District Not Recorded
The source did not name an office we could identify. These records remain unassigned rather than guessed.
Attorney General Holder Statement on the Passing of Civil Rights Leader John DoarRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Tuesday on the passing of civil rights leader John Doar:
"John Doar was a giant in the history of the Civil Rights movement, a courageous advocate for those who suffered discrimination, and a true champion of justice and equality over the course of many decades devoted to improving the country he loved so dearly.
"From Selma, to Montgomery, to the campus of Ole Miss, he stood with pioneers, rode with Freedom Riders, and marched with those who called for nothing more – and nothing less – than the rights which were theirs under the Constitution. At a time when America's cities rioted – and Mississippi burned – he was never far from the front lines of this momentous struggle, leading efforts to overturn an unjust status quo and striving to achieve justice for civil rights workers who were senselessly murdered.
"Brave but unassuming, passionate but unbiased, he repeatedly risked his life to preserve the rule of law and stand up for that which was right. He was one of the greatest leaders the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has ever known. And during a period of great national turmoil and transformative change, alongside countless other leaders and seemingly-ordinary citizens, he helped usher in a brighter dawn, and build a better future, for everyone in this country.
"I have always regarded John Doar as a personal hero and an embodiment of what it means to be a public servant. In so many ways, he defined what is best about the Department he served so faithfully during one of its golden eras – proving every day, by word and by deed, that the law can be a strong, deft instrument of lasting, positive change.
"I was deeply saddened to learn of John Doar's passing, and I join President Obama and others throughout the nation in extending my deep condolences to his family and friends. Although he will be sorely missed, we vow today that his vital work will go on – and his contributions, and shining example, will not merely endure; they will continue to push us forward."
Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Deputy Sentenced to 92 Years in Prison for Civil Rights, Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft ViolationsRead the Press Release
Former Officer Stole Victim’s Debit Card and Other Items after Responding to Car Accident
Former Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 49, was sentenced to serve 92 years in prison for a series of offenses Hebert committed while he was a sheriff’s deputy. The sentence was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite Jr. for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Anderson of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo issued the sentence today, also ordering Hebert to pay $13,215.22 in restitution between the bank and estate of the victim. Additionally, Judge Milazzo imposed a term of five years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment. During the five year term the defendant will be under federal supervision and risks an additional term of imprisonment should he violate any terms of his supervised release.
According to court documents, Hebert was sentenced for crimes that started with an incident on Aug. 2, 2007, when Hebert, in his capacity as a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy, responded to an automobile accident involving Albert Bloch and stole Bloch’s debit card and other items. Thereafter, between Aug. 2 and Nov. 21, 2007, Hebert engaged in a scheme to defraud J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. (Chase Bank) by using Bloch’s debit card to make unauthorized purchases of merchandise, and to withdraw funds from Bloch’s Chase Bank account via ATM. After Bloch filed a dispute with the bank and the bank cancelled the debit card, Hebert continued his scheme to defraud by negotiating and attempting to negotiate forged checks drawn from Bloch’s account. Hebert then obtained a replacement debit card that the bank sent to Bloch’s address, and used that card to make further unauthorized transactions at Chase Bank ATMs.
During the course of the 2007 scheme to defraud, Bloch disappeared and has never been found. After a four-day evidentiary hearing in July 2014, Judge Milazzo found by clear and convincing evidence that Hebert was responsible for the death and disappearance of Bloch. The court announced that it considered this finding in issuing Hebert sentence.
“Former Deputy Hebert used his position as a law enforcement officer to in callous scheme to exploit and defraud the victim,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Gupta. “The Civil Rights Division, with the help of its federal and local law enforcement partners, will continue to vigorously prosecute cases such as these, where members of law enforcement egregiously violate their oaths in order to deprive individuals of their civil rights.”
“Today’s sentencing is the result of the successful collaboration of local and state law enforcement agencies in our continued fight to eradicate corruption in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Polite. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners are delivering the same message in a unified voice: we will not tolerate abuse of power and official position. If you violate the public trust in Southeast Louisiana, you will be held accountable.”
“Rigorous investigation of such criminal betrayals of oaths of office, as in the Hebert case, will continue to be a top priority for the FBI and its law enforcement partners, and will further cement our already very strong relationship with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office,” said Special Agent in Charge Anderson.
“I am satisfied with today’s sentencing of former Deputy Hebert,” said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Normand. “In as much as I am disappointed in the actions of former Deputy Hebert, I am very pleased that my investigators were instrumental in developing the investigation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI. This activity will not be tolerated in my department.”
The investigation of this matter was conducted by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective’s Bureau and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Sanders, and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Shan Patel.
Attorney General Holder Statement on FBI's 2013 Crime StatisticsRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Monday on the FBI’s release of the 2013 Uniform Crime Report:
"This reduction in the violent crime rate continues a historic trend, and comes thanks to the tireless work of police and prosecutors throughout the nation," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "This is a remarkable achievement that builds upon the significant gains we've seen -- in reducing rates of both crime and incarceration -- since President Obama took office. At the same time, we recognize we have much more work to do in order to ensure that every community, in every city in America, can share in the safer and brighter future we are building.”
Attorney General Holder Statement on President Obama's Nomination of U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to Serve as Attorney GeneralRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Saturday on President Obama’s nomination of U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to serve as Attorney General:
“Loretta Lynch is an extraordinarily talented attorney, a dedicated public servant, and a leader of considerable experience and consummate skill. I am certain that she will be an outstanding Attorney General, and I am delighted to join President Obama in congratulating her on this prestigious appointment.
“Throughout her career, and especially during her tenure as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York – during both the Clinton and Obama Administrations – Loretta has earned the trust and respect of Justice Department employees at every level, in Washington and throughout the country. She is held in high regard by criminal justice, law enforcement, and civil rights leaders of all stripes. And from her time as a career attorney, prosecuting high-profile public corruption cases, to her leadership of sensitive financial fraud and national security investigations, she has proven her unwavering fidelity to the law – and her steadfast dedication to protecting the American people.
“I have had the good fortune of working closely with Loretta on a range of important issues over the years, and particularly since the beginning of 2013, when I asked her to serve as chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. She and her colleagues have been instrumental in implementing the Smart on Crime initiative. And I know that she is both well-qualified and uniquely positioned to continue the critical work that’s underway and build upon the progress we have made over the past six years, from advancing criminal justice reform to safeguarding civil rights.
“I am confident that Loretta will lead the Department of Justice with integrity, honor, and distinction. I congratulate her, once again, on her appointment. And I wish her the best of luck.”
Virginia Resident Indicted in Connection with Fraudulent Lottery Scheme Based in JamaicaRead the Press Release
A grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia returned an indictment yesterday charging a Jamaican citizen who was residing in Virginia in connection with the operation of a fraudulent lottery scheme, the Department of Justice and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced.
Carlos O’Brian Ricketts, 31, was arrested Nov. 4 on a criminal complaint based on his participation in the lottery scheme. The indictment announced today supersedes the charge in the criminal complaint against Ricketts. Ricketts is charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, four counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and 18 counts of money laundering. If convicted, Ricketts faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count.
As alleged in the indictment, a co-conspirator induced elderly victims in the United States to send thousands of dollars to Ricketts to cover fees for purported lottery winnings that in fact victims had not won. The indictment is part of the government’s crackdown on fraudulent lottery schemes based in Jamaica that target elderly victims in the United States.
“Co-conspirators in the United States are often key players in lottery schemes operating from foreign countries,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute those who facilitate these pernicious schemes.”
From May 2010, Ricketts’ co-conspirator is alleged to have contacted elderly victims in the United States, claimed to represent a known U.S. sweepstakes company and falsely informed the victims that they had won thousands or millions of dollars in a lottery. The co-conspirator allegedly told the victims to make payments of several thousand dollars in order to collect their purported prize winnings and instructed the victims to send and wire this money to Ricketts in Virginia.
The indictment charges that Ricketts received this money, kept a portion of the money for himself and sent the remainder to individuals in Jamaica. According to the indictment, Ricketts sometimes sent the victims’ money to Jamaica in smaller, separate payments to the same person in Jamaica during a short period of time. The indictment also alleges that Ricketts sometimes used the alias Kevin Brown when receiving money from victims and sending money to Jamaica. The indictment further alleges that Ricketts used different addresses to conceal his identity. The victims never received any lottery winnings.
“Participants in international lottery frauds cannot seek shelter in the Western District of Virginia,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy for the Western District of Virginia. “We will bring those responsible to justice.”
“HSI has disrupted multiple lottery scams across the globe,” said Special Agent in Charge Clark E. Settles of HSI Washington, D.C., which oversees the agency’s Harrisonburg office. “The indictment of this individual marks yet another step against alleged con-artists who prey on elderly U.S. citizens.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda and U.S. Attorney Heaphy commended HSI’s investigative efforts. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kathryn Drenning with the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Grayson Hoffman of the Western District of Virginia.
A criminal complaint and an indictment are merely allegations and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Citizen Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Thailand to Engage in Sexually Explicit Conduct with MinorsRead the Press Release
A U.S. citizen residing in Thailand pleaded guilty today to one count of sexually exploiting a minor before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard L. Puglisi of the District of Hawaii.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Florence T. Nakakuni of the District of Hawaii made the announcement.
Ronny Lee Waldrip, 63, traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii on Feb. 13, 2012. Upon his arrival in Honolulu, law enforcement discovered Waldrip brought a laptop computer that contained photos and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including videos of Waldrip engaging in sexually explicit conduct with minor females. According to admissions in his plea agreement, from May 2010 through October 2011, Waldrip used a hidden camera to record his sexually explicit conduct with minor females in Thailand. The minor victims named in the indictment were 14 and 15 years old at the time of the abuse. Waldrip will be sentenced on May 7, 2015, by Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor.
This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Sarah Chang and Michael Grant of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald G. Johnson of the District of Hawaii, with help from the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
Senate Passes Five-Year Reauthorization for the U.S. Parole CommissionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – The Chairman of the United States Parole Commission, Isaac Fulwood announced today the passage of a bill to reauthorize the U.S. Parole Commission (USPC) for five years, which took effect November 1, 2013. Fulwood expressed his pleasure regarding the term of the authorization; a five-year reauthorization rather than the several previous two-year reauthorizations. This extended term will permit the Commission to provide greater certainty and consistency to perform its many functions concerning D.C. Code felons and federal offenders. Currently the USPC has jurisdiction over more than 17,800 D.C. Code felons and approximately 3500 federal offenders, despite the abolishment of federal parole in 1987.
Chairman Fulwood expressed gratitude to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who strongly supported the agency’s re-authorization. “Providing the Parole Commission with a five-year extension eliminates the concern of job stability among staff. With job stability comes more focus on productivity and quality work—which continues to fulfill the mission of the USPC.” Congresswoman Norton worked closely with the House and Senate Judiciary committees on the bill because of the USPC’s responsibility for D.C. Code felons.
“I am pleased that we were able to get a somewhat longer reauthorization,” said Norton. “However, considering that the USPC now has continuing responsibilities for D.C. Code felons and certain federal offenders, it is important to stabilize this important public safety agency with the same permanent authorization as other federal law enforcement agencies. . .The reauthorization gives the Commission the longer-term stability it needs to continue to succeed and improve in the future.”
Chairman Fulwood joins Congresswoman Norton in her appreciation of the work of Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT), House Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI), Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Chair Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), for their work on getting the bill passed in the Senate and the House last month.
More than 400 .Onion Addresses, Including Dozens of 'Dark Market' Sites, Targeted as Part of Global Enforcement Action on Tor NetworkRead the Press Release
Federal law enforcement has taken action against over 400 Tor hidden service .onion addresses, including dozens of “dark market” websites, that were offering a range of illegal goods and services for sale on the “Tor” network, a special network of computers on the Internet designed to conceal the locations of individuals using it.
The website addresses and computer servers hosting these websites were seized yesterday as part of a coordinated international law enforcement action involving the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and law enforcement agencies of approximately 16 foreign nations working under the umbrella of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and Eurojust. This action follows the arrest on Nov. 5, 2014, of Blake Benthall, aka “Defcon,” for charges brought in the Southern District of New York for his alleged role in operating the Silk Road 2.0 website. This action constitutes the largest law enforcement action to date against criminal websites operating on the “Tor” network.
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, FBI Executive Assistant Director Robert Anderson and Executive Associate Director Peter Edge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
“It is a plain fact that criminals use advanced technology to commit their crimes and conceal evidence – and they hide behind international borders so they can stymie law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “But the global law enforcement community has innovated and collaborated to disrupt these ‘dark market’ websites, no matter how sophisticated or far-flung they have become.”
“As illegal activity online becomes more prevalent, criminals can no longer expect that they can hide in the shadows of the ‘dark web,’” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “We shut down the original Silk Road website and now we have shut down its replacement, as well as multiple other ‘dark market’ sites allegedly offering all manner of illicit goods and services, from firearms to computer hacking. In coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, we will continue to seize websites that promote illegal and harmful activities, and prosecute those who create and operate them.”
“Working closely with domestic and international law enforcement, the FBI and our partners have taken action to disrupt several websites dedicated to the buying and selling of illegal drugs and other unlawful goods,” said FBI Executive Assistant Director Anderson. “Combating cyber criminals remains a top priority for the FBI, and we continue to aggressively investigate, disrupt, and dismantle illicit networks that pose a threat in cyberspace.”
“Underground websites such as Silk Road and Silk Road 2 are like the Wild West of the Internet, where criminals can anonymously buy and sell all things illegal,” said HSI Associate Director Edge. “We will continue to use all of our resources and work closely with our U.S. and international law enforcement partners to shut down these hidden black market sites, and hold criminals accountable who use anonymous Internet software to peddle their illegal activities.”
According to public documents, the seizure operation targeted the Silk Road 2.0 website and more than 400 hidden services related to dozens of other “dark market” websites that are only accessible to operating on what is known as “The Onion Router” or “Tor” network, a part of the Internet designed to make it practically impossible to physically locate the computers hosting or accessing websites on the network. These sites were all operating online black markets, openly advertising on their home pages and offering to sell a variety of illicit goods and services to customers in the United States and elsewhere. The advertised goods and services included, among other things: illegal narcotics; firearms; stolen credit card data and personal identification information; counterfeit currency; fake passports and other identification documents; and computer-hacking tools and services.
The “dark market” websites were designed to facilitate illicit commerce by providing anonymity to users. The sites were only accessible to users of the Tor anonymizing network. The sites also accepted payments for their illicit goods and services in bitcoin or similar virtual currency designed to be as anonymous.
The operation involved the seizure of over 400 Tor website addresses – known as “.onion” addresses – as well as the servers hosting them. Examples of the websites seized in the operation include:
- “Pandora” (pandora3uym4z42b.onion), “Blue Sky” (blueskyplzv4fsti.onion), “Hydra” (hydrampvvnunildl.onion), and “Cloud Nine” (xvqrvtnn4pbcnxwt.onion), all of which were dark markets similar to Silk Road 2.0, offering an extensive range of illegal goods and services for sale, including drugs, stolen credit card data, counterfeit currency, and fake identity documents.
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“Executive Outcomes” (http://iczyaan7hzkyjown.onion), which specialized in firearms trafficking, with offerings including assault rifles, automatic weapons, and sound suppressors. The site stated that it used “secure drop ship locations” throughout the world so that “anonymity [was] ensured” throughout the shipping process, and that all serial numbers from the weapons it sold were “remove[d] . . . and refill[ed] with metal.”
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“Fake Real Plastic” (http://igvmwp3544wpnd6u.onion), which offered to sell counterfeit credit cards, encoded with “stolen credit card data” and “printed to look just like real VISA and Mastercards.” The cards were “[g]uaranteed to have at least $2500 left on [the] credit card limit” and could be embossed with “any name you want on the card.”
- “Fake ID” (http://23swqgocas65z7xz.onion), which offered fake passports from a number of countries, advertised as “high quality” and having “all security features” of original documents. The site further advertised the ability to “affix almost all kind of stamps into the passports.”
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“Fast Cash!” (http://5oulvdsnka55buw6.onion) and “Super Notes Counter” (http://67yjqewxrd2ewbtp.onion), which offered to sell counterfeit Euros and U.S. dollars in exchange for Bitcoin.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI and its New York Special Operations and Cyber Branch, along with its Washington, Philadelphia and Indianapolis Field Offices, and by HSI and its Cyber Crimes Center and Chicago-O’Hare Field Office, with assistance from Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which comprises agents and officers of the DEA, the Internal Revenue Service, the New York City Police Department, HSI, the New York State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the New York Department of Taxation. The law enforcement authorities of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, whose actions have been coordinated through Eurojust and Europol’s EC3, provided substantial assistance.
The Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property, Organized Crime and Gang, and Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Sections and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting these cases. Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Columbia, the Eastern District of Washington, the Eastern District of Louisiana, the Western District of New York, the Northern District of Texas, and the Northern District of Georgia. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section provided substantial assistance.
Justice Department Reaches $5 Million Settlement with Flakeboard, Arauco, Inversiones Angelini and Sierrapine for Illegal Premerger CoordinationRead the Press Release
The department today announced a settlement with Flakeboard America Limited; its parent companies, Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A. and Inversiones Angelini y Compañía Limitada; and SierraPine. The settlement requires the companies to pay a combined $3.8 million in civil penalties for violating the Hart–Scott–Rodino (HSR) Act of 1976. In addition, for violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act, Flakeboard must disgorge $1.15 million in illegally obtained profits and both Flakeboard and SierraPine must establish antitrust compliance programs and agree to certain restrictions.
The settlement resolves the department’s allegations that Flakeboard, Arauco and SierraPine engaged in illegal premerger coordination while Flakeboard’s proposed acquisition of three SierraPine mills was under antitrust review by the Department of Justice.
Flakeboard and SierraPine abandoned the proposed acquisition on Sept. 30, 2014, after the department expressed concerns about the transaction’s likely anticompetitive effects in the production of medium-density fiberboard (MDF). MDF is a manufactured wood product widely used in furniture, kitchen cabinets, and decorative mouldings.
The department today filed, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, a civil antitrust complaint alleging violations of the HSR Act (Section 7A of the Clayton Act) and Section 1 of the Sherman Act. At the same time, the department filed an agreement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the lawsuit.
“Companies proposing to merge must remain separate and independent during the government’s investigation,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “These two competitors did not. Instead they closed a plant and allocated customers when they should have been competing vigorously. As a result both companies are paying substantial civil penalties and Flakeboard is being forced to surrender the ill-gotten profit it gained from violating the antitrust laws.”
According to the complaint, before the proposed acquisition, SierraPine operated particleboard mills in Springfield, Oregon, and Martell, California, that competed directly with Flakeboard’s particleboard mill in Albany, Oregon. Particleboard is an unfinished wood product that is widely used in countertops, shelving, low-end furniture, and other finished products. The Springfield and Martell mills were included in the proposed acquisition along with a third SierraPine mill that produced MDF. The complaint alleges that after announcing the proposed acquisition on Jan. 14, 2014, and before the expiration of the HSR Act’s mandatory premerger waiting period, Flakeboard, Arauco, and SierraPine illegally coordinated to close SierraPine’s particleboard mill in Springfield, Oregon, and move the mill’s customers to Flakeboard. This unlawful coordination led to the permanent shutdown of the Springfield mill on March 13, 2014, and enabled Flakeboard to secure a significant number of Springfield’s customers for its Albany mill. The defendants’ conduct constituted an illegal agreement to restrain trade in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, and prematurely transferred operational control, and therefore beneficial ownership, of SierraPine’s business to Flakeboard in violation of the HSR Act.
The HSR Act requires companies planning acquisitions or mergers that meet certain thresholds to file premerger notification documents with the department and the Federal Trade Commission. The HSR Act also requires that the merging parties observe a mandatory waiting period before proceeding with the transaction. If the government determines that a transaction violates the antitrust laws, it may seek to block that transaction before the waiting period expires. Each party is subject to a maximum civil penalty of $16,000 per day for each day they violate the HSR Act.
The complaint alleges that the defendants’ HSR Act violation occurred from January 17, 2014, when Flakeboard and SierraPine began coordinating on the closure of the Springfield mill, until the expiration of the waiting period on Aug. 27, 2014. The companies cooperated with the investigation by voluntarily providing the department with evidence of their unlawful premerger conduct, which was a significant factor in the department’s decision to reduce the maximum HSR penalty. The $1.15 million in disgorgement under the Sherman Act represents a reasonable approximation of the ill-gotten profit Flakeboard received as a result of the parties’ coordination to close Springfield and move the mill’s customers to Flakeboard.
Flakeboard is a Delaware corporation with its U.S. headquarters in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Flakeboard’s parent company is Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (Arauco), which is held by Inversiones Angelini y Compañía Limitada, a Chilean corporation headquartered in Santiago, Chile, and the ultimate parent entity named on the HSR filing.
SierraPine is a California limited partnership headquartered in Roseville, California.
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 Peter Mucchetti, Chief, Litigation I Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 5th Street, N.W., Suite 4100, 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 final judgment upon finding that it is in the public interest.
Flakeboard Complaint
Flakeboard Explanation
Flakeboard Competitive Impact Statement
Flakeboard Proposed Final Judgement
Flakeboard Stipulation
Former United States Navy Military Sealift Command Contractor and Co-Founder of Government Contracting Company Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
A former contractor for the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command (MSC) and a co-founder of a Chesapeake, Virginia, government contracting company were sentenced today for their roles in a scheme to bribe and provide illegal gratuities to public officials to secure lucrative military contracts.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office made the announcement. United States District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia imposed the sentences.
Scott B. Miserendino Sr., 55, of Stafford, Virginia, and Timothy S. Miller, 58, of Chesapeake, Virginia, were sentenced to serve 96 months in prison and 24 months in prison, respectively. Miserendino was also ordered to forfeit $212,000 and Miller was ordered to forfeit $167,000. Miller was also ordered to pay a fine of $25,000. In August 2014, Miserendino pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of bribery, and Miller pleaded guilty to providing illegal gratuities to Miserendino and Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate.
According to admissions in his plea agreement, Miserendino was a government contractor at the MSC, which is the leading provider of transportation for the U.S. Navy. In that position, Miserendino worked closely with Toy, who exercised substantial influence over the MSC contracting process. In November 2004, Miserendino and Toy initiated a bribery scheme that spanned five years, involved multiple co-conspirators, including two companies, and resulted in Miserendino and Toy receiving more than $265,000 in cash, among other things of value, in exchange for official acts in connection with the award of MSC contracts.
Specifically, Miserendino and Toy solicited cash from co-conspirators, including a $50,000 cash payment from Miller and his business partner, Dwayne A. Hardman, to influence the award of government contracts. Miserendino admitted that he and Toy also accepted other things of value in exchange for official acts, including a vacation rental, laptop computers, flat screen televisions, a football helmet signed by Troy Aikman, a wine refrigerator and softball bats.
According to Miller’s admissions, during the scheme, his company received approximately $2.5 million in business from the MSC, despite its limited record of past performance in the industry. Miserendino and Toy also directed $3 million in business from MSC to another company run by other co-conspirators.
After the cash payments were delivered, Miller admitted that he directed the creation of a false promissory note disguising the illegal gratuities as a personal loan to another individual. Miserendino also admitted to engaging in a scheme to conceal his criminal activity by arranging for more than $85,000 to be paid to Hardman in an attempt to dissuade him from reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.
Earlier this year, five other individuals pleaded guilty and were sentenced in connection with the bribery scheme:
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Toy pleaded guilty to bribery and was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000;
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Hardman pleaded guilty to bribery and was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to forfeit $144,000;
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Michael P. McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000;
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Roderic J. Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to forfeit $175,000; and
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Adam C. White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000.
The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS and DCIS, and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia.
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Former Stone County Arkansas Deputy and Two Former Inmates at the Stone County Jail Indicted for Violating Inmate’s Civil RightsRead the Press Release
Former Stone County Arkansas Deputy and jail administrator, Randel Branscum, 54, and two former inmates at the Stone County Jail, Matthew McConniel, 42, and James Beckham, 34, have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to violate the rights of inmates at the jail and deprivation of rights under color of law, the Justice Department announced. The indictments were unsealed on Nov. 6, 2014.
The indictment alleges that on or about Sept. 19, 2011, Branscum conspired with McConniel and Beckham to have inmates at the Stone County Jail physically assaulted. Branscum, in his capacity as jail administrator, ordered two inmates be transferred into McConniel and Beckham’s cell. Once the inmate transfer had been completed, McConniel and Beckham assaulted one of the inmates, causing bodily injury to him.
If convicted of both counts in the indictment, each defendant faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants in this case are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Henry Leventis and Samantha Trepel of the Civil Rights Division.
Fifth Ohio Businessman Associated with Cadillac Ranch Restaurants Sentenced for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A Marion, Ohio, man was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to serve 12 months and one day in prison, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.
Joel Field, 58, was also sentenced to serve four months in a halfway house and four months of home confinement, to pay $349,778 in restitution and a $4,000 fine, and to serve three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. Field pleaded guilty to tax evasion in May.
Field was one of four businessmen involved in the development, operation and ownership of primarily Cadillac Ranch restaurants in Ohio and elsewhere. Field’s brother, Jon B. Field, of Dublin, Ohio, and his accountant, Larry Couchot, of Dayton, were sentenced to prison by Judge Sargus for their tax crimes earlier this year.
In May 2014, Field pleaded guilty to evading payment of his federal income taxes for the years 1997 through 2001. According to court documents, when the IRS attempted to collect the outstanding amount of taxes owed by Field, which was in excess of $140,000, Field misled the IRS by failing to report assets and income and by submitting false information regarding foreclosure proceedings. Further, according to documents filed with the court, Field transferred assets in an effort to conceal those assets from the IRS. Field also filed false federal income tax returns for the years 2006 through 2009 wherein he failed to report over $620,000 in income that he earned through his companies.
The case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and is being handled by Trial Attorney Richard M. Rolwing for the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website. Additional information about tax fraud schemes to watch out for may be found on the IRS-Criminal Investigation website.
Department of Justice Seeks Recovery of Approximately $100,000 in Bribes Paid to Former Chad AmbassadorRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice has filed a civil forfeiture complaint made public late yesterday seeking the forfeiture of $106,488.31 in allegedly laundered funds traceable to a $2 million bribe payment made by a Canadian energy company to Chad’s former Ambassador to the United States and Canada and his wife.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director Joseph S. Campbell of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.
From 2004 to 2012, Mahamoud Adam Bechir, 49, served as Chad’s Ambassador to the United States and Canada. According to the forfeiture complaint, Bechir agreed to use his position to influence the award of oil development rights in Chad in exchange for $2 million and other valuable interests from Griffiths Energy International Inc., a Canadian company. In order to conceal the bribe, Bechir and his wife, Nouracham Niam, 44, allegedly entered into a series of agreements with Griffiths Energy that provided for the payment of a $2 million “consulting fee” if the company secured the oil rights in Chad. After securing these oil rights in February 2011, Griffiths Energy allegedly transferred $2 million to an account located in Washington, D.C. held by a shell company created by Niam. In 2013, Griffiths Energy pleaded guilty in Canadian court to bribing Bechir.
The complaint further alleges that, after commingling the bribe payment with other funds and laundering these funds through U.S. bank accounts and real property, Bechir transferred $1,474,517 of the criminal proceeds traceable to the bribe payment to his account in South Africa, where he is now serving Chad’s Ambassador to South Africa. The current action seeks forfeiture of $106,488.31, which is the current balance of Bechir’s accounts in South Africa. Those funds have been seized pursuant to the complaint unsealed today. The Department of Justice is also seeking additional assets from Bechir and Niam.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The case is being handled by Trial Attorney Nalina Sombuntham of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.
This case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, working in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption and, where appropriate, return those proceeds to benefit the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to [email protected].
Bechir Motion to Vacate
Bechir Attachment A
Bechir Attachment B
Bechir Complaint
Civilian Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with Corrupt Police Officers in July 2012 Robbery in Bayamon, Puerto RicoRead the Press Release
A Puerto Rican man has pleaded guilty to conspiring with corrupt police officers to commit a July 2012 robbery of a home in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico.
Fernando Reyes-Rojas, 43, of the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty on Nov. 6, 2014, to violations of robbery, civil rights, narcotics, and firearms laws. Reyes-Rojas is the sixth defendant convicted in connection with the July 2012 robbery. Reyes-Rojas’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2015.
According to court documents, Reyes-Rojas, a civilian, agreed with at least three corrupt Police of Puerto Rico (POPR) officers and others to participate in a home robbery to steal money and narcotics.
On July 14, 2012, Reyes-Rojas joined the corrupt police officers and others in robbing a house in Bayamon. The men entered the house, identified themselves as police, and falsely claimed they were executing a search warrant. After searching the property and the people who were present, they stole money and cocaine. Reyes-Rojas sold the cocaine and paid the officers for their role in the robbery.
The corrupt police officers and a second civilian previously pleaded guilty for their participation in the July 2012 robbery. On Oct. 7, 2014, Jorge Fernandez-Aviles, 49, a POPR sergeant, pled guilty to robbery and firearms charges. On Oct. 3, 2014, David Figueroa, a civilian, pled guilty to robbery and civil rights charges. Alexander Mir-Hernandez, 40, a POPR officer, also pleaded guilty to one count of false statements for lying to federal agents about his role in the July 2012 robbery and to a civil rights crime for an unrelated December 2013 robbery. Sentencing for all three is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2015. Pedro Lopez-Torres, 35, and Luis Ramos-Figueroa, 38, both POPR officers, were each charged by information on June 25, 2014, for their roles in the July 2012 robbery and other crimes. Lopez- Torres and Ramos-Figueroa pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge José A. Fusté the same day.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Heidi Boutros Gesch and Brian Kidd of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mariana Bauza of the District of Puerto Rico.
Attorney General Holder Announces Stuart Delery Will Serve as the Department of Justice Designee as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto RicoRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that Stuart Delery, the Acting Associate Attorney General, will serve as the Department of Justice’s designee as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico.
“Stuart Delery is an exceptional public servant who will continue the work of his predecessors, Tom Perrelli and Tony West, as Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico,” said Attorney General Holder. “Stuart demonstrated his commitment to strengthen our nation’s security and to protect public health and safety in his prior role as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. Stuart will serve the Task Force – and the people of Puerto Rico – well.”
“The ongoing work of the Task Force reflects the Administration’s – and the Department of Justice’s – commitment to the people of Puerto Rico,” said Associate Attorney General Delery. “I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to the Task Force, and look forward to working with my federal colleagues and Commonwealth officials in Puerto Rico and Washington.”
The President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico, which is co-chaired by the Attorney General’s designee and the White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, was created by President Bill Clinton to examine Puerto Rico’s political status and to identify a process by which the people of Puerto Rico could express their views on the subject. The Task Force continued to address these issues through the Administration of President George Bush. President Barack Obama expanded the Task Force’s scope and directed it to recommend policies to promote job creation, education, health care, clean energy, and economic development on the island. The Task Force published its report and recommendations to the President and Congress in March of 2011, and its efforts to implement the recommendations continue today.
U.S. Department of Justice Holds Two-Day "Fair and Impartial Policing" Training for St. Louis County Law EnforcementRead the Press Release
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
COPS Office to Hold Media Availability on Fair and Impartial Policing on Friday, Nov. 7, 2014
The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is holding a Fair and Impartial Policing training on Thursday, Nov. 6, and Friday, Nov. 7, with local law enforcement as part of the Collaborative Reform Initiative and technical assistance taking place in St. Louis County. The two-day Fair and Impartial Policing training will include command-level law enforcement leadership from St. Louis County, St. Louis Metropolitan, Missouri Highway Patrol and Ferguson, Missouri, Police Departments, as well as local community members. The training is closed press; however, there will be a media availability on Friday at the conclusion of the training session.
This latest effort to build trust and strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve is the first of several regional collaborative reform trainings on law enforcement strategies and best practices. Under the COPS Collaborative Reform Initiative for Technical Assistance (CRI-TA), the COPS Office provides intensive, comprehensive assessment and support to agencies experiencing significant systemic challenges. The Fair and Impartial Policing training is specifically designed to enhance officers' understanding of how bias — including implicit or unconscious bias — affects officer behavior, and the impact that biased policing has on officers and the community. Subsequent training sessions will focus on educating first-line supervisors and police trainers as a way to integrate these concepts into day-to-day police practices.
This training session will be led by Dr. Lorie Fridell, a national expert on racially biased policing, and Noble Wray, a retired Chief of Police from the Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department.
WHO: Ronald L. Davis, Director of the COPS Office at the U.S. Department of Justice
Dr. Lorie Fridell, Fair and Impartial Policing technical assistance expert and associate professor at the University of South Florida’s Department of Criminology
Noble Wray, Fair and Impartial Policing technical assistance expert and retired police chief for the Madison, Wisconsin, Police Department
WHAT: Media Availability on Fair and Impartial Policing in St. Louis County
WHEN: Friday, November 7, 2014, at 1:30 p.m. CST
WHERE: Maryville University-Southwest Campus, Liberty Mutual Building at 12250 Weber Hill Road, Sunset Hills, Missouri 63127
NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials. For additional questions, please email [email protected] or call 202-514-2007.
Additional Background on Collaborative Reform: In August, following the shooting of Michael Brown, President Obama asked Attorney General Holder to send Director Davis to work with police officials on the ground in Ferguson to help reduce tensions and build trust. Under the COPS CRI-TA, the COPS Office provides more intensive, comprehensive assessment and technical assistant support for agencies experiencing significant systemic challenges. Collaborative Reform is an independent and objective means to organizational transformation through an analysis of policies, practices, training, tactics and accountability methods around key issues facing law enforcement agencies. Along with Critical Response, Collaborative Reform has become a fundamental part of the department’s overall continuum of services to advance community policing and ensure police agencies engage in constitutional practices. Currently, the COPS Office is engaged with several law enforcement agencies across the country, including the St. Louis County Police Department, as a way to advance widespread reform across the St. Louis region.
Three Subsidiaries of the World’s Largest Fertilizer Producer to Reduce Harmful Air Emissions at Eight Production PlantsRead the Press Release
In a settlement with the United States, three subsidiaries of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS), the world’s largest fertilizer producer, will take steps to reduce harmful air emissions at eight U.S. production plants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice announced today. The settlement resolves claims that these PCS subsidiaries violated the Clean Air Act when they modified facilities in ways that released excess sulfur dioxide into surrounding communities.
The settlement requires PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer, AA Sulfuric Inc., and White Springs Agricultural Chemicals Inc. to install, upgrade and operate state-of-the-art pollution reduction measures, as well as install emissions monitors at eight sulfuric acid plants across facilities in Geismar, Louisiana (one plant), White Springs, Florida (four plants), and Aurora, North Carolina (three plants). The three companies will spend an estimated $50 million on these measures, and will pay a $1.3 million civil penalty.
“This agreement, the largest so far in our ongoing Clean Air Act enforcement efforts against sulfuric-acid producers, will ensure cleaner air for citizens across the Southeast and will send a strong signal to the industry that noncompliance has serious consequences,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch for the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
“Large industrial facilities that break the law and pollute the air will be held accountable,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This case will bring these companies into compliance and require additional action to cut pollution to benefit communities, especially those most vulnerable to air pollution.” EPA expects the actions that the companies have agreed to take will reduce harmful emissions by over 13,090 tons per year, which includes approximately 12,600 tons per year of sulfur dioxide, 430 tons per year of ammonia and 60 tons per year of nitrogen oxide. In the future, the companies can also retire plants to comply with the settlement.
The settlement also includes a “supplemental environmental project,” estimated to cost between $2.5 and $4 million, to protect the community around a PCS Nitrogen nitric acid plant in Geismar, Louisiana, and requires PCS Nitrogen to install and operate equipment to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia. This project is part of EPA’s commitment to advancing environmental justice by reducing the disproportionate environmental impacts on communities near industrial facilities – in this instance, by reducing fine particulates that can aggravate respiratory disease.
Sulfur dioxide, the predominant pollutant emitted from sulfuric acid plants, has numerous adverse effects on human health and is a significant contributor to acid rain, smog and haze. Sulfur dioxide—along with nitrogen oxide—is converted in the air to particulate matter that can cause severe respiratory and cardiovascular impacts, and premature death.
This settlement is part of EPA’s national enforcement initiative to control harmful emissions from large sources of pollution, which includes acid production plants, under the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements. It is the 10th settlement reached under EPA’s National Acid Manufacturing Plant Initiative and the 7th settlement addressing pollution from sulfuric acid plants. Today’s settlement covers more sulfuric acid production capacity—roughly 24,000 tons per day or approximately 14 percent of total U.S. capacity—than all previous sulfuric acid settlements under this initiative combined.
The settlement also resolves alleged violations based on Louisiana law at the Geismar, Louisiana, facility, and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will receive $350,000 of the $1.3 million penalty.
The settlement was lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
New Mexico Man Pleads Guilty to Charges of Sexual Assault of Female Inmates in His CustodyRead the Press Release
John Greene, 70, a former captain at the Gallup-McKinley Adult Detention Center (GMADC), entered a guilty plea to charges related to the sexual assaults of female inmates in his custody. Greene pleaded guilty to three counts of violating each of the victim’s right to bodily integrity by engaging in sexual contact against their will. Greene also pleaded guilty to two counts of making material false statements to the FBI when he denied both touching the breasts of one female inmate and having personal contact with another female inmate.
According to court documents, Greene admitted that in his capacity as a captain at GMADC, he had regular access to female inmates when he accompanied them to court hearings, transported them to other facilities, and had them brought to his office. This regular access gave him the opportunity to engage in unwanted sexual contact with three different women in December 2008 and January 2009. Greene committed these acts, knowing it was wrong, against the law and without the victims’ consent, but he did so anyway for his own gratification.
Greene also admitted that he lied to the FBI about his conduct on two occasions.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Greene will be sentenced to five years of probation. As part of the plea agreement, Greene will forfeit his law enforcement certification and must comply with sex offender registration requirements.
A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.
This case is being investigated by the Gallup Resident Agency of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin for the District of New Mexico and Fara Gold of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Biotronik Inc. to Pay $4.9 Million to Resolve Claims that Company Paid Kickbacks to PhysiciansRead the Press Release
Biotronik Inc. of Lake Oswego, Oregon, has agreed to pay the United States $4.9 million to resolve allegations made under the False Claims Act that the company made various improper payments to induce physicians to use devices that it manufactured and sold, the Justice Department announced today.
“When medical device manufacturers make improper payments to physicians, they encourage medical decision-making based on financial gain rather than the best interests of patients,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s resolution demonstrates the Department of Justice’s continuing commitment to ensuring that beneficiaries of federal health care programs receive appropriate medical care.”
The settlement resolves allegations that Biotronik, through the payment of kickbacks to physicians, caused hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for the implantation of Biotronik pacemakers, defibrillators and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices. Biotronik allegedly induced electrophysiologists and cardiologists practicing in Nevada and Arizona to continue using Biotronik devices, or to convert to Biotronik devices, by paying the implanting physician in the form of repeated meals at expensive restaurants and inflated payments for membership on a physician advisory board.
“Today’s resolution of claims underscores one of the key purposes of the Anti-Kickback law – to ensure that the judgment exercised by health care providers in treating Medicare and Medicaid patients is not influenced by illegal payments,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner for the Eastern District of California.
The settlement announced today stems from a whistleblower complaint filed by a former Biotronik employee, Brian Sant, pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private persons to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in the proceeds of the suit. The act permits the United States to intervene and take over the lawsuit, as it did in this case as to some of Sant’s allegations. Sant will receive approximately $840,000 of the federal settlement.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
The settlement with Biotronik Inc. was the result of a coordinated effort among the Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General and the FBI.
The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Sant v. Biotronik, Inc., No. 2:09-CV-03617 KJM EFB (E.D. Cal.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Washington Political Consultant Pleads Guilty in Fraud and Corruption SchemeRead the Press Release
Political consultant Thomas Lindenfeld, 59, of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty today in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a fraud and corruption scheme related to illegal campaign contributions.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Hanko of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard Gross of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement.
According to admissions in his plea agreement, Lindenfeld agreed to route an illegal $1 million political contribution for “Elected Official A” during a 2007 campaign for elected office. The contribution was in the form of a loan routed through Lindenfeld’s political consulting firm, LSG Strategic Services Corporation (LSG). When the campaign donor attempted to collect on the outstanding balance of the $1 million loan, however, Lindenfeld and his co-conspirators, at the direction of Elected Official A, engaged in a complicated series of transactions using federal grant money and monies from Sallie Mae’s charitable arm illegally to repay the loan. These transactions were routed through several entities, including LSG, and were all falsely labeled as payments for services that were never actually rendered.
Lindenfeld admitted that, in exchange for the work he had done on the campaign, which included concealing the illegal campaign contribution, Elected Official A agreed to use his elected position to steer federal funding to Lindenfeld’s proposed environmental advocacy group, Blue Guardians. Lindenfeld further admitted that he created Blue Guardians at the direction of Elected Official A for the purpose of receiving the federal funding.
According to Lindenfeld, Elected Official A advocated for $15 million in federal funding for Blue Guardians as a reward for Lindenfeld’s services. Five hundred thousand dollars was approved in 2009 as an earmark through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Lindenfeld admitted, however, that the Blue Guardians did not exist in December 2009, and that he only created an email address, articles of incorporation, and a tax identification number for Blue Guardians in April 2010. After receiving questions from NOAA and members of the press, Lindenfeld declined the funding, stating that he and Elected Official A decided it could be better spent on the oil spill in the Gulf. NOAA did not disburse the $500,000 to Lindenfeld or Blue Guardians.
U.S. District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 25, 2015.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and the IRS-CI with assistance provided by NASA’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Inspector General. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul L. Gray of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Eric L. Gibson of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Deadly Firebombing of Federal Witness's FamilyRead the Press Release
A Philadelphia man was sentenced today in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to serve 40 years in prison for his role in the retaliatory firebombing that killed six members of a federal witness’s family, including four children.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Hanko of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division made the announcement.
Lamont Lewis, 38, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in 2011 for his role in the firebombing of Eugene Coleman’s family home in retaliation for Coleman’s cooperation with law enforcement. Lewis also pleaded guilty to an additional five murders murder-for-hire, and drug trafficking charges, and agreed to testify against Kaboni Savage and his cousin, Robert Merritt, who assisted Lewis in carrying out the firebombing. U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania imposed the sentence after considering Lewis’s cooperation in the prosecution of Savage and others.
According to Lewis’s testimony at trial, at Savage’s direction, Lewis and Merritt firebombed the Coleman family home in retaliation for Coleman’s testimony against Savage. Lewis admitted that he spoke to Savage in the evening hours of Oct. 8, 2004, at which time Savage asked for a favor and told Lewis that his sister, Kidada Savage, would explain the plan after the phone call. Shortly thereafter, Kidada Savage advised Lewis of the plan to firebomb the Coleman residence, and drove Lewis to the location to identify the house. In the early morning hours of Oct. 9, 2004, Lewis contacted Merritt and explained the plan to him. Lewis and Merritt filled up two gas cans while en route to the Coleman residence. Then, while Lewis gained entry and fired warning shots into the residence, Merritt threw a gas can with a lit cloth fuse, and then a second gas can, into the occupied Philadelphia row house. Six people, including four children ranging in age from 15 months to 15 years, were killed in the fire.
Co-defendants Kaboni Savage,Kidada Savage, and Merritt were also convicted for their roles in the firebombing at the May 2013 trial. Kaboni Savage, who was also convicted of other crimes, was sentenced to death for 12 counts of murder in aid of racketeering. Kidada Savage and Robert Merritt were sentenced to life in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and the Maple Shade, New Jersey Police Department. The United States Bureau of Prisons, the United States Marshals Service, and the Philadelphia / Camden High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force also assisted in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Steve Mellin of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David E. Troyer and John M. Gallagher of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Owner and Administrator of Two Miami Home Health Companies Sentenced to 80 Months in Prison for $74 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner and administrator of two Miami home health care companies was sentenced today to serve 80 months in prison for her participation in a $74 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke in the Southern District of Florida imposed the sentence.
Elsa Ruiz, 45, of Miami, pleaded guilty in July 2014 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition to the prison sentence, Ruiz was ordered to pay $45 million in restitution.
Ruiz was an owner and operator of Professional Home Care Solutions Inc. and an administrator of LTC Professional Consultants Inc., both of which purported to provide home health and therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. According to admissions during her plea hearing, Ruiz and her co-conspirators operated LTC and Professional Home Care for the purpose of billing the Medicare program for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary or were not provided.
According to her admissions, Ruiz’s primary role in the scheme was to negotiate and pay kickbacks to patient recruiters and to otherwise oversee the schemes operating out of LTC and Professional Home Care. Specifically, Ruiz and her co-conspirators paid kickbacks to patient recruiters for the referral of patients and for the provision of prescriptions, plans of care, and certifications for medically unnecessary therapy and home health services. Ruiz and her co-conspirators used these prescriptions, plans of care, and medical certifications to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services.
From approximately January 2006 to June 2012, LTC and Professional Home Care submitted approximately $74 million in claims for home health services that were not medically necessary or not provided, and Medicare paid approximately $45 million on those claims.
The case is being investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Joseph S. Beemsterboer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Members of Long-Running International Child Pornography Ring ConvictedRead the Press Release
Two men have been convicted for their roles in a sophisticated conspiracy to distribute child pornography to a secret, world-wide network over the Internet.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Josh J. Minkler of the Southern District of Indiana and Acting Inspector in Charge Troy Raper of the United States Postal Inspection Service made the announcement.
John D. Gries 48, of Bayshore, New York, and James McCullars 56, of Huntsville, Alabama, were found guilty late Nov. 4, 2014, following a six-day jury trial of conspiracy to distribute and receive child pornography, conspiracy to advertise child pornography and engaging in a child exploitation enterprise in connection with a long-running, world-wide child exploitation enterprise.
According to testimony at trial, the enterprise began in 2000 and operated until April 2012. Gries and McCullars ran various online chat rooms available exclusively to members of the conspiracy and protected by password. These chat rooms were dedicated to the distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, and were used by members to discuss and promote the sexual exploitation of children.
According to evidence at trial, as well as admissions by other defendants, today’s defendants and many of the other members of the conspiracy amassed large collections of materials depicting child exploitation. The co-conspirators sought to expand their collections using online chat rooms and a number of online servers, and to evade law enforcement through the use of sophisticated data encryption software. Dozens of children around the world have been identified as victims of abuse during this investigation.
Other defendants charged as part of this investigation who have pleaded guilty or been found guilty include:
John Edwards, 62, of Indianapolis
Thomas Vaughn, 45, of Anderson, Indiana
John Rex Powell, 43, of Fort Myers, Florida
Donald Printup, 36, of Niagara Falls, New York
Michael Fredette, 46, of Waterford, New York
Robert Guillen, 43, of Wesley Chapel, Florida
David Bebetu, 51, of Agoura Hills, California
Stephen Harvey Dault, 48, of McKinney, Texas
Rick Ricardo Leon, 53, of Arlington, Virginia
Edwards, Fredette and Dault have been sentenced to 17.5 years in prison, 27 years in prison, and 17 years in prison respectively.
Powell was previously convicted as part of an investigation and prosecution of two Australian citizens who allegedly orchestrated the sexual abuse of their adopted son at the hands of men around the world. He is awaiting sentencing in that matter.
This case was the result of a collaborative investigation led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service assisted by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Department of Justice’s High Technology Investigative Unit, as part of Project Safe Childhood. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Amy Larson of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Division and Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota of the Southern District of Indiana.
Led nationally by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Embarcadero Technologies and CA Inc. Terminate Proposed Transfer of CA Inc.'s ERwin Data ModelerRead the Press Release
Embarcadero Technologies Inc. and CA Inc. this week terminated Embarcadero’s proposed acquisition of CA Inc.’s ERwin data modeling product suite after the Department of Justice expressed continuing concern about the transaction’s potential for anticompetitive effects.
Data modeling software is used to view and streamline enterprise data, centralize data management and reduce data redundancies. An increase in the price of data modeling products would likely result in significant harm to users of these tools, the department said.
According to the department, Embarcadero’s ER Studio products and CA’s ERwin have been particularly close competitors. By purchasing the ERwin Data Modeler, Embarcadero Technologies would have eliminated a vigorous competitor that has competed to provide expanded functionality and more affordable pricing in recent years.
Embarcadero Technologies Inc., based in San Francisco, California, is owned by private equity group Thoma Cressey Bravo and provides software to build, test, optimize, and manage application infrastructure and databases for large corporations and government agencies. CA Inc., based in Islandia, New York, provides software and other tools for managing networks, databases, applications, storage, security, and other systems.
Detroit-Area Man Arrested in Connection with Home Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Detroit-area resident was arrested today for his role in a $2.7 million home health care fraud scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office made the announcement.
Javed Akhtar, 47, of Brownstown, Michigan, was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint charging him with participating in a health care fraud scheme involving two home health agencies in Wayne, Michigan: Life Choice Home Health Care LLC (Life Choice), which he owned, and Angle’s Touch Home Health Care LLC (Angle’s Touch). Both Life Choice and Angle’s Touch purported to provide in-home health care services to Medicare beneficiaries.
According to the complaint, Akhtar served as a patient recruiter for Angle’s Touch and Life Choice, where he allegedly paid kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in exchange for their Medicare beneficiary information and their signatures on false medical records. The complaint alleges that Angle’s Touch and Life Choice then billed Medicare for services purportedly provided to those beneficiaries that were not actually provided, were not medically necessary, or in instances where the claims were illegally procured through the payment of kickbacks.
The charges contained in a complaint are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Niall M. O’Donnell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Readout of Attorney General Holder's Visit to the Civil Rights Division's Voting SectionRead the Press Release
The following statement is attributable to Justice Department spokesman Brian Fallon regarding Attorney General Eric Holder’s visit to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section this election day:
“This afternoon, Attorney General Holder visited the offices of the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, which are located in downtown Washington. The Attorney General thanked the lawyers and staff for monitoring calls and fielding election-related complaints of potential violations of federal voting laws. The Attorney General told them their work is among the most critical responsibilities that the Department performs.
“The Civil Rights Division enforces a range of voting-related statutes, including the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and the Help America Vote Act. Lawyers in the division’s Voting Section have been staffing a hotline since early this morning, fielding calls from across the country.
“In addition to monitoring calls to the Voting Section, the department has dispatched federal poll monitors to 28 jurisdictions across 18 states to gather information on numerous aspects of local election procedures. The Justice Department will continue to work in a fair and nonpartisan manner to ensure that every voter can cast his or her ballot free of intimidation, discrimination or obstruction.”
Longview, Washington, Landlords Agree to Settle Disability Discrimination LawsuitRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced that Longview, Washington, landlords Linda and Bert Barber, and their management agent, Lori Thompson, have entered into a consent decree and have agreed pay $25,000 to resolve claims that they discriminated on the basis of disability by refusing to grant a reasonable accommodation to waive a $1,000 pet deposit for a tenant with mental disabilities who needed a dog as an emotional support animal.
The consent decree resolves a lawsuit filed by the department on July 1, 2013, alleging that the defendants refused to grant a waiver of the pet deposit despite numerous attempts by the tenant to provide documentation of her disability and her need for the emotional support animal. The complaint also alleged that the defendants retaliated against the tenant after she filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and referred the matter to the Justice Department. The department’s complaint also alleged that defendants’ policies constituted a pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act because they allowed reasonable accommodations for specially-trained service animals but precluded reasonable accommodations for emotional support animals. Defendants also refused to consider accommodation requests unless tenants had their physician complete forms that threatened penalty of perjury and threatened to require the physician to defend the information provided in court. Trial was set to begin on Nov. 19.
The settlement, which was approved today by Judge Benjamin H. Settle, requires the defendants to pay $20,000 to the HUD complainant and $5,000 to the United States. The settlement also requires that the defendants adopt a reasonable accommodation policy that complies with the Fair Housing Act, receive training on the requirements of the Fair Housing Act and report to the department for a period of eighteen months on their compliance with the settlement.
“The Fair Housing Act ensures that persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy housing,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “This includes providing reasonable and necessary accommodations to persons who need assistance animals to help them with their disabilities. The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of fair housing laws that protect the rights of persons with disabilities.”
“Landlords may not impose barriers that undermine the housing rights of people with disabilities,” said Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes. “This settlement requires training for property managers, and clear statements in all advertisements about fair housing/non-discrimination policies to ensure this conduct will not be repeated.”
“Property owners have a legal obligation to permit reasonable accommodations where doing so allows persons with disabilities to fully enjoy their homes,” said HUD Assistant Secretary Gustavo Velasquez for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “This consent decree reaffirms HUD’s commitment to working with the Department of Justice to take appropriate action anytime the Fair Housing Act is violated.”
Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Department of Justice. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Justice Department at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected], or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or through its website at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp.
Irek Ilgiz Hamidullin Indicted for 2009 Attack on U.S. and Afghan Forces in Khost, AfghanistanRead the Press Release
Irek Ilgiz Hamidullin made his first appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on federal terrorism offenses arising from his alleged participation in an attack on U.S. troops and Afghan Border Police in the Khost Province of Afghanistan in November 2009.
Hamidullin was indicted by a federal grand jury on twelve counts, including conspiring to provide and providing material support to terrorists; conspiring and attempting to destroy an aircraft of the armed forces of the United States; conspiring and attempting to murder a national of the United States; and other offenses.
The charges carry a potential maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Hamidullin, a Russian national approximately 55 years of age, was taken into custody in November 2009 and held by the Department of Defense in Afghanistan until being turned over to the FBI on Nov. 3 and brought to the United States to face charges.
The defendant was indicted on Oct. 8, 2014, and the charging document was unsealed today.
Arraignment is set for Friday at 10:00 a.m. in front of U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson at the federal courthouse in Richmond, Virginia.
An indictment is merely a formal allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office with substantial assistance from various other government agencies. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
United States Reaches Settlement with Hyundai and Kia in a Historic Greenhouse Gas Enforcement CaseRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a historic settlement with the automakers Hyundai and Kia that will resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations based on their sale of close to 1.2 million vehicles that will emit approximately 4.75 million metric tons of greenhouse gases in excess of what the automakers certified to EPA.
The automakers will pay a $100 million civil penalty, the largest in Clean Air Act history, to resolve violations concerning the testing and certification of vehicles sold in America and spend approximately $50 million on measures to prevent any future violations. Hyundai and Kia will also forfeit 4.75 million greenhouse gas emission credits that the companies previously claimed, which are estimated to be worth over $200 million. Automakers earn greenhouse gas emissions credits for building vehicles with lower emissions than required by law. These credits can be used to offset emissions from less fuel efficient vehicle models or sold or traded to other automakers for the same purpose. The greenhouse gas emissions that the forfeited credits would have allowed are equal to the emissions from powering more than 433,000 homes for a year.
“This unprecedented resolution with Hyundai and Kia underscores the Justice Department’s firm commitment to safeguarding American consumers, ensuring fairness in every marketplace, protecting the environment, and relentlessly pursuing companies that make misrepresentations and violate the law,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “This type of conduct quite simply will not be tolerated. And the Justice Department will never rest or waver in our determination to take action against any company that engages in such activities – whenever and wherever they are uncovered.”
“Greenhouse gas emission laws protect the public from the dangers of climate change, and today’s action reinforces EPA’s commitment to see those laws through,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Businesses that play by the rules shouldn’t have to compete with those breaking the law. This settlement upholds the integrity of the nation’s fuel economy and greenhouse gas programs and supports all Americans who want to save fuel costs and reduce their environmental impact.”
The complaint was filed today jointly by the United States and the California Air Resources Board in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It alleges that the car companies sold close to 1.2 million cars and SUVs from model years 2012 and 2013 whose design specifications did not conform to the specifications the companies certified to EPA, which led to the misstatements of greenhouse gas emissions. These allegations concern the Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Veloster and Santa Fe vehicles and the Kia Rio and Soul vehicles.
Additionally Hyundai and Kia gave consumers inaccurate information about the real-world fuel economy performance of many of these vehicles. Hyundai and Kia overstated the fuel economy by one to six miles per gallon, depending on the vehicle. Similarly, they understated the emissions of greenhouse gases by their fleets by approximately 4.75 million metric tons over the estimated lifetime of the vehicles.
In order to reduce the likelihood of future vehicle greenhouse gas emission miscalculations, Hyundai and Kia have agreed to reorganize their emissions certification group, revise test protocols, improve management of test data and enhance employee training before they conduct emissions testing to certify their model year 2017 vehicles. In the meantime, Hyundai and Kia must audit their fleets for model years 2015 and 2016 to ensure that vehicles sold to the public conform to the description and data provided to EPA.
EPA discovered these violations in 2012 during audit testing. Subsequent investigation revealed that Hyundai’s and Kia’s testing protocol included numerous elements that led to inaccurately higher fuel economy ratings. In processing test data, Hyundai and Kia allegedly chose favorable results rather than average results from a large number of tests.
In November 2012, Hyundai and Kia responded to the EPA’s findings by correcting the fuel economy ratings for many of their 2011, 2012 and 2013 model year vehicles and establishing a reimbursement program to compensate owners for increased fuel costs due to overstated fuel economy.
This case involves five different entities: Hyundai Motor Company, Hyundai Motor America, Kia Motors Corporation, Kia Motors America and Hyundai America Technical Center Inc.
The California Air Resources Board joined the United States as a co-plaintiff in this settlement, and will receive $6,343,400 of the $100 million civil penalty.
The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court review and approval. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
For more information http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/hyundai-and-kia-clean-air-act-settlement
North Carolina Man Sentenced for Killing U.S. Marshals Task Force OfficerRead the Press Release
Lamont Deshawn Byrd was sentenced today in federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina, to serve life in prison for committing first degree murder of an Officer of the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Byrd, 22, pleaded guilty on Aug. 4, 2014, to killing Warren Basco “Sneak” Lewis III with premeditation and malice on June 9, 2011. Lewis was an investigator with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office who was also a sworn special deputy United States marshal assigned to the Eastern North Carolina Regional Fugitive Task Force.
The investigation began on June 2, 2011, in Kinston, North Carolina when officers responded to a shots fired call and found homicide victim Thomas Terrell Hinton fatally shot in the chest. The investigation determined that Byrd, Kion Tyearl Dail and two additional juveniles murdered Mr. Hinton and then stole his bicycle. Murder warrants were issued for the arrest of the aforementioned individuals and law enforcement began looking for the suspects.
On June 9, 2011, Kinston officers, along with U.S. Deputy Marshals attempted to locate the suspects utilizing warrants and executed a search warrant at 602-A West Lenoir Avenue, Kinston, North Carolina. This address is a residence which has been converted into three separate apartments; one upstairs and two downstairs. Although it appeared that 602-A had been inhabited, the apartment was now empty. However, two shotguns were located. Laboratory testing revealed that Byrd had possessed the weapons. Earlier Byrd and several others had moved to Apt B downstairs.
Later that day, after developing additional information, law enforcement officers went back to the Lenoir Avenue apartments. While searching for the suspects, law enforcement officers announced their presence. As Investigator Lewis was coming down the stairs from the upstairs apartment, Byrd shot three times through the closed door, striking the deputy all three times. After realizing he had shot an officer, Byrd was heard to utter, “See what you made me do?” Byrd then handed the weapon to another individual to hide. After a 20-minute stand-off, the individuals came out. The weapon, a Berretta .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, was found in a banker’s box in a closet, with Byrd’s DNA on it. The weapon had been stolen from a residence three weeks prior.
Investigator Lewis was transported to the hospital where he later died from his injuries.
“The death of Special Deputy Lewis is a tragedy for his family and all of us in the law enforcement community,” said U.S. Attorney Walker;
“As a key member of the Eastern North Carolina Regional Fugitive Task Force, Special Deputy U. S. Marshal Warren Lewis was a vital part of the U. S. Marshals’ family, just as he was with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office,” said Director Stacia Hylton of the U.S. Marshals Service. “Warren Lewis will always be remembered to us and the entire law enforcement community as a hero and for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect others. We hope that with this sentencing that Warren Lewis’ family can start to feel a small level of peace and closure after suffering their tragic loss.”
“Today’s sentencing is the result of a tragedy and loss of human life that was not necessary,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Wayne Dixie. “Anyone that uses a firearm to commit a violent criminal act, especially the murder of a law enforcement officer, will be held accountable for their actions. We will continue to use all of our resources to prosecute those that choose to commit this type of heinous act.”
“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities, and they deserve our respect and gratitude,” said North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper. “The death of Investigator Lewis was a tremendous loss to his family and our community and the end of this case helps bring justice.”
“The Lewis family and the State of North Carolina lost a true hero,” said Director Bill Johnson of the Kinston Department of Public Safety. “I wish to thank the many individuals and agencies for their assistance in the effort to see justice done.”
According to the plea agreement, Byrd has also pleaded guilty to murder charges in state court and is awaiting sentencing.
The investigation was conducted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Kinston Department of Public Safety.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane J. Jackson and Imelda J. Pate, Assistant District Attorney for the Eighth District.
Justice Department Releases Information on Election Day Efforts to Protect the Right to Vote and Prosecute Ballot FraudRead the Press Release
In anticipation of tomorrow’s general election, the Justice Department today provided information about its efforts, through the Civil Rights Division and Criminal Division, to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation or fraud in the election process.
Civil Rights Division:
The Civil Rights Division is responsible for ensuring compliance with the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, and with the criminal provisions of federal statutes prohibiting discriminatory interference with that right.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of a wide range of federal statutes that protect the right to vote including: the Voting Rights Act; the National Voter Registration Act; the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; and the Help America Vote Act. Among other things, collectively, these laws:
- prohibit election practices that have either a discriminatory purpose based on race or membership in a minority language group or a discriminatory result of members of racial or language minority groups having less opportunity than other citizens to participate in the political process;
- prohibit intimidation of voters;
- provide that voters who need assistance in voting because of disability or illiteracy can obtain assistance from a person of their choice;
- require minority language election materials and assistance in certain jurisdictions;
- provide for accessible election machines for voters with disabilities;
- require provisional ballots for voters who assert they are eligible but whose names do not appear on poll books;
- provide for absentee ballots for service members, their family members and U.S. citizens living abroad;
- require states to ensure that citizens can register at drivers’ license offices, public assistance offices, other state agencies and through the mail; and
- include requirements regarding maintaining voter registration lists.
The Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and vote suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion.
On Election Day, Nov. 4, 2014, the Civil Rights Division will implement a comprehensive program to help ensure the right to vote that will include the following:
- The Civil Rights Division will conduct monitoring in the field at polling places.
- Civil Rights Division attorneys in both the Voting and Criminal Sections in Washington, D.C., will be ready to receive election-related complaints of potential violations relating to any of the statutes the Civil Rights Division enforces. Attorneys in the division will take appropriate action and will consult and coordinate with local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and with other entities within the Department of Justice concerning these complaints before, during, and after Election Day.
- Civil Rights Division staff will be available by phone to receive complaints related to voting rights (1-800-253-3931 toll free or 202-307-2767) or by TTY (202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may also report complaints, problems, or concerns related to voting by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], and, by complaint forms that may be submitted through a link on the Department’s website, at www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/.
- Complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local police authorities by calling 911. They should also be reported to the Department after local authorities are contacted.
Criminal Division and the Department’s 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices:
The Department’s Criminal Division oversees the enforcement of federal laws that criminalize certain forms of election fraud and vindicate the integrity of the federal election process.
The Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and the Department’s 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are responsible for enforcing the federal criminal laws that prohibit various forms of election fraud, such as vote buying, multiple voting, submission of fraudulent ballots or registrations, destruction of ballots or registrations, alteration of votes, and malfeasance by election officials. The Criminal Division is also responsible for enforcing federal criminal law prohibiting voter intimidation for reasons other than race, color, national origin or religion (as noted above, voter intimidation that has a basis in race, color, national origin or religion is addressed by the Civil Rights Division).
The U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country designate Assistant U.S. Attorneys who serve as district election officers (DEOs) in their respective districts. DEOs are responsible for overseeing potential election-crime matters in their districts, and for coordinating with the department’s election-crime experts in Washington, D.C.
On Nov. 4, 2014, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will work with specially trained Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel in each district to ensure that complaints from the public involving possible voter fraud are handled appropriately. Specifically:
- In consultation with federal prosecutors at the Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C., the District Election Officers in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, FBI officials at headquarters in Washington, D.C., and FBI Special Agents serving as Election Crime Coordinators in the FBI’s 56 field offices will be on duty while polls are open, to receive complaints from the public.
- Election-crime complaints should be directed to the local U.S. Attorney’s Office or the local FBI office. A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their telephone numbers can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/districts/. A list of FBI offices and accompanying telephone numbers can be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us.
- Public Integrity Section prosecutors are available to consult and coordinate with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI regarding the handling of election-crime allegations.
- Again, complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should be reported first to local police authorities by calling 911.
Both protecting the right to vote and combating election fraud are essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our democratic system of government. The department encourages anyone who has information suggesting voting discrimination or ballot fraud to contact the appropriate authorities.
Justice Department Files Antitrust Lawsuit to Stop National Cinemedia from Buying ScreenvisionRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today seeking to block National CineMedia Inc.’s (NCM) $375 million acquisition of Screenvision LLC. The department said that the acquisition would combine the only two significant cinema advertising networks in the United States, eliminating competition that has substantially benefitted movie theaters, advertisers and, ultimately, movie goers.
The Antitrust Division’s lawsuit, which seeks to prevent the companies from merging and to preserve their existing head-to-head competition, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
“The proposed combination of NCM and Screenvision is a bad deal for movie theaters, advertisers and consumers. This merger to monopoly is exactly the type of transaction the antitrust laws were designed to prohibit,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “If this deal is allowed to proceed, the benefits of competition will be lost, depriving theaters and advertisers of options for cinema advertising network services and risking higher prices to movie goers.”
Cinema advertising networks are intermediaries between movie theaters and advertisers. The networks create “pre-shows” – 20 to 30 minute long programs combining advertisements with special content – which movie theaters play prior to the start of each movie. The cinema advertising networks and movie theaters share the advertising revenue based on the specific financial terms of each theater’s contract.
According to the department’s complaint, NCM and Screenvision together serve 88 percent of all movie theater screens in the United States through long-term, exclusive contracts.
Over the past two years, competition between NCM and Screenvision intensified as Screenvision became a particularly aggressive competitor, increasing its efforts to steal business from NCM by dramatically reducing the prices it charges advertisers and offering movie theaters a variety of attractive financial incentives. The complaint contains statements from NCM’s and Screenvision’s executives describing the competition between the two companies and the motivation to end that competition by entering into the transaction:
- Aggressive competition between NCM and Screenvision for movie theaters led NCM to observe that “we need to buy [Screenvision] before either us or [Screenvision] does a stupid deal.”
- By April 2014, NCM arrived at what it called a “Strategy Decision Crossroads.” As NCM had told its board it could either acquire Screenvision, which would give NCM the ability to “Control Selling Tactics,” including “Pricing,” or it could compete through more aggressive pricing and adding theaters to its network. NCM chose to buy out its competitor.
- NCM viewed Screenvision’s “new strategy of undercutting [NCM’s] pricing by 50 percent (or more) [as] a direct threat to [NCM’s] business model” and “a very unusual strategy in a duopoly.”
The complaint alleges that, by eliminating competition, the merger likely will result in advertisers paying more for cinema advertising and movie theaters receiving less revenue. For movie theaters, the revenue earned through pre-show advertisements provides an important source of income. Reduced advertising revenues are likely to result in movie theaters having to raise ticket or concession prices to consumers or forego theater upkeep and improvements.
The three largest movie theater circuits in the United States – Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Entertainment Inc. and Cinemark Holdings Inc. – together are the majority owners of NCM. The complaint alleges that these three circuits – which NCM refers to as the “Founding Members” – exercise significant control and influence over NCM’s actions, including the right to block NCM from entering into contracts with independent movie theaters that contain upfront payments exceeding $1 million. Such payments have been an important area of competition between NCM and Screenvision.
National CineMedia LLC is a Delaware company headquartered in Centennial, Colorado. It has contracts with 39 movie theaters, creating a cinema advertising network with nationwide coverage of approximately 19,800 of the 39,000 movie screens in the United States. In 2013, NCM earned approximately $426 million in advertising revenue.
National CineMedia Inc. is Delaware corporation also headquartered in Centennial, Colorado. It is the managing member and minority owner of National CineMedia LLC.
Screenvision LLC and its parent, SV Holdco LLC, are Delaware companies headquartered in New York, New York. Screenvision has contracts with 177 movie theaters, with nationwide coverage of approximately 14,200 screens. In 2013, Screenvision earned approximately $160 million in advertising revenue.
Justice Department Announces On-the-Ground Monitoring at Polling Places in 18 States on Election DayRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that its Civil Rights Division plans to conduct in-person monitoring of polling place activities in 28 jurisdictions in 18 states for the Nov. 4, 2014, general election. The Attorney General also released a video on election monitors today.
Although state and local governments have primary responsibility for administering elections, the Civil Rights Division is charged with enforcing the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all eligible citizens to cast ballots on Election Day.
In the days leading up to and throughout Election Day, Civil Rights Division staff members will also be available by telephone to receive complaints from citizens in all states and jurisdictions nationwide related to possible violations of the federal voting rights laws (toll free 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767) or TTY (202-305-0082). In addition, individuals may also report such complaints by fax to 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected] and by a complaint form on the department’s website: www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/.
Allegations of election fraud are handled by the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. Complaints related to election fraud may be directed to your local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices or local FBI offices, which consult with the Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C. A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and their telephone numbers can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/districts/. A list of FBI offices and accompanying telephone numbers can be found at www.fbi.gov/contact-us.
As always, complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local police authorities by calling 911. They should also be reported to the department after local authorities have been contacted.
Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the department has regularly monitored elections in the field in jurisdictions around the country to protect the rights of voters. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group. In addition, the act requires certain jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process.
On Nov. 4, 2014, the department will monitor polling place activities on the ground in 28 jurisdictions:
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Maricopa County, Arizona;
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Alameda County, California;
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Napa County, California;
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Duval County, Florida;
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Hillsborough County, Florida;
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Lee County, Florida;
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Orange County, Florida;
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Fulton County, Georgia;
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Gwinnett County, Georgia;
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Chicago, Illinois;
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Finney County, Kansas;
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Robeson County, North Carolina;
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Colfax County, Nebraska;
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Douglas County, Nebraska;
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Bergen County, New Jersey;
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Cibola County, New Mexico;
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Orange County, New York;
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Cuyahoga County, Ohio;
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Hamilton County, Ohio;
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Lorain County, Ohio;
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Lehigh County, Pennsylvania;
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Richland County, South Carolina;
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Charles Mix County, South Dakota;
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Shannon County; South Dakota;
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Shelby County, Tennessee;
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Harris County, Texas;
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Waller County, Texas; and
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Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The department’s monitoring will gather information on, among other things, whether voters are subject to different voting qualifications or procedures on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group; whether jurisdictions are complying with the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act; whether jurisdictions permit voters to receive assistance by a person of his or her choice if the voter is blind, has a disability, or is unable to read or write; whether jurisdictions allow voters with disabilities to cast a private and independent ballot; whether jurisdictions comply with the voter registration list requirements of the National Voter Registration Act; and whether jurisdictions comply with the provisional ballot requirements of the Help America Vote Act. Department personnel also will maintain contact with local election officials.
More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting and election-related laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s web site at www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/.
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Conspirator in Android Mobile Device App Piracy Group Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
A leading member of an online piracy group pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to distribute more than one million pirated copies of copyrighted Android mobile device applications, or “apps,” with a total retail value of more than $1.7 million.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates of the Northern District of Georgia and Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
Scott Walton, 28, of Cleveland, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement before U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. of the Northern District of Georgia. Walton will be sentenced at a later date. A second co-conspirator, Kody Jon Peterson, 22, of Clermont, Florida, pleaded guilty to an information on April 14, 2014, for his role in the conspiracy.
According to statements made in court, Walton and his fellow conspirators identified themselves as members of the SnappzMarket Group. From May 2011 through August 2012, they conspired to reproduce and distribute over one million copies of copyrighted Android mobile device apps. The apps had a total retail value of over $1.7 million and were distributed through the SnappzMarket alternative online market without permission from the victim copyright owners, who would otherwise sell copies of the apps on legitimate online markets for a fee.
The indictment charges Walton and two other leading members of the SnappzMarket Group with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and related charges for allegedly distributing the copyrighted Android mobile devices apps through the group’s website, www.snappzmarket.com. On Aug. 21, 2012, the FBI executed a seizure order against the website, which was the first time a website domain involving mobile device app marketplaces had been seized.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Bly of the Northern District of Georgia. Significant assistance was provided by the CCIPS Cybercrime Lab and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
Bio-Rad Laboratories Resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Investigation and Agrees to Pay $14.35 Million PenaltyRead the Press Release
A California-based medical diagnostics and life sciences manufacturing and sales company, Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (Bio-Rad), has agreed to pay a $14.35 million penalty to resolve allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by falsifying its books and records and failing to implement adequate internal controls in connection with sales it made in Russia.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office made the announcement.
“Public companies that cook their books and hide improper payments foster corruption,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “The department pursues corruption from all angles, including the falsification of records and failure to implement adequate internal controls. The department also gives credit to companies, like Bio-Rad, who self-disclose, cooperate and remediate their violations of the FCPA.”
“The FBI remains committed to identifying and investigating violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” said Special Agent in Charge Johnson. “This action demonstrates the benefits of self-disclosure, cooperation, and subsequent remediation by companies.”
According to the company’s admissions in the agreement, Bio-Rad SNC, a Bio-Rad subsidiary located in France, retained and paid intermediary companies commissions of 15-30 percent purportedly in exchange for various services in connection with certain governmental sales in Russia. The intermediary companies, however, did not perform these services. Several high-level managers at Bio-Rad, responsible for overseeing Bio-Rad’s business in Russia, reviewed and approved the commission payments to the intermediary companies despite knowing that the intermediary companies were not performing such services. These managers knowingly caused the payments to be falsely recorded on Bio-Rad SNC’s and, ultimately, Bio-Rad’s books. Bio-Rad, through several of its managers, also failed to implement adequate controls, as well as adequate compliance systems, with regard to its Russian operations while knowing that the failure to implement such controls allowed the intermediary companies to be paid significantly above-market commissions for little or no services.
The department entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the company due, in large part, to Bio-Rad’s self-disclosure of the misconduct and full cooperation with the department’s investigation. That cooperation included voluntarily making U.S. and foreign employees available for interviews, voluntarily producing documents from overseas, and summarizing the findings of its internal investigation. In addition, Bio-Rad has engaged in significant remedial actions, including enhancing its anti-corruption policies globally, improving its internal controls and compliance functions, developing and implementing additional due diligence and contracting procedures for intermediaries, and conducting extensive anti-corruption training throughout the organization.
In addition to the monetary penalty, Bio-Rad agreed to continue to cooperate with the department, to report periodically to the department for a two-year period concerning Bio-Rad’s compliance efforts, and to continue to implement an enhanced compliance program and internal controls designed to prevent and detect FCPA violations.
In a related matter, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today announced that it had entered into a cease and desist order against Bio-Rad in which the company agreed to pay $40.7 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest in connection with the company’s sales in Russia, as well as in Thailand and Vietnam.
The department acknowledges and expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Andrew Gentin of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
Ahead of Election Day, Attorney General Holder Dispatches Federal Poll Monitors to Aid in Efforts to Prevent Voter DiscriminationRead the Press Release
In an effort to reaffirm the Justice Department’s commitment and responsibility to protect eligible Americans from discrimination at the ballot box, Attorney General Eric Holder released a video today to announce that the Department of Justice will send federal monitors to 18 states across the country. These monitors will be on the ground gathering information on numerous aspects of local election procedures including voter discrimination, resources for bilingual voters, and adequate services for individuals with disabilities.
“This year, as citizens across the country go to the polls on Election Day, I want the American people to know that the Justice Department will stand vigilant – working, in a fair and nonpartisan manner, to ensure that every voter can cast his or her ballot free of intimidation, discrimination, or obstruction,” said Attorney General Holder in a video message recorded for the Justice Department’s website. “Over the last few months, leaders from the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division have received information from a wide variety of citizens and groups. Based upon our independent and non-partisan consideration and expertise, we have dispatched federal monitors to polling places around the country – just as we do during every election season.”
The complete text of the Attorney General’s video message is below:
“One of the Justice Department’s most sacred responsibilities is ensuring access to the ballot box for every eligible American. Over the last six years, my colleagues and I have taken robust action to safeguard this fundamental right: challenging unnecessarily restrictive proposals like certain voter ID laws; advocating for accessible polling places in remote and underserved communities; and fighting back against redistricting proposals and early voting limits that may prevent many Americans from making their voices heard.
“This year, as citizens across the country go to the polls on Election Day, I want the American people to know that the Justice Department will stand vigilant – working, in a fair and nonpartisan manner, to ensure that every voter can cast his or her ballot free of intimidation, discrimination, or obstruction. Over the last few months, leaders from the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division have received information from a wide variety of citizens and groups. Based upon our independent and non-partisan consideration and expertise, we have dispatched federal monitors to polling places around the country – just as we do during every election season.
“These officials will gather information on numerous aspects of local election procedures, including whether voters are treated differently depending on their race or color; whether jurisdictions are adequately serving individuals with disabilities; whether jurisdictions are complying with the provisional ballot requirements of the Help America Vote Act; and whether jurisdictions are complying with the Voting Rights Act’s requirement to provide bilingual election materials and assistance in areas of need.
“The integrity of our elections, and the ability of our citizens to access the franchise, are fundamental to who we are – both as a nation and as a people. That’s why, last year, President Obama established a bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration to recommend a series of steps to make it simpler to cast a ballot. The Commission’s recommendations included expanding online voter registration and early balloting, updating electronic voting equipment, and making polling places more accessible. The Commission also suggested that bilingual poll workers should be available at any polling place with a significant number of voters who do not speak English.
“These are promising – and necessary – reforms, and I call upon jurisdictions across the country to adopt them. In the meantime, we must also ensure that the way we administer the laws currently on the books is appropriate, and lives up to our highest values. Making it more difficult to vote with restrictive measures like burdensome voter ID laws is out of step with our history.
“So I call on election officials and poll workers around the country to consider, as they perform their duties, the importance of the responsibilities that they are working to fulfil. I encourage every citizen of this country to remember the sacrifices made by generations of patriots to expand and ensure the franchise. And I urge all eligible Americans – no matter their party affiliation or political views – to exercise their own sacred duty to cast a ballot, to make their voices heard, and to contribute to the direction of our great democracy.”
The full video of the Attorney General’s message is available at http://www.justice.gov/agwa.php.
Owner and Patient Recruiter Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in $258.5 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
An owner and operator of two community mental health centers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a patient recruiter for a community mental health center in Houston, Texas, were sentenced to prison today for their involvement in a $258.5 million Medicare fraud scheme involving partial hospitalization psychiatric (PHP) services.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney J. Walter Green of the Middle District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Mike Fields of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Dallas Office, Special Agent in Charge Michael Anderson of the FBI’s New Orleans Division, and Louisiana State Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell made the announcement.
Roslyn F. Dogan, 53, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and James R. Hunter, 48, of Houston, Texas, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson in the Middle District of Louisiana to 90 months in prison and 60 months in prison, respectively. In addition to the prison sentences, Dogan was ordered to pay $43.5 million and Hunter was ordered to pay $3.2 million in restitution.
After six days of trial, on May 21, 2014, a federal jury found Dogan guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and two counts of health care fraud, and also found Hunter guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks.
According to evidence presented at trial, Dogan was a co-owner of Serenity Center of Baton Rouge, and a manager and marketer for both Serenity Center and Shifa Community Mental Health Center of Baton Rouge. Dogan recruited Medicare beneficiaries who were living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities to attend the PHP programs at Shifa and Serenity, knowing the individuals did not need the psychotherapy programs. She then devised methods to keep the patients at the facilities for as long as possible without invoking scrutiny from Medicare, including by having patients involuntarily committed to local inpatient psychiatric hospitals and then discharged and re-admitted to one of the Shifa facilities. Additionally, Dogan directed administrators and therapists at the Shifa Baton Rouge facilities to falsify treatment records indicating that patients had received psychotherapy treatment when, in fact, the patients had not received such treatment. She further concealed the fraud by directing that patient billing statements be intercepted from the mail to prevent the patients from seeing the services that had been billed in their names, and by stealing incriminating documents seized pursuant to a search warrant from federal custody.
Evidence at trial demonstrated that Hunter agreed to recruit Medicare beneficiaries to attend the PHP program at Shifa Community Mental Health Center of Texas in Houston in exchange for $1,500 per week in cash. Hunter recruited Medicare recipients from group homes who were not appropriate for the PHP services, but who agreed to attend the program in exchange for $75 cash per week. To ensure their admittance to the program, Hunter instructed each beneficiary as what to say to physicians regarding their supposed psychiatric symptoms. As a result of the kickback scheme with Hunter, the Houston facility billed Medicare approximately $16.5 million.
According to court documents, the investigation into the three community mental health centers has resulted in the conviction of seventeen individuals, including therapists, marketers, administrators, owners and a medical director. The companies collectively submitted more than $258 million in claims to Medicare for PHP services over a period of seven years. Medicare paid approximately $43.5 million on those claims.
The case is being investigated by HHS-OIG, the FBI, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Abigail Taylor and Dustin M. Davis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shubhra Shivpuri of the Middle District of Louisiana.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Memphis Resident Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking of a MinorRead the Press Release
A Memphis man pleaded guilty yesterday to the sex trafficking of a 16 year-old girl, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III of the Western District of Tennessee and Special Agent in Charge Todd McCall of the FBI’s Memphis Division.
During his plea hearing, Laron Matlock, 33, of Memphis, admitted that he purchased a bus ticket for a 16-year-old girl to travel from Chicago to Memphis on July 28, 2012, for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. Matlock further admitted to transporting the victim from Memphis to Nashville for the purpose of prostitution. Matlock was arrested on Aug. 1, 2012, after he returned to Memphis with the victim and attempted to take her to a customer’s house for the purpose of prostitution.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Jon Phipps McCalla of the Western District of Tennessee.
This case was investigated by the Civil Rights Human Trafficking Taskforce, the FBI’s Memphis Division and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mi Yung Park of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Coleman of the Western District of Tennessee.
Justice Department Reaches Agreement with the City of Albuquerque to Implement Sweeping Reforms on Use of Force by the Albuquerque Police DepartmentRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced it has reached a comprehensive settlement agreement with the city of Albuquerque that will bring wide-ranging reforms to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and its use of force against civilians. The Justice Department and the city have agreed to enter into a court-enforceable settlement agreement that will overhaul the way in which APD handles use of force by its officers following a year-long investigation into the department’s practices and letter of findings released by the Justice Department in April 2014. Once the Albuquerque City Council considers the settlement agreement in a special session scheduled for the week of Nov. 3, the Justice Department and the city will file the settlement agreement with the United States District Court for approval and entry as an order.
"The overwhelming majority of our nation’s law enforcement officials perform their duties with exceptional courage, integrity, and professionalism—risking their lives every day to keep their communities safe,” said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. “But whenever a pattern of troubling conduct is uncovered, or that high standard is not met, the Department of Justice must and will take action. The far-reaching agreement we have secured in this case will transform the culture and practices of the Albuquerque Police Department. And I am confident that, with the cooperation of city leaders and brave law enforcement officials, we will take significant steps to restore trust with local citizens and build for Albuquerque’s residents the stronger, safer, and more secure communities that all Americans deserve.“
In addition to use of force practices, The Justice Department’s investigation found that officers routinely use deadly force and less lethal force in an unreasonable manner and that systemic deficiencies in policies, training, supervision, and oversight contributed to the pattern or practice. Following the release of the investigative findings, the Justice Department engaged in extensive community outreach to solicit feedback and recommendations on reform from a wide variety of stakeholders, including police officers, community leaders, mental health advocates, family members, and other Albuquerque residents. The feedback played a critical role in tailoring the settlement agreement to the unique needs of the Albuquerque community and APD.
“Today’s landmark settlement agreement will begin the process of restoring trust and cooperation between the Albuquerque community and law enforcement,” said Vanita Gupta, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Constitutional policing is key to building trust between police departments and the communities they serve, and trust is of course key to ensuring public and officer safety. The settlement agreement provides a blue print for sustainable reform that will foster continued collaboration and participation from the community. We thank Mayor Berry, Chief Eden, and all of the individuals who came forward to share their experiences concerning APD to make this historic settlement agreement possible.”
“We are extremely proud of our community and police department for coming together in a time of serious challenges to the city to offer their advice and recommendations on a path forward,” said Damon P. Martinez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico. “Reform will not take place overnight and it will take time to heal our community, but we are well on our way. Through the settlement agreement reached today, the city agrees to implement fundamental reforms in a transparent manner that will ensure that force is used in accordance with constitutional rights and that promotes greater trust among the hard working men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department and the residents they are sworn to protect.”
Under the settlement agreement, the city and APD will implement comprehensive reforms in nine substantive areas. An independent monitoring team will be selected jointly and will oversee the reforms, which are expected to be implemented within four years. The areas covered by the settlement agreement are:
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Use of force: including requiring supervisors to report to the scene of uses of force; providing medical care to subjects of force immediately after an incident; improving the quality of force investigations; developing a force review board to detect and correct patterns and trends, and utilizing surrounding law enforcement agencies as part of a multi-agency task force to investigate officer-involves shootings to provide greater objectivity and accountability;
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Specialized units: including measures that require clearly defined missions and duties for specialized tactical and investigative units; ensuring that officers are sufficiently trained to save lives in high-risk situations; and dismantling APD’s repeat offender project to restore its core mission as an investigative, rather than tactical, unit;
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Crisis intervention: including establishing a mental health response advisory committee; providing behavioral health training to all officers, police dispatchers, and 9-1-1 operators; and maintaining groups of specially-trained first responders, detectives, and mental health professionals that provide crisis intervention and ongoing support to individuals with serious mental illness or who are chronically homeless;
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Policies and training: including developing clear and comprehensive policies on use of force, preventing retaliation, supporting officers who report misconduct, and improving the field training program to ensure that officers develop the necessary technical and practical skills required to use force in a lawful and effective manner;
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Internal and civilian complaint investigations: including measures to eliminate arbitrary deadlines for the submission of civilian complaints; standards for conducting objective, thorough, and timely investigations; steps to ensure that the disciplinary system is fair and consistent; and protocols to protect officers’ rights against self-incrimination;
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Staffing and supervision: including completing a staffing and resource study to determine the appropriate allocation of resources; holding supervisors accountable for close and effective supervision; and providing guidance on the effective use of on-body recording systems to promote accountability and strengthen public trust;
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Recruitment and promotions: including developing a strategic recruitment plan that includes clear goals, objectives, and action steps for attracting qualified applicants from a broad cross section of the community and ensuring that fair and consistent promotion practices are implemented;
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Officer assistance and support: including measures to ensure that APD personnel have ready access to mental health services and that supervisors are trained in making referrals in a manner that minimizes stigma; and
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Community engagement and oversight: including measures to strengthen the city’s civilian oversight process; public information programs that keep members of the public informed of APD’s progress toward reform; requirements on fostering community policing at all levels of APD; and establishing community policing councils throughout the city to ensure that meaningful feedback is obtained from the community.
The independent monitoring team will oversee the implementation of reforms, provide technical assistance, and report on the city’s compliance through periodic and public reports. The monitoring team will have access to all documents, personnel, facilities and information related to the settlement agreement and will engage with officers and community members on an ongoing basis. The monitoring team will also be responsible for conducting outcome assessments to determine whether the goals of the settlement agreement are being met through compliance indicators and objective measures. The settlement agreement requires two years of sustained compliance with the agreement before the agreement may be terminated.
For more information on the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, please visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/nm.
APD Commitment Letter
DOJ-ABQ Agreement Fact Sheet
DOJ-ABQ Settlement Agreement
SPL Police Accomplishments
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Justice Department Files Suit Against Pima Community College for Violating the Employment Rights of an Arizona Army National GuardsmanRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today the filing of a complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona against Pima Community College (PCC) in Tucson, Arizona, for violating the employment rights of Army National Guardsman Timothy Stoner under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
The department’s complaint alleges that Pima Community College violated USERRA by failing to promote Stoner to the position of police corporal in 2010 and again in 2013. USERRA prohibits employment discrimination based on a service member’s past, current or future military status, service or obligation. Stoner, a PCC police officer, is a veteran of active duty military deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is currently a Sergeant First Class in the Army National Guard with 21 years of total military service, including three years on active duty.
According to the department’s complaint, PCC created the supervisory position of police corporal in 2010. Prior to that position being created, Stoner effectively performed his assigned duties as a lead police officer, an assignment that was replaced by the creation of the police corporal position. In 2010 and 2013, Stoner applied for promotion to police corporal, but both times he was not selected. The lawsuit alleges that, in each of the two years, Stoner’s military service was a motivating factor in PCC’s decision to deny him promotion to police corporal. According to the lawsuit, for both promotions, one of the two PCC officials who made the decision not to select Stoner exhibited anti-military bias against Stoner that was directly related to his military obligations. According to the suit, PCC conducted an investigation of Stoner’s internal complaint that his denial of promotion in 2013 was the result of anti-military bias by PCC selecting officials, and the college found that his complaint was substantiated. As a result, the PCC investigator recommended that remedial action be taken, including placing Stoner in an acting corporal position.
The department’s lawsuit seeks remedial relief for Stoner for the USERRA violations in 2013, as well as an earlier violation of the statute in 2010. The suit also alleges that PCC’s demonstration of anti-military bias was willful and warrants the award of liquidated damages to Stoner, as well as compensation for his loss of earnings and other benefits of employment.
“Employers have a legal obligation to respect and honor the rights of our uniformed service members to be fairly considered for promotions and other employment opportunities and not to subject them to unlawful discrimination because of their service in defense of our country,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division.
Stoner initially filed a complaint with the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, which investigated this matter and, after resolution failed, referred it to the Justice Department. The Department’s Civil Rights Division, through its Employment Litigation Section, then filed suit on Stoner’s behalf. The Civil Rights Division has given a high priority to the enforcement of service members’ rights under USERRA. Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department’s Web sites at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp and http://www.servicemembers.gov, as well as on the Labor Department’s website at http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.
Stoner v. Pima Community College Complaint
Hitachi Metals Ltd. Agrees to Plead Guilty for Fixing Prices and Rigging Bids on Automobile Parts Installed in U.S. CarsRead the Press Release
Hitachi Metals Ltd., an automotive parts manufacturer based in Tokyo, Japan, and successor in interest to Hitachi Cable Ltd. (collectively Hitachi), has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $1.25 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for automotive brake hose installed in cars sold in the United States and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to the one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in Toledo, Hitachi conspired to fix the prices of automotive brake hose sold to Toyota Motor Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries, affiliates and suppliers, in the United States and elsewhere (collectively Toyota). In addition to the criminal fine, Hitachi has agreed to cooperate in the department’s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement will be subject to court approval.
“Today’s guilty plea demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s commitment to hold companies accountable for engaging in illegal anticompetitive conduct,” said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “The division is dedicated to its mission to protect U.S. consumers and businesses.”
According to the charge, Hitachi and its co–conspirators conspired through meetings and conversations in which they discussed and agreed upon bids and price quotations to be submitted to Toyota, and to allocate the supply of automotive brake hose to Toyota. In furtherance of the agreement, Hitachi sold automotive brake hose at non–competitive prices to Toyota in the United States and elsewhere. Hitachi’s involvement in the automotive brake hose conspiracy lasted from at least as early as November 2005 until at least September 2009.
Hitachi manufactures and sells a variety of automotive parts, including automotive brake hoses, which are flexible hoses that carry brake fluid through the hydraulic brake system of automobiles. The charges against Hitachi are the latest in the department’s on-going investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry. These are the first charges filed relating to automotive brake hose sold to automobile manufacturers.
To date, 44 individuals have been charged in the government’s ongoing investigation into price fixing and bid rigging in the auto parts industry. Including Hitachi, 30 companies have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty and have agreed to pay a total of nearly $2.4 billion in fines.
Hitachi is charged with price fixing and bid rigging in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty for corporations of a $100 million criminal fine for each violation. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Today’s charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement sections and the FBI. Today’s charge was brought by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Cleveland Field Office, Lima Resident Agency, with the assistance of the FBI headquarters’ International Corruption Unit and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. Anyone with information on price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct related to other products in the automotive parts 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 Cleveland Field Office at 216-522-1400.
Hitachi Information
El Departamento De Justicia Llega A Un Acuerdo Con La Ciudad De Albuquerque Para Implementar Reformas Amplias Sobre El Uso De Fuerza Por El Departamento De Policia De AlbuquerqueRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha logrado un acuerdo de resolución detallado con la Ciudad de Albuquerque, el cual traerá amplias reformas al Departamento de Policía de Albuquerque (“APD” sus siglas en inglés) y su uso de fuerza contra civiles. Tras un año de investigaciones del uso de fuerza por parte de oficiales del APD y la publicación de la carta de hallazgos en abril, 2014, El Departamento de Justicia y la Ciudad han acordado entrar en un acuerdo ejecutable ante los tribunales el cual cambiará la manera en que oficiales del APD usan fuerza. Una vez que el Consejo de la Ciudad de Albuquerque considere el acuerdo de resolución en una sesión especial programada para la semana del 3 de noviembre, el Departamento de Justicia y la Ciudad presentarán el acuerdo de resolución ante el Tribunal de Distrito de los Estados Unidos para su aprobación e introducción como una ordenanza.
“La gran mayoría de los oficiales de policía de nuestra nación llevan a cabo sus labores con valor, integridad y profesionalismo excepcionales-arriesgando su vida a diario para mantener sus comunidades seguras. Pero cuando un patrón preocupante de mala conducta es revelada, o no se cumple con los estándares, el Departamento de Justicia tiene que tomar acción”, dijo el Procurador General Eric H. Holder Jr. “El acuerdo de amplio alcance que hemos logrado en este caso, transformará la cultura y las prácticas del Departamento de Policía de Albuquerque. Y confío que, con la cooperación de los líderes de la ciudad y los valientes oficiales de la policía, tomaremos pasos importantes para restaurar la confianza de los ciudadanos locales y construiremos para los residentes de Albuquerque comunidades más fuertes y seguras que es lo que todos los americanos se merecen”.
Además del uso de prácticas de fuerza, la investigación del Departamento de Justicia encontró que los oficiales utilizan fuerza mortal y fuerza menos letal de manera irrazonable y que deficiencias sistémicas en políticas, entrenamiento y supervisión han contribuido al este patrón o práctica. Después de la publicación de los hallazgos investigativos, el Departamento de Justicia solicitó información y recomendaciones para la reforma de la comunidad; así como de una variedad de interesados, incluyendo oficiales de policía, líderes comunitarios, defensores de salud mental y de otros residentes de Albuquerque. La información recibida tuvo un papel significante en la creación del acuerdo de resolución para que fuera algo positivo para las necesidades de la comunidad de Albuquerque y del APD.
“Este acuerdo de resolución sin precedentes, comenzará el proceso de restaurar confianza y cooperación entre la comunidad de Albuquerque y los oficiales de policía. Prácticas policiales constitucionales son la clave para construir confianza entre los departamentos de policía y las comunidades a las cuales sirven y por supuesto, la confianza es clave para asegurar la seguridad del público y de los oficiales”, dijo Vanita Gupta, Procuradora General Asistente Interina de la División de Derechos Civiles. “Este acuerdo de resolución provee el modelo para una reforma sostenible que proporcionará una colaboración y participación continua por parte de la comunidad. Agradecemos al Alcalde Berry, al Jefe de Policía Eden y a todos los individuos que compartieron con nosotros sus experiencias referentes al APD, para que este histórico acuerdo de resolución fuera una realidad”.
“Estamos verdaderamente orgullosos de nuestra comunidad y de nuestro departamento de policía por haber trabajado juntos durante un tiempo cuando la Ciudad enfrentaba serios desafíos, y ofrecer sus consejos y recomendaciones para seguir adelante,” dijo Damon P. Martínez, Procurador Federal por el Distrito de Nuevo México. “La reforma no pasará de la noche a la mañana y tomará tiempo para que nuestra comunidad sane, pero ya estamos en camino. A través del acuerdo de resolución que se logró hoy, la Ciudad está de acuerdo en implementar reformas fundamentales de una manera transparente, las cuales asegurarán que la fuerza será usada de acuerdo a derechos constitucionales y que generará más confianza entre los dedicados hombres y mujeres del Departamento de Policía de Albuquerque y los residentes a quien han jurado proteger”.
Bajo el acuerdo de resolución, la Ciudad y el APD implementarán reformas detalladas en nueve áreas sustantivas. Un equipo de monitoreo independiente será seleccionado conjuntamente y supervisará las reformas las cuales se espera será implementadas durante los próximos cuatro años. Las áreas que cubre el acuerdo de resolución son:
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Uso de fuerza: incluirá que los supervisores acudan a la escena dónde se usó fuerza; proveer cuidados médicos a los sujetos, objetos de la fuerza, inmediatamente después del incidente; mejorar la calidad de las investigaciones del uso de fuerza; desarrollar un comité de revisión del uso de fuerza para detectar y corregir patrones y tendencias, utilizando agencias de policías circundantes como parte de un equipo poli-agencia que investigará tiroteos que involucren a oficiales de la policía para así obtener mayor objetividad y sentido de responsabilidad.
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Unidades especializadas: incluyendo medidas que requieran de trabajos y deberes bien definidos para las unidades tácticas especializadas y de investigación; asegurarse que los oficiales estén suficientemente entrenados para salvar vidas en situaciones de alto riesgo; y el desmantelamiento del proyecto de reincidentes del APD, y así restaurar su misión esencial investigativa en lugar de unidad táctica.
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Intervención en situaciones de crisis: incluyendo el establecimiento de un comité asesor de salud mental; proveer entrenamiento sobre la salud del comportamiento a todos los oficiales, despachadores y operadores del 911; y mantener grupos especialmente entrenados de proveedores de primeros auxilios, detectives y profesionales de salud mental, los cuales proveerán intervención en situaciones de crisis y darán apoyo a individuos con enfermedad mental grave o que están crónicamente sin hogar.
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Políticas y entrenamiento: incluyendo el desarrollo de políticas claras y detalladas sobre el uso de fuerza, prevención de represalias, apoyo a oficiales que reportan la mala conducta y mejorar el programa de entrenamiento para asegurar que los oficiales desarrollen la habilidades técnicas y prácticas requeridas para usar fuerza de una manera legal y efectiva.
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Investigaciones internas y a quejas de civiles: incluyendo medidas para eliminar fechas límites arbitrariamente impuestas para la presentación de quejas por parte de civiles; estándares para llevar a cabo investigaciones de manera objetiva, profunda y a tiempo; medidas para asegurar que el sistema de disciplina sea justo y consistente; y protocolos para proteger los derechos de los oficiales contra la autoincriminación.
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Personal y supervisión: incluyendo un estudio de personal y recursos para determinar la distribución de recursos; hacer a los supervisores responsables de una supervisión cercana y efectiva; y proveer orientación sobre los sistemas de grabación colocados en el cuerpo para promover responsabilidad y aumentar la confianza pública.
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Reclutamiento y promociones: incluyendo el desarrollo de un plan de reclutamiento estratégico que incluya metas y objetivos bien definidos y tomar los pasos necesarios para atraer a solicitantes cualificados quienes vengan de todos los sectores de la comunidad y asegurar que prácticas de promoción sean justas y consistentes.
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Asistencia y ayuda a oficiales: incluyendo medidas para asegurar que personal del APD tenga acceso inmediato a servicios de salud mental y que supervisores estén entrenados para enviar a un especialista de tal manera que minimice el estigma; y
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Participación comunitaria y supervisión: incluyendo medidas que refuercen el proceso de supervisión por parte de civiles de la Ciudad; programas de información pública que mantengan al público informado del progreso del APD hacía la reforma; requisitos para fomentar prácticas policiales comunitarias en todos los niveles del APD; y poner en sitio comités para establecer prácticas policiales comunitarias a lo largo de la ciudad para asegurar que se obtenga información significativa de la comunidad.
Un equipo independiente de monitoreo supervisará la implementación de las reformas, dará asistencia técnica y reportará sobre el cumplimiento por parte de la ciudad a través
de reportes que se harán periódicamente y serán públicos. El equipo de monitoreo tendrá acceso a todos los documentos, personal, instalaciones e información relacionada con el acuerdo de resolución y se relacionará con oficiales y miembros de la comunidad continuamente. El equipo de monitoreo también será responsable de asesorar los resultados para determinar si las metas del acuerdo de resolución se están cumpliendo. Esto se hará a través de indicadores de cumplimento y medidas objetivas. El acuerdo de resolución requiere dos años sostenidos de cumplimiento antes de que pueda ser finalizado.
Para más información sobre la División de Derechos Civiles, por favor visite www.justice.gov/crt. Para más información sobre la Oficina del Procurador Federal por el Distrito de Nuevo México, por favor visite http://www.justice.gov/usao/nm.
APD Commitment Letter
DOJ-ABQ Agreement Fact Sheet
SPL Police Accomplishments
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Costa Rica Based Telemarketing Fraud Results in Prison Terms for TwoRead the Press Release
Two employees of a Costa Rica based telemarketing call center that defrauded thousands of victims of more than $4 million have been sentenced to serve 300 months in prison and 144 months in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina imposed the sentences.
On Oct. 30, 2014, Glen Adkins Jr., 43, of San Diego, California, was sentenced to serve 300 months in prison and Warren F. Tonsing Jr., 43, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was sentenced to serve 144 months in prison. They were both ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution, joint and several with their co-defendants.
Both defendants were convicted on Aug. 8, 2013, following a jury trial, of wire fraud and money laundering stemming from a scheme to defraud United States residents, most over the age of 55, out of millions of dollars by deceiving them into believing that each had won a large monetary prize in a “sweepstakes contest.” According to evidence presented at trial, both defendants worked in a Costa Rica-based call center that used computers to make telephone calls over the Internet to victims in the United States. This process allowed the defendants and their co-conspirators to disguise the originating location of the calls. Victims were informed that the callers were from a Federal agency, such as the Federal Trade Commission, and that to receive their “prize” they had to wire thousands of dollars to Costa Rica for a purported “refundable insurance fee.” As long as the victims continued to pay, the co-conspirators continued to solicit more money from them in the form of purported fees.
To date, 46 defendants have been convicted in the Western District of North Carolina for their participation in similar Costa Rican telemarketing schemes.
These cases were investigated by a multi-agency task force composed of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Trade Commission and Department of Homeland Security. These cases are being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Patrick M. Donley and Trial Attorneys William H. Bowne of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Alabama Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail FraudRead the Press Release
An Alabama real estate investor pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions held in southern Alabama, the Department of Justice announced today. To date, 10 individuals and two companies have pleaded guilty in connection with the department’s ongoing investigation into bid rigging and fraudulent schemes in the Alabama real estate foreclosure auction industry.
Chad E. Foster, a resident of Theodore, Alabama, pleaded guilty yesterday to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud affecting a financial institution. According to court documents, Foster knowingly joined a conspiracy with others to, among other things, fraudulently acquire title to selected properties at artificially suppressed prices, to conduct secret, second auctions open only to members of the conspiracy, to make payoffs to and receive payoffs from co-conspirators, and to divert money away from financial institutions, homeowners and others with a legal interest in selected properties.
“This guilty plea demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s resolve to pursue those who conspire to defraud distressed homeowners and financial institutions,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The division will continue to hold accountable individuals who subvert the competitive process for their own gains.”
“We are committed to partnering with the Antitrust Division,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky of the Mobile Field Office. “And we will hold accountable those individuals who profited illegally at the expense of financial institutions and struggling homeowners.”
The charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud affecting a financial institution carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Yesterday’s charge stems from an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section and the FBI’s Mobile Field Office, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to public real estate foreclosure auctions in Alabama should call the Antitrust Division at 202-598-4000, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Yesterday’s charges were brought in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established 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’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Three Indicted in Stolen Identity Refund Fraud RingRead the Press Release
Tamaica Hoskins and Roberta Pyatt, of Phenix City, Alabama, and Lashelia Alexander, of Columbus, Georgia, were indicted for their roles in a stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) conspiracy, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Larry J. Wszalek for the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. for the Middle District of Alabama announced today following the unsealing of the indictment.
According to the indictment, in 2014, Hoskins and Pyatt obtained stolen identities and used those identities to file more than 1,000 federal income tax returns that claimed more than $4 million in tax refunds. In order to carry out their fraud scheme, Hoskins and Pyatt opened up bank accounts in order to receive tax preparation fees. In addition, Hoskins and Pyatt printed out fraudulent tax refunds using check stock provided by the financial institutions. Hoskins, Pyatt and Alexander caused the fraudulent checks to be cashed at several businesses and banks.
If convicted, the defendants face a statutory maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit wire fraud count and for each wire fraud count, a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each theft of public money count and a mandatory two-year sentence in prison for the aggravated identity theft counts. The defendants are also subject to fines, forfeiture and mandatory restitution, if convicted.
The case was investigated by special agents of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Michael Boteler and Gregory Bailey of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown for the Middle District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Office on Violence Against Women Announces National Tour to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Violence Against Women ActRead the Press Release
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, the Department of Justice today announced a nationwide tour of Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) grant recipients. The tour will engage with communities dedicated to ending violence against women though coordinated community response (CCR) teams. OVW launched the tour today with a visit to programs in Brooklyn, New York. OVW and department officials will visit diverse communities across the country through May 2015. Officials will participate in roundtable conversations with local law enforcement, victim service providers, judges, prosecutors and other members of the coordinated community response team.
This tour is an important part of the department’s ongoing effort to prevent and address violence against women. Officials will see how best practices are playing out across the nation – especially in areas such as prosecution, law enforcement, victim services, cultural competency, language access, prevention and public awareness.
“Research shows that efforts to address violence against women are particularly effective when they are combined and integrated into a coordinated community response,” said Principal Deputy Director Bea Hanson of the Office on Violence Against Women. “We know that when police departments, courts, and victim service providers work together to create multi-disciplinary response teams, the quality of victim services and justice system responses are improved, which can influence and change the way communities understand and talk about violence against women.”
Currently, OVW administers 24 grant programs, authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 and subsequent legislation, designed to develop the nation’s capacity to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking by strengthening services to victims and holding offenders accountable. Since 1995, OVW has awarded more than $5.7 billion to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in communities across the country.
The planned national tour sites are: Brooklyn, NY; Oklahoma City, OK; Alameda County, CA; Contra Costa County, CA; Vermont; New Orleans, LA; San Diego, CA; Duluth, MN; Idaho; Maryland; Multnomah County, OR; San Francisco, CA. Additional sites and tour participants will be announced at a future date.
North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Aid International Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin, U.S. Attorney Ripley Rand for the Middle District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John Strong of the FBI in North Carolina announced today that Donald Ray Morgan pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and possession of firearm by a felon.
Morgan, 44, of Rowan County, North Carolina, pleaded guilty this morning before U.S. District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder. Morgan was charged on Oct. 30, 2014, in a bill of information with attempted provision of material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The offense is punishable by a maximum of fifteen years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
“Today’s plea represents our continued commitment to confronting those who attempt to travel abroad to support terrorist organizations,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Preventing individuals from joining ISIL and holding accountable those who attempt to provide material support to the terrorist organization remains one of our highest priorities.”
“Today's plea is a sad reminder that those who wish to aid foreign terrorist organizations can come from any community and from any background,” stated U.S. Attorney Rand. “We will continue to do everything we can to work effectively with our law enforcement partners and protect innocent people from terrorist activity, whether here in the United States or abroad.”
“Donald Ray Morgan proved himself to be a threat to national security,” said Special Agent in Charge Strong. “He traveled overseas with intentions to join the violent terrorist group, ISIL in Syria. American citizens who support terrorist organizations must be held accountable for their actions.”
According to court documents, Morgan knowingly attempted to provide support and resources beginning in January 2014 until on or about Aug. 2, 2014, including his own services, to al-Qa’ida in Iraq, also known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. On at least one occasion Morgan unsuccessfully attempted to travel from Lebanon to Syria to join ISIL/ISIS. Morgan also frequently used social media and an interview with an American journalist to express his support for ISIL/ISIS and violent terrorist activities.
Morgan was initially arrested on Aug. 2, 2014, at JFK International Airport in New York City on a federal indictment for possession of a firearm by a felon. The firearm offense occurred in January 2012. Possession of a firearm by a felon is punishable by a maximum of ten years imprisonment a $250,000 fine.
Sentencing is set for Feb. 18, 2015.
edThe investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Charlotte Division, and Resident Agency Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The Greensboro JTTF consists of the following agencies: FBI, Greensboro Police Department, Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, High Point Police Department and the Winston-Salem Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Green with the assistance of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Media General Inc. Acquisition of LIN Media LLCRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Media General Inc. to divest WVTM-TV(NBC), located in the Birmingham, Alabama, Designated Market Area (DMA); WJCL-TV (ABC) and WTGS (FOX), both located in the Savannah, Georgia, DMA; WALA-TV (FOX), located in the Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida, DMA; WJAR-TV (NBC), located in the Providence, Rhode Island/New Bedford, Massachusetts, DMA; and WLUK-TV(FOX) and WCWF-TV (CW), both located in the Green Bay/Appleton, Wisconsin, DMA, in order to proceed with its acquisition of LIN Media LLC for $1.5 billion. The department said that without the required divestitures, prices for broadcast television spot advertising would likely increase to advertisers in the DMAs.
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 transaction. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive concerns alleged in the lawsuit.
“Media General’s stations and LIN’s stations compete head-to-head in the sale of broadcast television spot advertising in several markets around the country, and this competition benefits advertisers and, ultimately, consumers,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. “The divestitures required by the department will ensure that these stations remain vigorous competitors in their designated market areas.”
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Media General and LIN must divest assets used in the operation of WVTM-TV and WJCL-TV to Hearst Television Inc.; WALA-TV to Meredith Corporation; and WJAR-TV, WLUK-TV, WCWF-TV, and WTGS to Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., or to other acquirers approved by the United States.
Media General, a Virginia corporation with its headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, owns and operates 31 broadcast television stations in 29 metropolitan areas, including broadcast television stations in each of the DMA Markets.
LIN, a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Austin, Texas, owns and operates, or provides programming, operating, or sales services to more than 50 stations in 23 metropolitan areas, including broadcast television stations in each of the DMA Markets.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a 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 David C. Kully, Chief, Litigation III Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 4000, Washington, DC 20530. At the conclusion of the 60‑day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may approve the proposed settlement upon finding that it is in the public interest.
Dignity Health Agrees to Pay $37 Million to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Dignity Health has agreed to pay the United States $37 million to settle allegations that 13 of its hospitals in California, Nevada and Arizona knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare and TRICARE by admitting patients who could have been treated on a less costly, outpatient basis, the Justice Department announced today. Dignity, formerly known as Catholic Healthcare West, is based in San Francisco and is one of the five largest hospital systems in the nation with 39 hospitals in three states.
“Charging the government for higher cost inpatient services that patients do not need wastes the country’s vital health care dollars,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This department will continue its work to stop abuses of the nation’s health care resources and to ensure patients receive the most appropriate care.”
The settlement resolves allegations that 13 Dignity Health hospitals knowingly overcharged Medicare and TRICARE, part of the military health care program, for inpatient services for patients who should have been treated on a less costly, outpatient basis. Because hospitals generally receive significantly higher payments from federal health care programs for inpatient admissions as opposed to outpatient treatment, the admission of numerous patients who do not need inpatient care, as alleged here, can result in substantial financial harm to federal health care programs.
The United States alleged that from 2006 through 2010, 13 Dignity hospitals billed Medicare and TRICARE for inpatient care for certain patients who underwent elective cardiovascular procedures (e.g., stents, pacemakers) in scheduled surgeries when the claims should have been billed as outpatient surgeries. In addition, the government alleged that from 2000 through 2008, four of the hospitals billed Medicare for beneficiaries undergoing elective kyphoplasty procedures, which are minimally-invasive and performed to treat certain spinal compression fractures that should have been billed as less costly outpatient procedures. Lastly, the government alleged that from 2006 through 2010, 13 hospitals admitted patients for certain common medical diagnoses where admission as an inpatient was medically unnecessary and appropriate care could have been provided in a less costly outpatient or observation setting.
“This settlement demonstrates this office’s commitment to protecting our federal health care programs,” said U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag for the Northern District of California. “We will continue to aggressively and appropriately pursue False Claims Act allegations of wrongdoing in the health care industry.”
As part of today’s agreement, Dignity entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) requiring the company to engage in significant compliance efforts over the next five years. Under the agreement, Dignity is required to retain independent review organizations to review the accuracy of the company’s claims for services furnished to federal health care program beneficiaries.
“Hospitals that attempt to boost profits by admitting patients for expensive and unnecessary inpatient hospital stays will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Ivan Negroni of HHS-OIG’s San Francisco Office. “Both patients and taxpayers deserve to have medical decisions made solely on what is best for the patient based on medical necessity.”
This settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Kathleen Hawkins, a former employee of Dignity, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States and obtain a portion of the government’s recovery. Hawkins will receive approximately $6.25 million.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $14.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
The settlement was a result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern District of California and the Western District of New York and the HHS-OIG.
The case is captioned United States ex rel. Hawkins v. Catholic Healthcare West, et al., CV C 09-5604 JCS. The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Utah Resident Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion, Filing over $1.5 Million in False Claims for Refunds and Presenting $6.05 Million in Ficticious Financial InstrumentsRead the Press Release
A man from Sandy, Utah, pleaded guilty today to one count of tax evasion, five counts of filing false claims for income tax refunds and three counts of filing fictitious obligations, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.
Paul Ben Zaccardi, who was charged by superseding indictment on Jan. 8, was released following his guilty plea and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell.
According to the superseding indictment, in April 2004, Zaccardi embarked on a scheme to evade the payment of his income taxes. As part of that scheme, Zaccardi re-titled his residence so that it was not in his name and caused his business receipts to be deposited into his wife’s account.
Zaccardi also presented five separate tax returns to the IRS claiming bogus refunds totaling $1,510,251. In addition, from June 2008 to October 2011, Zaccardi presented three false and fictitious financial instruments to the IRS, the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah for a combined total of $6.05 million for the purported payment of his federal income tax liabilities.
Zaccardi faces a statutory maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for each conviction of submitting fictitious obligations to the United States, a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for each conviction of presenting false, fictitious and fraudulent claims to the United States and a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for the tax evasion conviction.
This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Stuart Wexler and Ryan Raybould of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.