by Thiel to make the payments. Thiel entered into a lease agreement with the nominees to falsely characterize the monthly mortgage payments as rent.  In addition, between January 2007 and January 2014, Thiel deposited $416,283.56 into the nominee bank account with funds from the trusts and other accounts not held in his name. 

  “Michael Thiel, an attorney, ignored his federal tax obligations and willfully evaded payment of nearly a million dollars in income and employment tax through the use of nominee trusts and accounts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo.  “With today’s guilty plea, Thiel is held to account for his criminal conduct, and the Department, working with its colleagues within the IRS, sends a clear message that no one is above the law.”

  “Today’s guilty plea represents a win for the U.S. taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Jerome R. McDuffie of IRS – Criminal Investigation, New Orleans Field Office. “As a member of the legal profession, Michael Thiel knew his requirement to pay both his personal income and employment taxes, but chose to use alter-ego nominee trusts and bank accounts to violate the laws. IRS – Criminal Investigation will continue to work diligently to ensure that individuals such as Mr. Thiel are held accountable for their wrongdoings, as well as pay their fair share in compliance with our nation’s tax laws.”

  Sentencing is scheduled for March 22, 2017.  Pursuant to the plea agreement, Thiel faces a maximum sentence of 37 months in prison, as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS-CI, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant Chief Todd A. Ellinwood and Trial Attorney Michael Hatzimichalis, who are prosecuting the case. 

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

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Louisiana Criminal Defense Attorney Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

  2016-12-07 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  A Louisiana criminal defense attorney pleaded guilty today to tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

  Michael Thiel, 66, a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to one count of evading the payment of federal income and employment taxes for 2003 through 2013.  According to documents filed with the court, Thiel operated a criminal defense law practice in Hammond, Louisiana.  Despite earning substantial income through his law practice, Thiel did not timely file income tax or employment tax returns, and did not timely pay tax due and owing to the United States.  Thiel agreed that as of April 30, he owed federal income tax, penalties and interest totaling $736,527, and employment tax, penalties and interest totaling $261,725.

  In January 2007, in an effort to conceal the ownership of his property and evade the payment of his tax liabilities, Thiel used nominees and the trusts he beneficially owned to purchase his principal residence for $435,000.  The nominees obtained a mortgage on the principal residence, and used a nominee bank account beneficially funded by Thiel to make the payments. Thiel entered into a lease agreement with the nominees to falsely characterize the monthly mortgage payments as rent.  In addition, between January 2007 and January 2014, Thiel deposited $416,283.56 into the nominee bank account with funds from the trusts and other accounts not held in his name. 

  “Michael Thiel, an attorney, ignored his federal tax obligations and willfully evaded payment of nearly a million dollars in income and employment tax through the use of nominee trusts and accounts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo.  “With today’s guilty plea, Thiel is held to account for his criminal conduct, and the Department, working with its colleagues within the IRS, sends a clear message that no one is above the law.”

  “Today’s guilty plea represents a win for the U.S. taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Jerome R. McDuffie of IRS – Criminal Investigation, New Orleans Field Office. “As a member of the legal profession, Michael Thiel knew his requirement to pay both his personal income and employment taxes, but chose to use alter-ego nominee trusts and bank accounts to violate the laws. IRS – Criminal Investigation will continue to work diligently to ensure that individuals such as Mr. Thiel are held accountable for their wrongdoings, as well as pay their fair share in compliance with our nation’s tax laws.”

  Sentencing is scheduled for March 22, 2017.  Pursuant to the plea agreement, Thiel faces a maximum sentence of 37 months in prison, as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo commended special agents of IRS-CI, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant Chief Todd A. Ellinwood and Trial Attorney Michael Hatzimichalis, who are prosecuting the case.        

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

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Partners with Honduras to Combat Employment Discrimination

  2016-12-07 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Justice Department and the government of Honduras announced a formal partnership today to protect workers from discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status and national origin.  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and Honduran Charge D’Affaires Luís F. Cordero signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the embassy and its consulates, and the Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC).

  As part of the MOU, OSC and the Honduran government will collaborate to educate workers about their employment rights and provide them with the resources needed to protect those rights.  The MOU also seeks to promote training for employers on their obligations under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits employment discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status and national origin.  Specifically, the MOU provides that:

  •    OSC will train Honduran consular staff on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, participate in events organized by Honduran consulates to educate workers and employers, and distribute educational materials to the embassy and its consulates.
  •    The embassy will establish a system for referring discrimination claims from the embassy and consulates to OSC.

  “We must stand in solidarity with workers who face unlawful obstacles and discriminatory barriers when seeking employment,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gupta.  “Our country thrives when all people have an equal opportunity to succeed.  Yet, all too often, we see employers refusing to hire work-authorized immigrants or requiring them to show unnecessary documentation to work.  This partnership will help educate workers about their rights and funnel complaints of discrimination to the Civil Rights Division.”

  This agreement is particularly relevant given that Honduran nationals with temporary protected status (TPS) may encounter discrimination by employers based on their immigration status or national origin.  TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of a country designated for TPS under the INA.  During the TPS designation period, TPS beneficiaries are authorized to work in the United States.

  In the last year, the department has also established formal partnerships with Ecuador, El Salvador and Mexico to empower and educate work-authorized individuals from those nations. 

  OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.  Among other things, this law prohibits citizenship, immigration status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process; retaliation and intimidation.  In addition to its enforcement work, OSC educates the public on its rights and responsibilities under the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.  

  For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call OSC’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 OSC’s website.

  MOU Honduras

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Florida Resident Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in Connection with Jamaican Based Lottery Fraud Scheme

  2016-12-07 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Cassandra Althea Palmer, a resident of Florida, pleaded guilty for her role in a Jamaican-based fraudulent lottery scheme, the Department of Justice announced today.  

  Palmer, 33, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Marcia G. Cooke in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent lottery scheme.   An Information was filed on Oct. 26, charging Palmer with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.   

  “The Justice Department is committed to combatting international lottery fraud schemes preying on innocent Americans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “The help of a co-conspirator in the United States makes it easier for these international fraud schemes to succeed.  We will continue to investigate and often prosecute individuals residing in the United States or abroad when they commit fraud against Americans.”

  As part of her guilty plea, Palmer agreed that, had the case gone to trial, the United States would have proved the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt:  In February 2014, a woman from Worcester County, Maryland, was contacted by an individual in Jamaica and told that she had won a multi-million dollar lottery prize, and that in order to collect her lottery prize, she first had to pay taxes and fees.  The victim did not win a lottery prize and would not collect any winnings.  Palmer knew about the fraud scheme and agreed with her co-conspirator in Jamaica to participate in the scheme.  Palmer participated in the fraudulent scheme in a number of ways. Among other things, she worked with her co-conspirator in Jamaica, to recruit a friend in Maryland to receive $7,500 of the victim’s money.  She and her friend kept a portion of the money, and Palmer wire transferred the rest to her Jamaican co-conspirator. 

  The fraudulent scheme ended when law enforcement officials learned of the fraud.  Officials set up a sting, in which an undercover police officer posed as the victim and met Palmer’s friend at a fast food restaurant parking lot in Maryland.  The purpose of the meeting was for the victim to hand over $32,500 in cash to Palmer’s friend in order for the victim to claim her purported lottery winnings.  Law enforcement arrested Palmer’s friend on the spot, after she received $32,500 in cash from the officer.

  Palmer faces a statutory maximum punishment of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense.  Palmer must also pay restitution to the victim.  Palmer’s sentencing is scheduled for March 22, 2017. 

  “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is dedicated as part of its mission to ensure that these types of predatory schemes are investigated aggressively,” said U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Antonio J. Gomez of the Miami Division.  “It is imperative that we continue to work with our partners, both domestically and internationally, to protect our citizens who fall prey to these schemes so that the U.S. mail isn’t used in furtherance of them.”

  This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s effort to work with federal and local law enforcement to combat fraudulent lottery schemes in Jamaica that prey on American citizens.  According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Americans have lost tens of millions of dollars to fraudulent foreign lotteries.

  Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Maryland State Police, who conducted the investigation, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.  The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney David A. Frank and Counsel Melanie Singh of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. 

  For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.  For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.

   

   

   

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• First Charges Brought in Investigation of Collusion in the Packaged Seafood Industry

  2016-12-07 · District not recorded

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  Senior Vice President Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price-Fixing Conspiracy

  The current senior vice president of sales of a leading packaged seafood company has agreed to plead guilty for his role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of packaged seafood such as canned tuna sold in the United States, the Department of Justice announced.

  According to a one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, Walter Scott Cameron and his co-conspirators agreed to fix the prices of packaged seafood from as early as 2011 until about 2013.  In addition to his guilty plea, which is subject to court approval, Cameron has agreed to pay a criminal fine and cooperate with the division’s ongoing investigation.  

  “Today’s charge is the first to be filed in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation into price fixing among some of the largest suppliers of canned tuna and other packaged seafood,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “All consumers deserve competitive prices for these important kitchen staples, and companies and executives who cheat those consumers will be held criminally accountable.”
              
  “FBI San Francisco Division echoes the comments of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett of the FBI’s San Francisco Division. “These charges demonstrate our continued commitment to investigate and pursue those individuals and companies seeking to victimize consumers through illegal business practices that threaten our community’s ability to pay fair prices for food for their families.”

  According to the charge, Cameron and his co-conspirators discussed the prices of packaged seafood sold in the United States and agreed to fix the prices of those products.  The defendant and his co-conspirators negotiated prices and issued price announcements for packaged seafood in accordance with the agreements they reached. 

  Today’s charge is the first to result from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into the packaged seafood industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office and the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office.  Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging or other anticompetitive conduct related to the packaged seafood industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Citizen Complaint Center at (888) 647-3258, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html, or call the FBI tip line at (415) 553-7400.

  Cameron Information

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• El Departamento de Justicia Colabora con la República de Honduras para Combatir la Discriminación en el Empleo

  2016-12-07 · District not recorded

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  WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia y el gobierno de Honduras anunciaron una asociación formal hoy para proteger a trabajadores de la discriminación por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen.  La Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Adjunta Principal Vanita Gupta, directora de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia, y el Encargado de Negocios de Honduras, Luís F. Cordero, firmaron un memorando de entendimiento (MOU, por sus siglas en inglés) entre la embajada y sus consulados y la Oficina del Consejero Especial para Prácticas Injustas en el Empleo Relacionadas con la Inmigración (OSC, por sus siglas en inglés), que pertenece a la División de Derechos Civiles.

  Como parte del MOU, la OSC y el gobierno hondureño se comprometen a colaborar para educar a los trabajadores acerca de sus derechos laborales y brindarles los recursos necesarios para proteger tales derechos. Asimismo, el MOU procura promover la capacitación para empleadores en cuanto a sus obligaciones al amparo de la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés), que prohíbe la discriminación en el empleo por motivos de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen.  En concreto, el MOU dispone que:

   

  • La OSC capacitará al personal consular hondureño en lo que se refiere a la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA, participará en eventos organizados por los consulados hondureños para educar a los trabajadores y empleadores y distribuirá materiales educativos a la embajada y sus consulados.
  • La embajada establecerá un sistema para referir denuncias de discriminación recibidas en la embajada y sus consulados a la OSC.

   

  “Debemos demostrar nuestra solidaridad con los trabajadores que enfrentan obstáculos ilegales y barreras discriminatorias cuando buscan empleo,” declaró la Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Adjunta Principal Vanita Gupta.  “Nuestro país prospera cuando toda la gente tiene igualdad de oportunidades para tener éxito.  Sin embargo, en demasiadas ocasiones vemos cómo los empleadores se niegan a contratar a los inmigrantes con autorización para trabajar, o les obligan a presentar documentación innecesaria para poder trabajar.  Esta asociación ayudará a educar a los trabajadores acerca de sus derechos y canalizará sus denuncias de discriminación hacia la División de Derechos Civiles.”

  Este acuerdo resulta particularmente pertinente dado que los nacionales hondureños con el estatus de protección temporal (TPS, por sus siglas en inglés) podrían enfrentar discriminación por parte de empleadores por motivos de su estatus migratorio o por su origen nacional.  El TPS es un estatus migratorio temporal que se extiende a nacionales elegibles de un país designado para el TPS al amparo de la INA.  Durante el período de designación del TPS, los beneficiarios del TPS están autorizados para trabajar en los Estados Unidos.

  Durante el último año, el departamento también ha establecido asociaciones formales con el Ecuador, El Salvador y México para empoderar y educar a las personas provenientes de esas naciones que tienen autorización para trabajar.

  La OSC es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA.  Entre otras cosas, esta ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de ciudadanía, estatus migratorio y origen nacional en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión; la discriminación en el proceso de verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar; las represalias y la intimidación.  Además de sus esfuerzos de cumplimiento, la OSC educa al público en cuanto a los derechos y las responsabilidades al amparo de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA.

  Para mayor información sobre las protecciones contra la discriminación en el empleo conforme a las leyes de inmigración, llame a la línea directa de la OSC para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para las personas con discapacidades auditivas); llame a la línea directa de la OSC para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para las personas con discapacidades auditivas); inscríbase en un seminario en línea gratuito; envíe un correo electrónico a [email protected]; o visite la página web de la OSC.

  Memorandum of Understanding (en inglés)

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Requires Alaska Airlines to Significantly Scale Back Codeshare Agreement with American Airlines in Order to Proceed with Virgin America Acquisition

  2016-12-06 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  Settlement Ensures that Alaska Will Have Incentive and Ability to Vigorously Compete with Larger Airlines 

  The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Alaska Air Group Inc. to significantly reduce the scope of its codeshare agreement with American Airlines, the world’s largest airline, in order for Alaska to complete its $4 billion acquisition of Virgin America Inc.  The department said that these modifications will ensure that Alaska will have the incentive to vigorously compete with American as Virgin does today.

  The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the merger, along with a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit.  The merger of Alaska and Virgin would combine the nation’s sixth- and ninth-largest airlines, respectively, to create the fifth-largest U.S. carrier.

  “Smaller airlines, such as Alaska and Virgin, provide a critical competitive check on the larger carriers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Although this merger offers hope that a strengthened Alaska can be an even stronger competitor than before, because of Alaska’s extensive codeshare agreement with the world’s largest airline, the merger threatened to blunt important competition and reduce choices for consumers.  Today’s settlement ensures that Alaska has the incentive to take the fight to American and use Virgin’s assets to grow its network in ways that benefit competition and consumers.”

  Alaska and Virgin have both tended to offer lower prices and better service than the larger airlines.  However, the complaint alleges that the codeshare agreement, which currently allows Alaska to market American flights on over 250 routes, creates incentives for Alaska to compete less aggressively on routes both carriers serve and to forgo launching new service in competition with American.  As a result of these incentives, the complaint alleges that Alaska and American often behave more like partners than competitors.

  In contrast to Alaska, Virgin – which has a network that extensively overlaps with American’s network – has competed aggressively with American.  In particular, Virgin has vigorously competed with American on 20 nonstop routes served by both airlines.  This competition has forced American to offer consumers lower prices and better service on some of the most traveled routes in the country.  According to the complaint, the significant head-to-head competition between Virgin and American on these routes is due in part to the fact that Virgin holds essential and scarce assets, including airport gates and takeoff and landing rights known as “slots,” at key American strongholds.  Virgin acquired some of these assets, including gates at Dallas Love Field Airport and slots at Washington Reagan National Airport and New York’s LaGuardia Airport, as part of the settlement of the department’s lawsuit challenging the 2013 merger of American and US Airways.  The complaint alleges that the extensive codeshare relationship between Alaska and American would cause Alaska to compete less vigorously with American than does Virgin today, resulting in lower quality service and/or higher prices on the routes where Virgin and American currently compete.  The complaint also alleges that the codeshare would make Alaska less likely than Virgin to launch new service in direct competition with American.  

  To address the transaction’s likely competitive harm, the proposed settlement requires Alaska to significantly reduce the scope of the codeshare agreement.  Specifically, in order to reduce Alaska’s overall dependence on the codeshare and limit Alaska’s incentives to cooperate with American, the proposed settlement prohibits Alaska and American from codesharing on routes where Virgin and American compete today and on routes where Alaska would otherwise be likely to launch new service in competition with American following the merger.  At the same time, the settlement permits Alaska and American to continue codesharing in limited circumstances where it is unlikely to lead to competitive harm and may offer some benefits to consumers.  For example, the settlement would permit either airline to rely on the codeshare to serve destinations it would otherwise be unlikely to serve on its own in the near term.  The department explained that this last type of codesharing can potentially benefit consumers by extending each carrier’s network and is less likely to lead to anticompetitive harm. 

  To preserve the competitive benefits brought about by the divestures to Virgin as part of the American-US Airways settlement, the proposed settlement requires Alaska to obtain the department’s approval before selling or leasing any of the gates or slots that were divested to Virgin and expressly prohibits Alaska from transferring any interest in the assets to American.  This requirement ensures that American does not directly or indirectly regain control of the assets it divested to Virgin to settle the department’s challenge to the American-US Airways merger.  

  Alaska is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Seattle.  Last year, Alaska flew over 31 million passengers to approximately 112 locations worldwide, taking in more than $5.5 billion in revenue.

  Virgin is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Burlingame, California.  Last year, Virgin flew over 7 million passengers to approximately 24 locations worldwide, taking in more than $1.5 billion in revenue.  Virgin is one of several entities bearing the “Virgin” name pursuant to a licensing agreement with the Virgin Group, which owns approximately 18 percent of Virgin’s outstanding voting common stock.  Although other airlines, such as Virgin Atlantic Airways, bear the Virgin name, they operate separately from Virgin America.

  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 Kathleen O’Neill, Chief, Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 8000, 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.

  Alaska-Virgin CIS

  Alaska-Virgin Complaint

  Alaska-Virgin Explanation

  Alaska-Virgin PFJ

  Alaska-Virgin Stipulation 

   

   

   

   

   

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Releases Videos Highlighting Work of Community Relations Service

  2016-12-06 · District not recorded

  Read the Press Release

  The Justice Department’s Community Relations Service (CRS) released three videos today highlighting the impact of their work in Sanford, Florida; Duluth, Minnesota; and Jackson, Mississippi.  These videos provide a sample of the successful services provided by CRS and the lasting impact made on communities.

  “As the department’s ‘peacemaker’ for community conflicts and tensions, the Community Relations Service has one of the most demanding and critical jobs in the Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.  “By bringing together stakeholders from all walks of life for peaceful dialogue and meaningful cooperation, CRS helps give divided communities a chance to embark on a more hopeful and united path.  For over 50 years, they have met the needs of communities across the country with unfailing skill and unflagging dedication.  Our nation is a more just and peaceful place because of their efforts, and I want to thank CRS for its outstanding contributions throughout this administration.”

  CRS’ involvement in Sanford followed the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and focused on building a relationship between faith leaders in the community and the city’s law enforcement.  The video features interviews with Sanford’s Mayor, City Manager, the County Sherriff and members of the faith community who highlight CRS’ effort to institute regular meetings to discuss the legal proceedings which ensured open dialogue between law enforcement and local clergy.  CRS also negotiated courtroom seating access for faith leaders so that they could gain firsthand knowledge of the trial and disseminate that information – free of misleading rumors – to their congregations and the community at large.  In the video, Sanford’s City Manager, Norton Bonaparte, stressed that CRS was there to assist, but remained neutral while working to strengthen trust and facilitate discussions between law enforcement and the community.

  CRS went to Duluth in response to a race-related cyber bullying incident involving the dissemination via social media of an offensive image at Denfeld High School.  In response, CRS conducted a Student Problem Identification and Resolution of Issues Together (SPIRIT) program.  The SPIRIT program brought together more than 100 students, faculty, administrators and community leaders to discuss the inflammatory image as well as larger issues of race and class.  In the video, the Principal of Denfeld High School Tonya Sconiers described CRS as a “catalyst for real change,” and encouraged other communities to reach out to CRS before, during and after times of crisis to ease tensions and build trust.

  In Jackson, CRS facilitated a training for local law enforcement to help foster a stronger relationship with and better serve the transgender community.  Unlike in Sanford or Duluth, CRS’ involvement was not prompted by a particular incident.  Rather, leaders in Jackson raised concerns about the relationship between law enforcement and the transgender community, and proactively requested the training to improve understanding and avoid future issues.  CRS led the training alongside local transgender community partners, who are shown in the video leading portions of the session.  In the video, the local transgender trainers discuss the importance of their inclusion in the training, highlighting that it gave them the chance to speak for themselves and gave law enforcement the opportunity to engage in open dialogue with their community.

  CRS was established under Title X of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to resolve “disputes, disagreements or difficulties relating to discriminatory practices based on race, color or national origin.”  It is not an investigatory or prosecutorial agency, and it does not have any law enforcement authority.  Rather, CRS works with all parties, including state and local governments, private and public organizations, civil rights groups and local community leaders to uncover the underlying interests of all of those involved in the conflict and facilitate solutions to the community's challenges.  Under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, CRS assists communities in developing local mechanisms and community capacity to prevent tension and violent hate crimes from occurring in the future.  CRS works in all 50 states and the U.S. territories, and in communities large and small, rural, urban and suburban.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Watson Chapel, Arkansas, School District to Prevent Discrimination and Reform Discipline Practices

  2016-12-05 · District not recorded

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  The Justice Department reached an agreement with the Watson Chapel, Arkansas, School District to ensure that the district does not discriminate on the basis of race in its administration of school discipline.  The consent order, approved today by the District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, will replace the use of punitive discipline with more positive approaches as part of an overall focus on improving student achievement and school climate.  

  The consent order is intended to address the remaining issues in the school desegregation case in Watson Chapel, and when fully implemented, will lead to the closing of that case.  As part of the consent order, the district will be required to:

  •    implement a classroom management system that focuses on interventions and supports; 
  •    eliminate out-of-school suspensions for offenses that do not involve or threaten safety; 
  •    stop the use of corporal punishment, which has been disproportionately applied against black students and undermined the creation of a positive school climate;
  •    assess the district’s support services for students with disabilities to ensure that students, particularly students of color, are not disciplined for their disabilities;
  •    enter into an agreement with the law enforcement agencies that provide School Resource Officers (SROs) to the district that makes clear that SROs will not become involved in enforcing school discipline rules and prevents students from being arrested for minor misconduct; and 
  •    conduct outreach to students, parents and community members to explain and solicit feedback on the district’s disciplinary policies and procedures. 

  “For far too long, some school districts have used overly punitive and ineffective discipline practices that prevent students of color from reaching their full potential,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “We commend the Watson Chapel School District for committing to create an equal, supportive and inclusive learning environment for all.” 

  The court will retain jurisdiction over the consent order during its implementation, and the Justice Department will monitor the district’s compliance.  The consent order is expected to take three years to implement. 

  The enforcement of Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex and religion in public schools, is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division.  Additional information about the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt.

  Watson Chapel Consent Order

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Statement by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch Regarding the Army’s Decision on the Dakota Access Pipeline

  2016-12-04 · District not recorded

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  Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch today released the following statement regarding the decision by the Department of the Army in the Dakota Access Pipeline matter:

  “In light of today's decision by the Department of the Army regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Department of Justice will continue to monitor the situation in North Dakota in the days ahead and we stand ready to provide resources to help all those who can play a constructive role in easing tensions.

  “The department remains committed to supporting local law enforcement, defending protestors’ constitutional right to free speech and fostering thoughtful dialogue on the matter.  We recognize the strong feelings that exist in connection with this issue, but it is imperative that all parties express their views peacefully and join us in support of a deliberate and reasonable process for de-escalation and healing. 

  “The safety of everyone in the area – law enforcement officers, residents and protesters alike – continues to be our foremost concern.”

  View the Original Release on justice.gov

• Three Sentenced for Role in Defrauding Biodiesel Purchasers and Shareholders

  2016-12-02 · District not recorded

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  Jeffrey Wilson and Craig Ducey were sentenced to serve prison terms of 120 months and 74 months, respectively, for their roles in multi-million dollar fraud schemes involving: biodiesel tax credits, renewable fuel credits and shares of Imperial Petroleum Inc., announced Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler for the Southern District of Indiana. Yesterday, Chad Ducey was sentenced to an 84-month prison term for his role in the same schemes.  These defendants were the last to be sentenced from a gaggle of seven charged co-conspirators.  The others, Joseph Furando, Katirina Tracy, Brian Carmichael and Chris Ducey were sentenced at prior hearings.  Although charged in three separate cases, all the defendants were involved in fraud involving federal incentives to produce renewable fuels, specifically biodiesel.

  Today’s sentences were the first to address securities fraud charges leveled against Wilson and Craig Ducey.  That fraud stemmed from lies those defendants told in the course of their dealings with investors, auditors and the Securities and Exchange Commission, while representing Imperial Petroleum.  Wilson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Imperial Petroleum, was the person who drafted and certified the accuracy of Imperial’s quarterly and annual reports and made those reports available to the investing public through filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  He also lied to the company’s outside auditor to keep him from learning of the scheme.  At a jury trial in July 2016, he was convicted for his role in the fraud.  In April 2015, Craig Ducey admitted to related crimes and began cooperating with the United States; he testified at Wilson’s at trial and the court recognized his substantial assistance in giving him a lower sentence than Wilson.

  "Biodiesel has the potential to make the nation’s transportation sector more sustainable, while decreasing our dependence on foreign energy sources, but only if done right,” said Assistant Attorney General Cruden.  “The defendants’ fraud in these cases not only cheated customers, investors and taxpayers, it set renewable fuel efforts back for the entire nation.  At a time when Americans should have been working together to have clean, sustainable and safe energy, the defendants chose to line their own pockets.  Prison is the appropriate consequence.”

  “Today’s sentencing is the final chapter in a complex scheme involving phony renewable fuel credits,” said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.  “The Renewable Fuel Standard is designed to reduce greenhouse gases, fight climate change and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  EPA and its partners are committed to protecting the integrity of this important program and to ensuring a level playing field for honest companies.”

  “Indiana is not the place to try to fool the investing public,” said U.S. Attorney Minkler, “Here, we expect executives to care about shareholders and to be upfront and honest about what the companies they manage are doing.  Today, Jeffrey Wilson and Craig Ducey learned where the other path, the path of deceit, leads.”

  As shown at Wilson’s trial, the securities fraud began when Wilson learned that e-biofuels LLC—a business that Wilson arranged for Imperial Petroleum to buy—was faking paperwork to claim incentives for biodiesel it had not manufactured.  Put another way, Wilson learned that the e-biofuels managers fraudulently claimed millions in federal tax rebates and other incentives that had no basis in real manufacturing. Knowing that it was much more profitable for e-biofuels to fraudulently claim government incentives on biodiesel that had been made by somebody else, Wilson directed the e‑biofuels managers to move more and more gallons of such fuel rather than incur the cost associated with legitimate biodiesel production.  Despite their knowledge that the e-biofuels facility was dormant, Wilson and Craig Ducey told investors, auditors and SEC that it made millions of gallons a month from raw materials like chicken fat.  This defrauded biodiesel buyers—who were duped into taking bad tax credits and renewable fuel credits—and also defrauded investors, who would never have invested in Imperial Petroleum had they known its profits were based on sham manufacturing.

  On Thursday, Chad Ducey was sentenced for his role in the underlying wire, tax fraud and environmental crime that were hidden by the securities fraud (he was not charged with securities fraud).  Chad Ducey owned e-biofuels, together with his brother Craig Ducey, until they sold it to Imperial Petroleum in a deal that Wilson organized.  Chad Ducey was intimately familiar with how the e-biofuels facility worked and knew that it was not manufacturing biodiesel between July 2010 and June 2011.  Nevertheless, he twice persuaded an outside engineer that the facility was a biodiesel producer as essential steps to registering and claiming renewable fuel incentives.

  In addition, as shown during Wilson’s trial, Chad Ducey worked with Wilson and others to try to establish “beachheads” in Texas.  A beachhead would have been a fuel transload facility used to disguise the transfer of biodiesel to an e-biofuels customer from a Texas fuel terminal where it was purchased.  Essentially, a brief stop at the beachhead would have stood in for actual biodiesel production. Chad Ducey traveled to Texas in order to scout sites for the transload facility.  Workers at e-biofuels called these remote, no-production transfers “ghost loads” and the transload facility was planned to hide those loads.  Ghost loads occurred in Texas and between fuel terminals and e-biofuels customers in Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania.

  “Today’s sentencing represents the culmination of a five-year investigation of the largest tax and securities fraud scheme in Indiana history,” said Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott of the Indianapolis Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  “The FBI collaborated with our partner agencies from the beginning to uncover the significant and widespread fraudulent activity.  The complexity and magnitude of this scheme required extensive forensic accounting and computer forensic work.  The FBI will continue to thoroughly investigate individuals that commit illegal acts by stealing money from individuals, businesses, and government programs.”   

  “Imperial Petroleum’s top executive played a key role in this massive scheme to deceive investors,” said Regional Director David Glockner of the SEC Chicago Regional Office.  “The SEC was pleased to participate in a multi-agency effort to hold him accountable.”

  “The sentencings handed down send a loud message that IRS Criminal Investigation operates year round to protect the integrity of our tax system and today is a victory for the American people” said Special Agent in Charge James Robnett for the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).  “The object of the defendant’s schemes was to defraud the government, the IRS and the taxpaying public.  IRS-CI together with the cooperative efforts of our law enforcement partners, identified and vigorously investigated and put a stop to the fraud and those involved in this scheme.”

  The wire fraud, tax fraud, securities fraud and environmental crime investigation that culminated in this week’s sentencing hearings began in January 2012, when investigators from the FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Criminal Investigation Division, IRS-CI and the SEC began meeting with a whistleblower whose statements were corroborated by government agency data.  That led the investigative team to conclude that e-biofuels had engaged in sham manufacturing and tax fraud.  Based on intense work at the beginning of the investigation, the team obtained a multi-state search warrant in May 2012, which yielded substantial additional evidence and witness accounts.  For over a year, prosecutors and attorneys from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice and SEC pursued the investigation of this matter with special agents of the FBI, EPA, and IRS.  Their work involved nearly 100 witness interviews and the review of millions of documents.

  The United States approached targets of the investigation and sought pre-indictment plea agreements with them.  Ultimately, one defendant, Brian Carmichael, entered into a plea agreement before indictment.  The others were indicted in September of 2013.  After multiple continuances sought by the defendants and one additional plea, the first case, involving tax fraud, wire fraud and false statements under the Clean Air Act, was set for a final trial date of May 2015.  Ultimately, all of the defendants in that case pleaded guilty before trial.  The second case, which was the case against Jeffrey Wilson for securities fraud, was scheduled for trial and then continued at the defendant’s request.  It was continued and ultimately set for a final trial date of July 2016.  In a two-week trial, the United States presented evidence that Wilson had lied to investors in person, through filings he created for his publicly traded company and indirectly through company auditors.  Wilson was convicted of fraud in the offer and sale of securities, falsely certifying annual and quarterly reports filed with SEC, lying to a public company’s outside auditor and making false statements to investigators. Today’s sentencing hearing establishes Wilson’s punishment for those convictions.

  According to Senior Litigation Counsel Steven Debrota, Thomas Ballentine, Assistant Section Chief of the Environmental Crimes Section of the department’s and Jake Schmidt, SEC Senior Attorney, who prosecuted this case for the government, Wilson must pay $16 million in restitution.

  View the Original Release on justice.gov