District Not Recorded
The source did not name an office we could identify. These records remain unassigned rather than guessed.
Three Florida Men Plead Guilty in Multimillion-Dollar Tax Refund SchemeRead the Press Release
Christopher Johnson, of Orlando, Florida, and Jasen Harvey, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to defraud the United States by promoting a tax fraud scheme called the “Note Program.”
Arthur Grimes, of Ocoee and Orlando, Florida, previously pleaded guilty on April 2 to obstructing the IRS in connection with the scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2015 to 2018, Johnson and Harvey conspired to promote a scheme in which Harvey and others prepared tax returns for clients that claimed large nonexistent income tax withholdings had been paid to the IRS, and sought large refunds based on those purported withholdings. The conspirators charged clients fees and required them to pay over a portion of the fraudulently obtained refunds.
Overall, the defendants claimed over $3 million in fraudulent refunds on their clients returns, of which the IRS paid about $1.5 million.
Grimes participated in the scheme by causing four false income tax returns prepared by Harvey to be filed. When the IRS attempted to recover a refund issued to Grimes based on one of those returns, Grimes made false statements and submitted false documents to an IRS revenue officer and transferred funds to a nominee bank account.
Johnson was paid more than $200,000 in 2016 and more than $100,000 in 2017 as his share of the proceeds from the scheme. Johnson filed false tax returns for those years that did not report that income, resulting in a tax loss of $78,259.
A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date for Johnson and Harvey. They each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy charge.
Grimes is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 12. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for the tax obstruction charge.
All three defendants also face a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind, Jeffrey McLellan and Caroline Pearson of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Man Who Threatened to Kill Federal Judges and Other Public Officials Sentenced to 20 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who sent letters from state prison expressing a desire to kill federal judges, U.S. Marshals, and federal prosecutors was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison.
During a hearing in Miami, on Aug. 19, Michael Dean Drew, 51, was sentenced to 240 months in prison, to run consecutive to the sentence he is currently serving. Drew had previously been sentenced, five times, for sending threatening letters to federal judges, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and federal law enforcement officers.
“The public officials who work to keep our country safe and uphold the rule of law should not have to fear for their lives or the lives of their families,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This sentence should make clear that the Justice Department has no tolerance for violence or threats of violence against public servants.”
“Law enforcement officers, judges, and prosecutors work every day to keep us safe against an ever-growing list of threats,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Threatening them for doing their jobs to keep our communities safe strikes at the very heart of our society. This long sentence sends a strong message that we will take all measures to protect the public servants who dedicate their lives to ensure our public safety.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate heinous threats of violence that target prosecutors, the judiciary, and our partners in law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “As evidenced in the case against Michael Dean Drew, we will continue to investigate threats against public servants and aggressively seek penalties against those who engage in such abhorrent crimes. We must protect our dedicated government employees, so that they may carry out their jobs without fear and ensure the functions of our democracy.”
“The U.S. Marshals Service is dedicated to protecting our justice system and those who serve it,” said U.S. Marshal Gadyaces Serralta for the District of Southern Florida. “We will not tolerate threats against prosecutors, judges, or law enforcement. Just as we did in the case of Michael Dean Drew, we will continue to investigate and hold accountable anyone who tries to intimidate public servants. Protecting those who enforce the law is crucial to maintaining our democracy and keeping our communities safe.”
According to the court record, in May 2023, Drew mailed a letter to a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida threating that the judge would die a violent death for presiding over a particular criminal case. In August 2023, Drew mailed two letters to the federal courthouse in Miami, in which he threatened another federal judge and members of the U.S. Marshal Service. In each of the letters, Drew described how he was recruiting other people to violently murder the judge and members of the U.S. Marshal Service. In September 2023, Drew mailed letters from his place of incarceration in Florida to Assistant U.S. Attorneys in Virginia and Georgia stating that he had recruited gang members and members of the Aryan Nation to carry out the violent murder of the Assistant U.S. Attorneys and their family members. In all the letters, Drew expressed his sincere intent to carry out the threats and described in detail how each of the victims would die.
In one letter, Drew said he would “take great pleasure in knowing you will suffer and die” and that the judge’s body would be “discarded as a piece of trash, thrown in a ditch.” In the letter addressed to the U.S. Marshals Service, Drew said he was “recruiting” as many fellow inmates as possible into the Aryan Nation gang and that “[o]ur first objective is to murder as many U.S. Marshals as possible… I and my fellow comrades have taken a blood oath to kill, harass, terrorize and destroy federal agents.” In each of the letters, Drew explained how the victim’s death would be in retaliation for their role in the judicial system.
On June 6, Drew pleaded guilty to five counts of mailing threatening communications.
The FBI Miami Field Office and the U.S. Marshals Service Miami investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Funk, Zachary E. Keller, and Emily Rose Stone for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Former Energy Trader for Vitol Inc. Pleads Guilty to International Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
A former energy trader pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a scheme to bribe Mexican government officials to secure contracts for his then-employer, Vitol Inc. (Vitol), the U.S. affiliate of the largest independent energy trading firm in the world.
According to court documents, Javier Aguilar, 50, of Houston, and his co-conspirators paid approximately $600,000 in bribes to two senior officials at PEMEX Procurement International, Inc. (PPI), a wholly owned affiliate of the Mexican state-owned oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), in exchange for assistance in winning business for Vitol.
“Javier Aguilar has now admitted that he bribed foreign officials to win business when he worked as an oil and gas trader at Vitol Inc., using shell companies, fake contracts, sham invoices, and alias email accounts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Aguilar’s guilty plea yesterday follows his conviction at trial on related charges earlier this year. His illegal conduct netted Vitol hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts, and now he will pay the price.”
“With yesterday's guilty plea, the defendant admits his role in the widespread corruption of the international commodities market and to casting aside laws and rules that apply to all to unfairly line the pockets of the few,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “The actions of the defendant and his co-conspirators, and of those who act similarly, destroy people’s faith in their governments, disadvantage those who play by the rules, undermine confidence in American businesses worldwide, and will not be tolerated by this Office or our law enforcement partners.”
“The Southern District of Texas is ground zero in the fight against foreign bribery and corruption in Latin America,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “My office’s prosecutors — experts on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — will continue to bring to justice those who damage the integrity of Texas’s vital energy sector with illegal advantages fueled by greed. This guilty plea begins the process of repairing the damage caused by Aguilar as well as putting on notice those who might seek to emulate him and his cohorts.”
“The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been the law of the land, and enforceable worldwide, for decades. Yet unscrupulous businessmen still try to bribe their way to profit,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office. “My message to them is that the charges and penalties you will face are not worth the gain. I want to commend the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Office of International Affairs; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas for their diligence pursuing this case, but especially the agents and analysts who leave no stone unturned in pursuit of FCPA violators.”
Between 2017 and 2020, Aguilar, who was a trader in Vitol’s Houston office, and his co-conspirators paid approximately $600,000 in bribes to two senior officials at PPI to obtain numerous contracts for Vitol to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of ethane to PEMEX. To conceal the scheme, Aguilar and his co-conspirators used a series of fake contracts, sham invoices and shell entities incorporated in Curaçao and Mexico. The defendant and his co-conspirators also used alias email accounts to communicate about the scheme and code words, including “shoes,” “medicine,” “invitations,” and “coffee,” to describe the bribes.
Aguilar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to a violation of the Travel Act. The FCPA conspiracy charge, which was brought by a grand jury in the Southern District of Texas, related to conduct that was initially charged in the Eastern District of New York. As part of his guilty plea, Aguilar consented to transfer the Texas case to New York, to consolidate the cases, and to forfeit $7,129,938. The plea follows Aguilar’s related conviction at trial in February 2024 for conspiracy to violate the FCPA, violating the FCPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with schemes to bribe Ecuadorian and Mexican officials. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment on the money laundering offense and five years’ imprisonment on each of the other offenses. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In December 2020, Vitol admitted to bribing officials in Ecuador, Mexico, and Brazil in violation of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Vitol entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York. As a part of the resolution, Vitol agreed to pay a combined $135 million in penalties as part of a coordinated resolution with the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and authorities in Brazil.
Seven of the defendant’s co-conspirators have pleaded guilty for their role in the scheme and are awaiting sentencing. These individuals have agreed to forfeit more than $63 million in connection with this and related schemes.
FBI Miami’s International Corruption Squad investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Clayton P. Solomon and Assistant Chiefs Derek J. Ettinger and Jonathan P. Robell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorney D. Hunter Smith and Deputy Chief Adam J. Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan P. Lax, Matthew R. Galeotti, and Nick M. Axelrod for the Eastern District of New York, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherin Daniel and Deputy Chief Suzanne Elmilady for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case. The MLARS Special Financial Investigations Unit and Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided substantial assistance.
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA and Foreign Extortion Prevention Act matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative is led by a team of dedicated prosecutors in MLARS, in partnership with federal law enforcement agencies, and often with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, to forfeit the proceeds of foreign official corruption. Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to [email protected] or https://tips.fbi.gov/.
Clean Harbors Inc. Agrees to Clean up Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site Near Baton Rouge, LouisianaRead the Press Release
Clean Harbors Inc. and two of its subsidiaries, Clean Harbors Baton Rouge LLC and Baton Rouge Disposal LLC, have reached an over $5 million agreement with the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up decades-old contamination at the Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site just north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A complaint filed today along with a proposed consent decree seeks an order requiring the Clean Harbors companies to perform a cleanup of pollution at Devil’s Swamp Lake, pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund. The cleanup is estimated to cost over $3 million. Additionally, the consent decree requires reimbursement of over $2 million in costs incurred by the United States in responding to the contamination at Devil’s Swamp Lake. The companies will also pay the United States for all costs it spends in the future for that purpose.
“The Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site is located in an area that is unfortunately already overburdened by a variety of environmental problems,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement will protect the public from the dangerous chemicals that have been contaminating Devil’s Swamp Lake for decades and bring the community one step closer to reclaiming this and other important natural resources.”
“The people of Louisiana deserve safe, clean natural resources,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe Jr. for the Middle District of Louisiana. “This proposed consent decree will ensure that the Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site is appropriately remediated and that the American taxpayers are reimbursed for costs incurred in responding to contamination at that site. I appreciate the hard work of our partners at EPA and at the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division toward achieving this settlement.”
“The East Baton Rouge community expects and deserves the full protection of EPA’s cleanup laws and standards. This settlement is a huge step in resolving a decades-long issue for families that experience a higher burden of environmental problems than other areas of the parish,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance of EPA Region 6. “Holding companies accountable and financially responsible for the harms they commit is one of our strongest tools for getting overburdened communities the relief they deserve. I would like to thank our federal partners for their support in ensuring the site is cleaned up and given back to the communities.”
Devil’s Swamp Lake is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are extremely harmful chemicals that build up in the environment over time and have been linked to cancer. Due in part to the levels of PCBs, Louisiana state agencies have repeatedly issued advisories warning the public not to swim in or eat fish caught in Devil’s Swamp Lake.
The Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site is located in East Baton Rouge Parish, an area with a population that disproportionately suffers from pollution in the water and the air. Ensuring cleanup of hazardous waste at sites such as Devil’s Swamp Lake is an important aspect of a broader fight to achieve environmental justice.
The Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Enforcement Section is handling the case, in conjunction with EPA.
The complaint and the proposed consent decree were filed with the U.S. District Court for Middle District of Louisiana. The settlement is subject to a public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree is available for viewing on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
Justice Department Announces an Organizational Assessment of the Charlottesville, Virginia, Police Department under the COPS Office’s Collaborative Reform InitiativeRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced that it will conduct an organizational assessment of the Charlottesville, Virginia, Police Department through its Collaborative Reform Initiative. Over the next year, the Charlottesville Police Department will work with the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative team to focus on:
- Community Policing/Problem Solving;
- Crime Analysis/Crime Prevention;
- Employee Wellness, Training, Development and Retention;
- Resource Analysis/Strategic Planning; and
- Accountability, Oversight and Evaluation.
“The overall goals of the Organizational Assessment program include building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, enhancing officer safety and wellness and improving fairness and effectiveness in an agency’s operations,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “Any department that actively commits to pursuing those goals is taking a step in the right direction.”
“This is a comprehensive assessment that includes data and document review, direct observations of the agency’s activities and practices, interviews, focus groups and more,” said COPS Office Director Hugh T. Clements, Jr. “At the same time the work is taking place, the public will receive regular updates, as transparency is a critical part of this process.”
Regular updates on the team’s work with the Charlottesville Police Department will be provided at cops.usdoj.gov/active-oa-site-charlottesville-va-police-department as part of the transparency and public accountability of this new Organizational Assessment effort.
The Collaborative Reform Initiative encompasses three programs offering expert services to state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies: the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, Critical Response and Organizational Assessment programs (complete details of these programs can be found at cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform). Managed out of the COPS Office, this continuum of services is designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; build agencies’ capacity for organizational learning and self-improvement; and promote community policing practices nationwide.
The Organizational Assessment program provides the most intensive form of technical assistance on the continuum, involving in-depth assessments and long-term assistance on systemic issues that can challenge community trust and confidence. A continual assessment and implementation process ensures that time and resources are used to focus on identifying areas for improvement, reinforcing agency strengths and assisting with the implementation of improvements expeditiously. At the same time, the process provides transparency and accountability with routine public reporting. Each engagement will be supported by a multidisciplinary assessment team composed of subject matter experts with diverse experience and perspectives, including in law enforcement, community engagement, research and evaluation, program management and organizational reform.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.
Nationwide Home Healthcare and Hospice Provider to Pay $3.85M to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Intrepid U.S.A. Inc., headquartered in Dallas, and various wholly-owned subsidiaries (Intrepid) have agreed to pay $3,850,000 to resolve allegations that Intrepid violated the False Claims Act in connection with two lines of its business: first, that Intrepid knowingly submitted claims to Medicare for home healthcare services for patients who did not qualify for the Medicare home healthcare benefit or where services otherwise did not qualify for Medicare reimbursement; and second, that Intrepid knowingly submitted claims to Medicare for patients who did not qualify for the hospice benefit. The settlement is based on Intrepid’s ability to pay.
The United States alleged that, between 2016 and 2021, 19 Intrepid home healthcare facilities submitted claims to Medicare for home healthcare services for patients who did not qualify or were not properly certified as eligible for the Medicare home healthcare benefit, where the services provided were not reasonable or medically necessary, where the services were provided by untrained staff, or where services were not performed. Separately, the United States alleged that, between 2016 and 2021, three Intrepid hospice facilities admitted patients to hospice care who were ineligible for the Medicare hospice benefit because they were not terminally ill or continued providing services to patients who should have been discharged because they no longer met the requirements for the Medicare hospice benefit.
“Medicare’s hospice and home healthcare benefits provide critical services to vulnerable patient populations across the country,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This settlement reflects our commitment to ensuring that these benefits are used to care for those who need them and not just to enrich those who seek to provide them.”
“The Medicare Program provides vital health insurance to the elderly and disabled population,” said U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett for the Western District of Kentucky. “Our office will vigorously pursue unscrupulous providers who choose to illegally and improperly bill the Medicare Program.”
“Businesses who engage in improper Medicare billing practices undercut the legitimate provision of healthcare services for patients in need,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger for the District of Minnesota. “This settlement reinforces the importance of holding accountable health care providers who seek financial gain above quality patient care.”
“Home health is designed to increase health care access for our most vulnerable populations with mobility limitations, while hospice care aims to provide comfort and relief for the terminally ill. Exploiting these systems for financial gain is intolerable,” said Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to pursue health care providers who jeopardize the integrity of these services by prioritizing profit over medically necessary palliative care.”
The civil settlement resolves claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act in two different lawsuits. One qui tam action was brought by Jennifer Jones, a former travel nurse, and Pamela Joffe, a former Director of Quality Assessment Performance Improvement and New Business Development, for Intrepid. The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Jones v. Intrepid USA Healthcare Inc., No. 19-sc-2973 (D. Minn.). The second qui tam action was brought by Marsha Rigney, a former Director of Clinical Excellence and Integrity, and Janet Watts, a former Regional Manager of Clinical Excellence, for Intrepid. This qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Rigney v. Intrepid U.S.A. Inc., No. 3:20-cv-95-RGJ (WDKY). Under the provisions of the False Claims Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. Relators Jones and Joffe will receive $333,985 from the settlement proceeds, and Relators Rigney and Watts will receive $359,014 from the settlement proceeds.
The resolution of these matters was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. HHS-OIG assisted in the investigations.
The investigation and resolution of these matters illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
Trial Attorney Anthony Gill of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schecter for the Western District of Kentucky and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Rau for the District of Minnesota investigated the matter.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
SettlementTen Additional States Join Justice Department’s Suit Against Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets Across the Live Concert IndustryRead the Press Release
Today, the Attorneys General of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont joined a civil antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department, 29 other states and the District of Columbia against Live Nation-Ticketmaster for monopolization and other unlawful conduct in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.
The department, and its now-expanded group of 40 co-plaintiffs, filed an amended complaint in the Southern District of New York. The amended complaint also alleges additional details about Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive course of conduct in markets across the live entertainment industry.
Rota Resident Sentenced to 10 years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
SAIPAN, CNMI– SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that Vincent Masga Songsong, age 40, from the island of Rota in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). The Court also ordered five years of supervised release following imprisonment and sex offender registration anywhere Songsong lives, works, or goes to school. A restitution hearing is set for September 27, 2024.
Songsong was convicted of the same crime in 2015 and sentenced to 78 months imprisonment. He began a term of supervised release thereafter. On June 23, 2023, a United States Probation officer visited Songsong’s place of employment on the island of Rota. Songsong was found in possession of a cellular phone not registered with the Probation Office. The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the phone and, through forensic analysis, located more than 1,000 video and image files depicting the sexual exploitation of minors. To date, approximately 123 victims have been identified.
“The possession of CSAM is an unconscionable crime that affects the most vulnerable in our communities,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “The harm to child victims can last a lifetime. Our Project Safe Childhood initiative continues to target those who seek to prey on children. Our office will pursue these cases whenever the evidence supports prosecution.”
“The FBI is dedicated to ensuring the safety of children in the United States and its territories,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill. “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that crimes against children will never be tolerated. Our collective efforts to promote public safety in Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands remains steadfast, and the FBI will continue to investigate, disrupt, and hold accountable those who prey upon the children of our communities.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Albert S. Flores Jr., Assistant United States Attorney in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.
This was a Project Safe Childhood (PSC) case, 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, PSC 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 PSC, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Update on Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s Justice AI ConveningsRead the Press Release
This week, Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco hosted the sixth convening of the Justice AI Initiative, which she launched earlier this year to inform the Justice Department’s AI policy, including how AI will impact the Department’s mission to uphold the rule of law, keep the nation safe, and protect civil rights. Justice AI brings together stakeholders across civil society, industry, academia, and law enforcement to share expertise and a wide range of perspectives on both the promise of AI and the perils of its misuse.
The Deputy AG welcomed organizations and advocates focused on privacy and consumer protection to the Justice Department to discuss opportunities for AI to advance the Department’s mission to protect the rights of consumers, while also addressing AI’s potential to magnify and accelerate risks to privacy and consumer rights as well as the Department’s obligation to ensure appropriate guardrails around use of AI. The conversation covered a range of topics, including algorithmic discrimination, the use of AI to target vulnerable populations, concerns about bulk data collection, and biometric privacy.
Earlier this summer, the Deputy AG convened an international meeting of the Justice AI Initiative with Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Eva Maydell and other leaders from the European Parliament. In addition to discussing how AI is changing the way crimes are committed, the Deputy AG and the MEPs discussed the threat posed by malign nation-state actors using AI to undermine elections across the globe this year. The Deputy AG underscored that the Justice Department will remain vigilant to foreign adversaries abusing AI to accelerate online hate and disinformation, imitate trusted sources of information, and proliferate deepfakes.
The Deputy AG and the Department’s Criminal Division also recently convened compliance executives to hear how companies are using AI and how compliance departments are addressing its risks. This discussion will inform updates to the Criminal Division’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.
All the Justice AI convenings inform the Department of Justice’s work as part of Executive Order 14110 on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. You can read about previous Justice AI convenings here.
Justice Department Transfers Approximately $300,000 in Forfeited Criminal Proceeds to BonaireRead the Press Release
The Justice Department shared $300,921.09 in forfeited criminal assets with Bonaire, a special Dutch Caribbean municipality within the country of the Netherlands, in recognition of Bonaire’s assistance to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s investigation of, and the department’s forfeiture of criminal proceeds derived from, the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business that was active in the black market for exchanging Venezuelan bolivars for U.S. dollars.
This transfer marks the first international sharing of forfeited assets involving the Governments of the United States and Bonaire. Bonaire’s Public Prosecutors Office intends to use the funds to support ongoing criminal justice efforts.
The funds transferred are a share of net assets forfeited by U.S. authorities from an investigation into the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business run by Hjalmar Gibelli Gomez. A U.S. law enforcement investigation revealed that Gibelli was engaging in unlicensed money transmitting through his business, a Venezuelan insurance agency called Resguardo Sociedad de Corretahe. The unlicensed money transmitting business exchanged Venezuelan bolivars for U.S. dollars on a black market currency exchange in violation of U.S. law. The funds were used to promote Gibelli’s illegal money transmitting business and were utilized in money laundering transactions. As part of his illegal scheme, Gibelli transferred $2,486,525 from the scheme to purchase a luxury yacht named the “Navigante,” among other transactions.
On Dec. 22, 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri filed a civil forfeiture complaint against the yacht and other assets held by Gibelli. As described in court documents, the yacht is subject to forfeiture as property involved in a transaction or attempted transaction in violation of U.S. money laundering statutes, or as property traceable to such property. Bonaire authorities provided important law enforcement assistance in the seizure and forfeiture by restraining the Navigante in their territory, safely offloading the yacht’s crew, and assisting in the yacht’s transfer to the United States. Gibelli consented to the forfeiture of the Navigante and other property.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Casey for the Eastern District of Missouri prosecuted the case, with substantial assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and U.S. Marshals Service. The DEA and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.
The Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) provided assistance in connection with the international sharing process.
The Criminal Division, through MLARS’ International Unit, administers the department’s international asset forfeiture sharing program. Pursuant to federal law, and in coordination with the Departments of the Treasury and State, the department may share proceeds of successful forfeiture of property with foreign countries that participate in the seizure or forfeiture of the property.
Readout of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s Participation in a Tribal Roundtable with Nine South Dakota Tribal Nations at the Yankton Sioux NationRead the Press Release
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland met yesterday with Tribal leaders and Tribal law enforcement officials from the nine South Dakota Tribal Nations at a roundtable held at the Yankton Sioux Nation to discuss public safety issues. The Attorney General was joined by Senator Mike Rounds. The visit highlighted the Department’s efforts to address public safety and justice in Tribal communities across South Dakota, including combating violent crime and drug-related crime, and the crisis of missing or murdered Indigenous persons.
The roundtable discussion also included representatives from the offices of Senator John Thune and Representative Dusty Johnson. Representatives from the nine South Dakota Tribal Nations, including the Yankton Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, discussed the public safety challenges facing each of their communities. Acting Director Daron T. Carreiro of the Justice Department’s Office of Tribal Justice and U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell for the District of South Dakota also participated in the roundtable. Discussion topics included the Department’s efforts to address pressing public safety needs, including violent and drug-related crime experienced by the Tribes.
Recognizing that progress on public safety issues depends on successful partnerships, the Department — primarily through the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and U.S. Attorney’s Office — has launched joint operations to address violent and drug-related crimes in Tribal communities. These include FBI’s Safe Trails Task Forces to conduct joint investigations to combat drug trafficking in Tribal communities; FBI’s Operation Not Forgotten to surge resources into Tribal communities to address unsolved crimes; and the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which provides for the placement of an MMIP Assistant U.S. Attorney and an MMIP Coordinator in five designated regions with Indian Country across the United States, including South Dakota.
In addition to increased operational support, since 2021, the Department has provided over $19 million in funding specifically for Tribes in South Dakota to support Tribal public safety programs. This funding has gone toward hiring, equipping, and training officers; improving the handling of child abuse cases; combating domestic and sexual violence; supporting Tribal youth programs; and strengthening victim services in Tribal communities.
Addressing the crises of missing or murdered Indigenous people and human trafficking of Indigenous people continues to be a priority for the Justice Department. In addition to rolling out the MMIP Regional Outreach Program and addressing cold cases through the FBI’s Operation Not Forgotten, the Department continues to be guided by the recommendations in the Not Invisible Act Commission’s final report. The Departments of Justice and the Interior issued a joint response in March and are working to implement new commitments and strengthen ongoing efforts.
Other topics raised during the Attorney General’s visit to Indian country included the need for increased public safety and justice finding and improvements to grant resources and officer training.
Earlier in the day, Attorney General Garland met with prosecutors and federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement partners from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota. During the meeting the Attorney General highlighted the Department’s work to decrease violent crime and combat the fentanyl epidemic. The Attorney General met with U.S. Attorney Ramsdell and discussed her office’s work to address violent crime and public safety in Indian Country.
Photo credit: Senator Rounds’ office. Photo credit: Senator Rounds’ office. Photo credit: Senator Rounds’ office.Justice Department Issues Letter to State and Local Police Departments and Governments Explaining that Certain Housing Programs May Violate Federal LawRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it issued a letter to state and local police departments and governments about programs that may violate federal housing protections. The letter describes common features of these widespread programs, sometimes known as “crime-free” or “nuisance” programs, and cautions that they may be unlawful when they unfairly penalize communities of color, individuals with disabilities or survivors of domestic violence.
Three and a half years ago, the Justice Department announced a renewed commitment to reducing violent crime and building strong communities where all Americans are safe. Central to this commitment is a violent crime strategy that prioritizes building trust and earning legitimacy within our communities. The department is providing this letter in furtherance of its mission to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe and to protect civil rights, including by promoting fair access to housing and ensuring that race, national origin, disability, sex or other protected characteristics do not limit housing opportunities or access to emergency services.
“Even when well-intentioned, these programs can disrupt lives, force families into homelessness and result in loss of jobs, schooling and opportunities for people who are disproportionately low-income people of color – all in violation of federal law,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “These programs can also discourage people with disabilities and their loved ones from seeking help during a mental health crisis and prevent victims of domestic violence from seeking the protection they desperately need. The Justice Department will continue to fight discriminatory and unlawful housing programs across the country while supporting state and local law enforcement and governments to prevent violent crime without violating the right to fair and equal access to housing.”
The letter highlights examples of programs, based on recent enforcement actions, that affect housing rights and may raise questions under federal law. These include programs that:
- restrict housing based on criminal histories and sometimes just an arrest record;
- fail to provide for a case-by-case determination of purported safety concerns, including for individuals with convictions;
- impose negative housing consequences on an entire household;
- provide substantial enforcement discretion that may be used to target certain people who are protected under federal law;
- were adopted with discriminatory intent, which may be evidenced by the historical backdrop, including growing diversity or racial tension;
- threaten or impose penalties for calls for disability-related issues, including designating a medical or disability-related call as a nuisance;
- publicize confidential information about individuals’ disabilities; and/or
- fail to make reasonable modifications to avoid disability-related discrimination.
Today’s letter describes how these programs may specifically violate the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Violence Against Women Act. It also summarizes recent challenges to “crime-free” and “nuisance” programs by the Justice Department and others — including in Hesperia, California, and Anoka, Minnesota — that resulted in repeals or substantial changes to the programs as well as significant monetary awards for affected individuals.
The letter also explains that while the objective of these programs may be to reduce crime, there is no evidence to support that they accomplish that goal. Instead, as shown in recent enforcement actions, these programs often disproportionately harm survivors of domestic violence, deny individuals with disabilities equal opportunity to receive emergency services and disproportionately impact communities of color. For example, a Black woman living in Hesperia called the police to her home because she did not feel safe with her boyfriend. The sheriff’s department notified her landlord about the numerous domestic disturbance calls and threatened him with a misdemeanor charge. The landlord then pushed the woman and her children out of their home, ultimately forcing her to uproot her family from the city.
For more information about the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TTY 833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov. Individuals may report housing discrimination by submitting a report online at civilrights.justice.gov, calling the department at 1-833-591-0291 or emailing [email protected]. Individuals may also report discrimination by contacting the Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777 or by filing a complaint at www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint.
The department’s grant components provide a wide range of resources to law enforcement, courts, corrections, treatment, reentry, justice information sharing and community-based partners to address chronic and emerging criminal justice challenges nationwide. For example, in December 2023, the department announced its Violent Crime Reduction Roadmap, a one-stop shop to assist local jurisdictions in developing, implementing and evaluating strategies to prevent, intervene in and respond to violent crime. The department also offers training and technical assistance resources in a wide variety of areas relevant to violent crime reduction. For information about grant funding, training and other resources, please visit the websites of the department’s Office on Violence Against Women, Office of Justice Programs and COPS Office.
El Departamento de Justicia emite una carta a departamentos de policía y gobiernos estatales y locales para explicar que determinados programas de vivienda podrían violar las leyes federalesRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que emitió una carta a departamentos de policía y gobiernos estatales y locales sobre programas que podrían violar las protecciones federales de vivienda. La carta describe las características comunes de estos programas generalizados, a veces conocidos como programas “libre de delitos” o de “molestias”, y advierte de que podrían ser ilegales cuando penalizan injustamente a las comunidades de color, las personas con discapacidad o los sobrevivientes de la violencia doméstica.
Hace tres años y medio, el Departamento de Justicia anunció un compromiso renovado para reducir la delincuencia violenta y construir comunidades fuertes en las que todos los estadounidenses estén seguros. El núcleo de este compromiso es una estrategia contra la delincuencia violenta que da prioridad a la creación de confianza y a la generación de legitimidad dentro de nuestras comunidades. El Departamento presenta esta carta en apoyo de su misión de defender el estado de derecho, mantener la seguridad de nuestro país y proteger los derechos civiles, incluido el fomento del acceso equitativo a la vivienda y la garantía de que la raza, el origen nacional, la discapacidad, el sexo u otras características protegidas no limiten las oportunidades de vivienda o el acceso a los servicios de emergencia.
“Incluso cuando son bienintencionados, estos programas pueden perturbar vidas, obligar a las familias a quedarse sin hogar y provocar la pérdida de trabajos, escolarización y oportunidades para personas de color con ingresos desproporcionadamente bajos –todo ello en violación de las leyes federales”, afirmó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. “Estos programas también pueden disuadir a las personas con discapacidad y a sus seres queridos de buscar ayuda durante una crisis de salud mental e impedir que las víctimas de la violencia doméstica busquen la protección que necesitan desesperadamente. El Departamento de Justicia seguirá luchando contra los programas de vivienda discriminatorios e ilegales en todo el país, al tiempo que apoya a las fuerzas del orden público y gobiernos estatales y locales para prevenir los delitos violentos sin violar el derecho a un acceso justo e igualitario a la vivienda”.
La carta destaca ejemplos de programas, basados en recientes medidas de ejecución, que afectan al derecho a la vivienda y pueden plantear cuestiones en virtud de las leyes federales. Se trata de programas que:
- restringen el acceso a la vivienda en función de los antecedentes penales, y a veces sólo de los antecedentes de arresto;
- no prevén la determinación caso por caso de supuestas inquietudes de seguridad, incluso para personas con condenas;
- imponen consecuencias negativas de vivienda a toda una familia;
- proporcionan una discrecionalidad sustancial en la aplicación de la ley que puede utilizarse para perseguir a determinadas personas protegidas en virtud de las leyes federales;
- se adoptaron con intención discriminatoria, lo que puede evidenciarse por el trasfondo histórico, incluida la creciente diversidad o tensión racial;
- amenazar o imponer sanciones ante llamadas realizadas por asuntos relativos a la discapacidad, incluida la designación de una llamada médica o una relacionada con la discapacidad como una molestia;
- hacer pública información confidencial sobre las discapacidades de las personas; y/o
- no realizar modificaciones razonables para evitar la discriminación por discapacidad.
La carta de hoy describe cómo estos programas podrían violar específicamente la Ley de Vivienda Justa, el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964, la Ley de Estadounidenses con Discapacidades (ADA, por sus siglas en inglés) y la Ley de Violencia contra las Mujeres. También resume las recientes impugnaciones de los programas “libre de delitos” y de “molestias” por parte del Departamento de Justicia y otras instancias –incluso en Hesperia, California y Anoka, Minnesota– que han dado lugar a la revocación o modificación sustancial de los programas, así como a importantes indemnizaciones económicas para las personas afectadas.
La carta también explica que, aunque el objetivo de estos programas podría ser reducir la delincuencia, no hay pruebas que corroboren que logran esa meta. Por el contrario, como demuestran las recientes medidas de aplicación, estos programas suelen perjudicar de forma desproporcionada a los sobrevivientes de la violencia doméstica, niegan a las personas con discapacidad la igualdad de oportunidades para recibir servicios de emergencia y afectan de forma desproporcionada a las comunidades de color. Por ejemplo, una mujer afroestadounidense que vivía en Hesperia llamó a la policía a su casa porque no se sentía segura con su novio. El departamento del alguacil notificó a su casero las numerosas llamadas por disturbios domésticos y lo amenazó con acusarlo de un delito menor. El casero forzó entonces a la mujer y a sus hijos a abandonar su casa, obligándola en última instancia a desarraigar a su familia de la ciudad.
Para obtener más información sobre la División de Derechos Civiles, visite a Civil Rights Division | División de Derechos Civiles (justice.gov). Para obtener más información sobre la ADA, llame a la línea gratuita de información sobre la ADA del departamento al 800-514-0301 (TTY 833-610-1264) o visite a www.ada.gov. Las personas pueden denunciar la discriminación en materia de vivienda presentando una queja en línea en civilrights.justice.gov, llamando al departamento al 1-833-591-0291 o enviando un correo electrónico a [email protected]. También se puede reportar discriminación poniéndose en contacto con el Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano (HUD, por sus siglas en inglés) llamando al 1-800-669-9777, o presentando una denuncia en línea en www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint.
Los componentes de subvención del departamento proporcionan una amplia gama de recursos para las fuerzas del orden público, tribunales, correccionales, tratamiento, reinserción, intercambio de información sobre justicia y socios comunitarios para abordar a los retos crónicos y emergentes de la justicia penal en todo el país. Por ejemplo, en diciembre de 2023, el departamento anunció su Hoja de Ruta para la Reducción de la Delincuencia Violenta, una ventanilla única para ayudar a las jurisdicciones locales a desarrollar, aplicar y evaluar estrategias para prevenir, intervenir y responder a la delincuencia violenta. El departamento también ofrece recursos de capacitación y asistencia técnica en una amplia variedad de ámbitos relacionados con la reducción de la delincuencia violenta. Para obtener información sobre subvenciones, capacitación y otros recursos, visite los sitios web de la Oficina sobre la Violencia contra la Mujer, la Oficina de Programas de Justicia y la Oficina COPS [Servicios Policiales Orientados a la Comunidad].
Company Sentenced to Pay $6.5M Criminal Fine for Bid Rigging in Michigan Asphalt IndustryRead the Press Release
A Michigan company was sentenced today to pay a criminal fine of $6.5 million for its role in conspiracies to rig bids for asphalt paving services contracts in the State of Michigan.
Pontiac-based Asphalt Specialists LLC pleaded guilty for its conduct on Jan. 30. According to court documents and proceedings, the company participated in a conspiracy with Al’s Asphalt Paving Company Inc. (Al’s Asphalt) and its employees from March 2013 through November 2018. The company also participated in a separate conspiracy with F. Allied Construction Company Inc. (Allied) and its employees from July 2017 through May 2021.
Each conspiracy operated in much the same way: the co-conspirators coordinated each other’s bid prices so that the agreed-upon losing company would submit intentionally non-competitive bids. These bids gave customers the false impression of competition when, in fact, the co-conspirators had already decided among themselves who would win the contracts.
“When companies choose to cheat rather than compete, they can expect to pay substantial, punitive criminal fines,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Manish Kumar of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will not hesitate in our shared mission to ensure those who violate the antitrust laws do not benefit from their crimes, particularly when those crimes affect critical infrastructure for our country.”
“The sentence imposed today should serve as a significant deterrent for anyone who chooses corporate greed over open and fair competition for transportation projects,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Licari Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Midwestern Region. “Our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division is unwavering as we continue to pursue and uncover corrupt conduct and hold companies that intentionally engage in wrongdoing accountable.”
“Asphalt Specialist LLC’s sentence reflects the seriousness of conduct that undermines the competitive process,” said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Cleevely of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Office of the Inspector General. “This sentencing represents a win for the USPS and for all law enforcement agencies who work together to protect the competitive process and to ensure that justice is served.”
Asphalt Specialists LLC is one of three companies that have been charged as part of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the asphalt paving services industry. Al’s Asphalt pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a fine of $795,661.81 on July 31. Allied also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Six individuals also have been charged as part of the investigation.
DOT-OIG and USPS OIG investigated the case.
The Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
Readout of the Justice Department Quarterly Convening with National Public Defense OrganizationsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) today hosted their quarterly convening with national public defense organizations. This quarter's convening specifically centered on youth defense issues. ATJ Director Rachel Rossi, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division, Administrator Liz Ryan of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brent Cohen of the Office of Justice Programs and Director Nancy La Vigne of the National Institute of Justice delivered remarks for the convening on the topic of youth defense. Department officials affirmed the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting the constitutional rights of our nation’s youth, strengthening and supporting youth defense systems, and advancing public safety and trust.
Today’s convening gathered public defense and youth defense organizations to discuss critical topics and trends in youth defense systems including research and data needs, the role of youth defenders in addressing racial disparities in the juvenile legal system, conditions of confinement and youth access to counsel and the need for specialized and independent youth defenders across the nation. Justice Department officials highlighted recent programs, actions and initiatives aimed at addressing the myriad of access to justice issues in juvenile legal systems.
ATJ supports indigent defense systems through its mandates to “plan, develop and coordinate the implementation of access to justice policy initiatives of high priority to the department and the executive branch,” and to “promote uniformity of Department of Justice and government-wide policies and litigation positions” relating to access to justice, “including in the area of criminal indigent defense.” See 28 C.F.R. § 0.33. ATJ serves as the principal legal advisor for the department on the constitutional right to counsel and the other rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment, and as the liaison and point of contact between the department and indigent defense organizations.
In furtherance of this mission, ATJ hosts quarterly convenings with the public defense community. Quarterly convenings are directed and led by the Justice Department’s senior attorney dedicated to supporting, collaborating with and engaging the state and local public defense community housed in ATJ. This quarterly convening included leaders and staff from The Gault Center, National Association of Public Defense, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, National Legal Aid and Defender Association and Georgetown Law’s Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative.
Senior Justice Department Officials meet with Public Defense and Youth Defense Organizations.Former Pennsylvania Attorney Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, attorney pleaded guilty today to tax evasion for calendar year 2016 in connection with substantial legal fees he earned while associated with The Powell Law Group P.C., a Luzerne County-based law firm. Powell was released on an unsecured bond while awaiting his sentencing.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Robert Powell sought to evade a substantial tax that was due and owing the IRS for 2016 by using nominee bank accounts, causing an accountant to file a request for a filing extension that falsely reported zero estimated tax liability for 2016 and making false statements during an IRS audit in 2019.
Powell’s license to practice law was suspended in 2009 and he was subsequently disbarred in 2015. As a result, in 2009, he relinquished his ownership of The Powell Law Group. He nevertheless retained the right to collect 90% of the remainder of any future fees collected by the firm after the payment of firm expenses. Specifically, The Powell Law Group represented thousands of plaintiffs in a mass tort litigation that settled for approximately $5.15 billion in 2015 and The Powell Law Group was expected to receive approximately $120 million in attorneys’ fees from that settlement.
Prior to the attorneys’ fees disbursement, The Powell Law Group and its co-counsel used those future legal fees as collateral to obtain a series of loans totaling over $125 million. Instead of depositing the loan proceeds into The Powell Law Group’s bank accounts and using them to pay firm expenses, Powell directed the loans to nominee bank accounts that were under his control. He then used the loan proceeds for his personal debts and expenses as well as his and his former law partner’s personal benefit.
In June 2016, most of the attorneys’ fees were finally disbursed and the loans were repaid. Nevertheless, Powell did not file a personal income tax return and pay taxes on the receipt of the fees in that year. After the initial disbursement and through October 2019, an additional $12 million in attorneys’ fees was distributed and The Powell Law Group’s share continued to be directed into nominee bank accounts that Powell controlled. Powell personally received an additional $3.6 million of the fees during that time.
For the full period of tax years 2010 through 2022, Powell did not file income tax returns despite receiving and spending other personal income. Rather, he willfully attempted to evade taxes due and owing by him to the United States.
In 2019, when the IRS commenced an audit of his tax liabilities, Powell made false statements to the interviewing revenue agents to conceal his income and expenditures for tax years 2014 through 2016. Namely, Powell falsely stated that his only source of funds were loan advances, that he and his spouse did not have signature authority or control over other bank accounts and that he had no ownership in any corporations.
Ultimately, as alleged by the government, Powell received millions in income over the relevant time period resulting in substantial taxes that were due but not paid to the United States.
In the plea agreement filed with the Court, Powell agreed to pay full restitution to the IRS in an amount to be determined by the Court at a later date.
“Powell engaged in a lengthy scheme to hide his income and not pay taxes,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “And when audited by the IRS, rather than step up, acknowledge his illegal conduct and pay what he owed, he chose to double down and lie to the revenue agents who interviewed him.”
“For over a decade Robert Powell failed to file personal income tax returns and executed a sophisticated scheme to evade paying substantial taxes that were due and owing the IRS from massive legal fees his firm earned,” said U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “The brazenness of his conduct included using nominee bank accounts, reporting zero estimated tax liability for the years in question and repeatedly lying to IRS auditors attempting to unravel the scheme. I want to thank all the IRS agents, prosecutors and support staff for their hard work that will allow justice to be finally served in this important case.”
“Federal income tax compliance should be equally shared among all Americans,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Denise Leuenberger of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Philadelphia Field Office. “Defrauding the government with an elaborate scheme to underreport taxable income is unlawful. Mr. Powell’s plea today serves as an important reminder that IRS-CI is committed to bringing to justice those who evade their federal income tax responsibilities.”
IRS-CI is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Alexandra Fleszar of the Tax Division and Senior Litigation Counsel Phillip J. Caraballo and Criminal Division Chief Bruce D. Brandler for the Middle District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case.
Powell SOF.pdfFederal Court Permanently Shuts Down Texas Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a permanent injunction today barring Texas tax return preparer Ruben Gonzalez and anyone acting with him or at his direction from preparing federal tax returns for others. Gonzalez consented to entry of the permanent injunction.
According to the injunction, Ruben Gonzalez is banned from using his business called “Sin Barreras Income Tax” to prepare returns for others. The government’s complaint alleged that Gonzalez or those working for him significantly overstated customers’ tax refunds in a substantial number of returns prepared at the business from 2021 to 2023, by fabricating or inflating business losses, by fabricating charitable donation deductions and by falsely claiming energy credits and coronavirus family sick leave credits to which the customers were not entitled. By repeatedly overstating customers’ tax refunds, the complaint alleges Gonzalez caused the United States harm of more than $20 million in lost tax revenue from 2021 to 2023.
The permanent injunction requires Gonzalez to send notice of the injunction to each person for whom he, or preparers at Sin Barreras Income Tax, prepared federal tax returns, amended tax returns or claims for refund between Jan. 1, 2021, to the present. The permanent injunction also requires Gonzalez to post a copy of the injunction at all locations where he conducts business and post a statement on all social media accounts and websites that he is barred from preparing tax returns.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Signed PI - Gonzalez.pdfU.S. Trustee Program Obtains $105,000 Judgment and Permanent Injunction Against Bankruptcy Petition Preparers After Debtor Loses Home to ForeclosureRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) recently obtained a judgment of nearly $105,000 and a permanent injunction against bankruptcy petition preparers whose unfair and deceptive conduct caused a consumer to lose his home of over 20 years to foreclosure.
On July 2, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas entered a stipulated judgment against CA Enterprises, doing business as Premier Services and Premier Legal Services, and the company’s chief executive, Jescar Denno. Under the stipulated judgment, Premier and Denno paid the debtor almost $95,000 – including $84,032 in actual damages, $6,800 in statutory damages and $3,400 in returned fees – and paid the U.S. Trustee statutory fines of $10,500. Premier and Denno also consented to a permanent injunction in the district prohibiting them from, among other things, acting as bankruptcy petition preparers, soliciting and advertising bankruptcy assistance and providing legal advice.
The debtor paid $3,400 for assistance with a loan modification to save his home from foreclosure. After preparing a skeletal chapter 13 petition for the debtor to file, Premier and Denno provided no meaningful services to the debtor. The bankruptcy case was dismissed with a bar against refiling without court permission, and the debtor lost his home – along with substantial equity – in a foreclosure sale.
“This case is an example of the devastation that dishonest bankruptcy petition preparers can wreak on the lives of consumers afraid of losing their homes to foreclosure,” said Director Tara Twomey of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees. “The debtor can’t get his home back, but the stipulated judgment is a significant step toward making him whole again.”
The USTP’s San Antonio office filed a complaint alleging multiple violations of the Bankruptcy Code. Premier and Denno initially denied liability, but after discovery conducted by the San Antonio office, they agreed to the entry of a stipulated judgment on all 11 counts alleged in the complaint. Premier has also been barred from providing bankruptcy petition preparer services in at least three other jurisdictions: the District of Kansas, Eastern District of Pennsylvania and District of Maryland. (The USTP issued a press release about the Maryland matter in April 2024.)
The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders – debtors, creditors and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 89 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust.
Florida Medical Equipment Manufacturer Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A Florida man pleaded guilty today to evading nearly $2.4 million in taxes on income he earned from his business.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Roger Whitman, 76, manufactured and sold medical equipment. Between 2002 and 2018, Whitman generated millions of dollars in gross receipts from the sale of such equipment.
Whitman has not filed an individual income tax return or made any tax payments since 2000. In 2012, the IRS assessed nearly $800,0000 in taxes against Whitman for tax years 2002 through 2009. In response, to conceal his income and assets, Whitman formed a trust with his girlfriend serving as the trustee. Whitman caused his girlfriend to open two bank accounts in the trust’s name, over which Whitman’s girlfriend had sole signatory authority. Thereafter, Whitman directed his income from the business into the trust’s bank accounts and used the funds from these accounts to pay personal expenses. In approximately July 2019, to further thwart IRS collection efforts, Whitman formed a new entity to operate his business.
Through his actions, Whitman caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $2.4 million.
Whitman is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, as well as supervised release and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Andres Chinchilla of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case, with assistance and support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
법무부, 대통령 행정명령 제13166호 기념일 인지: 제한된 영어 능력을 가진 사람들을 위한 서비스 접근성 개선하기Read the Press Release
어제는 대통령 행정명령 제13166호의 “제한된 영어 능력을 가진 사람들을 위한 서비스 접근성 개선하기”의 24주년을 기념했습니다. 그 핵심은, 행정 명령은 연방 정부가 우리나라와 지역 사회를 안전하고 번영하게 하기 위해 제한된 영어 능력(LEP)을 가진 사람들을 포함해 미국에 있는 모든 사람들과 반드시 이해하고 소통할 수 있어야 한다는 기본 원칙을 인정합니다.
오늘, 법무부 민권국은 현재까지 검토한 내용을 요약한 연방 기관 언어 접근성 계획을 발표했습니다. 우리는 계속 연방 기관과 함께 일하면서 그들의 언어 사용 계획을 최신화하고 구현하며 향후 몇 달 간의 연방 정부 기관 진행 상황 및 동향에 대한 추가 정보를 제공할 것입니다.
소통은 우리 임무에 대단히 중요합니다. 20년이 넘는 기간 동안, 법무부는 연방 및 연방에서 자금을 지원한 프로그램 또는 서비스에 대한 언어 장벽을 제거하기 위해 연방 기관 및 이해관계자들과 협력하며 일해왔습니다. 오해는 긴급 상황, 의료 제도, 그리고 사법 제도에서 비극적인 결과로 이어질 수 있습니다. 사실, 제한된 영어 능력을 가진 사람들과 소통하고 그들을 이해하는 일은 법 집행, 환경 보호, 주거 또는 식료품 지원 제공, 학생 성취 도모, 공중보건 보장, 그리고 경제적 번영 및 사법을 유지하는 데 대단히 중요합니다. 정부 기관이, 예를 들어, 중요한 문서 번역을 제공하거나 중요한 대화 중 또는 공판에서 통역사를 제공할 때, 우리는 연방 및 연방에서 자금을 지원한 프로그램 및 서비스의 효율성을 높여 모든 대상 지역 사회에 도달하고 혜택을 보장합니다.
법무부는 개인의 영어 능력과 상관없이 우리 고유의 프로그램들 및 우리가 자금을 지원하는 프로그램들이 모든 이에게 열려 있도록 보장하기 위해 변함없이 헌신하고 있습니다. 기관들이 연방 정부 전반에 걸쳐 많은 진전을 이루었지만, 우리는 앞에 놓인 어려움을 이해합니다. 예를 들어, 우리의 조정 역할을 통해, 우리는 40개의 최신화된 연방 기관 언어 사용 계획들의 세부 검토를 진행했고, 이를 통해 우리는 많은 수의 연방 기관들이 다음에 전념한 것을 발견했습니다:
- 효과적인 시행을 보장하기 위해 특정 언어 접근직원 및 직원 교육 절차 확립하기;
- 정확하고 품질 평가된 언어 지원 서비스를 요구하기 위한 품질 관리 개선하기; 및
- 다국어 온라인 콘텐츠 및 디지털 소통을 통해 정보에 대한 접근을 확대하기입니다.
우리의 조정 역할과 더불어, 우리는 우리 프로그램 또는 우리가 자금을 지원하는 프로그램에 대한 언어 장벽을 제거하기 위해 효과적인 정책 및 절차에 대한 정보를 배우고 구현하며 전달하는 일을 우선시 하였습니다. 예를 들어:
- 법무부의 첫 언어 사용 조정관의 임기가 만료된 후, 사법제도 접근 관리국(ATJ)은 직급을 정규직으로 만들고, 이렇게 중대한 업무의 기한을 보장하기 위해 역할을 선임 민간 서비스 언어 접근 조정관으로 충원했습니다. 사법제도 접근 관리국은 또한 언어 접근 조정관의 업무를 지원하고 언어 접근 프로그램을 더욱 발전시키기 위해 추가 직원을 합류시킵니다.
- 법무부의 언어 접근 계획에 따라, 사법제도 접근 관리국의 법무부 전체의 언어 사용 조정관은 각 구성 요소의 특정 언어 사용 계획을 개발하기 위해 법무부 구성 요소들과 함께 일하고 있습니다. 이는 구성 요소들이 법무부의 언어 사용 계획 전반적인 정책과 비슷하게 각 구성 요소의 고유한 임무 및 의무에 특정되는 언어 접근 정책을 개발할 수 있도록 할 것입니다.
- 지난 2년 동안, 사법제도 접근 관리국 언어 접근 프로그램은 언어 접근을 법무부의 대민 콘텐츠 전체로 확대하기 위해 법무부 전반에 걸쳐 50개 이상의 지국에 기술적 지원을 제공하고 번역 서비스를 마련했습니다. 프로그램은 보도자료, 봉사활동 자료, 디지털 콘텐츠, 보고서 등과 관련된 75개 이상의 번역 프로젝트를 완료했습니다.
- 민권국의 법 집행 언어 접근 계획(LELAI)의 일환으로, 민권국의 크리스텐 클라크(Kristen Clarke) 법무차관은 제한된 영어 능력을 가진 사람들에게 언어 지원 서비스를 제공하고 청각 장애자 및 난청인들에게 효율적인 소통을 제공하기 위해 2023년 12월에 법 집행 동료들에게 그들의 연방 민권 보호 의무를 강조하는 서한을 발행했습니다.
- 법 집행 언어 접근 계획을 통해 민권국은 또한 1964년 민권법 제6편 및 1968년 각종 범죄 단속 및 길거리 치안법에 따라 법 집행 기관들이 언어 장벽을 극복하는 데 도움이 되도록 지역 사회 중심 치안 서비스국(COPS) 및 전국 치안 혁신 센터와 협업하여 지역 사회 중심 치안 서비스국 교육 포털에서 핵심 자료를 선보였습니다.
- 민권국은 법 집행 기관들이 지역 사회를 더 잘 섬기고 보호하도록 제한된 영어 능력을 가진 사람들에게 의미있는 언어 지원을 제공하는 그들의 의무를 충족하는 일을 돕기 위해 전국에 있는 미국 검찰청들과 지속적인 협업을 진행하고 있습니다. 특정 법 집행 기관들과 함께 일하는 사례들은 다음을 포함합니다
- 법무부, 워싱턴 주 보안관 사무실과 언어 접근성 협약 체결
- 민권국은 또한 대중을 위해 ‘귀하의 권리를 아십시오’ 책자와 1965년 투표권법 제203조의 언어 요건을 설명하는 문서를 포함한 투표권 자료를 12개 이상의 언어로 게시했습니다. 이러한 문서는 투표 | 투표권(justice.gov)에서 찾을 수 있습니다.
내년에 민권국은 연방 언어 접근 실무진 회의를 계속 이끌 것입니다. 이러한 기관 간 회의 중, 우리는 효과적인 언어 접근 직원 교육 진행; 다국어 직원을 모집, 평가, 채용 및 유지; 자격 있는 번역가 및 통역사와 계약; 그리고 정확하며 신뢰성 있는 언어 지원 서비스를 전달하기 위해 기술을 이용하는 것에 대한 정보를 배우고 공유합니다. 이 통합된 사용 방식을 통해, 우리는 법에 따라 차별을 방지하고 동등한 대우를 보장하는 1964년 민권법 제6편 및 대통령 행정명령 제13166호의 약속을 이행하려고 합니다.
司法部關於第 13166 號行政命令周年紀念日的聲明：改善英語水準有限人士的服務獲取途徑Read the Press Release
昨天是第 13166號行政命令“改善英語水準有限人士獲得服務的途徑”頒佈 24 周年紀念日。該命令的核心是承認下一基本原則：聯邦政府必須能夠理解美國所有人士，包括英語水準有限人士 ，（LEP）並與其溝通，以保持我們的國家和社區的安全和繁榮。
今天，司法部民權司發佈了迄今為止對聯邦機構語言訪問計畫的審查情況 [鏈結]。我們將在未來幾個月內，繼續與各聯邦機構合作，更新和實施其語言訪問計畫，提供有關聯邦機構進展和趨勢的更多資訊。
溝通對於我們的使命至關重要。二十多年來，該部一直與聯邦機構和利益相關者合作，致力於消除聯邦和聯邦資助專案或服務的語言障礙。誤解可能會導致緊急情況、醫療保健系統和司法系統中的悲劇性後果。事實上，與英語水準有限人士溝通和瞭解他們，對於執行法律、保護環境、提供住房或糧食援助、促進學生成就、確保公共健康以及維護經濟繁榮和正義至關重要。例如，當政府機構提供重要文件的翻譯或在重要對話或聽證會期間提供口譯員時，我們提高了聯邦和聯邦資助的專案和服務的有效性，確保它們惠及並造福所有目標社區。
該部始終堅定不移，致力於確保我們自己的項目和我們資助的項目對所有人開放，無論一個人的英語水準如何。雖然聯邦政府各機構已經取得了很大進展，但我們知道未來仍面臨挑戰。例如，通過我們的協調作用，我們對 40 份更新的聯邦機構語言訪問計畫進行了詳細審查，發現越來越多的聯邦機構承諾：
- 建立專門的語言訪問人員和員工培訓協議，以確保有效實施；
- 改進品質控制，要求提供準確且經過品質評估的語言協助服務；以及
- 通過多語言線上內容和數碼通信擴大資訊獲取管道。
除了發揮協調作用外，我們還優先學習、實施和傳播有關有效政策和程序的資訊，以消除我們專案或我們資助的專案面臨的語言障礙。例如：
- 在該部首任語言訪問協調人的任期屆滿後，司法訪問辦公室 (ATJ) 將該職位永久化，並指派一名高級公務員語言訪問協調人擔任該職位，以確保這項關鍵工作的長期性。ATJ 還在招募更多員工，支援語言訪問協調人的工作，並進一步編制語言訪問計畫。
- 根據該部的語言訪問計畫，ATJ 全部門語言訪問協調人正在與司法部各部門合作，制定具體部門的語言訪問計畫。這使得該部門能夠針對其獨特使命和任務制定語言訪問政策，並與部門語言訪問計畫的總體政策保持一致。
- 在過去兩年中，ATJ 語言訪問計畫為該部的 50 多個辦事處提供了技術援助並安排了翻譯服務，以擴大該部面向公眾的內容的語言訪問範圍。該計畫已完成 75 多個翻譯專案，涉及新聞稿、宣傳材料、數碼內容、報告等。
- 作為民權司執法語言訪問倡議的一部分，民權司助理檢察長克莉絲汀·克拉克 (Kristen Clarke) 於 2023 年 12 月，向執法同仁發 (LELAI)函，重申其有聯邦民事義務，為英語能力有限人士提供語言援助服務，並為聾人和聽障者提供有效的溝通手段。
- 通過 LELAI，民權司還與社區警務服務辦公室 (COPS) 和國家警務創新中心合作，在COPS 培訓門戶 上推出關鍵資源，幫助執法機構克服語言障礙，從而遵守《1964 年民權法案》第六章和《1968 年綜合犯罪控制和安全街道法案》。
- 該部繼續與全國各地的美國檢察官辦公室合作，幫助執法機構履行其義務，為 英語能力有限人士提供有意義的語言幫助，以更好地服務和保護社區。與特定執法機構合作的範例包括
- 司法部与华盛顿州警长办公室达成语言协助协议
- 司法部宣佈新的執法機構語言通達倡議
- 民權司還用十多種語言，向公眾發佈了投票權利材料，包括《瞭解你的權利》小冊子和一份解釋1965年《投票權利法》第203節的語言要求的文件。 這些文件刊載於投票 | 投票權利 (justice.gov) 。
在即將到來的一年，民權司將繼續主導聯邦語言訪問工作組的會議。在這些跨機構會議期間，我們學習並分享資訊，以瞭解如何開展有效的語言服務人員培訓；招募、評估、聘用和挽留多語言員工；簽約合格的口筆譯人員；及利用科技，提供準確可靠的語言協助服務。通過這種統一的方法，我們尋求履行 1964 年《民權法案》第六章和第 13166 號行政命令的承諾，防止歧視並確保法律面前一律平等。
司法部关于第 13166 号行政命令周年纪念日的声明：改善英语水平有限人士的服务获取途径Read the Press Release
昨天是第 13166号行政命令“改善英语水平有限人士获得服务的途径”颁布 24 周年纪念日。该命令的核心是承认下一基本原则：联邦政府必须能够理解美国所有人士，包括英语水平有限人士（LEP）并与其沟通，以保持我们的国家和社区的安全和繁荣。
今天，司法部民权司发布了迄今为止对联邦机构语言访问计划的审查情况 [链接]。我们将在未来几个月内，继续与各联邦机构合作，更新和实施其语言访问计划，提供有关联邦机构进展和趋势的更多信息。
沟通对于我们的使命至关重要。二十多年来，该部一直与联邦机构和利益相关者合作，致力于消除联邦和联邦资助项目或服务的语言障碍。误解可能会导致紧急情况、医疗保健系统和司法系统中的悲剧性后果。事实上，与英语水平有限人士沟通和了解他们，对于执行法律、保护环境、提供住房或粮食援助、促进学生成就、确保公共健康以及维护经济繁荣和正义至关重要。例如，当政府机构提供重要文件的翻译或在重要对话或听证会期间提供口译员时，我们提高了联邦和联邦资助的项目和服务的有效性，确保它们惠及并造福所有目标社区。
该部始终坚定不移，致力于确保我们自己的项目和我们资助的项目对所有人开放，无论一个人的英语水平如何。虽然联邦政府各机构已经取得了很大进展，但我们知道未来仍面临挑战。例如，通过我们的协调作用，我们对 40 份更新的联邦机构语言访问计划进行了详细审查，发现越来越多的联邦机构承诺：
- 建立专门的语言访问人员和员工培训协议，以确保有效实施；
- 改进质量控制，要求提供准确且经过质量评估的语言协助服务；以及
- 通过多语言在线内容和数字通信扩大信息获取渠道。
除了发挥协调作用外，我们还优先学习、实施和传播有关有效政策和程序的信息，以消除我们项目或我们资助的项目面临的语言障碍。例如：
- 在该部首任语言访问协调人的任期届满后，司法访问办公室 (ATJ) 将该职位永久化，并指派一名高级公务员语言访问协调人担任该职位，以确保这项关键工作的长期性。ATJ 还在招募更多员工，支持语言访问协调人的工作，并进一步编制语言访问计划。
- 根据该部的语言访问计划，ATJ 全部门语言访问协调人正在与司法部各部门合作，制定具体部门的语言访问计划。这使得该部门能够针对其独特使命和任务制定语言访问政策，并与部门语言访问计划的总体政策保持一致。
- 在过去两年中，ATJ 语言访问计划为该部的 50 多个办事处提供了技术援助并安排了翻译服务，以扩大该部面向公众的内容的语言访问范围。该计划已完成 75 多个翻译项目，涉及新闻稿、宣传材料、数字内容、报告等。
- 作为民权司执法语言访问倡议的一部分，民权司助理检察长克里斯汀·克拉克 (Kristen Clarke) 于 2023 年 12 月，向执法同仁发 (LELAI)函，重申其有联邦民事义务，为英语能力有限人士提供语言援助服务，并为聋人和听障者提供有效的沟通手段。
- 通过 LELAI，民权司还与社区警务服务办公室 (COPS) 和国家警务创新中心合作，在COPS 培训门户 上推出关键资源，帮助执法机构克服语言障碍，从而遵守《1964 年民权法案》第六章和《1968 年综合犯罪控制和安全街道法案》。
- 该部继续与全国各地的美国检察官办公室合作，帮助执法机构履行其义务，为 英语能力有限人士提供有意义的语言帮助，以更好地服务和保护社区。与特定执法机构合作的范例包括
- 司法部与华盛顿州警长办公室达成语言协助协议
- 司法部宣布新的执法机构语言通达倡议
- 民权司还用十多种语言，向公众发布了投票权利材料，包括《了解你的权利》小册子和一份解释1965年《投票权利法》第203节的语言要求的文件。 这些文件刊载于投票 | 投票权利 (justice.gov) 。
在即将到来的一年，民权司将继续主导联邦语言访问工作组的会议。在这些跨机构会议期间，我们学习并分享信息，以了解如何开展有效的语言服务人员培训；招募、评估、聘用和挽留多语言员工；签约合格的口笔译人员；及利用科技，提供准确可靠的语言协助服务。通过这种统一的方法，我们寻求履行 1964 年《民权法案》第六章和第 13166 号行政命令的承诺，防止歧视并确保法律面前一律平等。
Kinikilala ng Justice Department (kagawaran ng hustisya) ang Anibersaryo ng Executive Order (kautusang pampangasiwa) 13166: Pagpapabuti ng Pag-abot sa Mga Serbisyo para sa Mga Taong may Limited English Proficiency (limitadong kasanayan sa Ingles)Read the Press Release
Kahapon ay minarkahan ang ika-24 na anibersaryo ng Executive Order 13166, “Pagpapabuti ng Pag-abot sa Mga Serbisyo para sa Mga Taong may Limited English Proficiency.” Sa kaibuturan nito, kinikilala ng Order ang pangunahing prinsipyo na ang pederal na pamahalaan ay dapat na maunawaan at makipag-ugnayan sa lahat ng tao sa United States, kabilang ang mga may limited English proficiency (LEP), upang mapanatiling ligtas at maunlad ang ating bansa at mga komunidad.
Ngayon, ang Civil Rights Division (dibisyon ng karapatang pangsibil) ng Justice Department ay naglabas ng isang impresyon ng pagsusuri nito hanggang sa kasalukuyan ng mga plano sa pag-abot ng wika ng pederal na ahensya. Magbibigay kami ng karagdagang impormasyon tungkol sa progreso ng pederal na ahensya at mga uso sa mga darating na buwan habang patuloy kaming makikipagtulungan sa mga pederal na ahensya sa pag-update at pagpapatupad ng kanilang mga plano sa pag-abot ng wika.
Ang komunikasyon ay kritikal sa aming misyon. Sa loob ng mahigit dalawang dekada, ang departamento ay nagtrabaho sa pakikipagtulungan sa mga pederal na ahensya at mga stakeholder (may interes) upang alisin ang mga hadlang sa wika sa mga pederal at pederal na pinondohan na mga programa o serbisyo. Ang hindi pagkakaunawaan ay maaaring humantong sa mga kalunos-lunos na kahihinatnan sa mga sitwasyong pang-emergency, mga sistema ng pangangalagang pangkalusugan, at sistema ng hustisya. Sa katunayan, ang pakikipag-usap at pag-unawa sa mga taong may LEP ay kritikal sa pagpapatupad ng batas, pagpoprotekta sa kapaligiran, pagbibigay ng tulong sa pabahay o pagkain, pagtataguyod ng tagumpay ng mag-aaral, pagtiyak sa kalusugan ng publiko at pagtataguyod ng kaunlaran at hustisya ng ekonomiya. Kapag ang mga ahensya ng pamahalaan ay nagbibigay, halimbawa, ng mga pagsasalin ng mahahalagang dokumento o nag-aalok ng isang tagapagsalin sa panahon ng mahahalagang pag-uusap o pagdinig, pinapahusay namin ang bisa ng mga pederal at pederal na pinondohan na mga programa at serbisyo, tinitiyak na naaabot at nakikinabang ang mga ito sa lahat ng nilalayong komunidad.
Ang departamento ay nananatiling matatag sa pangako nito na tiyakin na ang aming sariling mga programa at ang mga programang aming pinopondohan ay mananatiling bukas sa lahat, anuman ang kasanayan sa Ingles ng isang tao. Habang ang mga ahensya sa buong pederal na pamahalaan ay nakagawa ng malaking pag-unlad, naiintindihan namin na ang mga hamon ay naghihintay sa hinaharap. Halimbawa, sa pamamagitan ng aming tungkuling pangkoordinasyon, nagsagawa kami ng detalyadong pagsusuri ng 40 na na-update na mga plano sa pag-abot ng wika ng pederal na ahensya, kung saan nalaman namin na dumarami ang bilang ng mga ahensyang pederal na nakatuon sa:
- Pagtatag ng nakatuon sa pag-abot ng wika na mga tauhan at kawani ng mga protokol sa pagsasanay upang matiyak ang epektibong pagpapatupad;
- Pagpapabuti ng mga kontrol sa kalidad upang mangailangan ng tumpak at nasusuri na kalidad na mga serbisyo ng tulong sa wika; at
- Pagpapalawak ng pag-abot sa impormasyon sa pamamagitan ng iba't-ibang wika na nilalaman sa online at mga digital na komunikasyon.
Kasama ng aming tungkuling pangkoordinasyon, inuna namin ang pag-aaral tungkol sa, pagpapatupad at pagpapalaganap ng impormasyon tungkol sa mga epektibong patakaran at pamamaraan upang maalis ang mga hadlang sa wika sa aming mga programa o mga programang aming pinopondohan. Halimbawa:
- Matapos mag-expire ang termino ng pinakaunang Language Access Coordinator (tagapag-ugnayan sa pag-abot ng wika) ng Departamento, ginawang permanente ng Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) (opisina para sa pag-abot ng hustisya) ang posisyon at pinunan ang tungkulin sa isang nakatataas na pangsibil na serbisyong Language Access Coordinator upang matiyak ang pangmatagalang buhay ng kritikal na gawaing ito. Ang ATJ ay nagpapasok din ng karagdagang kawani upang suportahan ang gawain ng Language Access Coordinator at upang higit pang bumuo ng Language Access Program (programa ng pag-abot ng wika).
- Alinsunod sa Language Access Plan (plano sa pag-abot ng wika) ng Departamento, ang Language Access Coordinator ng buong departamento ng ATJ ay nakikipagtulungan sa mga bahagi ng departamento upang bumuo ng mga plano na partikular sa bahagi sa pag-abot ng wika. Magbibigay-daan ito sa mga bahagi na bumuo ng mga patakaran sa pag-abot ng wika na partikular sa natatanging misyon at mandato ng bawat bahagi, alinsunod sa pangkalahatang mga patakaran ng plano ng Language Access ng departamento.
- Sa nakalipas ng dalawang taon, ang Language Access Program ng ATJ ay nagbigay ng teknikal na tulong at nag-ayos ng mga serbisyo sa pagsasalin para sa mahigit 50 na opisina sa buong Departamento, upang palawakin ang pag-abot ng wika sa buong nilalaman ng Departamento na kinakaharap ng publiko. Ang programa ay nakakumpleto ng higit sa 75 na mga proyekto sa pagsasalin na kinabibilangan ng mga press release (pahayag ng press), outreach na materyales, digital na nilalaman, mga ulat at higit pa.
- Bilang bahagi ng Law Enforcement Language Access Initiative (LELAI) (inisyatiba sa pag-abot ng wika ng tagapagpatupad ng batas) ng Civil Rights Division , si Assistant Attorney General (katulong na pangkalahatang abogado) Kristen Clarke ng Civil Rights Division ay nagbigay ng isang liham sa mga kasamahan sa pagpapatupad ng batas noong December 2023 na idinidiin ang kanilang pederal na obligasyon sa karapatang pangsibil na magbigay ng mga serbisyo ng tulong sa wika sa mga taong may LEP, at magbigay ng epektibong komunikasyon sa mga taong bingi at mahirap makarinig.
- Sa pamamagitan ng LELAI, ang Civil Rights Division ay nakipagtulungan din sa Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) (opisina ng mga serbisyong pampupulis na nakatuon sa komunidad) at National Center for Policing Innovation (pambansang center para sa makabagong pampupulis) upang ilunsad ang mga pangunahing mapagkukunan sa COPS Training Portal (portal na pagsasanay ng COPS) upang matulungan ang mga ahensyang nagpapatupad ng batas na malampasan ang mga hadlang sa wika bilang pagsunod sa Titulo VI ng Civil Rights Act (batas ng karapatang pangsibil) ng 1964 at ng Omnibus Crime Control (pangkalahatang pagkontrol ng krimen)at Safe Streets Act (batas ng kaligtasan sa kalye) ng 1968.
- Ang dibisyon ay patuloy na nakikipagtulungan sa mga Opisina ng U.S. Attorney (piskal ng U.S.) sa buong bansa upang tulungan ang mga ahensyang nagpapatupad ng batas na matugunan ang kanilang obligasyon na magbigay ng makabuluhang tulong sa wika sa mga taong may LEP upang mas mahusay ang paglingkod at pagprotekta ng mga komunidad. Kasama sa mga halimbawa ng trabaho sa mga partikular na ahensyang nagpapatupad ng batas:
- Settlement Agreement sa Sheriff’s Office a King County, Washington State
- Settlement Agreement at Language Access Plan sa Denver Police Department, Colorado
- Nagpaskil din ang dibisyon ng mga materyales para sa karapatan ng pagboto para sa pangkalahatang publiko sa mahigit isang dosenang wika, kabilang ang isang Know Your Rights (alamin ang iyong karapatan) na polyeto at isang dokumento na nagpapaliwanag sa mga kinakailangan sa wika ng Seksyon 203 ng Voting Rights Act (batas sa mga karapatang pagboto) ng 1965. Ang mga dokumentong ito ay matatagpuan sa Voting | Voting Rights (justice.gov).
Sa darating na taon, ang Civil Rights Division ay magpapatuloy na mamumuno sa mga pagpupulong ng Federal Language Access Working Group (grupong nagtatrabaho sa pederal na pag-abot ng wika). Sa mga pagpupulong ng magkakasamang ahensya na ito, natututo kami at nagbabahagi ng impormasyon tungkol sa pagsasagawa ng epektibong pagsasanay sa mga kawani sa pag-abot ng wika; pagre-recruit, pagtatasa, pagkuha at pagpapanatili ng kawani sa maraming wika; pangongontrata para sa mga kwalipikadong nagsasalin at tagapagsalin; at paggamit ng teknolohiya upang maghatid ng tumpak at maaasahang mga serbisyo ng tulong sa wika. Sa pamamagitan ng pinag-isang pamamaraang ito, hinahangad naming tuparin ang pangako ng Titulo VI ng Civil Rights Act ng 1964 at Executive Order 13166 sa pagpigil sa diskriminasyon at pagtiyak ng pantay na pagtrato sa ilalim ng batas.
Justice Department Recognizes Anniversary of Executive Order 13166: Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English ProficiencyRead the Press Release
Yesterday marked the 24th anniversary of Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.” At its core, the Order acknowledges the fundamental principle that the federal government must be able to understand and communicate with all people in the United States, including those with limited English proficiency (LEP), to keep our country and communities safe and prosperous.
Today, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has released a snapshot of its review to date of federal agency language access plans. We will provide additional information about federal agency progress and trends in the months to come as we continue to work with federal agencies on updating and implementing their language access plans.
Communication is critical to our mission. For over two decades, the department has worked in partnership with federal agencies and stakeholders to eliminate language barriers to federal and federally funded programs or services. Misunderstandings can lead to tragic consequences in emergency situations, health care systems, and the justice system. Indeed, communicating with and understanding people with LEP is critical to enforcing the law, protecting the environment, providing housing or food assistance, promoting student achievement, ensuring public health and upholding economic prosperity and justice. When government agencies provide, for example, translations of vital documents or offer an interpreter during important conversations or hearings, we enhance the effectiveness of federal and federally funded programs and services, ensuring they reach and benefit all intended communities.
The department remains steadfast in its commitment to ensure that our own programs and the programs we fund remain open to all, regardless of a person’s English proficiency. While agencies across the federal government have made much progress, we understand that challenges lie ahead. For example, through our coordinating role, we conducted a detailed review of 40 updated federal agency language access plans, where we found that increasing numbers of federal agencies have committed to:
- Establishing dedicated language access personnel and staff training protocols to ensure effective implementation;
- Improving quality controls to require accurate and quality-assessed language assistance services; and
- Expanding access to information through multilingual online content and digital communications.
Along with our coordinating role, we have prioritized learning about, implementing and disseminating information about effective policies and procedures to eliminate language barriers to our programs or the programs we fund. For example:
- After the department’s inaugural Language Access Coordinator’s term appointment expired, the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) made the position permanent and filled the role with a senior civil service Language Access Coordinator to ensure the longevity of this critical work. ATJ is also onboarding additional staff to support the Language Access Coordinator’s work and to further develop the Language Access Program.
- In accordance with the department’s Language Access Plan, the ATJ department-wide Language Access Coordinator is working with department components to develop component-specific language access plans. This will allow components to develop language access policies that are specific to each component’s unique mission and mandates, in line with the overall policies of the department’s Language Access plan.
- Over the past two years, the ATJ Language Access Program has provided technical assistance and arranged for translation services for over 50 offices across the department, to expand language access across the department’s public facing content. The program has completed more than 75 translation projects involving press releases, outreach materials, digital content, reports and more.
- As part of the Civil Rights Division’s Law Enforcement Language Access Initiative (LELAI), Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Division issued a letter to law enforcement colleagues in December 2023 reiterating their federal civil rights obligations to provide language assistance services to people with LEP, and to provide effective communication to deaf and hard of hearing people.
- Through LELAI, the Civil Rights Division also partnered with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the National Center for Policing Innovation to launch key resources on the COPS Training Portal to help law enforcement agencies overcome language barriers in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
- The division continues to work in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country to help law enforcement agencies meet their obligation to provide meaningful language assistance to people with LEP to better serve and protect communities. Examples of work with specific law enforcement agencies include:
- Settlement Agreement with Sheriff’s Office in King County, Washington State
- Settlement Agreement and Language Access Plan with Denver Police Department, Colorado
- The division also posted voting rights materials for the general public in over a dozen languages, including a Know Your Rights brochure and a document explaining the language requirements of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These documents can be found at Voting | Voting Rights (justice.gov).
In the coming year, the Civil Rights Division will continue to lead meetings of the Federal Language Access Working Group. During these interagency meetings, we learn and share information about conducting effective language access staff training; recruiting, assessing, hiring and retaining multilingual staff; contracting for qualified translators and interpreters; and using technology to deliver accurate and reliable language assistance services. Through this unified approach, we seek to fulfill the promise of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Executive Order 13166 in preventing discrimination and ensuring equal treatment under the law.
El Departamento de Justicia reconoce el aniversario de la Orden Ejecutiva 13166: Mejorando el acceso a los servicios para personas con un dominio limitado del inglésRead the Press Release
Ayer marcó el 24º aniversario de la Orden Ejecutiva 13166, “Mejorando el acceso a los servicios para personas con un dominio limitado del inglés”. En esencia, la Orden reconoce el principio fundamental de que el gobierno federal debe ser capaz de comprender y comunicarse con todas las personas en los Estados Unidos, incluidas aquellas con un dominio limitado del inglés (LEP), para mantener a nuestro país y nuestras comunidades seguros y prósperos.
Hoy, la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia ha publicado un resumen de su revisión hasta la fecha de los planes de acceso lingüístico de las agencias federales. Proporcionaremos información adicional sobre el progreso y las tendencias de las agencias federales en los próximos meses a medida que continuemos trabajando con las agencias federales para actualizar e implementar sus planes de acceso lingüístico.
La comunicación es fundamental para nuestra misión. Durante más de dos décadas, el Departamento ha trabajado en asociación con agencias federales y partes interesadas para eliminar las barreras lingüísticas de los programas y servicios federales y los que son financiados a nivel federal. Los malentendidos pueden tener consecuencias trágicas en situaciones de emergencia, sistemas de atención médica y el sistema de justicia. De hecho, la posibilidad de comunicarse con y entender a las personas LEP es primordial a la hora de hacer cumplir la ley, proteger el medio ambiente, proporcionar ayuda para la vivienda o la alimentación, promover el éxito estudiantil, garantizar la salud pública y mantener la prosperidad económica y la justicia. Cuando las agencias gubernamentales proporcionan, por ejemplo, traducciones de documentos vitales u ofrecen a un intérprete durante conversaciones o audiencias importantes, mejoramos la eficacia de los programas y servicios federales y los que son financiados a nivel federal, así garantizando que alcancen y beneficien a todas las comunidades previstas.
El departamento se mantiene firme en su compromiso de garantizar que nuestros propios programas y los programas que financiamos permanezcan abiertos a todos, independientemente del dominio del inglés de una persona. Aunque las agencias del gobierno federal han hecho mucho progreso, entendemos que los desafíos están por venir. Por ejemplo, a través de nuestra función de coordinación, llevamos a cabo una revisión detallada de 40 planes de acceso lingüístico actualizados de agencias federales, donde descubrimos que cada vez más agencias federales se han comprometido a:
- Establecer protocolos dedicados de acceso lingüístico y de formación del personal para garantizar una implementación eficaz;
- Mejorar los controles de calidad para requerir servicios de apoyo lingüístico precisos y evaluados por la calidad; y
- Ampliar el acceso a la información a través de comunicaciones digitales y contenido en línea en múltiples idiomas.
Junto con nuestra función de coordinación, hemos priorizado el aprendizaje, la implementación y la difusión de información sobre políticas y procedimientos eficaces para eliminar las barreras lingüísticas de nuestros programas o los programas que financiamos. Por ejemplo:
- Después de que venciera el nombramiento inaugural del Coordinador de Acceso Lingüístico del departamento, la Oficina para el Acceso a la Justicia (ATJ, por sus siglas en inglés) convirtió el puesto en uno permanente y llenó la vacante con un coordinador veterano de Acceso Lingüístico del servicio civil para garantizar la longevidad de este trabajo crítico. La ATJ también está incorporando a personal adicional para apoyar el trabajo del Coordinador de Acceso Lingüístico y para desarrollar aún más el programa de acceso lingüístico.
- De acuerdo con el Plan de Acceso Lingüístico del Departamento, el Coordinador de Acceso Lingüístico de la ATJ para todo el departamento está trabajando con los componentes del departamento para desarrollar planes de acceso lingüístico específicos para los componentes. Esto permitirá a los componentes desarrollar políticas de acceso lingüístico que sean específicas para la misión y los mandatos únicos de cada componente, de acuerdo con las políticas generales del plan de acceso lingüístico del departamento.
- Durante los últimos dos años, el Programa de Acceso Lingüístico de la ATJ ha proporcionado asistencia técnica y ha organizado servicios de traducción para más de 50 oficinas en todo el departamento, con el fin de ampliar el acceso lingüístico por todo el contenido del departamento orientado al público. El programa ha completado más de 75 proyectos de traducción que incluyen comunicados de prensa, materiales de difusión, contenido digital, informes y más.
- Como parte de la Iniciativa de las fuerzas del orden público para el acceso lingüístico (LELAI, por sus siglas en inglés), de la División de Derechos Civiles, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles, Kristen Clarke, emitió una carta a los compañeros de las fuerzas del orden público en diciembre del 2023 reiterando sus obligaciones federales de derechos civiles de proporcionar servicios de asistencia lingüística a personas LEP y de proporcionar una comunicación eficaz a personas sordas y con dificultades auditivas.
- A través de LELAI, la División de Derechos Civiles también ha colaborado con la Oficina de Servicios de Vigilancia Policial Orientados a la Comunidad (COPS, por sus siglas en inglés) y el Centro Nacional para la Innovación Policial para lanzar recursos clave en el Portal de formación de COPS para ayudar a las agencias del orden público a superar las barreras lingüísticas de conformidad con el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y la Ley General de Control de la Delincuencia y Calles Seguras de 1968.
- La división continúa trabajando en asociación con la Fiscalías Federales de todo el país para ayudar a las agencias del orden público a cumplir con su obligación de proporcionar asistencia lingüística significativa a las personas LEP, con el fin de servir y proteger mejor a las comunidades. Algunos ejemplos de trabajo con agencias del orden público específicas incluyen:
- Acuerdo con la Oficina del Alguacil en el condado King, Estado de Washington
- Acuerdo y Plan de acceso lingüístico con el Departamento de la Policía de Denver, Colorado
- Por otra parte, la división también publicó materiales sobre los derechos de voto para el público en general en más de una decena de idiomas, incluyendo un folleto titulado Conozca sus Derechos y un documento que explica los requisitos lingüísticos de la Sección 203 de la ley de Derechos de Voto de 1965. Estos documentos se pueden encontrar en Votación | Derechos de voto (justice.gov).
El año que viene, la División de Derechos Civiles continuará dirigiendo reuniones del Grupo de Trabajo Federal de Acceso Lingüístico. Durante estas reuniones interinstitucionales, aprendemos y compartimos información sobre cómo realizar una formación eficaz del personal de acceso lingüístico; cómo reclutar, evaluar, contratar y retener a personal multilingüe; cómo contratar a traductores e intérpretes cualificados; y cómo utilizar la tecnología para ofrecer servicios de asistencia lingüística precisos y fiables. A través de este enfoque unificado, buscamos cumplir la promesa del Título VI de la ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y la Orden Ejecutiva 13166 para prevenir la discriminación y garantizar el trato igualitario en virtud de la ley.
Bộ Tư pháp đánh dấu kỷ niệm Sắc lệnh 13166: Cải thiện cách tiếp cận dịch vụ cho người có trình độ tiếng Anh hạn chếRead the Press Release
Hôm qua là ngày đánh dấu kỷ niệm 24 năm Sắc lệnh 13166, "Cải thiện cách tiếp cận dịch vụ cho người có trình độ tiếng Anh hạn chế". Về cốt lõi, Sắc lệnh thừa nhận nguyên tắc cơ bản là chính phủ liên bang phải có khả năng hiểu và giao tiếp với tất cả mọi người ở Hoa Kỳ, kể cả những người có trình độ tiếng Anh hạn chế (LEP), để giữ cho đất nước và cộng đồng được an toàn và thịnh vượng.
Hôm nay, Cục Dân quyền của Bộ Tư pháp đã công bố một tóm lược về đánh giá kế hoạch tiếp cận ngôn ngữ của cơ quan liên bang tính cho đến nay. Trong những tháng tới, chúng tôi sẽ cung cấp thêm thông tin về tiến độ và xu hướng của các cơ quan liên bang khi chúng tôi tiếp tục làm việc với họ để xem họ đã cập nhật và thực hiện các kế hoạch tiếp cận ngôn ngữ ra sao.
Giao tiếp là chuyện rất quan trọng cho nhiệm vụ của chúng tôi. Trong hơn hai thập niên, Bộ Tư pháp đã hợp tác với các cơ quan liên bang và các bên liên quan để loại bỏ rào cản ngôn ngữ trong các chương trình hoặc dịch vụ do liên bang thực hiện hoặc tài trợ. Những hiểu lầm có thể dẫn đến hậu quả bi thảm trong các tình huống khẩn cấp, trong hệ thống chăm sóc sức khỏe và trong hệ thống tư pháp. Thật vậy, giao tiếp và hiểu những người thuộc diện LEP là rất quan trọng để thực thi pháp luật, bảo vệ môi trường, hỗ trợ nhà ở hoặc thực phẩm, thúc đẩy thành tích của học sinh, đảm bảo sức khỏe cộng đồng và duy trì sự thịnh vượng và công bằng kinh tế. Ví dụ, khi các cơ quan chính phủ cung cấp bản dịch các tài liệu quan trọng hoặc cung cấp thông dịch viên trong các cuộc trò chuyện hoặc phiên điều trần quan trọng, chúng tôi sẽ nâng cao hiệu quả của các chương trình và dịch vụ do liên bang thực hiện và tài trợ, đảm bảo các chương trình và dịch vụ này được đến tay và mang lại lợi ích cho tất cả các cộng đồng nhắm tới.
Bộ vẫn kiên định với cam kết đảm bảo rằng các chương trình của bộ và các chương trình mà bộ tài trợ vẫn mở rộng cho tất cả mọi người, bất kể trình độ tiếng Anh của họ ra sao. Mặc dù các cơ quan trên toàn chính phủ liên bang đã đạt được nhiều tiến bộ, chúng tôi hiểu rằng những thách thức vẫn còn ở phía trước. Ví dụ, thông qua vai trò điều phối của mình, chúng tôi đã tiến hành xem xét chi tiết 40 kế hoạch tiếp cận ngôn ngữ cập nhật của cơ quan liên bang, kết quả là chúng tôi thấy rằng ngày càng có nhiều cơ quan liên bang đã cam kết:
- Thiết lập các quy trình để có nhân viên chuyên dụng và đào tạo nhân viên về tiếp cận ngôn ngữ để đảm bảo thực hiện kế hoạch có hiệu quả;
- Cải thiện kiểm soát chất lượng để yêu cầu các dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ phải chính xác và được đánh giá là có chất lượng; và
- Mở rộng khả năng tiếp cận thông tin bằng cách thực hiện các chương trình có nội dung trực tuyến đa ngôn ngữ và truyền thông kỹ thuật số.
Cùng với vai trò điều phối, chúng tôi đã ưu tiên tìm hiểu, thực hiện và phổ biến thông tin về các chính sách và thủ tục hiệu quả để loại bỏ rào cản ngôn ngữ đối với các chương trình do chúng tôi thực hiện hoặc tài trợ. Chẳng hạn:
- Sau khi nhiệm kỳ Điều phối viên Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ đầu tiên của Bộ chấm dứt, Cục Tiếp cận Tư pháp (ATJ) đã biến vị trí này thành một vị trí thường trực và giao vai trò này cho một Điều phối viên Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ, có ngạch công chức cao cấp, để đảm bảo công việc quan trọng này kéo dài. ATJ cũng đang tuyển dụng thêm nhân viên để hỗ trợ công việc của Điều phối viên Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ và phát triển hơn nữa Chương trình Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ.
- Theo Kế hoạch Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ của Bộ, Điều phối viên Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ cho cả bộ đang làm việc với các cơ quan của bộ để biên soạn các kế hoạch truy cập ngôn ngữ dành riêng cho từng cơ quan. Điều này sẽ giúp các cơ quan soạn ra các chính sách truy cập ngôn ngữ cụ thể tùy theo nhiệm vụ và chức năng độc đáo của mình, phù hợp với các chính sách chung của kế hoạch Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ của bộ.
- Trong hai năm qua, Chương trình Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ của ATJ đã hỗ trợ kỹ thuật và thu xếp dịch vụ dịch thuật cho hơn 50 văn phòng ở khắp Bộ, để mở rộng khả năng tiếp cận ngôn ngữ đối với các thông tin công khai của Bộ. Chương trình đã hoàn thành hơn 75 dự án dịch thuật liên quan đến thông cáo báo chí, tài liệu tiếp cận cộng đồng, nội dung kỹ thuật số, báo cáo và các nội dung khác.
- Là một phần của Sáng kiến Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ Thực thi Pháp luật (LELAI) của Cục Dân quyền, Trợ lý Bộ trưởng Tư pháp Kristen Clarke của Cục Dân quyền đã gửi một lá thư cho các đồng nghiệp thực thi pháp luật vào tháng 12/2023, nhắc lại nghĩa vụ dân quyền liên bang của họ là cung cấp dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ cho những người thuộc diện LEP và cung cấp cách giao tiếp hiệu quả cho những người điếc và khiếm thính.
- Thông qua LELAI, Cục Dân quyền cũng hợp tác với Phòng Dịch vụ Cảnh sát Hướng tới Cộng đồng (COPS) và Trung tâm Đổi mới Cảnh sát Quốc gia để mở ra các phương tiện quan trọng trên Cổng đào tạo COPS để giúp các cơ quan thực thi pháp luật vượt qua rào cản ngôn ngữ khi tuân thủ Mục VI của Đạo luật Dân quyền năm 1964 và Đạo luật Kiểm soát Tội phạm và Đường phố An toàn Omnibus năm 1968.
- Cục Dân quyền tiếp tục hợp tác với các Văn phòng Biên lý Liên bang trên toàn nước Mỹ để giúp các cơ quan thực thi pháp luật đáp ứng nghĩa vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ một cách có ý nghĩa cho những người thuộc diện LEP để phục vụ và bảo vệ cộng đồng tốt hơn. Ví dụ về cách làm việc với các cơ quan thực thi pháp luật cụ thể bao gồm
- Sở Tư Pháp Ký Thỏa Thuận Tiếp Cận Ngôn Ngữ với Văn Phòng Cảnh Sát Trưởng tại Tiểu Bang Washington
- Bộ Tư Pháp Công Bố Chính Sách Mới Về Việc Cơ Quan Thực Thi Pháp Luật Chủ Động Trong Việc Tiếp Cận Ngôn Ngữ
- Cục Dân quyền cũng đăng các tài liệu về quyền bầu cử cho công chúng được dịch sang hơn một chục thứ tiếng, trong đó có cẩm nang Bạn Cần Biết Những Quyền Của Mình và một tài liệu giải thích các yêu cầu về ngôn ngữ trong Đoạn 203 của Đạo luật Quyền Bầu cử năm 1965. Những tài liệu này có thể xem tại Bỏ phiếu | Quyền biểu quyết (justice.gov).
Trong năm tới, Cục Dân quyền sẽ tiếp tục chủ tọa các cuộc họp của Nhóm Công tác Tiếp cận Ngôn ngữ Liên bang. Trong các cuộc họp liên ngành này, chúng tôi tìm hiểu và chia sẻ thông tin về cách đào tạo nhân viên tiếp cận ngôn ngữ hiệu quả; tuyển dụng, đánh giá, thuê mướn và giữ chân nhân viên đa ngôn ngữ; hợp đồng với biên dịch viên, phiên dịch viên có trình độ và sử dụng công nghệ để cung cấp các dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ chính xác và đáng tin cậy. Thông qua cách tiếp cận thống nhất này, chúng tôi muốn thực hiện mục tiêu của Mục VI trong Đạo luật Dân quyền năm 1964 và Sắc lệnh 13166 nhằm ngăn chặn hiện tượng phân biệt đối xử và đảm bảo mọi người được đối xử bình đẳng theo luật pháp.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on Major Cities Chiefs Association Violent Crime SurveyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the release of the Major Cities Chiefs Association Violent Crime Survey, which shows a decrease in violent crime in the first six months of 2024 compared to the same time period last year:
“This data offers yet another indicator of a substantial reduction in violent crime in major cities across the country. In nearly 70 major cities across the country, violent crime has continued to drop during the first six months of this year compared to the same time period last year, including a 17% decrease in homicides.
This updated data comes in the wake of last year’s historic drop in homicides nationwide and one of the lowest levels of violent crime in 50 years.
Three and a half years ago, the Justice Department launched an ambitious strategy to combat violent crime rooted in investing in our partnerships with other federal law enforcement agencies, with state and local law enforcement who risk their lives to keep their communities safe every day, and with the communities we all serve.
The Justice Department’s work together with our partners to drive down violent crime is paying off.
But our message remains clear: we will not rest until every person and every community is safe from violent crime.
We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners across the country to arrest violent felons, seize and trace guns used in crimes, disrupt violent drug trafficking, and make critical investments in police departments to hire more officers. And we will continue to work with our community partners to support life-saving initiatives aimed at preventing and disrupting violence before it occurs.”
Attorney General Garland, Secretary Haaland of the Department of the Interior Highlight Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and Human Trafficking Crises in New Mexico VisitRead the Press Release
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland were in New Mexico today to highlight the work of the Biden-Harris Administration in helping address public safety, including the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) and human trafficking crises throughout Indian Country. The leaders were briefed by representatives of both Departments at the headquarters of the Interior Department’s Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU), and held a listening session with the Eight Northern Pueblos, which include the Nambé, Ohkay Owingeh, Picuris, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Taos and Tesuque Pueblos.
“The Justice Department is committed to working with the Department of the Interior and with our Tribal partners to confront the crisis of missing or murdered Indigenous persons and the scourge of human trafficking,” said Attorney General Garland. “I am grateful to Secretary Haaland for her extraordinary leadership and for her partnership in our urgent shared work to advance safety and security in Tribal communities and to pursue justice for Native victims of crime.”
“It was my honor to be home in New Mexico with Attorney General Garland today to share, listen and learn about how the federal government can continue to be an active partner in the fight to end the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples and Human Trafficking crises that have plagued Indian Country since colonization began,” said Secretary Haaland. “Together, the Interior and Justice Departments have made significant progress during the Biden-Harris administration, but we must continue to do everything we can to ensure that investments, resources and attention are paid to this critical issue.”
Under Attorney General Garland and Secretary Haaland’s leadership, the Biden-Harris Administration has worked to address the high rates of violent crime in Indian Country:
Law Enforcement Collaboration: At the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and FBI announced an agreement to provide for the effective and efficient administration of criminal investigations in Indian Country. The agreement specified that BIA’s Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) and the FBI would cooperate on investigations and share information and investigative reports as well as establish written guidelines outlining jurisdiction and investigative roles and responsibilities. The agreement also requires that all BIA, FBI and Tribal law enforcement officers receive training regarding trauma-informed, culturally responsive investigative approaches.
Access to Justice Department Resources: Since 2021, the Justice Department has provided over $732 million in funding awards, including $268 million this past year, to help enhance Tribal justice systems and strengthen law enforcement responses. These awards have gone toward improving the handling of child abuse cases, combating domestic and sexual violence, supporting Tribal youth programs, and strengthening victim services in Tribal communities.
Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU): As one of her first acts as Secretary, Secretary Haaland created a new MMU within BIA-OJS to pursue justice for missing or murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The MMU, headquartered in Albuquerque, provides leadership and direction for cross-Departmental and interagency work involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The MMU has enabled the Interior Department to expand its collaborative efforts with other agencies, such as working to enhance the Justice Department’s National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), and working through strategic partnerships with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Units (BAUs), the FBI Forensic Laboratory, the USMS’ Missing Child Unit (MCU) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
MMIP Regional Outreach Program: Since the start of this Administration, the Justice Department has made strides in implementing systems aimed at preventing new instances of MMIP, locating individuals who are reported missing, and, where a crime has occurred, investigating and prosecuting those responsible. In Summer 2023, the Department launched an MMIP Regional Outreach Program. This program places attorneys and coordinators at U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the United States to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people.
Not Invisible Act Commission: The Departments worked collaboratively to stand up the Not Invisible Act Commission, which was created by legislation the Secretary led in Congress, to develop recommendations on how the federal government can combat crimes against American Indian and Alaska Native people. The Commission included federal, state, and Tribal law enforcement, Tribal leaders, federal partners, service providers, family members of missing and murdered individuals, and survivors. In 2023, the Commission held seven field hearings across the country as well as a virtual national hearing to hear directly from individuals affected by the MMIP crisis. In March 2024, the Departments released their response to the Commission’s recommendations, which they are in the process of implementing in collaboration with Congress.
Operation Not Forgotten: The FBI established this operation to focus resources on seeking justice for Tribal community members who have been victims of unresolved crimes. Operation Not Forgotten first surged resources to Tribal communities in 2023 with the mission of examining cases that have gone unresolved. The goal was to move those cases closer to resolution, provide services for victims, and to bring offenders to justice, who had so far escaped it. Due to the success of the 2023 operation, the FBI is currently partnering with the BIA-MMU to surge resources in 2024. BIA-MMU is providing significant intelligence and investigative support for the duration of the operation. Over 45 special agents and five intelligence personnel have deployed in support of the 2024 operation.
White House Council on Native American Affairs: At the 2021 White House Tribal Nations Summit, President Biden signed Executive Order 14053 on Improving Public Safety and Criminal Justice for Native Americans and Addressing the Crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People directing the Departments of Justice, the Interior, and Health and Human Services to work with Tribal Nations and partners to build safe and healthy Tribal communities and to support comprehensive law enforcement, prevention, intervention and support services. President Biden signed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 into law, which built on advancements from previous reauthorizations and included new provisions to address the crisis of MMIP across the country and re-enforced Tribal sovereignty by providing means for Tribes to address the epidemic of violence within their lands and communities. The White House Council on Native American Affairs is continuing to implement this work through its Public Safety and Justice committee, which is co-chaired by the Departments of Justice and the Interior, as part of an all of government approach to address public safety and the MMIP crisis.
International Collaboration: The United States is also working with its international counterparts from Canada and Mexico to address public safety issues on a larger scale. In September 2023, Canada chaired the Fifth Convening of the Trilateral Working Group on Violence against Indigenous Women and Girls in collaboration with Indigenous leaders and government officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico and global subject-matter experts. Discussions at this year’s convening focused on human trafficking and access to justice. Officials from the three countries agreed to continue to protect and uphold the rights of Indigenous women, learn from and implement Indigenous-led approaches, provide accessible and culturally safe services, and support the preservation of Indigenous cultures and languages. A sixth gathering is expected later this year.
司法部將監督夏威夷州遵守聯邦選舉權法的情況Read the Press Release
司法部今天宣佈，將監督夏威夷 8 月 10 日初選中對聯邦投票權法的遵守情況。該部將在檀香山縣和毛伊縣進行監測。
司法部負責執行聯邦投票權法，保護所有公民的投票權。該部定期派遣工作人員，監督全美各地社區選舉是否遵守聯邦民權法。此外，該部還根據聯邦法院命令的授權，部署了人事管理辦公室的聯邦觀察員。
民權司的投票科與美國檢察官辦公室合作，執行保護投票權的聯邦法規的民事條款，包括《選舉權法案》、《全國選民登記法案》、《幫助美國投票法案》、《民權法案》以及《制服公民及海外公民缺席投票法案》。
有關投票和選舉的更多資訊，請訪問司法部網站： www.justice.gov/voting。 詳細瞭解《投票權法案》和其他聯邦投票法，請訪問www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section 。 有關可能違反聯邦投票權法律的投訴，可通過民權司網站civilrights.justice.gov 或撥打電話 1-800-253-3931 。
司法部将监督夏威夷州遵守联邦选举权法的情况Read the Press Release
司法部今天宣布，将监督夏威夷 8 月 10 日初选中对联邦投票权法的遵守情况。该部将在檀香山县和毛伊县进行监测。
司法部负责执行联邦投票权法，保护所有公民的投票权。该部定期派遣工作人员，监督全美各地社区选举是否遵守联邦民权法。此外，该部还根据联邦法院命令的授权，部署了人事管理办公室的联邦观察员。
民权司的投票科与美国检察官办公室合作，执行保护投票权的联邦法规的民事条款，包括《选举权法案》、《全国选民登记法案》、《帮助美国投票法案》、《民权法案》以及《制服公民及海外公民缺席投票法案》。
有关投票和选举的更多信息，请访问司法部网站： www.justice.gov/voting。 详细了解《投票权法案》和其他联邦投票法，请访问www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section。 有关可能违反联邦投票权法律的投诉，可通过民权司网站civilrights.justice.gov 或拨打电话 1-800-253-3931 。
Subaybayan ng Justice Department (kagawaran ng hustisya) ang Pagsunod sa Mga Pederal na Batas sa Mga Karapatang Pagboto sa HawaiiRead the Press Release
Inihayag ngayon ng Justice Department na susubaybayan nito ang pagsunod sa mga pederal na batas sa mga karapatan sa pagboto sa Hawaii para sa Agosto 10 primary election (pangunahing halalan). Susubaybayan ng departamento ang Honolulu County at Maui County.
Ipinapatupad ng Justice Department ang mga pederal na batas sa mga karapatan sa pagboto na nagpoprotekta sa mga karapatan ng lahat ng mamamayan na maabot ang balota. Regular na inilalagay ng departamento ang mga kawani nito upang subaybayan ang pagsunod sa mga pederal na batas sa karapatang pangsibil sa mga halalan sa mga komunidad sa buong bansa. Bilang karagdagan, ang dibisyon ay naglalagay din ng mga pederal na tagamasid mula sa Office of Personnel Management (opisina ng pamamahala ng tauhan), kung saan pinahintulutan ng utos ng pederal na hukuman.
Ang Voting Section (seksyon ng pagboto) ng Civil Rights Division (dibisyon ng karapatang pangsibil), na nagtatrabaho kasama ang mga Opisina ng U.S. Attorney (piskal ng U.S.), ay nagpapatupad ng mga pangsibil na probisyon ng mga pederal na batas na nagpoprotekta sa karapatang bumoto, kasama ang Voting Rights Act (batas ng mga karapatang bumoto), National Voter Registration Act (batas ng pagrehistro sa pambansang botante), Help America Vote Act (batas sa pagtulong sa America na bumoto), Civil Rights Act (batas sa karapatang pangsibil) at Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (batas pangkarapatang bumoto ng mga mamamayang militar sa ibayong dagat).
Mga karagdagang impormasyon tungkol sa pagboto at mga halalan ay makikita sa website ng Justice Department sa www.justice.gov/voting. Matuto ng higit pa tungkol sa Voting Rights Act at iba pang pederal na batas sa pagboto sa www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Ang mga reklamo tungkol sa mga posibleng paglabag sa mga pederal na batas sa mga karapatan sa pagboto ay maaaring isumite sa pamamagitan ng website ng Civil Rights Division sa civilrights.justice.gov o sa pamamagitan ng telepono sa 1-800-253-3931.
Justice Department to Monitor Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws in HawaiiRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in Hawaii for the Aug. 10 primary election. The department will monitor in Honolulu County and Maui County.
The Justice Department enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot. The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country. In addition, the division also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, working with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Civil Rights Act and Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
More information about voting and elections is available on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
Justice Department Releases Report Based on Critical Response Review of Columbus, Ohio, Division of PoliceRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced the release of a new report, an independent review of the use of force policies, procedures, and protocols of the Columbus, Ohio, Division of Police (CDP), as well as the training associated with these policies and operations. The review came at the request of the CDP and was conducted by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and Jensen Hughe, a critical response provider, following the February 2023 release of the COPS Office Columbus (Ohio) Division of Police: Roadmap to Implementation report. This is part of ongoing technical assistance to CDP.
The goal of the report is to highlight areas in need of improvement through a series of findings and recommendations developed for the purpose of overall improvement of organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and performance. The report states that “[t]he overarching theme associated with almost all the recommendations is the need for enhanced technological capabilities. By upgrading technological capabilities, the CDP will be well-situated to optimize its performance and ensure accountability at a much higher level than it is currently able to achieve.” It goes on to say that “[i]ncreased data collection, analysis, and reporting is of the utmost importance at this time for the CDP to become the transparent, community-oriented policing agency the people of Columbus want and deserve.”
“Whenever we support best practices in policing, it benefits both the department and the community it serves,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “Ultimately, the goal of these types of reviews is twofold: to improve the delivery of policing services to the community, and, by doing so, to increase public trust and enhance community-police relationships.”
“Investing in technology that facilitates data collection, analysis, and reporting, and evaluating its effectiveness underscores an agency’s commitment to the public,” said COPS Office Director Hugh T. Clements Jr. “When an agency voluntary asks for this kind of assessment and is interested in making improvements, everyone benefits.”
The report is available at here.
The Critical Response program is designed to provide targeted technical assistance (TA) to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies experiencing high-profile events, major incidents, or sensitive issues of varying need. Critical Response is highly customizable by providing flexible assistance to law enforcement agencies that have recently experienced a critical incident or identified an issue of significant community concern in their department’s operations. The TA generally falls into three categories: (1) immediate delivery of TA to address a pressing and acute need, (2) data analysis, and (3) after-action reviews to understand and learn from law enforcement and public safety responses to critical incidents or issues.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, The COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.
Justice Department Announces That It Will Provide Technical Assistance to the Boston Police Department under COPS Office’s Collaborative Reform InitiativeRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced it will engage with the Boston Police Department (BPD) through the COPS Office Collaborative Reform Initiative’s Critical Response program.
The COPS Office, in conjunction with the National Policing Institute (a Critical Response provider), will provide a review and assessment of operations within BPD’s Human Resources section to determine whether processes and structures within this area can be adapted to increase operational efficiencies and effectiveness.
“We applaud the Boston Police Department for requesting this review,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “We know that agencies that are transparent about the work that they do and how they do it increase their ability to build public trust and advance public safety.”
“The COPS Office has been able to see first-hand the positive changes that agencies undergo when they commit to the type of assistance offered under our Critical Response program,” said Director Hugh T. Clements, Jr. of the COPS Office. “And that commitment, in turn, has a big impact on public trust.”
The Collaborative Reform Initiative encompasses three programs offering expert services to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies: the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, Critical Response, and Organizational Assessment programs (complete details of these programs can be found at cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform). Managed out of the COPS Office, this continuum of services is designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; build agencies’ capacity for organizational learning and self-improvement; and promote community policing practices nationwide.
The Critical Response program is designed to provide targeted technical assistance (TA) to state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies experiencing high-profile events, major incidents, or sensitive issues of varying need. Critical Response is highly customizable by providing flexible assistance to law enforcement agencies that have recently experienced a critical incident or identified an issue of significant community concern in their department’s operations. The TA generally falls into three categories: (1) immediate delivery of TA to address a pressing and acute need, (2) data analysis, and (3) after-action reviews to understand and learn from law enforcement and public safety responses to critical incidents or issues.
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Justice Department responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Justice Department agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 138,000 officers.
Readout of Justice Department Officials’ Participation in National Night OutRead the Press Release
Yesterday, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer participated in the 41st Annual National Night Out (NNO). Their participation in NNO events highlights the Justice Department’s partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement that have played key roles in its Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime, which focuses federal resources on identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the most significant drivers of violent crime.
Established in 1984 from a Justice Department Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant, NNO aims to build relationships with and between communities and law enforcement, promote police-community partnerships, and enhance neighborhood camaraderie. The community-building campaign provides an opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.
This year, NNO takes place as violent crime continues to decline nationwide, following an uptick during the pandemic in 2020. FBI data shows a decrease in violent crime in communities across the country in 2023 compared to the previous year, including an over 13% reduction in homicides. That is the steepest yearly decline in homicides, in over 50 years. Early data from 2024 indicates that this trend is continuing.
“Each year, National Night Out gives communities across the country the chance to celebrate and strengthen their partnerships with law enforcement,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This was a particularly meaningful National Night Out because it came after our country experienced one of the lowest nationwide violent crime rates in 50 years this past year. The Justice Department will never stop working to build on this progress because every person, in every neighborhood, in every community deserves to be safe from violent crime.”
The Attorney General participated in National Night Out events in Des Moines, Iowa. He was joined by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kahl for the Southern District of Iowa at an event hosted by the Urbandale Police Department, where they had an opportunity to engage with local law enforcement and community members.
This week, Attorney General Garland met with prosecutors and law enforcement partners from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Nevada, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Northern District of Iowa, and Southern District of Iowa. The Attorney General met with U.S. Attorney Jason Frierson for the District of Nevada and discussed his Office’s work as part of the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program (OCDETF), which seeks to identify, disrupt, and dismantle high-level criminal and drug trafficking organizations. In Wisconsin, he spoke with federal, state, and local law enforcement leaders, including Milwaukee Sheriff Denita Ball and Police Chief Jeffrey Norman, about efforts to continue to decrease violent crime and reduce fentanyl on streets in the Milwaukee area. Attorney General Garland also touted the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northen District of Iowa to secure sentences for multiple gun and drug crime offenders.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco attended two National Night Out events in Cincinnati with U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth Parker and Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge. She visited the Westwood and Roselawn neighborhoods, where she spoke with local community leaders and law enforcement officials about how they are partnering together to keep Cincinnati safe. Prior to her NNO stops, the Deputy AG attended roll-call at the Cincinnati Police Department’s (CPD) Third District to thank the women and men of the force for their commitment to public safety.
While in Cincinnati, the Deputy AG visited the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio to hear from the dedicated prosecutors and professional staff of the office about their work to carry out the Justice Department’s mission, especially tackling violent crime. The Deputy AG also toured the Cincinnati Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC), which imbeds ATF special agents and analysts with local law enforcement and prosecutors to swiftly identify unlawfully used firearms and their sources. Like the many other crime gun intelligence centers nationwide, the Cincinnati CGIC harnesses cutting-edge technologies – including the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) and eTrace systems — to rapidly develop and pursue investigative leads in order to drive case clearance rates up, which in turn can help drive violent crime rates down.
Prior to traveling to Cincinnati, the Deputy Attorney General delivered the keynote address at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Women in Federal Law Enforcement Foundation, where she emphasized the crucial role women in law enforcement play in protecting communities nationwide.
Acting Associate Attorney General Mizer joined U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Special Agent in Charge Benny Mims of the ATF Charlotte Field Division, and U.S. Marshal Glenn McNeill Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina to attend two National Night Out events in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Acting Associate Attorney General visited Tarboro Road Community Center and The Village at Washington Terrace, where he met with law enforcement partners and community members and discussed issues of importance in Raleigh.
In addition to the federal, state, local, and Tribal partners, the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country are invaluable partners in the Department’s work to combat violent crime. All of the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices visited this week by the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and Acting Associate Attorney General maintain ongoing participation in the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which builds on existing programs in each district to reduce gun violence, gun crime, and sustain those reductions.
Editor’s Note: A previously posted photo was removed at the request of the subject(s).
Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax Offense Related to Dentistry PracticeRead the Press Release
An Ohio man pleaded guilty today to not paying more than $750,000 in employment taxes and not filing employment tax returns.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2014 through 2020, Eric Moesle, of Pickerington, served as the office manager for Elemental Dental in Pataskala, Ohio. At Elemental Dental, Moesle was responsible for payroll, bookkeeping and tax return preparation.
During that period, at Moesle’s direction and with his full knowledge, Elemental Dental was withholding Social Security, Medicare and income taxes from its employees’ wages, which were reflected on paystubs and Forms W-2 issued to employees. However, from 2014 through 2020, Elemental Dental did not pay over those taxes to the IRS nor did it file employment tax returns. During the same period, the business also failed to pay over the employer’s share of those taxes. When interviewed by IRS representatives in 2022, Moesle falsely claimed that he did not know that the employment taxes had not been paid and that Elemental Dental’s employment tax returns and Forms W-2 had not been filed, and falsely stated that any such failures or omissions were unintentional.
In all, Moesle’s criminal conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of $760,255.
The plea was offered today to U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King for the Southern District of Ohio. Once accepted by a U.S. district court judge, a sentencing date will be set. Moesle faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a period of supervised release and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Hayter Whitman and Jeffrey McLellan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Former Interim President of Puerto Rican Steel Distributor Pleads Guilty to Eight-Year Price-Fixing ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A former executive of a steel distributor in San Juan, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with competitors to fix prices for sales of reinforcing bar, or rebar.
According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in San Juan, Juan Carlos Aponte Tolentino (Aponte), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was Interim President of a steel distributor in Puerto Rico. The company was one of the leading wholesale distributors of rebar in Puerto Rico. Rebar is commonly required for residential and commercial construction projects on the island, and nearly all rebar distributed in Puerto Rico is imported from other countries or the continental U.S. Collectively, Aponte’s company and two other competitors controlled approximately 70% of the wholesale rebar market in the Commonwealth.
Between 2015 and 2022, including the period of reconstruction following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, Aponte conspired with competing companies and individuals to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing prices for steel products, including rebar, which were distributed to hardware stores, building contractors and other businesses and individuals in Puerto Rico, resulting in substantial profits to the conspirators.
Among other communications, Aponte and his competitors exchanged WhatsApp chat messages in which they agreed on specific rebar prices, including price increases. For example, in December 2020 an executive at a competing company sent Aponte a chat message with the price of Turkish rebar, and Aponte responded, “The position is the following: Platform $33.95, 10 bundles $34.50, Fewer than 10 bundles: $34.95” before asking, “The question is are we on the same page?” The competing executive responded, “Yes, that is what I am doing.”
In the plea agreement filed today, Aponte admitted that more than $100 million in sales by his company were affected by the conspiracy.
“In pleading guilty, this defendant admitted to fixing prices — for nearly a decade — on rebar, an essential part of the supply chain for the reconstruction of Puerto Rico following the 2017 hurricanes,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Manish Kumar of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This guilty plea demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s continued commitment to holding accountable individuals who collude to raise construction prices and harm consumers and businesses in Puerto Rico. We and our law enforcement partners will continue to prosecute the people responsible for this type of anticompetitive criminal conduct.”
"We are satisfied with the outcome in this case as it sends a clear message that price-fixing and taking advantage of communities in crisis will not be tolerated," said Special Agent in Charge Joseph Gonzalez of the FBI San Juan Field Office. "In the FBI, we remain committed to disrupting this illegal practice and bringing justice for all those affected by such unethical practices."
Violating the Sherman Act, which is a federal criminal antitrust statute, is a felony. The maximum penalty for individuals convicted of violating the Sherman Act is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum penalty for corporations is a $100 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
The court set Aponte’s sentencing hearing for Nov. 8. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section investigated the case, with the assistance of the FBI San Juan Field Office.
Trial Attorneys April Ayers-Perez, Alison Friberg and Taylor Bernhardt of the Washington Criminal Section, and Senior Litigation Counsel John Davis of the Antitrust Division’s Litigation Program, are prosecuting the case.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Refund ClaimsRead the Press Release
A Florida woman pleaded guilty today to filing false tax returns with the IRS to fraudulently obtain tax refunds.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2018 and 2020, surgical technologist Yolanda Dewar, of Sunrise, created a trust and sought fraudulent refunds from the IRS. Dewar filed four false tax returns on behalf of the trust she created to seek nearly $2 million in tax refunds. Dewar continued filing such returns even after the IRS notified her that her claims were frivolous and had no basis in law. In total, the IRS issued nearly $500,000 to the trust in response to Dewar’s false claims. According to the indictment, Dewar allegedly used a portion of those tax refunds to purchase a car for a family member, get plastic surgery and renovate her home.
Dewar is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 24. She faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Kavitha Bondada of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
New York Man Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax ViolationRead the Press Release
A New York man pleaded guilty today to failing to collect and pay over employment taxes from wages of his company’s employees.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2015 and 2021, Nicholas Arcuri, of Staten Island — owner and president of Capri Upholstery Custom Furnishing LLC — paid approximately $2.6 million in off-the-books cash payroll to employees, from which he did not withhold from his employees’ wages any Social Security, Medicare or income taxes or pay over those taxes to the IRS. Arcuri concealed the cash payroll from his return preparer, knowing that he was required to pay taxes.
In total, Arcuri caused a tax loss to the IRS of $486,753.
Arcuri is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 23, 2025. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Richard J. Kelley and Jeffrey A. McLellan of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Long Island Construction Company Sentenced for Worker Safety Violation Causing Death of EmployeeRead the Press Release
Northridge Construction Corporation was sentenced today in federal court for violating a worker safety standard, which caused the death of one of its employees, and for making two false statements obstructing a federal agency’s subsequent investigation.
U.S. District Court Judge Joan M. Azrack for the Eastern District of New York sentenced Northridge to pay a fine of $100,000 and serve a five-year term of probation, which will require, among other conditions, increased safety training for Northridge employees. The company pleaded guilty in January.
According to court records, in December 2018, during the construction of a shed on Northridge’s property in East Patchogue, New York, one of its employees fell from an improperly secured roof and died. Among other worker safety standards, Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations require always maintaining the stability of a metal structure during construction. An investigation revealed that Northridge failed to adhere to the structural stability standard, and that Northridge employees made false statements to obstruct the ensuing federal inquiry into the death. Northridge supervisor Richard Zagger pleaded guilty in July to related charges and is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 16.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) made the announcement.
The Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorneys Daniel Dooher and Richard J. Powers and Trial Attorney Rachel Roberts of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on 59th Anniversary of the Voting Right ActRead the Press Release
The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the 59th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act:
“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law 59 years ago in the wake of a generations-long struggle to make real the promise of the 15th Amendment: that no American citizen be denied the right to vote on account of race.
The Act gave the Justice Department some of its most powerful tools to protect the right to vote.
Between 1965 and 2013, the Department was able to block more than 3,000 restrictive voting changes in jurisdictions with a history of suppressing the vote because of the law.
But court decisions in recent years drastically weakened the protections of the Voting Rights Act. Since those decisions, there has been a dramatic increase in legislative measures that make it harder for millions of eligible voters to vote and to elect the representatives of their choice.
The Justice Department is not standing down in the face of those restrictions. We are challenging discriminatory, burdensome, and unnecessary restrictions on access to the ballot. We are working to block discriminatory redistricting plans. We are working with jurisdictions to ensure that their voting centers are accessible to voters with disabilities. We are defending the constitutionality of several Voting Rights Act provisions, including the prohibition on voter intimidation. And we continue to urge Congress to restore the provisions of the Voting Rights Act that courts have weakened, to ensure that we have the authorities we need to protect voting rights.
At the same time, efforts to undermine the right to vote have expanded to include a disturbing rise in threats of violence against the citizens we rely on to fairly administer voting — state and county elected officials, career administrators, and even volunteer poll workers.
The Justice Department has used and will continue to use every authority we have to protect the right to vote, and to protect the public servants who make voting possible. We are aggressively investigating and prosecuting threats of violence targeting election workers, officials, and volunteers.
While there are many things open to debate in our country, the right to vote must not be one of them. The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all others flow. The Justice Department will never stop working to ensure that every eligible voter can cast a vote that counts.”
Activity in the U.S. Attorney's OfficeRead the Press Release
Public Land Offenses
Robin Thoenig, 58, of Jackson, Wyoming, was convicted of reckless driving, speeding, failing to notify authorities of a motor vehicle accident, and impermissibly removing a motor vehicle from the scene of an accident. On May 10, at approximately 9:30 p.m. while visitors in Grand Teton National Park were gathered to view the aurora borealis, Thoenig was driving in Grand Teton National Park at speeds of up to 127 mph in areas where the speed limit is 45 mph. While doing so, Thoenig struck and killed an elk, then drove her vehicle several miles from the scene, left it near the Gros Ventre Campground and obtained a ride out of the park. Upon pleading guilty to the four charges, she was sentenced to three days of incarceration and ordered to pay a $750 community service payment, $1,000 in fines and $70 in mandatory court costs. This crime was investigated by the National Park Service and the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariel Calmes.
Child Pornography
Thomas Matthew Ezell, 46, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced on Aug. 1, to 120 months in federal prison with 10 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography, subsequent offense. He was also ordered by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Nancy J. Freudenthal to pay $9,000 in restitution and a $100 assessment. According to court documents, between August and December 2023, CyberTips received several notifications from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children involving the possession and distribution of child pornography from an account on Snapchat and X (Twitter). Search warrants conducted on those accounts linked them back to the defendant. Ezell is a registered sex offender with two previous convictions involving children and possession of child pornography. Ezell pleaded guilty on April 24. This crime was investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children task force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Hammer prosecuted the case.
Drug Trafficking & Firearm Offenses
James Eugene Nemeth, 65, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence on July 30. According to court documents, on Nov. 10, 2023, Casper Police Department received a tip that a man named “Jim” was selling narcotics out of the Super 8 Motel in Evansville. Deputies conducted a free air sniff around the defendant’s vehicle in which K9 Duke indicated to the presence of controlled substances. Officers received a motel roster and confirmed James, aka Jim Nemeth, was staying there. The K-9 also indicated to the presences of controlled substances in Nemeth’s room. Nemeth cooperated with officers and told them he had a loaded weapon, a half a pound of methamphetamine, and over $5,000 in cash. Nemeth pleaded guilty on May 7. This crime was investigated by the Casper Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Morrison.
Firearm and Ammunition Offenses
Joshua Allen Frescas, 34, of Rawlins, Wyoming, was sentenced to 44 months’ imprisonment for being a felon in possession of ammunition. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence on July 31. According to court documents, on July 30, 2023, the Rawlins Police Department received a report of a stolen vehicle. Officers located it at a gas station. A review of the station’s security camera showed that Joshua Frescas pulled into the station driving it, then exited the vehicle and got into another vehicle. Officers located the other vehicle and placed Frescas under arrest for the stolen vehicle and five outstanding warrants. Frescas also had a backpack with 4.5 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, a firearm and ammunition. Frescas was a convicted felon, which prohibited him from possessing firearms or ammunition. He pleaded guilty on May 8. This crime was investigated by the Rawlins Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U. S. Attorney Jonathan C. Coppom prosecuted the case.
About the United States Attorney’s Office
The United States Attorney’s Office is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the District of Wyoming, including all criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits brought by or against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. The Office is involved in several programs designed to make our communities safer. They include:
Environmental Justice
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Project Safe Childhood
Project Safe Childhood (PSC) is a DOJ initiative that combats the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for sexual contact is well-known and serious.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a nationwide commitment to reducing gun and gang crime in America by networking existing local programs that target gun crime and providing these programs with additional tools necessary to be successful.
Victim Witness Assistance
The Victim Witness Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming is dedicated to making sure that victims of federal crimes and their family members are treated with compassion, fairness, and respect.To report a federal crime, go to: https://www.justice.gov/actioncenter/report-crime#trafficking
Trinidad and Tobago Becomes Second Caribbean Nation to Implement Interpol Washington Border Security EnhancementsRead the Press Release
INTERPOL Washington, with support from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), has deployed advanced technology and software solutions in Trinidad and Tobago that will help law enforcement detect and interdict transnational criminals and terrorists traveling through the nation. Trinidad and Tobago is now the second nation in CARICOM to implement these sophisticated border security enhancements, following Barbados’s announcement on July 26.
“This tremendous milestone underscores the vital importance of international partnerships in enhancing border security,” said INTERPOL Washington’s lead for Project Terminus, Keith Hood. “By working together with Trinidad and Tobago, we are fortifying not only their borders but also the security of the entire Caribbean region and beyond. Collaborative efforts like these are essential in our global fight against crime and terrorism.”
Through Project Terminus, an INTERPOL Washington team successfully installed two custom software solutions: the Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) Workbench and the Stolen Motor Vehicles (SMV) Workbench, both developed by INTERPOL Washington. These systems empower Trinidad and Tobago to efficiently share, manage, and extend vital document and vehicle information with 195 other INTERPOL member nations.
The newly installed applications include 11,000 test records and 243 live records that have already been successfully uploaded to the INTERPOL SLTD database. The SLTD Workbench solution has also been used to extend 100 expiring records. They also enhanced critical day-to-day operations for INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) Trinidad and Tobago.
Lt. Col. Michael Jones, Executive Director of CARICOM IMPACS, stated that crime and criminality is an issue that affects everyone in the region. “It is for this reason that collaboration among agencies is important to combat the effects of crime and terrorism that are plaguing our Member States. CARICOM IMPACS is pleased to partner with and support Project Terminus as we work together to reduce and eliminate the impact of this scourge.”
The success was achievable through funding from the U.S. Department of State Counter Terrorism Bureau and close coordination with NCB Trinidad and Tobago.
INTERPOL Washington’s Project Terminus, a collaborative effort with the U.S. Department of State, aims to enhance INTERPOL screening and record submission by member countries by providing cutting-edge computer hardware and custom software solutions. These initiatives are designed to streamline service adoption and maximize data usability and effectiveness.
Beyond its primary goal of capacity-building, Project Terminus is pivotal in supporting the broader U.S. government law enforcement mission. By fostering connections between U.S. government law enforcement agencies and partner nation entities, this project enhances the law enforcement capabilities of partner nations and helps build a safer world.
Justice Department to Monitor Compliance with Federal Voting Rights Laws in MichiganRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in several communities in western Michigan for the Aug. 5 primary election. The department will monitor in Allegan County (Clyde Township and the City of Fennville) and Van Buren County (Covert Township).
The Justice Department enforces the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot. The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country. In addition, the division also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order.
The Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, working with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Civil Rights Act and Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
More information about voting and elections is available on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted through the Civil Rights Division’s website at civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
Justice Department Statements on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia's Decision in U.S. v GoogleRead the Press Release
The Justice Department issued the following statements from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, regarding the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s decision in United States v. Google:
“This victory against Google is an historic win for the American people,” said Attorney General Garland. “No company — no matter how large or influential — is above the law. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously enforce our antitrust laws.”
“This landmark decision holds Google accountable. It paves the path for innovation for generations to come and protects access to information for all Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Kanter. “This victory is a reflection on the tireless efforts of the dedicated public servants at the Antitrust Division and our state law enforcement partners whose work made today’s decision possible.”
Justice Department Secures Settlement of Lawsuit Alleging Illegal Premerger Coordination by Legends Hospitality in Connection with its Acquisition of ASM GlobalRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today filed a civil lawsuit and announced a proposed settlement with Legends Hospitality Parent Holdings LLC (Legends) for an alleged violation of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR Act).
As alleged in the department’s complaint, Legends engaged in illegal premerger coordination in connection with its proposed acquisition of ASM Global Inc. (ASM) by exercising operational control over aspects of ASM during the HSR waiting period involving venue management services for an arena in California.
“Companies must remain separate and independent before they close their merger. Our complaint alleges that Legends did not live up to that obligation,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Andrew Forman of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The proposed settlement requires Legends to pay a meaningful civil penalty and imposes significant obligations to try to ensure that Legends complies with the law moving forward. I commend our tremendous investigative teams who remain vigilant in trying to ensure that there is no improper coordination between parties before closing.”
The civil antitrust lawsuit against Legends for an HSR Act violation was filed in the Southern District of New York. At the same time, the department filed a proposed final judgment that, if approved by the court, would resolve the department’s lawsuit. The HSR Act prohibits companies from improperly combining operations or other aspects of their businesses before expiration of the required HSR Act waiting period.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, among other things, Legends must pay a $3.5 million civil penalty, refrain from certain conduct, appoint an Antitrust Compliance Officer, implement an antitrust training and compliance program and submit regular compliance reporting to the department.
Legends is a global venue services company headquartered in New York.
ASM is a venue management and services company headquartered in Los Angeles.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree, along with the competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed consent decrees during a 60-day comment period to Chief Owen Kendler of the Antitrust Division’s Financial Services, Fintech, and Banking Section at 450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the District Court for the Southern District of New York may enter the final judgment upon finding it is in the public interest.
The claims resolved by the resolution announced today are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
El Departamento de Justicia monitoreará el cumplimiento de las leyes federales de derechos electorales en MichiganRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que monitoreará el cumplimiento con las leyes federales electorales en varias comunidades en la región oeste de Michigan en las elecciones primarias del 5 de agosto. El Departamento monitoreará en Allegan County (Clyde Township y la ciudad de Fennville) y en Van Buren County (Covert Township).
El Departamento de Justicia hace cumplir las leyes federales de derechos electorales que protegen el derecho de acceso a las urnas de todos los ciudadanos. El Departamento envía su personal periódicamente a monitorear el cumplimiento con las leyes federales de derechos civiles en las elecciones de comunidades a través de todo el país. Además, la División de Derechos Civiles envía observadores federales de la Oficina de Administración de Personal de EE. UU., según autorizado por una orden judicial federal.
La Sección de Votación de la División de Derechos Civiles, en colaboración con las Oficinas de los Fiscales Federales, vela por el cumplimiento de las leyes federales civiles que protegen el derecho al voto, incluyendo la Ley del Derecho al Voto, la Ley Nacional de Inscripción de Votantes, la Ley Ayudemos a Estados Unidos a Votar, y la Ley de Votación para los Uniformados y los Ciudadanos en el Extranjero.
Información adicional sobre la votación y las elecciones está disponible en el sitio web del Departamento de Justicia en Civil Rights Division | Sección de votación | United States Department of Justice. Denuncias relacionadas a posibles vulneraciones de las leyes federales de derechos electorales pueden presentarse mediate el formulario en línea de la División de Derechos Civiles en Comuníquese con la División de Derechos Civiles | Departamento de Justicia (justice.gov) (disponible en español) o por teléfono al (800) 253-3931.
Six Members of Transnational Fraud Network Indicted for Scheme to Steal Millions from American Consumers’ Bank AccountsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has returned an indictment charging six defendants for their participation in a years-long scheme to steal millions of dollars from American consumers’ bank accounts.
According to court documents, Henry LoConti, 63, of Chardon, Ohio; John Flynn, 43, of Canada; Shoaib Ahmad, 64, of Canada; Timothy Munoz, 57, of Wilmington, California; Eric Crespin, 61, of Canada; and Lezli St. Hill, 53, of Canada, were members and associates of a racketeering enterprise that unlawfully debited money from the bank accounts of unknowing U.S. consumer-victims.
Through various members and associates, the enterprise obtained identifying and banking information for victims, and created shell entities that claimed to offer products or services, such as cloud storage. The enterprise then executed unauthorized debits against victims’ bank accounts, which it falsely represented to banks were authorized by the victims. Some of the unauthorized debits resulted in returned transactions, which generated high return rates. To both conceal and continue conducting unauthorized debits, the enterprise’s shell entities also generated “micro debits” against other bank accounts controlled and funded by or for the enterprise. The micro debits artificially lowered shell entities’ return rates to levels that conspirators believed would reduce bank scrutiny and lessen potential negative impact on the enterprise’s banking relations.
Combined with a prior indictment, 19 conspirators are currently charged in the Central District of California for their participation in the scheme. Three other defendants have been convicted and/or sentenced in the District of Nevada, Southern District of California and District of Maryland.
“The scheme alleged in the indictment involved an elaborate plot to steal consumers’ hard-earned savings directly from their bank accounts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will use all of the tools at its disposal to prosecute such schemes.”
“Criminals are utilizing technology to devise increasingly sophisticated methods to steal from victims,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “My office will continue to use all available tools to prosecute and apprehend these fraud networks, but I also urge everyone to regularly check your accounts for any unauthorized activity – no matter how small. Prevention is key.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), along with our partners, remain committed to shutting down these types of scammers,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of USPIS’ Criminal Investigations Group. “Dismantling this syndicate, and the arrests and prosecutions of those involved, should send a clear message that fraudulent schemes that exploit innocent victims, many of whom have suffered not only financial losses but also emotional distress and a breach of trust, will not be tolerated. The Postal Inspection Service will make sure that justice is served and that those responsible for these types of crimes feel the full weight of justice.”
All six defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud. Some defendants made their initial court appearances yesterday. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy and 30 years in prison for each count of wire fraud. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Ahmad was separately charged in a second indictment with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud related to his participation in a similarly-structured conspiracy that also stole money from U.S. consumer-victims.
The department urges individuals to be on the lookout for unauthorized debits to their accounts. Regularly check your bank, credit card and other financial statements and contact your financial institution if you see a charge you do not recognize. Report any fraudulent debit you identify to law enforcement. Reports may be filed with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP.
USPIS is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang, Meredith Healy and Amy Kaplan of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Tait for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.
The Consumer Protection Branch, in conjunction with the USPIS, is pursing wrongdoers who disguise the unlawful nature of business activities by, among other methods, artificially lowering financial account return rates. These tactics are designed to deceive banks, resulting in bank accounts remaining open and facilitating fraud schemes and other illegal activities, including schemes that debit consumers’ bank accounts without authorization, tech support scams and subscription traps.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice Department Sues TikTok and Parent Company ByteDance for Widespread Violations of Children’s Privacy LawsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against TikTok Inc., ByteDance Ltd., and their affiliates (together, TikTok) for violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and its implementing regulations (COPPA) in connection with the popular TikTok app.
COPPA prohibits website operators from knowingly collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13, unless they provide notice to and obtain consent from those children’s parents. It also requires website operators to delete personal information collected from children at their parents’ request. In 2019, the government sued TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly, for COPPA violations, and since then the defendants have been subject to a court order requiring them to undertake specific measures to comply with COPPA.
According to the complaint, from 2019 to the present, TikTok knowingly permitted children to create regular TikTok accounts and to create, view, and share short-form videos and messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform. The defendants collected and retained a wide variety of personal information from these children without notifying or obtaining consent from their parents. Even for accounts that were created in “Kids Mode” (a pared-back version of TikTok intended for children under 13), the defendants unlawfully collected and retained children’s email addresses and other types of personal information. Further, when parents discovered their children’s accounts and asked the defendants to delete the accounts and information in them, the defendants frequently failed to honor those requests. The defendants also had deficient and ineffectual internal policies and processes for identifying and deleting TikTok accounts created by children.
The defendants engaged in the above-described conduct despite being subject to a court order barring them from violating COPPA and imposing measures designed to ensure their compliance. TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. The defendants’ COPPA violations have resulted in millions of children under 13 using the regular TikTok app, subjecting them to extensive data collection and allowing them to interact with adult users and access adult content. The complaint seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief.
“The Department is deeply concerned that TikTok has continued to collect and retain children’s personal information despite a court order barring such conduct,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “With this action, the Department seeks to ensure that TikTok honors its obligation to protect children’s privacy rights and parents’ efforts to protect their children.”
“The Justice Department is committed to upholding parents’ ability to protect their children’s privacy,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This action is necessary to prevent the defendants, who are repeat offenders and operate on a massive scale, from collecting and using young children’s private information without any parental consent or control.”
“TikTok knowingly and repeatedly violated kids’ privacy, threatening the safety of millions of children across the country,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The FTC will continue to use the full scope of its authorities to protect children online — especially as firms deploy increasingly sophisticated digital tools to surveil kids and profit from their data.”
The United States is represented in this action by Assistant Directors Rachael L. Doud and Zachary A. Dietert, and Trial Attorneys Ben Cornfeld and Marcus P. Smith, of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch. Jonathan W. Ware, Iris Micklavzina, Sarah Choi, and Michael Sherling represent the FTC.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
The claims made in a complaint are allegations that, if the case were to proceed to trial, the government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence. Certain allegations in the complaint linked to below are redacted due to defendants’ request that the government file these allegations under seal while the Court considers defendants’ intended motion to seal. The court’s ruling on defendants’ motion will determine whether and to what extent these allegations in the complaint become public.
ComplaintFederal Court Permanently Prohibits Ohio Physician from Prescribing Opioids and Imposes $4.7M Judgment for Alleged Unlawful Opioid DistributionRead the Press Release
A federal court prohibited a Sandusky, Ohio-area physician from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances and ordered him to pay $4.7 million in a case alleging violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
In a civil complaint filed in August 2018, the United States alleged that Dr. Gregory Gerber, MD, who operated an office in Sandusky, unlawfully issued prescriptions without a legitimate medical basis for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the CSA and the FCA. The complaint alleged that one patient died from an overdose of fentanyl patches prescribed by Gerber. The complaint further alleged that Gerber received kickback payments from a drug manufacturer as part of a scheme to unlawfully prescribe Subsys, a powerful opioid drug containing fentanyl, in violation of the FCA.
“Medical professionals who knowingly facilitate the abuse of opioids violate their legal obligations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will pursue justice against anyone who seeks to profit from unlawfully prescribing opioids.”
“All doctors must follow the law when prescribing opioids — their patients, and the public more generally, rely on such compliance,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “Gerber’s patients trusted him. But instead of safeguarding that trust, Gerber accepted payments from a drug company in exchange for prescribing dangerous, addictive drugs and wrote thousands of prescriptions that were not for a legitimate medical purpose. Our office will use all available tools — civil and criminal — to fight the opioid epidemic and protect patients and their families so that doctors like Gerber do not profit from abusing our healthcare system.”
“Dr. Gerber betrayed the trust placed in him and willfully violated his oath to protect the public and the provisions of the Controlled Substance Act,” said Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)'s Detroit Field Division. “His reckless behavior contributed to the opioid crisis gripping the nation and brought suffering to many communities in northern Ohio. This ruling will hopefully deter other medical practitioners who are inclined to put profit over patient health and safety.”
“Health care professionals who exploit opioid addiction for financial gain do so at the risk of endangering their patients and undermining critical public health efforts to address the opioid epidemic,” said Deputy Inspector General Christian J. Schrank of Investigations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to work to ensure that bad actors are held accountable for such schemes in order to protect both patients and taxpayers.”
“Ignoring the law by distributing prescriptions to opioids for illicit profit harms the communities that physicians are meant to help,” said Executive Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch. “The FBI is glad that Gerber will not be able to prescribe controlled substances ever again.”
Gerber agreed to a consent judgment to settle the allegations in the complaint. The order entered by the court permanently prohibits Gerber from prescribing opioids or other controlled substances, permanently prohibits him from managing, owning or controlling any entity that dispenses controlled substances and requires Gerber to pay approximately $4.7 million under the FCA. Gerber was also sentenced in March to 42 months in prison and one year of home confinement in a related criminal case brought by the United States Attorney’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick entered the judgment and permanent injunction in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. In August 2018, Judge Helmick issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction prohibiting Gerber from prescribing opioids or other controlled substances.
The DEA, FBI, HHS-OIG, Ohio Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy and State Medical Board of Ohio investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Fitzgerald and Angelita Cruz Bridges for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Scott B. Dahlquist of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch handled the case.
The claims made in the complaint are allegations that the United States would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence if the case proceeded to trial.
Consent Decree