District Not Recorded
The source did not name an office we could identify. These records remain unassigned rather than guessed.
Promotores de ardid de eliminación de impuestos fueron sentenciados por fraude tributario en FloridaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Un tribunal federal en Pensacola, Fla., ha sentenciado a tres de nueve promotores de un ardid fraudulento de eliminación de impuestos y deudas a sentencias en prisión por sus papeles en fraude tributario, fraude electrónico y lavado de dinero, anunciaron hoy el Departamento de Justicia y el Servicio de Impuestos Internos [Internal Revenue Service (IRS)]. Otros cuatro fueron sentenciados en julio a sentencias en prisión que varían de 5 a 12 años. Los dos restantes serán sentenciados en octubre.
El tribunal sentenció a Eugene Casternovia a 7 años en prisión y sentenció a Arthur Merino a 3 años y 4 meses en prisión. Mark Lyon, quien colaboró con el gobierno y atestiguó en el juicio, fue sentenciado a 18 meses en prisión.
El 31 de marzo de 2010, un jurado federal emitió veredictos de culpabilidad contra ocho personas, después de un juicio que duró un mes en Pensacola, asociado a la promoción de ardides fraudulentos a través de Pinnacle Quest International, también conocida como PQI y Quest International. La novena persona, Lyon, se declaró culpable y atestiguó contra las otro ocho en el enjuiciamiento.
Según la evidencia presentada durante el juicio, PQI era una organización paraguas para diversos vendedores de ardides de eliminación de impuestos y deudas de tarjetas de crédito. Algunos de los vendedores de PQI, como Southern Oregon Resource Center for Education (SORCE), vendían teorías falsas y estrategias para evadir impuestos. Por tarifas desde $10,000 dólares, SORCE asistía a sus clientes en la creación de una serie de entidades de negocios falsas en los Estados Unidos y Panamá. Otros vendedores relacionados con impuestos de PQI negaban la legitimidad del sistema de impuestos sobre ingresos basándose en diversas teorías y le brindaban a los clientes una supuesta “defensa de confiabilidad” que consistía en documentación escrita de correspondencia frívola que alegaban que el cliente podía, supuestamente, usar como evidencia de buena fe si era enjuiciado.
En el juicio, el gobierno estableció que otros vendedores de PQI vendían ardides fraudulentos para eliminar deudas de tarjetas de crédito, entre los cuales el más exitoso fue Financial Solutions. Financial Solutions cobraba miles de dólares a sus clientes por una serie de cartas que debían enviar a empresas de tarjetas de crédito que disputaban la legalidad de la deuda profunda. El producto era enteramente ineficaz y por lo general los clientes eran demandados por sus acreedores y a menudo obligados a declarar la bancarrota.
De acuerdo a la evidencia, otro vendedor de PQI, MYICIS, operaba como un complejo “banco de depósito” computarizado. MYICIS era una sola cuenta bancaria en la que los clientes juntaban su dinero. MYICIS era promocionada a los clientes de PQI como un método para ocultar sus bienes al IRS como resultado de la naturaleza conjunta de la cuenta. MYICIS contaba con 3,000 clientes y aproximadamente $100 millones de dólares en depósitos en un período de tres años.
Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio probaron que PQI alegaba vender solo CDs y entradas para conferencias en el exterior. Sin embargo, PQI funcionaba como puerta de entrada para sus vendedores fraudulentos. Los clientes de PQI que buscaban a los vendedores de evasión fiscal y eliminación de deudas solo podían acceder al producto si se unían a PQI primero. El costo de la membresía iba desde $1,350 hasta $18,750 dólares, dependiendo del nivel de acceso. En mayo de 2008, un tribunal federal de distrito emitió un interdicto preliminar contra los promotores de Pinnacle Quest International.
"Existen consecuencias por desobedecer las leyes de nuestra nación. Estos demandados están siendo responsabilizados ahora por su comportamiento criminal", dijo Víctor S. O. Song, Jefe, Investigaciones Criminales del IRS. "Ayudaron a formar una serie de entidades comerciales fraudulentas y luego promovieron tácticas de eliminación de deuda fraudulentas con la única finalidad de ocultar ingresos del IRS. Sus tácticas eran fraudulentas. No existe una fórmula secreta que pueda eliminar las obligaciones tributarias".
El Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Interino John A. DiCicco de la División de Impuestos del Departamento de Justicia agradeció a los Abogados Litigantes Michael Watling, Adam Hulbig y Jonathan Marx, así como a la asistente legal Iris Wright, por su trabajo arduo en el enjuiciamiento de este caso. El Sr. DiCicco también agradeció al equipo de Agentes Especiales del IRS que investigaron el caso, especialmente a Stephen Walker y Wendy Kilpatrick, por su dedicación y esfuerzo.
Promoters of Sham Tax Elimination Scheme Sentenced for Tax Fraud in FloridaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal court in Pensacola, Fla., sentenced the last two promoters of a fraudulent tax- and debt-elimination scheme to prison terms for their roles in tax fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Seven others were sentenced in July and October to prison terms ranging from 18 months to 12 years.
The court sentenced Claudia Hirmer to 20 years in prison and sentenced Mark Hirmer to 15 years in prison.
On March 31, 2010, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against eight people, following a month-long trial in Pensacola, Fla., involving the promotion of fraudulent schemes through Pinnacle Quest International, also known as PQI and Quest International. The ninth entered a guilty plea and testified against the other eight at trial.
According to the evidence presented during trial, PQI was an umbrella organization for numerous vendors of tax and credit card debt elimination scams. Some of the PQI vendors, such as Southern Oregon Resource Center for Education (SORCE), sold bogus theories and strategies for tax evasion. For fees starting at $10,000, SORCE assisted its customers in the creation of a series of sham business entities in the United States and Panama. Other tax-related PQI vendors denied the legitimacy of the income tax system on various theories and provided customers with a "reliance defense" that consisted of a paper trail of frivolous correspondence which a client could allegedly use as evidence of good faith if the client were prosecuted.
At trial, the government established that other PQI vendors sold fraudulent schemes for eliminating credit card debt, the most successful of which was called Financial Solutions. Financial Solutions charged its customers thousands of dollars for a series of letters to send to credit card companies disputing the lawfulness of the underlying debt. The product was wholly ineffective, and customers typically were sued by their creditors and often forced into bankruptcy.
According to the evidence, another PQI vendor, MYICIS, operated as a sophisticated, computerized "warehouse bank." MYICIS was a single bank account in which customers pooled their money. MYICIS was promoted to PQI’s clients as a method to hide their assets from the IRS as a result of the pooled nature of the account. MYICIS had 3,000 clients and approximately $100 million in deposits over a three year period.
Evidence introduced at trial showed that PQI purported to sell only CDs and tickets to offshore conferences. However, PQI acted as a gateway to its fraudulent vendors. PQI clients seeking the tax evasion and debt elimination vendors could only access the product if they joined PQI first. The cost of membership ranged from $1,350 to $18,750, depending on the level of access. In May 2008, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against the promoters of PQI.
"The long prison sentences that the Hirmers received today send a loud and clear message that illegal tax defiers will be investigated, prosecuted, and subjected to the full punishment of the law for their actions," said John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
"As Claudia and Mark Hirmer have discovered, operating outside the law and failing to pay taxes have severe consequences," said Victor S.O. Song, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. "Individuals who promote abusive tax schemes, establish sham offshore companies, and intentionally evade paying their fair share of taxes, undermine public confidence in our tax system. This sentence should serve as a deterrent to those who might contemplate similar fraudulent actions."
Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco thanked Trial Attorneys Michael Watling, Adam Hulbig and Jonathan Marx, as well as paralegal Iris Wright, for their hard work in prosecuting the case. Mr. DiCicco also thanked the team of IRS Special Agents who investigated the case, particularly Stephen Walker and Wendy Kilpatrick, for their efforts.
Promoters of Sham Tax Elimination Scheme Sentenced for Tax Fraud in FloridaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal court in Pensacola, Fla., has sentenced three of nine promoters of a fraudulent tax-and-debt-elimination scheme to prison terms for their roles in tax fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Four others were sentenced in July to prison terms ranging from 5 to 12 years. The remaining two will be sentenced in October.
The court sentenced Eugene Casternovia to 7 years in prison and sentenced Arthur Merino to 3 years and 4 months in prison. Mark Lyon, who cooperated with the government and testified at trial, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
On March 31, 2010, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against eight people, following a month-long trial in Pensacola involving the promotion of fraudulent schemes through Pinnacle Quest International, also known as PQI and Quest International. The ninth, Lyon, entered a guilty plea and testified against the other eight at trial.
According to the evidence presented during trial, PQI was an umbrella organization for numerous vendors of tax and credit card debt elimination scams. Some of the PQI vendors, such as Southern Oregon Resource Center for Education (SORCE), sold bogus theories and strategies for tax evasion. For fees starting at $10,000, SORCE assisted its customers in the creation of a series of sham business entities in the United States and Panama. Other tax-related PQI vendors denied the legitimacy of the income tax system on various theories and provided customers with a “reliance defense” that consisted of a paper trail of frivolous correspondence which a client could allegedly use as evidence of good faith if the client were prosecuted.
At trial, the government established that other PQI vendors sold fraudulent schemes for eliminating credit card debt, the most successful of which was called Financial Solutions. Financial Solutions charged its customers thousands of dollars for a series of letters to send to credit card companies disputing the lawfulness of the underlying debt. The product was wholly ineffective, and customers typically were sued by their creditors and often forced into bankruptcy.
According to the evidence, another PQI vendor, MYICIS, operated as a sophisticated, computerized “warehouse bank.” MYICIS was a single bank account in which customers pooled their money. MYICIS was promoted to PQI’s clients as a method to hide their assets from the IRS as a result of the pooled nature of the account. MYICIS had 3,000 clients and approximately $100 million in deposits over a three year period.
Evidence introduced at trial showed that PQI purported to sell only CDs and tickets to offshore conferences. However, PQI acted as a gateway to its fraudulent vendors. PQI clients seeking the tax evasion and debt elimination vendors could only access the product if they joined PQI first. The cost of membership ranged from $1,350 to $18,750, depending on the level of access. In May 2008, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against the promoters of Pinnacle Quest International.
“There are consequences for disobeying the laws of our nation. These defendants are now being held accountable for their criminal behavior,” said Victor S. O. Song, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “They helped form a series of sham business entities and then promoted fraudulent debt elimination tactics intended for the sole purpose of concealing income from the IRS. Their tactics were fraudulent. There is no secret formula that can eliminate an individual’s tax obligation.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Justice Department’s Tax Division thanked Trial Attorneys Michael Watling, Adam Hulbig, and Jonathan Marx, as well as paralegal Iris Wright, for their hard work in prosecuting the case. Mr. DiCicco also thanked the team of IRS Special Agents who investigated the case, particularly Stephen Walker and Wendy Kilpatrick, for their efforts.
Se formularon cargos contra cuatro personas por actividades relacionadas con la pandilla MS-13Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tres supuestos miembros y asociados de la pandilla MS-13 han sido acusados formalmente de diversos delitos violentos que surgieron de una invasión de domicilio el año pasado en el Distrito de Columbia, en la cual varias personas fueron amenazadas a punta de pistola. Un cuarto supuesto miembro fue acusado formalmente de intentos subsiguientes de amenazar a posibles testigos en el caso.
La acusación formal fue emitida el 16 de septiembre de 2010, en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito para el Distrito de Columbia y fue anunciada por el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal; el Fiscal Federal Ronald C. Machen Jr. del Distrito de Columbia; el Director del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE.UU. [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] John Morton; John P. Torres, Agente Especial a Cargo de la Oficina de Washington de la ICE; y Cathy L. Lanier, Jefa del Departamento de Policía Metropolitana [Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)].
La acusación formal acusa a Carlos M. Silva, Omar R. Aguilar, Wilfredo Mejía y Henry Sarba. Los demandados habían sido acusados previamente en el Tribunal Superior del Distrito de Columbia, con base en una investigación realizada por agentes del ICE y del MPD. La acusación formal amplía el caso, reflejando la naturaleza grave de la actividad pandillera violenta representada en los nuevos cargos y transfiere el caso efectivamente al Tribunal Federal de Distrito.
De acuerdo con la acusación formal, Silva, Aguilar y Mejía, con la finalidad de lograr ingresar a la MS-13 y crecer dentro de la organización, invadieron un apartamento en Washington, D.C., el 11 de diciembre de 2009, y mantuvieron a cuatro ocupantes del mismo a punta de pistola. La acusación formal alega que la finalidad de la invasión de domicilio era un evidente intento de extorsionar a las víctimas para obtener fondos para mantener las actividades de la pandilla. De acuerdo con la acusación formal, una ocupante del sexo femenino fue objeto de abuso sexual durante el ataque.
Silva, 28; Aguilar 20, y Mejía, 25, fueron arrestados y acusados, originalmente, en el Tribunal Superior de D.C. Sarba, 20, supuestamente llamó a posibles testigos después de los arrestos y realizó amenazas.
La acusación formal acusa a Silva, Aguilar y Mejía de secuestro con la finalidad de promover la delincuencia organizada, agresión con un arma mortal para promover la delincuencia, delitos asociados a armas y otros cargos. Silva también fue acusado de agresión con la intención de cometer abuso sexual en el primer grado estando armado y abuso sexual en el tercer grado. Sarba fue acusado formalmente de cargos que incluyen complicidad después del hecho, obstrucción de la justicia y amenaza de herir o secuestrar una persona.
De acuerdo con la acusación formal, la MS-13 es una empresa de extorsión que constituye una de las mayores pandillas callejeras en los Estados Unidos. La MS-13 es una organización criminal nacional e internacional, y sus miembros han sido encontrados responsables de asesinatos, distribución de narcóticos y otros delitos, afirma la acusación formal.
Los cargos conllevan importantes sentencias. La sentencia legal obligatoria por secuestro para promover la delincuencia organizada es de 30 años.
"El investigar y enjuiciar a pandillas violentas están entre las más altas prioridades del Departamento de Justicia", dijo el Secretario de Justicia auxiliar Breuer. "No permitiremos que organizaciones criminales violentas como la MS-13 aterroricen a nuestros vecindarios y comunidades. La División Criminal se compromete a trabajar con sus asociados de las fuerzas del orden público para asegurar que los miembros de estas organizaciones sean llevados ante la justicia".
"Esta acusación formal muestra nuestra determinación de desmantelar a la MS-13 y otras pandillas violentas que representan una amenaza para nuestras comunidades", dijo el Fiscal Federal Machen. "Deseo felicitar a los hombres y mujeres trabajadores que participaron en este caso, especialmente los miembros del Departamento de Policía Metropolitana y los agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas que dedicaron meses a lograr llevar ante la justicia a estos demandados".
"Esta acusación formal demuestra la determinación de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional de desmantelar a pandillas transnacionales criminales como la MS-13", dijo el Director del ICE John Morton. "Trabajaremos con nuestros asociados de las fuerzas del orden público para lograr comunidades más seguras al lograr el enjuiciamiento de miembros de pandillas criminales".
"Esta es la tercera acusación formal significativa en la última semana asociada a pandillas o narcóticos", dijo el Jefe del MPD Lanier. "El mensaje a los pandilleros y otros delincuentes debe ser claro. No toleraremos esta violencia e intimidación en nuestra ciudad".
Están a cargo de la acusación en este caso la Abogada Litigante Laura Gwinn de la Unidad Antipandillas de la División Criminal y el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Bill O'Malley. El caso es parte de una iniciativa más amplia del Departamento de Justicia de enjuiciar enérgicamente a las pandillas más peligrosas y violentas en el país. Miembros y líderes de la MS-13 han sido objeto de enjuiciamiento federal en Maryland, Tennessee, Carolina del Norte, Virginia, California, Nueva York y otras localidades.
Los cargos presentados en este caso son meramente alegatos de que los demandados han cometido una violación de la ley criminal y no prueban su culpabilidad. Se supone que todo demandado es inocente hasta, y a no ser que se pruebe su culpabilidad.
Ohio Man Charged in Church Arson CaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Ohio today charged Ronald J. Pudder with intentionally damaging, destroying and attempting to destroy religious property because of the race, color and ethnic characteristics of individuals associated with that property, and for willfully and knowingly using fire to commit a felony offense.
The two-count indictment alleges that on or about May 20, 2010, Pudder set fire to the First Azusa Apostolic Faith Church of God in Conneaut, Ohio.
The charges carry maximum potential penalties of 20 years for the destruction of religious property, and a mandatory minimum 10 years for the arson. Pudder faces a maximum fine of $500,000.
“The freedom to practice one’s faith in peace has been a fundamental right from the time of our nation’s founding,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Those who use threats and violence to prevent others from exercising this right will be brought to justice.”
“Setting fire to a church is an act that not only endangers people and property, it strikes a blow at the heart of the community. Doing so based on the parishioners’ race is an act that does violence to who we are as Americans and Ohioans,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
“Hate crimes have no place in a civilized society and will be met with the full force of the U.S. government,” said C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland FBI field office.
This case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Dettelbach, along with Patricia A. Sumner, Trial Attorney with the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Moroney, following an investigation by the Painesville Resident Agency of the Cleveland FBI and the Conneaut Ohio Police Department.
An indictment is only is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Justice Department Settles Allegations of Disability Discrimination Against City of Satsuma, AlabamaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today settled a lawsuit against the city of Satsuma, Ala., and the city’s Board of Adjustment, alleging housing discrimination against individuals with disabilities. This lawsuit is part of the Justice Department’s continuing effort to enforce civil rights laws that require states and municipalities to end discrimination against, and unnecessary segregation of, persons with disabilities.
Under the consent decree, which was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on Sept.16, 2010, the city agreed to pay $59,000 in damages to the operator of a group home for three women with intellectual disabilities and the trustees of the three residents, as well as a $5,500 civil penalty to the government. As part of the settlement, the city also adopted amendments to its zoning laws.
“Americans with disabilities – like all Americans – have a right to live within their communities without facing discrimination,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “This comprehensive settlement compensates the individuals who were harmed and will prevent future housing discrimination against the city’s most vulnerable citizens.”
“Enforcing the nation’s housing discrimination laws is a top priority of the United States Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Alabama,” said Kenyen Brown, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. “This settlement is not only significant for the plaintiffs in this case, but this entire region. The terms of the settlement have created a model approach that can help prevent the kind of discrimination witnessed in this case.”
The government’s amended complaint alleged that city officials violated the federal Fair Housing Act when they refused to allow Pamela Williams to operate a single-family home for three adults with intellectual disabilities in a residential neighborhood of the city, despite the fact that the city’s zoning ordinance allows up to five unrelated persons to live together in the residential zone. The group home residents previously resided at the now closed Albert P. Brewer Development Center, a large state-managed institution. In Satsuma, the three women shared living space and common facilities and received professional supportive services in a home regulated by the state of Alabama.
According to the complaint, city officials told Ms. Williams that she could not operate the for-profit group home for residents with disabilities in the residential neighborhood without a business license, but city policy prohibited the issuance of business licenses for such homes in residential zones. The lawsuit also alleged that city officials refused to make a reasonable accommodation in the city’s rules, policies, practices or services that were necessary to afford the residents an opportunity to use and enjoy their home, as required by the Fair Housing Act.
The consent decree requires that the city maintain records relating to future proposals for housing for persons with disabilities, submit periodic reports to the Justice Department for a period of four years, and ensure that certain employees undergo training on the requirements of the Fair Housing Act. In accordance with the decree, the city also adopted amendments to its zoning ordinance and business license law that:
- Establish a reasonable accommodation policy by which a resident with a disability, or a housing provider on behalf of a resident with a disability, may seek a reasonable accommodation from the city;
- Modify the zoning ordinance’s definition of “family” to expressly provide that persons with disabilities, including residents of group homes, will not be excluded from the definition, regardless of whether the group home is for-profit or non-profit;
- Require city officials to issue a business license when it is necessary to effectuate reasonable accommodations under the city’s new policy; and
- Include a category for “group homes” in the city’s business license law.
The case began when Ms. Williams and the three residents of the group home filed complaints with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD referred the complaints to the Justice Department, which conducted an investigation and filed the lawsuit in May 2008.
Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. Persons who believe they have experienced or witnessed unlawful housing discrimination may call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected], or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777. More information about the Fair Housing Act can also be found at www.justice.gov/crt/housing/fairhousing or www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
Justice Department Reaches Agreements to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters from Colorado, District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and HawaiiRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has reached agreements with Colorado, District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii officials to help ensure that military service members and U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010 federal general election. These agreements were necessary to ensure compliance with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act).
“Our uniformed service members and other overseas citizens deserve to have a meaningful opportunity to participate in the election of our nation’s leaders, and to know that their votes will be counted,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “I am extremely pleased with state officials who worked quickly and cooperatively with the department and agreed to measures that will ensure the states’ military and overseas voters, many of whom are members of our armed forces and their families bravely serving our country around the world, will have their votes counted in the upcoming election.”
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires states to allow uniformed service voters (serving both overseas and within the United States) and overseas citizens to register to vote and to vote absentee for all elections for federal office. In 2009, Congress enacted the MOVE Act, which made broad changes to UOCAVA. Among those changes is a requirement that states transmit absentee ballots to voters covered under UOCAVA no later than 45 days before federal elections. Under the new law, states can apply to the Department of Defense for a hardship waiver of this requirement for a particular federal election if the state’s primary election date prohibited it from sending ballots by the 45th day before the election; if a legal contest causes a delay in generating ballots; or if the state’s constitution prohibits compliance. To obtain a waiver, states must 1) establish that one or more of these circumstances creates an undue hardship, and 2) present a comprehensive plan that provides UOCAVA voters sufficient time to receive and submit marked absentee ballots in time to have them counted in that election. Waiver determinations are made by the Department of Defense, after consulting with the Department of Justice.
The agreement with Colorado provides that the state will take the actions necessary to ensure that its counties send an official absentee ballot to all military service members and U.S. citizens living overseas no later than Sept. 18, 2010, thus ensuring that eligible military and overseas voters have at least 45 days to receive, cast and return their ballots in time for them to be counted in the Nov. 2, 2010, election. The agreement also commits the state to take steps to ensure compliance in future federal elections and provide a report to the Department of Justice on those efforts. Colorado sought a hardship waiver on grounds that its Aug. 10 primary election date prohibited it from complying with the 45-day deadline specified by the MOVE Act.
Under the agreement with the District of Columbia, the District will send absentee ballots to military and overseas voters no later than October 4, and will provide additional time -- until Nov. 19, 2010 -- for receipt of absentee ballots. The District passed emergency rules embodying these new deadlines, which will ensure that eligible military and overseas voters have at least 45 days to receive, cast and return their ballots in time for them to be counted in the Nov. 2, 2010, election. The agreement also commits the District of Columbia to take steps to ensure compliance in future federal elections and provide a report to the Department of Justice on those efforts. Earlier this year, the Council of the District of Columbia adopted a “Sense of the Council Primary Election Timing Resolution of 2010” acknowledging that the District needed to enact legislation to move its primary election for federal offices to a date no later than the first Tuesday of the first full week of August, beginning in 2012. The District sought a hardship waiver on grounds that its Sept. 14 primary date prohibited it from complying with the 45-day deadline specified by the MOVE Act.
According to the agreement, the U.S. Virgin Islands will send absentee ballots for federal office (the Virgin Islands’ Delegate to Congress) on or before Sept. 18, the 45th day before the election. In addition, the Virgin Islands will mail a second ballot with the territorial contests for local office to UOCAVA voters by Oct. 2. The Virgin Islands sought a hardship waiver on grounds that its Sept. 11 primary election date prohibited it from complying with the 45-day deadline specified by the MOVE Act.
Hawaii’s primary election on Sept. 18, 2010 precludes the state from sending absentee ballots to military and overseas voters by the MOVE Act’s ballot transmittal deadline of September 18 -- the 45th day before the November 2 federal general election. To ensure that the state’s military and overseas voters have sufficient time to receive, cast and return their ballots in time for them to be counted in the Nov. 2, 2010 election, the agreement requires Hawaii to send out ballots by express delivery service no later than Sept. 24, 2010, and to provide voters with the means to return their completed ballots by express delivery free of charge. Additionally, Hawaii will contact voters to remind them of their option to receive their ballots by email starting on Sept. 24, and of a procedure by which voters may obtain, and also return, replacement ballots electronically within 5 days of the Nov. 2 election if the voter has not otherwise received his or her ballot. Hawaii will maintain contact with its military and overseas voters periodically in the days leading up to the election to monitor whether voters have received their ballots and to take action if replacement ballots are necessary. These safeguards are designed to ensure that eligible military and overseas voters have sufficient time to receive, cast and return their ballots in time to be counted. Hawaii sought a hardship waiver on grounds that its Sept. 18 primary election date – the latest in the nation -- prohibited it from complying with the 45-day deadline specified by the MOVE Act. Earlier this year, Hawaii enacted legislation, effective on Jan. 1, 2011, which moves Hawaii’s primary date to the second Saturday in August in every even-numbered year to help ensure compliance with UOCAVA’s 45-day advance ballot mailing requirement in future federal general elections.
On Aug. 27, the Department of Defense denied all four waiver requests. The Department of Defense found that Colorado and the Virgin Islands did not establish an undue hardship for the Nov. 2, 2010 election, and that their proposed comprehensive plans did not afford sufficient time for UOCAVA voters to receive and submit absentee ballots in time to have them counted. For Hawaii and the District of Columbia, although an undue hardship was found, they did not provide adequate comprehensive plans. Immediately following denial of the waiver applications for Colorado, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii, the Department of Justice advised state officials that the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights had authorized litigation to enforce UOCAVA. Discussions with the state and territory officials were initiated to resolve the matter, which led to the agreements announced today.
More information about UOCAVA and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/activ_uoc.htm. Complaints may be reported to the Voting Section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.
Four Indicted for MS-13 Gang ActivitiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Three alleged members and associates of the MS-13 gang have been indicted for various violent crimes stemming from a home invasion last year in the District of Columbia in which several persons were held at gunpoint. A fourth alleged member has been indicted for subsequent efforts to threaten potential witnesses in the case.
The indictment was returned Sept. 16, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton; John P. Torres, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Office of ICE; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The indictment charges Carlos M. Silva, Omar R. Aguilar, Wilfredo Mejia and Henry Sarba. The defendants previously were charged in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, based on an investigation by ICE agents and MPD. The indictment broadens the case to reflect the serious nature of the violent gang activity that is represented in the new charges and effectively transfers the case to the U.S. District Court.
According to the indictment, Silva, Aguilar and Mejia, for the purpose of gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing position in MS-13, invaded an apartment in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 11, 2009, and held five occupants at gunpoint. The indictment alleges that the purpose of the home invasion was an apparent effort to extort funds from the victims to support the gang’s activities. According to the indictment, a female occupant was sexually assaulted during the attack.
Silva, 28; Aguilar 20; and Mejia, 25, were arrested and originally charged in D.C. Superior Court. Sarba, 20, allegedly called potential witnesses sometime after the arrests and made threats.
The indictment charges Silva, Aguilar and Mejia with kidnapping in aid of racketeering, assault with a deadly weapon in aid of racketeering, weapons offenses, and other charges. Silva also is charged with assault with intent to commit first degree sexual abuse while armed and third degree sexual abuse. Sarba was indicted on charges including accessory after the fact, obstructing justice and threatening to injure or kidnap a person.
According to the indictment, MS-13 is a racketeering enterprise that constitutes one of the largest street gangs in the United States. MS-13 is a national and international criminal organization, and its members have been found responsible for murders, narcotics distribution and other crimes, the indictment states.
The charges carry significant penalties. The statutory penalty for kidnapping in aid of racketeering is 30 years.
“Investigating and prosecuting violent gangs is among the highest priorities of the Department of Justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “We will not allow violent criminal organizations like MS-13 to terrorize our neighborhoods and communities. The Criminal Division is committed to working with its law enforcement partners to ensure that members of these organizations are brought to justice.”
“This indictment shows our determination to dismantle MS-13 and other violent gangs that threaten our community,” U.S. Attorney Machen stated. “I would like to commend the hard-working men and women who worked on this case, particularly the members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement who have spent months bringing these defendants to justice.”
“This indictment demonstrates the resolve of Homeland Security Investigations to aggressively pursue transnational criminal gangs like MS-13,” said ICE Director John Morton. “We will work with our law enforcement partners to make our communities safer by targeting criminal gang members for prosecution.”
“This is the third major indictment in the last week that has involved gangs or drugs,” said MPD Chief Lanier. “The message to gang members and other criminals should be clear. We will not tolerate this violence and intimidation in our city.”
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Laura Gwinn of the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill O’Malley, Seth Adam Meinero and Allison Barlotta. The case is part of broader efforts by the Department of Justice to aggressively prosecute the most dangerous and violent gangs in the country. MS-13 members and leaders have been federally prosecuted in Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, California, New York, and other locations.
The charges filed in this case are merely allegations that the defendants have committed a violation of criminal law and are not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
Former Workers at Los Alamos Charged with Transmitting Classified Nuclear Weapons Data to Injure the United StatesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that a scientist and his wife, who both previously worked as contractors at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, have been indicted on charges of communicating classified nuclear weapons data to a person they believed to be a Venezuelan government official and conspiring to participate in the development of an atomic weapon for Venezuela, among other violations.
The 22-count indictment, which was returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in the District of New Mexico, was announced by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Kenneth J. Gonzales, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico and Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.
The defendants are Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni (Mascheroni), 75, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Argentina, and Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni (Roxby Mascheroni), 67, a U.S. citizen. Both were arrested by FBI agents this morning and made their initial appearance in federal court in Albuquerque today. If convicted of all the charges in the indictment, the defendants face a potential sentence of life in prison.
The indictment does not allege that the government of Venezuela or anyone acting on its behalf sought or was passed any classified information, nor does it charge any Venezuelan government officials or anyone acting on their behalf with wrongdoing. Further, the indictment does not charge any individuals currently working at LANL with wrongdoing.
Mascheroni, a Ph.D. physicist, worked as a scientist at LANL from 1979 to 1988 and held a security clearance that allowed him access to certain classified information, including “Restricted Data.” His wife worked at LANL between 1981 and 2010, where her duties included technical writing and editing. She also held a security clearance at LANL that allowed her access to certain classified information, including “Restricted Data.” As defined under the Atomic Energy Act, “Restricted Data” is classified information concerning the design, manufacture or use of atomic weapons; the production of special nuclear material; or the use of special nuclear material in the production of energy.
The indictment charges the defendants with conspiring to communicate and communicating “Restricted Data” to an individual with the intent to injure the United States and secure an advantage to a foreign nation. They are also charged with conspiring to and attempting to participate in the development of an atomic weapon, as well as conspiring to convey and conveying classified “Restricted Data.” The indictment further charges Mascheroni with concealing and retaining U.S. records with the intent to convert them to his own use and gain, as well as six counts of making false statements. Roxby Mascheroni is also charged with seven counts of making false statements.
“The conduct alleged in this indictment is serious and should serve as a warning to anyone who would consider compromising our nation’s nuclear secrets for profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Kris. “I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to bring about this prosecution.”
U.S. Attorney Gonzales said, “Our laws are designed to prevent ‘Restricted Data’ from falling into the wrong hands because of the potential harm to our national security. Employees at the Los Alamos National Laboratory who have access to ‘Restricted Data’ are charged with safeguarding that sensitive information, even after they leave the lab. This is absolutely necessary for our national security, and it is what the public expects. Consistent with its responsibility to protect our national interests, LANL has cooperated fully in the investigation leading to the indictment of Dr. Mascheroni and Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni.”
“As is often the case with these types of investigations, this has been a long, painstaking, and methodical process. I am exceedingly proud of the work done by our Special Agents and their close colleagues at the New Mexico U.S. Attorney’s Office. I am also grateful for the assistance of and close collaboration with officials at the Department of Energy and Los Alamos National Laboratory,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Lee.
According to the indictment, Mascheroni had a series of conversations in March 2008 with an undercover FBI agent posing as a Venezuelan government official. During these conversations, Mascheroni discussed his program for developing nuclear weapons for Venezuela. Among other things, Mascheroni allegedly said he could help Venezuela develop a nuclear bomb within 10 years and that, under his program, Venezuela would use a secret, underground nuclear reactor to produce and enrich plutonium, and an open, above-ground reactor to produce nuclear energy.
During these talks, Mascheroni allegedly asked about obtaining Venezuelan citizenship and described how he expected to be paid for his classified nuclear work for Venezuela. He also told the undercover agent he should be addressed as “Luke,” and that he would set up an email account solely to communicate with the undercover agent. Mascheroni later used this account to communicate with the agent and to arrange for deliveries of materials at a “dead drop” location, which was a post office box.
In July 2008, the undercover agent provided Mascheroni with a list of 12 questions purportedly from Venezuelan military and scientific personnel. In response, Mascheroni delivered to the dead drop location in November 2008 a disk with a coded 132-page document on it that allegedly contained “Restricted Data” related to nuclear weapons. Written by Mascheroni and edited by his wife, the document was entitled “A Deterrence Program for Venezuela” and laid out Mascheroni’s nuclear weapons development program for Venezuela. Mascheroni stated that the information he was providing was worth millions of dollars, and his fee for producing the document was $793,000, the indictment alleges.
In June 2009, Mascheroni received from the dead drop location another list of questions, purportedly from Venezuelan officials, and $20,000 in cash from the undercover agent as a first payment. On his way to pick up these materials, he allegedly told his wife he was doing this work for the money and was not an American anymore.
In July 2009, Mascheroni delivered to the dead drop location a disk that contained a 39-page document with answers to the questions. According to the indictment, the document was written by Mascheroni, edited by his wife, and contained “Restricted Data” related to nuclear weapons. In the document, Mascheroni allegedly reiterated that the information he had provided was classified and was based on his knowledge of U.S. nuclear tests that he had learned while working at LANL, but that he would state the document was based on open information found on the Internet if “our relationship/alliance does not work…”
In August 2009, the indictment alleges, Mascheroni and his wife met with the undercover agent at a hotel, where Mascheroni further discussed his nuclear weapons development program for Venezuela. Several months later, FBI agents questioned Mascheroni and his wife about the classified information Mascheroni had provided to the undercover agent, among other things. Both made a series of false statements in response, the indictment alleges.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Albuquerque Division with assistance from the Department of Energy and LANL.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred Federici and Dean Tuckman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, and Trial Attorneys Kathleen Kedian and David Recker of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains allegations only and that every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Florida Couple Pleads Guilty to Forced Labor Conspiracy of 39 Filipino Guest WorkersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., 45, owners of Quality Staffing Services Corporation, a labor contracting service, pleaded guilty to conspiring to hold 39 Filipino nationals in compelled service in country clubs and hotels in Southeast Florida. Manuel also pleaded guilty to making false statements in an application she filed with the U.S. Department of Labor to obtain foreign labor certifications and visas under the federal H2B guest worker program.
According to documents presented in court, the defendants conspired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor pool, by making false promises to entice the victims to incur debts. The defendants then compelled the victims’ labor and services through threats to have the workers arrested and deported, knowing the workers faced serious economic harm and possible incarceration for nonpayment of debts in the Philippines. After the victims arrived at the defendants’ residence in Boca Raton, Fla., the defendants confiscated their passports; housed them in overcrowded, substandard conditions without adequate food or drinking water; put them to work at area country clubs and hotels for little or no pay; required them to remain in the defendants’ service, unpaid when there was insufficient work; ordered them not to leave the premises without permission and an escort; and threatened to have the workers arrested and deported for complaining about these terms and conditions.
“These defendants victimized vulnerable individuals for profit,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Forced labor robs victims of their freedom and their dignity, and it will not be tolerated in this country.”
“Each day, people leave behind their families and homelands in search of freedom and a better life in the United States. The individuals in this case were no different,” said Wifredo Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “They came here seeking a better life, but found their dream of freedom and a better life transformed into a real-life nightmare of servitude and fear. With today's guilty pleas, we come one step closer to punishing the defendants for their crimes.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations; the U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; FBI; the U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Diplomatic Security; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and the Florida Office of the Attorney General. This case is being prosecuted by trial attorney Susan French of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaniek Maynard.
Federal Court Bars Missouri Lawyer from Promoting Individual Retirement Account Tax ArrangementsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal judge in St. Louis has permanently barred a Missouri attorney and his law firm from promoting any Individual Retirement Account-based arrangement, the Justice Department announced today. The order, entered by Judge Rodney W. Sippel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, bars Philip A. Kaiser and the Kaiser Law Firm from engaging in conduct that allegedly helped clients improperly evade contribution limits for Roth IRA accounts and accumulate millions of dollars in tax-free gains in their Roth IRA accounts, according to the government complaint in the case.
The court order, to which Kaiser consented, permanently bars Kaiser and his law firm from promoting or advising with respect to a number of schemes described in the government complaint:
- The Private IRA Corporation or “PIRAC”tax arrangement;
- The Char-FLP tax arrangement;
- The Real Estate Purchase Option tax arrangement;
- The Derivium tax arrangement; and
- The establishment of any other IRA-based arrangement.
The complaint alleged that numerous self-directed Roth IRA accounts were established under Kaiser’s direction to implement the above tax arrangements. This allegedly allowed Kaiser’s customers to improperly evade contribution limits for Roth IRA accounts and accumulate in their IRAs tens of millions of dollars in tax-free gains.
The court also ordered Kaiser to provide a copy of the injunction to his employees and customers, and give the government information about his customers who have implemented the tax arrangements described in the complaint.
The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams for 2010 includes abusive Roth IRA schemes.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, thanked Justice Department trial attorneys Gregory S. Seador and Jessica S. Reimelt for handling the case, and also thanked Jim Graczyk of the IRS’ Small Business/Self-Employed Division, which investigated the case.
Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.
Ex trabajadores en Los Álamos fueron acusados de transmitir datos secretos sobre armas nucleares para perjudicar a los Estados UnidosRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que un científico y su esposa, ambos los cuales trabajaron como contratistas en el Laboratorio Nacional de Los Álamos [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)] en Nuevo México, fueron acusados de cargos de comunicar datos secretos sobre armas nucleares a una persona quien creían ser un funcionario del gobierno de Venezuela y de conspirar para participar en el desarrollo de un arma atómica para Venezuela, entre otras violaciones.
La acusación formal compuesta por 22 cargos, la cual fue emitida ayer por un gran jurado federal en el Distrito de Nuevo México, fue anunciada por David Kris, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de Seguridad Nacional; Kenneth J. Gonzàles, Fiscal Federal para el Distrito de Nuevo México y Carol K.O. Lee, Agente Especial a Cargo de la División de Albuquerque del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)].
Los demandados son Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni (Mascheroni), 75, un ciudadano estadounidense naturalizado de Argentina, y Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni (Roxby Mascheroni), 67, una ciudadana de EE.UU. Ambos fueron arrestados por agentes del FBI esta mañana y realizaron su comparecencia inicial ante el tribunal federal en Albuquerque hoy. Si se les condena por todos los cargos de la acusación, los demandados enfrentan una posible sentencia de prisión perpetua.
La acusación formal no alega que el gobierno de Venezuela o cualquier persona actuando en su nombre haya pedido o transmitido cualquier información confidencial, ni acusa a cualquier funcionario del gobierno de Venezuela o a cualquiera que actúe en su nombre de haber cometido una violación de la ley. Por otro lado, la acusación formal no acusa a ninguna persona que actualmente trabaje en LANL de cualquier hecho ilegal.
Mascheroni, un doctor en física, trabajó como científico en LANL de 1979 a 1988, donde tuvo acceso a ciertas informaciones secretas, incluidos "Datos restringidos". Su esposa trabajó en LANL entre 1981 y 2010, donde sus tareas incluyeron redacción y edición técnicas. También contaba con permiso de LANL para acceder a ciertas informaciones secretas, incluidos "Datos restringidos". Según definición de la Ley de Energía Atómica, "Datos restringidos" son información secreta acerca del diseño, la manufactura o el uso de armas atómicas; la producción de materiales nucleares especiales, o el uso de materiales nucleares especiales para la producción de energía.
La acusación formal acusa a los demandados de conspirar para comunicar y de comunicar "Datos restringidos" a una persona con la intención de perjudicar a los Estados Unidos y lograr una ventaja en un país extranjero. También fueron acusados de conspirar para, e intentar participar en el desarrollo de un arma atómica, así como conspirar para transmitir, y transmitir "Datos restringidos". Asimismo, la acusación formal acusa a Mascheroni de ocultar y retener registros estadounidenses con la intención de utilizarlos en beneficio propio y para ganancias personales, así como seis cargos de realización de declaraciones falsas. También se acusa a Roxby Mascheroni de siete cargos de realización de declaraciones falsas.
"La conducta alegada en esta acusación formal es grave y debe servir de advertencia a cualquier persona que pudiera considerar comprometer los secretos nucleares de nuestra nación por ganancias personales", dijo el Secretario de Justicia Kris. "Felicito a los muchos agentes, analistas y fiscales que trabajaron sin descanso para lograr la realización de este enjuiciamiento".
El Fiscal Federal Gonzàles dijo, "Nuestra leyes fueron diseñadas de modo a evitar que 'Datos restringidos' caigan en las manos equivocadas debido al daño potencial a nuestra seguridad nacional. Los empleados del Laboratorio Nacional Los Álamos con acceso a 'Datos restringidos' tienen la obligación de proteger dicha información delicada, inclusive después de haber dejado el laboratorio. Esto es absolutamente necesario para nuestra seguridad nacional, y es lo que el público espera. Compatible con su responsabilidad de proteger nuestros intereses nacionales, LANL ha cooperado plenamente en la investigación que ha llevado a la acusación formal del Dr. Mascheroni y Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni".
"Como suele ocurrir con estos tipos de investigaciones, éste ha sido un proceso largo, laborioso y metódico. Estoy muy orgulloso del trabajo realizado por nuestros Agentes Especiales y sus colegas en la Fiscalía Federal de Nuevo México. También agradezco la asistencia y colaboración de los funcionarios del Departamento de Energía y del Laboratorio Nacional de Los Álamos", dijo el Agente Especial a Cargo del FBI Lee.
De acuerdo con la acusación formal, Mascheroni mantuvo una serie de conversaciones en marzo de 2008 con un agente encubierto del FBI que se hizo pasar por un funcionario del gobierno de Venezuela. Durante estas conversaciones, Mascheroni discutió su programa para el desarrollo de armas nucleares para Venezuela. Entre otras cosas, se alega que Mascheroni dijo que podría ayudar a Venezuela a desarrollar una bomba nuclear en el plazo de diez años y que, bajo su programa, Venezuela utilizaría un reactor nuclear secreto y subterráneo para producir y enriquecer plutonio, y un reactor abierto, sobre el suelo, para producir energía nuclear.
Durante estas charlas, se alega que Mascheroni preguntó sobre la obtención de la ciudadanía venezolana y describió cómo pretendía que se le pagara por su trabajo nuclear secreto para Venezuela. También le dijo al agente encubierto que se le debía llamar "Luke" y que configuraría una cuenta de correo electrónico especifica para comunicarse con el agente encubierto. Luego, Mascheroni utilizó esta cuenta para comunicarse con el agente y para realizar arreglos para los envíos de materiales a un buzón secreto, el cual era una casilla de correo.
En julio de 2008, el agente encubierto proporcionó a Mascheroni una lista de 12 preguntas supuestamente de personal militar y científico venezolano. En respuesta, en noviembre de 2008, Mascheroni dejó en el buzón secreto un disco con un documento cifrado de 132 páginas que supuestamente contenía 'datos restringidos' asociados a armas nucleares. Redactado por Mascheroni y editado por su esposa, el documento llevaba el título "Un programa de disuasión para Venezuela" y describía el programa de desarrollo de armas nucleares para Venezuela de Mascheroni. Mascheroni declaró que la información que proporcionaba valía millones de dólares, y que sus honorarios por producir el documento eran de $793,000 dólares, alega la acusación formal.
En junio de 2009, Mascheroni recibió en el buzón secreto otra lista de preguntas, supuestamente de funcionarios venezolanos, y $20,000 dólares en efectivo del agente encubierto como primer pago. Al salir para buscar estos materiales, supuestamente, le dijo a su esposa que estaba haciendo este trabajo por dinero y que había dejado de ser un ciudadano estadounidense.
En julio de 2009, Mascheroni llevó al buzón secreto un disco que contenía un documento de 39 páginas con respuestas a las preguntas. De acuerdo con la acusación formal, el documento fue escrito por Mascheroni, editado por su esposa, y contenía "datos restringidos" asociados a armas nucleares. En el documento, se alega que Mascheroni reiteró que la información que había provisto era secreta y basada en sus conocimientos de pruebas nucleares estadounidenses que obtuvo mientras trabajaba en LANL, pero que declararía que el documento se basó en información abierta encontrada en Internet si "nuestra relación/alianza no funciona".
En agosto de 2009, alega la acusación formal que Mascheroni y su esposa se reunieron con un agente encubierto en un hotel, donde Mascheroni conversó más detenidamente sobre su programa de desarrollo de armas nucleares para Venezuela. Varios meses más tarde, agentes del FBI interrogaron a Mascheroni y su esposa sobre la información secreta que Mascheroni había provisto al agente encubierto, entre otras cosas. Ambos realizaron una serie de declaraciones falsas en respuesta, alega la acusación formal.
Esta investigación fue conducida por la División de Albuquerque del FBI con la asistencia del Departamento de Energía y LANL.
Están a cargo de la acusación en el caso los Fiscales Federales Auxiliares Fred Federici y Dean Tuckman de la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito de Nuevo México, y los Abogados Litigantes Kathleen Kedian y David Recker de la Sección de Contraespionaje de la División de Seguridad Nacional del Departamento de Justicia.
Se le recuerda al público que una acusación formal solo contiene alegatos y se supone que todo demandado es inocente hasta que se pruebe lo contrario.
Soldado de las Fuerzas Especiales de Guatemala sentenciado a 10 años de prisión por realizar declaraciones falsas en formularios de naturalización sobre la masacre de aldeanos guatemaltecos en 1982Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Gilberto Jordàn, 54, un ex soldado de las fuerzas especiales de Guatemala, fue sentenciado hoy por el Juez Federal de Distrito William J. Zloch en el Distrito Sur de Florida a 10 años de prisión por obtener ilegalmente su ciudadanía estadounidense al mentir sobre su participación en una masacre ocurrida en 1982 en un pueblo guatemalteco conocido como Dos Erres, anunciaron el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal, el Fiscal Federal Wifredo A. Ferrer para el Distrito Sur de Florida y John Morton, Director del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de los EE.UU. [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)]. En la lectura de la sentencia, el Juez Zloch también revocó la ciudadanía de Jordàn.
Según el expediente judicial, aproximadamente en noviembre de 1982, un grupo guerrillero guatemalteco tendió una emboscada a un convoy militar cerca de Dos Erres, Guatemala, mató a soldados y tomó una serie de rifles. Como respuesta, una patrulla de aproximadamente 20 soldados de las fuerzas especiales guatemaltecas, conocidos como "Kaibiles", fue enviada en diciembre de 1982 al pueblo de Dos Erres en busca de los rifles robados y para encontrar a sospechosos de ser guerrilleros. De acuerdo con el expediente judicial, el 7 de diciembre de 1982 Jordàn y la patrulla especial ingresaron a Dos Erres con el apoyo de aproximadamente 40 Kaibiles adicionales, quienes crearon un perímetro alrededor del pueblo para que nadie pudiera escapar. Los miembros de la patrulla especial allanaron todas las casas en búsqueda de las armas que faltan, obligaron a los habitantes a dejar sus casas, y separaron a las mujeres y los niños de los hombres.
Los miembros de la patrulla especial luego pasaron a sistemáticamente asesinar a hombres, mujeres y niños en Dos Erres al, entre otras cosas, golpearlos en la cabeza con un martillo y luego arrojarlos en el pozo de agua del pueblo, según lo que indica el expediente judicial. Miembros de la patrulla especial también violaron a muchas de las mujeres y niñas en Dos Erres antes de matarlas. Se exhumaron, más tarde, alrededor de 162 esqueletos del pozo de la villa.
En su audiencia de declaración de culpabilidad, Jordàn admitió que había sido un Kaibil en las fuerzas armadas guatemaltecas y que había participado en la masacre de Dos Erres. Jordàn también admitió que la primera persona que mató en Dos Erres fue un bebé, a quien asesinó al arrojarlo al pozo de agua.
"Gilberto Jordàn obtuvo el privilegio de la ciudadanía estadounidense mintiendo sobre su servicio militar anterior y ocultando su participación brutal y homicida en la masacre de Dos Erres", dijo el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Breuer. "En los últimos 30 años, el Departamento de Justicia ha luchado para asegurar que los violadores de los derechos humanos que escapan a los Estados Unidos sean hallados, que se pruebe su acciones pasadas reprochables y que se les quite su ciudadanía estadounidense obtenida indebidamente. Este caso y otros casos similares demuestran que estos delincuentes no podrán hacer su hogar en este país".
"En el Distrito Sur de Florida viven muchos inmigrantes trabajadores que han escapado la persecución política", dijo el Fiscal Federal Wifredo A. Ferrer. "La sentencia de hoy y la decisión del juez de imponer la sentencia legal máxima dejan en claro que los responsables de abusos a los derechos humanos no se pueden esconder entre nosotros y confundirse entre sus víctimas, sino que serán encontrados, enjuiciados y castigados".
El Director del ICE John Morton dijo, "La sentencia de hoy les envía un mensaje a los violadores de los derechos humanos en todo el mundo. No ignoraremos a los responsables de delitos tan atroces. Los agentes de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional del ICE seguirán trabajando sin tregua para garantizar que los violadores de los derechos humanos no puedan encontrar refugio en los Estados Unidos".
De acuerdo con el expediente judicial, cuando Jordàn presentó su solicitud de ciudadanía estadounidense en septiembre de 1996, negó falsamente haber sido miembro de las fuerzas armadas o haber cometido algún delito por el cual no había sido arrestado. En julio de 1999, cuando Jordàn fue entrevistado por un examinador de naturalización en conexión con su solicitud de naturalización, declaró falsamente bajo juramento que las respuestas que había proporcionado en su solicitud eran verdaderas y correctas. Jordàn recibió la ciudadanía estadounidense el 25 de agosto de 1999.
Estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso los Abogados Litigantes Hillary Davidson y Brian Skaret de la Sección de Derechos Humanos y Enjuiciamientos Especiales de la División Criminal, y la Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Marie Villafaña del Distrito Sur de Florida. El caso fue investigado por Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional del ICE en West Palm Beach, Fla. y la Unidad de Violadores de Derechos Humanos y Delitos de Guerra del ICE y la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales del ICE. La Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales de la División Criminal brindó asistencia en este caso.
Sales Agent for A&O Entities in Richmond Pleads Guilty to Misleading InvestorsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tomme Bromseth, 68, of Blackstone, Va., pleaded guilty today to mail fraud and structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements in conjunction with his role as a sales agent for A&O Life Funds and various related A&O entities.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal .
Bromseth waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a criminal information alleging one count of mail fraud and and one count of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. Bromseth faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the mail fraud charge and a maximum term of five years in prison for the structuring charge.
According to court documents, Bromseth admitted to making misrepresentations about the risks associated with A&O investments, as well as his qualifications to sell such investments. Bromseth sold over $3 million in A&O products to 15 investors between July 2006 and November 2007.
This continuing investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service and FBI, with significant assistance from the Texas State Securities Board. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. Dry and Jessica Aber Brumberg from the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Albert B. Stieglitz Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
The investigation has been coordinated by the Virginia Financial and Securities Fraud Task Force, an unprecedented partnership between criminal investigators and civil regulators to investigate and prosecute complex financial fraud cases in the nation and in Virginia. The task force is an investigative arm of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, an interagency national task force.
President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Residente de California sentenciado a 72 meses de prisión por lavar $2.5 millones de dólares de ganancias ilegales de la venta de información robada de tarjetas de créditoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – César Carranza, 38, un residente de Long Beach, Calif., fue sentenciado hoy a 72 meses de prisión por su papel en el lavado de $2.5 millones de dólares de ganancias derivadas de diversos ardides de robo de información de tarjetas de crédito, anunciaron el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal y la Fiscal Federal Loretta E. Lynch del Distrito Este de Nueva York.
Carranza fue sentenciado en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Brooklyn, N.Y. por el Juez Federal de Distrito Leo Glasser. Carranza se declaró culpable el 3 de diciembre de 2009 de un cargo de conspirar para lavar ganancias de actividades ilegales.
Según el expediente judicial, Carranza, usando el apodo en línea "uBuyWeRush", participó en la conspiración de lavado de dinero desde Long Beach entre abril de 2004 y noviembre de 2006 y recibió depósitos en efectivo de "tarjeteros": delincuentes responsables de fraude con tarjetas de crédito que usan información robada de tarjetas de crédito. Carranza empleó diversos métodos para lavar ganancias de los ardides ilegales, entre ellos actuar de cambiador de divisas para un sistema de pago en línea conocido como e-Gold. E-Gold Ltd. fue condenada previamente en julio de 2008 de conspirar para realizar lavado de dinero y tres de sus directores fueron condenados por operar una empresa de transmisión de dinero sin licencia.
Estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso el Abogado Litigante Jaikumar Ramaswamy de la Sección de Delitos de Informática y Propiedad Intelectual de la División Criminal y el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar William Campos de la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Este de Nueva York. Este caso fue investigado por la Fuerza de Tarea de Delitos Electrónicos del Servicio Secreto de los EE.UU. en Nueva York.
Massachusetts Couple Sentenced to Prison for Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Frederick Allen and Kimberlee Allen, both of Harwich, Mass., were sentenced to three years in prison for conspiracy, tax evasion and failure to file tax returns, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. A jury convicted the couple on April 21, 2010.
At trial the government presented evidence that proved that Frederick and Kimberlee Allen, who own a business on Cape Cod that specialized in nutritional and vitamin consulting, did not submit tax returns to the IRS since tax year 1999. The evidence was that the two conspired to conceal their assets and income from the IRS.
Among other acts, the government proved that the Allens concealed their income and assets from the IRS by receiving unreported wages, putting their residence in a trust, assigning their wages to third parties and using cash. Despite working in 1998 and 1999, Kimberlee Allen as a nurse practitioner and Frederick Allen as office administrator at various medical and nutrition offices on the Cape, the two filed income tax returns with the IRS that reported zero income and zero taxes due. From 2000 on, the IRS tried to obtain the outstanding taxes due and owing from the Allens. Instead of paying what they owed, the Allens refused to file income tax returns and engaged in a pattern of conduct intended to obstruct the IRS and conceal their assets and income from the IRS.
“Prosecuting individuals who intentionally conceal income and evade taxes is a vital element in maintaining public confidence in our tax system,” said William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. “Tax evasion is not a victimless crime. Honest, hardworking Americans pay the price when others choose to evade their tax obligations.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General John DiCicco commended the investigative efforts of IRS Criminal Investigation and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, as well as Tax Division Trial Attorneys Karen Kelly and Michelle Petersen, who prosecuted the case.
More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax/.
Judy A. Robbins Appointed U.S. Trustee for Southern and Western TexasRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Judy A. Robbins has been appointed by Attorney General Eric Holder as U.S. Trustee for southern and western Texas (Region 7) and will assume her duties on September 27, 2010, the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees announced today. She replaces Charles F. McVay, the U.S. Trustee for Colorado, Utah and Wyoming (Region 19), who has also served as U.S. Trustee for Region 7.
Ms. Robbins has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Civil Division, in the Southern District of Texas since 1992, focusing on bankruptcy, civil fraud, commercial litigation and employment discrimination. In 2007, Ms. Robbins received the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Awards, Silver Medal, and the EPA’s Notable Achievement Award, Superfund Team of the Year, for her work on a major case involving environmental remediation. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she served as a bankruptcy attorney for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in Houston. She has also served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Trustee’s office in Houston, an estate administrator for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and a pro se law clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Ms. Robbins received her law degree from the University of Houston College of Law and her undergraduate degree cum laude from the University of Houston.
The U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. The USTP has 21 regions and 95 field offices. Region 7 is headquartered in Houston with additional offices in Austin, Corpus Christi and San Antonio, Texas.
Contact:Jane Limprecht, Public Information Officer
Executive Office for U.S. Trustees
(202) 305-7411Former Nexus Technologies Inc. Employees and Partner Sentenced for Roles in Foreign Bribery Scheme Involving Vietnamese OfficialsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Three former employees and a partner of Nexus Technologies Inc. (Nexus), a Philadelphia-based company, were sentenced late yesterday for their roles in a conspiracy to bribe officials of the Vietnamese government in exchange for lucrative contracts to supply equipment and technology to Vietnamese government agencies, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The president and owner of the company, Nam Nguyen, was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to serve two years of supervised release following the prison term. His sibling, An Nguyen, was sentenced to nine months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. His other sibling, Kim Nguyen, was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. Joseph Lukas, a former partner with Nexus, also was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
Nexus; Nam Nguyen, 54, of Houston and Vietnam; Kim Nguyen, 41, of Philadelphia; and An Nguyen, 34, of Philadelphia, were charged in a superseding indictment on Oct. 30, 2009, with conspiracy, violations of the FCPA, violations of the Travel Act in connection with commercial bribes, and money laundering. Nexus pleaded guilty on March 16, 2010, to all the charges filed against the company in the superseding indictment, and agreed to cease operations and dissolve.
Nam and An Nguyen pleaded guilty on March 16, 2010, to conspiracy, substantive FCPA violations, violating the Travel Act and money laundering. Kim Nguyen pleaded guilty on March 16, 2010, to conspiracy, substantive FCPA violations and money laundering. Lukas pleaded guilty on June 29, 2009, to conspiracy and to violating the FCPA.
According to court documents, Nexus was a privately-owned export company that identified U.S. vendors for contracts opened for bid by the Vietnamese government and other companies operating in Vietnam to purchase a wide variety of equipment and technology, including underwater mapping equipment, bomb containment equipment, helicopter parts, chemical detectors, satellite communication parts and air tracking systems. Nam Nguyen negotiated the contracts and bribes with the Vietnamese government agencies and employees. Kim Nguyen, vice president of the company, oversaw the U.S. operations and handled finances. An Nguyen identified U.S. vendors to supply the goods needed to fulfill the contracts.
In connection with the guilty pleas, Nexus and the Nguyens admitted that from 1999 to 2008 they agreed to pay, and knowingly paid, bribes to Vietnamese government officials in exchange for contracts with the agencies and companies for which the bribe recipients worked. The bribes were falsely described as "commissions" in the company’s records. In pleading guilty, the corporation, Nexus, also acknowledged that it operated primarily through criminal means and agreed to cease operations.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kathleen M Hamann of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The case was investigated by the Philadelphia, Newark, N.J., and Houston field offices of the FBI and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement.
The Justice Department acknowledges and expresses its appreciation for the assistance provided by the authorities of the Independent Commission Against Corruption of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Former Indianapolis City-County Councilman Charged with Soliciting a Bribe and Attempted ExtortionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Former Indianapolis and Marion County, Ind., City-County Councilman Lincoln Plowman has been charged with attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer for the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison of the Southern District of Indiana.
The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Indiana, alleges that between Aug. 11, 2009, and Dec. 22, 2009, while a member of the City-County Council, Plowman solicited an undercover FBI agent to pay $5,000 in cash and to make a $1,000 campaign contribution for Plowman’s benefit. In exchange for the payments, Plowman allegedly would use his official actions and influence to facilitate the opening of a strip club in Indianapolis. According to the indictment, Plowman was a member of the Metropolitan Development Committee of the City-County Council. He was also a major with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
Plowman faces a maximum penalty on the extortion charge of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He faces a maximum penalty on the bribery charge of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An initial hearing will be scheduled before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Indiana.
An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Richard C. Pilger of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe H. Vaughn. The case is being investigated by the FBI.
Former Guatemalan Special Forces Soldier Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Making False Statements on Naturalization Forms Regarding 1982 Massacre of Guatemalan VillagersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Gilberto Jordan, 54, a former Guatemalan special forces soldier, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch in the Southern District of Florida to 10 years in prison for unlawfully procuring his U.S. citizenship by lying about his participation in a 1982 massacre at a Guatemalan village known as Dos Erres, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida and Director John Morton of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At sentencing, Judge Zloch also revoked Jordan’s citizenship.
According to court documents, in approximately November 1982, a Guatemalan guerrilla group ambushed a military convoy near Dos Erres, Guatemala, killing soldiers and taking a number of rifles. In response, a patrol of approximately 20 Guatemalan special forces soldiers, known as "Kaibiles," including Jordan, was deployed in December 1982 to the village of Dos Erres to search for the stolen rifles and find suspected guerrillas. According to court documents, on Dec. 7, 1982, Jordan and the special patrol entered Dos Erres with the support of approximately 40 additional Kaibiles, who created a security perimeter around the village so that no one could escape. The members of the special patrol searched all of the houses for the missing weapons, forced the villagers from their homes, and separated the women and children from the men.
Members of the special patrol then proceeded to systematically kill the men, women and children at Dos Erres by, among other methods, hitting them in the head with a sledgehammer and then pushing them into the village well, according to information contained in court documents. Members of the special patrol also forcibly raped many of the women and girls at Dos Erres before killing them. Approximately 162 skeletal remains were later exhumed from the village well.
At his plea hearing, Jordan admitted that he had been a Kaibil in the Guatemalan military who participated in the massacre at Dos Erres. Jordan also admitted that the first person he killed at Dos Erres was a baby, whom Jordan murdered by throwing in the well.
"Gilberto Jordan obtained the privilege of U.S. citizenship by lying about his prior military service and concealing his brutal, murderous participation in the Dos Erres massacre," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "Over the last 30 years, the Department of Justice has strived to ensure that human rights violators who flee to the United States are found, that their reprehensible past actions are proved, and that they are stripped of their ill-gotten U.S. citizenship. This case and others like it demonstrate that such perpetrators will not be allowed to make this country their home."
"The Southern District of Florida is home to many hardworking immigrants who have fled political persecution," said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer. "Today’s sentencing and the judge’s decision to impose the statutory maximum sentence make clear that perpetrators of human rights abuses cannot hide among us and blend in with their victims. They will be found, prosecuted, and punished."
ICE Director John Morton said, "Today’s sentence sends a message to those human rights violators worldwide. We will not turn a blind eye on the perpetrators of such egregious crimes. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations agents will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that human rights violators cannot seek safe haven in the United States."
According to court documents, when Jordan applied to become a U.S. citizen in September 1996, he falsely denied that he had ever served in the military or committed any crimes for which he had not been arrested. In July 1999, when Jordan was interviewed by a naturalization examiner in connection with his naturalization application, he falsely swore under oath that the answers he had provided earlier on his application were true and correct. Jordan was sworn in as a U.S. citizen on Aug. 25, 1999.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Hillary Davidson and Brian Skaret of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, and by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Marie Villafaña of the Southern District of Florida. The case was investigated by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in West Palm Beach, Fla., and ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit and ICE’s Office of International Affairs. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance in this matter.
California Resident Sentenced to 72 Months in Prison for Laundering $2.5 Million in Illegal Proceeds from Sale of Stolen Credit Card InformationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Cesar Carranza, 38, a resident of Long Beach, Calif., was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for his role in laundering $2.5 million dollars in proceeds derived from several stolen credit card information schemes, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch for the Eastern District of New York.
Carranza was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., by U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser. Carranza pleaded guilty on Dec. 3, 2009, to one count of conspiring to launder proceeds of unlawful activity.
According to court documents, Carranza, using the online nickname "uBuyWeRush," participated in the money laundering conspiracy from Long Beach, between April 2004 to November 2006, and received cash deposits from "carders"– criminals responsible for engaging in credit card fraud using stolen credit card information. Carranza used a variety of methods to launder proceeds of the illegal schemes, including acting as a money exchanger for an online payment system known as e-Gold. E-Gold Ltd., was previously convicted in July 2008 of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, and three of its directors were convicted of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jaikumar Ramaswamy of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Campos of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. This case was investigated by the Electronic Crimes Task Force of the U.S. Secret Service in New York.
American Samoa Department of Education Official Arrested for Alleged Witness Tampering, Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Paul Solofa, the director of the school lunch program for the government of the U.S. Territory of American Samoa, has been arrested on charges of witness tampering and obstruction of justice, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
Solofa, 49, a resident of American Samoa, is charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on Sept. 10, 2010, and unsealed today. The indictment charges Solofa with one count of witness tampering and one count of obstruction of justice. Solofa was arrested yesterday and is expected to make his initial appearance tomorrow before Magistrate Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.
According to the indictment, in approximately late 2007 and early 2008, federal authorities began conducting an investigation into allegations of bribes and kickbacks paid by vendors to officials of the American Samoa Government in connection with the government’s purchase of school bus parts and services.
According to the indictment, Solofa met on April 3, 2009, with a school bus parts vendor who told Solofa that the FBI was interested in interviewing the vendor regarding the bus parts investigation. Solofa, in a recorded meeting according to the indictment, allegedly told the vendor that, “They cannot do anything with cash. Nothing. They cannot do anything with cash. They cannot track down you on cash. Because even if you say you gave me cash I'll tell them ‘no.’ They cannot take your word on cash. Because that's hearsay. So you know, but the best thing for you to do is ‘nope, I never give them any cash, I never’ – because that will open up the whole operation . . . You get what I am saying. All you do is just tell them ‘no, yes, no, yes,’ period.”
In addition, according to the indictment, Solofa met on April 14, 2009, with the same bus parts vendor, who told Solofa that a grand jury subpoena compelling production of specific documents and records, some of which related to Solofa, would be issued shortly. After discussing how to respond, Solofa allegedly told the vendor that, as for documents he did not want to produce, “ [t]he only way to do it with those copies is burn it. That way, they won’t see it, and you won’t worry that they might see it, you know . . . Just burn it, and nobody has a copy.”
Solofa faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the witness tampering charge and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the obstruction of justice charge.
An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Timothy J. Kelly and Kathryn H. Albrecht of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by the FBI; the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Education; and the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Vice President of Florida Corporation Pleads Guilty to 16 Counts of Transporting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jeffrey Robert Libman, the vice president and co-director of Webe Web Corporation, a Florida corporation, pleaded guilty today to 16 counts of transporting child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama.
Libman, 43, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge C. Lynwood Smith in the Northern District of Alabama. Libman faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison per count.
According to court documents, Webe Web was the registered owner of the website “ www.childsupermodels.com,” which purported to be a child modeling website that promoted models 7- through 16-years old and their photographers. It contained hyperlinks to websites containing photographs of individual “child super models” featuring minor female children in various poses and wardrobes. According to court documents, Libman was responsible for building and maintaining these websites.
Libman admitted that the websites pertaining to 16 different children contained illegal images of child pornography. In some of the photos, the victims, all girls aged 8 to 15, were wearing underwear, lingerie, bathing suits and other revealing outfits, and were posed in positions that constituted child pornography.
According to court documents, viewers of the websites could preview a certain number of images for free on the website homepage. If viewers wanted to join the website to access additional photographs, they could purchase a 30-day membership for approximately $30 per month. Libman admitted that the websites depicting the 16 victims generated approximately $1 million in revenue.
Libman also admitted that Webe Web promoted subscriptions to these individual sites through its free advertising website known as Babble Club. On Babble Club’s website, members could receive a free sample of images of the children. According to court documents, the website encouraged the purchase of subscriptions to the individual websites of the children, and hosted discussion boards and groups which were devoted to each individual website. Babble Club members made postings to the discussion boards, which included comments on specific images they liked, the type of clothing and poses they liked, and poetry written to the photographed child. Certain members posted expressions of fondness and devotion for a photographed child.
In April 2010, Webe Web pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography and 16 counts of transporting child pornography. The president and co-director of Webe Web, Marc Evan Greenberg, also pleaded guilty in April 2010 to one count of money laundering based on his processing of the proceeds generated by Webe Web through its distribution of images of child pornography. According to its plea agreement, Webe Web will forfeit $1 million and 19 internet domain names.
According to court documents, the photographs of the 16 victims in this case were taken by Jeff Pierson, a former photographer based in the Birmingham, Ala., area. Pierson pleaded guilty in January 2007 to conspiracy to transport child pornography and transportation of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17, 2010.
According to his plea agreement, Libman was charged in an unrelated case in the Southern District of Florida. Libman pleaded guilty in September 2009 to one count of receipt of child pornography and was sentenced in November 2009 to 87 months in prison.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Phillips and Daniel J. Fortune of the Northern District of Alabama, and Assistant Deputy Chief Alexandra Gelber of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).
This case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The Document and Media Exploitation Branch of the National Drug Intelligence Center provided assistance in ascertaining the revenue flow of this criminal enterprise to support analysis of and to identify the ill gotten gains of the defendants.
Two Intermediaries Indicted for Their Alleged Participation in Scheme to Bribe Officials at State-owned Electrical Utility in MexicoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two intermediaries were indicted for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to pay and launder bribes to Mexican government officials at the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), a state-owned utility company, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte for the Central District of California; Steven M. Martinez, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Leslie DeMarco, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation’s (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office.
Enrique Faustino Aguilar Noriega, 56, of Cuernavaca, Mexico, was charged in a seven-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 2010, with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), FCPA violations, money laundering conspiracy and money laundering. Angela Maria Gomez Aguilar, 55, of Cuernavaca, was charged with money laundering conspiracy and money laundering.
According to the indictment, CFE is responsible for supplying electricity in Mexico and contracts with Mexican and foreign companies for goods and services to help supply electricity services to its customers.
The indictment alleges that Enrique and Angela Aguilar were directors of Grupo Internacional de Asesores S.A. (Grupo), which purported to provide sales representation services for companies doing business with CFE. According to the indictment, Grupo was hired by an Azusa, Calif.,-based company to serve as its sales representative in Mexico and to obtain contracts for it from CFE. Grupo received a percentage of the revenue the Azusa-based company realized from its contracts with CFE. The Azusa-based company manufactured emergency restoration systems and other equipment used by electrical utility companies. According to the indictment, many of the company’s clients were foreign, state-owned utilities, including CFE, which was one of the company’s most significant customers.
From approximately February 2002 until March 2009, Enrique Aguilar and his co-conspirators allegedly orchestrated a scheme in which Enrique Aguilar was paid a 30 percent commission on all the goods and services the Azusa-based company sold to CFE, even though this was a significantly higher commission than previous sales representatives for the company had received. The indictment alleges that Enrique Aguilar’s co-conspirators understood that all or part of the 30 percent commission would be used to pay bribes to Mexican officials in exchange for CFE awarding contracts to the Azusa-based company. The costs of goods and services sold to CFE allegedly were increased by 30 percent to ensure that the added cost of paying Enrique Aguilar was absorbed by CFE and not the Azusa-based company.
Enrique Aguilar allegedly caused fraudulent invoices to be submitted from Grupo to the Azusa-based company for 30 percent of the contract price. According to the indictment, a co-conspirator would then wire the money requested in the fraudulent invoices into Grupo’s brokerage account, allegedly knowing that the invoices were fraudulent and the funds were being used as bribes.
Enrique and Angela Aguilar allegedly then laundered the money in the Grupo brokerage account to make concealed payments for the benefit of CFE officials. According to the indictment, Enrique and Angela Aguilar purchased a yacht for approximately $1.8 million and a Ferrari for $297,500 for a CFE official. According to the indictment, Enrique and Angela Aguilar also paid more than $170,000 worth of American Express bills for a CFE official and sent approximately $600,000 to relatives of a CFE official.
Angela Aguilar was arrested on Aug. 10, 2010, on a criminal complaint when she travelled to Houston from Mexico. She was ordered detained and removed to the Central District of California, where she remains in custody.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The FCPA conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost. Each of the four FCPA counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $100,000 or twice the value gained or lost. The conspiracy and substantive money laundering counts each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. The indictment also gives notice of criminal forfeiture.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Nicola J. Mrazek of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas M. Miller in the Central District of California. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and the IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office, with the assistance of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General. Significant assistance was provided by Trial Attorney Christopher Dana of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
Reclutadores de pacientes de servicios médicos a domicilio condenados por conspiraciónRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Antonio Ochoa, un reclutador de pacientes de agencias de salud a domicilio de Miami, fue condenado hoy por un jurado federal en Miami de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y tres cargos de solicitar y recibir comisiones ilegales y sobornos, anunciaron el Departamento de Justicia y el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos [Health and Human Services (HHS)].
Según pruebas presentadas en el juicio, Ochoa era un reclutador de pacientes y asistente de servicios médicos a domicilio de ABC Home Health Inc. y Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc. ABC y Florida Home Health alegaban brindar servicios de terapia física y servicios médicos a domicilio a beneficiarios de Medicare. Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio determinaron que Ochoa solicitó y recibió decenas de miles de dólares en cheques y pagos en efectivo como comisiones ilegales y sobornos a cambio de referir beneficiarios de Medicare a ABC y Florida Home Health.
Según pruebas y testimonios presentados en el juicio, Ochoa y su codemandado Eduardo Romero actuaban como asociados en el ardid de reclutamiento y recibían comisiones ilegales y sobornos de aproximadamente $1,300 dólares por beneficiario de Medicare de los propietarios de ABC y Florida Home Health. Las agencias de servicios médicos a domicilio luego le facturaban al programa Medicare a nombre de los beneficiarios de Medicare que Ochoa y Romeo reclutaban. Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio determinaron que ABC y Florida Home Health facturaban servicios médicamente innecesarios al programa Medicare que a menudo nunca se brindaban, como visitas de enfermería dos veces por día para inyecciones de insulina para diabéticos, visitas de auxiliares médicos y terapia para los beneficiarios. Romero se declaró culpable de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y recibir comisiones ilegales en julio de 2010 y testificó en el juicio.
Según los testimonios presentados en el juicio, Ochoa y Romero también le solicitaron al codemandado Francisco Portillo, un enfermero que testificó en el juicio, que les pagara comisiones ilegales y sobornos para asegurarse de que Portillo fuera designado por ABC y Florida Home Health como enfermero para los beneficiarios que ellos reclutaban. Las pruebas mostraron que Portillo recibió un pago por parte de las agencias por cada paciente que se le asignó. Portillo testificó que falsificaba notas de enfermería para que pareciera que los pacientes reclutados necesitaban y calificaban para los servicios médicos a domicilio, aunque no era así, y en muchos casos Portillo ni siquiera brindó los servicios. Portillo, que se declaró culpable de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y un cargo de realizar declaraciones falsas en expedientes de pacientes, también testificó que uno de los pacientes reclutados por Ochoa y Romero ni siquiera era un diabético dependiente de insulina.
Según las pruebas presentadas durante el juicio, Ochoa sabía que los pacientes no calificaban para recibir los servicios ni los necesitaban. Portillo testificó que los expedientes de los pacientes beneficiarios de Medicare reclutados por Ochoa eran falsificados para que pareciera que calificaban para servicios médicos a domicilio y terapia de manera tal que se pudieran facturar a Medicare.
En la emisión de la sentencia, Ochoa enfrenta un máximo de 10 años de prisión por el cargo de conspiración para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y cinco años de prisión por cada uno de los tres cargos de comisiones ilegales.
En el caso también se acusó al Dr. Fred Dweck; Yudel Cayro y Arturo Fonseca, propietarios de Courtesy Medical Group, donde trabajaba el Dr. Dweck; los enfermeros Isis Torres, Francisco Portillo, Teresita Leal, Armando Sànchez, Sheillah Rotta, Silvio Ruiz, Lissbet Díaz, Marlenys Fernàndez, Alain Fernàndez; y el beneficiario de Medicare William Madrigal.
El Dr. Dweck admitió emitir recetas, planes de cuidados y certificados médicos para servicios innecesarios de servicios médicos a domicilio y terapia para más de 848 beneficiarios de Medicare. Como resultado de los referidos del Dr. Dweck, de los cuales 344 fueron a través de Courtesy Clinic, diversas agencias de servicios médicos a domicilio del área de Miami realizaron reclamos falsos y fraudulentos al programa Medicare por un valor superior a los $37 millones de dólares. El Dr. Dweck se declaró culpable de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y un cargo de realizar declaraciones falsas en expedientes de pacientes; Cayro se declaró culpable de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos; Fonseca se declaró culpable de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y varios cargos de recibir comisiones ilegales; y cada uno de los enfermeros se declaró culpable de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y un cargo de realizar declaraciones falsas en expedientes de pacientes. Cada uno de los demandados en este caso será sentenciado ante el Juez Federal de Distrito Adalberto Jordan en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Miami más adelante este año.
La condena fue anunciada por el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal; el Fiscal Federal Wifredo A. Ferrer del Distrito Sur de Florida; John V. Gillies, Agente Especial a Cargo de la Oficina Local de Miami del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]; y el Agente Especial a Cargo Christopher Dennis de la Oficina de Investigaciones de Miami de la Oficina del Inspector General [Office of the Inspector General (OIG)] del HHS.
Estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso los Abogados Litigantes N. Nathan Dimock, Sam Sheldon y Henry Van Dyck de la Sección de Fraude de la División Criminal, con asistencia de la Fiscalía Federal de Miami. Este caso fue investigado por el FBI y la HHS-OIG, y fue entablado como parte de la Fuerza de Ataque de Fraude contra Medicare.
Desde su creación en marzo de 2007, las operaciones de la Fuerza de Ataque de Fraude contra Medicare en siete distritos lograron la acusación formal de 810 personas que, en conjunto, facturaron fraudulentamente al programa Medicare más de $1.85 billones de dólares. Además, los Centros para Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid del HHS, en trabajo conjunto con la HHS-OIG, están tomando medidas para lograr una mayor responsabilización y una menor presencia de proveedores fraudulentos.
Para obtener más información sobre el Equipo de Acción, Prevención y Control de Fraude de Servicios Médicos [Healthcare Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT)], visite: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov
Miami Home Health Patient Recruiter Convicted of ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Antonio Ochoa, a patient recruiter for Miami home health agencies, was convicted today by a federal jury in Miami of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and of three counts of soliciting and receiving kickbacks and bribes, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).
According to evidence at trial, Ochoa was a patient recruiter and home health aide for ABC Home Health Inc. and Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc. ABC and Florida Home Health purported to provide physical therapy and home health services to Medicare beneficiaries. Evidence at trial established that Ochoa solicited and received tens of thousands of dollars in checks and cash payments as kickbacks and bribes in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to ABC and Florida Home Health.
According to evidence and testimony presented at trial, Ochoa and his co-defendant Eduardo Romeo acted as partners in the recruiting scheme and received kickbacks and bribes of approximately $1300 per Medicare beneficiary from the owners of ABC and Florida Home Health. The home health agencies then billed the Medicare program on behalf of the Medicare beneficiaries Ochoa and Romeo recruited. Evidence at trial established that ABC and Florida Home Health billed the Medicare program for services that were medically unnecessary and often never provided, such as twice daily nursing visits for diabetic insulin injections, home health aide visits and therapy for the beneficiaries. Romero pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and kickback charges in July 2010. He testified at trial.
According to trial testimony, Ochoa and Romero would also solicit their co-defendant Francisco Portillo, a nurse who testified at trial, to pay them kickbacks and bribes in return for ensuring that Portillo would be assigned by ABC and Florida Home Health as the nurse for the beneficiaries they recruited. Evidence showed that Portillo was paid by the agencies for each patient to which he was assigned. Portillo testified that he would falsify nursing notes to make it appear that the recruited patients needed and qualified for the home health services, even though they did not, and in many instances Portillo did not even provide the services. Portillo, who pleaded guilty one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of making false statements in patient files, also testified that one of the patients recruited by Ochoa and Romero wasn’t even an insulin-dependant diabetic.
According to evidence at trial, Ochoa knew that the patients did not qualify for and did not need the services. Portillo testified that the patient files for the beneficiaries Ochoa recruited were falsified to make it appear that they qualified for home health care and therapy services and so that the Medicare program could be billed for the services.
At sentencing, Ochoa faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the conspiracy to commit health care fraud count, and five years in prison as to each of the three kickback counts.
Also charged in the case were Dr. Fred Dweck; Yudel Cayro and Arturo Fonseca, owners of Courtesy Medical Group, where Dr. Dweck worked; nurses Isis Torres, Francisco Portillo, Teresita Leal, Armando Sanchez, Sheillah Rotta, Silvio Ruiz, Lissbet Diaz, Marlenys Fernandez, Alain Fernandez; and Medicare beneficiary William Madrigal.
Dr. Dweck admitted to issuing prescriptions, plans of care and medical certifications for unnecessary home health care and therapy services for over 848 Medicare beneficiaries. As a result of Dr. Dweck’s referrals, of which approximately 344 were through Courtesy Clinic, various Miami-area home health agencies billed the Medicare program for more than $37 million in false and fraudulent claims. Dr. Dweck pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of making false statements in patients files; Cayro pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; Fonseca pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and several counts of receiving kickbacks; and each of the nurses pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of making false statements in patient files. Each of the defendants in the case will be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan in U.S. District Court in Miami later this year.
The conviction was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Miami field office; and Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Dennis of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys N. Nathan Dimock, Sam Sheldon and Henry Van Dyck of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, with assistance of the Miami U.S. Attorney’s office. This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.
Since their inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 810 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $1.85 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov
Louisiana Guiding and Outfitting Company Owner Charged for Illegally Hunting AlligatorsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The owner of a guiding and outfitting company was charged today in a three count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Baton Rouge, La., for illegally hunting a threatened species of alligator, the Justice Department announced.
The indictment charges Gregory K. Dupont, 36, of Plaquemine, La., with three violations of the Lacey Act, the federal wildlife statute that makes it illegal to transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase illegally taken wildlife.According to the indictment, Dupont, the owner of Louisiana Hunters Inc. and a licensed alligator hunter, took clients on sport alligator hunts. The indictment alleges three instances in 2005 and 2006 that Dupont, while engaged in conduct involving the sale and purchase of wildlife, transported, sold, received and acquired American alligators, knowing that the wildlife was taken, possessed, transported and sold in violation of the laws and regulations of the United States.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the individual charged is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
In addition to being listed as a threatened species on the United States’ list of Threatened and Endangered Species, the American alligator also is listed as a crocodilian species on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). To better regulate trade in crocodilian species, the parties to CITES agreed to a program of requiring a uniquely numbered tag to be inserted into the skin of each animal immediately after it is killed. The tag is to remain with the skin as it travels in interstate or international commerce until it is manufactured into a final consumer product. The Secretary of the Interior issued special rules for American alligators that implement the CITES tagging program and regulate the harvest of alligators within the United States.
The maximum penalty for each count of the indictment is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Justice Department Reaches Agreement to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in AlaskaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Alaska officials to help ensure that military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election. The agreement was necessary to ensure Alaska’s compliance with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act).
The agreement provides Alaska will expedite the candidate certification procedures for its Aug. 24, 2010, primary election so that it is able to send out an official absentee ballot to all military service members and other U.S. citizens living overseas no later than Sept. 18, 2010. This date for mailing, or faxing if the voter requests, the official ballot is 45 days in advance of the federal general election, thus ensuring that eligible military and overseas voters have sufficient time to receive, cast and return their ballots and to have their votes counted.
"Our uniformed service members and other overseas citizens deserve a meaningful opportunity to participate in the elections of our nation’s leaders," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "I am extremely pleased that Alaska’s officials worked quickly and cooperatively with the department and agreed to measures that will ensure the state’s military and overseas voters, many of whom are members of our armed forces and their families bravely serving our country around the world, will have the opportunity to have their votes counted in the upcoming election."
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) requires states to allow uniformed service voters (serving both overseas and within the United States) and overseas citizens to register to vote and to vote absentee for all elections for federal office. In 2009, Congress enacted the MOVE Act, which made broad amendments to UOCAVA. Among those changes was a requirement that states transmit absentee ballots to voters covered under UOCAVA no later than 45 days before federal elections. Under the new law, states can apply to the Department of Defense for a hardship waiver of this requirement for a particular Federal election if the state’s primary election date prohibited it from sending ballots by the 45th day before the election; if a legal contest causes a delay in generating ballots; or if the state’ s constitution prohibits compliance. To obtain a waiver, states must 1) establish that one or more of these circumstances creates an undue hardship, and 2) present a comprehensive plan that provides UOCAVA voters sufficient time to receive and submit marked absentee ballots in time to have them counted in that election. Waiver determinations are made by the Department of Defense, after consulting with the Department of Justice.
Alaska sought a hardship waiver on grounds that its Aug, 24, 2010, primary election date prohibited it from complying with the 45-day deadline specified by the MOVE Act. On Aug. 27, 2010, the Department of Defense denied Alaska’s request, finding that although the state had shown an undue hardship for the Nov. 2, 2010 election, its proposed comprehensive plan did not afford sufficient time for UOCAVA voters to receive and submit absentee ballots in time to have them counted. Immediately following denial of the waiver application, the Department of Justice advised Alaska officials that the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights had authorized litigation to enforce UOCAVA. Discussions with the state were initiated to resolve the matter, which led to the agreement announced today.
More information about the UOCAVA and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice web site at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/activ_uoc.htm. Complaints may be reported to the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.
Justice Department Awards $127 Million to Improve Tribal Public Safety and Criminal JusticeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Hundreds of American Indian and Alaskan Native communities will receive almost $127 million to enhance law enforcement, bolster justice systems, prevent youth substance abuse, serve sexual assault and elder victims, and support other efforts to combat crime. These grants are the first under the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS), a new effort combining 10 different Department of Justice grant programs into a single solicitation.
Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli announced the CTAS awards today at the National Museum of the American Indian. Perrelli noted that Attorney General Holder and other Department of Justice leadership held tribal listening sessions last year. The department developed CTAS in response to views shared at these sessions, Tribal consultation events and other feedback from tribal leaders.
“Today, we take another major step toward true nation-to-nation collaboration,” said Perrelli. “CTAS is not only a more streamlined grant-making process, it is part of the department’s broader strategy of increased engagement with tribal communities across a broad range of areas.”
CTAS includes most of the tribal programs from the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The programs were listed as 10 purpose areas. In previous years, tribes seeking funding for more than one of these purposes would need to submit multiple grant applications. With CTAS, tribes were able to submit a single application while selecting multiple purpose areas, ranging from juvenile justice to violence against women.
“This approach not only saves time and resources, but it also allows tribes and the Department to gain a better understanding of overall public safety needs,” Perrelli added. “Through CTAS and other initiatives, we have sought to take action to respond to tribal leaders and help end the inexcusably high crime rates in tribal communities.”
Additionally, COPS Office Director Bernard Melekian, addressed the National Native American Law Enforcement Association’s 18th Annual National Training Conference today in Las Vegas. Director Melekian simultaneously announced the CTAS awards to the approximately 400 tribal law enforcement representatives in attendance.
All federally recognized tribes were eligible for CTAS. OJP, COPS and OVW worked together in making the award decisions. Tribal leaders have been invited to a tribal consultation session on October 5, 2010 in Spokane to discuss ways to improve the Department’s grant-making process in future years.
A list of the ten CTAS purpose areas is attached. The complete list of the Fiscal Year 2010 CTAS grantees is available at the Department of Justice’s Tribal Justice and Safety Web site - www.tribaljusticeandsafety.gov.
Federal Court Shuts Down Orlando, Florida, Tax PreparerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal district judge in Orlando, Fla., has permanently barred Elisa Veronica Barron of Orlando from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. According to the order, Barron is a return preparer operating under the name, “Lancaster Tax Service Inc.” The court also ordered Barron to mail copies of the court order to her customers.
The court found that Barron prepares tax returns using false information in order to reduce her customers’ tax liabilities. Specifically, the court found that Barron unlawfully reduced her customers’ reported income by claiming unsubstantiated and fraudulent deductions and credits. Additionally, the court found that Barron routinely misrepresents her customers’ filing status and number of their dependents to allow them to improperly claim the earned income tax credit.
According to the complaint, the government estimates that this alleged fraudulent tax preparation scheme by Barron resulted in an understatement of her customers’ federal income tax liabilities of more than $1 million for returns that Barron prepared in 2006-2007 alone.
Over the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop tax fraud promoters and tax return preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.
Empresa farmacéutica Forest se declara culpable; deberá pagar más de $313 millones de dólares para resolver cargos criminales y alegatos bajo la Ley de Reclamos FalsosRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc., una subsidiaria de Forest Laboratories Inc., que tiene sede en la Ciudad de Nueva York, ha aceptado declararse culpable de cargos relacionados con la obstrucción de la justicia, la distribución de Levothroid, que en ese momento era una nueva droga no aprobada, y la promoción ilegal de Celexa para su uso en el tratamiento de niños y adolescentes con depresión, anunció hoy el Departamento de Justicia. Las empresas también aceptaron conciliar alegatos pendientes bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos de que Forest provocó la presentación de reclamos falsos a programas federales de servicios médicos por las drogas Levothroid, Celexa y Lexapro.Forest ha aceptado pagar $313 millones de dólares para resolver responsabilidades criminales y civiles surgidas de estos casos.
Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. aceptó declararse culpable de un cargo de delito criminal grave de obstrucción de la justicia, un delito criminal menor de distribuir una droga no aprobada en comercio interestatal y un cargo criminal menor de distribuir una droga mal rotulada en comercio interestatal. Bajo el acuerdo de declaración de culpabilidad, Forest Pharmaceuticals pagará una multa criminal de $150 millones de dólares y sufrirá la confiscación de otros $14 millones de dólares en bienes. La declaración de culpabilidad y la sentencia de Forest Pharmaceuticals no son finales hasta que no sean aceptadas por el Tribunal Federal de Distrito. Forest también pagará más de $149 millones de dólares para resolver alegatos bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos, que incluyen una demanda civil presentada por los Estados Unidos en febrero de 2009.
Bajo la Ley Federal de Alimentos, Medicamentos y Cosméticos [Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)], los fabricantes de drogas deben presentar una Solicitud de Nuevo Medicamento [New Drug Application (NDA)] a la Administración de Medicamentos y Alimentos [Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] y obtener la aprobación de la dependencia antes de distribuir un “nuevo medicamento” en comercio interestatal. En esta NDA, el fabricante debe dar información sobre los procesos de fabricación y la composición de la droga y brindar datos suficientes generados en investigaciones clínicas correctas y controladas para demostrar que la droga es segura y eficaz para su uso especificado. Después de que la FDA aprueba el producto como seguro y eficaz para un uso especificado, cualquier promoción de la droga para otros usos por parte del fabricante – conocida como usos “no aprobados” – hace que el producto esté mal rotulado.
La resolución combinada de hoy incluye tres medicamentos distribuidos por Forest: Levothroid, Celexa y Lexapro. Levothroid era una droga de levotiroxina sódica de administración oral usada para tratar el hipotiroidismo, una afección en la que las personas poseen una deficiencia de la tiroide. Celexa y Lexapro son drogas antidepresivas que, en el período analizado, estaban aprobadas solo para su uso en el tratamiento de la depresión en adultos.
En la información criminal, el gobierno alega que Forest Pharmaceuticals comenzó a distribuir Levothroid a principios de la década de 1990 sin obtener primero la aprobación de la FDA. Las drogas con levotiroxina sódica han estado en el mercado para tratar el hipotiroidismo desde la década de 1950 y los fabricantes habían introducido estas drogas en el mercado sin obtener primero la aprobación de la FDA. No obstante, en 1997, la FDA anunció que estas drogas eran “nuevos medicamentos” bajo la FDCA y necesitaban ser aprobadas por la dependencia. Pero, como la FDA consideraba que las drogas eran médicamente necesarias, se les dio cuatro años a los fabricantes – hasta el 14 de agosto de 2001 – para realizar los estudios necesarios y obtener la aprobación de la FDA. Luego, para satisfacer la demanda constante de los pacientes, la FDA anunció que, a su discreción, la dependencia permitiría que los fabricantes de drogas no aprobadas de levotiroxina sódica siguieran distribuyendo sus medicamentos sin aprobar hasta el 14 de agosto de 2001, con algunas condiciones. Una de esas condiciones era que cualquier fabricante que no hubiera obtenido la aprobación NDA para su producto farmacológico de levotiroxina sódica debía cumplir con una reducción gradual de dos años de la distribución de su droga no aprobada hasta obtener la aprobación de la FDA para distribuirla.
Según los cargos criminales, Forest Pharmaceuticals tomó una decisión deliberada de seguir distribuyendo su producto Levothroid no aprobado en cantidades que superaban ampliamente los límites permitidos por el plan de reducción de distribución del FDA. Los cargos también alegan que el 7de agosto de 2003, la FDA envió una carta de advertencia en la que avisaba que Forest Pharmaceuticals ya no tenía derecho a distribuir su producto Levothroid no aprobado porque la empresa había tomado la decisión deliberada de no cumplir con el plan de reducción de la distribución de la FDA. Después de recibir la carta de advertencia, Forest Pharmaceuticals les ordenó a los empleados de su centro de distribución de St. Louis que trabajaran horas extra hasta aproximadamente la 1:00 a.m. de la mañana siguiente y, durante ese tiempo, siguieran enviando la mayor cantidad posible de su Levothroid no aprobado.
Los cargos criminales además alegan que Forest Pharmaceuticals presentó información falsa a la FDA como parte de su solicitud NDA para Levothroid y que Forest Pharmaceuticals obstruyó una inspección regulatoria de la FDA sobre los datos presentados en la NDA de Levothroid. Específicamente, cuando los inspectores de la FDA vieron un humidificador portátil en una inspección de 2003 de una planta de fabricación en Cincinnati, miembros del personal gerencial de la empresa les informaron falsamente a los investigadores que el humidificador portátil estaba siendo almacenado en la sala y no había sido usado para control de la humedad, cuando en realidad sí había sido usado.
La empresa también resolvió alegatos civiles bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos por su distribución continua del Levothroid no aprobado después del 14 de agosto de 2001 y por no informar a los Centros para Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid de que la droga ya no calificaba para ser cubierta por programas gubernamentales de servicios médicos, lo que provocó la presentación de reclamos falsos a esos programas.
Forest Pharmaceuticals detuvo su distribución comercial de su versión no aprobada de Levothroid antes del 9 de agosto de 2003. Desde el otoño de 2003, Forest Pharmaceuticals ha distribuido comercialmente una droga diferente de levotiroxina sódica de administración oral, también llamada Levothroid, de acuerdo a un acuerdo de suministro con Lloyd Pharmaceuticals. Esta resolución no afecta ese producto.
En cuanto a Celexa, la información criminal y la demanda bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos entablada por los Estados Unidos alegan que Forest Pharmaceuticals promovió la droga para un uso pediátrico no aprobado. A pesar de contar con una aprobación limitada solo para depresión en adultos, Forest Pharmaceuticals promovió Celexa para su uso en el tratamiento de niños y adolescentes con depresión. El gobierno alega que Forest Pharmaceuticals publicitó e hizo circular los resultados positivos de un estudio doble ciego controlado con placebo realizado por Forest sobre el uso de Celexa en adolescentes mientras que Forest Pharmaceuticals no comentó los resultados negativos de un estudio europeo contemporáneo doble ciego controlado con placebo sobre el uso de Celexa en adolescentes.
El gobierno también alega que la promoción para usos no aprobados realizada por Forest Pharmaceuticals empleó diversas técnicas de ventas, entre ellas indicarles a sus representantes de ventas que promuevan el uso pediátrico de Celexa en llamadas de venta a médicos que trataban a niños y adolescentes y la contratación de oradores externos para que les hablaran a especialistas pediátricos sobre los beneficios de recetar Celexa a niños y adolescentes.
La demanda bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos también alega que Forest tuvo la misma conducta de comercialización en conexión con Lexapro, que, en ese momento, también carecía de aprobaciones para uso pediátrico. La demanda civil también alega que Forest empleó comisiones ilícitas para inducir a los médicos y a terceros a recetar Celexa y Lexapro. Las comisiones ilícitas supuestamente incluían pagos en efectivo disfrazados de subsidios u honorarios por asesoría, comidas costosas y entretenimiento ostentoso. La demanda civil alega que como resultado de la conducta mencionada anteriormente, Forest hizo que se presentaran reclamos falsos a programas federales de servicios médicos.
Lexapro fue aprobada para usarse para tratamientos agudos y de mantenimiento de Desorden Depresivo Mayor en adolescentes, de entre 12 y 17 años, el 19 de marzo de 2009.
“No toleraremos que ninguna empresa obstruya la justicia y promueva ilegalmente drogas que no fueron aprobadas para tratar a menores”, dijo Tony West, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar para la División Civil del Departamento de Justicia. “Forest Pharmaceuticals se ha declarado culpable de violar la ley. El Departamento de Justicia seguirá garantizando que los contribuyentes no paguen las consecuencias cuando haya conducta ilegal e incorrecta como esta”.
“Forest Pharmaceuticals eligió deliberadamente buscar ganancias corporativas por sobre sus obligaciones con la FDA y el público estadounidense”, dijo Carmen Ortiz, Fiscal Federal para el Distrito de Massachusetts. “La empresa sabía que no tenía la aprobación de la FDA para distribuir Levothroid. En vez de cumplir con el programa de disminución de la FDA, que hubiera permitido que la empresa siguiera distribuyendo una cantidad limitada de su droga no aprobada, Forest Pharmaceuticals decidió desacatar abiertamente la ley en vez de perder ventas. Esto es algo completamente inaceptable”.
El acuerdo conciliatorio civil abarca diversas demandas presentadas bajo las disposiciones qui tam, o de denunciante, de la Ley de Reclamos Falsos, que permiten que los ciudadanos privados entablen acciones civiles de parte de los Estados Unidos y participen de cualquier recuperación lograda. Como parte del acuerdo conciliatorio civil, se distribuirán más de $88 millones de dólares al gobierno federal y más de $60 millones de dólares a los estados, que se los repartirán. Como parte de la resolución de hoy, los denunciantes privados recibirán pagos que alcanzan aproximadamente $14 millones de dólares de la parte federal del acuerdo conciliatorio. Los casos resueltos por el acuerdo conciliatorio civil son Estados Unidos ex rel. Christopher R. Gobble, et al. contra Forest Laboratories, Inc. y Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Estados Unidos ex rel. Joseph Piacentile, et al. contra Forest Laboratories, Inc.; y Estados Unidos ex rel. Constance Conrad contra Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al.
“El anuncio de hoy demuestra el compromiso del gobierno de combatir a las empresas que eligen descuidar sus obligaciones regulatorias y privilegiar las ganancias por sobre la salud pública”, dijo la Comisionada de la FDA Margaret M. Hamburg, MD. “La FDA felicita el arduo trabajo del Departamento de Justicia y nuestros colegas en las fuerzas del orden público para lograr este resultado exitoso”.
Forest Laboratorios también firmó un Acuerdo de Integridad Corporativa [Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA)] con la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los EE.UU. [Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG)]. Este acuerdo de cinco años exige que Forest implemente un programa de cumplimiento que incluye actividades promocionales y funciones regulatorias. Entre otras cosas, el CIA exige que la Junta Directiva (o un comité de la Junta) revise anualmente el programa de cumplimiento de la empresa con la ayuda de un experto externo y certifique su eficacia; que determinados altos ejecutivos certifiquen anualmente que sus departamentos o áreas funcionales cumplen con los requisitos; que Forest les envíe a los médicos una carta notificándoles sobre el acuerdo conciliatorio; y que la empresa publique en su portal información sobre pagos a médicos, como honorarios, viajes o alojamiento. Forest está sujeta a ser excluida de programas federales de servicios médicos, entre ellos Medicare y Medicaid, por incumplimiento grave del CIA y a multas monetarias por incumplimientos de menor gravedad.
“La seguridad del público depende de un proceso que aprueba drogas para usos específicos. La comercialización de usos no aprobados y de una droga no aprobada por parte de Forest Pharmaceuticals debilitó la protección y potencialmente puso en riesgo la seguridad pública. No podemos tolerar este tipo de conducta corporativa ni lo haremos”, dijo Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los EE.UU. “La OIG supervisará un acuerdo que incrementará la responsabilización de la empresa por sus prácticas de comercialización y hará que sus acciones sean más transparentes”.
Estuvieron a cargo del caso la Fiscalía Federal del Distrito de Massachusetts y la División Civil del Departamento de Justicia. El Acuerdo de Integridad Corporativa fue negociado por la OIG-HHS. Estuvieron a cargo de la investigación en el caso agentes del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)], la Oficina de Investigaciones Criminales de la FDA y la Oficina del Inspector Federal del Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos. También se recibió asistencia de la Oficina del Consejero General de la FDA, la Asociación Nacional de Unidades de Control de Fraude contra Medicaid y diversas Fiscalías Estatales.
Este acuerdo conciliatorio forma parte del enfoque del gobierno en la lucha contra el fraude de servicios médicos y es otro paso de la iniciativa del Equipo de Acción, Prevención y Control de Fraude de Servicios Médicos [Health Care Fraude Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT)], que fue anunciada por el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder y la Secretaria Sebelius en mayo de 2009. La asociación entre los dos departamentos ha enfocado su labor en la reducción y prevención de fraude contra Medicare y Medicare a través de una mayor cooperación. Una de las herramientas más poderosas en dicha iniciativa es la Ley de Reclamos Falsos [False Claims Act (FCA)], utilizada por el Departamento de Justicia para recuperar aproximadamente $3.391 billones de dólares desde enero de 2009 en casos asociados al fraude contra los programas de salud federales. Las recuperaciones totales del Departamento de Justicia en casos de la FCA desde enero de 2009 son de $4.4691 billones de dólares.
El Departamento de Justicia otorga $127 millones de dólares para mejorar la seguridad pública y la justicia criminal tribalRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Cientos de comunidades nativas indígenas y alaskeñas recibirán casi $127 millones de dólares para mejorar la aplicación legal, reforzar los sistemas de justicia, prevenir el abuso de sustancias en los jóvenes, servir a víctimas ancianas y de agresión sexual, y apoyar otras iniciativas para combatir el delito. Estos subsidios son los primeros bajo la Petición Coordinada de Asistencia Tribal [Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS)], una nueva iniciativa que combina 10 programas de subsidios diferentes del Departamento de Justicia en una sola petición.
El Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Tom Perrelli anunció el otorgamiento de las CTAS hoy en el Museo Nacional de Indígenas Estadounidenses. Perrelli destacó que el Secretario de Justicia de los EE.UU. Holder y otros líderes del Departamento de Justicia realizaron sesiones para escuchar a las tribus el año pasado. El departamento desarrolló CTAS en respuesta a opiniones expresadas en estas sesiones, eventos de consulta tribales y otros comentarios de líderes tribales.
“Hoy damos otro gran paso hacia una verdadera colaboración de nación a nación”, dijo Perrelli. “CTAS no solo constituye un proceso de otorgamiento de subsidios mejorado, sino que también forma parte de la estrategia integral del Departamento de una mayor compenetración con las comunidades tribales en diversos campos”.
CTAS incluye la mayoría de los programas tribales de la Oficina de Programas Judiciales [Office of Justice Programs (OJP)], la Oficina de Servicios Policiales con Orientación Comunitaria [Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)] y la Oficina de Violencia contra la Mujer [Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)] del Departamento. Los programas figuran como 10 áreas de propósito. Anteriormente, las tribus que buscaban fondos para más de uno de estos propósitos debían presentar múltiples solicitudes de subsidio. Con CTAS, las tribus pudieron presentar una sola solicitud y seleccionar múltiples áreas de propósitos, que van desde justicia juvenil hasta la violencia contra la mujer.
“Este enfoque no solo ahorra tiempo y recursos, sino que también les permite a las tribus y al Departamento tener una mejor comprensión de las necesidades generales de seguridad pública”, añadió Perrelli. “A través de CTAS y otras iniciativas, hemos buscado tomar medidas para responder a los líderes tribales y contribuir a poner fin a los índices de delincuencia imperdonablemente altos que existen en las comunidades tribales”.
Asimismo, el Director de la Oficina COPS Bernard Melekian dio un discurso hoy en la 18° Conferencia Nacional Anual de Capacitación de la Asociación Nacional de las Fuerzas del Orden de Indígenas Estadounidenses en Las Vegas. El Director Melekian también anunció el otorgamiento de CTAS a aproximadamente 400 representantes de las fuerzas del orden público tribales que se encontraban en el lugar.
Todas las tribus reconocidas federalmente fueron elegibles para CTAS. La OJP, COPS y la OVW trabajaron juntas para tomar las decisiones de otorgamiento de subsidios. Se ha invitado a líderes tribales a una sesión de consulta tribal el 5 de octubre de 2010 en Spokane para comentar maneras de mejorar el proceso de otorgamiento de subsidios del Departamento en los próximos años.
Se adjunta una lista de las diez áreas de propósitos de CTAS. La lista completa de los beneficiarios de CTAS del Año Fiscal 2010 está disponible en el portal de Justicia y Seguridad Tribal del Departamento de Justicia en www.tribaljusticeandsafety.gov.
El Departamento de Justicia llega a acuerdo para proteger los derechos de militares y votantes en el extranjero en AlaskaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con funcionarios de Alaska para ayudar a asegurar que miembros del servicio militar y otros ciudadanos estadounidenses que viven en el exterior tengan la oportunidad de participar plenamente en las elecciones generales federales del 2 de noviembre de 2010. El acuerdo fue necesario para garantizar el cumplimiento de Alaska con la Ley de Otorgamiento de Votantes Militares y en el Extranjero [Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act)].
El acuerdo establece que Alaska acelerará los procedimientos de certificación de candidatos para sus elecciones primarias del 24 de agosto de 2010 para que pueda enviar una papeleta oficial de ausente a todos los miembros del servicio militar y otros ciudadanos estadounidenses que viven en el extranjero antes del 18 de septiembre de 2010. Esta fecha para enviar la papeleta oficial por correo, o por facsímile si así lo pide el votante, es 45 días antes de las elecciones generales federales, lo que garantiza que los votantes militares y en el extranjero cuenten con tiempo suficiente para recibir las papeletas, emitir su voto y reenviar las papeletas para que se cuente su voto.
"Nuestros miembros de los servicios uniformados y otros ciudadanos en el extranjero merecen una oportunidad significativa de participar en la elección de los líderes de nuestro país", dijo Thomas E. Pérez, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles. "Me complace profundamente que los funcionarios de Alaska hayan trabajado rápida y cooperativamente con el Departamento y hayan aceptado medidas que garantizarán que los votantes del estado militares y en el extranjero, muchos de los cuales son miembros de nuestras fuerzas armadas y familiares que sirven con valentía a nuestro país en todo el mundo, tengan la oportunidad de que se cuenten sus votos en las próximas elecciones".
La Ley Electoral de Ausentes para Ciudadanos Uniformados y Ciudadanos en el Exterior [Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)] exige que los estados permitan que los electores de los servicios uniformados (que sirven tanto en el extranjero como dentro de los Estados Unidos) y los ciudadanos en el extranjero se registren para votar y voten como ausentes en todas las elecciones para cargos federales. En 2009, el Congreso promulgó la Ley MOVE, que realizó enmiendas generales a la UOCAVA. Entre estos cambios, hubo un requisito de que los estados envíen papeletas de ausente a electores cubiertos bajo la UOCAVA al menos 45 días antes de las elecciones federales. Bajo la nueva ley, los estados pueden solicitar al Departamento de Defensa una exención por dificultad a este requisito por una elección federal particular si la fecha de elecciones primarias del estado evita que envíe las papeletas con un mínimo de 45 días de anticipación respecto de las elecciones: si un reclamo legal provoca una demora en la generación de papeletas; o si la constitución del estado prohíbe el cumplimiento. Para obtener una exención, los estados deben 1) establecer que una o más de estas circunstancias crea una dificultad indebida, y 2) presentar un plan integral que les dé a los votantes bajo UOCAVA tiempo suficiente para recibir y presentar papeletas marcadas de ausente para que sean contadas en esas elecciones. Las determinaciones de exenciones son realizadas por el Departamento de Defensa, después de consultar con el Departamento de Justicia.
Alaska solicitó una exención por dificultad porque su fecha de elecciones primarias del 24 de agosto de 2010 le impedía cumplir con el plazo de 45 días previos especificado por la Ley MOVE. El 27 de agosto de 2010, el Departamento de Defensa le negó la solicitud a Alaska al determinar que, si bien el estado había demostrado una dificultad indebida para las elecciones del 2 de noviembre de 2010, su plan integral propuesto no les daba tiempo suficiente a los votantes bajo la UOCAVA de recibir y presentar papeletas de ausente a tiempo para que fueran contadas. Inmediatamente después del rechazo de la solicitud de exención, el Departamento de Justicia le informó a funcionarios de Alaska que el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles había autorizado un litigio para hacer valer la UOCAVA. Se iniciaron conversaciones con el estado para resolver el asunto, que generaron el acuerdo anunciado hoy.
Para obtener más información sobre la OUCAVA y otras leyes federales electorales, visite el portal del Departamento de Justicia en www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/activ_uoc.htm. Para realizar denuncias, llame a la Oficina de Asuntos Electorales de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia al (800) 253-3931.
Drug Maker Forest Pleads Guilty; To Pay More Than $313 Million to Resolve Criminal Charges and False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of New York City-based Forest Laboratories Inc., has agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to obstruction of justice, the distribution of Levothroid, which at the time was an unapproved new drug, and the illegal promotion of Celexa for use in treating children and adolescents suffering from depression, the Justice Department announced today. The companies also agreed to settle pending False Claims Act allegations that Forest caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs for the drugs Levothroid, Celexa, and Lexapro. Forest has agreed to pay more than $313 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from these matters.
Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to plead guilty to one criminal felony count of obstructing justice, one criminal misdemeanor count of distributing an unapproved drug in interstate commerce, and one criminal misdemeanor count of distributing a misbranded drug in interstate commerce. Under the plea agreement, Forest Pharmaceuticals will pay a criminal fine of $150 million and will forfeit an additional $14 million in assets. Forest Pharmaceuticals’ guilty plea and sentence is not final until accepted by the U.S. District Court. Forest also will pay over $149 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act, including a civil complaint filed by the United States in February 2009.
Under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), a manufacturer is required to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and obtain the agency’s approval before distributing a “new drug” in interstate commerce. In this NDA, the manufacturer is required to set forth information concerning the manufacturing processes and composition of the drug, and provide sufficient data generated in adequate and well-controlled clinical investigations to demonstrate that the drug is safe and effective for its specified use. After the FDA approves the product as safe and effective for a specified use, any promotion by the manufacturer for other uses – known as “off label” uses – renders the product misbranded.
Today’s combined resolution concerns three drugs distributed by Forest: Levothroid, Celexa and Lexapro. Levothroid was an orally administered levothyroxine sodium drug used to treat hypothyroidism, a condition in which an individual has a thyroid deficiency. Celexa and Lexapro are anti-depressant drugs that, at the time period at issue, were approved only for use in treatment of adult depression.
In the criminal information, the government alleges that Forest Pharmaceuticals began distributing Levothroid in the early 1990s without first obtaining FDA approval. Orally administered levothyroxine sodium drugs had been on the market to treat hypothroidism since the 1950s, and manufacturers had introduced these drugs into the market without first obtaining FDA approval. In 1997, however, the FDA announced that these drugs were “new drugs” under the FDCA and needed the agency’s approval. Nonetheless, because the FDA deemed the drugs to be medically necessary, the manufacturers were given four years – until Aug. 14, 2001 – in which to conduct the necessary studies and obtain FDA approval. Later, in order to meet continuing patient demand, the FDA announced that, as a matter of enforcement discretion, the agency would permit manufacturers of unapproved levothyroxine sodium drugs to continue distributing their unapproved drugs after Aug. 14, 2001, on certain conditions. One of those conditions was that any manufacturer which had not obtained NDA approval for its levothyroxine sodium drug product needed to comply with a two-year, gradual distribution phase-down of its unapproved drug until it obtained FDA approval to distribute the drug.
According to the criminal charges, Forest Pharmaceuticals made a deliberate decision to continue distributing its unapproved Levothroid product in quantities far exceeding the amounts permitted by the FDA’s distribution phase-down plan. The charges further alleges that, on Aug. 7, 2003, the FDA sent a warning letter advising that Forest Pharmaceuticals was no longer entitled to distribute its unapproved Levothroid product because the company had made a deliberate decision not to comply with the FDA’s distribution phase-out plan. After receiving the warning letter, Forest Pharmaceuticals directed its employees at its St. Louis distribution center to work overtime until approximately 1:00 a.m. the following morning and, during that time, to continue shipping as much of its unapproved Levothroid as possible.
The criminal charges further allege that Forest Pharmaceuticals submitted inaccurate information to the FDA as part of its NDA submission for Levothroid and that Forest Pharmaceuticals obstructed an FDA regulatory inspection concerning the data submitted in the Levothroid NDA. Specifically, when FDA inspectors saw a portable humidifier at a 2003 inspection of a manufacturing plant in Cincinnati, certain company management personnel falsely advised the investigators that the portable humidifier was being stored in the room and had not been used for humidity control, when in fact it had been.
The company also has resolved civil False Claims Act allegations for its continued distribution of unapproved Levothroid after August 14, 2001, and for failing to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that the drug no longer qualified for coverage by government health care programs, thereby causing false claims to be submitted to those programs.
Forest Pharmaceuticals halted its commercial distribution of its unapproved version of Levothroid as of Aug. 9, 2003. Since the fall of 2003, Forest Pharmaceuticals has been commercially distributing a different orally administered levothyroxine sodium drug, also called Levothroid, in accordance with a supply agreement with Lloyd Pharmaceuticals. This resolution does not involve that product.
Regarding Celexa, the criminal information and the False Claims Act complaint filed by the United States allege that Forest Pharmaceuticals promoted the drug for unapproved pediatric use. Despite a limited approval only for adult depression, Forest Pharmaceuticals promoted Celexa for use in treating children and adolescents suffering from depression. The government alleges that Forest Pharmaceuticals publicized and circulated the positive results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled Forest study on the use of Celexa in adolescents while, at the same time, Forest Pharmaceuticals failed to discuss the negative results of a contemporaneous double-blind, placebo-controlled European study on the use of Celexa in adolescents.
The government further alleges that Forest Pharmaceuticals’ off-label promotion consisted of various sales techniques, including directing its sales representatives to promote pediatric use of Celexa in sales calls to physicians who treated children and adolescents, and hiring outside speakers to talk to pediatric specialists about the benefits of prescribing Celexa to children and teens.
The False Claims Act complaint also alleges that Forest engaged in such marketing conduct in connection with Lexapro, which, at that time, also lacked any approvals for pediatric use. The civil complaint further alleges that Forest used illegal kickbacks to induce physicians and others to prescribe Celexa and Lexapro. Kickbacks allegedly included cash payments disguised as grants or consulting fees, expensive meals and lavish entertainment. The civil complaint alleges that as a result of the foregoing conduct, Forest caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs.
Lexapro was approved for use for acute and maintenance treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in adolescents, 12 - 17 years of age, on March 19, 2009.
“We will not tolerate any company that obstructs justice and illegally promotes drugs that were not approved to treat children,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “Forest Pharmaceuticals has pled guilty to breaking the law. The Justice Department will continue to ensure that taxpayers do not foot the bill when such unlawful and improper conduct occurs.”
“Forest Pharmaceuticals deliberately chose to pursue corporate profits over its obligations to the FDA and the American public,” said Carmen Ortiz, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. “The company knew that it did not have FDA approval to distribute Levothroid. Instead of complying with the FDA’s phase-down schedule, which would have permitted the company to continue to distributing a limited amount of its unapproved drug, Forest Pharmaceuticals instead decided to flout the law rather than lose sales. This was completely unacceptable.”
The civil settlement covers various lawsuits filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. As part of the civil settlement, more than $88 million will be distributed to the federal government and more than $60 million will be distributed to and shared by the states. As part of today’s resolution, the private whistleblowers will receive approximately $14 million from the federal share of the settlement amount. The cases resolved by the civil settlement are United States ex rel. Christopher R. Gobble, et al. v. Forest Laboratories, Inc. & Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; United States ex rel. Joseph Piacentile, et al. v. Forest Laboratories, Inc.; and United States ex rel. Constance Conrad v. Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the government’s commitment to targeting companies that choose to disregard their regulatory obligations and pursue profits over the public’s health,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret M. Hamburg, MD. “The FDA applauds the hard work of the Department of Justice and our law enforcement counterparts in bringing about this successful result.”
Forest Laboratories has also signed a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). This five-year agreement requires Forest to implement a compliance program that addresses promotional activities and regulatory functions. Among other things, the CIA requires that the Board of Directors (or a committee of the Board) annually review the company’s compliance program with the help of an outside expert and certify its effectiveness; that certain senior executives annually certify that their departments or functional areas are compliant; that Forest send doctors a letter notifying them about the settlement; and that the company post on its website information about payments to doctors, such as honoraria, travel or lodging. Forest is subject to exclusion from Federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, for a material breach of the CIA and subject to monetary penalties for less significant breaches.
“The safety of the public depends upon a process that approves drugs for specific uses. Forest Pharmaceuticals’ off-label marketing and marketing an unapproved drug undermined that protection and potentially put public safety at risk. We cannot and must not tolerate this corporate behavior,” said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “OIG will oversee an agreement that will increase the company's accountability for its marketing practices and will make its actions more transparent.”
This matter was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. The corporate Integrity Agreement was negotiated by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG-HHS). The case was investigated by agents from the FBI, the OIG-HHS, FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General. Assistance was also provided by FDA’s Office of General Counsel, the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units and the offices of various state Attorneys General.
This settlement is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the HEAT initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the FCA, which the Justice Department has used to recover $3.391 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in FCA cases since January 2009 are $ 4.4691 billion.
Dos intermediarios acusados formalmente por su supuesta participación en ardid para sobornar a funcionarios en empresa eléctrica estatal en MéxicoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Dos intermediarios fueron acusados formalmente por sus supuestos papeles en una conspiración para pagar y lavar sobornos a funcionarios gubernamentales mexicanos de la Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), una empresa estatal de servicios públicos, anunciaron el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División Criminal Lanny A. Breuer; el Fiscal Federal André Birotte del Distrito Central de California; Steven M. Martínez, Agente Especial a Cargo de la Oficina Local en Los Ángeles del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]; y Leslie DeMarco, Agente Especial a Cargo de la Oficina Local en los Ángeles de la División de Investigación Criminal de Servicios de Impuestos Internos [Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)].
Enrique Faustino Aguilar Noriega, 56, de Cuernavaca, México, fue acusado en una acusación formal de siete cargos emitida por un gran jurado federal en Los Ángeles el 15 de septiembre de 2010 de conspirar para violar la Ley de Prácticas Corruptas en el Extranjero [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)], violaciones a la FCPA, conspirar para lavar dinero y lavado de dinero. Ángela María Gómez Aguilar, 55, de Cuernavaca, fue acusada de conspirar para lavar dinero y lavado de dinero.
Según la acusación formal, la CFE es responsable de suministrar electricidad en México y realiza contratos con empresas mexicanas y extranjeras por bienes y servicios para ayudar a brindar servicios eléctricos a sus consumidores.
La acusación formal alega que Enrique y Ángela Aguilar eran directores de Grupo Internacional de Asesores S.A. (Grupo), que alegaba brindar servicios de representación de ventas para empresas que hacían negocios con la CFE. Según la acusación formal, Grupo fue contratada por una empresa con sede en Azusa, Calif. como representante de ventas en México y para obtener contratos con la CFE. Grupo recibía un porcentaje de los ingresos obtenidos por la empresa con sede en Azusa por sus contratos con la CFE. La empresa con sede en Azusa fabricaba sistemas de restauración de emergencia y otros equipos usados por empresas de electricidad. Según la acusación formal, muchos de los clientes de la empresa eran empresas de servicios públicos estatales extranjeras, entre ellas la CFE, que era uno de los mayores clientes de la empresa.
Aproximadamente entre febrero de 2002 y marzo de 2009, Enrique Aguilar y sus coconspiradores supuestamente orquestaron un ardid en el que Enrique Aguilar recibía una comisión del 30 por ciento de todos los bienes y servicios que la empresa con sede en Azusa le vendía a la CFE, aunque esta comisión era significativamente mayor que la recibida por anteriores representantes de ventas de la empresa. La acusación formal alega que los coconspiradores de Enrique Aguilar comprendían que toda la comisión del 30 por ciento o parte de ella se usaría para pagar sobornos a funcionarios mexicanos a cambio de que la CFE le otorgara contratos a la empresa con sede en Azusa. Se alega que los costos de los bienes y servicios vendidos a la CFE eran aumentados un 30 por ciento para asegurarse de que el costo agregado pagado a Enrique Aguilar fuera absorbido por la CFE y no por la empresa con sede en Azusa.
Se alega que Enrique Aguilar provocó la presentación de facturas fraudulentas de Grupo a la empresa con sede en Azusa por 30 por ciento del precio del contrato. Según la acusación formal, luego un coconspirador transfería el dinero solicitado en las facturas fraudulentas a la cuenta de corretaje de Grupo, supuestamente a sabiendas de que las facturas eran fraudulentas y los fondos se estaban usando como sobornos.
Se alega que Enrique y Ángela Aguilar luego lavaban el dinero en la cuenta de corretaje de Grupo para realizar pagos ocultos en beneficio de funcionarios de la CFE. Según la acusación formal, Enrique y Ángela Aguilar compraron un yate de aproximadamente $1.8 millones de dólares y un Ferrari de $297,500 dólares a un funcionario de la CFE. Según la acusación formal, Enrique y Ángela Aguilar también pagaron facturas de American Express de un funcionario de la CFE por un valor total superior a $170,000 dólares y enviaron aproximadamente $600,000 dólares a familiares de un funcionario de la CFE.
Ángela Aguilar fue arrestada el 10 de agosto de 2010 por una demanda criminal cuando viajó a Houston procedente de México. Fue ordenada su detención y fue trasladada al Distrito Central de California, donde permanece bajo custodia.
Una acusación formal es apenas una acusación y los demandados son considerados inocentes hasta que se pruebe su culpabilidad, más allá de la duda razonable.
El cargo de conspiración bajo la FCPA conlleva una sentencia máxima de cinco años de prisión y una multa de $250,000 dólares o el doble del valor ganado o perdido, lo que sea mayor. Cada uno de los cuatro cargos bajo la FCPA tiene una sentencia máxima de cinco años de prisión y una multa de $100,000 dólares o el doble del valor ganado o perdido, lo que sea mayor. Los cargos de conspiración y gran lavado de dinero tienen una sentencia máxima cada uno de 20 años de prisión y una multa de $500,000 dólares o el doble del valor de la propiedad asociada a la transacción, lo que sea mayor. La acusación formal también da aviso de confiscación criminal.
Están cargo de la acusación en el caso el Abogado Litigante Principal Nicola J. Mrazek de la Sección de Fraude de la División Criminal y el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Douglas M. Miller en el Distrito Central de California. El caso fue investigado por la Oficina Local en los Ángeles del FBI y la Oficina Local en Los Ángeles de IRS-CI, con la asistencia de la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional. El Abogado Litigante Christopher Dana de la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales de la División Criminal brindó asistencia significativa en el caso.
MS-13 Gang Leader Sentenced to Life in Prison for Racketeering Offenses Including the Murder of a WitnessRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Juan Carlos Moreira, aka “Stokey” and “Stocky,” was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to life in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as MS-13, conspiring to and committing murder in aid of racketeering, witness tampering murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. Judge Chasanow also ordered that Moreira pay $4,886 in restitution for the funeral and burial costs of Randy Calderon, whom Moreira shot and killed.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief Roberto L. Hylton of the Prince George’s County, Md., Police Department; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the FBI; Special Agent in Charge William Winter of Homeland Security Investigations; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County, Md., Police Department; Chief Darien L. Manley of the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division and Chief Larry M. Brownlee Sr. of the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Prince George’s County Division.
According to his plea agreement, Moreira, 30, a native of El Salvador who resided in Silver Spring, Md., was a leader of the Sailor Locos Salvatruchos Westside (SLSW) clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13. A gang composed primarily of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador, MS-13 has members operating throughout Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, and elsewhere inside and outside of the United States. Moreira was born in El Salvador where he was “jumped in” to the SLSW clique. In 1998, Moreira entered the United States illegally and, along with four other people, founded the SLSW clique in Maryland in the summer of 2000. From that time until the summer of 2003, Moreira held the leadership position of “First Word” of the Maryland SLSW clique, which required him to lead clique meetings, represent the clique at general and regional meetings, direct the activities of the clique and pay dues.
According to the statement of facts, Moreira and other members of SLSW stabbed an MS-13 member from a Virginia clique on Jan. 1, 2003, after Moreira and the other MS-13 member had a verbal confrontation at a party.
Moreira also admitted that in the early months of 2003, he and the Sailors clique possessed a MAC-90 automatic assault rifle, as well as 7.62 mm ammunition for the rifle. On April 9, 2003, Moreira sold the rifle for $1,500 to an undercover law enforcement agent.
According to the plea agreement, MS-13 members Nelson Bernal and Randy Calderon murdered a suspected rival gang member, Eliuth Madrigal, in Moreira’s apartment in Silver Spring on Nov. 22, 2003. Moreira was in an upstairs bedroom at the time of the murder. When Moreira was informed of the murder, he ordered Calderon and Bernal to remove the body from the apartment and led the group in cleaning up the murder scene. Moreira later attempted to cover up the murder by painting the walls and changing the carpet in the apartment, where Madrigal had been stabbed repeatedly.
Shortly after the Madrigal murder, and still on Nov. 22, 2003, Moreira directed Bernal and Calderon to accompany him to the apartment of Israel Ramos-Cruz, aka “Taylor , ” 33, who held the “First Word” leadership position of the Sailors clique at the time. After arriving at the residence, Moreira and Ramos-Cruz had a private discussion in the kitchen area while the others were in the living room, then returned to the living room and told Calderon that he and others were to paint MS-13 graffiti in celebration of Calderon’s murder of Madrigal. Ramos-Cruz gave Calderon a can of blue spray paint and instructed another member of the Sailors clique, Santos Maximino Garcia, aka “Curley,” 33, to drive Moreira and Calderon to their destination. After Garcia and Calderon left the apartment, Ramos-Cruz gave Moreira a handgun. Moreira directed Garcia to take them to an area behind a convenience store in Mount Rainier, Md., where Sailors members had previously spray painted graffiti. Moreira and Calderon exited the vehicle and a short time later Moreira fired a single shot into Calderon’s head, killing him. According to the statement of facts, Moreira and Ramos-Cruz later made statements to the effect that Calderon had to be killed because he would not have been tough and would have told police about the Madrigal murder.
On Jan. 5, 2005, Moreira and Omar Vasquez, aka “Duke,” 32, a fellow Sailors member, were involved in a fight with members of a rival gang at a fast food restaurant in Alexandria, Va., Moreira and Vasquez lost the fight and Moreira admitted that in response, on Jan. 21, 2005, he and multiple other MS-13 members went in search of the rival gang involved in the fight. They drove to an apartment building in Alexandria, where they saw a group of youths that they believed included a member of the rival gang that had fought with Moreira earlier in the month. Moreira and another MS-13 member approached the group and each fired multiple shots at the group, wounding three juvenile males, one of whom died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.
Ramos-Cruz, Garcia and Vasquez were convicted at trial. Ramos-Cruz and Vasquez were sentenced to life in prison and Garcia was sentenced to 32 years in prison. Bernal, 29, of Hyattsville, pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in the gang. A sentencing date for Bernal has not been set.
ATF’s RAGE Task Force, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Office and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney Office provided assistance in this matter.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert K. Hur and William D. Moomau for the District of Maryland; Trial Attorney Michael Warbel of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Unit; and James M. Trusty, Acting Chief of the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit.
Líder de la pandilla MS-13 sentenciado a cadena perpetua por delitos de delincuencia organizada, entre ellos el homicidio de un testigoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Juan Carlos Moreira, alias “Stokey” y “Stocky”, fue sentenciado hoy por la Jueza Federal de Distrito Principal Deborah K. Chasanow a cadena perpetua por conspirar para participar en una empresa de delincuencia organizada conocida como MS-13, conspirar para cometer un homicidio para promover la delincuencia organizada y cometer el asesinato, homicidio para manipular testigos y agresión con un arma peligrosa para promover la delincuencia organizada. La Jueza Chasanow también le ordenó a Moreira pagar $4,886 dólares en restitución para los costos del funeral y el entierro de Randy Calderón, a quien Moreira baleó y asesinó.
La sentencia fue anunciada por el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal; el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito de Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; la Agente Especial a Cargo Theresa R. Stoop del Buró de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos - División Local de Baltimore; el Jefe Roberto L. Hylton del Departamento de Policía del Condado de Prince George; el Agente Especial a Cargo Richard A. McFeely del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]; el Agente Especial a Cargo William Winter de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional; el Jefe J. Thomas Manger del Departamento de Policía del Condado de Montgomery; y el Jefe Darien L. Manley de la Policía de Maryland National Capital Park, División del Condado de Prince George.
De acuerdo con su declaración de culpabilidad, Moreira, 30, un nativo de El Salvador que residía en Silver Spring, Md., era líder de la división Sailor Locos Salvatruchos Westside (SLSW) de La Mara Salvatrucha, también conocida como MS-13. MS-13 es una pandilla compuesta principalmente de inmigrantes o descendientes de inmigrantes de El Salvador, con miembros que operan en todo el Condado de Prince George y el Condado de Montgomery, Md., y en otros lugares dentro y fuera de los Estados Unidos. Moreira nació en El Salvador, de donde pasó a la división SLSW. En 1998, Moreira ingresó ilegalmente a los Estados Unidos y, junto con otras cuatro personas, fundó la división SLSW en Maryland en el verano de 2000. Desde ese momento y hasta el verano de 2003, Moreira ocupó un cargo de liderazgo de “Primera palabra” de la división SLSW de Maryland, el cual requería que encabezara reuniones de la división, representara a la división en reuniones generales y regionales, y dirigiera las actividades de la división y pagara derechos.
De acuerdo con la declaración de los hechos, Moreira y otros miembros de la SLSW acuchillaron a un miembro de la MS-13 de una división de Virginia el 1 de enero de 2003, después de que Moreira y el otro miembro de la MS-13 tuvieron un enfrentamiento verbal en una fiesta.
Moreira también admitió que en los primeros meses de 2003, él y la división de los Sailors poseían un rifle automático de asalto MAC-90, así como municiones de 7.62 mm para el rifle. El 9 de abril de 2003, Moreira vendió el rifle por $1,500 dólares a un agente encubierto de las fuerzas del orden público.
De acuerdo con la declaración de culpabilidad, los miembros de la MS-13 Nelson Bernal y Randy Calderón asesinaron a un supuesto miembro de una pandilla rival, Eliuth Madrigal, en el apartamento de Moreira en Silver Spring el 22 de noviembre de 2003. Moreira se encontraba en un dormitorio en el piso superior en el momento del homicidio. Cuando Moreira fue informado del homicidio, ordenó a Calderón y Bernal que retiraran el cuerpo del apartamento e instruyó al grupo acerca de cómo limpiar el lugar del asesinato. Más tarde, Moreira intentó encubrir el asesinato al pintar las paredes y cambiar la alfombra del apartamento donde Madrigal había sido apuñalado varias veces.
Poco después del asesinato de Madrigal, y aún el día 22 de noviembre de 2003, Moreira instruyó a Bernal y Calderón que lo acompañaran al apartamento de Israel Ramos-Cruz, alias Taylor, quien ocupaba el cargo de liderazgo de “Primera palabra” de la división de los Sailors en ese momento. Después de llegar al domicilio, Moreira y Ramos-Cruz tuvieron una discusión privada en la cocina mientras los demás se encontraban en la sala, y luego regresaron a la sala y le dijeron a Calderón que él y otros debían pintar graffiti de la MS-13 en celebración del asesinato de Madrigal por parte de Calderón. Ramos-Cruz le dio a Calderón una lata de pintura azul en aerosol e instruyó a otro miembro de la división de los Sailors, Santos Maximino García, alias “Curley”, que condujera a Moreira y Calderón a su destino. Después de que García y Calderón dejaran el apartamento, Ramos-Cruz le dio una pistola a Moreira. Moreira instruyó a García que los llevara a un área detrás de una tienda en Mount Rainier, Md., donde miembros de los Sailors habían pintado graffiti anteriormente. Moreira y Calderón salieron del vehículo y poco después Moreira le disparó una vez en la cabeza de Calderón, lo que le provocó la muerte. De acuerdo con la declaración de los hechos, Moreira y Ramos-Cruz luego hicieron declaraciones en las que expresaron que tuvieron que matar a Calderón porque no hubiera sido fuerte y le hubiera contado a la policía sobre el asesinato de Madrigal.
El 5 de enero de 2005, Moreira y Omar Vàsquez, alias “Duke”, 32, otro miembro de Sailors, participaron en una pelea con miembros de una pandilla rival en un restaurante de comida rápida en Alexandria, Va. Moreira y Vàsquez perdieron la pelea y Moreira admitió que, como respuesta, el 21 de enero de 2005, él y múltiples miembros de la MS-13 salieron en búsqueda de la pandilla rival involucrada en la pelea. Condujeron hasta un edificio de apartamentos en Alexandria, Va., donde vieron a un grupo de jóvenes que creyeron que incluía a un miembro de la pandilla rival que había peleado con Moreira a principios de ese mes. Moreira y otro miembro de la MS-13 se acercaron al grupo y cada uno disparó múltiples tiros al grupo e hirió a tres jóvenes de sexo masculino, uno de los cuales falleció como resultado de múltiples heridas de bala.
Ramos-Cruz, García y Vàsquez fueron condenados en el juicio. Ramos-Cruz y Vàsquez fueron sentenciados a cadena perpetua y García fue sentenciado a 32 años de prisión. Bernal, 29, de Hyattsville, se declaró culpable de cargos asociados a su papel en la pandilla. Aún no se establecido una fecha para la lectura de la sentencia de Bernal.
La Fuerza de Tarea Regional de Control Antipandillas [Regional Anti-Gang Enforcement (RAGE)] del Buró de Control de Bebidas Alcohólicas, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)], la Fiscalía Federal del Condado de Prince George y la Fiscalía Estatal del Condado de Montgomery brindaron asistencia en este caso.
Estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso los Fiscales Federales Auxiliares Robert K. Hur y William D. Moomau del Distrito de Maryland; el Abogado Litigante Michael Warbel de la Unidad de Casos Capitales de la División Criminal; y James M. Trusty, Jefe Interino de la Unidad Antipandillas de la División Criminal.
Corporate Executive Pleads Guilty to Role in Illegal Campaign Contribution Scheme and to Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A Natick, Mass., man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to engaging in a scheme to conceal from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and from the public illegal campaign contributions made to federal campaign committees, and to witness tampering, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts; and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in New England.
Martin Raffol, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns in Boston to one count of engaging in a scheme to conceal material information from the FEC and one count of witness tampering.
“Hiding the true source of campaign funds from election authorities and the public fundamentally impacts the transparency of our democratic system of governance,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to investigating and prosecuting anyone who tries to evade campaign finance laws and conceal the true source of donations.”
“Today’s conviction should be a reminder that schemes aimed at facilitating illegal campaign contributions will be uncovered and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen N. Ortiz.
According to the criminal information, Raffol served as executive vice president for a company that provided management services to a portfolio of real estate holdings, including several publically-subsidized housing communities in the Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston. Executives from the company and its parent company actively solicited campaign contributions from various individuals and entities for candidates running for federal, state and local office throughout the years, as part of its business. According to the court document, these executives did so primarily to advance the business interests of the company, including obtaining support for public financing of a large-scale development project within the city of Boston.
As part of an effort to increase the amount of campaign contributions to candidates who supported the company’s projects or who might support these projects in the future, executives and senior management directed Raffol to solicit campaign contributions from vendors who regularly did work for the company.
Raffol admitted that in turn he engaged in an ongoing scheme whereby he caused these vendors to be reimbursed for substantial campaign contributions solicited from them. This included vendors who provided general contracting services, energy services and security services. As a result of Raffol’s scheme, the true source of these vendors’ campaign contributions was disguised from the FEC, similar state authorities and ultimately the public. In total, Raffol caused more than $12,000 in illegal campaign contributions to be made to candidates running for federal office, including candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. He also caused more than $30,000 in illegal contributions to be made to candidates running for state and local office, including candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, state senate, state house of representatives, district attorney, mayor of the city of Boston and Boston City Council. This scheme caused numerous reports, which falsely indicated the source of these contributions, to be unwittingly filed by the relevant political committees with the FEC and similar authorities.
Raffol admitted that he also engaged in witness tampering to conceal the illegal campaign contribution scheme and to prevent law enforcement from learning of the scheme. Specifically, Raffol instructed a witness to lie to authorities if they questioned him about the alleged campaign contribution scheme.
At sentencing, Raffol faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the false statement charge, and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the witness tampering charge. Sentencing has been scheduled for Dec. 8, 2010.
The case was investigated by the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Dowden of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and Senior Litigation Counsel William M. Welch II of the Criminal Division.
Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on 2009 Crime StatisticsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – "Today’s report showing violent crime declined in 2009 is an encouraging sign that our nation continues to make progress in the fight against crime. Although there are many reasons behind the decline, one thing is certain: smarter policing practices and investments in law enforcement play a significant role in reducing violent and property crime.
"In 2009, the Obama administration provided over four billion dollars in support to law enforcement and criminal justice initiatives through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including one billion in COPS funding to keep police officers on the street. We also provided an additional $519 million in Byrne Justice Assistance Grants to support our state and local criminal justice partners. These investments have helped maintain public safety and encourage new criminal justice innovations in state and local jurisdictions across the country and have now funded over 16,000 jobs, many of which would have been lost without passage of the Recovery Act.
"The decrease in violent crime has a real impact on the lives of millions of Americans, but we have much more to do. We will continue to support our state and local partners and to implement the tough, smart policing policies that we know make a difference in the fight against crime."
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Religious Discrimination Against the City of Walnut, CaliforniaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Walnut, Calif., alleging that the city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), when, in 2008, it denied a conditional use permit to the Chung Tai Zen Center so that it could build and operate a Buddhist house of worship at property it then owned in the city.
The lawsuit, filed today in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that until it denied the Zen Center’s application in January 2008, the city had not rejected any application for a conditional use permit to build, expand or operate a house of worship since at least 1980. The complaint further alleges that the city treated the Zen Center differently than similarly situated religious and non-religious facilities. For example, the complaint alleges that in August 2008, the city approved a conditional use permit for a Catholic church that, when completed, will be larger than the Zen Center’s proposed facility. The complaint also alleges that between 1998 and 2003, the city built a civic center complex two blocks from Zen Center’s former location in Walnut.
"Religious freedom is among our most cherished rights, and our nation’s laws prohibit cities and towns from discriminating based on religion when they make zoning decisions related to houses of worship," said Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. "No faith should be singled out for inferior treatment when it seeks to build a house of worship in compliance with local zoning laws."
The government’s complaint seeks a court order declaring that the actions of the city with respect to the Zen Center violated RLUIPA and an injunction to prohibit the city from discriminating against the Zen Center and other religious entities and institutions that seek to operate in Walnut.
"Upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans is one of the most important objectives of the Department of Justice and this office," said André Birotte, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. "We are committed to combating religious discrimination and promoting religious liberty for all people, regardless of their faith or religious denomination. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 is an important tool in protecting individuals and houses of worship from discriminatory and unduly burdensome zoning regulations."
RLUIPA, enacted in 2000, prohibits religious discrimination in land use and zoning decisions. Persons who believe that they been subjected to religious discrimination in land use or zoning may contact the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-896-7743. Additional information about the Justice Department’s efforts to combat religious discrimination may be found at www.usdoj.gov/crt/religdisc/religionpamp.htm.
The complaint is an allegation of unlawful conduct. The allegations must be proven in federal court.
Declaración del Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder sobre las estadísticas del crimen 2009Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – "El informe de hoy, que muestra que los crímenes violentos disminuyeron en 2009, es un indicio positivo de que nuestro país sigue progresando en la lucha contra el crimen. Si bien la disminución se debe a diversos motivos, una cosa queda clara: las prácticas e inversiones policiales más inteligentes en las fuerzas del orden público tienen un rol significativo en la reducción de los crímenes violentos y contra la propiedad.
"En 2009, el gobierno de Obama brindó más de cuatro mil millones de dólares en apoyo a iniciativas de aplicación legal y de justicia criminal a través de la Ley de Recuperación y Reinversión de los Estados Unidos, entre ellos mil millones de dólares en financiación al programa de Servicios de Policía con Orientación Comunitaria [Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)] para mantener a los agentes policiales en la calle. También hemos entregado $519 millones de dólares adicionales en Subsidios de Asistencia Judicial Byrne para apoyar a nuestros asociados estatales y locales de justicia criminal. Estas inversiones han contribuido a mantener la seguridad pública y fomentar nuevas innovaciones en justicia criminal en jurisdicciones estatales y locales en todo el país y han financiado hasta el momento más de 16,000 puestos de trabajo, muchos de los cuales se hubieran perdido de no aprobarse la Ley de Recuperación.
"La disminución de los crímenes violentos ha tenido un impacto real en la vida de millones de estadounidenses, pero aún tenemos mucho por hacer. Seguiremos apoyando a nuestros asociados estatales y locales e implementando las políticas policiales estrictas e inteligentes que sabemos que marcan una diferencia en la lucha contra el crimen".
North Carolina Real Estate Speculator Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging in Real Estate Foreclosure AuctionsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Raleigh, N.C., real estate speculator pleaded guilty to conspiring to rig bids for public real estate foreclosure auctions held in multiple counties in eastern North Carolina, the Department of Justice announced today.
Christopher J. Deans pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Greenville, N.C., for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids during the real estate foreclosure auction process in eastern North Carolina from at least as early as April 2003 until at least April 2005. The primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress and eliminate competitive bidding on foreclosed properties and obtain selected real estate offered at public foreclosure auctions at non-competitive prices.
According to the charge, which was filed on July 29, 2010, Deans, an owner of Raleigh-based real estate investment companies, and co-conspirators agreed not to bid against each other during public real estate foreclosure auctions in eastern North Carolina. As part of the conspiracy, Deans and co-conspirators paid one another not to bid on foreclosed properties and received economic benefits from the rental and sale of real estate purchased through the rigged foreclosure auction process. The conspiracy resulted in the suppression of competitive bidding on foreclosed properties which caused foreclosing lienholders and certain homeowners to receive a lower price for properties sold through foreclosure actions, the department said.
The bid rigging violation with which Deans is charged carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
The charge against Deans is the first to arise in an ongoing federal antitrust investigation of fraud and bidding irregularities in certain real estate auctions in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Atlanta Field Office and the FBI.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging or fraud related to real estate foreclosure auctions should contact the Antitrust Division’s Atlanta Field Office at 404-331-7100 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Justice Department Reaches Agreement to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in WisconsinRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has reached an agreement with Wisconsin officials to help ensure that military service members and U.S. citizens living overseas have an opportunity to participate fully in the Nov. 2, 2010, federal general election.
The agreement, which was filed at the same time as a lawsuit by the Civil Rights Division, provides additional time – until Nov. 19, 2010 – for receipt of absentee ballots to ensure eligible military and overseas voters have sufficient time to cast and return their votes and to have them counted. The agreement also requires Wisconsin officials to take certain steps to ensure that all local election offices in the state send absentee ballots to military and overseas voters by no later than Oct. 1, 2010, by the means requested by the voter: i.e., by mail, email or fax.
Under the agreement, Wisconsin will provide a 49-day window for military and overseas voters to receive, mark and submit their ballots to ensure sufficient time to have their ballots counted. To accomplish this, the agreement requires Wisconsin to both accelerate the date by which they will send ballots out to military and overseas voters to Oct. 1, 2010, and to add additional time -- until Nov. 19, 2010 -- for receipt of their absentee ballots. Absent the agreement, military and overseas voters would have had much less time to receive and return their ballots.
The lawsuit was brought under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 (UOCAVA), as amended by the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act of 2009 (MOVE Act). UOCAVA requires states to allow uniformed services voters (serving both overseas and within the United States) and overseas citizens to register to vote and to vote absentee for all elections for federal office.
“The department is fully committed to vigorously enforcing the MOVE Act, which is designed to remove barriers and give members of the uniformed services, their families and our citizens living overseas the opportunity for full participation in the elections of our nation’s leaders,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “I am extremely pleased that Wisconsin’s officials have worked cooperatively with the department and have agreed to measures that will afford immediate relief to ensure that the state’s military and overseas voters, many of whom are members of our armed forces and their families bravely serving our country around the world, will have the opportunity to have their votes counted in the upcoming election.”
The agreement, which still must be approved by the federal district court in Madison, Wis., resolved the department’s claims regarding compliance with UOCAVA in the Nov. 2, 2010, election. The agreement also commits the state to take steps to ensure compliance with UOCAVA in future federal elections and provide a report to the Department of Justice on those efforts.
In 2009, Congress enacted the MOVE Act, which made broad amendments to UOCAVA. Among those changes was a requirement that states transmit absentee ballots to voters covered under UOCAVA no later than 45 days before federal elections. Under the new law, states can apply to the Department of Defense for a hardship waiver of this requirement for a particular Federal election if the state’s primary election date prohibited it from sending ballots by the 45th day before the election; if a legal contest causes a delay in generating ballots; or if the state’ s constitution prohibits compliance. To obtain a waiver, states must 1) establish that one or more of these circumstances creates an undue hardship, and 2) present a comprehensive plan that provides UOCAVA voters sufficient time to receive and submit marked absentee ballots in time to have them counted in that election. Waiver determinations are made by the Department of Defense, after consulting with the Department of Justice.
Wisconsin sought a hardship waiver on grounds that its Sept. 14, 2010, primary date prohibited it from complying with the 45-day deadline specified by the MOVE Act. On Aug. 27, 2010, the Department of Defense denied Wisconsin’s request for a waiver, finding that under the MOVE Act although the state had shown an undue hardship for the Nov. 2, 2010, election, its proposed comprehensive plan did not afford sufficient time for UOCAVA voters to receive and submit absentee ballots in time to have them counted. Immediately following denial of the waiver application, the Department of Justice advised Wisconsin officials that the department had authorized litigation to enforce UOCAVA. Discussions with the state were initiated to resolve the matter, which led to the agreement filed today.
More information about UOCAVA and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice web site at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/misc/activ_uoc.htm . Complaints may be reported to the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.
Hawaiian County Agrees to Pay Restitution and Modify Operations to Resolve Endangered Species Act & Migratory Bird Treaty Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – The county of Kauai, Hawaii, has entered into a plea agreement to resolve alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the Justice Department announced today. The county today entered a plea of guilty to violating the MBTA by taking, that is killing or wounding, more than 18 migratory birds, specifically Newell’s shearwaters (known in the Hawaiian language as ‘a’o).
According to the court documents, the Newell’s shearwater (Puffinus auricularis newelli) is a seabird native to the Hawaiian Islands. The majority of the world’s population of Newell’s shearwaters nest on the island of Kauai, specifically in burrows on inland mountains. Young shearwaters leave these inland mountain nests and make their first flight to the sea in September through December each year, typically at night. The young birds use mountain air currents or physical drop offs to become airborne. If a young shearwater falls to the ground in a location without conditions such as those that occur in the inland mountains or at sea, it usually will be unable to regain flight.
The Newell’s shearwater is a threatened species protected under the ESA, and a migratory bird protected under the MBTA. The species is identified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.
According to the information, it has been publicly documented since at least 1979 that fledgling Newell’s shearwaters are attracted to bright lights which often causes them to circle the lights and fly more passes across any nearby obstacles. This attraction may cause the birds to fly into the light or other obstacles near the light and thereby become killed or injured, or to fly around the lights until they fall to the ground exhausted where the bird may be killed by a car, predator or starvation. On approximately Aug. 3, 2005 and Sept. 16, 2005, as well as on various other dates thereafter, the county was notified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that its facilities, particularly the lighting at its facilities, were taking protected seabirds, including threatened Newell’s shearwaters. The county was advised that these takings violate both the MBTA and the ESA. The county was informed that it could prepare and submit an Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) to apply for a permit that would authorize certain takings incidental to the operation of its facilities, and was given advice over a number of years that it could minimize takings by, among other things, shielding its lights.
As of Aug. 30, 2010, the county of Kauai had not shielded any of its lights, prepared an HCP or applied for a permit authorizing takings of any protected seabirds. Only on Aug. 31, 2010, did the county apply to participate in an island-wide HCP plan currently being developed with regard to seabirds.
The information specifies that during each of the past five years some Newell’s shearwaters have been killed, or otherwise taken, by lighting at facilities operated by the county, including but not limited to, the taking of at least one protected Newell’s shearwater on each of the following dates: Oct. 14, 19 and 28, 2005; Oct. 18, 20 and 21, 2006; Oct. 18 and 19, 2007; and Oct. 23, 2009.
Under the terms of the plea, the parties recommend the maximum statutory fine of $15,000 for the single count charged, and a period of probation of 30 months with specific conditions of probation intended to avoid additional violations during the period of probation. One set of conditions relate specifically to the use of lights at the county’s football stadiums and a second set relate to lights at all other county facilities, each covering a period of three fallout seasons (that is, Sept. 15 to Dec. 15 of 2010-2012).
For the football facilities, for 2010 the county agrees that night football games will not be played for all but four specific games within the fallout seasons this year. For the four identified games, they may play them at night with certain lighting restrictions, to include shielding the lights and monitoring. In this first year if shielding is not accomplished, the games may still be played provided that the county creates an escrow fund of $60,000, from which $10,000 per killed or seriously injured bird would be transferred to an account for use to benefit seabirds on Kauai. However, once six takings are reached, any remaining games of the four cannot be played at night. Starting with the 2011 football season for any night games all lights must be shielded and a similar escrow account funded. Once four takings that involve the downing of birds are reached, any remaining games cannot be played at night.
For all other facilities, the lights must be inventoried and measures must be taken to minimize and monitor for takings, all on a specific schedule. As of 2011, if such facility lights are to be used at night during the fallout season (Sept. 15 until Dec. 15), an escrow account of $100,000 must be funded, with an option to add additional funds in increments. Again, transfers would be made related to any takings that occur, from the escrow account to one for use to benefit seabirds on Kauai. If and when the fund is exhausted lights at facilities with takings cannot be turned on at night for the duration of the fallout season.
The plea also provides that the county will make a payment of $180,000 to partially repair the harm of past takings to an account to be established at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for use to benefit protected seabirds on Kauai, and a payment of $30,000 to reduce the harm from anticipated future takings within the period of probation and prior to the county acquiring an incidental take permit, to the Kauai Humane Society to augment its Save Our Shearwater program.
"The Department of Justice views the taking of protected wildlife as a serious violation of the law, and we are pleased that the county of Kauai is taking action to reduce the risk of harm to this threatened seabird," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "The county’s action will enable residents to continue to use county facilities, while protecting this native species that is part of Hawaii’s cultural and natural heritage."
The county faced a potential maximum sentence of five years probation and statutory maximum fines of $15,000 to $25,000 for each MBTA or ESA violation – more than $720,000 in total – for which it might have been found guilty after trial. In addition, mandatory conditions of any sentence of probation require that no further violations of law be committed during the period of probation.
The Endangered Species Act prohibits the unauthorized taking, including harming and harassing, of species listed as threatened or endangered. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the unauthorized taking, including wounding or killing, of bird species listed as migratory.
Assistant Attorney General Moreno credited special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the investigation of the case culminating in the information and agreement.
The case is being prosecuted by the Environmental Crime Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice.
Three Principals of A&O Entities Arrested and Charged for Their Alleged Roles in $100 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
RICHMOND , Va. – Three principals of a group of businesses that acquired and marketed life settlements to investors were arrested and charged in an 18-count indictment for their alleged roles in a $100 million fraud scheme with more than 800 victims across the United States and Canada.
The charges were announced today by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
An indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia charges Christian M. Allmendinger, 39; Adley H. Abdulwahab, 35; and David C. White, 40, with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, six counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, six counts of money laundering and four counts of securities fraud. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $103 million from all three defendants.
“Today’s announcement is another example of how allegations in a national financial fraud case can directly harm everyday people on Main Street,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “The alleged victims in this case are not banks or professional investors taking a calculated risk. Instead, this case involves elderly retirees and others who gave most – and in some cases, all – of their life savings and have seen it all disappear.”
“These defendants allegedly defrauded unsuspecting investors of more than $100 million, often for their own personal enrichment,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “As a result of their alleged scheme, more than 800 victims across the United States and Canada were cheated out of their savings and deceived. Through the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force we are continuing to root out financial fraud in all its forms.”
According to the indictment, Allmendinger, Abdulwahab, White and their co-conspirators were principals with A&O Resource Management Ltd., and various related entities, which sold life settlement investments. The defendants allegedly engaged in a scheme to defraud investors by making misrepresentations about such things as A&O’s prior success, its size and office locations, its number of employees, the risks of its investment offerings, and its safekeeping and use of investor funds. The indictment further alleges that when state regulators began to scrutinize A&O’s investment products, Abdulwahab and his co-conspirators manufactured a pair of sham transactions in which A&O was “sold” to a shell corporate entity named Blue Dymond and later to another shell corporate entity named Physician’s Trust. It is alleged that following these sham transactions, White became the figurehead president of A&O and Physician’s Trust, but that A&O was still secretly controlled by Abdulwahab and other co-conspirators. The indictment also alleges that Allmendinger, Abdulwahab and their co-conspirators routinely used investor funds for personal enrichment.
If convicted of all the charges in the indictment, Allmendinger, Abdulwahab and White face up to 20 years in prison on each count except the four securities fraud counts, on which they face up to 5 years in prison per count.
In addition to Allmendinger, Abdulwahab and White, four other individuals have been charged with criminal offenses in connection with the A&O fraud scheme. Brent Oncale, 36, of Houston, was charged in a two-count criminal information with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role as vice president of A&O. Russell E. Mackert, 51, of Spring, Texas, was charged in a two-count criminal information with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bulk cash smuggling for his role as an attorney in the A&O scheme. Eric M. Kurz, 46, of The Woodlands, Texas, was charged in a one-count criminal information with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering for his actions as a wholesaler of A&O investment products. Tomme Bromseth, 68, of Blackstone, Va., was charged in a two-count criminal information with mail fraud and structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements for his role as an A&O sales agent in the Richmond area. In addition to the charging documents, signed plea agreements for Mackert, Oncale, Kurz and Bromseth were filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court hearings have yet to be scheduled.
This continuing investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service and FBI, with significant assistance from the Texas State Securities Board. These cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. Dry and Jessica Aber Brumberg from the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Albert B. Stieglitz Jr., of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.
The investigation has been coordinated by the Virginia Financial and Securities Fraud Task Force, an unprecedented partnership between criminal investigators and civil regulators to investigate and prosecute complex financial fraud cases in the nation and in Virginia. The task force is an investigative arm of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, an interagency national task force.
President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Propietaria de clínica del área de Miami se declara culpable de ardid de fraude de servicios médicos de $23 millones de dólaresRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Una residente del área de Miami que era propietaria de una clínica de infusiones para el VIH y la operaba se declaró culpable hoy por su participación en un ardid de fraude contra Medicare de $23 millones de dólares asociado a infusiones para el VIH, anunciaron hoy el Departamento de Justicia y el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos [Health and Human Services (HHS)].
Flor Crisólogo, 58, se declaró culpable ante el Juez Magistrado Barry L. Garber en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Miami de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos. Crisólogo fue acusada originalmente en una acusación formal de mayo de 2010.
Según los documentos de declaración de culpabilidad, Crisólogo era propietaria y operadora de J & F Community Medical Center Inc. Crisólogo admitió haber presentado aproximadamente $23 millones de dólares en reclamos falsos y fraudulentos a Medicare por servicios de inyecciones e infusiones de VIH supuestamente brindados a través de J & F. Según el expediente judicial, Crisólogo contrató a un médico en J & F y conspiró con el médico y terceros para solicitar pruebas innecesarias, firmar análisis médicos y formularios de diagnóstico falsos y autorizar tratamientos para que pareciera que los pacientes, que eran beneficiarios de Medicare, estaban recibiendo servicios médicos. Los servicios incluían terapias médicamente innecesarias de inyecciones e infusiones. Crisólogo admitió que ella y sus conspiradores les pagaron comisiones ilícitas a beneficiarios de Medicare para inducirlos a declarar que habían recibido servicios legítimos en la clínica cuando, en realidad, los servicios de infusión para el VIH no eran provistos o no eran médicamente necesarios.
La sentencia máxima por conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos es de 10 años de prisión. Crisólogo también enfrenta multas y la confiscación de cualquier propiedad o ganancias derivadas de sus actividades criminales. La lectura de la sentencia está programada para el 23 de noviembre de 2010.
La declaración de culpabilidad de hoy fue anunciada por el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal; el Fiscal Federal Wifredo A. Ferrer del Distrito Sur de Florida; John V. Gillies, Agente Especial a Cargo de la Oficina Local de Miami del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]; y el Agente Especial a Cargo Christopher Dennis de la Oficina de Investigaciones de Miami de la Oficina del Inspector General [Office of the Inspector General (OIG)] del HHS.
Está a cargo de la acusación en el caso el Abogado Litigante Joseph S. Beemsterboer de la Sección de Fraude de la División Criminal. El caso fue investigado por el FBI y la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos (HHS-OIG).
Desde su creación en marzo de 2007, las operaciones de la Fuerza de Ataque de Fraude contra Medicare en siete distritos lograron la acusación formal de 810 personas que, en conjunto, facturaron fraudulentamente al programa Medicare más de $1.85 billones de dólares. Además, los Centros para Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid del HHS, en trabajo conjunto con la HHS-OIG, están tomando medidas para lograr una mayor responsabilización y una menor presencia de proveedores fraudulentos.
Para obtener màs información sobre el Equipo de Acción, Prevención y Control de Fraude de Servicios Médicos [Healthcare Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT)], visite: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Miami-area Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty in $23 Million Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Miami-area resident who owned and operated an HIV infusion clinic pleaded guilty today for her participation in a $23 million HIV infusion Medicare fraud scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced today.
Flor Crisologo, 58, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in U.S. District Court in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Crisologo was originally charged in a May 2010 indictment.
According to the plea documents, Crisologo was the owner and operator of J & F Community Medical Center Inc. Crisologo admitted that she submitted approximately $23 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for HIV injection and infusion services purportedly provided through J & F. According to court documents, Crisologo hired a physician at J & F and conspired with the physician and others to order unnecessary tests, sign false medical analyses and diagnosis forms, and authorize treatments to make it appear that medical services were being provided to patients who were Medicare beneficiaries. The services included medically unnecessary injection and infusion therapies. Crisologo admitted that she and her conspirators paid Medicare beneficiaries kickbacks to induce the beneficiaries to claim they received legitimate services at the clinic when in fact the HIV infusion services were either not provided or were not medically necessary.
The maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit health care fraud is 10 years in prison. Crisologo also faces fines and forfeiture of any property or proceeds derived from her criminal activities. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 23, 2010.
Today’s guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies , Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Miami field office; and Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Dennis of the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Joseph S. Beemsterboer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG.
Since their inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 810 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $1.85 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .
Justice Department and McNeese State University Reach Settlement to Ensure Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced a comprehensive settlement agreement with McNeese State University and the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The settlement agreement resolves a compliance review initiated by the United States in 2008. The United States initiated an investigation of the university after the state attorney general’s office took the position – in private ADA litigation against the campus – that it was not required to have an accessible toilet room in its primary student union building. Under the agreement, McNeese, a public university located in Lake Charles, La., will continue its efforts to come into compliance with the access provisions of Title II of the ADA. The university will take a number of steps to improve access for students, visitors and employees with disabilities including:
- Bring all newly constructed facilities into compliance with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design;
- Develop and implement a campus wide Physical Access Plan to bring all covered facilities into compliance with the terms of this agreement and Title II of the ADA. The Physical Access Plan will include specific remedial actions and time tables to ensure that the university’s programs, services and activities afford program access by no later than Sept. 1, 2016;
- Display information on its website about disability access and create and/or update its campus-wide emergency evacuation, sheltering, and shelter-in-place plans for individuals with disabilities; and
- Designate an ADA coordinator, to ensure that the university meets the terms of this Agreement and the requirements of the ADA.
In addition to the specific remedial work required by this agreement, the board of supervisors (in conjunction with the Louisiana Division of Administration/Office of Facility Planning) has commenced procedural changes to emphasize ADA accessibility rules and regulations for capital outlay projects for the University of Louisiana System.
"Full access to all programs and services is a civil right enjoyed by all, including individuals with disabilities. We are pleased that McNeese is taking steps to ensure that individuals with disabilities are guaranteed full access to its programs, services and activities, and we applaud the board of supervisors for taking steps to ensure access at all of the University of Louisiana campuses," said Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
"This a positive move by McNeese and the board of supervisors. Their efforts reflect a commitment to ensuring that all individuals with disabilities have full access to the university," said Stephanie A. Finley, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana."
It is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to enforce the laws that guarantee that persons with disabilities have equal opportunity to pursue their education."
The ADA protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in all activities of state and local government entities, including those activities housed in public schools and universities. For more information about the ADA call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD), or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov
Former Employee of a National Bank Pleads Guilty for Role in Bid-rigging and Fraud Conspiracies Involving Proceeds of Municipal BondsRead the Press Release
A former employee of a national bank pleaded guilty today for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts, the Department of Justice announced.
According to plea proceedings today in the U.S. District Court in New York City, Douglas Lee Campbell engaged in separate bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to the provision of a type of contract, known as an investment agreement, to public entities throughout the United States, such as state, county and local governments and agencies. Campbell also pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. According to the plea agreement, Campbell has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
According to court documents, the bank that employed Campbell was a provider of investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts, such as swaps, to public entities. Public entities seek to invest money from a variety of sources, primarily the proceeds of municipal bonds that they issued, to raise money for, among other things, public projects. Public entities typically hire a broker to conduct a competitive bidding process for the award of the investment agreements to invest such money. Competitive bidding for these agreements is the subject of regulations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is related to the tax-exempt status of the bonds
The department said in court documents that Campbell worked in the bank’s municipal derivatives group as senior vice president and a marketer of investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts. According to the court documents, Campbell engaged in a bid-rigging conspiracy from at least as early as 1998 until approximately September 2005. As a part of the bid-rigging conspiracy, Campbell and co-conspirators designated in advance which co-conspirator provider would be the winning bidder for certain investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts brokered by Rubin/Chambers, Dunhill Insurance Services Inc., also known as CDR Financial Products. CDR is a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based financial products and services firm. Campbell also agreed to submit intentionally losing bids to CDR on investment agreements or other municipal finance contracts that were steered to other providers, giving the false appearance that these deals had been bid competitively in accordance with relevant Treasury regulations.
As a part of the bid-rigging conspiracy, kickbacks in the form of inflated or unearned fees were paid by Campbell’s employer to CDR in exchange for assistance in controlling the bidding process and ensuring that certain co-conspirator providers won the bids they were allocated.
According to the court documents, Campbell also participated in a fraud conspiracy with CDR from at least as early as 1998 until approximately September 2005. As part of this conspiracy, CDR gave Campbell information about the prices, price levels or conditions in competitors’ bids, a practice known as a “last look,” which is explicitly prohibited by U.S. Treasury regulations. In exchange for the information, Campbell’s employer paid kickbacks to CDR. Campbell also submitted intentionally losing bids to CDR for certain investment agreements to make it appear that his employer had competed for those agreement s or contracts, when in fact, it had not. As a result of the bid manipulation, Campbell’s employer won investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts at artificially determined price levels, which deprived municipal issuers of money and property.
The court documents also charge that Campbell and co-conspirators misrepresented to municipal issuers or their bond counsel that the bidding process was in compliance with U.S. Treasury regulations. This caused the municipal issuers to award investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts to providers that otherwise would not have been awarded the contracts if the issuers had true and accurate information regarding the bidding process. Such conduct caused municipal issuers to file inaccurate reports with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and thus placed the tax-exempt status of the underlying bonds in jeopardy.
The bid-rigging conspiracy for which Campbell is charged carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The fraud conspiracy for which Campbell is charged carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fines for each of these offenses may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
This is the seventh guilty plea to arise from an ongoing investigation into the municipal bonds industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. The department is coordinating its investigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Three former employees of CDR have pleaded guilty to bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies in relation to the ongoing investigation. Three other individuals have pleaded guilty to charges related to the ongoing investigation. In addition, three former financial services executives were indicted on July 27, 2010, for participating in fraud schemes and conspiracies related to the bidding for investment agreements. In October 2009, CDR, two of its employees and one former employee were charged for participating in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies and related crimes. The CDR trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 12, 2011.
Today’s guilty plea is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging and related offenses in any financial markets should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-264-0390 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm , or the FBI at 212-384-5000.
Federal Inmate Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Obstructing DOJ Office of the Inspector GeneralRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal inmate was sentenced today in Kansas City, Mo., to 96 months in prison for obstructing justice by making false statements and creating false evidence in connection with another criminal case in which the inmate was charged, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
U.S. District Court Judge Dean Whipple also sentenced Margie P. Shephard, 46, to three years of supervised release following the prison term. In the underlying identity theft case in which she was charged, Shephard was sentenced to 24 months in prison to run consecutive to the obstruction sentence, 60 months in prison to run concurrent with the obstruction sentence and three years of supervised release.
Shephard pleaded guilty on Feb. 23, 2010, in the Western District of Missouri to one count of endeavoring to obstruct the administration of justice in connection with the identity theft prosecution of her. Shephard previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft and one count of aggravated identity theft. At the time of the obstruction offense, Shephard was in federal custody and awaiting trial on the identity theft charges, which were brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.
According to court documents, Shephard admitted that from June 29, 2007, to Aug. 7, 2007, she operated a scheme to manufacture counterfeit payroll checks in the names of identity theft victims, and pass the checks in order to obtain money. According to the plea agreement, Shephard admitted that from approximately April 2009 to January 2010, she gave false statements and provided physical evidence to the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG), falsely alleging that a federal government employee was engaged in an identity theft scheme. Shephard admitted she provided this false evidence to the DOJ-OIG in an attempt to persuade the U.S. Attorney’s Office to request a reduction in her prison sentence in the pending conspiracy and identity theft case.
Shephard’s actions caused the recusal of the U.S. Attorney’s Office from the investigation of her false allegations, the continuance of the underlying criminal case against her while the allegations were investigated, and the use of substantial OIG resources in investigating her claims. Shephard admitted she continued to provide false statements and physical evidence that she knew was being provided to a grand jury and to the court, as well as attempted to convince others to manufacture false evidence to support her allegations. Ultimately, the government determined that her allegations about an identity theft scheme involving a federal government employee were not true.
The obstruction case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Richard C. Pilger of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, and was investigated by the DOJ-OIG. The underlying conspiracy and identity theft case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel M. Nelson of the Western District of Missouri, and was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and local law enforcement authorities.