District Not Recorded
The source did not name an office we could identify. These records remain unassigned rather than guessed.
Justice Department Files Statements of Interest in Servicemembers’ Lawsuits Asserting Their Rights Against Major Banks in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it filed statements of interest in Espin et al. v. Citibank, N.A. and Padao v. American Express National Bank, two lawsuits currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, to address the right of the nation’s servicemembers to bring and participate in class action litigation under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) instead of being forced into privatized arbitration proceedings on their own.
The SCRA provides special legal protections to servicemembers to enable them to focus on their jobs defending the nation. For example, it allows servicemembers to reduce the interest rates on certain loans to 6% while on active duty. In Espin and Padao, the plaintiffs allege that Citibank and American Express, respectively, violated the SCRA by imposing interest rates in excess of 6% on qualified servicemembers.
The plaintiffs are seeking to bring class actions against the banks on behalf of themselves and other servicemembers who may have been affected. In response, Citibank and American Express are seeking to have the cases dismissed and to require every servicemember to bring their own individual claim in private arbitration. The department’s statements of interest urge the court to deny the defendants’ motions and to allow the plaintiffs’ SCRA class claims to proceed.
“The Justice Department is committed to robust enforcement of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, both through actions brought by the Attorney General and through servicemembers seeking to vindicate their own rights and the rights of others in federal court,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“Our troops put their lives on the line to secure our freedom, and they should be able to effectively vindicate their rights,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “Our troops fight for our freedom abroad, and we will zealously fight for their rights here at home. Limiting the rights of members of our military is unacceptable, especially in North Carolina, one of the most military-friendly states in the nation. We stand with our troops and insist that they be treated with the respect they deserve.”
The department’s statements of interest address specific language in the SCRA that permits plaintiffs in a civil action to be a representative party on behalf of members of a class or be a member of a class despite any previous agreement to the contrary. As explained in the statements of interest, this provision allows servicemembers to participate in class actions in federal court alleging SCRA violations even where, as in Espin and Padao, defendants seek to enforce an agreement requiring individual arbitration. The motions to compel arbitration in both cases are currently pending before the court.
Since 2011, the department has obtained over $481 million in monetary relief for over 123,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the department’s enforcement efforts under the SCRA and other laws that protect the rights of servicemembers, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
Servicemembers and their dependents who believe that their rights under the SCRA have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program Office. Office locations may be found at http://legalassistance.law.af.mil.
Federal Court Bars Three Florida Tax Return Preparer and a Business from Preparing Tax Returns and Orders Them to Disgorge Ill-Gotten GainsRead the Press Release
A federal court in Miami, Florida, has entered permanent injunctions against Rudy Aly, Rhonda Hudge, Cindy Odige, and TUPS Tax, LLC, barring them from preparing federal tax returns for others and owning or operating a tax preparation business. Aly was enjoined after failing to respond to the United States’ complaint. Hudge, Odige, and TUPS Tax consented to their injunctions.
The court also ordered that Aly disgorge $406,071.43, representing the proceeds that he received for preparing false or fraudulent tax returns from 2018 to 2020. The court also ordered Hudge to disgorge $15,562.75, and Odige and TUPS Tax to disgorge $48,000 based on their settlement agreements with the United States.
In the complaint, the United States alleged that Aly and Hudge prepared tax returns that included fraudulent claims for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), often based on fabricated business income or expenses or bogus household help income. The complaint also alleges that Aly and Hudge prepared tax returns that falsely claimed credits for residential solar energy improvements and education expenses. Odige signed and filed fraudulent returns prepared by Aly, the complaint alleges.
As part of their settlements, Hudge and Odige did not admit to the allegations in the complaint but agreed to injunctions and to pay disgorgement.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
As the 2023 tax season continues, taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS offers tips on how to accurately file returns and how to choose a tax return preparer, as well as steps taxpayers can take to get a jumpstart on filing.
Taxpayers seeking assistance can access the IRS’s free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also has programs offering free basic return preparation for qualifying seniors and individuals with low to moderate income). In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $72,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.
In the past decade, the Department of Justice Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Departments of Justice, Commerce and Treasury Issue Joint Compliance Note on Russia-Related Sanctions Evasion and Export ControlsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), and the Department of Justice today issued a joint compliance note on the use of third-party intermediaries or transshipment points to evade Russian- and Belarussian-related sanctions and export controls. Today’s note marks the first collective effort by the three agencies to inform the private sector about enforcement trends and provide guidance to the business community on compliance with U.S. sanctions and export laws. The three agencies will issue these advisories on an ongoing basis.
“Ever since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the Department of Justice’s priority has been the robust enforcement of U.S. export and sanctions laws and cracking down on efforts to evade those laws,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen. “Companies are our first line of defense, and today’s joint compliance note will inform the private sector about enforcement trends and convey the Department’s expectations as to national-security related corporate compliance. We are proud to partner with BIS and OFAC on this important effort.”
“Those who attempt to prop up Putin’s war machine by evading our export controls and sanctions will be held accountable,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. “As this first-ever joint compliance note makes clear, it is incumbent upon industry to maintain effective, risk-based compliance programs. BIS, in coordination with our partners, including at OFAC and the Department of Justice, will continue to use all tools at our disposal to prevent bad actors from circumventing the comprehensive export controls put in place to deter Russian aggression.”
“Our economic tools are constraining Russia – so much so that the Kremlin has tasked their intelligence services with finding ways to get around international sanctions and export controls,” said OFAC Director Andrea M. Gacki. “The private sector is an essential partner in ensuring that we cut off Russia from accessing much-needed equipment to continue their unjust war against Ukraine. By issuing a joint alert, our enforcement agencies are illustrating the importance of a risk-based approach that protects the international financial system from abuse by Russia.”
The compliance note highlights one of the most common tactics used to evade Russia-related sanctions and export controls: the use of third-party intermediaries or transshipment points to circumvent restrictions, disguise the involvement of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) or parties on the Entity List in transactions, and obscure the true identities of end users. The note provides warning signs on what to look for if a company suspects that a customer is using a third-party intermediary to evade sanctions or export controls as well as recent examples of tactics allegedly used by defendants to evade detection while attempting to flout the controls. Further, the compliance note provides guidance to companies on how to maintain an effective, risk-based sanctions and export compliance program.
Since Feb. 24, 2022, BIS has implemented a series of stringent export controls that restrict Russia’s access to the technologies and other items that it needs to sustain its illegal war in Ukraine. These controls target Russia’s defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors, and have been expanded to Russia’s oil refining, industrial, and commercial sectors, as well as to luxury goods used by Russian elites. BIS’s controls have also been applied to Belarus for its substantial enabling of Russia’s invasion. Additional information on BIS’s actions is available online at: bis.doc.gov/index.php/policy-guidance/country-guidance/russia-belarus.
OFAC will continue to use, its broad targeting authorities against non-U.S. persons that provide ammunition or other support to the Russian Federation’s military-industrial complex, as well as to private military companies or paramilitary groups participating in or otherwise supporting the Russian Federation’s unlawful and unjustified attack on Ukraine. OFAC will continue to target Russia’s efforts to resupply its weapons and sustain its war of aggression against Ukraine, including any foreign persons who assist the Russian Federation in those efforts. Additionally, OFAC will continue to impose civil monetary penalties against U.S. persons who violate OFAC sanctions to benefit Russia, and against non-U.S. persons who cause U.S. persons to violate the Russia sanctions programs.
The Justice Department’s enforcement of these new measures has been led by Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.
The full compliance note is available here.
New York Man Pleads Guilty to Violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) ActRead the Press Release
Jay Smith, 32, of Freeport, New York, pleaded guilty today to a criminal information charging him with a felony violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act in connection with the Oct. 22, 2020, invasion of a reproductive health care clinic in Washington, D.C.
Smith was indicted with nine others (Lauren Handy, Jonathan Darnel, Paulette Harlow, Jean Marshall, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, William Goodman, Herb Geraghty and Joan Bell), all of whom were charged with conspiracy against rights and FACE Act offenses in creating a blockade at a reproductive health care clinic to prevent it from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services. Smith pleaded guilty to a charge that he used force and physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, and interfere with a nurse and other employees of the reproductive health clinic because of the services being offered. The charge further alleges that Smith’s conduct resulted in bodily injury to the clinic nurse.
A felony violation of the FACE Act carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly scheduled a sentencing hearing for Aug. 7.
The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case. The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office provided valuable assistance.
The Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Fraud, Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of New Jersey, District of Massachusetts, Eastern District of Michigan, Eastern District of New York and Southern District of New York; and FBI Field Offices in Newark, New York City, Boston and Detroit provided valuable assistance.
Readout of the Justice Department’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative MeetingRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative convened a virtual listening session today with representatives from organizations serving veterans. The listening session was part of the Civil Rights Division’s celebration of Black History Month. The discussion focused on issues faced by Black veterans, particularly in the transition from military to civilian life, and the programs and resources available to help them. The meeting participants also discussed the civil legal needs of veterans with regard to access to veteran benefits, housing, homelessness and child custody.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke welcomed the participants and described the Division’s role in protecting servicemembers and veterans from discrimination and unfair treatment. Other Justice Department attendees included representatives from the Office for Access to Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Justice Management Division and Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys.
Representatives of organizations serving veterans also participated in the discussion. They include, among others, the American Legion, the Military Officers Association of America, the National Association of Black Military Women, the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and several law school veteran legal services clinics.
The Servicemember and Veterans Initiative, housed in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, works to ensure that the rights of the brave men and women of our Nation’s armed forces, and the veterans who have served in the past, are safeguarded from discrimination and unfair treatment. To learn more about the Justice Department’s Servicemember and Veterans Initiative, please visit Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative (justice.gov). To learn more about the Justice Department’s Office for Access to Justice, please visit Office for Access to Justice.
Justice Department Secures $9 Million from Park National Bank to Address Lending Discrimination AllegationsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today a $9 million agreement to resolve allegations that Park National Bank (Park National), headquartered in Newark, Ohio, engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by “redlining” in the Columbus metropolitan area. The agreement is part of the Justice Department’s nationwide Combating Redlining Initiative that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland launched in October 2021.
“For far too long the doors to home ownership have been shut for Black families and many other people of color because of unlawful redlining by banks and other financial institutions,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “When banks fail to provide equal access to lending services in neighborhoods of color, they engage in modern day redlining and exacerbate the racial wealth gap in our country. The Justice Department will continue to fight to fulfill the promise of our nation’s fair lending laws while tearing down the discriminatory barriers that deny Black people and other people of color access to economic opportunity and homeownership.”
“Let today’s settlement send a very clear message to banks: we will not tolerate discriminatory lending practices and we will hold you accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio. “We are committed to enforcing fair lending laws, which require financial institutions to provide equal opportunity for every American to obtain home loans and credit. We take very seriously our duty and honor to uphold those laws.”
Redlining is an illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing credit services to individuals living in communities of color because of the race, color or national origin of the residents in those communities. The complaint filed in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio today alleges that, from at least 2015 to 2021, Park National failed to provide mortgage lending services by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the Columbus area. Specifically, the complaint alleges that all of Park National’s branches and mortgage lenders in the Columbus area were concentrated in majority-white neighborhoods, and that the bank failed to take any meaningful measures to compensate for its lack of physical presence in majority-Black and Hispanic communities.
Under the proposed consent order, which was also filed today in federal court and is subject to court approval, Park National has agreed, among other things, to do the following:
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Invest at least $7.75 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase access to credit for home mortgage, improvement, and refinance loans, as well as home equity loans and lines of credit, in majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the Columbus area; $750,000 in outreach, advertising, consumer financial education, and credit counseling initiatives; and $500,000 in developing community partnerships to provide services to residents of majority-Black and Hispanic areas that expand access to residential mortgage credit;
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Open one new branch and one new mortgage loan production office in majority Black-and Hispanic neighborhoods in the Columbus area; ensure that a minimum of four mortgage lenders, at least one of whom is Spanish-speaking, are assigned to serve these neighborhoods; and maintain the full-time position of Director of Community Home Lending and Development, who is responsible for overseeing lending in majority-Black and Hispanic areas; and
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Conduct a Community Credit Needs Assessment, a research-based market study, to help identify the needs for financial services in majority-Black and Hispanic census tracts in the Columbus area.
Park National worked cooperatively with the department to remedy the redlining concerns that were identified and has agreed to settle this matter without contested litigation.
The Justice Department’s Combating Redlining Initiative is a coordinated enforcement effort to address this persistent form of discrimination against communities of color. Since the Initiative was launched, the department has announced six redlining cases and settlements and secured $84 million in relief for communities of color that have been victims of lending discrimination across the country. This includes a $31 million settlement with City National Bank, the largest in Justice Department history.
More information about the department’s fair lending enforcement can be found at www.justice.gov/fairhousing. Individuals may report lending discrimination by calling the Justice Department’s housing discrimination tip line at 1-833-591-0291 or submitting a report online.
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Justice Department Files Complaint Alleging Public Health Endangerment Caused by Denka Performance Elastomer’s Carcinogenic Air PollutionRead the Press Release
Today, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and in coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint under Section 303 of the Clean Air Act against Denka Performance Elastomer LLC (Denka) to compel Denka to significantly reduce hazardous chloroprene emissions from its neoprene manufacturing facility in LaPlace, Louisiana. The complaint asserts that the LaPlace plant’s operations present an imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare due to the cancer risks from Denka’s chloroprene emissions.
“We allege that Denka’s emissions have led to unsafe concentrations of carcinogenic chloroprene near homes and schools in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The Justice Department’s environmental justice efforts require ensuring that every community, no matter its demographics, can breathe clean air and drink clean water. Our suit aims to stop Denka’s dangerous pollution.”
“When I visited Saint John the Baptist Parish during my first Journey to Justice tour, I pledged to the community that EPA would take strong action to protect the health and safety of families from harmful chloroprene emissions from the Denka facility,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This complaint filed against Denka delivers on that promise. The company has not moved far enough or fast enough to reduce emissions or ensure the safety of the surrounding community. This action is not the first step we have taken to reduce risks to the people living in Saint John the Baptist Parish, and it will not be the last.”
“The Justice Department and EPA have worked closely together to bring decisive action to address Denka’s harmful air pollution,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s complaint is part of our ongoing effort to advance environmental justice in overburdened communities through the enforcement of laws.”
Denka’s facility manufactures neoprene, a flexible, synthetic rubber used to produce common goods like wetsuits, beverage cozies, laptop sleeves, orthopedic braces, and automotive belts and hoses. Chloroprene is a liquid raw material used to produce neoprene and is emitted into the air from various areas at the facility.
According to the complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, air monitoring – conducted by both the EPA and Denka over the past several years – consistently shows long-term chloroprene concentrations in the air near Denka’s LaPlace facility that are as high as 14 times the levels recommended for a 70-year lifetime of exposure. This complaint seeks to compel Denka to eliminate the public health endangerment caused by its emissions by greatly reducing the levels of chloroprene to which this community is being exposed.
The complaint also names DuPont Specialty Products USA LLC – the owner of the land beneath Denka’s facility and Denka’s landlord. DuPont is a necessary party to ensure there are no delays in any actions that Denka is ordered to take to reduce its chloroprene emissions as a result of the rights DuPont holds under its lease agreement with Denka.
In 2010, EPA published its peer-reviewed assessment of chloroprene that concluded the chemical is “likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” According to guidance that looks at impacts of certain cancer-causing chemicals to children, EPA also acknowledged that children accumulate excess lifetime cancer risk from breathing chloroprene faster than adults. Approximately 20% of the total population living within two-and-a-half miles of Denka are children under the age of 18, and about 800 to 1,000 children are under the age of five. Children are particularly vulnerable to carcinogens like chloroprene because they change DNA and harm cells, meaning they are “mutagenic.” Denka’s chloroprene’s emissions reach more than 300 young children who attend the 5th Ward Elementary School, located within approximately 450 feet of Denka’s facility. Approximately 1,200 children who attend East St. John High School, located roughly a mile-and-a-half north of Denka, are also exposed to the facility’s chloroprene emissions.
Justice Department Attorneys Steven Shermer, Davis Forsythe, and Hannah Frazier of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Enforcement Section are handling this matter.
El Departamento de Justicia obtiene $9 millones de Park National Bank para resolver alegaciones de discriminación por exclusión financiera en el ámbito crediticioRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia hoy anunció un acuerdo de $9 millones para resolver alegaciones de que Park National Bank (Park National), con sede en Newark, Ohio, incurrió en un patrón o una práctica de discriminación en el ámbito crediticio al practicar “exclusión financiera” (“redlining”, en inglés) en la zona metropolitana de Columbus. El acuerdo forma parte de la Iniciativa para Combatir la Exclusión Financiera a nivel nacional del Departamento de Justicia que el Fiscal General Merrick B. Garland lanzó en octubre de 2021.
“Por demasiado tiempo se han cerrado las puertas de ser propietarios de vivienda a las familias afroestadounidenses y a muchas otras personas de color debido a las prácticas ilegales de exclusión financiera de los bancos y otras instituciones financieras”, afirmó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. “Cuando los bancos no proporcionan un acceso equitativo a los servicios crediticios en los barrios de color, incurren en una práctica moderna de exclusión financiera y agravan la disparidad racial de riqueza en nuestro país. El Departamento de Justicia seguirá luchando para cumplir la promesa de las leyes de préstamos justos de nuestra nación, al tiempo que derriba las barreras discriminatorias que niegan a los afroestadounidenses y a otras personas de color el acceso a las oportunidades económicas y a ser propietarios de vivienda”.
“Hagamos que el acuerdo de hoy envíe un mensaje muy claro a los bancos: no toleraremos prácticas discriminatorias en el ámbito crediticio y les haremos rendir cuentas”, declaró Kenneth L. Parker, el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de Ohio. “Estamos comprometidos a hacer cumplir las leyes de préstamos justos, que exigen que las instituciones financieras ofrezcan igualdad de oportunidades a todos los estadounidenses para obtener préstamos y crédito hipotecarios. Nos tomamos muy en serio nuestro deber y honor de hacer cumplir esas leyes”.
La exclusión financiera es una práctica ilegal en la que los prestamistas evitan proporcionar servicios de crédito a las personas que viven en comunidades de color por motivos de la raza, color de piel u origen nacional de los residentes en esas comunidades. En la demanda entablada hoy ante el Tribunal Federal de Distrito para el Distrito Sur de Ohio se alega que, al menos desde 2015 hasta 2021, Park National no prestó servicios de crédito hipotecario al reducir la oferta en los barrios de mayoría afroestadounidense e hispana de la zona de Columbus. En concreto, la demanda alega que todas las sucursales y prestamistas hipotecarios de Park National en la zona de Columbus se concentraron en barrios de mayoría blanca, y que el banco no tomó ninguna medida significativa para compensar su falta de presencia física en las comunidades de mayoría afroestadounidense e hispana.
En virtud de la orden por consentimiento propuesta, que también fue entablada hoy ante el tribunal federal y está sujeta a aprobación judicial, Park National ha acordado, entre otras cosas, hacer lo siguiente:
- Invertir al menos $7.75 millones en un fondo de subvención de préstamos para aumentar el acceso al crédito para hipotecas, mejoras y refinanciación de viviendas, así como préstamos y líneas de crédito sobre el valor neto de la vivienda, en los barrios de mayoría afroestadounidense e hispana de la zona de Columbus; $750,000 en iniciativas de divulgación, publicidad, y educación financiera de los consumidores y asesoramiento crediticio; y $500,000 en el desarrollo de asociaciones comunitarias para prestar servicios a los residentes de zonas de mayoría afroestadounidense e hispana que amplíen el acceso al crédito hipotecario residencial;
- Abrir una nueva sucursal y una nueva oficina de generación de préstamos hipotecarios en los barrios de mayoría afroestadounidense e hispana de la zona de Columbus; garantizar que un mínimo de cuatro prestamistas hipotecarios, al menos uno de los cuales sea hispanohablante, estén asignados para atender a estos barrios; y mantener el puesto a tiempo completo de Director de Préstamos y Desarrollo de Viviendas Comunitarias, responsable de supervisar los préstamos en las zonas de mayoría afroestadounidense e hispana; y
- Realizar una Evaluación de las Necesidades de Crédito de la Comunidad, un estudio de mercado basado en la investigación, para ayudar a identificar las necesidades de servicios financieros en las zonas censales de mayoría afroestadounidense e hispana de la zona de Columbus.
Park National trabajó en colaboración con el Departamento para remediar las inquietudes de exclusión financiera que se habían identificado y ha acordado resolver este asunto sin litigio contencioso.
La Iniciativa para Combatir la Exclusión Financiera es un esfuerzo coordinado para hacer cumplir las leyes para abordar esta forma persistente de discriminación contra las comunidades de color. Desde al lanzamiento de la Iniciativa, el Departamento ha anunciado seis casos y acuerdos de exclusión financiera y ha conseguido $84 millones en ayuda para las comunidades de color que han sido víctimas de discriminación en el ámbito crediticio en todo el país. Esto incluye un acuerdo de $31 millones con City National Bank, el más grande en la historia del Departamento de Justicia.
Se puede encontrar información adicional sobre los esfuerzos del Departamento de hacer cumplir las leyes de préstamos justos en https://www.justice.gov/crt-espanol/hce. Las personas pueden denunciar la discriminación en el ámbito crediticio llamando a la línea informativa del Departamento de Justicia para discriminación en la vivienda al 1-833-591-0291 o presentando un informe en línea.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Secretary Deb Haaland Meet with Not Invisible Act CommissionRead the Press Release
This week, as part of the continued work by the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior to implement the Not Invisible Act and combat the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP), Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Secretary Deb Haaland hosted the first in-person plenary session of the Not Invisible Act Commission at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. The two-day meeting follows a series of online sessions since the establishment of the Commission last year.
The Not Invisible Act, which was authored by then-Rep. Haaland and passed into law in October 2020, established the Commission as a cross jurisdictional advisory committee composed of both federal and non-federal members including law enforcement, Tribal leaders, federal partners, service providers, family members of missing and murdered individuals, and survivors. Deputy Attorney General Monaco and Secretary Deb Haaland announced the members of the Commission last year as part of a live event to recognize National MMIP Awareness Day on May 5.
Deputy Attorney General Monaco reported that after hearing from Tribal representatives and subject-matter experts during consultations, the Department of Justice was successful in its efforts to secure more Indian country law enforcement resources to address the crisis of missing or murdered Indigenous People in fiscal year 2023. The Deputy Attorney General also stressed the Department’s commitment to doing everything in its power to offer support and partnership to the Commission as it develops and finalizes its recommendations.
“The Justice Department is steadfast in our pledge to work with Tribal governments in preventing and responding to the violence that has disproportionately harmed Tribal communities. And we are committed to listening and being responsive to what our partners have to say,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “We are eager to receive the recommendations of this group of experts.”
“This work requires each of us to face our own trauma, to relive unimaginable pain, and visualize a future in which our loved ones are safe and our communities have closure. We're here for our children, grandchildren and relatives we have yet to meet,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “This work is urgently needed and requires all of us working collaboratively. I am so grateful to the Commission for the work they are doing and the lasting impact they will have.”
The Commission is developing recommendations through the work of six subcommittees focused on improving intergovernmental coordination and establishing best practices for state, Tribal and federal law enforcement to bolster resources for survivors and victim’s families, and combatting the epidemic of missing persons, murder and trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples, as specified under the law.
As part of the Commission’s final report to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Secretary Deb Haaland and Congress, the subcommittees selected specific locations to hold field hearings this year to hear directly from the public in some of the communities most affected by the MMIP crisis:
April:
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Anchorage, Alaska
May:
- Flagstaff, Arizona
June:
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Northern California
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
July:
- Billings, Montana
* A national, virtual field hearing will be held later in Summer 2023 with details to follow.
Hearings will include both panel discussions and a public comment period. Specific topics of the hearings as well as logistical details and information will be made available to the public as the date of each hearing approaches. Trauma-informed mental health professionals will be available at each location.
Department of Interior Deputy Attorney General Monaco, Secretary Haaland, members of the Not Invisible Act Commission and staffTwo Additional Municipal Employees Plead Guilty to Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Two Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) employees pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to conspiring with another individual to engage in fraud on MTA excess vehicle auctions.
According to two plea agreements filed on Feb. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City, MTA employees Dzmitry Yaniuk and Marina Yaniuk engaged in a conspiracy with a third co-conspirator, Timour Abramov, to thwart the competitive bidding process on numerous excess vehicle auctions conducted by the MTA to ensure that a company controlled by the co-conspirators submitted the winning bid and would be awarded the contract. As part of the conspiracy, Marina Yaniuk, an MTA sales specialist, provided Dzmitry Yaniuk and Abramov confidential pricing information in violation of MTA rules. Abramov previously pleaded guilty to one count of fraud conspiracy on Jan. 30.
“The MTA’s riders and New York’s taxpayers trust government employees to put public service first,” said Director Daniel Glad of the Justice Department's Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF). “When public servants abuse their positions and cheat for personal gain, the Antitrust Division and its PCSF partners will hold them accountable.”
“Our office remains grateful for the diligence and commitment from our law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice, who continue to work to ensure that individuals attempting to defraud the MTA are held fully responsible for their actions and whose behavior should not unfairly reflect on tens of thousands of honest, hardworking MTA employees,” said Acting MTA Inspector General Elizabeth Keating.
Dzmitry Yaniuk and Marina Yaniuk each pleaded guilty to one count of fraud conspiracy that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The fines may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine the defendants’ sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The guilty pleas are the result of an investigation conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the Office of the MTA Inspector General, and the FBI Newark's Atlantic City Resident Agency . Acting Assistant Chief Steven Tugander and Trial Attorneys Milosz Gudzowski, Dina Hoffer, and Richard Samboy are prosecuting the case.
In November 2019, the Department of Justice created the PCSF, a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant, and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. For more information, visit https://www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.
Landlord and Former Operators of Upstate New York Nursing Home Pay $7,168,000 to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations of Worthless Services Provided to ResidentsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department, together with the New York State Office of the Attorney General, announced today that the United States and New York State have entered into settlement agreements with the landlord and several individuals and entities involved in the operation of Saratoga Center for Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Care (Saratoga Center), a nursing facility in Ballston Spa, New York. Leon Melohn; Alan “Ari” Schwartz; Jeffrey Vegh; Jack Jaffa; 149 Ballston Ave., LLC; Ballston Two, LLC; Saratoga Center for Care, LLC; and Saratoga Care and Rehabilitation Center, LLC (the Settling Parties) collectively agreed to pay $7,168,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by causing the submission of false claims to the Medicaid program for worthless services provided to residents. Saratoga Center closed in February 2021, after this investigation was initiated.
“This settlement demonstrates the Department of Justice’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that nursing home residents receive the quality of care to which they are entitled,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When individuals or entities put the welfare of these vulnerable residents in jeopardy, they will be held accountable.”
Before issuing a license to operate a nursing home, the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) thoroughly reviews, among other things, an applicant’s character and competence to ensure that the operator will provide a consistently high level of care to residents. After a months-long vetting process, in 2014, NYSDOH approved Schwartz and Vegh to operate Saratoga Center with Leon Melohn, through entities he managed and controlled, acting as its landlord (Melohn and his entities are hereinafter referred to as the Landlord). This license vested in Schwartz and Vegh the nondelegable duty to oversee the operations of the home. But in or around early 2017, due to a financial dispute, the Landlord required the legally licensed operators to surrender control of Saratoga Center. The Landlord replaced them with Jaffa and a business associate of his, along with various corporate entities, even though none of them had – and they never obtained – the necessary license from the NYSDOH. Jaffa and his associate undertook all the nondelegable duties that remained the responsibility of Schwartz and Vegh.
These unlicensed individuals operated Saratoga Center from February 2017 until it closed in February 2021. During that period, the United States contends that Saratoga Center delivered worthless services to residents, and its physical conditions deteriorated to such a degree that it violated federal and state regulations. Specifically, the operators failed to adequately staff the home, and residents suffered medication errors, unnecessary falls, and the development of pressure ulcers. Additionally, Saratoga Center did not consistently maintain hot water throughout the facility, have an adequate linen inventory, and dispose of solid waste. In 2019, Saratoga Center was placed on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Special Focus Facility list – a list of the worst-performing nursing homes in the United States. Saratoga Center remained on the list until its closure.
The United States contends that, between February 2017 and February 2021, the Settling Parties knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims for payment to Medicaid for worthless nursing services. This settlement resolves those allegations.
“Nursing homes should protect the health and well-being of every resident,” said U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman for the Northern District of New York. “That did not happen at Saratoga Center. Instead, a business dispute between the operators and landlord led to dangerous conditions for residents and staff, and caused the submission of false claims to Medicaid for worthless services. This case demonstrates that we will hold responsible people accountable when they pocket federal funds while providing substandard care. Thank you to Attorney General James and her office for collaborating on this case.”
“We trust nursing homes to protect New Yorkers during their most vulnerable days, but the owners, unlicensed operator and landlord of Saratoga Center repeatedly violated the law for their own benefit,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Instead of providing the quality care and compassion that residents deserved, the owners of Saratoga Center deceived regulators and left residents to suffer deplorable conditions and neglect. I am grateful to U.S. Attorney Freedman and team for their partnership in holding Saratoga Center accountable for putting New Yorkers in harm’s way. My office will continue to ensure nursing home residents are protected, and I encourage anyone who has witnessed alarming conditions, resident neglect, or abuse at a nursing home to contact my office.”
In connection with the settlement, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG), negotiated voluntary exclusions of the individuals and entities. Schwartz; Saratoga Center for Care, LLC; 149 Ballston Ave, LLC; and Ballston Two, LLC will be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid, and all other Federal health care programs, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(f), for a period of ten years. Vegh will be excluded for eleven years. Jaffa and Saratoga Care and Rehabilitation Center, LLC, will be excluded for twenty years.
“Ensuring safety and quality of care for nursing home residents is a top priority,” said Inspector General Christi A. Grimm of the HHS OIG. “When nursing home owners, operators, and landlords are responsible for substandard care in their facilities, HHS OIG will not hesitate to pursue their exclusion and bar them from future participation in federal health care programs.”
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, the Justice Department’s Civil Division Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the New York State Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Moran for the Northern District of New York and Attorneys Carol Wallack and Lyle Gruby of the Justice Department’s Civil Division handled this matter for the United States. Special Assistant Attorneys General Emily Auletta and Hillary Gray Chapman handled this matter for the Office of the New York Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The exclusions of the individuals and entities were negotiated by Senior Counsel Felicia Heimer for HHS OIG.
The United States’ investigation was part of its Elder Justice Initiative, which supports the efforts of state and local prosecutors, law enforcement, and other elder justice professionals to combat elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation, with the development of training, resources and information. Learn more about the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative at http://www.justice.gov/elderjustice.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Заява Генерального Прокурора Мерріка Б. Гарланда у зв’язку з Річницею Нападу Росії на УкраїнуRead the Press Release
Сьогодні Міністерство юстиції опублікувало наступну заяву Генерального Прокурора Мерріка Б. Гарланда у зв’язку з Річницею Нападу Росії на Україну:
Протягом минулого року США і світ спостерігали жахливі картини й чули трагічні історії про жорстокість і смерть, спричинені несправедливим і неспровокованим нападом Росії на Україну.
Сьогодні Міністерство юстиції підтверджує свою рішучу підтримку українським партнерам у боротьбі за правосуддя.
Прокурори Міністерства юстиції з команди із притягнення до відповідальності за воєнні злочини як ніколи тісно співпрацюють з українськими колегами у справах розслідування конкретних злочинів, скоєних російськими силами, зокрема нападів на цивільних. Водночас Конгрес розширив наші повноваження щодо притягнення до відповідальності за скоєні воєнні злочини ймовірних виконавців, виявлених у Сполучених Штатах.
Наша оперативна група «KleptoCapture», до складу якої входять прокурори, агенти, аналітики, перекладачі, інші працівники Міністерства та партнери з правоохоронних органів, продовжує притягати до відповідальності та конфіскувати активи осіб, санкціонованих за підтримку Кремля і російських військ.
Ми також застосовуємо надані Конгресом нові законні повноваження для передачі певних активів, конфіскованих у російських олігархів, для відновлення України. На початку цього місяця я схвалив першу передачу таких коштів Державному департаменту для підтримки народу України. На черзі інші.
Я відчуваю гордість за виконання такої важливої роботи й за численних працівників Міністерства, які підтримують цю роботу.
Протягом минулого року український народ показав світові, що таке мужність. Міністерство юстиції продовжуватиме стояти пліч-о-пліч з нашими українськими й міжнародними партнерами стільки, скільки буде потрібно для захисту правосуддя і верховенства права.
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Texas Man Sentenced to Prison for Wire Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Texas man was sentenced today to 65 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Ryan Shern, 34, of Kyle, participated in a conspiracy to use stolen identity theft information to seek fraudulent tax refunds from the IRS in the names of unsuspecting taxpayers. From 2016 through 2019, to facilitate access to the payments, Shern allowed co-conspirators to direct such refunds to his and his wife’s personal bank accounts and to prepaid debit cards he purchased and controlled.
Shern used a portion of the tax refunds to purchase money orders and luxury goods for himself. On at least one occasion, Shern used a copy of a false tax return filed using stolen identifying information to persuade the bank that it should release to his account a fraudulent refund totaling more than $250,000. Shern also wired, or directed his wife to wire, funds to co-conspirator bank accounts.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ordered Shern to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $726,165 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Mitchell T. Galloway, Robert A. Kemins and Mary Frances Richardson of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Task Force KleptoCapture Unseals Two Cases Charging Evasion of Russian Economic CountermeasuresRead the Press Release
From the outset of Russia’s unprovoked, full-scale invasion of Ukraine, one year ago today, the Department of Justice has prioritized enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed alongside our global partners. Today, the Department continues that work by actions in two separate federal cases to disrupt sanctions evasion and smuggling networks supporting the Russian regime.
“Over the past year, the Ukrainian people have shown the world what courage looks like,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “For as long as it takes, the Department of Justice will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Ukrainian and international partners in defense of justice and the rule of law.”
“It has been one year since Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of its neighbor, but the FBI has been working with our Ukrainian partners for years to battle Russian aggression there — and we aren’t going anywhere,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI's commitment to Ukraine remains unwavering, and we will continue to stand against Russia at home and abroad.”
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has filed a civil forfeiture complaint against six real properties located in New York, New York; Southampton, New York; and Fisher Island, Florida, worth approximately $75 million. The complaint alleges that the properties beneficially owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg are the proceeds of sanctions violations and were involved in international money laundering transactions. The case arises in the wake of the indictment of Vekselberg’s alleged strawman, Vladimir Voronchenko, a fugitive previously charged in the Southern District of New York. In the Eastern District of New York, a five-count indictment was unsealed today charging Ilya Balakaev, 47, of Moscow, with various offenses related to a years-long scheme to illegally smuggle sensitive devices used in counterintelligence operations from the United States to Russia for the benefit of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), the principal intelligence and security agency of the Russian government. Balakaev is further charged with illegally exporting a gas detector and related software from the United States to Russia for the benefit of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea). Concurrent with today’s action in the Eastern District of New York, the Department of Commerce separately issued a Temporary Denial Order denying the export privileges of Balakaev and his company, Radiotester OOO (aka Radiotester LLC), for 180 days with the possibility of renewal.
Today’s actions coincide with the one-year mark of Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine. Read more about the Justice Department’s efforts to hold Russia accountable here.
The Vekselberg Properties
According to court documents, on April 6, 2018, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Vekselberg as a Specially Designated National (SDN) in connection with its finding that the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation in Ukraine constituted an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
Prior to his designation by OFAC, between in or about 2008 and in or about 2017, Vekselberg, through a series of shell companies, acquired six real properties in the United States, today worth approximately $75 million:
- 19 Duck Pond Lane, Southampton, New York 11968.
- 515 Park Avenue, Units Units 21 and 2I, New York, New York 10022.
- 7002 Fisher Island Drive, Unit 7002 PH2, Miami Beach, Florida 33109.
- 7183 Fisher Island Drive, Units 7182 and 7183, Miami Beach, Florida 33109.
The FBI and HSI are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs, and OFAC provided valuable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Greenwood, Joshua A. Naftalis, and Sheb Swett for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
United States v. Ilya Balakaev
As alleged in the indictment, between 2017 and the present, Balakaev contracted with a part of the FSB that is responsible for the Russian government’s communication security and cryptology, to repair spectrum analyzers and signal generators, devices used to detect surveillance equipment and to transmit covert communications. Because the devices were not readily available in Russia, the defendant established a network of individuals in the United States to assist him in purchasing the equipment, which the defendant then smuggled out of the United States, in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.
In addition to his scheme to evade Russian sanctions, the defendant also illegally exported U.S. technology on behalf of a North Korean government official, in violation of U.S. export laws. As alleged, the defendant contracted with the First Secretary of the North Korean Embassy to the Russian Federation, based in Moscow, to obtain hazardous gas detectors and software from the United States for the benefit of the North Korean government.
If convicted on all counts, Balakaev, currently a fugitive, faces a maximum of 75 years in prison.
The FBI, HSI, Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement (OEE), and CBP are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara K. Winik for the Eastern District of New York is prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
* * *
These cases were coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on the Anniversary of Russia’s Invasion of UkraineRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the Anniversary of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine:
“For the past year, the United States and the world have seen the horrific images and heard the heart-wrenching accounts of brutality and death resulting from Russia’s unjust and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
“Today, the Department of Justice reiterates its resolute commitment to standing with our Ukrainian partners in pursuit of justice.
“Prosecutors with the Department’s War Crimes Accountability Team are working closer than ever before with our Ukrainian counterparts to investigate specific crimes committed by Russian forces, including attacks on civilian targets. At the same time, Congress has expanded our authority to prosecute alleged war criminals who are found in the United States.
“Our Task Force KleptoCapture — a group of prosecutors, agents, analysts, translators, and other Department personnel and law enforcement partners — continues to bring prosecutions and effect seizures against sanctioned enablers of the Kremlin and Russian military.
“And we are also exercising new authority granted by Congress to transfer certain assets we have seized from Russian oligarchs for the rebuilding of Ukraine. Earlier this month, I authorized the first-ever transfer of such assets to the State Department to support the people of Ukraine. More will follow.
“I am proud of this work and of the many Department personnel supporting it.
“Over the past year, the Ukrainian people have shown the world what courage looks like. And for as long as it takes, the Department of Justice will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Ukrainian and international partners in defense of justice and the rule of law.”
Ukrainian
Three High-Ranking MS-13 Leaders Arrested on Terrorism and Racketeering ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A four-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip, a charging 13 of the highest-ranking MS-13 leaders in the world with directing the transnational criminal organization’s criminal activities in the United States, El Salvador, Mexico, and elsewhere, over the past two decades. Specifically, the defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to provide or conceal material support to terrorists, and narco-terrorism Conspiracy. Four of the defendants are indicted for Alien Smuggling Conspiracy.
On Feb. 22, Vladimir Antonio Arevalo-Chavez, aka Vampiro de Monserrat Criminales (Arevalo-Chavez), Walter Yovani Hernandez-Rivera, aka Baxter de Park View and Bastard de Park View (Hernandez-Rivera), and Marlon Antonio Menjivar-Portillo, aka Rojo de Park View (Menjivar-Portillo), were located by Mexican authorities and expelled from Mexico via the United States. When Arevalo-Chavez, Hernandez-Rivera, and Menjivar-Portillo arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, they were placed under arrest by the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Earlier today, the defendants had their initial appearances in the Southern District of Texas, pending removal to the Eastern District of New York..
Four co-defendants, Jose Wilfredo Ayala-Alcantara, aka Indio de Hollywood, Jorge Alexander De La Cruz, aka Cruger de Peatonales, Juan Antonio Martinez-Abrego, aka Mary Jane de Hollywood, and Francisco Javier Roman-Bardales, also known as Veterano de Tribus, remain at large.
“Today’s action makes clear that there is no hiding place, anywhere in the world, for the leaders of violent gangs that terrorize American communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to use the full force of our law enforcement authorities to disrupt and dismantle MS-13 and other transnational criminal organizations and hold their leaders accountable.”
“The FBI will continue to vigorously investigate and hold transnational organized groups like MS-13 and their leaders accountable for the continued violent and terrorist criminal activities they orchestrate,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Today’s indictment demonstrates the FBI’s reach and commitment to seeking justice against those individuals who jeopardize American lives and liberty. We will never stop working in coordination with our international partners to protect our respective citizens from MS-13 and other gangs wherever they are.”
“The relentless and heroic efforts of law enforcement here and in Central America are systemically dismantling the MS-13 the very top to bottom, and we will not stop until this transnational gang and it’s leaders are held accountable for the extreme violence they have inflicted on our district, the United States and the countries where this scourge is based,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York.
“As a member of Joint Task Force Vulcan, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements’ Homeland Security Investigations is committed to protecting national security and the communities we serve against transnational criminal organizations,” said Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tae D. Johnson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “With our broad legal authorities and ability to investigate a wide spectrum of crimes, our HSI special agents will continue to maximize global efforts that detect, deter, disrupt, and dismantle criminal syndicates, like MS-13, and those who propagate associated illicit operations.”
Members of the public with information concerning their whereabouts are strongly encouraged to contact the FBI’s toll-free MS-13 tip line, 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or HSI’s at (866) 347-2423 or https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form. Together, FBI and HSI have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the four fugitives.
Six other co-defendants, Edwin Ernesto Cedillos-Rodriguez, aka Renuente de Abriles Dangers, Carlos Tiberio Ramirez-Valladares, aka Snayder de Pasadena, Dany Fredy Ramos-Mejia, aka Cisco de Teclas, Dany Balmore Romero-Garcia, aka Big Boy de Normandies, Dig Boy de Normandies, and D Boy de Normandies, Ruben Antonio Rosa-Lovo, aka Chivo de Centrales, and Miguel Angel Serrano-Medina, aka Cabro de Park View,”are believed to be in custody in El Salvador. The United States will explore options for their extradition with the government of El Salvador.
As set forth in court filings, the 13 defendants are part of MS-13’s command and control structure, consisting of the Ranfla Nacional, Ranfla en Las Calles, and Ranfla en Los Penales, and play significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations in El Salvador, Mexico, the United States, and throughout the world. In the related case of United States v. Henriquez, et al., a grand jury in the Eastern District of New York previously indicted 14 members of the Ranfla Nacional, who functioned as MS-13’s “Board of Directors.” Formal extradition packages were submitted by the United States for 12 of those defendants, who either are or were in El Salvador custody, remain pending.
As further alleged, the defendants have engaged in a litany of violent terrorist activities aimed at influencing the government of El Salvador (GOES) policy and to obtain benefits and concessions from the GOES; targeting GOES law enforcement and military officials; employing terrorist tactics such as the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (“IEDs”) and grenades; operating military-style training camps for firearms and explosives; using public displays of violence to intimidate civilian populations; using violence to obtain and control territory; and manipulating the electoral process in El Salvador. Several of these defendants have played prominent roles in MS-13’s past and current negotiations with the GOES.
Further, these defendants authorized and directed violence in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere as part of a concerted effort to expand MS-13’s influence and territorial control. As the leaders of the MS-13 transnational criminal organization, these defendants were an integral part of the leadership chain responsible for supervising MS-13 cliques in the United States that engaged in extreme violence, including countless murders, attempted murders, assaults, and related offenses. For example, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York’s (EDNY) has prosecuted hundreds of MS-13 leaders, members and associates for carrying out with more than 65 murders in the Eastern District of New York between 2009 and the present.
Several of these defendants, including Arevalo-Chavez, Hernandez-Rivera, and Menjivar-Portillo, coordinated MS-13’s expansion into Mexico (the Mexico Program), at the direction of the Ranfla Nacional, which was a coordinated effort to maintain MS-13’s continuity of operations in response to law enforcement pressure previously exerted by the United States and GOES. Additionally, the Mexico Program included forging alliances with Mexican cartels and engaged in narcotics trafficking, immigrant smuggling and extortion, kidnappings, and weapons trafficking. As alleged in the indictment, the MS-13’s Mexico Program murdered some migrants bound for the United States, including suspected members of the rival 18th Street gang and MS-13 members attempting to flee MS-13 in El Salvador without permission. Finally, drug trafficking was an important part of MS-13’s money-making operation, especially in Mexico, and the defendants used MS-13’s large membership in the United States generate financial support for MS-13’s terrorist activities in El Salvador.
Since its creation in August 2019, JTFV has successfully implemented a whole-of-government approach to combatting MS-13, including increasing coordination and collaboration with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala; designating priority MS-13 programs, cliques, and leaders, who have the most impact on the United States, for targeted prosecutions; and coordinating significant MS-13 indictments in U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the first use of national security charges against MS-13 leaders.
JTFV has been comprised of members from U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the EDNY; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of Florida; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. In addition, all Department of Justice law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort, including the FBI; the DEA; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. In addition, HSI also plays a critical role in JTFV.
The FBI Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Newark and Houston Field Offices investigated the case, with critical support provided by the FBI Criminal Investigative Division’s Safe Streets Gang Unit and HSI’s National Gangs and Violent Crime Unit, who spearheaded this investigation. Additionally, FBI Mexico, HSI Mexico, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers and Area Port Director Shawn Polley at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston provided critical support in connection with the arrests.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci, and Megan E. Farrell for Eastern District of New York, and U.S. Attorneys James Donnelly, Matthew Shepherd and Stewart Young for JTFV prosecuted the case.
Michigan Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A Michigan endocrinologist was sentenced yesterday to eight months in prison for evading taxes due on income related to his medical practice.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Dr. Bashar Kiami of Roscommon owned and operated Northern Michigan Endocrine PLLC, a solo endocrinology practice in Grayling. From 2014 through 2017, Kiami filed corporate returns that underreported the practice’s gross receipts and overstated its expenses. As the sole shareholder, Kiami reported business income from the practice on his individual income tax returns. By underreporting the practice’s business income, Kiami fraudulently reduced his personal tax liability for those same years. In total, Kiami caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $250,000.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington ordered Kiami to serve two years of supervised release, pay a $15,000 fine and pay the remaining $59,642 he owed in restitution to the U.S.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Jeffrey A. McLellan and Melissa S. Siskind of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Justice Department Secures Agreement with New York IT Staffing Firm to Resolve Immigration-Related Discrimination ClaimsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with Amiga Informatics (Amiga), a New York IT staffing company. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that Amiga violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by posting discriminatory job advertisements that solicited applications only from individuals with specific citizenship or immigration statuses.
“Employers have a responsibility to ensure that their job advertisements and hiring processes do not unlawfully exclude individuals because of their citizenship or immigration status,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to knocking down unnecessary barriers that deny people job opportunities.”
The department’s investigation determined that Amiga posted at least six facially discriminatory job advertisements in 2021. Four of these advertisements sought only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, thereby deterring others with permission to work in the United States without sponsorship, including asylees and refugees, from applying and receiving fair consideration for the employment opportunities. In addition, two advertisements sought only applicants with Optional Practical Training status, a temporary work authorization status given to certain non-U.S. citizen students in the United States. The advertisements thus unlawfully excluded asylees, refugees, lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens and nationals. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision generally prohibits employers from recruiting or refusing to hire workers based on their citizenship or immigration status.
Under the agreement, Amiga will pay $24,864 in civil penalties to the United States. The agreement also requires Amiga to train its recruiters on the INA’s requirements, revise its employment policies and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.
The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation.
Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when hiring and recruiting on IER’s website. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment, or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email [email protected]; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.
Spanish Version
Justice Department Files Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against California Rental Property Manager and OwnersRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit under the Fair Housing Act against Joel Nolen, the owner and operator of rental properties in Lassen County, California.
The lawsuit also names as defendants Shirlee Nolen and Nolen Properties LLC, the co-owners of the rental properties at the relevant times. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, alleges that Joel Nolen sexually harassed female tenants since at least 2011. According to the complaint, Nolen offered housing-related benefits in exchange for sexual contact, made unwelcome sexual comments and advances to female tenants, entered the homes of female tenants without their permission, subjected female tenants to unwelcome touching and groping, subjected female tenants to unwelcome sexual acts and took adverse housing-related actions against female tenants who refused his sexual advances.
“No one should ever feel unsafe or suffer sexual harassment in their home, especially at the hands of their housing provider,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing the Fair Housing Act and holding landlords and housing providers accountable when they sexually harass their tenants.”
“The sexual harassment and retaliation alleged in today’s complaint violates our federal fair housing laws and will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “Landlords and other housing providers who engage in such conduct will be held accountable to ensure that individuals feel safe and comfortable in their homes.”
The lawsuit seeks monetary damages to compensate persons harmed by the alleged harassment, civil penalties to vindicate the public interest and a court order barring future discrimination.
The Justice Department launched its Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative in October 2017. The initiative, which is led by the Civil Rights Division, in coordination with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, seeks to address and raise awareness about sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, loan officers or other people who have control over housing. Since launching the initiative, the Department of Justice has filed 27 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered over $9.7 million for victims of such harassment.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of sexual harassment or other types of housing discrimination at rental dwellings owned or managed by Joel Nolen, Shirlee Nolen, or Nolen Properties LLC, or who have other information that may be relevant to this case, can contact the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-833-591-0291, select 1 for English, and select option number 2, then option number 7 to leave a message. Individuals may also email the Justice Department at [email protected] or submit a report online. Reports also may be made by contacting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777 or by filing a complaint online.
Former Kentucky Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Charges for Assaulting Two Federal InmatesRead the Press Release
A former Kentucky correctional officer pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins to two charges of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting two federal inmates.
According to court documents, Samuel J. Patrick, 42, of Inez, Kentucky, a former Bureau of Prisons corrections officer who held the title of Case Management Coordinator, admitted during his plea hearing that he assaulted two federal inmates while he worked at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy. Regarding the first assault, Patrick acknowledged that he punished a non-violent inmate by taking him to the ground and repeatedly elbowing him in the head, and that one of his co-defendants, Clinton L. Pauley, assisted him with the assault. Patrick also acknowledged that he entered an unlawful agreement with other corrections officers, including Pauley and another co-defendant, then-supervisor Kevin C. Pearce, to cover up what happened. Patrick admitted that the cover-up included steps such as writing false reports and pressuring other corrections officers to join the cover-up. Regarding the second assault, Patrick acknowledged that he punished another non-violent inmate for walking too slowly to his cell, and that both of his co-defendants also later assaulted the same inmate. Patrick admitted that he wrote a false report and spread a false cover story about the incident in order to cover up his and other correctional officers’ unlawful uses of force.
Patrick faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment for each of the assault offenses.
Pauley and Pearce have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to begin trial on March 6.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge William Hannah of the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG) Chicago Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Louisville Field Officemade the announcement.
The DOJ-OIG and FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Dembo for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Thomas Johnson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo con una empresa de contrataciones en el sector informático con sede en Nueva York que resuelve unas acusaciones de discriminación relacionadas con la inmigraciónRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo conciliatorio con Amiga Informatics (Amiga), una empresa de contrataciones en el sector informático con sede en Nueva York. El acuerdo resuelve la determinación del Departamento que Amiga vulneró la Ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés) al publicar anuncios de trabajo discriminatorios en los que únicamente solicitaba candidaturas de personas con una ciudadanía o un estatus migratorio específicos.
«Los empleadores tienen una responsabilidad de verificar que sus anuncios de trabajo y sus procesos de contratación no excluyan ilegalmente a personas debido a su ciudadanía o estatus migratorio», afirmó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «La División de Derechos Civiles está comprometida a derribar los obstáculos innecesarios que niegan a las personas oportunidades de empleo».
La investigación del Departamento determinó que Amiga publicó al menos seis anuncios de trabajo facialmente discriminatorios en 2021. En cuatro de estos anuncios buscaban únicamente a ciudadanos de los EE. UU. y residentes permanentes legales, de tal modo que disuadían a otras personas con permiso para trabajar en los Estados Unidos sin patrocinio, entre ellos asilados y refugiados, de presentar solicitudes y de ser considerados de manera justa para las oportunidades de empleo. Además, en dos de los anuncios buscaban únicamente solicitantes con estatus de Capacitación Práctica Adicional (OPT, por sus siglas en inglés), un estatus de autorización de trabajo temporal que se otorga a determinados estudiantes no ciudadanos de los EE.UU. en los EE. UU. Por lo tanto, los anuncios excluían ilegalmente a los asilados, los refugiados, los residentes permanentes legales y los ciudadanos y nacionales de los EE. UU. Por lo general, la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA prohíbe que los empleadores recluten o se nieguen a contratar a trabajadores con base en su ciudadanía o estatus migratorio.
Conforme al acuerdo, Amiga le pagará una sanción civil de $24,864 a los EE. UU. Asimismo, el acuerdo requiere que Amiga capacite a sus reclutadores en cuanto a los requisitos de la INA, que revise sus políticas de empleo y que se someta a los requisitos de supervisión y declaración del Departamento.
La Sección de Derechos de Inmigrantes y Empleados (IER, por sus siglas en inglés) de la División de Derechos Civiles es responsable de hacer cumplir la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA. La ley prohíbe la discriminación por motivos de estatus de ciudadanía y nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido o reclutamiento o recomendación por comisión, prácticas documentales injustas y represalias e intimidación.
Aprenda más sobre el trabajo de la IER y cómo conseguir ayuda mediante este vídeo corto. Encuentre más información sobre cómo los empleadores pueden evitar la discriminación en la contratación y reclutamiento en el sitio web de la IER. Aquellos aspirantes o empleados que creen haber sido discriminados por motivos de su ciudadanía, estatus migratorio o nacionalidad de origen en los procesos de contratación, despido, reclutamiento o verificación de la elegibilidad para trabajar (Formulario I-9 e E-Verify) o sujetos a represalias pueden presentar una denuncia. El público también puede llamar a la línea directa de la IER para trabajadores al 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); llamar a la línea directa de la IER para empleadores al 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY para personas con discapacidades auditivas); enviar un correo electrónico a [email protected]; inscribirse a un seminario en línea gratuito; o visitar los sitios web de la IER en inglés o español. Para recibir las últimas noticias de la IER, inscríbase a GovDelivery.
El Departamento de Justicia entabla demanda de acoso sexual contra un administrador y los dueños de propiedades en CaliforniaRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia hoy anunció que ha entablado una demanda de acoso sexual y toma de represalias bajo el ámbito de la ley de Vivienda Justa contra Joel Nolen, el dueño y operador de propiedades de arrendamiento en el Condado de Lassen, California. La demanda también nombra como demandados a Shirlee Nolen y Nolen Properties LLC, los copropietarios de las propiedades de arrendamiento en los momentos pertinentes. La demanda, entablada en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito para el Distrito Este de California, alega que Joel Nolen acosó sexualmente a las inquilinas desde al menos 2011. Según la demanda, Nolen ofreció beneficios relacionados con la vivienda a cambio de contacto sexual, hizo comentarios e insinuaciones sexuales no deseados a las inquilinas, entró en las viviendas de las inquilinas sin su permiso, sometió a las inquilinas a tocamientos y manoseos no deseados y tomó medidas adversas relacionadas con la vivienda contra las inquilinas que rechazaron sus insinuaciones sexuales.
“Nadie debería sentirse inseguro o sufrir acoso sexual en su casa, especialmente a manos de su proveedor de vivienda”, manifestó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. “El Departamento de Justicia se compromete a hacer cumplir enérgicamente la ley de Vivienda Justa y a hacer responsables a los propietarios y proveedores de viviendas que acosen sexualmente a sus inquilinos”.
“El acoso sexual y las represalias alegadas en la demanda de hoy vulneran nuestras leyes federales de vivienda justa y no serán toleradas”, afirmó el Fiscal Federal Phillip A. Talbert. “Los propietarios y otros proveedores de vivienda que incurran en este tipo de conducta tendrán que rendir cuentas para garantizar que las personas se sientan seguras y cómodas en sus hogares”.
La demanda busca una indemnización por daños y perjuicios para compensar a las personas perjudicadas por el presunto acoso, sanciones civiles para reivindicar el interés público y una orden judicial que prohíba futuras discriminaciones.
El Departamento de Justicia puso en marcha su Iniciativa en contra del Acoso Sexual en la Vivienda en octubre de 2017. La iniciativa, dirigida por la División de Derechos Civiles, en coordinación con las Fiscalías Federales de todo el país, pretende abordar y concienciar sobre el acoso sexual por parte de arrendadores, administradores de propiedades, trabajadores de mantenimiento, agentes de préstamos u otras personas que tienen control sobre la vivienda. Desde la puesta en marcha de la iniciativa, el Departamento de Justicia ha entablado 27 demandas por acoso sexual en la vivienda y ha recuperado más de 9.7 millones de dólares para las víctimas de dicho acoso.
La ley federal de Vivienda Justa prohíbe la discriminación en la vivienda por motivos de raza, color de piel, religión, origen nacional, género, discapacidad y estado familiar. Para más información acerca de la División de Derechos Civiles y las leyes que hace cumplir, visite a www.justice.gov/crt.
Aquellos individuos que creen haber sido víctimas de acoso sexual u otros tipos de discriminación en la vivienda en las viviendas de arrendamiento que son de propiedad de Joel Nolen, Shirlee Nolen, o Nolen Properties LLC, u administradas por los mismos, o aquellos que tengan información que podría ser de interés en este caso, pueden llamar a la Línea de Información de Discriminación en la Vivienda al 1-833-591-0291, oprima el 1 para continuar en inglés, y oprima la opción número 2, y luego la opción 7 para dejar un mensaje. También se puede enviar un correo electrónico al Departamento de Justicia a [email protected] o presentar una queja en línea. Las denuncias también se pueden presentar poniéndose en contacto con el Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano de los EE. UU. al 1-800-669-9777 o entablando una queja en línea.
Eight Defendants Indicted in Michigan for Obstructing a Reproductive Health Services FacilityRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today an indictment charging eight people with federal civil rights offenses and violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
According to court documents, Calvin Zastrow, Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Caroline Davis, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, Eva Edl and Eva Zastrow are charged with engaging in a civil rights conspiracy and with violating the FACE Act in connection with an August 2020 blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan. In addition, Idoni and Edl were also charged with violating the FACE Act in connection with an April 2021 blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Saginaw, Michigan.
The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that on Aug. 27, 2020, all eight defendants engaged in a conspiracy to prevent the Sterling Heights clinic from providing, and patients there from receiving, reproductive health services. According to the indictment, Gallagher advertised the Sterling Heights clinic blockade on social media, and he and Curry livestreamed the incident. The defendants convened at a location near the Sterling Heights clinic, where an uncharged co-conspirator who recorded the incident announced that the defendants were “going over to stand in front of the door” and “interpose.”
The indictment also alleges that all eight defendants violated the FACE Act by using physical obstruction to intimidate and interfere with the Sterling Heights clinic’s employees and patients, because the clinic’s employees were providing, and the patients were seeking, reproductive health services.
The indictment further alleges that on April 16, 2021, Idoni and Edl again used physical obstruction to intimidate and interfere with patients and employees of the Saginaw clinic because the clinic’s employees were providing, and patients were seeking, reproductive health services.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan, Assistant Director Luis Queseda of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Waters of the FBI Detroit Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Detroit Field Office and Bay City Resident Agency investigated the case.
The Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about incidents of violence, threats and obstruction that target a patient or provider of reproductive health services or damage and destruction of reproductive health care facilities, should report that information to the FBI at www.tips.fbi.gov. For more information about clinic violence, and the Department of Justice’s efforts to enforce FACE Act violations, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/national-task-force-violence-against-reproductive-health-care-providers.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Digital Healthcare Platform Ordered to Pay Civil Penalties and Take Corrective Action for Unauthorized Disclosure of Personal Health InformationRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced today that the government has resolved allegations that GoodRx Holdings Inc., doing business as GoodRx Gold, GoodRx Care, and Hey Doctor (GoodRx), violated the FTC Act and the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule. Pursuant to a settlement by the parties, a consent order was entered last Friday by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The government’s complaint, filed on Feb. 1, alleges that by disclosing millions of users’ personal health information to third parties without the users’ authorization, consent, or knowledge, GoodRx violated the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair and deceptive trade practices and the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule. The users’ information that was disclosed included personally identifying information, as well as details about medications and sensitive health conditions. GoodRx shared this personal health information despite its repeated assurances that the company would protect users’ privacy. For example, GoodRx’s public policies stated that the company would not provide to third parties any information that revealed a personal health condition or personal health information. The company’s advertising also featured a seal stating that it was “HIPAA Secure: Patient Data Protected,” even though it is not a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and it never complied with HIPAA requirements. Moreover, GoodRx did not comply with the Health Breach Notification Rule’s requirement to notify users that it had disclosed their health information to third parties without their consent.
The stipulated order entered by the Court on Feb. 17 requires GoodRx to pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million and to take corrective action to prevent future unauthorized disclosure of users’ sensitive health information and to ensure compliance with the FTC Act and rules. The order requires that GoodRx notify users that their information was disclosed, bans the company from disclosing health information for advertising purposes, prohibits further misrepresentations and the disclosure of health information without affirmative consent and notice, and requires that users be notified in the event of a future breach. The order also imposes ongoing recordkeeping, certification, monitoring, and compliance obligations.
“Consumers have a right to know whether and how their personal health information will be used, and to know when it has been disclosed to third-parties,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department is committed to enforcing protections against deceptive practices and unauthorized disclosure of personal health information.”
“Companies that misuse their customers’ sensitive health information by sharing that information without their customers’ permission or knowledge will be held accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “We will continue to work with our partners at the FTC to protect against the unauthorized disclosure of such sensitive, private information.”
This matter is being handled by Sarah Williams of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharanya Mohan for the Northern District of California, and Ronnie Solomon and Denise Oki of the FTC.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca. For more information about the FTC, visit its website at https://www.FTC.gov.
The statements made in the complaint are allegations that, if the case had proceeded to trial, the government would have been required to prove by a preponderance of the evidence.
A North Carolina man pleaded guilty today to preparing false tax returns for clients.Read the Press Release
A North Carolina man pleaded guilty today to preparing false tax returns for clients.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Montanna Gore of Garner provided tax return preparation services from his cell phone store in Fayetteville from at least 2013 through 2018. Gore reported false items on clients’ tax returns in order to inflate the tax refunds they would receive. He also fraudulently claimed education credits on his personal tax returns for 2015 and 2016. Gore did not file tax returns for himself for 2017 and 2018, even though he continued to earn income by preparing returns for clients in those years. In total, Gore’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $1.7 million.
Gore is scheduled to be sentenced on May 23 and faces a statutory maximum of three years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Michael F. Easley, Jr. for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Mitchell Galloway, Michael L. Jones, and Andrew Ascencio of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Nigerian National Extradited from the United Kingdom to Face Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today charging six Nigerian nationals – three residing in the United Kingdom and three residing in Spain – with operating a large transnational fraud scheme. One of the charged defendants made his initial appearance today, after being extradited from the United Kingdom.
Ezennia Peter Neboh, 48, Kennedy Ikponmwosa, 51, and Prince Amos Okey Ezemma, 49, of Madrid, Spain; and Iheanyichukwu Jonathan Abraham, 44, Emmanuel Samuel, 39, and Jerry Chucks Ozor, 43, of London, face federal charges in Miami. Neboh, Ikponmwosa, Abraham, Samuel, and Ozor were arrested in April 2022 by authorities in Madrid and London, based on an indictment filed in the Southern District of Florida, and have remained incarcerated since then. Samuel made his initial appearance in Miami today. Okey Ezemma remains at large.
According to court documents, the defendants are charged with operating an inheritance fraud scheme. Over the course of more than five years, they allegedly sent personalized letters to elderly consumers in the U.S., falsely claiming that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left for the recipient by a family member who purportedly had died years before in Spain. Victims were told that, before they could receive their purported inheritance, they were required to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and payments to avoid questioning from government authorities. Victims sent money to the defendants through a complex web of U.S.-based former victims, whom the defendants convinced to serve as money mules. According to the indictment, victims who sent money never received their purported inheritance funds.
“Schemes that prey on the elderly are particularly insidious,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch will pursue and prosecute transnational criminals who defraud U.S. consumers, wherever they are located. I thank the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom for their tireless efforts in assisting U.S. authorities to find and arrest these individuals so that they may face charges here in the United States.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has a long tradition of protecting citizens from these types of schemes and bringing those responsible to justice,” said Postal Inspector in Charge Juan A. Vargas for the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Miami Division. “The indictment unsealed today is a testament of the dedicated partnership between the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, to protect our citizens from these scams”.
“The successful extradition of the defendant is the result of a dynamic and coordinated investigative effort by HSI, our law enforcement and judicial partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown for HSI Arizona Field Office. “Crimes aimed at the elderly have devastating financial effects. HSI will continue to aggressively investigate greedy swindlers who prey on the vulnerable for profit.”
The defendants are all charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as mail fraud and wire fraud. Emmanuel Samuel made his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Neboh, Ikponmwosa, Abraham, and Ozor remain in extradition proceedings. If convicted, Samuel faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Consumer Protection Branch, USPIS, and HSI are investigating the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorneys Josh Rothman and Brianna Gardner of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Europol, the Portuguese Judicial Police, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, and the Spanish National Police, all provided critical assistance.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud, and reporting certain financial losses sustained due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.
More information about the Department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Department of Justice provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at https://www.ovc.gov.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission Host Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Workshop on Competition AdvocacyRead the Press Release
The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today launched a two-day joint workshop as part of this year’s first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Senior Officials Meeting, which the U.S. is hosting in Palm Springs, California. This year marks the first time the U.S. has hosted APEC since 2011.
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the FTC organized and hosted the workshop on competition advocacy for APEC’s Competition Policy and Law Group (CPLG) to build on the APEC 2023 priorities, including promoting competitive markets throughout the Asia-Pacific region and fostering cooperation across APEC’s 21 economies in service of this goal.
“The APEC’s Competition Policy and Law Group workshop provides an opportunity to engage with our partners in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Promoting competition in an increasingly complex world demands an interconnected and innovative approach to international antitrust enforcement, and this workshop is an important forum for building the ties and strategy necessary for this cooperation.”
The workshop began with opening remarks from Assistant Attorney General Kanter and FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. The workshop featured presentations and roundtable discussions on litigating competition matters, regulatory advocacy and effective legislative advocacy in a changing world. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Hetal Doshi, who leads the Antitrust Division’s Litigation Unit, kicked off the workshop with a presentation sharing best practices for courtroom advocacy. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maggie Goodlander, who oversees the Antitrust Division’s International, Appellate, and Policy Sections, led a panel with judges and competition agency leadership from the United States, Chile and Peru.
APEC is the premier platform for advancing economic policies in the Asia-Pacific region that promote inclusive and sustainable growth, as well as free, fair, and open trade and investment. In addition to this week’s meeting in Palm Springs, the U.S. will host APEC Senior Officials Meetings in Detroit (May 2023) and Seattle (August 2023), as well as APEC’s Economic Leaders’ Week in San Francisco (November 2023).
Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Antitrust Division delivers remarks at the APEC Competition Advocacy WorkshopReadout of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s Call with UK Security Minister and German and French CounterpartsRead the Press Release
This morning, Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco spoke with U.K. Security Minister Tom Tugendhat and counterparts in Germany and France about recent threats against journalists critical of the Iranian regime. The Deputy AG and counterparts discussed the recent closure of broadcaster Iran International’s London studios following persistent threats. The Deputy AG noted that this activity occurs less than one month after the Justice Department announced its disruption of a murder-for-hire plot originating from Iran that targeted a U.S.-based Iranian-American journalist.
Readout of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s Attendance at the 2023 Munich Security ConferenceRead the Press Release
Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco was in Munich this week to participate in both the 2023 Munich Cyber Security Conference and the Munich Security Conference, which brings together leaders from around the world to tackle current and future challenges to our global security.
On Friday, the Deputy AG delivered the closing keynote at the 2023 Munich Cyber Security Conference and discussed the department’s ongoing efforts to disrupt the ecosystem that fuels malicious cyber activities and to prioritize prevention of cyberattacks and the department’s work with the victims of cybercrime.
As part of the United States delegation to the 2023 Munich Security Conference, a leading global forum on key security policy challenges, Deputy Attorney General Monaco participated in several discussions regarding national security challenges facing the United States and its partners. The Deputy AG spoke on a panel with European leaders regarding “strategic corruption” when a nation weaponizes corrupt practices for strategic purposes.
The Deputy AG also held several bilateral meetings with European law enforcement and national security partners, including the European Commissioner for Home Affairs as well as the heads of both INTERPOL and EUROPOL. In each of those discussions, Deputy Attorney General Monaco reinforced the Justice Department’s commitment to standing with our partners around the world — and the people of Ukraine — in continuing to investigate Russian war crimes and to enforce the global sanctions levied against Russia for its unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. She also emphasized the importance of international partnerships to combat transnational threats of terrorism, cybercrime and synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.
While in Germany, the Deputy AG also traveled to Nuremberg, to visit the Nuremberg Trials Memorial. She had the opportunity to tour the museum and the courtroom in the Palace of Justice where the leaders of the Nazi regime were tried before an International Military Tribunal following World War II.
She returned to Washington, D.C. on Sunday.
Photo credit: MCSC. Deputy AG Monaco delivering the keynote at the 2023 Munich Cyber Security Conference (MCSC). Deputy AG Monaco with EUROPOL Executive Director Catherine De Bolle. Photo credit: Munich Security Conference. Deputy AG Monaco with INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock. Deputy AG Monaco with others in the courtroom in the Palace of Justice where the leaders of the Nazi regime were tried before an International Military Tribunal following World War II.United States Files Complaint Against Illegal Robocall Telemarketers and Telecommunications Service ProvidersRead the Press Release
The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), today announced a civil enforcement action against several corporate and individual defendants for alleged violations of the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) in connection with telemarketing campaigns that have illegally bombarded American consumers with millions of robocalls.
According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, defendant telecommunications service companies Stratics Networks, Inc. and Netlatitude Inc., along with defendant Kurt Hannigan, Netlatitude’s president, violated the TSR by providing substantial assistance and support in the form of technological services to telemarketers that unlawfully called consumers with robocalls delivering prerecorded marketing messages, called numbers listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, and failed to truthfully identify the seller of the goods and services being marketed. These alleged robocalls include numerous “ringless voicemails” delivered to consumers without making their phones ring.
The complaint also brings claims against several additional defendants that allegedly used Stratics Networks, Inc.’s ringless voicemail platform to illegally telemarket credit-card debt relief services. According to the complaint, defendants Tek Ventures, LLC (also doing business as Provident Solutions), Atlas Marketing Partners, Inc., Atlas Investment Ventures, LLC, Eric Petersen and Todd DiRoberto (who are co-owners of those three companies), Kasm, and Kenan Azzeh (owner and director of Kasm) violated the FTC Act by misrepresenting the terms and outcomes of their debt relief services. These defendants also violated the TSR by making those misrepresentations, by failing to clearly and truthfully identify the seller of their services, and by calling consumers with prerecorded messages without first obtaining their consent. The complaint also alleges that defendants Tek Ventures, LLC, Atlas Marketing Partners, Inc., Atlas Investment Ventures, LLC, Eric Petersen, Todd DiRoberto, and two additional defendants – Ace Business Solutions LLC and its owner and director Sandra Barnes – violated the TSR by requesting and receiving payments from their debt relief customers before renegotiating or otherwise altering the terms of those customers’ debts.
The complaint seeks a permanent injunction to prohibit the defendants from future violations, as well as monetary civil penalties and relief to redress injury caused to consumers.
Two defendants in this action, Kasm and its owner and director Kenan Azzeh, have agreed to entry of a court order that resolves the claims against them. The stipulated order, if entered by the court, would prohibit these defendants from further violations and impose a monetary judgment of $3,380,000, suspended to $7,500 due to their limited ability to pay.
“The Department of Justice is committed to stopping individuals and companies from making illegal robocalls and peddling predatory debt relief services,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to work with the FTC to enforce the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule against those who use misleading sales tactics to prey on consumers.”
“This case targets the ecosystem of companies who perpetrate illegal telemarketing to cheat American consumers who are struggling financially,” said Director Samuel Levine of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The FTC will continue to take aggressive action to protect consumers from the scourge of illegal robocalls.”
Senior Trial Attorney Daniel K. Crane-Hirsch and Trial Attorneys Matthew A. Robinson and Zachary A. Dietert of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, in conjunction with staff at the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices, are prosecuting the case.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the FTC, visit its website at https://www.FTC.gov.
A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two More Defendants Sentenced to Prison for Multimillion Dollar Schemes Involving Preparation of False Tax Returns for Professional Athletes and PPP Loan FraudRead the Press Release
Two California men have been sentenced to prison in a conspiracy to defraud the IRS and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal loans initiative designed to help businesses pay their employees and meet expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanh Ngoc Rudin of Rosemead, 58, was sentenced to 34 months in prison on Feb. 10, 2023, and his coconspirator, Seir Havana of North Hollywood, 46, was sentenced today to 42 months in prison. Thanh Rudin’s brother, Quin Rudin, was sentenced in October 2022 to 10 years in prison for his role in the scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Thanh Rudin was a principal of Mana Tax Services, a tax preparation business in the Los Angeles area. Havana was the company’s Vice President/Director and Chief Executive Officer. Quin Rudin was its Secretary, Director, and Chief Financial Officer. They engaged in two fraud schemes using Mana Tax, while Quin Rudin was still on supervised release for a different fraud scheme in California.
The defendants prepared and filed with the IRS a series of false income tax returns on behalf of at least nine professional athletes. The false tax returns reported fictitious business and personal losses to generate refunds the athletes were not entitled to receive. The defendants also filed amended tax returns for most of the athletes for prior years to correct what they falsely characterized as “errors” made by the athletes’ previous accountants. Mana Tax charged the athlete clients 30% of the fraudulent tax refunds. The tax fraud scheme caused a total tax loss of more than $19 million.
The Rudin brothers and Havana also prepared and submitted false applications for PPP loans on behalf of small businesses, shell companies, and other business entities they controlled, and took a fee of 30% of the fraudulent loan. They submitted fabricated tax returns to support the PPP loan applications, and some of the business owners never saw their loan applications before Mana Tax filed them. The loan applications grossly inflated the number of employees and monthly payroll costs. Some of the businesses had no payroll expenses and were not actually eligible for PPP loans.
During the investigation, the government seized more than $11.8 million of the fraudulent PPP loan proceeds from bank accounts controlled by the defendants. In addition, Havana surrendered cashier’s checks totaling approximately $5.6 million, representing a portion of the fees charged to professional athletes for the preparation of their false tax returns and a portion of the fees taken from the fraudulent PPP loans.
In total, the two schemes caused more than $44 million in losses to the United States.
In addition to their respective terms of imprisonment, Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga ordered the defendants to each serve 3 years of supervised release. Thanh Rudin was ordered to pay $38,206,074.98 and Seir Havana was ordered to pay $38,673,403.24 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation made the announcement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the U.S. Small Business Administration provided assistance with the investigation.
Assistant Chief David Zisserson of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Shartar and Kimberly R. Pedersen are prosecuting the case.
Two Individuals Sentenced for Multimillion-Dollar Cattle-Trading Ponzi SchemeRead the Press Release
Two individuals were sentenced today to six years in prison for their roles in a cattle-trading Ponzi scheme that resulted in millions of dollars in victim losses.
According to court documents, from late 2017 until early 2019, Reva Joyce Stachniw, 71, of Galesburg, Illinois, and Ron Throgmartin, 59, of Buford, Georgia, along with a co-conspirator, ran a Ponzi scheme by fraudulently representing to victims that their investments were backed by short-term investments in Stachniw and Throgmartin’s cattle and marijuana businesses. The victim-investors gave the conspirators money based on false promises that their investments would be used for legitimate activities related to those businesses. In actuality, the funds were used to pay earlier investors.
In August 2022, Stachniw and Throgmartin were convicted at trial of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In addition to their terms of imprisonment, Stachniw was ordered to pay $14,597,335.80 in restitution and to forfeit $6,013,370. Throgmartin was ordered to pay $14,597,335.80 in restitution and to forfeit $1,004,904.83. The restitution was ordered jointly and severally between the two.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Kyle A. Myles of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Atlanta Region; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. of the FBI San Antonio Field Office made the announcement.
The FDIC-OIG and the FBI investigated the case.
Assistant Chief Scott Armstrong and Trial Attorneys Brandon Burkart and Michael McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Employer of Nearly $10 MillionRead the Press Release
EL PASO, Texas – A Horizon City man pleaded guilty in federal court in El Paso Tuesday to wire fraud.
According to court documents, Ricardo Robles, 41, was employed in a position in which he was responsible for purchasing goods from suppliers. His employer would then resell the goods for profit. Robles created numerous sham companies beginning in 2010 and used those sham companies to purchase goods and inflate the prices along with his co-conspirators. On his employer’s behalf, Robles would then purchase from his sham companies and divert portions of those payments to his personal bank accounts.
Robles pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Robles also agrees to pay restitution of approximately $9,890,489.53. A sentencing date has been tentatively set for May 30. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Mangels is prosecuting the case.
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New York Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Narcotics and Tax OffensesRead the Press Release
A New York pharmacist pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, distribution and possession of oxycodone and filing false business and personal income tax returns.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Daniel E. Russo owned and operated Russo’s Pharmacy, Inc., a drug store located in Far Rockaway, Queens. From 2011 through 2014, Russo conspired with others to illegally distribute oxycodone, a controlled substance. For the years 2013 through 2016, Russo filed false tax returns with the IRS on behalf of Russo’s Pharmacy that underreported the gross receipts and ordinary business income of the pharmacy. Russo also filed false personal tax returns for the years 2012 through 2016 that underreported the income he received from Russo’s Pharmacy. In total, Russo caused a tax loss of more than $415,000.
“At the same time Daniel Russo was illegally peddling oxycodone out of his pharmacy, he was pocketing – and not paying taxes on – income from those sales and others in his business,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Everyone is required to pay their fair share of taxes, whether they make their money legitimately or through criminal activity.”
“All too often the opioid epidemic has shown that health care professionals wearing white coats are drug dealers,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace from the Eastern District of New York. “Russo abused his pharmacy license and the trust placed in him by the community to illegally distribute enormous amounts of oxycodone, spreading misery in the community and fueling addiction, all to enrich himself. My Office will continue working with federal and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute medical professionals who illegally deal dangerous drugs with the same vigor as those who distribute drugs on the street.”
Russo faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute counts, and three years in prison for each count of filing a false tax return. The defendant also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties, as well as forfeiture. U.S. District Court Judge Dora L. Irizarry will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Michael C. Vasiliadis of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francisco Navarro, Nomi D. Berenson and Andrew D. Wang prosecuted the case.
Montana Man Convicted of Federal Hate Crimes and Firearms Charges for Shooting Intended to Rid Community of the Lesbian and Gay MembersRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a Montana man of hate and firearms crimes for firing an AK-style assault rifle at the residence of a woman, who identified as lesbian, and was home at the time.
After a four-day trial that began on Feb. 14, the jury found John Russell Howald, 46, of Basin, Montana, guilty of hate crime acts and discharge of firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence as charged in a superseding indictment.
“This defendant is being held accountable for attempting to violently eliminate the entire LGBTQ community in a small Montana town,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This hate crime and violent campaign targeting the LGBTQ community is a reminder of the epidemic of hate violence targeting people based on their sexual orientation. All people have the right to feel safe in their homes and communities, regardless of who they love. The Civil Rights Division will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to safeguard the civil rights of LGBTQ people affected by hate violence, hold perpetrators accountable, and ensure justice for victims of bias-motivated crimes.”
“The victim in this case was targeted by the defendant for no other reason than her sexual orientation when he fired bullets at her home while she was inside of it. There will be zero tolerance by our office in prosecuting those who commit hate crimes against our fellow Montanans, as no one should have to live in fear of potentially deadly violence simply because of whom they love,” said U.S. Attorney Jess Laslovich for the District of Montana. “I am pleased the jury agreed with us and I sincerely thank Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan R. Plaut and Trial Attorney Eric N. Peffley, Criminal Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, along with the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Jefferson County’s Sheriff’s Office for investigating and prosecuting this case.”
“Hate crimes are especially devastating because a vicious act against one person is an attack on an entire community,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. “I want to reassure Montana citizens the FBI is committed to defending and protecting the rights of all persons and encourage the public to report hate crimes to the FBI and local law enforcement.”
According to court documents and statements in court, on March 22, 2020, Howald went on a self-described mission to rid the town of Basin of its lesbian and gay community. Armed with three rifles and two pistols, and knowing that the victim identified as a lesbian, Howald approached her residence on foot and fired an AK-style assault rifle at her property. Several rounds went through the victim’s fence and rounds hit her yard and porch. One round traveled through a wall of the home, bounced off the kitchen ceiling and lodged in a wall in the room. The victim was at home at the time but was not struck.
After firing at the victim’s house, the government alleged, Howald walked down the street toward other houses occupied by people who identify and are known locally as gay or lesbian. A church service had just finished and individuals leaving church saw Howald walking on street, recognized him and approached. The individuals heard Howald talk about his mission of killing lesbian and gay people in town and saw his weapons. They approached and tried to talk Howald down. One of those people, a pastor, unknowingly had left on a recording device that he used for his sermons. The device recorded about 10 minutes of his interaction with Howald until Howald demanded that the pastor walk away. The recording captured Howald making statements that he might have killed a lesbian and that he hoped he had, and that he was going to get rid of lesbians and queers in Basin. The recording also captured Howald firing off several more rounds during his interaction with these individuals.
Responding to a 911 call to the scene, a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy ordered Howald to put down his guns. Howald refused, pointed a rifle at the deputy and fled on foot, firing at least one more shot as he went. Sheriff’s officers arrested Howald the next day and found that he had a knife and loaded pistol on his person and an AR-style rifle and revolver in his car. During a search of his camper, officers found an AK-style rifle, a hunting rifle and ammunition.
Howald faces a maximum of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the hate crime conviction and a mandatory minimum 10 years to life imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,00 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm conviction.
The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for June 15 before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris. Howald was detained pending further proceedings.
The FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, ATF and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan R. Plaut for the District of Montana and Trial Attorney Eric N. Peffley of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
Michigan Tax Return Preparer Agrees to Preliminary InjunctionRead the Press Release
A federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan has endorsed an agreed preliminary injunction barring a Detroit-area tax return preparer and her businesses from preparing federal tax returns for others until the date on which trial on whether a permanent injunction is warranted occurs.
The preliminary injunction was entered against Annetta Powell and her tax preparation businesses, known to customers as “The Tax Experts,” and registered to do business in Michigan under varying entity names: Alliance Tax Services, Inc., Nationwide Tax Services, Inc., Tax Expert Stores, Inc., United Tax Services, Inc., Top Financial Specialists, Inc. doing business as The Tax Experts, United Financial Team Corporation doing business as The Tax Experts, and Speedy Tax Stores Corporation doing business as The Tax Experts. The preliminary injunction also enjoins Jasmine Powell from preparing or filing federal tax returns. According to the amended complaint filed against the defendants, Powell and her companies had prepared returns that, among other things, reported inflated or fraudulent business losses, claimed false or inflated earned income credits, reported fraudulent filing statues, and claimed improper education credits, all of which resulted in tax refunds to which customers were not entitled. According to the amended complaint, the fraudulent tax returns that Powell and her business prepared for customers cost the United States over one and a half million dollars in tax revenue.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax preparer, has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers, and offers information on how to avoid “ghost” tax preparers, whose refusal to sign a return should be a red flag to taxpayers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.
In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $72,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
California Man Charged with Federal Hate Crimes for Allegedly Shooting and Wounding Two Victims Leaving SynagoguesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today charges against a former Riverside resident with two counts of hate crimes for allegedly targeting and shooting two Jewish men as they departed religious services outside two Los Angeles synagogues over the past two days.
According to the complaint, Jaime Tran, 28, targeted the two victims because they were Jewish or he believed them to be Jewish. Because the complaint contains allegations that Tran attempted to murder the two victims, the maximum statutory penalty for each of the two hate crimes is life without parole in federal prison. Tran made his first court appearance this afternoon after being arrested Thursday evening and charged this morning.
The complaint alleges that Tran committed the two hate-motivated attacks this week. Both shooting incidents took place in the Pico-Robertson district of Los Angeles.
In the first incident, which took place on Wednesday at approximately 9:45 a.m., Tran allegedly shot a victim at close range as the victim was leaving religious services at a synagogue. This victim survived the shooting, but he suffered a gunshot wound to the lower back.
In the second incident on Thursday at approximately 8 a.m., Tran allegedly shot a second victim at close range soon after he left religious services at a different synagogue in the same neighborhood. This second victim survived, but he sustained a gunshot wound to his upper arm.
Both shootings occurred in the same predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Los Angeles and both victims were dressed in clothing that visibly identified their Jewish faith, including black jackets and head coverings.
The evidence uncovered during the investigation indicates that Tran located the Jewish neighborhood after searching a popular business-review app for a kosher market in the Pico-Robertson district. After locating the market, Tran allegedly drove to the area, where the first shooting occurred. According to the complaint, Tran returned to the area the following day when the second shooting occurred.
Investigators acted quickly to identify Tran’s vehicle, to collect witness statements, and to obtain background information on Tran that is outlined in the criminal complaint.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division and Assistant Director in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating the case. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Cathedral City Police Department and the Fountain Valley Police Department provided substantial assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathrynne Seiden and Maria Jhai of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section and Frances Lewis of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section for the Central District of California and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting this case.
A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
United States to Repatriate Nearly $1 Million to Federal Republic of NigeriaRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it is sharing approximately $954,807 with the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria) in accordance with an agreement between the governments to repatriate assets the United States forfeited that were traceable to the kleptocracy of former Governor of the State of Bayelsa in Nigeria, Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha.
“Today’s result would not have been possible without significant cooperation between the United States and its international partners in our common fight against corruption and the laundering of corruption proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Our repatriation of the forfeited funds is an illustration of the United States’ commitment – through its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative – to making the victims of corruption whole.”
Alamieyeseigha, known as DSP, now deceased, served as the elected governor of the oil-producing Bayelsa State from 1999 until his impeachment in 2005. As alleged in the U.S. forfeiture complaints, DSP’s official salary for this entire period was approximately $81,000, and his declared income from all sources during the period was approximately $248,000. While he was governor, DSP accumulated property worth millions of dollars through corrupt and illegal activities, including property in Rockville, Maryland.
DSP acquired the Rockville property during his first term as governor of Bayelsa State with funds obtained through corruption, abuse of office, money laundering, and other violations of Nigerian and U.S. law. Title to the property was transferred to Solomon & Peters Ltd., a shell corporation controlled by DSP. The company, instead of DSP himself, pleaded guilty to money laundering in Nigeria in 2007.
In May 2013, U.S. District Court Judge Roger W. Titus of the District of Maryland granted a motion for a default judgment and issued a final decree of forfeiture following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Asset Identification and Removal Group in Baltimore. The order extinguished all prior title and authorized forfeiture of the private residence located in Rockville to the United States and the property was sold. In a related action in the District of Massachusetts, the Justice Department and HSI successfully forfeited approximately $400,000 from an investment account traceable to DSP.
Under the agreement announced today, the United States agrees to transfer 100% of the net forfeited assets to Nigeria to support improvements in health care centers across Bayelsa State in the form of rehabilitation, refurbishment, and equipping such centers as requested by the Bayelsa government. The agreement includes key measures to ensure transparency and accountability, including consultation with the governments of the United States and Bayelsa State, financial review by an independent auditor whose reports will be published periodically, and monitoring by an independent civil society organization with expertise in project management whose reports will also be published periodically. Specifically, the agreement requires consultation with the government of Bayelsa State and the United States in the recruitment and competitive selection of implementors and monitors, and their work plans and budgets. The agreement also precludes the expenditure of funds to benefit alleged perpetrators of the corruption. The agreement reflects the sound principles for ensuring transparency and accountability adopted at the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) in December 2017 in Washington, D.C., which the United States and United Kingdom hosted with support from the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative of the World Bank and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The department appreciates the extensive assistance provided by the Federal Government of Nigeria in this case. The department also thanks the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and HSI as well as the U.S. Department of State for its assistance in negotiating and facilitating the return in this matter.
This case was brought under the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative by a team of dedicated prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section working in partnership with the FBI. Through the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement agencies seek to safeguard the U.S. financial system from criminal money laundering and to recover the proceeds of foreign official corruption. Where appropriate and possible, the department endeavors to use recovered corruption proceeds to benefit the people harmed by acts of corruption and abuse of public trust.
Individuals with information about possible proceeds of foreign corruption located in or laundered through the United States should contact federal law enforcement or send an email to [email protected].
Readout of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco’s Trip to LondonRead the Press Release
Deputy Attorney General (Deputy AG) Lisa Monaco traveled to London this week to reaffirm and build upon the strong partnership between the United States and Great Britain in countering threats to our national security.
On Wednesday, the Deputy AG met with Permanent Home Secretary Matthew Rycroft to continue the strong working relationship between the Home Office and the Justice Department and to establish a new high-level forum to identify and address emerging threats. Senior representatives from both offices will convene the forum around key law enforcement areas to develop strategies that reflect the combined expertise, strengths and capabilities of U.S. and U.K. authorities.
That evening, Ambassador Jane Hartley hosted a reception in honor of the Deputy AG’s visit and to celebrate the collaboration between the U.S. and U.K. on the Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs Task Force. As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine approaches, the Deputy AG delivered remarks reaffirming the commitment of the two nations to stand together with the people of Ukraine and to enforce the global sanctions levied against Russia.
On Thursday, at Chatham House, the Deputy AG joined two counterparts from her former role as Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor — former British Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott and former British Deputy National Security Advisor Paddy McGuinness — to discuss how autocratic governments are acquiring and abusing disruptive technologies to project power and engage in illicit activity and how the U.S. and U.K. can collaborate to combat these trends.
In her remarks at Chatham House, the Deputy AG announced the launch of the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a collaboration of U.S. law enforcement – led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce – bringing together top experts to attack tomorrow’s national security threats today. The Strike Force will employ intelligence and data analytics to target illicit actors, harden supply chains, and protect critical technological assets. “Our goal is simple but essential,” she said, “to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon off our most advanced technology.” Read her full remarks here.
While in London, the Deputy Attorney General also met with Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Collins and the Deputy Director of MI5 to thank them for their continued partnership on a host of national security issues facing the two countries – particularly the challenges posed by hostile nation states. She also visited the American Embassy for a briefing with U.S. officials on their work in-country and to thank them for their dedicated public service.
On Thursday evening, Deputy AG Monaco departed London for Munich, Germany, where she will participate in the Munich Security Conference and the Munich Cyber Security Conference.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco (right) with Former British Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott (left) and Former British Deputy National Security Advisor Paddy McGuinness (center) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco (center) with Former British Ambassador Sir Peter Westmacott (right) and Former British Deputy National Security Advisor Paddy McGuinness (left) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco (right) with Permanent Home Secretary Matthew Rycroft (left) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco (center) with U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Jane Hartley (left) and Permanent Home Secretary Matthew Rycroft (right)Manager of Key West Labor Staffing Companies Sentenced for Immigration and Employment Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A Florida man was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for conspiring to harbor non-resident aliens and induce them to remain in the country and conspiring to defraud the IRS.
According to court documents, from 2016 through 2021, Oleksandr Morgunov helped operate a series of labor-staffing companies in South Florida, including Paradise Choice LLC, Paradise Choice Cleaning LLC, Tropical City Services LLC and Tropical City Group LLC. These staffing companies facilitated the employment of individuals in hotels, bars and restaurants in Key West and other locations, even though the employees were not authorized to work in the United States. Morgunov and his co-conspirators defrauded the IRS out of more than $7.9 million in employment taxes that should have been withheld and paid over in connection with the employment of these workers.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez ordered Morgunov to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $7,958,421.50 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez for the Southern District of Florida made the announcement.
The DHS Homeland Security Investigations and IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty, Trial Attorneys Jessica A. Kraft, Nicholas J. Schilling Jr., Matthew C. Hicks, Wilson Rae Stamm and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Clark of the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Justice and Commerce Departments Announce Creation of Disruptive Technology Strike ForceRead the Press Release
Today, the Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce are launching the Disruptive Technology Strike Force. Under the leadership of the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the strike force will bring together experts throughout government – including the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and 14 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in 12 metropolitan regions across the country – to target illicit actors, strengthen supply chains and protect critical technological assets from being acquired or used by nation-state adversaries.
“Today, autocrats seek tactical advantage through the acquisition, use, and abuse of America’s most innovative technology. They use it to enhance their military capabilities, support mass surveillance programs that enable human rights abuses and all together undermine our values,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Using real-time intelligence and 21st century data analytics, the Disruptive Technology Strike Force will bring together the Justice and Commerce Departments’ expertise to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon off our most advanced technology, and to attack tomorrow’s national security threats today.”
“The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security remains steadfast in our coordination with our federal partners at the Department of Justice and vigilant in our enforcement of our export controls,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. “This interagency strike force will further strengthen this shared national security priority.”
“Illegally exporting sensitive technology is not an abstract economic concern — it is a crime with a direct impact on the safety of the American people,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “To be clear, adversaries are directly threatening our national security. These crimes have the potential to de-stabilize American economic security, negatively impact American businesses, and affect employment. The FBI looks forward to amplifying our collective capability to combat the threat through this strike force — a partnership that will serve as a force multiplier to the work involving each participating agency.”
The strike force will be co-led by Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
When acquired by nation-state adversaries such as the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea, advanced technologies can be used in new or novel ways to enhance their military capabilities or support mass surveillance programs that enable human rights abuses. End users of national security concern seek technologies, including those related to supercomputing and exascale computing, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing equipment and materials, quantum computing, and biosciences. Although they have important commercial uses, technologies in these fields can threaten U.S. national security when used by adversaries for disruptive purposes, such as improving calculations in weapons design and testing; improving the speed and accuracy of military or intelligence decision-making; and breaking or developing unbreakable encryption algorithms that protect sensitive communications and classified information.
“The Disruptive Technology Strike Force takes aim at those who imperil our national security and the rule of law by illegally transferring sensitive technologies to foreign adversaries,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen. “We must remain vigilant in enforcing export control laws, which defend military readiness, preserve our technological superiority over our adversaries, and help to protect human rights and democratic values.”
“Advances in technology have the potential to alter the world’s balance of power,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod. “This strike force is designed to protect U.S. national security by preventing those sensitive technologies from being used for malign purposes.”
The strike force’s work will focus on investigating and prosecuting criminal violations of export laws; enhancing administrative enforcement of U.S. export controls; fostering partnerships with the private sector; leveraging international partnerships to coordinate law enforcement actions and disruption strategies; utilizing advanced data analytics and all-source intelligence to develop and build investigations; conducting regular trainings for field offices; and strengthening connectivity between the strike force and the Intelligence Community.
In addition to the National Security Division and the Bureau of Industry and Security, this strike force will be comprised of officials from designated U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
“HSI remains committed to our interagency partners and will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of the American people to ensure sensitive technologies and proprietary information do not fall into the hands of our adversaries,” said Acting Executive Associate Director Steve Francis of Homeland Security Investigations.
The strike force will operate in 12 metropolitan regions across the United States, with oversight and support from the local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City (Southern and Eastern Districts of New York), San Jose, California, Phoenix, Portland, Oregon, and the Washington, D.C. region (District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Virginia).
Justice Department Secures Agreement with Alaska School District Concerning Discriminatory Seclusion and Restraint PracticesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today a settlement agreement with the Anchorage School District in Anchorage, Alaska, to address the discriminatory use of seclusion and restraint against students with disabilities. The settlement, which resolves the department’s investigation under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), will protect students with disabilities by eliminating seclusion and prohibiting discriminatory restraints.
The department’s investigation concluded that the district repeatedly and inappropriately secluded and restrained students with disabilities in violation of Title II. Despite state law and the district’s own policy, and contrary to generally accepted practice, the district did not limit its use of restraint and seclusion to emergency situations. Rather, the district used restraint and seclusion to address noncompliant student behavior, resulting in students missing large amounts of instructional time. Additionally, some students subjected to seclusion engaged in self-harm and expressed suicidal ideation.
“When schools use seclusion and improper restraints as the default method of managing the behavior of students with disabilities, they violate the promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement will help safeguard the civil rights of students with disabilities and ensure that the district adheres to policies that are equity-focused, child-centered and trauma-informed. The Civil Rights Division will continue to vigorously investigate allegations of discrimination on the basis of disability in public schools and focus on the practice of seclusion. In districts across the country, we have seen seclusion used against students with disabilities as an improper crisis response and in ways that escalate student behavior and can lead to self-harm.”
The district fully cooperated throughout the investigation, and before the investigation was completed began to re-evaluate its practices. Under the agreement, the district will, among other steps:
- Eliminate the use of seclusion at all district schools before the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year;
- Ensure students are only restrained when their behavior poses an imminent danger of serious physical harm to the student or another person, and properly document all restraints;
- Provide students who are restrained or secluded with required interventions and supports to prevent future incidents requiring such an emergency response;
- Create classroom management plans for specialized programs serving students with disabilities that will promote and reinforce positive behaviors and guide staff in employing appropriate de-escalation techniques, thereby discouraging the use of restraint;
- Ensure parents/guardians are aware they can file a complaint with the district regarding the use of restraint and seclusion;
- Deliver appropriate training to help schools implement the agreement;
- Provide counseling and compensatory education to students who were repeatedly secluded; and
- Appoint an administrator to monitor the district’s restraint practices (and seclusion until that practice is prohibited) to ensure compliance with this agreement and assist district staff in providing required interventions and supports.
Enforcement of Title II of the ADA is a priority of the Civil Rights Division. This agreement is the most recent in a series of division settlements to address and prevent unlawful seclusion and restraint of students with disabilities in public schools. On Dec. 20, 2022, for example, the division reached a settlement with the Okaloosa County School District in Florida to address the discriminatory use of seclusion and restraint against students with disabilities. The division reached similar agreements in September 2022 with the Cedar Rapids Community School District in Iowa, in December 2021 with the Frederick Public School District in Maryland and in December 2020 with the North Gibson School Corporation in Indiana.
Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and additional information about the Educational Opportunities Section’s work is available at https://www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section. To learn more about the section’s work under the ADA to combat improper seclusion in schools, visit this website: https://www.justice.gov/schoolseclusion.
Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/.
Barrington Tax Return Preparer Charged with Falsifying Clients’ Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Chicago returned an indictment on Feb. 16, charging an Illinois man with assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.
According to the indictment, from 2016 to 2018, Gary Sandiego of Barrington owned a tax return preparation business, G. Sandiego and Associates, and prepared and filed false returns for his clients. The false returns allegedly reported fictitious or inflated unreimbursed employment-related expenses and false residential energy credits, which resulted in a significant reduction of Sandiego’s clients’ total tax liability.
Sandiego will appear for his initial court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Assistant Chief Andrew Kameros and Trial Attorney Sara Henderson of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Ohio Gambling Business Owner Sentenced for Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
An Ohio woman was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the IRS relating to her ownership and operation of illegal gambling businesses in Canton, Ohio.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from 2010 through 2018, Rebecca Kachner, along with other coconspirators, owned and operated two illegal gambling businesses, Skilled Shamrock and Redemption Skill Games 777. Kachner conspired with her husband and the other owners to defraud the IRS by filing false tax returns that omitted most of the income they received from their illegal gambling operation and by using a nominee owner to conceal their ownership of the businesses.
From 2012 through 2017, patrons of Skilled Shamrock wagered a total of more than $34 million, which resulted in more than $4 million in income to the owners. In total, Kachner and her husband received more than $2.3 million from the illegal gambling businesses. They did not report most of this income on their annual tax returns during these years. Investigators also recovered approximately $241,000 of illegal gambling proceeds in cash from a storage locker Kachner admitted to renting.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent ordered the defendant to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay $1,184,668 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of the Inspector General, the Ohio Casino Control Commission, and the Ohio Casino Control Commission investigated the case. U.S. Homeland Security Investigations provided substantial assistance.
Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing and Sam Bean of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Patton and David Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case.
Massachusetts Man Charged with Federal Hate CrimeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Boston returned an indictment today charging a Massachusetts man with a federal hate crime.
According to the indictment, John Sullivan willfully caused and attempted to cause bodily injury to victim G.N. through the use of a dangerous weapon, Sullivan’s car, because of G.N.’s actual and perceived race and national origin.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins for the District of Massachusetts and Special Agent in Charge Joe Bonavolonta of the FBI Boston Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Boston Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Torey Cummings for the District of Massachusetts and Trial Attorney Tara Allison of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice Department Secures Settlement in Religious Discrimination Suit Against Lansing, MichiganRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the City of Lansing, Michigan, that will resolve the department’s religious accommodation and retaliation lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that the city violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after discriminating and retaliating against Sylvia Coleman, a Seventh-day Adventist and former detention officer with the city’s police department. Title VII is a federal statute that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex and religion. Title VII also prohibits retaliation against employees who have made a charge, assisted or participated in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under Title VII.
“This lawsuit and consent decree demonstrate the department’s commitment to ensuring that all employees are protected from religious discrimination in the workplace,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “With this consent decree, the city of Lansing will undertake actions necessary to protect the religious rights of employees in the workplace.”
The department’s amended complaint alleges that, on her first day of work, Coleman informed the city that she could not work a shift from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday because she observed the Sabbath as a Seventh-day Adventist. The amended complaint alleges that Coleman also informed the city of her religious observance during the application process. The department’s complaint asserted that instead of adequately attempting to reasonably accommodate Coleman’s religious observance, which Title VII requires, the city terminated her employment. The amended complaint further alleges the city retaliated against Coleman by filing a counterclaim against her because she intervened in the United States’ lawsuit.
Under the consent decree’s terms, the city will submit to the department for approval religious accommodation and retaliation policies as well as proposed trainings on these policies. In addition, the city will pay Coleman $50,000 in backpay and compensatory damages. The consent decree is subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Trial Attorneys Sara Safriet, Robert Galbreath, Christopher Woolley and Dena Robinson of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section brought this case.
The enforcement of Title VII and other federal employment discrimination laws is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division and its work is available on its websites at www.justice.gov/crt and www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section.
Former Digital Interactive Whiteboards Salesman Pleads Guilty to Rigging Bids to the Largest Public-School System in the United StatesRead the Press Release
A former salesman pleaded guilty today for his leading role in a bid rigging scheme involving the sales of certain brands of digital interactive whiteboards to the New York City Department of Education Public Schools (NYCDOE).
According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Dwayne Johnson, of Islandia, New York, engaged in a conspiracy from late 2018 through at least October 2020, to subvert the NYCDOE’s competitive bidding process and ensure that companies controlled by his co-conspirators submitted winning bids for the sale of digital interactive white boards to the NYCDOE. Johnson’s scheme ensured that all members of the conspiracy profited at the NYCDOE’s expense: Johnson sold boards to his co-conspirator that won the bid, the winning co-conspirator made the sale to the NYCDOE, and the losing co-conspirator was paid to install the boards in the classrooms. Johnson also created and submitted sham bids in order to ensure his co-conspirator won the bid.
“This crime targeted the country’s largest public school system, which serves more than a million school children every day,” said Acting Director of Criminal Enforcement Emma Burnham of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “We will work tirelessly to prevent and punish any bid-rigging schemes that victimize our local governments and our schools. The division and our partners remain committed to protecting the government procurement process at all levels of government.”
“As he admitted today, Johnson deliberately conspired to manipulate a competitive bidding process for his own benefit,” said Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll for the FBI New York Field Office. “The NYCDOE and ultimately the children of our city were victimized by this illicit scheme. The FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable anyone willing to engage in anti-competitive corruption.”
“As charged, the defendant interfered with a fair and competitive process; actions that undermine the public trust," said Special Commissioner Anastasia Coleman of the Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) for the New York City School District. “This investigation demonstrates the commitment of SCI and its partners to protecting New York City public schools from schemes that undermine competition among vendors, and which ultimately affect the learning environment of all New York City students.”
Johnson pleaded guilty to a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. For individuals, the maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Antitrust Division’s New York Office is prosecuting the case, which was investigated with the assistance of the FBI New York Field Office and the SCI for the New York City School District.
Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.
West Palm Beach Healthcare Operator Charged in Employment Tax SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Miami returned an indictment today charging a Florida man with willfully failing to pay over employment taxes and to file individual income tax returns.
According to the indictment, from 2009 to 2019, Paul Walczak of Palm Beach Gardens owned multiple health care companies, including NuVista, Palm Health Partners and a health care employment company called PHP Employment Services, LLC (PHPES), which he formed in July 2010. As the owner of PHPES, Walczak allegedly exercised control over the business’s finances and was responsible for paying over to the IRS the employment taxes, including federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes, withheld from his employees’ wages. The indictment alleges that from 2016 to 2019, Walczak did not pay over to the IRS more than $6 million in withholdings.
The indictment further charges that from 2016 through 2018 Walczak received a gross annual salary of at least $360,000 from the health care companies. In addition to his salary, he allegedly received significant wire transfers from his companies. Rather than pay over the withheld funds to the IRS, the indictment alleges Walczak used funds to invest in his businesses, purchase a yacht, lease luxury vehicles and charter private international flights.
Finally, the indictment charges Walczak with not filing personal income tax returns for 2018, 2019 and 2020.
If convicted, Walczak faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each employment tax count and one year for each failure to file a tax return count. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Francesca Bartolomey and Mitchell Galloway of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Minnesota Department of Corrections Agrees to End Discrimination Against People with Disabilities in its GED Education ProgramRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it filed a complaint and proposed consent decree with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to resolve allegations that the Minnesota Department of Corrections (MNDOC) violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The department previously found that the MNDOC discriminated against incarcerated individuals with disabilities enrolled in its General Educational Development (GED) program by denying individuals with disabilities opportunities to apply for or receive needed modifications on the GED exam, courses or practice tests, such as extended time and frequent breaks. The proposed consent decree will provide damages to harmed individuals and requires the MNDOC to make changes to end this discrimination.
“Prisons and jails have an obligation to meet the needs of people with disabilities. This settlement agreement stands to impact hundreds of incarcerated people with disabilities, opening doors to higher education and other opportunities that have been unjustly closed to them for far too long,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “MNDOC is now firmly on a path to providing accommodations to students with disabilities on standardized exams and preparation courses, actions that will help promote rehabilitation and increase prospects for reentry.”
“We are pleased to reach a resolution with MNDOC that will help ensure incarcerated individuals with disabilities have equal opportunities to benefit from critical education programs in its facilities,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger for the District of Minnesota.
The department’s complaint alleges that the MNDOC discriminates against individuals with disabilities in multiple ways: (1) failing to notify them about reasonable modifications for GED courses, practice tests and exams; (2) preventing them from applying for GED exam accommodations and (3) failing to give them reasonable modifications, such as extended time and breaks, in GED courses and on practice tests. Without reasonable modifications, many incarcerated individuals with disabilities repeatedly failed their practice tests or official exams, were denied access to other prison programs, and were released from incarceration without a GED.
Under the terms of the consent decree, which requires court approval, the MNDOC will revise its policies and procedures, train relevant personnel and educate incarcerated individuals on these revised policies and the ADA, hire an agency-wide ADA Compliance Officer and designate facility-level ADA and education coordinators, conduct a corrective action review to determine appropriate relief for currently-incarcerated individuals with disabilities and provide regular reports to the department. The MNDOC will also pay over $70,000 in compensatory damages to aggrieved individuals with disabilities.
The Justice Department plays a central role in advancing the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit the ADA website at http://www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at http://www.ada.gov/complaint/.
Michigan Property Manager Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering and Obstructing the IRSRead the Press Release
Michigan man pleaded guilty today to money laundering and obstructing the IRS.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately 2008 through 2017, Matthew D. Adams, of Grosse Point Park, owned a property management company, MDA Property Services. Adams sold illegal narcotics to the president of Company A, who paid for the drugs using Company A’s funds. The buyer paid Adams with checks made out to MDA Property Services, and other entities Adams owned, so that they would appear to be legitimate payments for purported services rendered by Adams. From 2013 through 2017, the buyer paid Adams more than $10 million for illegal narcotics.
Adams deposited some of the checks into his personal and business bank accounts, and cashed the remainder, totaling approximately $5.3 million, at a local liquor store. For tax years 2013 through 2016, Adams caused his tax return preparer to prepare false business and individual tax returns by providing the return preparer solely business bank records, knowing that they did not reflect all of the illicit proceeds. In 2017 and 2018, during an audit of Adams’s business and individual tax returns, Adams falsely told the IRS that all income his business received was deposited into business bank accounts and that 90% percent of the funds MDA Property Services received from Company A through the buyer was for legitimate work, whereas Adams knew only three percent was, in fact, business-related.
During the course of his criminal conduct, Adams withdrew more than $1 million in cash of his illegal narcotics proceeds from business bank accounts and also used funds to acquire real estate. In addition, he spent over $1.25 million on private flights, golfing, jewelry, gambling, court-ordered child support, hotel stays and to purchase a firearm. Adams also bought a Cadillac Escalade, a Hummer and multiple classic cars.
Adams is scheduled to be sentenced on June 21, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for obstructing the IRS and ten years in prison for money laundering. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Sam Bean and Jeffrey McLellan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.