District Not Recorded

The owners and operators of Biscayne Milieu, a Miami-based mental-health clinic, and the clinic itself were sentenced today for their participation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving the submission of more than $50 million in fraudulent billings to Medicare, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami Office.

Antonio Macli, 73, Jorge Macli, 41 and Sandra Huarte, 49, all of Miami, and Biscayne Milieu were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. in the Southern District of Florida.  Antonio Macli was sentenced to serve 360 months in prison; Jorge Macli was sentenced to serve 300 months in prison; and Huarte was sentenced to serve 262 months in prison.  In addition, Biscayne Milieu, the corporate entity these defendants controlled, was sentenced to one year of probation.  In addition to their prison terms, Antonio Macli, Jorge Macli and Huarte were each sentenced to serve three years of supervised release.  Restitution payments for each of the defendants will be determined on April 25, 2013.

The defendants were each convicted on Aug. 24, 2012, of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, at least one substantive count of health care fraud, and conspiracy to offer and pay kickbacks following a two-month jury trial.  Antonio and Jorge Macli and Huarte were also each convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and substantive money laundering counts at trial. 

According to the evidence at trial, Biscayne Milieu was a closely held, family-run fraudulent clinic that was owned by Antonio Macli and his son Jorge Macli.  Antonio Macli’s daughter Sandra Huarte was an executive at the clinic.  Together the defendants created and oversaw a scheme in which they, along with their co-defendants, submitted over $50 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare through Biscayne Milieu, which purportedly operated a partial hospitalization program (PHP) – a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness.  Instead, the defendants devised a scheme in which they paid patient recruiters to refer ineligible Medicare beneficiaries to Biscayne Milieu for services that were never provided or that were not reimbursable under applicable Medicare rules.  Many of the patients admitted to Biscayne Milieu that they were not eligible for PHP treatment because they were chronic substance abusers, suffered from dementia and would not benefit from group therapy, or were not mentally ill and were procuring false diagnoses of mental illness in order to obtain exemptions from the civics portion of the U.S. citizenship application. 

The evidence at trial further showed that Antonio and Jorge Macli and Huarte collectively paid patient recruiters more than $1 million in illegal kickbacks to recruit Medicare patients who were ineligible for PHP treatment.  Biscayne Milieu then billed Medicare for tens of millions of dollars in PHP treatments for these patients.  Antonio and Jorge Macli and Huarte also hired doctors, therapists and other health care professionals to further their massive illegal scheme.  Along with co-conspirators working at their direction, they created falsified medical records intended to conceal their Medicare fraud and phony “case manger” contracts in an attempt to hide their extensive illegal kickbacks. 

Antonio Macli was the initiator of the fraud scheme, enlisted his son and daughter to participate in it and had primary control over the clinic’s bank accounts that received money stolen from Medicare that was then used to pay illegal kickbacks. 

Jorge Macli was most responsible for the clinic’s day-to-day operations and took steps, on a daily basis, to conceal and further the fraud, including deflecting complaints from patients and staff and paying bribes to patients in exchange for their silence. 

Huarte oversaw both the kickback payments and the Medicare billings for the clinic.  Huarte ensured that Biscayne Milieu’s fraudulent claims could pass scrutiny by Medicare by creating fraudulent paperwork and medical files, and soliciting other employees to do the same, so that these false claims were paid. 

Evidence further revealed that Antonio and Jorge Macli and Sandra Huarte engaged in a sophisticated scheme to use a series of ostensibly legitimate corporations to conceal and launder Biscayne Milieu’s fraudulent profits. 

Various owners, doctors, managers, therapists, patient brokers and other employees of Biscayne Milieu have also been charged with various health care fraud, kickback, money laundering and other offenses in two indictments unsealed in September 2011 and May 2012. Biscayne Milieu, its owners, and more than 25 of the individual defendants charged in these cases have pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District of Florida Michael Davis, Marlene Rodriguez and James V. Hayes.  Hayes was formerly a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  The case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of HHS-OIG, and was brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida in coordination with the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is 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.

Vladislav Anatolievich Horohorin, aka “BadB,” was sentenced today to serve 88 months in prison for trafficking in millions of stolen credit and debit cards and for his role in the theft of more than $9 million dollars from an Atlanta-based credit card processor.

The sentence was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Quillian Yates, U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director for Investigations David J. O’Connor and Special Agent in Charge Mark F. Giuliano of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office.

Horohorin, 30, a citizen of Russia, Israel and Ukraine, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle in the District of Columbia.  In addition to his prison term, Horohorin was ordered to pay $125,739 in restitution and sentenced to two years of supervised release.

Horohorin was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia in November 2009 on charges of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.  In a separate investigation, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned a superseding indictment against Horohorin in August 2010, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and access device fraud.  In August 2010, French law enforcement authorities, working with the U.S. Secret Service, identified Horohorin in Nice, France, and arrested him as he was attempting to board a flight to return to Moscow.  Horohorin was extradited to the United States on June 6, 2012.  After Horohorin’s arrival in the United States, the two cases pending against him were consolidated in Washington, D.C.

 On Oct. 25, 2012, Horohorin pleaded guilty to two counts of access device fraud as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to Horohorin’s plea agreement, he used online criminal forums to sell stolen credit and debit card information, known as “dumps,” to online purchasers around the world.  Horohorin, using the online name “BadB,” advertised the availability of stolen credit and debit card information through these online forums and directed purchasers to create accounts at “dumps.name,” a fully-automated dumps vending website operated by Horohorin and hosted outside the United States.  At the time of his arrest, Horohorin possessed more than 2.5 million stolen credit and debit card numbers.
 
Horohorin admitted that he was one of the lead cashers in an elaborate scheme in which counterfeit payroll debit cards were used to withdraw more than $9 million from ATMs around the world.  Hackers broke into the computers of a credit card processor located in the Atlanta area, stole debit card account numbers and raised the balances and withdrawal limits on those accounts while distributing the account numbers and PIN codes to cashers, like Horohorin.  Horohorin, and those he recruited, used one of the stolen account numbers to withdraw more than $125,000 from ATMs in and around Moscow.

The District of Columbia case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Ethan Arenson, Carol Sipperly and Corbin Weiss of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Weiss also serves as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.  Key assistance was provided by the French Police Nationale Aux Frontiers and the Netherlands Police Agency National Crime Squad High Tech Crime Unit.  The FBI Atlanta field office provided information helpful to the investigation.

The Northern District of Georgia case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick Oldham and Lawrence R. Sommerfeld of the Northern District of Georgia, and Trial Attorney Sipperly of CCIPS.  The Atlanta case was investigated by the FBI.  Assistance was provided by numerous law enforcement partners.  The U.S. Secret Service provided information helpful to the investigation.

The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs handled Horohorin’s extradition from France.

Charges were unsealed today against four former executives of BizJet International Sales and Support Inc., the U.S.-based subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, which provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, for their alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to government officials in Latin America, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. 

According to the charges, Bernd Kowalewski, the former president and chief executive officer of BizJet, Jald Jensen, the former sales manager at BizJet, Peter DuBois, the former vice president of sales and marketing at BizJet, and Neal Uhl, the former vice president of finance at BizJet, paid bribes to officials employed by the Mexican Policia Federal Preventiva, the Mexican Coordinacion General de Transportes Aereos Presidenciales, the air fleet for the Gobierno del Estado de Sinaloa in Mexico, the air fleet for the Estado De Roraima in Brazil, and the Republica de Panama Autoridad Aeronautica Civil in exchange for those officials’ assistance in securing contracts for BizJet to perform MRO services. 

Kowalewski and Jensen were charged by indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma on Jan. 5, 2012, with conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to launder money, as well as substantive charges of violating the FCPA and money laundering.  The two defendants are believed to remain abroad.

DuBois and Uhl pleaded guilty on Jan. 5, 2012, to criminal informations, and their pleas were unsealed today.  DuBois pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one count of violating the FCPA.  Uhl pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.  Both defendants were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell in the Northern District of Oklahoma.  DuBois’s sentence was reduced from a sentencing guidelines range of 108 to 120 months in prison to probation and eight months home detention based on his cooperation in the government’s investigation.  Uhl’s sentence was similarly reduced for cooperation from a guidelines range of 60 months in prison to probation and eight months home detention.

“The charges announced today allege a conspiracy by senior executives at BizJet to win contracts in Latin American countries through bribery and illegal tactics,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman.  “Former BizJet executives, including the former president and chief executive officer, allegedly authorized and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars to be paid directly and indirectly to ranking military officials in various foreign countries, and two former executives have pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy.  These charges reflect our continued commitment to holding individuals accountable for violations of the FCPA, including, as in this instance, after entering into a deferred prosecution agreement with their employer.”

“Business executives have a responsibility to act appropriately in order to maintain a fair and competitive international market,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Parlave.  “The unsealing of these bribery charges, and today’s sentencing, demonstrate that the FBI is committed to curbing corruption and will pursue all those who try to advance their businesses through bribery.”

The charges allege that the defendants, in many instances, paid bribes directly to foreign officials in Mexico, Panama and Brazil for assistance in securing contracts.  In other instances, the defendants allegedly funneled bribes through a shell company owned and operated by Jensen.  The shell company, Avionica International & Associates Inc., allegedly operated under the pretense of providing aircraft maintenance brokerage services but in reality laundered money related to BizJet’s bribery scheme.  Avionica was located at Jensen’s personal residence in Van Nuys, Calif., and Jensen was the only officer, director and employee.

The charges announced today follow the announcement on March 14, 2012, of a deferred prosecution agreement with BizJet and an $11.8 million monetary penalty to resolve charges related to the corrupt conduct.  That agreement acknowledged BizJet’s voluntary disclosure, extraordinary cooperation and extensive remediation in this case.

The conspiracy to commit violations of the FCPA count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost.  The FCPA counts each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $100,000 or twice the value gained or lost.  The conspiracy to commit money laundering count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction.  The money laundering counts each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. 

An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Daniel S. Kahn and Stephen J. Spiegelhalter of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Leitch from the Northern District of Oklahoma has provided assistance in the case.  The department has also worked closely with its law enforcement counterparts in Mexico and Panama in this matter and is grateful for their assistance.  The case is being investigated by FBI agents who are part of the Washington Field Office’s dedicated FCPA squad.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

Shusen Wei, 45, a citizen of China, pleaded guilty today in Miami federal court to charges stemming from his involvement in the smuggling of a carved rhinoceros horn from the United States to China, announced Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment & Natural Resources Division, Wifredo A, Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and William C. Woody, Chief of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement.

Wei entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, who scheduled sentencing for April 29, 2013.  Wei faces a possible term in prison of up to 10 years on the single count filed against him, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years.

According to documents filed in Court, Wei traveled from China to Miami, Fla., in January 2013, to attend the Original Miami Beach Antique Show.  While attending the show, he roomed with another Chinese national who was later arrested for smuggling of rhinoceros horns from the United States to China.  In pleading guilty, Wei admitted that he paid commissions to this other individual to purchase objects made of rhino horn in the United States and smuggle them to China and that he knew that this individual was engaged in the smuggling of protected species of wildlife, including rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory. Wei also knew that this individual had paid bribes to Chinese customs officials to assist in his smuggling.  Special Agents with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service learned that Wei had previously purchased libation cups made from carved rhinoceros horns from this same individual. One of those items was sold at a U.S. auction house for $242,500.  This and other photographs of carved rhinoceros horns were found on Wei’s cell phone.  

Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law, and all black rhinoceros species are endangered. Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by 178 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets. Nevertheless, the demand for rhinoceros horn and black market prices have skyrocketed in recent years due to the value that some cultures have placed on ornamental carvings, good luck charms or alleged medicinal purposes, leading to a decimation of the global rhinoceros population. As a result, rhino populations have declined by more than 90 percent since 1970. South Africa, for example, has witnessed a rapid escalation in poaching of live animals, rising from 13 in 2007 to 668 in 2012.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Special Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and thanked the U.S. Attorneys Offices in the Eastern District of New York and the District of New Jersey for their assistance. The case is part of “Operation Crash” (named for the term used to describe a herd of rhinoceros) which is an ongoing multi-agency effort to detect, deter, and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns.  This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Richard A. Udell, a Senior Counsel with the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Walter Scott Steele, a former correctional officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI), and Lanny Harris, a former correction sergeant at RCI in Hagerstown, Md., pleaded guilty today in relation to assaults against an inmate on March 9, 2008. Harris pleaded guilty to conspiring with other RCI officers to assault an inmate at the state prison on March 9, 2008. Steele pleaded guilty to conspiring with RCI officers to obstruct the investigation into an assault against an inmate on March 9, 2008, and to making a false statement to an FBI agent investigating the assault. With these pleas, five former RCI correctional officers have pleaded guilty and 10 others face charges.

According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Steele admitted that, during the midnight shift on March 8-9, 2008, he heard RCI officers discuss assaulting the inmate, identified in court documents only as “K.D.,” in retaliation for K.D.’s prior assault of another officer. Steele warned the group that they would get caught if they assaulted the inmate.

Additionally, according to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Harris and other officers met at RCI during the midnight shift and agreed to assault K.D. in retaliation for a prior incident involving the inmate and another officer. Harris admitted that he and three other correctional officers then entered K.D.’s cell in order to assault inmate K.D., while a fourth officer watched. Officers then assaulted K.D. while Steele watched.

Steele admitted that he later learned that officers from the midnight shift were meeting at a McDonald’s restaurant to talk about the assault on inmate K.D. Steele acknowledged meeting Harris and other RCI officers who had been involved in the assault, and discussing what they were going to say to investigators. Steele agreed to tell investigators that he did not know about an assault on inmate K.D.

Steele admitted in court that he lied to federal investigators on Feb. 12, 2013, by falsely denying that he had discussed K.D. with other RCI officers from the midnight shift. Steele also acknowledged that he failed to tell federal investigators that he had seen other officers assault K.D.

“Mr. Harris admitted today that, as a supervisor, he conspired with other officers to assault an inmate in order to punish the inmate for hitting an officer. Mr. Steele, meanwhile, has admitted that, after he watched his fellow correctional officers use force to punish the inmate, he then agreed to help those officers cover up their misconduct,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute officers who use their official position to abuse inmates or to cover up crimes committed by other officers.”

Steele faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Harris faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Sentencing for Steele is set for July 9, 2013, and sentencing for Harris is set for Aug. 2, 2013, both before U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar.

The investigation by the Frederick Resident Agency of the FBI is ongoing. The case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, with the assistance of Michael Cunningham of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a Clean Air Act (CAA) settlement with Tyson Foods Inc. and several of its affiliate corporations to address threats of accidental chemical releases after anhydrous ammonia was released during incidents at facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska, resulting in multiple injuries, property damage and one fatality.

“This settlement will protect workers at Tyson facilities throughout Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska that use anhydrous ammonia, and make the communities surrounding these 23 facilities safer.  It will also provide emergency response equipment for first responders to chemical releases,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “The requirements of this agreement, which include comprehensive third party audits, will help mitigate the impact of releases of anhydrous ammonia by ensuring compliance with the Risk Management Program under the Clean Air Act.

“Exposure to anhydrous ammonia can cause serious health issues, and in extreme cases, even death,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s settlement with Tyson Foods will ensure the proper safety practices are in place in the future to protect employees, first responders, and communities located near processing facilities from the threat of dangerous chemical releases.”

Under the terms of the consent decree, Tyson is required to conduct third-party audits of its current compliance with the CAA’s Risk Management Program requirements at all 23 facilities in Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The third-party auditors must have expertise in ammonia refrigeration systems, be recognized experts in risk management program compliance and be approved by EPA.  Tyson must correct any violations discovered in the audits and certify the completion of the work. Tyson has also agreed to test certain piping used in its refrigeration systems at the 23 facilities to identify any problems that may have led to accidental releases and to replace any non-compliant piping.

Under the consent decree, Tyson will pay a $3.95 million penalty. Tyson has also agreed to implement a supplemental environmental project to purchase $300,000 worth of emergency response equipment for first responders in communities with significant environmental justice concerns in which Tyson operates facilities.  The equipment will assist responses to emergencies involving chemicals that are regulated pursuant to the CAA Risk Management Program, including anhydrous ammonia.

Anhydrous ammonia is a poisonous gas and considered an extremely hazardous substance under the CAA. Exposure to vapors can cause temporary blindness and eye damage, as well as irritation of the skin, mouth, throat, respiratory tract and mucous membranes. Prolonged exposure to anhydrous ammonia vapor at high concentrations can lead to serious lung damage and even death. 

The Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Program requires owners and operators of facilities that exceed a threshold quantity of a regulated substance, such as anhydrous ammonia, to develop and implement a risk management plan that must be submitted to EPA. The 23 Tyson facilities named in the consent decree are subject to the regulations because the refrigeration systems at the facilities each contain more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. The facilities have a combined inventory of more than 1.7 million pounds of anhydrous ammonia.

Tyson Foods Inc. is headquartered in Springdale, Ark. and is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork.

The proposed settlement lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department website at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. 

More information:  www.epa.gov/enforcement/waste/cases/tysonfoodsinc.html
 

The Justice Department announced today that under its 2011 settlements with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, and Saxon Mortgage Servicing Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, 316 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010 are due to receive over $39 million in monetary relief for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

Under the first settlement, Bank of America is required to pay over $36.8 million to service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010. Each service member will receive a minimum of $116,785, plus compensation for any equity lost with interest. Bank of America has already begun compensating 142 service members whose homes were illegally foreclosed on between 2006 and the middle of 2009.  Under the same agreement, Bank of America agreed to provide information about its foreclosures from mid-2009 through the end of 2010. As a result of that review, Bank of America will now pay 155 service members upon whose homes it illegally foreclosed. Borrowers receiving payment under this settlement may receive an additional payment under a settlement between Bank of America and federal banking regulators -- the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System -- if the foreclosure occurred in 2009 or 2010. Payments provided under the federal banking regulators’ settlement will bring the total amount received by eligible borrowers to $125,000 plus equity where applicable.

Under the second settlement, Saxon Mortgage Services Inc. is in the process of paying out over $2.5 million to 19 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010. Each service member will receive a minimum of $130,555.56, plus compensation for any equity lost with interest.

Bank of America is one of five mortgage servicers that entered into a settlement, known as the National Mortgage Settlement, with the Justice Department in 2012 regarding its foreclosure practices. Pursuant to the National Mortgage Settlement, the Justice Department is overseeing ongoing audits of the five largest mortgage servicers in the country (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and Ally) to identify violations of the SCRA’s foreclosure provisions between Jan. 1, 2006 and April 4, 2012 and its 6 percent interest rate cap provision between Jan. 1, 2008 and April 4, 2012. The $36.8 million currently being paid by Bank of America to 297 service members is pursuant to the 2011 consent decree (which predated the National Mortgage Settlement), and represents only the non-judicial foreclosures conducted by Bank of America. As the National Mortgage Settlement audits progress, the Justice Department will be requiring payments by Bank of America for judicial foreclosure and interest rate violations, and by the other four servicers for judicial and non-judicial foreclosure and interest rate violations. Under the National Mortgage Settlement most service members wrongly foreclosed on will receive $125,000 plus any lost equity. For the foreclosure violations that took place in 2009 and 2010, the Justice Department is coordinating closely with the Office of the Comptroller and the Federal Reserve Board, which are conducting separate reviews of 12 mortgage servicers under the Independent Foreclosure Review process.

“Our men and women in the military should not have to worry about a bank foreclosing on their home while they bravely serve our country,” said Eric Halperin, Special Counsel for Fair Lending in the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously enforce the laws that protect service members while they do their difficult and necessary work.”

The SCRA provides critical additional consumer and other protections to the men and women serving our nation in the military.  For more information on the Justice Department’s work to enforce service members’ rights, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.

The Justice Department announced today that, as part of its Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, over the past year it has reached seven settlements with eight health care providers from across the United States to ensure that they are providing effective communication to people who are deaf or have hearing disabilities. These settlements address the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for health care providers, such as hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes and doctor’s offices, to provide effective communication to people who are deaf or have hearing disabilities in the provision of medical services.

The Department of Justice’s Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative is a partnership of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s offices across the nation, to target enforcement efforts on a critical area for individuals with disabilities. The initiative, launched on the 22nd anniversary of the ADA in July 2012, includes the participation of more than 40 U.S. Attorney’s offices. Six of the seven settlements were obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices. The settlement obtained by the department’s Civil Rights Division covers two facilities.

The seven settlements from the past year are:

• April 2012 - Richard Noren, M.D., Henry Kurzydlowski, M.D. and Pain Care Consultants Inc ., in the Northern District of Illinois and
• May 2012 - Steven Senica, M.D., and Senica Bruneau, in the Northern District of Illinois;
• June 2012 - Northshore University HealthSystem  in the Northern District of Illinois;
• November 2012 - Dr. Paul S. Biedenbach & Northern Ohio Medical Specialists Healthcare in the Northern District of Ohio;
• January 2013 - The Center for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine in the Eastern District of Virginia;   
• March 2013 - Manassas Health and Rehabilitation Center and Gainesville Health and Rehabilitation Center, both in the Eastern District of Virginia;
• March 2013 - Monadnock Community Hospital in the District of New Hampshire 

“Disability-based discrimination in health care is illegal under the Americans with Disabilities Act and will not be tolerated,” said Eve L. Hill, Senior Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “All types of health care providers – from hospitals to nursing homes, from surgeons to general practitioners – all across the country – need to provide equal access to people with disabilities, including people who are deaf. More than 20 years after passage of the ADA, the time for compliance is now.” 

In addition to the department’s settlements, in early March, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reached a settlement agreement with Genesis HealthCare, one of the nation’s largest providers of senior care with over 400 facilities, to provide sign language interpreters and other means of effective communication to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

OCR Director Leon Rodriguez noted “My office continues its enforcement activities and work with providers, particularly large health care systems like Genesis, to make certain that compliance with nondiscrimination laws is a system wide obligation.”

Title III of the ADA requires health care providers to ensure that their communications with people with hearing disabilities are as effective as their communications with people without disabilities. To meet this obligation, health care providers, as well as other public accommodations, must provide auxiliary aids and services unless doing so would cause an undue burden to the facility or fundamentally alter the service being provided. Although handwritten notes or typed text can be an appropriate auxiliary aid for simple communications, in complex health care-related communications, a qualified sign language interpreter may be required. The individual with a disability cannot be charged extra for the cost of an interpreter or other auxiliary aid.

The Justice Department found that at each of the eight facilities, a person who is deaf sought to access health care services and was denied a needed sign language interpreter, resulting in discrimination on the basis of disability. By not providing a sign language interpreter or otherwise communicating effectively with the individuals who are deaf, the facilities and doctors were compromising the overall health of their patients.

In the Monadnock Community Hospital settlement, the complainant went to the emergency department at the hospital for treatment for an allergic reaction that caused her to have difficulty breathing. Upon entering the hospital she requested a sign language interpreter by presenting an Emergency Interpreter Referral Card.  Despite this request, hospital staff attempted to use the complainant’s 11-year-old daughter as an interpreter.  The complainant repeatedly asked for an interpreter during her time in the ER, where she was administered medical procedures.  She was eventually discharged, and although she was provided with discharge paperwork, she alleged she had no understanding of what was done to her, and had no understanding of the discharge document.

In the Center for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine settlement, the patient, who is deaf, repeatedly requested an interpreter for multiple medical and physical therapy appointments related to a back injury. The orthopedic practice told the patient it was her responsibility to provide an interpreter and did not provide her with an interpreter at any of her appointments. Similarly, in the Northern Ohio Medical Specialists matter, the complainant, who is deaf and communicates using American Sign Language (ASL), sought medical care and requested an interpreter, but Northern Ohio Medical Specialists refused to provide an interpreter for her at her appointment, citing company policy.

In the Northshore University HealthSystem matter, R.A., who is deaf, was the primary caretaker of his 80-year-old mother S.A. On three separate occasions, for an emergency room visit and two hospitalizations, R.A. and S.A. requested a sign language interpreter so R.A. could communicate with the hospital’s medical personnel about his mother’s condition. R.A. was told that the hospital does not provide interpreters to family members of patients who are not hearing impaired.

Under each settlement agreement, the health care provider agreed to change their policies to provide effective communication, including sign language interpreters, free of charge, and to train all staff on their new policies and procedures and the effective communication requirements of the ADA. Under the terms of the agreements with Monadnock Community Hospital, the Center for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine, the Northshore University Health Specialists, Senica Bruneau and Noren, monetary damages were paid to the complainants. In the Northshore University HealthSystem and the Northern Ohio Medical Specialists settlements, the health care providers agreed to pay a civil penalty to the United States. Under the ADA a civil penalty of up to $55,000 may be assessed against a healthcare provider or other entity that violates the ADA.

The Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative addresses access to health care for people with hearing disabilities and for people with HIV, as well as physical access to health care facilities. Earlier this year the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s offices reached four settlement agreements regarding access to medical care for people with HIV in just five weeks.

The department has a number of publications available to assist entities to comply with the ADA, including a Business Brief on Communicating with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Hospital Settings, www.ada.gov/hospcombr.htm, and publications specific to health care providers, HIV discrimination, and effective communication with people with hearing and vision disabilities, as well as publications about tax credits available for providing access.  For more information on the ADA and to access these publications, visit www.ada.gov.  The seven Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative settlements may be found at www.ada.gov/settlemt.htm.  For more information on the Barrier Free Health Care Initiative visit www.ada.gov/usao-agreements.htm.  Those interested in finding out more about these settlements or the obligations of public accommodations under the ADA may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov.   ADA complaints may be filed by email to [email protected].

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and European Commission Vice President Viviane Reding met today in Washington, D.C. They had cordial discussions on a wide range of fields of collaboration between the Department of Justice and the European Commission. 

Among the topics discussed were victims’ rights, rights of persons with disabilities and the need to protect children against online predators.  Attorney General Holder referred to the experience both of the department’s Office for Victims of Crime and the Disability Rights Section of the department’s Civil Rights Division. Attorney General Holder and Vice President Reding welcomed the opportunity for a meeting of experts in this regard.   Both Attorney General Holder and Vice President Reding also noted the important role that Eurojust, the European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit, has taken in coordinating highly successful multilateral investigations, including investigations of online child predators, and both committed to ensuring the continuation of such collaboration through Eurojust.   

The meeting concluded with a discussion of the ongoing negotiations for a data protection agreement covering police and judicial information.  They noted the importance attached on both sides of the Atlantic to providing a high level of personal data and privacy protection for all individuals. Attorney General Holder and Vice President Reding expressed appreciation for the ongoing and positive dialogue between U.S. and EU experts on protecting and sharing data on the basis of a commonly agreed framework.  Each noted recent progress made, and both sides were optimistic in reiterating their determination to finalize negotiations as rapidly as possible.

Alicia A.G. Limtiaco, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, was awarded the 2013 Visionary Voice Award from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). The Visionary Voice Award highlights individuals throughout the country who are doing outstanding work in the field of anti-sexual violence within their communities and whose prevention work is making an impact in their communities. This year, the National award honors 26 leaders in sexual violence prevention.

The Guam Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence (GCASAFV) nominated U.S. Attorney Limtiaco for the 2013 Visionary Voice Award and invited her to the "Proclamation Signing and Remembrance Ceremony" commemorating Sexual Assault Awareness Month, National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month, and Crime Victims' Rights Week. The Proclamation Signing by the Honorable Ray Tenorio, Acting Governor of Guam, and Remembrance Candle Lighting and Reflection Ceremony honoring all victims of violence and led by the faith based community, were held at the Latte ofFreedom on April1, 2013. GCASAFV Executive Director Cynthia Cabot expressed thanks to U.S. Attorney Limtiaco for building the foundation and presented her with a crystal clock signifying this year's theme of Sexual Assault Awareness Month-- "It's Time ... To Talk About It!"

The GCASAFV nominated U.S. Attorney Limtiaco citing to her over 20 years of commitment and dedication to enforcement, prosecution, public awareness and prevention efforts to combat against and end sexual assault and family violence. Prior to commencing her service as U.S. Attorney in 2010, Limtiaco was the first woman elected to serve as Attorney General of Guam. Limtiaco was an active member of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and Conference of Western Attorneys General (CW AG), and served as Co-chair of the NAAG Criminal Law Committee and NAAG Youth Access to Alcohol Committee, and as Second Vice Chair of the CW AG Executive Team. She spearheaded certain initiatives including the formation of task forces to address human trafficking; internet crimes against children including sexual exploitation and child pornography; and the implementation and compliance of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SO RNA) requirements by the Government of Guam. She served as the Chair of the Executive Branch ofthe Family Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force, and was an active member of the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Steering Committee.

Prior to her tenure as Attorney General, Limtiaco served as acting Chief Prosecutor and as an Assistant Attorney General (Prosecutor) for the Office of the Attorney General. She was the Lead Prosecutor of the Criminal Sexual Conduct and Family Violence Unit, and Co-chair of the Governor's Family Violence Task Force. Limtiaco initiated the drafting and implementation of family violence protocol utilized by the Prosecution Division and Guam Police Department, and assisted in the drafting of the 1994 and 1998 Guam Family Violence Acts, and the Sex Offender Registration and Notification law enacted in 1999.

As U.S. Attorney, Limtiaco is a member of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee (AGAC) Subcommittees/ Working Groups, including the Civil Rights, and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Working Groups. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco and the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) continues to work collaboratively with the National District Attorney's Association; U.S. Department of Interior, Office oflnsular Affairs, Federal Ombudsman Office; and U.S. Department of State, Monitoring of Trafficking in Persons Office, on a Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking. This response is a critical component of the USAO's human trafficking strategic plan given increased concerns in the Pacific region regarding sex and labor trafficking, violence against women, and child abuse and sexual exploitation. Also of significance are the source countries within the Asia Pacific region from which victims are recruited and trafficked, and their close proximity to Guam, the NMI, Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Federated States ofMicronesia ("FSM"); and the trafficking of victims in the islands themselves. The Pacific Regional Response to Combat Human Trafficking initiative employs a multi-disciplinary model, including participation, coordination, and collaboration among law enforcement; prosecution; victim service providers; social services; medical, mental and public health professionals; faith based organizations; educational institutions; Consulates; and other community stakeholders. The response calls for the establishment and provision of victim services, investigation and prosecution of human trafficking, training opportunities, community outreach/ public awareness and prevention programs, and creation of human trafficking task forces and coalitions in the Pacific region island communities. Providing fundamental training in human trafficking, including victimization, investigation and prosecution, prevention efforts, and other related topics, to law enforcement; prosecution; victim service providers; social services; medical, mental and public health professionals; faith based organizations; educational institutions; Consulates; and other community stakeholders, in our Pacific region island communities, is critical to effective prevention and enforcement efforts in the region. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco has been instrumental in coordinating human trafficking, sexual assault and child sexual exploitation training in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, and Federated States of Micronesia; and facilitating the Guam Human Trafficking Task Force efforts, including those of the Victim Service Providers Committee.

NSVRC Director Karen Baker, in a press release, stated that "it is an honor to celebrate these outstanding individuals, who have committed themselves to sexual violence prevention. Recognizing the positive impact of this work on a national level is a great reminder that we all can make a difference."

To learn more about Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the Visionary Voice Award, visit www.nsvrc.org.

Intermountain Health Care Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $25.5 million to settle claims that it violated the Stark Statute and the False Claims Act by engaging in improper financial relationships with referring physicians, the Justice Department announced today. Intermountain operates the largest health system in the state of Utah.

The Stark Statute restricts the financial relationships that hospitals may have with doctors who refer patients to them. The relationships at issue in this matter that the United States alleged were prohibited by the Stark Statute included employment agreements under which the physicians received bonuses that improperly took into account the value of some of their patient referrals; and office leases and compensation arrangements between Intermountain and referring physicians that violated other requirements of the Stark Statute. These issues were disclosed to the government by Intermountain.

“The Department of Justice has longstanding concerns about improper financial relationships between health care providers and their referral sources, because such relationships can corrupt a physician's judgment about the patient's true healthcare needs,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s Civil Division. “In addition to yielding a recovery for taxpayers, this settlement should deter similar conduct in the future and help make health care more affordable for patients.”

“People should expect that hospitals and doctors care more for their patients than their bottom line profits,” said Gerald Roy, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services region including Utah. “So I applaud Intermountain for recognizing their liability and coming forward to self-disclose these violations.  We will vigilantly protect taxpayer-funded health programs against Stark violations through tight coordination with our partners at the Department of Justice.” 

This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. 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 that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover more than $10.2 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $14.2 billion. 

The case was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

The Justice Department announced today that Fluor Hanford LLC has agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle allegations that Fluor violated the False Claims Act by using federal funds for lobbying. Fluor is a Department of Energy (DOE) contractor that performs management and engineering services at the DOE’s Hanford Nuclear Site in eastern Washington. Fluor’s parent company, Fluor Corporation, is headquartered in Texas and performs engineering, construction and personnel services for commercial and government customers.

Between 2005 and 2009, Fluor contracted with the DOE to manage and operate the Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Center. The HAMMER Center provides homeland security and emergency response training to first responders and law enforcement personnel. Fluor allegedly used DOE funds to lobby Congress and other federal officials to increase funding for the HAMMER Center, in violation of a federal law known as the Byrd Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal funds for lobbying.

“The money allocated by Congress for this program was designed to train first responders and law enforcement personnel to respond to crisis situations, not to lobby Congress for more funding,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “This resolution demonstrates that the Justice Department will work to ensure that public funds are not used to influence legislation.”

“The cleanup efforts at Hanford are too important to have prime contractors who misuse government funds to lobby for more government funds,” said Michael C. Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.  “We are pleased that Fluor has settled these allegations and hope that this serves as a reminder to all prime contractors at Hanford that they must be good stewards of tax payer dollars.”

The allegations resolved by today’s settlement were initially alleged in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act by Loydene Rambo, a former employee of Fluor. Under the False Claims Act, private whistleblowers can sue on behalf of the United States for false claims. The United States has the right to take over the action, as it did here. The whistleblower is entitled to a share of any recovery. Rambo will receive $200,000 of the government’s settlement.

This case was handled by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, with investigative assistance provided by the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General.

The False Claims Act suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, and is captioned United States ex rel. Rambo v. Fluor Hanford, LLC et al., No. cv-11-5037 (E.D. Wash.). The claims settled in this case are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

The Department of Justice today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Seattle has indicted Jamie Larson, 49, on a federal hate crime charge relating to a racially-motivated assault of a 50-year-old Sikh man.

Larson has been charged with one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that was enacted in October 2009.  The indictment alleges that on Oct. 17, 2012, the subject assaulted the victim, based upon the victim’s actual and perceived race, color and national origin, which included Middle Eastern and Arab descent.  The defendant was arrested at the scene of the attack after a witness called 911.

The charge carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison.

The Shepard-Byrd law criminalizes acts of physical violence causing bodily injury motivated by any person’s actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.

The matter is being investigated by the Seattle Division of the FBI.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce F. Miyake of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington and Trial Attorney Nicholas Durham of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the subject is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The United States announced today that the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) has successfully implemented an agreement on the use of electronic control weapons, commonly referred to as Tasers. Significantly, data OCSO provided to the department demonstrates a marked decrease in the use of Tasers under Sheriff Jerry Demings’ tenure while implementing the department’s agreement. OCSO’s data also demonstrated an overall decrease in uses of force during the same period.

In 2010, the department and OCSO entered into a Memorandum of Agreement to ensure OCSO’s constitutional use of Tasers. The agreement set forth standards for Taser policies, training and reviews of Taser use. The department found that OCSO came into substantial compliance with the agreement in October 2011, and OCSO has maintained that compliance level for 18 months as required by the agreement.

“The successful resolution of our agreement with OCSO demonstrates that effective policing and constitutional policing go hand in hand. OCSO has heightened its standards on Taser use, reduced the use of Tasers, and also reduced its overall use of force, all while providing effective policing to the people of Orange County,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “We are confident that OCSO has the systems in place to ensure constitutional use of Tasers going forward.”

In 2007, the department initiated an investigation of OCSO’s Taser use pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The department issued a technical assistance letter to OCSO in August 2008 describing policies, training and accountability mechanisms necessary to ensure the constitutional use of Tasers.

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of misconduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of federally-protected rights. The act also allows the Justice Department to remedy such misconduct through civil litigation. The Justice Department has conducted similar investigations and has obtained important reforms in police departments and law enforcement agencies across the country.

The Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida jointly conducted this investigation.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt . Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida is available on its website at www.justice.gov/usao/flm .

A former contract employee of the U.S. Defense Department (DoD) was sentenced today to serve 35 months in prison for his participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme arising from corruption in the award of defense contracts at Camp Arifjan, an Army base in Kuwait, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Wajdi Birjas, 41, of Evansville, Ind., was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young in the Southern District of Indiana.  In addition to his prison term, Birjas was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $650,000.

Birjas pleaded guilty on Aug. 11, 2010, to one count of bribery conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy.

According to court documents, Birjas was a contract employee in the Host Nation Affairs office at Camp Arifjan between approximately 2004 and August 2007.  In this position, his responsibilities included translating documents, handling customs matters, and identifying Kuwaiti companies capable of providing certain goods and services to the U.S. military in Kuwait.  Through his work, Birjas had frequent contact with U.S. Army contracting officials, including officials who were regularly receiving unlawful payments from individuals who had contracts with, or were seeking contracts from, DoD.

According to court documents, Birjas, acting at the direction of a contractor working in Kuwait, developed corrupt relationships with certain U.S. Army contracting officials, including Sergeant First Class Richard Evick, who was deployed to Camp Arifjan as the senior procurement non-commissioned officer, Major Christopher Murray and Major James Momon.  By bribing these Army contracting officials in 2005 and 2006, Birjas assisted the contractor in obtaining a total of more than $1.7 million in connection with DoD contracts to provide various goods and services to the U.S. military.  In return, Birjas received a share of the profits that the contracts generated and was allowed to live rent-free in a villa in Kuwait that contained a hidden safe.

Court documents indicate that Birjas, among other things, paid Murray approximately $90,000; paid Evick approximately $22,000; and paid for Evick’s and Momon’s airplane and hotel expenses to allow them to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Dubai.  According to court documents, Birjas also allowed Momon to hide approximately $680,000 worth of his bribe money in Birjas’s safe at the villa.

Birjas admitted that, after Momon had returned to the United States at the end of his tour, Birjas agreed to assist Momon in arranging for $250,000 of Momon’s bribe money to be transferred from Kuwait to the United States.  Birjas admitted to working out the details of this agreement with Evick and one of Evick’s associates, Crystal Martin, a former master sergeant in the Army who operated a concession to sell clothing at U.S. military bases in Kuwait.  According to court documents, Birjas delivered approximately $85,000 worth of Momon’s bribe money to Martin for ultimate delivery to Momon in the United States.

The case against Birjas arose out of an investigation into corruption at the Army contracting office at Camp Arifjan, which has led to charges against 19 individuals, all of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Peter C. Sprung, Edward J. Loya Jr., Eric G. Olshan and Timothy J. Kelly of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.  The case is being investigated by special agents of the DCIS, the Army Criminal Investigation Command Division, the FBI and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

Doreen Alexander has been extradited to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago to face charges related to her alleged role in the 2005 kidnapping of naturalized U.S. citizen Balram “Balo” Maharaj, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.

Alexander, 47, arrived in the United States on Sunday, March 31, 2013, and was arraigned yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson in the District of Columbia.  Alexander was charged in a two count indictment filed in September 2010.  If convicted, Alexander faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. She is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Alexander is the last charged co-conspirator involved in the alleged kidnapping of Maharaj, Alexander’s former boyfriend and father to one of her sons who died as a result of the kidnapping.  The other 12 co-conspirators were previously extradited and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. 

Alexander is alleged to have initiated the April 2005 kidnapping of Maharaj and provided information that allowed the kidnappers to identify, locate and track Maharaj.  Alexander allegedly alerted the kidnappers to Maharaj’s visits to Trinidad and Tobago, gave them information on his wealth, which was used to calculate the ransom, and reassured the kidnappers that they had the right man after the ransom negotiations went awry.

Valuable assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, which worked with its counterparts in Trinidad & Tobago to effect the extradition.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has also provided significant assistance in this case. 

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Division Extraterritorial Squad with the assistance of the FBI's Legal Attache's Office in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.  Special assistance was further provided by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Anti-Kidnapping Squad and Homicide Bureau.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Matthew Singer and Teresa Wallbaum of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. 

A federal jury in Detroit today convicted a home health agency owner and a physical therapist for their participation in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade of the Eastern District of Michigan; Robert D. Foley III, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI 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 (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Detroit Office.
 
Mehran Javidan, 52, was found guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, three counts of health care fraud, three counts of making false statements related to health care matters, and one count of conspiracy to solicit or pay health care kickbacks in exchange for referrals of patients to a Detroit-area home health care company, Acure Home Care Inc.
 
Vishnu Meda, 32, a physical therapist, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, two counts of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements relating to health care matters.
 
The jury found Javidan not guilty of one count of making false statements and one count of health care fraud, and did not reach a verdict on one additional count of health care fraud.  Meda was found not guilty of one count of making false statements and one count of health care fraud.
 
The defendants were charged in a superseding indictment returned Nov. 29, 2012.  Another individual charged in the indictment remains a fugitive.
 
According to evidence presented at trial, Javidan owned and operated Acure Home Care Inc., a home health care company in Oak Park, Mich., and later Troy, Mich.  As shown at trial,  Javidan paid doctors to refer non-homebound patients for physical therapy treatment that was medically unnecessary.  The evidence showed that she also paid patient recruiters to obtain Medicare information and pre-signed physical therapy documents from Medicare beneficiaries.  The recruiters for Acure obtained the Medicare information and pre-signed forms by paying patients in cash and by promising that the referring doctors would prescribe them narcotic prescriptions. 
 
Evidence presented at trial established that Meda and other physical therapists and physical therapy assistants employed by Acure created false and fraudulent physical therapy files using the blank, pre-signed forms to make it appear as if physical therapy services were actually rendered, when, in fact, the services had not been rendered. 
 
Acure was paid over $2.3 million from Medicare between December 2008 and November 2010.
 
The health care fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison; each count of health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison; each count of making false statements carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison; and each count of kickback conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.  Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for July 8, 2013.
 
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Catherine K. Dick and Niall M. O’Donnell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  The investigation was led by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a joint effort of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and 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 more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is 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.

Jeffrey Charles, a resident of Grimstead, Va., was sentenced today to serve 46 months in federal prison for conspiring with his daughter and son-in-law to defraud the United States, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns in his daughter’s name, and filing a false tax return in his own name, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

On Nov. 6, 2012, following a six-day jury trial in Newport News, Va., Charles was convicted of one count of conspiracy, three counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, and one count of filing a false tax return. According to the evidence presented at trial, Charles, a registered nurse and the administrator of a rehabilitation center, conspired with his daughter and son-in-law to impair and impede the IRS in ascertaining, computing, assessing and collecting federal income taxes. The evidence also proved that Charles aided and assisted in the preparation of three false tax returns in his daughter’s name for tax years 2000, 2001 and 2005, and attached false documents to each tax return. 

Finally, the evidence at trial also established that Charles filed a false tax return in his own name for tax year 2006 in which he allegedly falsely reported earning $0.00 income. Charles joined American Rights Litigators (ARL), a Florida-based organization, and paid ARL to send fraudulent documents to the IRS on his behalf and on behalf of his daughter. In August 2004, a federal district judge permanently enjoined ARL and two of its promoters from the sale of a nationwide tax scam. In August of 2010, three promoters of ARL were each sentenced in the District of Columbia to 10 years in prison along with ARL founder Eddie Ray Kahn, who received a 20 year sentence.

Senior Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. also ordered Charles to pay over $300,000 in restitution to the IRS as part of his sentence.

In a separate but related case, Charles’s co-conspirators, his daughter and son-in-law Kathryn Miles and John Miles, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy and were sentenced to federal prison.

Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally for the Justice Department’s Tax Division commended the investigative efforts of special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorney Justin K. Gelfand and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Samuels, who prosecuted the case.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Dominion Energy has agreed to pay a $3.4 million civil penalty and spend approximately $9.8 million on environmental mitigation projects to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations. The settlement will result in reductions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter by more than 70,000 tons per year, across three of the utility’s coal-fired power plants, located in Kincaid, Ill., State Line, Ind., and Somerset, Mass.

“This settlement will improve air quality in states in the Midwest and Northeast by eliminating tens of thousands of tons of harmful air pollution each year,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “These reductions mark the latest step in our continuing efforts, along with EPA, to protect public health and the environment through rigorous enforcement of the Clean Air Act.”

“Today’s settlement substantially reduces harmful pollution from coal-fired power plants in and around communities with significant air pollution concerns,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Along with the pollution reductions at the three power plants covered by the agreement, the settlement also requires Dominion to invest over $9 million in pollution reducing projects in neighboring communities.”

Under the settlement, Dominion must install or upgrade pollution control technology on two plants, and permanently retire a third plant. Dominion will be required to  operate the new and existing pollution controls continuously, and will be required to comply with stringent emission rates and annual tonnage limitations. The actions taken by Dominion to comply with this settlement will result in annual reductions at the Brayon Point and Kincaid plants of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions by 52,000 tons from 2010 levels. The retirement of the State Line plant will result in an additional reduction of 18,000 tons of SO2 and NOx.

The settlement also requires Dominion to spend $9.75 million on projects that will benefit the environment and human health in communities located near the Dominion facilities.  A total of $9 million will be spent on such projects as: 1) wood stove changeouts, including $2 million for changeouts in southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut;  2) switcher locomotive idle reduction for Chicago rail yards; 3) land acquisition and restoration adjacent to, or near, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; 4) energy efficiency and geothermal/solar projects for local schools and food banks; and 5) clean diesel engine retrofits for municipalities and school districts.  Dominion must also pay a total of $750,000 to the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service, to be used on projects to address the damage resulting from Dominion’s alleged excess emissions.  

Reducing air pollution from the largest sources of emissions, including coal-fired power plants, is one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives for 2011-2013. SO2 and NOx, two key pollutants emitted from power plants, have numerous adverse effects on human health and are significant contributors to acid rain, smog and haze. These pollutants are converted in the air to fine particles that can cause severe respiratory and cardiovascular impacts, and premature death. Reducing these harmful air pollutants will benefit the communities located near Dominion facilities, particularly communities disproportionately impacted by environmental risks and vulnerable populations, including children. Because air pollution from power plants can travel significant distances downwind, this settlement will also reduce air pollution outside the immediate region.

This judicial settlement is secured as part of a national enforcement initiative to control harmful emissions from power plants under the CAA’s New Source Review requirements. The total combined sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emission reductions secured from all power plant settlements to date will exceed nearly 2 million tons each year once all the required pollution controls have been installed and implemented.

The settlement was lodged today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The settlement can be viewed at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html

More information about the settlement: www.epa.gov/enforcement/air/cases/dominionenergy.html

More information about EPA’s national enforcement initiative: www.epa.gov/compliance/data/planning/initiatives/2011airpollution.html

A patient recruiter for a Miami health care company was sentenced today to serve 36 months in prison for his participation in a $20 million home health Medicare fraud scheme, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Michael B. Steinbach, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Dennis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami Office.

Vladimir Jimenez, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in the Southern District of Florida.  In addition to his prison term, Jimenez was sentenced to serve two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $950,000 in restitution, jointly and severally with co-defendants.

In January 2013, Jimenez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to receive health care kickbacks.

According to court documents, Vladimir Jimenez was a patient recruiter who worked for Serendipity Home Health, a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.

According to court documents, from approximately April 2007 through approximately March 2009, Jimenez recruited patients for Serendipity, and in doing so solicited and received kickbacks and bribes from the owners and operators of Serendipity in return for allowing Serendipity to bill the Medicare program on behalf of the patients Jimenez had recruited. These Medicare beneficiaries were billed for home health care and therapy services that were medically unnecessary and/or not provided.

From approximately January 2006 through March 2009, Serendipity submitted approximately $20 million in claims for home health services that were not medically necessary and/or not provided. Medicare actually paid approximately $14 million for these fraudulent claims.

As a result of Jimenez’s participation in the illegal scheme, the Medicare program was fraudulently billed more than $400,000 for purported home health care services.

In a related case, on June 21, 2012, Ariel Rodriguez and Reynaldo Navarro, the owners and operators of Serendipity, were sentenced to 73 and 74 months in prison, respectively, following guilty pleas in March 2012 to one count each of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Joseph S. Beemsterboer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  The 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 Southern District of Florida.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is 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.

The owner and the director of nursing of a Louisiana home health agency were each convicted late Friday for conspiring to defraud Medicare of $17.1 million announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. of the Middle District of Louisiana; Mike Fields, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas regional office; Michael Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s New Orleans Division; and Louisiana State Attorney General James Buddy Caldwell.

After a six-day trial, Louis T. Age, Jr., 64, and Verna S. Age, 60, both of Slidell, La., were each convicted by a federal jury in the Middle District of Louisiana of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  Louis Age was also convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks.  Verna Age was previously convicted in this case of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks. 

Louis Age owned South Louisiana Home Health Care Inc. and operated this company along with his former wife, Verna Age, who served as the company’s director of nursing.  According to evidence presented at trial, Louis and Verna Age paid recruiters, including Mary L. Johnson, to obtain Medicare beneficiary information.  The evidence showed that Louis Age hired and paid medical doctors, including Michael S. Hunter, to sign referrals and certifications for home health services that were not medically necessary.  As a registered nurse and director of nursing for South Louisiana Home Health Care, Verna Age falsified and directed others to falsify certification evaluations and other forms to make it appear that the home health services were medically necessary. 

Evidence at trial showed that South Louisiana Home Health Care fraudulently billed Medicare for home health care claims and was paid $17.1 million between 2005 and 2011.

At trial, Ayanna Age Alverez, who previously pleaded guilty in this case, testified that she was trained by her father, Louis Age, and her stepmother, Verna Age, to pay recruiters kickbacks to recruit beneficiaries, to falsify patient files and to pay doctors kickbacks for their signatures on home health certifications.  Medicare beneficiaries testified that they did not need the services that South Louisiana Home Health Care billed to Medicare.

Age Alverez, Johnson and Hunter have pleaded guilty in this case and await sentencing.  Co-defendant Milton L. Womack, who was also charged in the August 2011 indictment, died in July 2012.
 
Sentencing dates for Louis and Verna Age have not yet been scheduled.  The conspiracy to commit health care fraud count carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and the conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys David Maria and Abigail Taylor of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, with assistance from Trial Attorney Arunabha Bhoumik of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Louisiana State Attorney General’s Office.   The case 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 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 more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with 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.

The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor elections on April 2, 2013, in Finney County, Kan., and Douglas County, Neb. The monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes.  The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.

Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Finney and Douglas Counties.  Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country.  To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.

Visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php for more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws.

A former U.S. Army Captain was sentenced today in Oklahoma City to serve 23 months in prison for conspiracy to accept thousands of dollars in gratuities from contractors during his deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma Sanford C. Coats.

Sean Patrick O’Brien, 38, of Lawton, Okla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot in the Western District of Oklahoma.  In addition to his prison term, O’Brien was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $37,500 in restitution to the United States. 

 O’Brien pleaded guilty on Nov. 9, 2012, to a criminal information charging him with two counts of conspiracy to accept illegal gratuities.

According to court documents, O’Brien, formerly a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, assisted in the contracting process of U.S. government funds, and was therefore considered a public official.  It is a violation of federal law for officers to accept gratuities from contractors dependent upon them for contracts.

 According to court documents, from mid-2008 through January 2009, O’Brien, with the assistance of two alleged co-conspirators, unlawfully sought, received and accepted illegal gratuities for helping Iraqi contractors in connection with U.S. government.  O’Brien accepted approximately $37,500 in cash payments and jewelry while stationed in Iraq, which he has repatriated to the United States.  One of the alleged co-conspirators also offered O’Brien a vacation to a private island.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott E. Williams of the Western District of Oklahoma and by Special Trial Attorney Mark Grider of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, on detail from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).  The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Major Procurement Fraud Unit of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and SIGIR.

An indictment against former Jefferson Parish, La., Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, was announced today by Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

According to the indictment, Hebert engaged in a scheme to defraud J.P. Morgan Chase Bank from Aug. 2, 2007, until Nov. 21, 2007. The scheme began when Hebert, in his capacity as a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy, responded to an automobile accident involving Albert Bloch and stole, among other things, Bloch’s Visa debit card. The indictment alleges that Hebert then used that debit card to make unauthorized purchases of merchandise and to withdraw funds from Bloch’s Chase Bank account using ATMs. After Chase Bank cancelled the debit card due to Bloch filing a dispute with the bank, Hebert continued his scheme to defraud by negotiating and attempting to negotiate forged checks drawn on Bloch’s Chase Bank account. It is also alleged that Hebert obtained the replacement debit card that Chase Bank sent to Bloch and used that card to make unauthorized transactions at ATMs.

The indictment charges that Hebert, while acting under color of law, deprived Bloch of his constitutional rights by seizing and converting funds that Bloch had on deposit with Chase Bank. In addition, the indictment alleges that Hebert committed 48 counts of bank fraud from Aug. 2, 2007, to Nov. 21, 2007. The indictment also charges Hebert with four counts of computer fraud for accessing the National Crime Information Center to obtain non-public information about Bloch in furtherance of his scheme to defraud. Furthermore, Hebert is charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft for using a means of identification of Bloch during, and in relation to, the bank fraud violations. Finally, Hebert is charged with five counts of obstruction of justice for knowingly concealing and covering up physical evidence with the intent to impede any investigation into the underlying criminal allegations against Hebert.

For each of the 48 counts of bank fraud, Hebert faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years . For each of the five counts of obstruction of justice, Hebert faces a statutory maximum term of 20 years in prison. For each of the four counts of computer fraud, Hebert faces a statutory maximum term of five years in prison. For each of the two counts of aggravated identity theft, Hebert faces a term of two years in prison. For the count charging a civil rights violation, Hebert faces a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison .

An indictment is merely a charge and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation 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 and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Shan Patel.

A federal grand jury has returned an indictment Thursday charging Jeffery Deshon Applewhite, aka Jeffery Donald Mason, of Los Angeles, with aiding and assisting the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent federal income tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

According to the indictment, from 2006 through 2011, Applewhite, a certified public accountant who owned and operated tax preparation businesses, including Applewhite and Company, CPA and Mason Financial Services Inc., aided and assisted in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent federal income tax returns containing claims for deductions and credits to which his clients were not entitled. Some counts allege that Applewhite used another individual’s preparer tax identification number without permission in preparing false federal income tax returns.

The maximum penalty for aiding and assisting the preparation of false claims is three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count of conviction. The maximum penalty for each count of identity fraud is fifteen years and a fine of $250,000.

This case is being investigated by special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Charles O’Reilly and Erin Mellen of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The leader of a violent and highly sophisticated jewelry theft ring pleaded guilty today for his participation in a racketeering conspiracy, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride; and James Newman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division.

Alexander Cuadros-Garcia, aka “Alex,” “Brujo,” “Aleto” and “Manuel Gonzalez”, 37, of Richmond, Va., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tommy Miller in the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News Division, to racketeering conspiracy. 

According to court documents, Cuadros-Garcia led an organized criminal group that stole more than $4.6 million in jewelry from victims in Virginia and at least six other states.  In March 2012, Cuadros-Garcia was charged along with seven other individuals who were members of the Richmond-based ring that regularly conducted lengthy surveillance on jewelry stores to identify vulnerable individuals and then follow their targets back to the individuals’ hotel or home. 

In most of the robberies, several men would suddenly appear as the victims approached or entered their car, punch out the car’s windows, threaten the victims at knife-point and steal the victims’ merchandise.  In addition, the robbers would puncture the victims’ car tires and steal their cell phone to reduce the chance of pursuit or apprehension.  After a successful robbery, members of the ring would travel to New York to sell the merchandise to businessmen, who coordinated re-selling the stolen property or melting it down for future use.

At sentencing, scheduled for June 19, 2013, Cuadros-Garcia faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

 Cuadros-Garcia’s co-defendants Raul Antonio Escobar-Martinez, William Leandro Herrera-Bohorquez and Juanita Diaz previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the theft ring.  Escobar-Martinez and Herrera-Bohorquez were sentenced on March 7 and March 14, 2013, respectively, to serve 87 months in prison.
 
 The investigation of this case was led by the ATF’s Washington Field Division, with the assistance of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the police departments in Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Henrico County, Chesterfield, Prince William County and Fairfax County in Virginia, along with the Virginia State Police; the Baltimore County, Md., Police Department; the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; the New York City Police Department; and the police departments in Rutherford, N.J., and Gwinnett County, Ga.; and the Morris County, N.J. Prosecutor’s Office. 

 Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Jerome M. Maiatico of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

On March 14, 2013, a federal grand jury in Macon, Ga., returned an 18 count indictment alleging that Natashia and Detrick Tucker, a husband and wife couple who owned and operated a tax preparation business named T&T Express located in Pine Mountain, Ga., conspired to defraud the United States by preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns that illegally claimed inflated tax refunds for their clients. The indictment also charges both of the Tuckers with specific counts of aiding the filing of false tax returns, including Natashia Tucker’s personal returns. The Tuckers were arrested and made their initial appearances in court today.

An indictment is merely a formal charge by the grand jury. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the conspiracy charge, Natashia and Detrick Tucker each face a maximum potential sentence of ten years’ imprisonment. Further, they face maximum of three years in prison for each count of conviction for aiding the filing of false tax returns.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Alexander Effendi and Charles Edgar Jr. of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Michael Solis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia. The case was investigated with the assistance of special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Georgia Department of Revenue.

More information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts can be found at   www.justice.gov/tax

Kenny McLaughlin, 35, a corrections officer at the Stone County Regional Facility in Stone County, Miss., pleaded guilty today in federal court to ordering the beating of an inmate at the detention facility.

According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, on May 12, 2008, McLaughlin, while working as a corrections officer, ordered an inmate to arrange an unwarranted assault on another inmate. As a result of McLaughlin’s order, the victim was assaulted by two fellow inmates in the shower area of the cellblock. McLaughlin was aware of the assault as it happened but did not notify any other officer or medical personnel of the assault. The victim suffered fractured ribs, cuts to his face and bruises to his chest.

“Law enforcement officers do not have the right to order that an individual, whether incarcerated or not, be beaten by others,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roy L. Austin Jr. of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting law enforcement officers who violate the constitutional rights of individuals in their custody.”

The statutory maximum sentence for this offense is 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for June 26, 2013.

This case was investigated by the Gulfport Resident Agency of the Jackson, Miss., Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

CDW-Government LLC (CDW-G) has agreed to pay $5.66 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims in connection with a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) contract, the Justice Department announced today. CDW-G is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Illinois-based CDW Corporation and a reseller of information technology, equipment, services, office supplies and related products. The settlement resolves allegations that, during the period 1999 to 2011, CDW-G improperly charged government purchasers for shipping, sold products to the United States that were manufactured in China and other countries that are prohibited by the Trade Agreements Act, and underreported sales in order to avoid paying GSA its “Industrial Funding Fee,” a fee based on total contract sales that is designed to cover GSA’s costs of contract administration.

“Protecting the federal procurement process is a top priority for the Department of Justice,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Contractors who abuse that process and undermine American trade interests will be held accountable for their actions.”

“My office will not tolerate any abuse of the contracting process with the United States,” said Stephen R. Wigginton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. “My warning is both simple and certain: If you knowingly overcharge the United States, we will pursue all remedies available to us and we will recover the government’s losses.”

The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed in a federal court in East Saint Louis, Ill., under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. Those provisions allow private individuals known as “relators” to sue on behalf of the United States and to share in the proceeds of any settlement or judgment that may result. The relator in this case, former CDW-G sales representative Joe Liotine, will receive $1,585,892.56 of the total recovery as a statutory award. The relator may also be entitled to receive additional amounts from the defendant for attorneys’ fees and costs.

The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Joe Liotine, vs. CDW-Government, Inc., 05-cv-33-DRH-DGW. The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois and the GSA Office of Inspector General.

Mary Bennett, Narendrakumar Patel and Eugenia Burks, all residents of Elmore County, Ala., were sentenced for their roles in an identity theft and tax fraud scheme. Bennett was sentenced today to 75 months in prison; Patel was sentenced yesterday to 24 months in prison; and Burks was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison. Bennett had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft, while Burks also had pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Patel pleaded guilty to forging state securities. Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division Kathryn Keneally, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama Sandra J. Stewart, the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made the announcement.

According to court documents, the defendants were part of a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain both federal income tax refunds as well as state income tax refunds from several different states by using stolen identities to file false tax returns. Fraudulently obtained refund checks were mailed to various addresses used by the conspiracy, while other refunds were obtained through direct deposits into numerous bank accounts controlled by the conspiracy. Bennett admitted to being the one responsible for actually filing the false tax returns and also to storing stolen identity information at her home. Some of the checks obtained by the scheme were cashed by Patel, the former owner of a check-cashing business, who admitted that he knowingly cashed the forged checks and shared in the proceeds.

The case was investigated by special agents of the U.S. Secret Service and the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Tax Division Trial Attorney Jason H. Poole and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown prosecuted the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.

The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) today announced a new Mentor Court Initiative to support criminal and civil domestic violence courts across the country.

“Specialized domestic violence courts play a vital role in our efforts to end violence against women,” said Bea Hanson, Acting Director of OVW. “Providing courts with the resources they need to safely and quickly intervene in cases of intimate partner violence not only saves lives, but sends a message to offenders that reducing domestic violence is a priority for our justice system.”

OVW selected courts in Brooklyn, N.Y., Ada County, Idaho, and Dallas with years of experience honing strategies that enhance offender accountability and improve victim safety. These well-established programs will serve as role models and disseminate proven strategies. Each court will receive $66,000 for a 24-month project. 

Successful domestic violence courts process cases more efficiently, increase offender compliance, impose enhanced penalties, and achieve higher rates of conviction. There are now over 200 domestic violence courts in the United States. These courts require training and support, which is particularly effective when provided by peers.  

As mentors, the three courts will share their expertise by hosting site visits and linking courts with peers facing similar challenges. They will help other domestic violence courts implement best practices, improve procedures, replicate relevant programming, and build the overall capacity of state court systems to respond effectively to these difficult cases.

The Mentor Court Initiative builds on OVW’s commitment to strengthening the court response to domestic violence. Since 2010, OVW has awarded over $10 million to court systems via the Court Training and Improvements Grant Program (Courts Program). The Courts Program supports judicial education and the specialized court planning and implementation integral to creating a collaborative and effective response to the crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

The three courts chosen for the Mentor Court Initiative applied to an open solicitation and were reviewed based on the criteria set forth in the solicitation.  The chosen courts are geographically diverse and have each developed and implemented different models that reflect the needs of their communities:

The Brooklyn Integrated Domestic Violence Court (IDV) hears misdemeanor criminal domestic violence cases as well as related family law and divorce cases in a high-volume urban setting. Since its inception in 2003, the Brooklyn IDV Court has disposed of over 19,000 cases involving 3,008 families in Kings County, NY, which has a population of 2.5 million. Located directly adjacent to the Brooklyn Family Justice Center, the Brooklyn IDV Court is able to work closely with the Kings County District Attorney’s specialized domestic violence bureau and connect victims with 25 on-site government agencies and community-based organizations.

The Ada County Domestic Violence Court has responded to misdemeanor criminal domestic violence cases since 2006. Located in Boise, Idaho, the court handles more than 300 active cases a year, using intense supervised probation, post-sentence judicial monitoring, specialized offender assessment and treatment, and comprehensive case planning. Ada County’s Domestic Violence Court will serve as an example for mid-size and rural communities that often face a distinct set of challenges when developing and operating specialized courts.

County Criminal Court #10 in Dallas was the first specialized domestic violence court in the state of Texas, opening in 1996. Dallas County is home to 2.4 million people, and includes diverse municipalities ranging from densely populated urban areas to smaller suburbs. County Criminal Court #10 focuses on high-risk offenders, assigning them to a separate probation docket with enhanced judicial monitoring and compliance. A strong partnership with the Department of Probation has increased supervision of these high-risk offenders.

OVW, a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, provides leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to reduce violence against women through the implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and subsequent legislation.  Created in 1995, OVW administers financial and technical assistance to communities across the country that are developing programs, policies and practices aimed at ending domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. In addition to overseeing 22 federal grant programs, OVW often undertakes initiatives in response to special needs identified by communities facing acute challenges. More information is available at www.ovw.usdoj.gov.

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Forsyth County, N.C., and Sheriff William T. Schatzman of Forsyth County to resolve allegations that they violated the employment rights of North Carolina Army National Guard soldier Michael Russell under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

The Justice Department’s complaint alleged that Sheriff Schatzman and Forsyth County violated USERRA by terminating Russell’s employment with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office without cause and without notice within one year after his reemployment following his return from active military duty.  Russell, an Iraq war veteran, had worked as a deputy sheriff and sergeant deputy sheriff with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office since 1989.  In February 2010, Russell completed a one-year deployment to Iraq with the North Carolina Army National Guard, and returned to his position with Forsyth County as a sergeant deputy sheriff.  On Nov. 29, 2010, less than one year following Russell’s reinstatement to his sergeant deputy sheriff position, Sheriff Schatzman and Forsyth County discharged Russell from his employment without cause.  According to the Justice Department’s complaint, Russell’s employment as a deputy sheriff was terminated because of Sheriff Schatzman’s belief that Russell had supported the election campaign of another candidate for Forsyth County Sheriff, Dave Griffith.  However, Russell did not support Griffith’s campaign for Forsyth County Sheriff and his termination was therefore without cause.

USERRA prohibits employers from discriminating against service members with respect to employment opportunities based on their past, current or future uniformed service obligations.  USERRA also provides service members such as Russell special protection from discharge from their civilian employment after returning from uniformed service, such as a deployment lasting more than 180 days.  Under USERRA, individuals who have served over 180 days may not be discharged from their civilian jobs within one year of their return from military service, except for cause

Under the terms of the agreement, which was filed as a Consent Decree in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Schatzman and Forsyth County have agreed to pay $96,000 in lost wages to Russell.  Schatzman and Forsyth County have also agreed to provide Russell with an employment reference letter that accurately reflects the content of his performance evaluations prior to his termination.

“USERRA affords military members who leave their civilian careers behind for significant periods of time to serve our country certain protections against unjust terminations,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  “It is important that veterans have the opportunity to readjust to civilian life and their careers free from worry about termination without cause.”

The Justice Department initiated the lawsuit after Russell filed a complaint with the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, which investigated the matter and determined that the complaint had merit.  This case was handled by the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division. 

Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department websites www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp and www.servicemembers.gov, as well as the Labor Department website www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.

Related Materials:

Forsyth Consent Decree

Justin D. Schoenauer, 41, also known as Corey J. Schoenauer, a resident of Twin Falls County, Idaho, was sentenced late yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho to 27 months in prison for income tax evasion.  Schoenauer was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $429,436 in restitution.  Schoenauer was indicted in February 2012 and pleaded guilty to the offense on Oct. 30, 2012.   

According to court documents, Schoenauer was a general contractor who, for the past 10 years, operated a sole proprietorship called Patagonia Construction, a business engaged primarily in building homes.  Schoenauer admitted that during tax years 2005 through 2008, he concealed Patagonia’s business receipts.  Schoenauer further admitted that he directed some customers to make checks payable to him personally, rather than to Patagonia, then ensured that those checks were not deposited into Patagonia’s main bank account.  When having tax returns prepared, Schoenauer falsely told his return preparer that all of his business receipts were deposited into the main Patagonia bank account, thereby concealing Patagonia’s gross receipts and causing the preparation and filing of false tax returns.  Schoenauer paid the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) $35,000 at sentencing, which will be applied to his outstanding tax liability.

“When a business owner cheats on his taxes, he gains an unfair advantage over honest businesses and cheats all honest taxpayers,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division Kathryn Keneally.  “This sentence shows that we will hold such criminals accountable.”   

“Paying income tax is a solemn obligation of citizenship,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho Wendy J. Olson.  “Integrity in business transactions required to be reported to the federal government is essential to the proper functioning of our economy.  Those who hide income, evade taxes and launder profits undermine our democracy.  This sentence sends a strong message that those who seek to avoid their tax responsibilities will be properly punished.”

“The license to run a business is not a license to evade paying taxes,” said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation.  “Mr. Schoenauer’s misconduct, concealing business receipts and having checks made payable to himself, is offensive to all honest business owners. IRS Criminal Investigation continues to protect the U.S. tax system by investigating and bringing to justice individuals who violate tax laws.”

Assistant Attorney General Keneally and U.S. Attorney Olson commended the efforts of special agents from IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Michael J. Romano and Mark L. Williams, who prosecuted the case.

A federal court permanently barred a Gary, Ind., tax-preparation firm and its owner, John Newlin, from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, to which Newlin and Quick Sam agreed without admitting the allegations against them, was signed by Judge Jon E. DeGuilio of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Indiana.

The government in the civil injunction suit alleged that Newlin’s business, Quick Sam Tax Refund, had repeatedly prepared federal income tax returns that unlawfully understated customers’ income tax liabilities. According to the complaint, Quick Sam guaranteed its customers that they would receive the largest refund by getting their taxes prepared at Quick Sam. In order to deliver on this promise, the complaint alleges, Quick Sam employees fabricated bogus business expenses, claimed improper tax credits, and reported fictitious dependents to illegally increase customers’ tax refunds. Newlin and Quick Sam allegedly gave bonuses to employees for engaging in these fraudulent practices.

Several Quick Sam employees have been accused of fraud in the past, according to the complaint. Charles Standifer, Rhonda Murphy, Chanel Bandy and Brittaney Walker-Lipsey, all former Quick Sam tax return preparers, have pled guilty to tax-related crimes. The complaint alleges that the total harm to the government caused by Newlin and Quick Sam’s illegal conduct possibly exceeded $35 million in lost tax revenue.

Claiming bogus tax refunds is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams . In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax fraud promoters and unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website .

Related Materials:

United States v. John Newlin, et al.
Stipulated Final Judgment of Permanent Injunction and Order Against John Newlin and World Changers, Inc. (PDF)

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary announced that Robert L. Listenbee Jr. has assumed the role as administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). A highly respected public defender and juvenile justice system reformer, Listenbee began as OJJDP administrator Monday. Melodee Hanes, who has served as acting administrator since January 2012, will become OJJDP’s principal deputy administrator.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Bob Listenbee as OJJDP’s new Administrator.  Bob has been a champion for juvenile justice issues for many years, and did a tremendous job as co-chair of my task force on Children Exposed to Violence,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “I’m also deeply grateful to Melodee for her leadership and renewed focus on ensuring that children are treated fairly by the juvenile justice system.  I look forward to continuing to work with both of these dedicated public servants as we carry on these critical efforts.” 

“Bob Listenbee will bring tremendous leadership and experience to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in efforts to support positive youth development and keep our children safe from violence,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary. “In her time as acting administrator, Melodee Hanes successfully championed initiatives to reduce both children’s exposure to violence and the high volume of students entering the juvenile justice system following school suspensions. I thank them both and look forward to our work on these important issues together.”

Before joining OJJDP as administrator, Listenbee co-chaired Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violenceand served as a member of OJJDP’s Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, which advises the President, Congress, and the OJJDP Administrator on juvenile justice policy. Previously, Listenbee served as a trial lawyer at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and served as chief of its Juvenile Unit.  He received his B.A. from Harvard University and his J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley.

OJJDP provides national leadership and resources to communities across the country to address juvenile delinquency and victimization. For more information on OJJDP’s efforts, please visit: www.ojjdp.gov.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) which provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s ability to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six bureaus and offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). For more information, please visit: www.ojp.gov.

The Justice Department today announced recent results of its civil injunction efforts to combat unscrupulous tax return preparers and tax fraud promoters. According to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates, 60 percent of taxpayers use tax professionals to prepare and file their tax returns. Paid tax return preparers now prepare more than 80 million individual tax returns annually. For more than a decade, the department’s Tax Division, working with the Internal Revenue Service, has pursued a civil injunction program to stop fraudulent return preparers and promoters from violating federal tax laws and consumer protection laws. With the current tax-filing season underway, the Tax Division in the last six months has obtained permanent injunctions against more than 30 preparers and promoters doing business all over the United States.

Since Oct. 1, 2012, the Tax Division has obtained civil injunctions against both large-scale return preparation franchises and smaller, independent return preparers and promoters across the country. For example, on Oct. 22, 2012, a U.S. District Court in Dayton, Ohio, entered preliminary injunctions against ITS Financial LLC and its CEO, Fesum Ogbazion. ITS Financial is the parent company that owns the Dayton-based Intstant Tax Service tax-preparation franchise operation. Instant Tax Service claims to be the fourth-largest tax-preparation firm in the nation. The preliminary injunction remains in force pending trial on the government’s request for a permanent injunction, currently scheduled for May 2013. During December, January and February, federal district courts also permanently enjoined current and former Instant Tax Service franchisees in Las Vegas, Kansas City and Los Angeles , and entered a preliminary injunction against an Instant Tax Service franchisee in Indianapolis. Similarly, on March 1, 2013, a U.S. District Court in Tennessee permanently shut down a licensee of Memphis-based Mo’ Money Taxes LLC and MoneyCo USA LLC. Federal courts have also shut down return preparers in Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina, and promoters of alleged tax-fraud schemes in Michigan, New York and Kansas.

As alleged in the Tax Division’s civil injunction complaints, fraudulent return preparers commonly falsify information to take advantage of refundable credits available under federal tax law, often improperly manipulating customers’ income, expenses and dependents to hit the so-called “sweet spot” to maximize the refundable credit claimed. They also take advantage of customers by selling deceptive loan products with exhorbitant fees. As identified in the government’s complaints, some of the fraudulent schemes and practices that have been stopped through injunction orders recently include:

·          Preparing phony tax-return forms with fabricated businesses and income;

·          Claiming false education and homebuyer credits;

·          Claiming false and inflated deductions;

·          Claiming false filing status;

·          Claiming false dependents;

·          Selling deceptive loan products;

·          Filing tax returns without customer consent or authorization;

·          Preparing bogus W-2 forms, based on information from employee paystubs;

·          Falsifying information on returns to claim inflated earned income tax credits; and

·          Filing fraudulent tax returns using stolen taxpayer identities to obtain improper tax refunds.

Some preparers try to conceal their fraud by not signing the returns they prepare and by using stolen or fake social security numbers to misidentify the paid preparer.

“It is important that we make clear, especially now when honest taxpayers are filing their returns, that we will pursue those who would abuse our nation’s tax laws,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division Kathryn Keneally. “Fraudulent tax return preparers and tax scheme promoters too often seek to take advantage of their customers as well as to undermine our tax system. I commend the Tax Division’s attorneys and our colleagues at the Internal Revenue Service for their steady diligence and tireless work in uncovering and shutting down these schemes and scams.”

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax-return preparers and tax fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website. Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s “ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams.” For more information about choosing a tax return preparer, see the IRS website and the IRS YouTube Channel.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with Summit County, Ohio, and related parties, which if approved by the court, will resolve a sex discrimination lawsuit in which the United States intervened in June 2012.  The United States joined a lawsuit brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio by 21 female deputy sheriffs at the Summit County Jail who claimed they were subjected to discrimination due to a sex-segregated job assignment system implemented at the jail in January 2012. The United States’ complaint in intervention alleged that this system discriminated against female deputies because of their sex and constituted a pattern or practice of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  As a result of this discriminatory practice, the United States alleged female deputies lost the job assignments and shifts they had earned based on their seniority as well as opportunities to bid on overtime postings.  

“Bringing an end to practices in the law enforcement community that discriminate against women is a major priority of the Justice Department and the Civil Rights Division.  Practices that facially discriminate on the basis of sex that cannot be justified under the law, like the job assignment system used by Summit County, present a major hurdle to workplace equality that the Justice Department will not ignore,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division. 

In July 2012, shortly after the United States joined the lawsuit, Summit County abandoned its sex-segregated job assignment system. Under the terms of the consent decree, Summit County has agreed to take several steps to ensure that any job assignment system implemented at the Summit County Jail will comply with Title VII and only use sex-based assignments, if at all, to the limited extent that they are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the jail.  To make this determination, the county will conduct a staffing analysis and develop a lawful staffing plan, which it will review regularly during the life of the decree.  The county will also provide training on sex discrimination as well as engage in recruitment efforts to encourage qualified female applicants to apply for deputy positions.  Finally, the county will pay $400,000 in individual monetary relief to the affected female deputies and to cover their attorney fees.

“This agreement ensures that female deputies at the Summit County Jail will have the opportunity to do the same jobs as their male counterparts,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “We will continue to press for equality for women in the workplace.”

This is the first pattern or practice lawsuit brought by the Justice Department as a result of a joint project with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) designed to ensure vigorous enforcement of Title VII against state and local governmental employers by enhancing cooperation between the EEOC and the Civil Rights Division.  Enforcement of federal employment discrimination laws is a top priority for the Justice Department with this case being handled by attorneys assigned to both the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.

“Our partnership with Department of Justice allows for the strategic investigation and efficient resolution of discrimination claims in the public sector,” said EEOC District Director Spencer H. Lewis Jr., of the EEOC Philadelphia District Office.   The Philadelphia District Office of the EEOC oversees Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. 

Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of gender, race, color, national origin or religion, and prohibits retaliation against an employee who opposes an unlawful employment practice, or because the employee has made a charge or participated in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under the act. More information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Department of Justice website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp/index.html.
 
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov.

Related Materials:

Summit County Proposed Consent Decree

David Marrero, a federal inmate in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for tax fraud committed while in prison, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Twenty-four months of the sentence imposed will run concurrent with Marrero’s current 10 year federal sentence, and 22 months will run consecutive to his 10 year sentence. Marrero had pleaded guilty in December 2012 to filing false claims.

According to court documents, while serving his federal sentence in Montgomery County, Ala., Marrero began sending various false documents to the IRS and to the federal judge who had presided over his case in Florida. Among the documents Marrero sent were fictitious money orders and false tax returns making claims for refunds, including one tax return claiming a $2,719,438 refund—the amount of restitution Marrero had been ordered to pay following his conviction in Florida. The fraudulent tax returns were based upon false IRS Forms 1099-OID on which Marrero had fraudulently claimed that various companies withheld a substantial amount of federal taxes from him when, in fact, the companies had withheld nothing. Marrero also used financial documents he had obtained from other people, without their knowledge or consent, as supporting documentation for his fraudulent claims.

Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division Kathryn Keneally commended the efforts of special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Justin Gelfand, who prosecuted the case.

Form 1099-OID schemes are one of the IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” tax scams. Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.

Honeywell Resins and Chemicals LLC has agreed to pay a $3 million civil penalty for alleged Clean Air Act violations at its Hopewell, Va., plant, and improve the facility’s air pollution control equipment and processes, the Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

The proposed consent decree resolves violations of federal and state air pollution regulations at the Hopewell plant, the world’s largest single-site producer of caprolactam used in the production of nylon, and ammonium sulfate used for fertilizer.  According to EPA and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the facility violated Clean Air Act limits on emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), benzene and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter.  The plant also allegedly failed to comply with requirements to upgrade air pollution control equipment, to detect and repair leaks of hazardous air pollutants, and to develop safeguards on benzene waste. 

In addition to the $3 million civil penalty, Honeywell has agreed to reduce harmful air pollutants, install selective catalytic reduction at four production trains at the facility, conduct a third-party benzene waste operations audit, and implement an enhanced leak detection and repair program at the facility.  Honeywell will also perform a mitigation project valued at approximately $1 million at the facility. The settlement reduces annual emissions of NOx by about 6,260 tons, and cuts annual emissions of benzene, other VOCs and hazardous air pollutants by 100 tons.  The estimated cost for injunctive relief to address these emissions will be approximately $66 million dollars. The civil penalty will be split evenly between Virginia and the United States.

As part of the settlement, Honeywell did not admit liability for the violations, but has certified that it is now in compliance with applicable Clean Air Act regulations. The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30 day public comment period and final court approval.  For more information, see http://www.justice.gov/enrd/ConsentDecrees/Honeywell_Consent_Decree_Lodged.PDF

ALICIA A. G. LIMTIACO, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and CNMI, announced that a verdict was reached on Tuesday, March 26, 2013, after a two-week jury trial in the criminal case of U.S. v. Jae Chul Shin, Criminal Case No. 12-00041.

Defendant Shin, age 34, was found guilty of Importation of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, in violation ofTitle 18, United States Code, § 2 and Title 21, United States Code, §§ 22, 952 and 960. The defendant used a courier to import 407 grams of methamphetamine worth approximately $250,000.

The defendant was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal and will be held in jail until sentencing which is scheduled for July 8, 2013, at 1:30 P.M. in the District Court of Guam. Under federal law, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum of ten years imprisonment without parole and a maximum fine of four million dollars.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karon V. Johnson prosecuted the case for the United States and was assisted by Special Agents from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Special credit is also given to Officer Shaun Kim of the Guam Police Department who acted as interpreter.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today declined to state its enforcement intentions regarding the implementation of a proposal submitted by IPXI Holdings LLC and its wholly-owned subsidiary Intellectual Property Exchange International Inc. (IPXI) to develop an exchange for the trading of unit license rights (ULRs) to sets of patents.  The department said that although IPXI’s proposed exchange potentially could benefit the intellectual property (IP) marketplace and encourage innovation through increased licensing efficiency, sublicense transferability and greater transparency, it also potentially raises competitive concerns. Due to the inherent uncertainties and potential competitive concerns associated with IPXI’s novel business model, the department declined to state its enforcement intentions. 

 
The department’s position was stated in a business review letter to counsel for IPXI from Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

IPXI proposes to create a proprietary market for patent licenses.  To do so, the company intends to obtain exclusive patent licenses that it will then sublicense through the sale of tradable instruments called ULRs, which are standardized licenses for defined sets of patents and uses under terms and conditions set jointly with patent holders.  As part of the process, IPXI will review the patent rights at issue by examining validity, current infringement and other issues, and determine market interest to license those patents. 

IPXI may become the exclusive licensor of patents or patent bundles that might otherwise compete.  IPXI has proposed certain procedures that might mitigate the likelihood that anticompetitive effects will materialize. However, because IPXI cannot predict in advance the patents or markets that might be at issue, the department is unable to engage in the fact-intensive analysis necessary to assess the likely competitive effects of the proposal.  In addition, given the novelty of IPXI’s proposal, it is possible that other potential competitive concerns may later emerge once IPXI’s platform is operational.

Under the department’s business review procedure, an organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust Division and receive a statement as to whether the division currently intends to challenge the action under the antitrust laws based on the information provided.  The department reserves the right to challenge the proposed action under the antitrust laws if it produces anticompetitive effects.

A file containing the business review request and the department’s response may be examined in the Antitrust Documents Group of the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 1010, Washington, D.C. 20530. After a 30-day waiting period, the documents supporting the business review will be added to the file, unless a basis for their exclusion for reasons of confidentiality has been established under the business review procedure.

A federal jury in Montgomery, Ala., found James Timothy Turner, also known as Tim Turner, guilty late Friday of conspiracy to defraud the United States, attempting to pay taxes with fictitious financial instruments, attempting to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), failing to file a 2009 federal income tax return and falsely testifying under oath in a bankruptcy proceeding, the Justice Department, the IRS and the FBI announced today.

Based on the evidence introduced at trial and court filings, Turner, the self-proclaimed “president” of the so-called sovereign citizen group “Republic for the United States of America” (RuSA), traveled the country in 2008 and 2009 conducting seminars teaching attendees how to defraud the IRS by preparing and submitting fictitious “bonds” to the United States government in payment of federal taxes. Although the evidence at trial revealed the bonds are fictitious and worthless, witnesses testified that Turner used special paper, financial terminology and elaborate borders in an effort to make them look “real” and more likely to succeed in defrauding the recipient. Turner was convicted of sending a $300 million “bond” in his own name and of aiding and abetting others in sending fifteen other “bonds” to the Treasury Department to pay taxes and other debts.

The evidence at trial also established that Turner taught people how to file retaliatory liens against government officials who interfered with the processing of fictitious “bonds.” Turner filed a purported $17.6 billion maritime lien in Montgomery County, Ala., Probate Court against another individual. Finally, evidence presented at trial demonstrated that the FBI began an investigation after Turner and three other individuals sent demands to all 50 governors in the United States in March 2010 ordering each governor to resign within three days or be “removed.”

“The jury’s verdict in this case sends a message that defrauding the government and others through the use of bogus financial documents will not be tolerated,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division Kathryn Keneally. “Disagreement with the law is no excuse for the real harm caused by these self-interested tax defiers.”

“These sovereign citizen groups use these retaliatory tax liens and fraudulent tax schemes as weapons against the United States and its citizens,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.  “It is only the hard work of law enforcement that can stop these criminals from using these financial weapons. I would like to thank the law enforcement officers who worked vigilantly on this case to bring this criminal to justice.”

“Those who create elaborate schemes and fraudulent tax elimination tactics run a high risk of prosecution,” stated Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Mr. Turner’s attempts to thwart the IRS, as well as the assistance and training he provided to others, was not tax planning, it was criminal activity. IRS-Criminal Investigation is committed to vigorously pursuing those who promote illegal financial transactions designed to evade the payment of taxes. For those who would consider similar behavior, let this case be a strong warning that there is no secret formula for evading the payment of taxes and no one is above the law.”

Turner remains in federal custody pending sentencing. Turner faces a potential maximum prison term of 164 years, a maximum potential fine of $2,350,000 and mandatory restitution.

“The prosecution of individuals who intentionally impede the IRS by submitting fictitious and frivolous documents, in an attempt to avoid paying federal taxes, is a vital element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system,” stated Veronica Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Hopefully the verdict will send a message to other individuals like Turner, that this conduct will not be tolerated.”

“This joint investigation exemplifies the government’s commitment to investigate and prosecute those, who through tax schemes, attempt to cheat and steal from the government,” stated Stephen Richardson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Mobile Division.   

This case was investigated by special agents of the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Tax Division Trial Attorney Justin Gelfand and Middle District of Alabama Assistant U.S. Attorney Gray Borden.

Alexis Candelario-Santana, 41, faces life in prison following his conviction of murdering eight people and an unborn child and attempting to murder 19 others during a mass shooting at a Puerto Rico pub in 2009, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez.

 On March 8, 2013, Candelari-Santana was convicted of 28 counts of violent crime in aid of racketeering activity, one count of racketeering conspiracy, nine counts of using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of possession of a firearm with a prior conviction. These offenses occurred on Oct. 17, 2009, in what became known as the “La Tombola Massacre.” 

 The counts of conviction on capital murder charges necessitated a separate penalty phase of the trial.  That phase began on Monday, March 15, 2003. On Saturday, March 23, 2013, the jury announced it was unable to reach a unanimous sentencing verdict. As a result, a sentence of life in prison will be imposed.  There is no parole in the federal system.

 According to the evidence presented at trial, from approximately 1993 through 2003, Candelario-Santana was the leader of the drug trafficking organization that operated principally in Sabana Seca, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.  The organization purchased its drugs in bulk, processed and packaged the drugs and sold them at Sabana Seca through numerous sellers, runners and enforcers under Candelario-Santana’s control.  The organization sold crack, cocaine, heroin and marijuana, and members of the organization routinely possessed firearms in order to protect the drug points. In addition, the evidence introduced at trial established that, between 1995 and 2001, Mr. Candelario-Santana either personally killed, or ordered others to kill, 13 individuals whom he viewed as threats to his drug trafficking organization or as being disloyal members of his drug trafficking organization. 

 In approximately 2002, Candelario-Santana was arrested and charged in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with numerous murders.  Sometime after Candelario-Santana’s arrest, co-defendant Carmelo Rondón-Feliciano took charge of the organization.  Candelario-Santana ran the drug trafficking organization from prison until approximately 2006, when he was marginalized by co-conspirator Wilfredo Semprit-Santana and Rondón-Feliciano.  According to evidence presented at trial, Candelario-Santana was infuriated at being removed from power within the drug trafficking organization.

 On Sept. 25, 2006, Rondón-Feliciano was arrested and charged in the District of Puerto Rico with federal drug trafficking crimes.  These charges stemmed, in part, from Rondón-Feliciano’s distribution of narcotics in Sabana Seca.  After Rondón-Feliciano’s arrest, co-conspirator Semprit-Santana took charge of the organization.
 
 In February 2009, Candelario-Santana was released from prison. 

 On Oct. 17, 2009, Semprit-Santana held the grand opening of a pub he rented called La Tómbola, located in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico.  The event was heavily attended, with people congregating inside and outside the establishment.  At approximately 11:50 p.m., Candelario-Santana, co-defendant David Oquendo-Rivas, and others, drove to La Tómbola.  When they arrived, they immediately opened fire on the patrons located outside.  Candelario-Santana and Oquendo-Rivas entered La Tómbola and opened fire on the people inside.  Nine people and an 8-month unborn child were killed as a result of the gunfire, and 19 other victims were shot and injured.  The individuals killed included Candelario-Santana’s godson, Rondón-Feliciano’s stepson and Candelario-Santana’s cousin. The evidence introduced at trial demonstrated that 335 expended shell-casings were recovered from the La Tombola crime scene.  The ballistics evidence established that eight .9 mm semi-automatic pistols, three 40 caliber semi-automatic pistols, two 45 caliber semi-automatic pistols, three AK-47-type assault rifles and one AR-15-type assault rifle, were used at the La Tombola crime scene. 

 Candelario Santana will be formally sentenced on June 21, 2013.

The case was investigated by FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Department, with the collaboration of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Instituto de Ciencias Forenses; and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice.  The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney María Dominguez-Victoriano and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcela Mateo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, and Trial Attorney Bruce R. Hegyi of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Unit. 

The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with Poulan Pecan, resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Poulan Pecan is a supplier of pecans located in Poulan, Ga.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division initiated its investigation of Poulan Pecan in 2012, based on a claim by an individual who called a department hotline and complained that the pecan-producing company requested specific documentation from her to establish her work authorization. The department’s investigation concluded that Poulan Pecan discriminated against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens by requiring specific and more documents than necessary from them when completing the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, while not imposing similar requirements of U.S. citizens.

Under the terms of the agreement, Poulan Pecan will pay $500 in civil penalties and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of one year. Designated Poulan Pecan officials have already completed training by the Justice Department on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The case settled prior to the Justice Department filing a complaint in this matter.

“Individuals should be treated equally during the employment eligibility verification process,” said Gregory Friel, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  “This means not placing additional requirements, documentary or otherwise, on individuals based on their citizenship status.”

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.  For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TDD for hearing impaired), call the OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), sign up for a no-cost webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php , email [email protected] or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc .

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today filed a motion to dismiss its antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) after the state of Michigan passed a law that prohibits health insurers from using most favored nation clauses (MFN) in contracts with health care providers.  In its lawsuit, the department challenged BCBSM’s use of MFNs, alleging that its agreements with hospitals raised hospital prices charged to other insurers, prevented insurers from entering local markets and discouraged discounts.  The department said the combination of the new law and a previous order by the Michigan Insurance Commissioner that prohibits MFN clauses in health insurer’s provider contracts provides the relief the department sought in its lawsuit against BCBSM, rendering further proceedings unnecessary.

 
The department and the state of Michigan’s Attorney General today filed a stipulated motion requesting that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit dismiss the lawsuit without prejudice.  BCBSM joined in the motion.  The department’s Antitrust Division, along with the state of Michigan, originally filed its lawsuit on Oct. 18, 2010.

 
“The Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit alleged that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s MFN clauses likely raised health care costs, harmed consumers and prevented other health plans from entering local markets,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The law just enacted by Michigan addresses the department’s concerns by eliminating MFNs and ensuring that Michigan consumers will benefit from enhanced health insurance competition.” 

In the healthcare context, MFN provisions generally refer to contractual clauses between health insurance plans (buyers) and healthcare providers (sellers) that essentially guarantee that no other plan can obtain a better rate than the plan wielding the MFN.

On March 18, 2013, the state of Michigan enacted legislation that, among other reforms, prohibits health insurers, including BCBSM, from including or using MFNs in provider contracts.  The MFN ban takes effect on Jan. 1, 2014.  Since Feb. 1, 2013, the Michigan Insurance Commissioner’s order has prohibited all MFN clauses in any health insurer’s provider contracts.

The department and the state of Michigan alleged in their complaint that the MFN clauses in BCBSM’s contracts with Michigan hospitals decreased competition among health plans.  Some of BCBSM’s MFN clauses required hospitals to charge BCBSM’s competitors at least as much as the hospitals charged BCBSM.  Other BCBSM MFN clauses required hospitals to charge competitors more than the hospitals charged BCBSM, often by a specified percentage.  Moreover, BCBSM often agreed to raise the prices that it paid hospitals, in part to obtain MFN clauses.   

At trial, the department and the Michigan Attorney General intended to demonstrate that BCBSM’s MFN clauses reduced competition between BCBSM and its rival insurers and discouraged other health plans from entering or expanding in markets throughout Michigan, which increased prices self-funded employers and their employees paid to hospitals, and likely increased prices other Michigan residents and their employers paid to health plans and hospitals.

The Antitrust Division continues to investigate the use of MFN clauses in health plan contracting in other areas.  The department has observed that MFN clauses used by health plans that have market power in the sale of health insurance can reduce competition by, for example, encouraging hospitals to contract with smaller health plans at higher rates or through less efficient reimbursement models.  The department remains committed to challenging any anticompetitive use of MFN clauses by health plans.  The division has seen increased awareness of the potential anticompetitive effects of MFN clauses.  For example, insurers in areas such as North Carolina have recently stopped using MFN clauses in their contracts with hospitals and other providers.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is a Michigan nonprofit healthcare corporation headquartered in Southfield, Mich.  It is the largest provider of commercial health insurance in Michigan.

The case remains open until the court acts on the stipulated motion for dismissal without prejudice.

The Justice Department announced today that Alabama-based Caddell Construction has agreed to pay to the United States $1,150,000 to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by falsely reporting to the Army Corps of Engineers that it hired and mentored a Native American-owned company to work on construction projects at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Campbell, Ky.

The Army Corps contracted with Caddell between 2003 and 2005 to build barracks at the two bases. As part of the contracts, Caddell represented that it would hire and mentor Mountain Chief Management Services, a Native American-owned company, under the Department of Defense’s Mentor-Protégé and Indian Incentive Programs. The Mentor-Protégé Program reimburses companies for the time and cost of mentoring small disadvantaged businesses, while the Indian Incentive Program provides a rebate to contractors for subcontracting with Native American-owned businesses.

The United States alleged that from April 2003 to March 2005, Caddell falsely represented in its invoices and supporting documents that it was mentoring Mountain Chief and that Mountain Chief was performing work on the construction projects. According to the government, Mountain Chief allegedly was merely a pass-through entity used by Caddell to claim payments under the two programs, and didn’t perform the work or receive the mentoring services for which Caddell received payment.

“Contractors that subvert important government programs, such as those designed to benefit small and Native American-owned businesses, will be held accountable,” said Stuart F. Delery, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “We will work tirelessly to ensure that participants in federal programs and benefits receive only the money to which they are entitled.”

Caddell’s former director of business development, Mark Hill, and Mountain Chief’s former president, Daniel Chattin, were indicted on related charges in federal district court for the Middle District of Alabama in January 2012. Both are awaiting trial. In December 2012, Caddell entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the United States under which it agreed to pay the United States $2 million and to cooperate in the ongoing criminal matter.

The civil case was handled by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, with investigative assistance provided by the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

A registered nurse who fabricated nursing visit forms in connection with a $24 million home health care fraud conspiracy in Detroit pleaded guilty today for her role in the scheme, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade, Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley III 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 (HHS-OIG), Chicago Regional Office.

Beverly Cooper, 59, of Detroit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Victoria A. Roberts in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. 

Cooper admitted that she and others conspired to defraud Medicare through home health care companies operating in the Detroit area, including Reliance Home Care LLC, First Choice Home Health Care Services Inc. and Accessible Home Care Inc.  According to court documents, Cooper fabricated nursing visit notes and other documents to give Medicare the impression that she had provided home health care services, when, in fact, home health care was not needed and/or was not being provided.  Cooper also admitted that while at these companies, she signed nursing visit notes for home visits made by other unlicensed individuals to give Medicare the false impression that she had provided home health care.  Court documents reveal that Cooper understood that the documents she created would be used by these companies to submit claims to Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary and/or not provided. 

Court documents show that when home health companies were inspected by state regulatory agencies, Cooper and her co-conspirators participated in staged home health visits, posing as employees of these companies and treating fake patients, all to give inspectors the false impression that these companies’ operations were legitimate and that home health services were in fact being provided. 

Court documents allege that between 2006 and May 2012, Cooper’s conduct caused Reliance, First Choice and Accessible to submit claims to Medicare for services that were not medically necessary and/or not provided, causing Medicare to pay these companies approximately $5,403,703.

At sentencing, scheduled for July 23, 2013, Cooper faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney William G. Kanellis and Assistant Chief Gejaa Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  It 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.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is 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.

An Orlando resident was sentenced today to serve life plus five years in prison for forcing multiple minor and adult victims to engage in prostitution, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Robert E. O’Neill.

Weylin O. Rodriguez, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven in the Middle District of Florida.  In addition to his prison term, Rodriguez was sentenced to serve lifetime supervised release.
 
On Nov. 2, 2012, Rodriguez was found guilty by a federal jury of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud and coercion; using a firearm in furtherance of a sex trafficking crime; transporting minors over state lines for the purpose of engaging in prostitution through coercion and enticement; and being a felon in possession of a firearm

According to evidence presented at trial, in December 2010, Rodriguez met a 15-year-old minor in Ybor City, Fla.  Rodriguez offered to give the minor a ride home, but instead of taking her home, he drove her to Orlando and forced her to engage in prostitution. 

The investigation revealed that beginning on Thanksgiving Day 2010, Rodriguez held two other female victims for several months and forced them into prostitution.  In approximately January 2011, Rodriguez transported the girls between Orlando and Charlotte, N.C. for the purpose of prostitution.

In addition to the minors, Rodriguez recruited at least two adult victims by promising them jobs as models.  Once the girls met with Rodriguez, he held them against their will and forced them into prostitution.    

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Orlando Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff's Office and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacie B. Harris of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Maureen Cain of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and CEOS, 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.

The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is planning to invest more than $20 million to strengthen the firearm background check system by improving states’ abilities to share information with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) are providing funding for three grants to support state, territorial and tribal efforts to reduce information gaps and make instantly available to NICS all records prohibiting the purchase or possession of firearms.

“As part of President Obama’s comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence, the Administration is committed to enhancing and strengthening the national criminal record system in support of stronger firearm background checks,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.  “The Department of Justice intends to take immediate and effective action to work with states to fill gaps in information currently available to the NICS system.”

The NICS background check system is the most efficient and effective way to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals, but in order to work, the system must have timely and accurate information about these individuals.  States are a critical source for several key categories of relevant records and data, including criminal history records and records of persons prohibited from having guns because of domestic violence or for mental health reasons. 

The grants would be used to improve access to and reporting of prohibiting mental health information such as involuntary commitments to mental health facilities, felony convictions as well as misdemeanor convictions of domestic violence, domestic violence restraining orders and immediate access to active felony and misdemeanor warrants. The grants will also support upgrades and enhancements to electronic submissions of fingerprints to state and federal systems as well as linking of arrest and disposition. Funding will be provided under National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP), NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP), and a new, one-time initiative called, Improving the Completeness of Firearm Background Checks through Enhanced State Data Sharing. This new initiative creates a competitive grant program designed to incentivize states, territories and tribes to share information with NICS by closing information gaps that inhibit complete and accurate background checks.

Since 1995, the BJS has provided grants and technical assistance to states to improve criminal history data availability for background checks and other purposes under the NCHIP. In 2009, after the Virginia Tech shootings, BJS launched the NARIP, addressing information requirements of NICS firearm background checks and requiring states to make additional records available. BJA also supports information sharing among the nation’s state and local government agencies, directly supporting the mission of BJS and President Obama’s plan to reduce gun violence. 

For more information on Improving the Completeness of Firearm Background Checks through Enhanced State Data Sharing, please visit: www.bja.gov/Funding/13FirearmBackgroundCheckSol.pdf.

For more information on President Obama’s plan to reduce gun violence, please visit: www.whitehouse.gov/issues/preventing-gun-violence.