District Not Recorded
The source did not name an office we could identify. These records remain unassigned rather than guessed.
Michigan Insurance Salesman Convicted of Filing False Tax Returns and Making False Statements in BankruptcyRead the Press Release
A Michigan man was convicted today of filing false tax returns and making false statements to both a bankruptcy court and the Department of Justice.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Donald Stanley LaVigne, formerly of Lake Orion, did not report insurance commissions and other income on tax returns he filed with the IRS for the years 2013 through 2019. In letters he sent to the IRS, LaVigne also falsely claimed that these commissions were not income to him.
When LaVigne filed for bankruptcy in 2018, he did not list the IRS as a creditor on the schedules attached to his bankruptcy petition even though he owed taxes to the IRS for the years 2008 and 2009 and 2013 through 2015. On one document he filed in the bankruptcy case, LaVigne also understated his income for the years 2016 and 2017.
Finally, LaVigne made a false statement to the Department of Justice. After he was notified that he was the target of a federal grand jury investigation, LaVigne sent a letter to the Department of Justice in which he falsely claimed that his bankruptcy attorney had reviewed his 2017 income tax return and advised him that it was “correct and complete.” In fact, his bankruptcy attorney testified that he had never advised LaVigne that his 2017 income tax return was accurate.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 1. LaVigne faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison on each of seven counts of filing false tax returns, five years in prison on each of two counts of making false statements in bankruptcy, and five years in prison for making a false statement to the Department of Justice. 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 Melissa S. Siskind and Catriona M. Coppler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Justice Department Announces over $200 Million in Investments in State Crisis InterventionRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today 49 awards to states, territories, and the District of Columbia as part of the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program. This investment of over $231 million will fund state crisis intervention court proceedings, including but not limited to, extreme risk protection order (ERPO) programs that work to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others. This investment in community safety is authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, historic legislation to address and reduce gun violence.
“The Justice Department is working relentlessly to protect communities from violent crime and the gun violence that often drives it, and the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program is an important part of that effort,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “These awards will support the kinds of crisis intervention programs that we know save lives and help protect children, families, and communities across the country from senseless acts of gun violence.”
“The Department of Justice’s strategy to reduce violent crime and gun violence includes prioritizing support for successful, evidence-based programs,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The grants announced today invest in and highlight proven state and local violence prevention and intervention programs, that will make our communities safer.”
These awards, administered by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), provide funding to states for the creation and implementation of extreme risk protection order programs, state crisis intervention court proceedings, and related gun violence reduction initiatives. Extreme risk protection order programs empower family members, health care providers, school officials and law enforcement officers to petition a court to temporarily prevent a person from accessing firearms if they are found to be a danger to themselves or others. Funds can also support interventions like drug, mental health and veterans’ treatment courts, gun violence recovery courts, behavior health deflection and outpatient treatment centers.
“Protecting communities from gun crime is an urgent public safety challenge and a critical part of the Justice Department’s work to ensure that everyone in this country can live free from the fear of violence,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The resources we are announcing today will give communities the tools they need to prevent firearm violence and deliver support to those who are at risk of committing or being victimized by gun crime.”
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act also seeks to ensure that extreme risk protection order laws and programs are implemented in accordance with the Constitution and provide for adequate due process protections. Projects funded under this program will need to demonstrate that they have taken measures to safeguard the constitutional rights of an individual subject to a crisis intervention program or ERPO initiative. The Justice Department has long supported state efforts to increase the use of ERPOs and in 2021 the Department released model legislation to help states create their own extreme risk protection order systems and provide for intervention before warning signs turn into tragedy.
Signed into law by President Biden in June 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is the most significant piece of federal gun safety legislation in almost three decades and comes as a response to recent mass shootings and to the far more common, but no less tragic, incidents of community gun violence. Including the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program, the law allocates a total of $1.4 billion to OJP over five years to develop, implement, and sustain meaningful investments in safer communities.
“These awards will help meet two monumental public safety challenges — the alarming proliferation of gun violence in our country and the clear need for front-end interventions to slow the cycle of violence and victimization in our most underserved communities,” said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. “The Bureau of Justice Assistance is proud to make these resources available to states as a critical part of its mission to reduce and prevent crime and to promote a fair and effective criminal justice system.”
For a full list of awards, please visit: https://data.ojp.usdoj.gov/stories/s/O-BJA-2023-171458/b5xz-as5z/. These awards are the latest effort from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs to implement this historic legislation.
Insulation Contracting Firm Co-Owner Sentenced to Fifteen Months in Prison and Ordered to Pay more than $1 Million to Victims of Bid Rigging and FraudRead the Press Release
Michael S. Flynn was sentenced on Feb. 10 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to fifteen months’ imprisonment and restitution of $1,062,155 for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud schemes targeting public and private entities in Connecticut. This is the seventh sentencing arising out of the investigation into the insulation contracting industry.
According to a guilty plea entered on May 1, 2019, the defendant conspired with other insulation contractors to rig bids and engage in fraud on contracts for installing insulation around pipes and ducts on construction projects at universities, hospitals, and other public and private entities in Connecticut. According to public court filings, the victims of the scheme included the University of Connecticut, the City of Hartford, PepsiCo. Inc., Stamford Hospital, and Yale University. The conspiracy ran for nearly seven years, beginning as early as June 2011 and continuing until as late as March 2018. Six other individuals and companies have pled guilty to criminal conduct arising out of this investigation. Flynn was the last of the seven defendants sentenced.
“Bid rigging and fraud are serious crimes with serious consequences,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. “This sentence reflects the division’s commitment to seeking appropriate punishment for criminal antitrust violations and ensuring that victims of antitrust crimes are made whole.”
“This defendant’s collusive conduct victimized hospitals, universities and businesses throughout Connecticut,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery for the District of Connecticut. “This prison term and the penalties imposed on all individuals and companies involved in this scheme should deter others from engaging in such criminal, anti-competitive behavior. I thank the FBI, DCIS, and the Antitrust Division for their efforts in bringing these perpetrators to justice.”
“This fraud and deception of the public and commercial consumer has ended with this sentence,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jean Pierre Njock of the FBI New Haven Field Office. “We at the FBI along with our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue those that choose to engage in antitrust crimes.”
"This sentencing is the result of a successful joint effort to ensure that the markets for services provided to the Department of Defense (DoD) are legitimate and competitive," stated Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty of the Northeast Field Office for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “The DCIS, the law enforcement arm of the DoD Office of Inspector General, is committed to investigating and prosecuting companies that corrupt the DoD procurement system.”
Flynn previously pleaded guilty to one count of bid rigging under Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Flynn was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $200.
This investigation was conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, the FBI’s New Haven Division, and the DCIS’s New Haven Resident Agency.
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.
Former Memphis, Tennessee, Police Officer Pleads Guilty to a Civil Rights Violation for Assaulting a Man in his CustodyRead the Press Release
A former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officer pleaded guilty in federal court in the Western District of Tennessee to one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting an arrestee in January 2021.
According to the defendant’s admissions at the plea hearing, Armando Bustamante was working as an MPD officer in January 2021. While on duty, Bustamante struck a man in the head using his service weapon and his hands, without legal justification. Bustamante’s assault caused bodily injury to the man.
“This former Memphis police officer abused his authority by violently assaulting a man without basis,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Officers who willfully use excessive force without basis are not above the law and will be held accountable. Whether in Memphis or any corner of the country, the Justice Department stands ready to vigorously prosecute those law enforcement officers who defy the Constitution and violate people’s civil rights.”
“The United States cares deeply about violations of civil rights, here in Memphis and throughout America,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee. “The overwhelming majority of police officers do their jobs honorably and lawfully. As this case shows, we will not hesitate to hold those who violate civil rights laws to account.”
“There is no place in law enforcement for officers who use excessive force,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Civil rights are at the core of the FBI’s mission, and we are dedicated to ensuring that those who are sworn to protect their communities do so without violating the civil rights of those they serve.”
“This plea is the result of the efforts of law enforcement to ensure that any officer who violates the civil rights of those they are sworn to protect is brought to justice,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Memphis Field Office. “The FBI is committed to protecting the civil rights of all people and wearing a badge does not make one above the law."
Bustamante faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release. A sentencing date has been set for June 15.
Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Ritz, Assistant Director Quesada and Special Agent in Charge DePodesta made the announcement.
The FBI Memphis Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Pritchard for the Western District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Nikhil Ramnaney of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
U.S. Marshals Capture over 800 Fugitives in Operation North StarRead the Press Release
The U.S. Marshals Service has concluded Operation North Star II (ONS II), a high-impact fugitive apprehension initiative aimed at combating violent crime in 10 cities with a significant number of homicides and shootings.
This 30-day initiative resulted in the arrest of 833 fugitives, violent criminals, sex offenders, and self-identified gang members in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Buffalo, New York; Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Jackson, Mississippi; Kansas City, Missouri; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Oakland, California; and Puerto Rico.
ONS II focused on fugitives wanted for the most serious, violent, and harmful offenses including homicide, forcible sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault. ONS II investigators prioritized their efforts to include individuals using firearms in their crimes, or who exhibited risk factors associated with violence.
“The results of this operation should make clear that the Justice Department and our partners across the country will stop at nothing to find and bring to justice those responsible for violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The U.S. Marshals Service, and the entire Justice Department, will continue to work in partnership with community leaders and law enforcement professionals nationwide to protect our communities.”
“The U.S. Marshals Service remains steadfast in its commitment to assisting law enforcement and community leaders at all levels to combat violent crime,” said Director Ronald Davis of the U.S. Marshals Service. “The success of ONS II is based on its laser focus on the most significant drivers of violence. We are confident that apprehending these offenders will bring a level of justice to their victims and contribute to the overall violence reduction efforts in each city and hopefully bring a level of justice to their victims.”
Throughout the month of January, the U.S. Marshals Service used its broad arrest authority and network of task forces to arrest individuals wanted on charges including 95 for homicide and 68 for sexual assault. In addition, investigators seized 181 firearms, more than $229,000 in currency, and more than 160 kilograms of illegal narcotics.
Notable arrests included:
Walter Abbott was arrested on Jan. 18 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, by members of the Southwest Fugitive Task Force. Abbott was wanted in Sandoval County, New Mexico, for first-degree attempted homicide and aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon.
Paris Jackson was arrested on Jan. 31 in Buffalo, New York, by members of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force. Jackson was wanted in Buffalo for second-degree criminal in possession of a weapon and for shooting at a police officer.
Gregory Kalvitz and Jessica Downing were arrested on Jan. 20 in Cleveland by members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force. They were wanted in Henry County, Ohio, for interference of a custody warrant after taking an 8-year-old girl and fleeing.
Jermaine Westbrook was arrested on Jan. 26 in Parkersburg, West Virginia, by personnel from the U.S. Marshals Service Southern District of West Virginia, with assistance from members of the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team. Westbrook was wanted in Franklin County, Ohio, for felony assault, murder, and parole violation.
Richard Nichols was arrested on Jan. 30 in Albion, Michigan, by members of the Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Team. Nichols was wanted by the Michigan State Police for assault with intent to murder.
Gerard Parker was arrested on Jan. 26 in Harrison County, Mississippi, by members of the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force. Parker was wanted in New Orleans for third-degree sexual assault and parole violations.
Aaron Payne was arrested on Jan. 18 in Kansas City, Missouri, by members of the Missouri Violent Fugitive Task Force. Payne was wanted in Tarrant County, Texas, for felony assault strangulation.
Antonio Jenkins was arrested on Jan. 13 in West Allis, Wisconsin, by members of the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force. Jenkins was wanted in Milwaukee for numerous charges including first-degree reckless endangering safety, felon in possession of a firearm, battery, and sale/possess/use/transport of a machine gun.
Michael Nguyen was arrested on Jan. 11 in Oakland, California, by members of the Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force. Nguyen was wanted in Oakland for possession of illegal weapons, illegal manufacturing of weapons, and firing weapons.
Edwin Padilla-Lopez was arrested on Feb. 3 in Carolina, Puerto Rico, by members of the Puerto Rico Violent Offender Task Force and Puerto Rico Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Padilla-Lopez was wanted in the District of Puerto Rico for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in the municipalities of Caguas, Cidra, and Aguas Buenas.
The concept behind interagency law enforcement operations such as ONS II evolved largely from regional and district task forces. Since the 1980s, the U.S. Marshals Service has combined their resources and expertise with local, state, and federal agencies to find and apprehend dangerous fugitives.
For more information, visit www.usmarshals.gov. For ONS II photos, click here.
Two Amazon Marketplace Sellers and Four Companies Plead Guilty to Price Fixing DVDs and Blu-Ray DiscsRead the Press Release
Two Amazon marketplace sellers and four of their companies have pleaded guilty to price fixing DVDs and Blu Ray Discs.
On Feb. 10 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Bruce Fish of Hayfield, Minnesota, along with BDF Enterprises, Inc., a corporate entity owned by Fish, admitted to participating in a conspiracy to fix the prices of DVDs and Blu-Ray discs sold on the Amazon marketplace. Victor Btesh of Brooklyn, New York, and three New York corporate entities of which Btesh is the sole or majority owner, pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy on Feb. 9.
According to the plea agreements, Btesh and Fish, along with their four corporate entities, agreed with co-conspirators to raise and maintain the prices of DVDs and Blu-Rays sold in Amazon marketplace storefronts, resulting in those products being sold at collusive and noncompetitive prices. Amazon Marketplace is an e-commerce platform that enables third-party vendors to sell new or used products alongside Amazon’s own offerings. Amazon Marketplace is owned and operated by Amazon.com, Inc. The four corporate entities are the first corporate defendants to plead guilty and the owners are the fifth and sixth individuals in the scheme.
“As e-commerce has become a cornerstone of the economy, it is vital to protect fair and open competition in online marketplaces,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Conspiring to fix prices, wherever that conduct may occur, harms competition. These guilty pleas demonstrate that the division remains committed to deterring, detecting, and prosecuting anticompetitive conduct across markets.”
“Cases like these demonstrate the FBI’s dedication to investigating those who look to operate outside of the law to conspire to fix prices in the consumer marketplace,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to protecting consumers against all forms of fraud, schemes and illegal activity, and bringing those who orchestrate these crimes to justice."
“Activities related to price fixing and collusion do not promote an environment conducive to open competition, ultimately harming the consumer,” said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Cleevely of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Office of Inspector General. “The guilty pleas in this case represent a win for all law enforcement agencies who investigate those who engage in this type of harmful conduct to ensure that justice is served.”
A criminal violation of the Sherman Act carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $1 million criminal fine for individuals, and a $100 million fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case, which was investigated with the assistance of the FBI’s New York Field Office and the USPS Office of Inspector General’s Contract Fraud Investigations Division.
Anyone with information concerning price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct related to the sale of DVDs, Blu-Rays, or products sold through Amazon Marketplace should contact the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office at 312-984-7200, Citizen Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html, FBI’s New York Field Office at 212-384-1000, or USPS OIG’s Fraud, Waste, & Misconduct Hotline at 888-877-7644.
Spacelabs Healthcare, LLC Agrees to Pay $2.5 Million to Settle Allegations it Overcharged Federal Agencies for Patient Monitoring EquipmentRead the Press Release
Spacelabs Healthcare, LLC (Spacelabs) has agreed to pay $2.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it overcharged the United States for patient monitoring equipment sold to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense.
“Those who do business with the United States must comply with their contractual commitments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will ensure that the government gets the prices it bargained for when it cares for the health of our veterans and service members.”
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that from 2014 to 2019, Spacelabs failed to follow the Price Reductions Clause in a VA contract, which required Spacelabs to provide the government with certain lower prices offered to another customer, resulting in the government paying more than it should have for patient monitoring equipment. The settlement also resolves allegations that Spacelabs failed to follow a related clause in a Defense Logistics Agency contract.
“Federal contractors are expected to deal honestly with federal agencies and faithfully abide by the terms of their government contracts,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “This settlement demonstrates that our Office will diligently investigate and hold accountable those companies that fail to live up to their end of the bargain and unfairly overcharge taxpayers.”
“This settlement sends a clear message that the VA OIG will actively investigate allegations involving contractors overbilling for products provided to VA,” said Special Agent in Charge Kim R. Lampkins of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Mid-Atlantic Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to work with the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners to ensure the integrity of VA programs and services.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Marci Gebhardt, a former Spacelabs Government Business Specialist, and Christopher Kelley, a former Spacelabs Government Accounts Manager. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. As part of this resolution, Gebhardt and Kelley will receive $437,500. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Gebhardt v. Spacelabs Healthcare, Inc., Civil Action Number 19-cv-03503 (D.D.C.).
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from the VA OIG.
The matter was handled by Senior Trial Attorney Greg Pearson and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Truong.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Justice Department Brings Awareness to Teen Dating ViolenceRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. The Justice Department’s Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) will hold an observance event Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 at 11am EST.
The event will be open to the public in a virtual format and will feature remarks from Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta and OVW Director Allison Randall along with presentations by youth leaders from Jewish Women’s International, MCSR and other organizations engaged in violence prevention efforts.
Join OVW and its guests at www.justice.gov/live to take part in this vital initiative and bring awareness to teen dating violence.
If you are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, or other forms of related abuse, help is available. Call the Teen Dating Abuse Hotline at 1-866-331-9474; Victim Connect at 1-855-484-2846; or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
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Former Private Prisoner Transport Officer Indicted for Sexual Assault and Use of a Firearm in Furtherance of His Sexual AssaultRead the Press Release
A federal indictment was unsealed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, charging a former private prisoner transport officer with sexually assaulting a female pretrial detainee during a prisoner transport and using a firearm in furtherance of his sexual assault.
According to the indictment, at the time of the alleged crime, Marquet Johnson, 44, worked as a private prisoner transport officer for Inmate Services Corporation, a company that was hired by local jails and prisons throughout the country to transport people who had been arrested pursuant to out-of-state warrants and needed to be transported back to the states that had issued the warrants.
Count one of the indictment charges Johnson, while acting under color of law, with willfully depriving a female pretrial detainee whom he was transporting from New Mexico to Colorado of her constitutional right to bodily integrity. The indictment alleges that Johnson’s conduct included the use of a dangerous weapon and aggravated sexual abuse. Count two charges Johnson with knowingly using, carrying and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of this crime of violence.
If convicted of the crimes charged, Johnson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison for brandishing his firearm, and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Bernalillo County Sherrif’s Office.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico and Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Brawley for the District of New Mexico and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the Albuquerque FBI Field Office at (505) 889-1300.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Pharmacist Convicted for $1M Prescription Drug FraudRead the Press Release
A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida convicted a Virginia man today for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare of over $1 million in prescription drug benefits.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ronald A. Beasley II, 33, of Portsmouth, was the pharmacist in charge at NH Pharma, a pharmacy located in Lake Mary, Florida. Through NH Pharma, Beasley and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for expensive compound drug creams that they never actually purchased or dispensed, and instead provided Medicare patients an inexpensive compound drug cream not covered by Medicare. Inventory records showed that NH Pharma did not buy enough of the expensive prescription drugs to fill all the prescriptions NH Pharma billed to Medicare. In total, Beasley and his co-conspirators received more than $1 million in fraudulent proceeds from Medicare.
Beasley was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 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.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge David Walker of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Reginald Cuyler Jr. and Darren C. Halverson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Minnesota Attorney Charged with Employment Tax and False Return CrimesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in St. Paul returned an indictment today charging a Hennepin County attorney with employment tax violations and aiding the filing of false individual income tax returns.
According to the indictment, from 2016 through 2019, Kassius Orlando Benson owned and operated a law practice, at times known as Kassius Benson Law, P.A. or Office of Kassius O. Benson, P.A. The indictment alleges that Benson did not file the required Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Forms 941) for his law practice or pay over to the IRS the employment taxes withheld from his employees’ wages.
The indictment further alleges that, for 2017 through 2019, Benson knowingly aided in the preparation of his own false individual income tax returns (Forms 1040) by claiming that his law practice withheld federal income taxes from his wages and had paid those withholdings over to the IRS. According to the indictment, as owner and sole shareholder of his law practice, Benson allegedly knew his law practice had not paid over to the IRS any of the federal income taxes he claimed had been withheld from his wages.
Benson is charged with fourteen counts of failing to account for and pay over employment taxes, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7202, and three counts of aiding the preparation of a false tax return, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2). If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each employment tax offense and three years in prison for each false tax return offense. 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 Matthew J. Kluge of the Justice Department’s Tax Division is 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.
Man Sentenced for Scheme Involving U.S.-Funded Military ContractsRead the Press Release
A Massachusetts man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for his role in a scheme in which he accepted bribes from an Afghan company in exchange for helping it deceive the U.S. military into awarding at least 10 contracts at inflated values.
According to court documents, Todd Coleman, 48, of South Deerfield, was an analyst at a U.S. company who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012 to evaluate bids for U.S.-funded reconstruction contracts awarded by the U.S. military. At that time, Coleman and Orlando Clark, a manager of reconstruction projects at a different U.S. company who was also deployed to Afghanistan, received approximately $400,000 in bribes from an Afghan company. In return, Coleman and Clark assisted the company in obtaining millions of dollars in contracts that involved the construction of an Afghan police station and a security checkpoint for U.S. forces.
To conceal their conduct, Coleman and Clark registered fictitious companies in the State of Georgia and opened bank accounts to which bribes were sent via wire transfers from Afghanistan. Coleman and Clark also created false invoices to make it appear as though they were involved in a car-exporting business in the United Arab Emirates. In reality, Coleman and Clark used the bribe payments to enrich themselves by purchasing personal items, such as a BMW. During the scheme, Coleman and Clark also travelled to the United Arab Emirates to receive cash bribes, which they smuggled into the United States without declaring the currency.
On Jan. 4, Clark pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery of a public official and (in an unrelated scheme) conspiracy to commit visa fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 12 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia; Inspector General John F. Sopko of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR); Special Agent in Charge Stanley A. Newell of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Transnational Operations Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Peter Tolentino of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Economic Crimes Field Office made the announcement.
SIGAR, DCIS, and NCIS investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Matt Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Phillips for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Attorney’s Office Hosts Presentation on Autism-Based Discrimination in Schools, Camps, and Childcare FacilitiesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that her Office, along with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), in Philadelphia, hosted a panel presentation yesterday for disability rights organizations to discuss the problem of discrimination against children in public and private schools, camps, and childcare facilities, based on an autism spectrum diagnosis. The virtual event was attended by organizations that routinely work with families of children with disabilities.
The focus of the presentation was to inform the public of the efforts and enforcement tools of the United States Attorney’s Office and OCR to combat disability discrimination, with an emphasis on less-recognized and under-reported discrimination against children who have been diagnosed with autism.
The United States Attorney’s Office’s segment of the presentation focused on its primary tool to combat autism-based discrimination, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The Department of Justice enforces the ADA, which prohibits discrimination in a variety of settings because of disability. The presentation discussed the provisions of the ADA that apply to public and private schools, camps, and childcare facilities, and informed the public that these entities are required to comply with the ADA by providing disabled children with an equal opportunity to participate in programs, activities, and services.
To assist the public with identifying potential autism-based discrimination, and increase reporting, several examples of allegations investigated or resolved by the Department of Justice were discussed, including situations where children with autism were denied enrollment, disenrolled, or treated differently than other children in schools, camps, and childcare facilities.
“Autism is a spectrum condition, meaning that each child has different needs and abilities. The ADA prohibits schools, camps, and childcare facilities, whether public or private, from making blanket denials of enrollment, services, or activities without conducting an individualized assessment of the needs of children with autism. Our Office is committed to combating autism-based discrimination by helping the public identify and understand the options for reporting such potential violations of the ADA,” said U.S. Attorney Romero.
U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero; Assistant United States Attorney Stacey L. B. Smith, from the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia; and Andrea DelMonte, an attorney with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights in Philadelphia, presented to the attendees.
The United States Attorney’s Office encourages anyone who believes their child is being discriminated against by public or private schools, camps, or childcare facilities based on autism to review Department of Justice guidance and resources provided at www.ADA.gov, where complaints may also be filed. Individuals in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties of Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton may also file a complaint with the United States Attorney’s Office directly at 615 Chestnut Street, Suite 1250, Philadelphia, PA 19106, ATTN: Lauren DeBruicker, Civil Rights Deputy Chief. She may also be emailed at [email protected] or [email protected]
Individuals may also contact OCR at [email protected] to discuss the Department of Education’s enforcement options detailed during the presentation.
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to 90 Federal Hate Crimes and Firearms Violations for August 2019 Mass Shooting at Walmart in El Paso, TexasRead the Press Release
A Texas man who carried out the mass shooting at the Cielo Vista Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, 2019, killing 23 people and injuring 22 more, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to a 90-count indictment, including 45 counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and 45 counts of using a firearm during and in relation to crimes of violence.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, the defendant, Patrick Wood Crusius, 24, has agreed to accept 90 consecutive life sentences, one for each count in the indictment. The guilty plea included 23 counts for hate crime acts that resulted in the deaths of Andre Anchondo, Jordan Anchondo, Arturo Benavides, Jorge Calvillo Garcia, Guillermo Garcia, Leonardo Campos, Angelina Englisbee, Maria Flores, Raul Flores, Adolfo Cerros Hernandez, Alexander Hoffmann, David Johnson, Luis Alfonso Juarez, Maria Legarreta Rothe, Maribel Loya Hernandez, Ivan Filiberto Manzano, Gloria Irma Marquez, Elsa Mendoza Marquez, Margie Reckard, Sara Regalado Monreal, Javier Amir Rodriguez, Teresa Sanchez, and Juan Velasquez.
The plea also included 22 hate crime acts that caused bodily injury and involved attempts to kill 22 people injured in the shooting. In addition to the hate crimes, the defendant pleaded guilty to 45 firearms violations, 23 counts of using a firearm in a federal crime of violence resulting in death, and 22 counts of using a firearm in a federal crime of violence.
“Today, the Justice Department secured the guilty plea of Patrick Wood Crusius, a self-described white nationalist, for federal hate crime and firearms offenses in connection with the deadly mass shooting targeting people perceived to be Hispanic immigrants at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Nothing can undo the immeasurable loss suffered by the loved ones of the victims of that attack or the terror inflicted on the El Paso community in its wake. Today’s action makes clear that the Justice Department will not tolerate hate-fueled violence that endangers the safety of our communities.”
“Today’s guilty plea marks one more step towards justice for the El Paso community; however, we must remember that the survivors and victims’ families will be on a lifelong journey of healing because of this defendant’s actions,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We extend our heartfelt sympathy to the Hispanic community who had their sense of security shattered by this heinous attack. The FBI will continue to seek justice for all those whose civil rights and safety are threatened by hate.”
“White nationalist-fueled violence has no place in our society today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “This senseless massacre violates the law, runs contrary to our values as Americans and defies the principles of tolerance and inclusion that define us as a nation. By pleading guilty, the defendant has admitted that he murdered innocent people based on their national origin and targeted Hispanics. The Justice Department will continue to use every tool at its disposal to combat hate crimes, hold perpetrators accountable, and seek justice for the victims and survivors. This guilty plea cannot bring back those whose lives were lost, or heal those still suffering, but it does put us firmly on the path to justice. Our hearts are with the victims of this horrendous crime, their families, and the entire community.”
“It has always been our intent to obtain proper justice for all the victims of the senseless El Paso shooting, their ever-resilient families, and the courageous community that continues to feel the pain of that day,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. “We continue to stand in support of all whose lives have been impacted, and my hope is that this plea leads to a sentence that can serve as an example of how the United States justice system does not tolerate anyone who chooses to harm our loved ones and our neighbors, especially when motivated by hatred.”
According to the statement of facts agreed to and signed by Crusius and entered into the court record at his guilty plea hearing, Crusius admitted that he killed and wounded people at the Walmart because of the actual and perceived Hispanic national origin of the people he expected to be at the Walmart. He further admitted that he intended to kill everyone he shot.
Crusius also admitted he wrote a manifesto, titled “An Inconvenient Truth,” and uploaded it to the internet minutes before he commenced his attack. In it, he characterized himself as a white nationalist, motivated to kill Hispanics because they were immigrating to the United States. Crusius admitted to selecting El Paso, a border city, as his target to dissuade Mexican and other Hispanic immigrants from coming to the United States.
The FBI investigated the case, in partnership with the El Paso Police Department; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); the Texas Department of Public Safety; the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office; the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner; the Allen Police Department; and the Dallas Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ian Hanna, Gregory McDonald, and Patricia Acosta for the Western District of Texas’ El Paso Division and Trial Attorneys Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Michael Warbel of the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. District Court has not yet set a sentencing date.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Western District of Texas at http://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://ecf.txwd.uscourts.gov/
For more information about DOJ’s work to combat and prevent hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes: a one-stop portal with links to DOJ hate crimes resources for law enforcement, media, researchers, victims, advocacy groups, and other organizations and individuals.
Omaha Man Sentenced for Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Justin L. Coleman, 29, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher to 36 months’ incarceration for being a felon in possession of a firearm. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release, Coleman will serve a 3-year term of supervised release.
On December 8, 2021, officers with the Omaha Police Department were called to 27th and Fort streets in Omaha for a suspicious party. Officers located Coleman in the area of the call and Coleman was taken into custody. Officers located the vehicle Coleman had been driving in the street near his arrest. In the vehicle, officers located a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 handgun. The firearm was submitted for DNA testing and Coleman could not be excluded as a contributor. The firearm was originally purchased in Iowa and travelled in interstate commerce prior to being found in Nebraska on December 8, 2021. Prior to December 8, 2021, Coleman had been convicted and knew that he had been convicted of a felony. Specifically, Coleman was previously convicted of and knew that he had been convicted of Attempted Burglary.
This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Oklahoma Man Pleads Guilty in Employment Tax SchemeRead the Press Release
An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty yesterday to willfully failing to pay over employment taxes withheld from his employees’ wages.
According to court documents, Donald E. White was the president and owner of Power Utility Services, Inc., in Adair. From January 2010 through December 2017, White exercised control over the business’s affairs by (1) tracking the hours worked by employees, (2) directing the issuance of weekly paychecks to employees, (3) directing the issuance of Forms W-2 to employees, (4) directing the filing with the IRS of Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns (Forms 941) reporting wages paid and income and social security taxes withheld from employees’ wages and (5) directing the payment to the IRS of the withheld taxes. White filed a Form 941 for the first quarter of 2016, but intentionally did not pay over approximately $31,010 in taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks. White also did not pay withholdings for multiple quarters between October 2009 and December 2017. In total, he caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $516,021.
White faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Defendant 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 Clinton J. Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Assistant Chief Andrew Kameros and Trial Attorney Mahana Weidler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
Nevada Return Preparer Charged with Tax FraudRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Las Vegas returned an indictment today charging a Nevada woman with assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns.
According to the indictment, from 2015 through 2020, Jessica Avras, of Las Vegas, owned and operated a tax preparation business. Avras allegedly prepared and filed materially false federal income tax returns for clients that fraudulently reduced their federal income tax liability and/or inflated their tax refunds. The indictment charges that Avras routinely reported fictitious businesses on her clients’ returns and claimed that those businesses had generated significant losses. She also allegedly fabricated deductions on her clients’ tax returns, including noncash charitable contributions, sales taxes and unreimbursed employee expenses.
Avras is charged with 31 counts of assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2), and scheduled for her initial court appearance on Feb. 22, 2023, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brenda Weksler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for 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, and United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Thomas Flynn and Samuel Robins of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Schmale of the District of Nevada 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.
Mangilao Man Sentenced to 180 Months in Federal Prison for Meth Trafficking and Firearm ViolationRead the Press Release
Hagatña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Timothy Jerome Concepcion, age 23 from Mangilao, Guam, was sentenced on February 6, 2023, to 180 months imprisonment by the District Court of Guam. Concepcion was charged and convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute Fifty of More Grams of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and Using and Carrying a Firearm During a Drug Trafficking Crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A). Federal law requires that the five-year mandatory term for the firearm charge must be served after the 10-year mandatory term for the drug charge. The Court also ordered five years supervised release and a mandatory $200 special assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.
On April 4, 2022, an officer with the Guam Police Department stopped Concepcion for speeding in Asan, Guam. Concepcion was with two passengers, an adult woman and a 14-year-old minor. When Concepcion exited the car, the officer saw a .357 caliber revolver in the driver’s side door panel. A .380 caliber pistol was also found between the passenger seat and the center console. Further search revealed 14 clear baggies containing 390.8 grams of methamphetamine, an electronic scale, and a glass pipe. Concepcion stated, “the dope is mine, but I don’t know about the guns.” Concepcion also told the officer that, “It’s not her dope. It’s mine. I use it.” He also possessed $2,565.00 in cash. One firearm was loaded and had an obliterated serial number.
Additional investigation revealed that from March 29, 2022, through April 4, 2022, Concepcion sold methamphetamine out of a room at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort. A co-conspirator collected money from the drug sales for Concepcion. Buyers also smoked drugs in the hotel room, oftentimes with Concepcion. Throughout this activity, Concepcion carried the firearms for his protection, and informed others of their purpose.
“Concepcion armed himself to facilitate his illegal drug trafficking,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence. Combating violent crime, particularly that associated with drugs, is a high priority for the Department of Justice. The enhanced sentence in this matter demonstrates the consequences awaiting those who engage in this activity.”
“As shown by the facts in this case, people who distribute methamphetamine tend to be armed and ruthless,” said John F. Tobon, Special Agent in Charge, HSI Honolulu. “HSI along with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney Office will continue to investigate and present for prosecution people who flood our communities with this dangerous poison and sell this highly addictive drug.”
“The use of firearms by a drug trafficker makes a dangerous situation even worse,” said ATF Seattle Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson. “Hopefully this sentence sends a message to would-be drug dealers that this behavior will not be tolerated. We will continue to investigate the illegal use of firearms, especially when they are tied to the drug trade.”
This investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations in collaboration with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Guam Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Rosetta L. San Nicolas, Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Guam.
Hombre de Texas se declara culpable de 90 delitos federales de odio y delitos de armas de fuego relacionados con el tiroteo masivo en agosto de 2019 en un Walmart de El Paso, TexasRead the Press Release
Un hombre tejano que llevó a cabo el tiroteo masivo en el Walmart de Cielo Vista en El Paso, Texas, el 3 de agosto de 2019, matando a 23 personas y lesionando a otras 22, se declaró culpable hoy en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito de los 90 cargos de la acusación formal, incluidos 45 cargos de violar la Ley para la Prevención de Delitos de Odio Matthew Shepard y James Byrd, Jr., y 45 cargos de descarga de un arma de fuego en relación con los delitos de violencia.
Conforme al acuerdo de admisión de culpabilidad, el demandado, Patrick Wood Crusius, de 24 años de edad, ha aceptado 90 cadenas perpetuas consecutivas, una por cada cargo en la acusación formal. La declaración de culpabilidad incluyó 23 cargos por actos de delito de odio que resultaron en la muerte de Andre Anchondo, Jordan Anchondo, Arturo Benavides, Jorge Calvillo García, Guillermo García, Leonardo Campos, Angelina Englisbee, María Flores, Raúl Flores, Adolfo Cerros Hernández, Alexander Hoffmann, David Johnson, Luis Alfonso Juárez, María Legarreta Rothe, Maribel Loya Hernández, Iván Filiberto Manzano, Gloria Irma Márquez, Elsa Mendoza Márquez, Margie Reckard, Sara Regalado Monreal, Javier Amir Rodríguez, Teresa Sánchez y Juan Velásquez.
La declaración también incluyó 22 actos de delito de odio que causaron lesión corporal e involucraron tentativas de asesinar a 22 personas lesionadas en el tiroteo. Además de los delitos de odio, el demandado se declaró culpable de 45 violaciones relacionadas con armas de fuego, 23 cargos de uso de arma de fuego en un delito federal de violencia con resultado mortal y 22 cargos de uso de arma de fuego en un delito federal de violencia.
“Hoy, el Departamento de Justicia aseguró la declaración de culpabilidad de Patrick Wood Crusius, un autodenominado nacionalista blanco, por delitos federales de odio y delitos de armas de fuego en relación con el mortal tiroteo masivo contra personas percibidas como inmigrantes hispanos en un Walmart de El Paso, Texas, en 2019”, declaró el Fiscal General Merrick B. Garland. “Nada puede deshacer la pérdida inconmensurable sufrida por los seres queridos de las víctimas de ese ataque o el terror infligido a la comunidad de El Paso como consecuencia. La acción de hoy deja claro que el Departamento de Justicia no tolerará la violencia fomentada por el odio que pone en peligro la seguridad de nuestras comunidades”.
“La declaración de culpabilidad de hoy marca un paso más hacia la justicia para la comunidad de El Paso; sin embargo, debemos recordar que los supervivientes y las familias de las víctimas emprenderán un viaje de sanación de por vida debido a las acciones de este demandado”, afirmó el director de la FBI Christopher Wray. “Extendemos nuestro más sentido pésame a la comunidad hispana que vio su sentido de seguridad destrozado por este atroz ataque. El FBI continuará buscando justicia para todos aquellos cuyos derechos civiles y seguridad se ven amenazados por el odio”.
“La violencia fomentada por los nacionalistas blancos no tiene cabida en nuestra sociedad actual”, manifestó Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. “Esta masacre sin sentido viola la ley, va en contra de nuestros valores como estadounidenses y desafía los principios de tolerancia e inclusión que nos definen como nación. Al declararse culpable, el demandado ha admitido que asesinó a personas inocentes por razón de su origen nacional y que el objetivo eran los hispanos. El Departamento de Justicia continuará usando todas las herramientas a su disposición para combatir los delitos de odio, responsabilizar a los autores, y buscar justicia para las víctimas y los supervivientes. Esta declaración de culpabilidad no puede devolverles la vida a quienes la perdieron, ni curar a quienes siguen sufriendo, pero nos sitúa firmemente en el camino de la justicia. Nuestros corazones están con las víctimas de este horrendo delito, sus familias y toda la comunidad”.
“Siempre ha sido nuestra intención obtener la justicia que corresponde para todas las víctimas del tiroteo sin sentido de El Paso, sus familias siempre resilientes, y la valiente comunidad que sigue sintiendo el dolor de ese día”, afirmó Margaret Leachman, Primera Fiscal Federal Auxiliar del Distrito Occidental de Texas. “Seguimos apoyando a todos cuyas vidas se han visto afectadas, y mi esperanza es que esta declaración de culpabilidad conduzca a una sentencia que sirva como ejemplo de cómo el sistema de justicia de los Estados Unidos no tolera a nadie, especialmente cuando están motivados por el odio, que elija hacerles daño a nuestros seres queridos y a nuestros vecinos”.
Según la declaración de los hechos acordada y firmada por Crusius, e incorporada al expediente jurídico en su audiencia de declaración de culpabilidad, Crusius admitió que asesinó y lesionó a personas en el Walmart debido al origen nacional hispano real y percibido de las personas que esperaba encontrar en el Walmart. Además, admitió que tenía la intención de asesinar a todas las personas a las que les disparó.
Crusius también admitió que escribió un manifiesto, titulado “Una verdad incómoda”, y lo subió al internet minutos antes de comenzar su ataque. En el se describía a sí mismo como un nacionalista blanco, motivado a matar hispanos porque inmigraban a los Estados Unidos. Crusius admitió haber elegido El Paso, una ciudad fronteriza, como blanco para disuadir a los inmigrantes mexicanos e hispanos de venir a los Estados Unidos.
La FBI investigó el caso, en colaboración con el Departamento de Policía de El Paso; la Agencia de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos (ATF, por sus siglas en inglés); el Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas; la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de El Paso; la Oficina del Condado de El Paso para la Medicina Forense; el Departamento de Policía de Allen y el Departamento de Policía de Dallas.
El caso está siendo procesado por los Fiscales Federales Auxiliares Ian Hanna, Greg McDonald, y Patricia Acosta de la División El Paso del Distrito Occidental de Texas y los abogados de litigios Tim Visser, de la Sección Penal de la División de Derechos Civiles, y Michael Warbel, de la Sección de Casos Capitales de la División Penal.
El Tribunal Federal de Distrito aún no ha fijado una fecha para la sentencia.
Se pueden encontrar documentos judiciales e información relacionados con caso en el sitio web del Tribunal de Distrito para el Distrito Occidental de Texas en http://www.txwd.uscourts.gov/ o en http://ecf.txwd.uscourts.gov/.
Para más información sobre los esfuerzos del Departamento por combatir y prevenir los delitos de odio, visite www.justice.gov/hatecrimes: un portal integral con enlaces a recursos de delitos de odio del DOJ para fuerzas del orden público, medios de comunicación, investigadores, víctimas, grupos de defensa de derechos, y otras organizaciones e individuos.
Foreign Nationals Charged with International Methamphetamine and Precursor Chemical Trafficking ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in the District of Columbia charging two foreign nationals with international methamphetamine and precursor chemical trafficking conspiracies.
According to allegations in court documents, beginning in 2011, Carlos Algredo Vazquez, 57, and Francisco Pulido Coracero, 65, both of Michoacan, Mexico, allegedly used seemingly legitimate companies in Mexico and the United States to acquire listed chemicals – including methylamine, nitroethane, phenylacetic acid, toluene, and acetone – from companies in China, India, and elsewhere. They allegedly imported the chemicals into Mexico and provided them to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and other Mexican drug-trafficking organizations to manufacture methamphetamine ultimately destined for importation into the United States.
Algredo Vazquez and Pulido Coracero are both charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine for importation into the United States and conspiracy to distribute listed chemicals for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine for importation into the United States. If convicted, Algredo Vazquez and Pulido Coracero each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram made the announcement.
The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) supported this case.
The DEA Los Angeles Division is investigating the case with assistance from the Homeland Security Investigations Houston Field Office.
Trial Attorneys Kate Naseef and Nhan Nguyen and Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Kaitlin Sahni of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Federal Court Approves Settlements Totaling Nearly $5 Million in Civil Lawsuit Enjoining Transnational Bank Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal district court yesterday entered an order approving the last in a series of four settlements that collectively recovered nearly $5 million stolen from consumers by a transnational network of fraudsters.
The settlement represents the culmination of a civil action pursued by the United States to disrupt a bank fraud scheme and recover stolen victim funds. In a civil complaint filed on Aug. 13, 2021, the United States alleged that Guy Benoit, Edward Courdy, Harold Sobel, and more than 25 other individuals and corporations defrauded American consumers out of millions of dollars by charging unauthorized debits against their bank accounts. According to the complaint, the defendants posted unauthorized debit transactions in the name of sham corporate entities against the bank accounts of unsuspecting consumers. The defendants also used thousands of sham “micro transactions” to attempt to prevent banks from detecting the defendants’ unauthorized debits.
On Aug. 20, 2021, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter granted a temporary restraining order enjoining the fraud scheme, freezing fraud scheme assets, and appointing a receiver over corporate entities used in the scheme. In the following months, the United States obtained permanent injunctions against 28 defendants. In parallel, the receiver seized over $1 million in assets stolen as part of the fraud scheme and further recovered nearly $5 million through settlements with third parties the receiver identified as having received stolen victim funds.
“The scheme described in the government’s filings involved an elaborate plot to reach into consumers’ bank accounts and steal their hard-earned savings,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will use all of the tools at its disposal to halt practices like these, recover funds stolen from victims, and bring offenders to justice.”
“This action showcases the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s relentlessness in pursuing justice and holding individuals and corporations, both domestically and internationally, accountable for their unlawful actions,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and stop sophisticated fraud schemes targeting U.S. consumers.”
The USPIS conducted the investigation in this matter. The government is represented in the civil action by Trial Attorney Michael Wadden and Assistant Director Lisa Hsiao of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
Twenty-Three Individuals Charged in $61.5 Million Medicare Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
Court documents were unsealed this week charging 23 Michigan residents for their alleged involvement in two illegal schemes to defraud Medicare of more than $61.5 million by paying kickbacks and bribes and billing Medicare for unnecessary medical services that were never provided.
“As alleged, the defendants and their co-conspirators repeatedly paid illegal bribes and kickbacks so they could submit claims for medically unnecessary home health services throughout the Detroit metropolitan area, exposing patients to needless physician services and drug testing and costing Medicare tens of millions of dollars,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As these actions demonstrate, we will work tirelessly to tackle complex, illegal schemes that take advantage of vulnerable populations and defraud federal programs of taxpayer dollars meant to provide health care to millions of Americans.”
United States v. Jamil, et al.
According to court documents, Walid Jamil, 62, and Jalal Jamil, 69, both of Oakland County, owned and operated several home health agencies in the Detroit metropolitan area. They allegedly concealed their ownership interest in these agencies using straw owners – including family members and other associates – and submitted approximately $50 million in fraudulent home health care claims to Medicare. Specifically, Walid and Jalal Jamil allegedly paid bribes to other co-conspirators to recruit patients in violation of the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute. These patients did not need home health care, did not qualify for home health care under Medicare rules, and in many instances were not actually provided the care for which Medicare was billed. Walid and Jalal Jamil allegedly entered into quid pro quo relationships with physician clinics to receive the necessary information to fraudulently bill Medicare. Based on their fraudulent claims, Walid and Jalal Jamil received more than $43 million from Medicare, which they misappropriated for their personal benefit.
“The alleged actions of these defendants is an astonishing abuse of our health care system,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan. “By allegedly submitting fraudulent claims and paying illegal kickbacks, these defendants looted Medicare in order to line their own pockets at great cost to taxpayers. My office is grateful for the continued work of the Health Care Fraud Strike Force to root out corrupt medical professionals.”
Carol Ibrahim, 45, of Oakland County, and Delaine Jackson, 48, of Wayne County, were employed by one or more of the Jamil home health agencies and operated these agencies at the direction of Walid Jamil. They each allegedly made illegal payments to patient recruiters and submitted false claims to Medicare. Ibrahim was also allegedly a straw owner of one of the Jamil home health agencies.
Ibrahim Sammour, 62, of Wayne County, was a registered nurse employed by the Jamil home health agencies. Sammour is alleged to have fraudulently billed Medicare for home health services he never provided and falsely certified patients as “homebound.”
Mary Smelter-Bolton, 69, of Oakland County, and Cass Hawkins, 52, of Wayne County, were allegedly recruiters paid by various Jamil home health agencies to refer them Medicare beneficiaries for home health services that were then billed to Medicare, even though the claims were not eligible for reimbursement.
United States v. Malas, et al.
According to court documents, beginning in at least February 2015, Radwan Malas, 43, of Oakland County, operated Infinity Visiting Physician Services PLC (Infinity) as a home visiting physician company and allegedly ordered the physicians he employed to certify patients referred by Walid Jamil and Jalal Jamil for medically unnecessary home health services. He then allegedly billed Medicare for services that were never actually provided to these patients – including 60-minute complex patient visits – and for services that were not medically necessary – including B-12 and Toradol injections. Malas also allegedly demanded that physicians in his office order the highest-reimbursing urine drug test for patients, which was medically unnecessary, but for which Malas allegedly received a referral fee from the laboratory that processed the samples.
As part of this scheme, the defendants billed Medicare over $11.5 million in fraudulent claims for which they were paid nearly $4 million, which they misappropriated for their personal benefit. Malas is also alleged to have laundered the misappropriated funds by conducting illegal financial transactions.
“At the FBI, we swear an oath to protect the American people,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Fraudsters look to orchestrate their schemes at the cost of our health care systems, patients, and taxpayers. The FBI and our law enforcement partners remains dedicated to investigating and bringing to justice those who seek to exploit our U.S. healthcare system at the expense of its patients.”
Alejandro Mataverde, 79, of Oakland County, Cornelius Oprisiu, 82, of Livingston County, both physicians, and Shafiq Rehman, 59, of Wayne County, a licensed nurse practitioner, were employed by Infinity. They allegedly provided medically unnecessary services to Medicare beneficiaries or submitted claims to Medicare for medical services that were not provided to the patients.
“Those who attempt to defraud Medicare often do so at the risk of compromising the integrity of federal health care programs and disregarding the health and wellbeing of patients,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG is proud to work alongside our law enforcement partners to protect federal health care programs and hold bad actors accountable for their actions.”
Michael Molloy, 50, of Wayne County, was co-owner of Integra Lab Management LLC (Integra), which processed the high-reimbursing and allegedly medically unnecessary urine tests submitted by Infinity. Molloy and his co-owners allegedly paid the salary of Infinity employees and made monthly payments to Malas in exchange for the physician orders for the medically unnecessary urine drug testing. As a result of the illegal kickbacks, Integra submitted approximately $2.8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and was paid more than $730,000.
Montaha Hogeige, 39, of Wayne County, was a medical assistant employed by Infinity who allegedly agreed to receive her salary from Integra as an illegal kickback to Infinity in exchange for physician orders for high-reimbursing urine drug testing.
“Medicare is designed to provide vital government funded services to our people. It is not a slush fund for thieves and fraudsters,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Miller of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Detroit Field Office. “IRS-CI will work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate those who illegally target our Medicare program for personal financial gain."
The charges alleged in the indictments against these defendants for their alleged participation in these schemes are described in the following table:
Defendant
Charges (and maximum term of imprisonment)
Walid Jamil
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Specific instances of health care fraud (10 years each)
Conspiracy to defraud the United States through the payment and receipt of illegal health care kickbacks (5 years)
Payment of illegal healthcare kickbacks (10 years)
Jalal Jamil
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Specific instances of health care fraud (10 years each)
Carol Ibrahim
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Health care fraud (10 years)
Conspiracy to defraud the United States through the payment of illegal health care kickbacks (5 years)
Payment of illegal health care kickbacks (10 years)
Delaine Jackson
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Health care fraud (10 years)
Conspiracy to defraud the United States through the payment of illegal health care kickbacks (5 years)
Payment of illegal health care kickbacks (10 years)
Ibrahim Sammour
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Mary Smelter-Bolton
Conspiracy to defraud the United States through the receipt of illegal health care kickbacks (5 years)
Receipt of illegal health care kickbacks (10 years)
Cass Hawkins
Conspiracy to defraud the United States through the receipt of illegal health care kickbacks (5 years)
Receipt of illegal health care kickbacks (10 years)
Radwan Malas
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Health care fraud (10 years)
Conspiracy to defraud the United States through the payment and receipt of illegal health care kickbacks (5 years)
Receipt of illegal health care kickbacks (10 years)
Money laundering (10 years)
Alejandro Mataverde
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Health care fraud (10 years)
Cornelius Oprisiu
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Health care fraud (10 years)
Shafiq Rehman
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Health care fraud (10 years)
Michael Molloy
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud (10 years)
Conspiracy to defraud the United States through payment of illegal health care kickbacks (5 years)
Payment of illegal health care kickbacks (10 years)
Montaha Hogeige
Conspiracy to defraud the United States through the payment and receipt of illegal health care kickbacks (5 years)
Ten other individuals were also charged by criminal information for their alleged participation in the fraud schemes.
The FBI Detroit Field Office, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI are investigating the cases.
Trial Attorney Shankar Ramamurthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the cases.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
An indictment and an information are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Medical Equipment Suppliers Convicted of Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted two men today for engaging in a scheme to defraud Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans of over $3.8 million.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ikechukwu Udeokoro, 47, of North Bergen, New Jersey, owned Meik Medical Equipment and Supply (Meik), a durable medical equipment supplier that was located in the Bronx, New York. Ayodeji Fasonu, 56, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was Meik’s manager. Through Meik, Udeokoro and Fasonu billed Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans for hundreds of expensive patient support systems that were never provided to patients or caregivers. These support systems included large devices that were designed to assist with lifting immobile patients and patients in nursing homes. In reality, Udeokoro and Fasonu provided patients with recliner chairs that had a seat lift feature. Between December 2010 and February 2014, Udeokoro and Fasonu fraudulently billed Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care plans more than $3.8 million and were paid approximately $2.4 million.
Udeokoro and Fasonu were both convicted of health care fraud. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 14 and Aug. 16, respectively, and each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI New York Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Office of Investigations made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Andrew Estes and Patrick J. Campbell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $19 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Former Alabama Department of Corrections Lieutenant Charged with Federal Civil Rights Crimes for Using Excessive Force on Inmates and with Obstruction OffensesRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging a former Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) lieutenant with use of excessive force and two obstruction offenses.
According to the indictment, Lieutenant Mohammad Shahid Jenkins used excessive force on two inmates – V.R. and D.H. – at ADOC’s Donaldson Correctional Facility. The indictment further charges Jenkins with two obstruction offenses related to his alleged excessive force on one of the inmates.
Specifically, count one of the indictment alleges that on Feb. 16, 2022, Jenkins willfully deprived inmate V.R. of his right to be free from excessive force by kicking him, hitting him, spraying him with chemical spray, striking him with a can of chemical spray and striking him with a shoe. Count two of the indictment alleges that, on Nov. 29, 2021, Jenkins willfully deprived inmate D.H. of his right to be free from excessive force by spraying him with chemical spray multiple times, striking him with a can of chemical spray and hitting him. Counts one and two further allege that inmates V.R. and D.H. each suffered bodily injury as a result of Jenkins’s actions, and that Jenkins used dangerous weapons — chemical spray and the chemical spray can — in both assaults.
Count three alleges that, following the Feb. 16, 2022, assault, Jenkins knowingly falsified an ADOC incident report about the event. Finally, count four alleges that, when ADOC and FBI agents later interviewed Jenkins about his use of force on V.R., Jenkins engaged in misleading conduct toward the agents.
If convicted, Jenkins faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each excessive force charge and 20 years in prison on each obstruction charge. He also faces up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama and Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples of the FBI Birmingham Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Birmingham Field Office investigated the case with the assistance of ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorney George Martin for the Northern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Anna Gotfryd and David Reese of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
False Claims Act Settlements and Judgments Exceed $2 Billion in Fiscal Year 2022Read the Press Release
Settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act exceeded $2.2 billion in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2022, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, announced today. The government and whistleblowers were party to 351 settlements and judgments, the second-highest number of settlements and judgments in a single year. Recoveries since 1986, when Congress substantially strengthened the civil False Claims Act, now total more than $72 billion.
“Protecting taxpayer dollars by preventing fraud and abuse is a critical priority for the Department of Justice,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Boynton. “The large number of settlements and judgments this past year demonstrates that the False Claims Act remains one of the most important tools for ensuring that public funds are spent properly and advance the public interest.”
The False Claims Act imposes treble damages and penalties on those who knowingly and falsely claim money from the United States or knowingly fail to pay money owed to the United States. The False Claims Act thus serves to safeguard government programs and operations that provide access to medical care, support our military and first responders, protect American businesses and workers, help build and repair infrastructure, offer disaster and other emergency relief, and provide many other critical services and benefits.
Of the more than $2.2 billion in False Claims Act settlements and judgments reported by the Department of Justice this past fiscal year, over $1.7 billion related to matters that involved the health care industry, including drug and medical device manufacturers, durable medical equipment, home health and managed care providers, hospitals, pharmacies, hospice organizations, and physicians. The amounts included in the $1.7 billion reflect recoveries arising only from federal losses, and, in many of these cases, the department was instrumental in recovering additional amounts for state Medicaid programs. The recoveries in fiscal year 2022 also reflected the department’s focus on new enforcement priorities, including fraud in pandemic relief programs and alleged violations of cybersecurity requirements in government contracts and grants.
In 1986, Congress strengthened the False Claims Act by increasing incentives for whistleblowers to file lawsuits alleging false claims on behalf of the government. These whistleblower, or qui tam, actions comprise a significant percentage of the False Claims Act cases that are filed. Qui tam cases may be pursued by the government or the whistleblower, and this past year significant recoveries were obtained by both. When a qui tam action is successful, the whistleblower, also known as the relator, typically receives a portion of the recovery ranging between 15% and 30%. Whistleblowers filed 652 qui tam suits in fiscal year 2022, and this past year the department reported settlements and judgments exceeding $1.9 billion in these and earlier-filed suits.
HEALTH CARE FRAUD
In fiscal year 2022, health care fraud remained a leading source of False Claims Act settlements and judgments. These recoveries restore funds to federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, the health care program for service members and their families. But just as important, enforcement of the False Claims Act deters others who might try to cheat the system for their own gain, and in many cases, also protects patients from medically unnecessary or potentially harmful actions. As in years past, the act was used to pursue matters involving a wide array of health care providers, goods, and services.
Fraud and Abuse in the Medicaid Program
The Medicaid program affords health care coverage to millions of Americans, including some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations, such as eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government.
Mallinckrodt ARD LLC, previously Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc., paid $260 million to resolve separate allegations relating to its drug H.P. Acthar Gel, which is approved to treat, among other things, acute exacerbations of multiple sclerosis and infantile spasms. The government alleged that the company knowingly underpaid rebates to the Medicaid program by improperly designating Acthar as a “new drug” as of 2013, as opposed to a preexisting drug for which Mallinckrodt had significantly raised the price in years prior. The government separately alleged that, from 2010 through 2014, Mallinckrodt knowingly used a foundation as a conduit to pay illegal kickbacks in the form of copay subsidies so that it could market Acthar as “free” to doctors and patients while increasing its price significantly.
Gold Coast Health Plan, a county-organized health system in California and three of its providers, Ventura County, Dignity Health, and Clinicas Del Camino Real, Inc., paid a combined total of $70.7 million to resolve claims that they knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to California’s Medicaid program in connection with the “Adult Expansion” population that was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The United States alleged that the payments were not for “allowed medical expenses” under Gold Coast’s contract with the state, were pre-determined amounts that did not reflect fair market value, were duplicative of services already required to be rendered, and were unlawful gifts of public funds in violation of the state constitution.
Unnecessary Services and Substandard Care
The department also pursued and resolved matters in which providers billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary services. The provision of unnecessary medical services not only wastes taxpayer funds but also can expose patients to harmful procedures and treatments or cause them to forego other potentially more effective treatments.
The department filed claims under the False Claims Act against American Health Foundation (AHF), its affiliate management corporation, and three affiliated nursing homes — Cheltenham Nursing & Rehabilitation Center (Cheltenham), The Sanctuary at Wilmington Place (Wilmington Place), and Samaritan Care Center and Villa (Samaritan) — for providing grossly substandard skilled nursing services between 2016 and 2018. In its complaint, the United States alleged the three AHF nursing homes provided grossly substandard services that failed to meet required standards of care in various ways, including by failing to follow appropriate infection control protocols and not maintaining adequate staffing levels.
Providence Health & Services Washington (Providence), a health care and hospital system operating in seven western U.S. states, paid $22.7 million to resolve allegations that it billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary neurosurgeries. At one hospital in Washington state, neurosurgeons were paid based on a productivity metric that provided a financial incentive to perform more surgeries of greater complexity. As part of the settlement agreement, Providence admitted that its medical personnel expressed concerns that two neurosurgeons were endangering patient safety, creating an excessive level of complications and negative outcomes, performing surgery on candidates who were not appropriate for surgery, and failing to properly document their procedures and outcomes.
Eargo Inc., a company that sells and dispenses hearing aid devices directly to customers nationwide, paid $34.37 million to resolve False Claims Act and common law allegations that it submitted or caused to be submitted claims containing unsupported hearing loss-related diagnosis codes to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for the reimbursement of its hearing aid devices.
Carrefour Associates LLC and its related companies, which operate under the name Crossroads Hospice, paid $5.5 million to resolve allegations that Crossroads Hospice knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare for hospice services for patients who were not terminally ill.
Signature Home Health Services of Florida LLC and its related entities (collectively, SignatureHomeNow) paid $2.1 million to resolve allegations that SignatureHomeNow improperly admitted and provided services to Medicare beneficiaries who: (i) were not homebound; (ii) did not require certain skilled care; (iii) did not have valid or otherwise appropriate plans of care in place; and/or (iv) did not have appropriate face-to-face encounters needed to be appropriately certified to receive home health services.
Hayat Pharmacy paid $2.05 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for prescription medications that the pharmacy had switched from lower cost medications to higher cost medications without any medical need and/or a valid prescription.
The department also resolved several matters in which providers billed federal health care programs for unnecessary drug testing. Physician Partners of America LLC (PPOA), its founder, its former chief medical officer, and certain of its affiliated entities paid $24.5 million to resolve allegations that they billed federal health care programs for unnecessary urine drug, psychological, and genetic testing. The United States alleged that PPOA required its physician-employees to order multiple urine drug tests at the same time without determining whether any testing was reasonable and necessary, or even reviewing the results of initial testing to determine whether additional testing was warranted. Similarly, the United States alleged that PPOA instructed physicians to automatically order psychological and genetic testing that it did not use or intend to use, and that PPOA instructed physicians to schedule bi-weekly telehealth appointments for the sole purpose of increasing revenue during the pandemic. Finally, the United States alleged that, at the time PPOA was engaged in this conduct, it obtained a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program while certifying that it was not engaged in illicit activity. This settlement resolved allegations under the False Claims Act, the Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law), and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA).
MD Spine Solutions LLC dba MD Labs Inc. and two of its owners agreed to pay up to $16 million to resolve allegations that MD Labs submitted claims for medically unnecessary urine drug tests.
Finally, Radeas LLC paid $11.6 million to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare for medically unnecessary urine drug testing by performing presumptive and confirmatory tests on the same urine sample at the same time.
Medicare Advantage Matters
The department pursued cases alleging that organizations participating in the Medicare Advantage (or Medicare Part C) program knowingly submitted or caused the submission of inaccurate information or knowingly failed to correct inaccurate information about the health status of beneficiaries enrolled in their plans to increase reimbursement. This past year, the department intervened in one case against Cigna Corp and continued to litigate a number of other cases, including actions against UnitedHealth Group, Independent Health Corporation, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem), and the Kaiser Permanente consortium.
Drug Pricing
The department filed suit to protect TRICARE, the federal health care program providing insurance for active-duty military personnel, military retirees, and military dependents. The department sued Professional Compounding Centers of America Inc. (PCCA), a company that sells active pharmaceutical ingredients and other products and services to compounding pharmacies. The complaint alleges that PCCA reported fraudulent and inflated Average Wholesale Prices for its ingredients that bore no relationship to the actual prices at which it sold those ingredients to its pharmacy customers, thereby causing those pharmacies to submit inflated compound prescription claims to TRICARE.
Unlawful Kickbacks
Kickbacks paid or received by health care providers undermine the integrity of federal health care programs by tainting medical decision-making, increasing health care costs, and adversely affecting competition. Federal law prohibits the willful solicitation or payment of illegal remuneration to induce the purchase of a good or service paid for by a federal health care program.
The department intervened and pursued claims under the False Claims Act in several qui tam actions alleging kickback violations. For example, the department filed a complaint against two laboratory CEOs, a hospital CEO, six physicians, and other individuals and entities, alleging False Claims Act violations based on patient referrals in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Stark Law, as well as alleging that defendants caused claims to be improperly billed to federal health care programs for medically unnecessary laboratory testing.
The department also filed suit against a chiropractor, 15 office-based labs primarily owned by the chiropractor, and five affiliated companies owned by the chiropractor, alleging that the defendants offered physicians the opportunity to invest in the labs to induce them to refer their Medicare and TRICARE patients to the labs for the treatment of peripheral arterial disease.
Fiscal year 2022 also saw the resolution of numerous matters involving kickback violations. In a case pursued by a whistleblower, the pharmaceutical company Biogen Inc. paid $843.8 million to resolve allegations that the company offered and paid kickbacks, including in the form of speaker honoraria, speaker training fees, consulting fees, and meals, to physicians who spoke at or attended Biogen programs in connection with Biogen’s multiple sclerosis drugs Avonex, Tysabri, and Tecfidera. The relator alleged that this conduct occurred between 2009 and 2014.
Durable medical equipment manufacturer Philips RS North America, LLC, formerly Respironics, Inc., paid $24.75 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly provided unlawful kickbacks to DME suppliers to induce them to select Respironics’ respiratory equipment. The inducements allegedly came in the form of physician prescribing data that Respironics provided free of charge yet knew was valuable in assisting DME suppliers’ marketing efforts to physicians.
Flower Mound Hospital Partners LLC, a partially physician-owned hospital, paid $18.2 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly submitted claims to federal health care programs that arose from violations of the Stark Law and the AKS. The government alleged that the hospital repurchased shares from physician-owners aged 63 or older and then resold those shares to younger physicians, impermissibly taking into account the volume or value of physician referrals when selecting the physicians to whom the shares would be resold and determining the number of shares each physician would receive.
Kaléo Inc. paid the United States $12.7 million for alleged false claims for the drug Evzio, used to reverse opioid overdoses, for providing illegal remuneration to prescribing physicians and their office staff, and for directing physicians to send Evzio prescriptions to certain preferred pharmacies that, in turn, submitted false prior authorization requests to insurers. In addition, the United States obtained a $1.3 million settlement from pharmacy Solera Specialty for submitting false and misleading prior authorizations for the drug.
The United States obtained settlements from 32 Texas doctors totaling more than $5 million to resolve allegations that these doctors violated the AKS and the Stark Law in a scheme to receive improper remuneration from management service organizations (MSOs) in exchange for ordering laboratory tests from designated entities, including a $582,522 settlement with Dr. Mitchell Finnie. The remuneration was allegedly disguised as investment returns but in fact was based on, and offered in exchange for, the doctors’ referrals. The United States also obtained settlements with two health care executives in connection with the scheme.
Other recoveries relating to kickback violations involved clinical laboratories (Metric Lab Services, LLC), medical device companies (Arthrex, Inc.), and physician practice groups (Ambulatory Anesthesia of Atlanta, LLC and Northside Anesthesiology Consultants LLC).
PROTECTING SERVICEMEMBERS AND FIRST-RESPONDERS
The government continued its pursuit of fraud matters involving the purchase of goods and services in connection with military and similar programs. Fraud in these programs not only squanders government funds, but also potentially puts servicemembers and first responders at risk.
As part of a global resolution of criminal and civil liability, Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC) entered into a $35.2 million civil settlement with the United States in December 2021. BBC operates dozens of privatized military housing communities at military installations across the country and earned fees for management and maintenance of the communities. The settlement resolved allegations that BBC fraudulently induced each of the service branches to pay performance incentive fees for military housing management and maintenance that it did not earn. The government alleged that BBC obscured its performance failures by altering or manipulating data in its property management software and destroying or falsifying resident comments cards. The government further alleged that BBC’s conduct resulted in lengthy and unnecessary delays in resolving maintenance issues — to the detriment of servicemembers and their families — and that the service branches were provided an inaccurate assessment of the condition of BBC-operated miliary housing communities and were thereby unable to assess, and potentially correct, BBC’s performance.
Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc. paid $13.67 million to resolve allegations relating to its provision of logistics support to U.S. Army forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom under the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program III contract. The United States alleged that certain KBR employees responsible for awarding subcontracts rigged the bidding process in favor of certain local companies, and that those KBR employees received kickbacks from local companies in exchange for award of the subcontracts. The government also alleged that these subcontract prices were inflated, and that KBR sought reimbursement of these inflated subcontracts through vouchers submitted to the Army. This resolution came on the eve of trial and after the United States litigated this matter for many years.
Honeywell International, Inc., paid $3.35 million to resolve allegations that it sold defective material for bullet proof vests used by law enforcement officers. This settlement concluded the department’s investigation and litigation of the body armor industry’s use of defective Zylon, which yielded total recoveries of over $136 million from 17 different entities and individuals.
COVID-RELATED FRAUD
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Congress authorized historic levels of emergency funding for federal agencies to provide direct financial assistance to individuals, businesses, and state, local, and Tribal governments.
The department’s efforts in this area have included the pursuit of cases involving improper payments under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was enacted to provide loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to eligible small businesses for payroll, rent, utility payments, and other business-related costs. The department has pursued borrowers that improperly received duplicate or inflated PPP loans or were otherwise not eligible to receive any PPP loan. Over the last year, the department has resolved 35 False Claims Act matters, recovering over $6.8 million and avoiding more than $1.5 million in losses for SBA tied to federal guarantees on improper loans.
The department also pursues lenders who improperly disburse PPP funds. This year, the department obtained its first-ever False Claims Act settlement with a bank that allegedly made a PPP loan to a customer it knew was ineligible because its sole owner was facing criminal charges at the time of the loan. Prosperity Bank, a regional bank in Texas and Oklahoma, paid $18,673 to resolve these allegations.
The department also pursued those who sought to misuse other pandemic-related resources. MorseLife Health System Inc. (MorseLife), a Florida-entity that oversees a nursing home and an assisted living facility, paid the United States $1.75 million to resolve allegations that it facilitated COVID-19 vaccinations for hundreds of individuals ineligible to participate in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program (LTC PPP). Although that program was specifically designed to vaccinate long term care residents when doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were in limited supply, MorseLife was alleged to have arranged vaccines for members of MorseLife’s Board of Directors and individuals whom MorseLife targeted for donations to its private foundation.
CYBERSECURITY INITIATIVE
Malicious cyber activity threatens the health and safety of the American people, and the national and economic security of our country. In October 2021, the department announced its Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, which is dedicated to using the False Claims Act to combat new and emerging cyber threats.
This year marked the department’s first settlement under this initiative. Comprehensive Health Services, LLC, (CHS) located in Cape Canaveral, Florida, paid $930,000 to resolve allegations that it falsely represented to the State Department and the Air Force that it had complied with contract requirements relating to the provision of medical services at State Department and Air Force facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. The allegations included that CHS submitted claims to the State Department for the cost of a secure electronic medical record system to store all patients’ medical records, including confidential identifying information of U.S. service members, diplomats, officials, and contractors working and receiving medical care in Iraq. The government alleged that CHS failed to disclose that it had not consistently stored patients’ medical records on a secure system, and instead put copies of some records on an internal, unsecured, network drive.
OTHER FRAUD RECOVERIES
The judgments, settlements, and lawsuits announced during fiscal year 2022 reflect the diversity of fraud recoveries and enforcement efforts arising under the False Claims Act. For example:
Various air carriers entered into settlement agreements resolving allegations that, in connection with contracts with the U.S. Postal Service for the carriage of mail internationally, they falsely reported that mail receptacles were delivered to specified destinations or the time of such deliveries. This year, Air France and KLM Airlines paid $3.9 million to resolve such claims, and Delta Airlines Inc. paid $10.5 million. To date, the United States has recovered more than $84 million as a result of its investigation of such misconduct.
TriMark USA, LLC paid $48.5 million to resolve allegations that its subsidiaries improperly manipulated federal small business set-aside contracts. TriMark used a subsidiary, rather than the awardee, to perform substantially all the work, while the awardee small business only served as the face of the contract, billed the government, and used its small business status to obtain the contract. The settlement amount constitutes the largest False Claims Act recovery based on allegations of small business contracting fraud.
TracFone Wireless paid $13.4 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act and the common law that it improperly signed up more than 175,000 ineligible customers in connection with the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline Program. Third-party agents exploited a glitch in TracFone’s software, but TracFone failed to adequately review applications and investigate reports of clearly ineligible customers. The Lifeline Program provides nearly $2 billion each year to assist low-income consumers with their telecommunication needs, including mostly free monthly cell phone service.
HOLDING INDIVIDUALS ACCOUNTABLE
The department continued its commitment to use the False Claims Act to deter and redress fraud by individuals as well as corporations. Such efforts deter future fraud, incentivize changes in both corporate and individual behaviors, ensure that the proper parties are held responsible, and promote the public’s confidence in our justice system. As noted above, the PPOA, MD Spine Solutions, STF, Modern Vascular, and MSO cases were all resolutions or lawsuits that included claims against individuals. The following are additional examples of recoveries involving individuals.
Dr. Minas Kochumian, from Los Angeles, California, paid $9.5 million to resolve allegations that he submitted false claims to Medicare and Medi-Cal for procedures and tests never performed, including injections of medication designed to treat osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, drainage of cysts, and removal and destruction of various growths.
Dr. Harry Doyle and his wife and office assistant Sonya Doyle, of Philadelphia, paid $3 million to resolve allegations of submitting false claims to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Worker’s Compensation Program (OWCP) for psychiatric services that were not provided, as well as upcoding and double-billing patient claims. This is the largest recovery against a single psychiatrist in the history of the OWCP. Dr. Doyle also agreed to voluntary exclusion from federal health care programs for 25 years.
In addition, the United States obtained a $1 million settlement with pharmacist Riad Zahr and two specialty pharmacies Zahr owned and operated – Plymouth Towne Care Pharmacy doing business as People’s Drug Store and Shaska Pharmacy LLC doing business as Ray’s Drugs – for submitting false and misleading prior authorization requests for Evzio.
RECOVERIES IN WHISTLEBLOWER SUITS
Of the $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments reported by the government in fiscal year 2022, over $1.9 billion arose from lawsuits that were filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act and pursued by either the government or whistleblowers. During the same period, the government paid out over $488 million to the individuals who exposed fraud and false claims by filing these actions.
The number of lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the act has grown significantly since 1986, with 652 qui tams filed this past year – an average of more than 12 new cases every week.
“We are grateful for the hard work and courage of those private citizens who bring evidence of fraud to the Department’s attention, often putting at risk their careers and reputations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Boynton. “Our ability to protect citizens and taxpayer funds continues to benefit greatly from their actions.”
In 1986, Senator Charles Grassley and Representative Howard Berman led the successful efforts in Congress to amend the False Claims Act to, among other things, encourage whistleblowers to come forward with allegations of fraud. In 2009 and 2010, further improvements were made to the False Claims Act and its whistleblower provisions.
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On behalf of the Civil Division, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Boynton also expressed appreciation for the dedication and work over the past year by the many public servants who supported the department’s efforts to protect the public. “As ever, we are indebted to all those who work tirelessly to protect the public fisc from fraud: those in the Fraud Section of the Civil Division, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the agency Offices of Inspector General and Offices of General Counsel, and the many other federal and state agencies that support this important work.”
Except where indicated, the government’s claims in the matters described above are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. The numbers contained in this press release may differ slightly from the original press releases due to accrued interest.
Department of Justice Releases Roadmap for Implementation for Columbus, Ohio, Division of PoliceRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced the completion of a Roadmap for Implementation for the Columbus Division of Police (CDP), the result of targeted technical assistance that was provided to CDP at the request of the city of Columbus, Ohio. The report is a summary of that technical assistance and is designed to be a roadmap to build a foundation for reform.
The areas of examination covered in the Roadmap represent the scope of work as agreed to by the Department of Justice and the city, and includes policy reviews and associated training, recruitment, technology, staffing and leadership training. Specifically, the technical assistance team reviewed the organizational structure of several units within the division; examined the division’s technology, including how the division’s IT infrastructure relates to other city systems; and offered specific ideas on how to enhance CDP’s engagement with the community it serves.
Upon receiving the Roadmap, city and CDP officials initiated a request for an independent review of CDP’s use of force policies and practices, and based on recommendations in the report, a technology assessment and assistance with the design and development of pro-active problem-solving strategies. The COPS Office has agreed to undertake such a review and that work will begin immediately.
“The Justice Department, through our COPS Office, is proud to work with police departments seeking to improve and learn from best practices in the field,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “The city’s request to expand its engagement with COPS to review additional areas, including CDP’s use of force policies, is an important step that will benefit both CDP and the community.”
“The roadmap we have shared with CDP and the assistance we have provided will help the department in its collaborative efforts to enhance public safety. We commend the CDP for reaching out to the Department of Justice and for working diligently alongside the COPS Office in this process,” said Hugh T. Clements, Jr., Director of the COPS Office. “We look forward to continuing to partner with CDP as we begin the additional assistance that has been requested, and we know that both the department and the community will be well-served by all of this work in the months and years ahead.”
The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to over 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 136,000 officers.
Lincoln Man Sentenced for Being a Drug User in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Dekevious Riley, 22, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on February 3, 2023, by United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard to a term of 30 months’ imprisonment following his conviction for being a marijuana user in possession of a firearm. After he completes his prison sentence, Riley will also serve three years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
On March 24, 2022, investigators spoke with Riley who was a passenger in a car parked in a parking lot in Lincoln. The car smelled of marijuana prompting a search. Investigators found a partially smoked marijuana blunt, a rolling tray, and a bag of marijuana weighing 2.6 grams. Riley had an outstanding warrant for marijuana possession at the time and was arrested. Investigators then searched a Lincoln apartment where Riley had been staying. In the bedroom police found a 24-round-capacity handgun extended magazine, a 16-round-capacity handgun magazine, and a speed loader for a Glock handgun. In the bedroom closet, investigators located a Glock 9mm pistol. Investigators searched Riley’s social media account and found numerous images and videos showing Riley’s narcotic usage and firearm possession between April 16, 2021, and March 4, 2022. Riley told investigators that he regularly used marijuana and that the Glock pistol was his.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department and the FBI. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Justice Department and Federal Partners Recognize Zero Tolerance Day for Female Genital MutilationRead the Press Release
The Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) joined federal partners, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC), the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit, non-governmental organizations, and others today in recognizing the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
“The Department of Justice is committed to supporting efforts to end Female Genital Mutilation, including by prosecuting those who violate the federal law banning FGM and by providing support to survivors of this harmful practice,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “FGM is a form of gender-based violence and child abuse, which will not be tolerated in the United States.”
“The FBI hopes to empower community members and victims to come forward and report these acts of abuse so we can end the practice of FGM together” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “FGM is a horrific act of physical violence that undermines the equality of women and girls and the FBI will hold accountable anyone who commits this federal human rights violation.”
“International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM is an opportunity to raise awareness of this global human rights issue,” said Acting Executive Associate Director Steve Francis of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “HSI will continue to work with partners around the globe to end this abhorrent practice, advocate for victims, and bring perpetrators to justice.”
Federal law enforcement agencies have engaged in many initiatives aimed at protecting those in the United States who have been subjected to, or who may be at risk of, FGM. For example:
- The Justice Department’s Office of Victims of Crime awarded over $5 million in three-year grants through a grant program to support community projects designed to increase direct services, education, and community partner engagement to stop the victimization of women and girls through FGM. For more information see: DOJ announces nearly $3 million to address female genital mutilation and cutting (ojp.gov).
- Federal law enforcement authorities actively investigate allegations of FGM within the United States and, if a United States citizen is involved, abroad. The agencies collect tips and leads from the public and partner with non-governmental organizations that will relay information if they suspect a child is in imminent danger of being subjected to FGM or taken out of the country for purposes of FGM.
- The FBI now includes information on FGM in the annual mandatory child abuse training for all FBI employees in hopes of further educating the workforce. The FBI’s International Human Rights Unit released educational reports on FGM for pediatricians and for educators.
- HSI launched Operation Limelight USA in 2017, a premier FGM outreach and education program, which has been recognized domestically and internationally as a critical outreach effort to combat FGM by the Women in Federal Law Enforcement and the World Class Policing Awards.
- Examples of other agency initiatives aimed at protecting women and girls at risk of FGM can be found in the 2021 STOP FGM Act Report Annual Report of the Attorney General.
FGM is a form of child abuse, a serious human rights violation and, since 1996, a federal crime. In 2013, Congress amended the federal FGM statute, 18 U.S.C. § 116, to prohibit taking a girl out of the United States for the purpose of performing FGM. In 2021, the STOP FGM Act 2020 was signed into law, strengthening the law by expanding the scope of punishable acts, and increasing the maximum penalty. Violations of this law may result in imprisonment and potential removal from the United States.
Individuals suspected of FGM may be investigated by the HRVWCC and prosecuted by the Justice Department accordingly.
In January 2021, the Justice Department indicted a Houston woman for allegedly taking a minor out of the United States for the purpose of subjecting her to FGM in a foreign country. Her trial is scheduled for May 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and will mark the first prosecution under the provision of the federal statute that prohibits taking a girl out of the United States for the purpose of FGM. The FBI Houston Field Office investigated the case with support from the HRVWCC.
According to UNICEF, more than 200 million women and girls have undergone FGM, which refers to procedures that injure the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. While primarily concentrated in north, west, and central Africa, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia, FGM also occurs in the United States.
Established in 2008, the HRVWCC furthers HSI’s efforts to identify, locate, and prosecute human rights abusers in the United States, including those who are known or suspected to have participated in persecution, war crimes, genocide, torture, extrajudicial killings, FGM, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. The HRVWCC leverages the expertise of a select group of agents, lawyers, intelligence and research specialists, historians, and analysts who direct the agency’s broader enforcement efforts against these offenders.
Members of the public who have information about victims or suspected perpetrators engaging in female genital mutilation or other human rights abuses are urged to call the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800) 225-5324 or the HSI tip line at (866) 347-2423. To submit a tip online, visit tips.fbi.gov or the HSI online form. Tips may be provided anonymously.
Benteler Steel & Tube Manufacturing Corp. Abandons Merger with Tenaris, S.A. After Justice Department InvestigationRead the Press Release
Tenaris, S.A. (Tenaris) confirmed that Benteler Steel & Tube Manufacturing Corp. (Benteler) has walked away from Tenaris’s planned $460 million take-over of Benteler’s state-of-the-art steel and tube manufacturing facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. The abandonment comes after the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division raised competition concerns about the deal.
The proposed transaction would have combined two domestic suppliers of seamless tubing and production casing, important types of steel pipe used in the extraction of oil and gas. The transaction would have increased concentration in an already concentrated industry, cementing Tenaris as the undisputed dominant player in the market.
“A competitive oil and gas industry is vital to the U.S. economy,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The proposed acquisition would have eliminated Benteler as an independent competitor and threatened higher prices, lower quality, and less innovation in this market. I am grateful to the division’s hardworking staff who thoroughly investigated the transaction on behalf of the public.”
Tenaris, S.A. is a Luxembourg corporation listed on the New York, Italian, and Mexican stock exchanges operating a global network of steelmaking, including several Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) mills in the United States, primarily through its subsidiary Maverick Tube Corp.
Benteler Steel & Tube Manufacturing Corp. operates a state-of-the-art seamless steel pipe mill in Shreveport, Louisiana. Benteler is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Benteler International AG, a privately-owned company registered in Austria, which provides steel pipes and products and services used in automotive manufacturing.
Kerry Inc. Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Pay $19.228 Million in Connection with Insanitary Plant Conditions Linked to 2018 Salmonella Poisoning OutbreakRead the Press Release
Food and ingredient manufacturing company Kerry Inc. pleaded guilty today to a charge that it manufactured breakfast cereal under insanitary conditions at a facility in Gridley, Illinois, that was linked to a 2018 salmonellosis outbreak.
Pursuant to a plea agreement filed with a criminal information in federal court in Peoria, Illinois, Kerry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of distributing adulterated cereal marketed as Kellogg’s Honey Smacks. The company also agreed to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture amount totaling $19.228 million. If the guilty plea is accepted by the court, the $19.228 million fine and forfeiture will constitute the largest-ever criminal penalty following a criminal conviction in a food safety case.
“Consumers depend on food manufacturers to take appropriate steps to ensure food safety,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department is committed to holding accountable those who fail to meet this obligation.”
“Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder that food manufacturers have a critical responsibility to produce and sell food that is safe for American consumers to eat,” said Assistant Commissioner Justin D. Green for the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who put the public health at risk by allowing contaminated foods to enter the U.S. marketplace.”
The criminal information unsealed today alleges that Kerry manufactured Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal under insanitary conditions and distributed it in violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. According to the plea agreement, tests performed as part of Kerry’s environmental monitoring program found numerous instances of Salmonella in the environment at the Gridley facility. During the time period June 2016 to June 2018, routine environmental tests detected Salmonella in the plant approximately 81 times, including at least one positive Salmonella sample each month. According to the plea agreement, employees at the Gridley facility routinely failed to implement corrective and preventative actions (CAPAs) to address positive Salmonella tests.
In June 2018, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that an ongoing outbreak of salmonellosis cases in the United States could be traced to Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal produced at Kerry’s Gridley facility. In response, Kellogg’s voluntarily recalled all Honey Smacks manufactured at the plant since June 2017. The CDC eventually identified more than 130 cases of salmonellosis linked to the outbreak, with illness onset dates beginning in March 2018. The CDC did not identify any deaths related to the outbreak.
Salmonellosis can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps that last several days in healthy adults. Absent prompt treatment, salmonellosis can cause severe dehydration and even death in infants, young children, the elderly, transplant recipients, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems.
In a related case, Ravi K. Chermala, Kerry’s Director of Quality Assurance until September 2018, previously pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce. Chermala oversaw the sanitation programs at various Kerry manufacturing plants, including the Gridley facility. In pleading guilty, Chermala admitted that between June 2016 and June 2018, he directed subordinates not to report certain information to Kellogg’s about conditions at the Gridley facility. In addition, Chermala admitted that he directed subordinates at the Gridley facility to alter the plant’s program for monitoring for the presence of pathogens in the plant, limiting the facility’s ability to accurately detect insanitary conditions. Chermala is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 16.
The court set a March 14 sentencing date for Kerry. Further information about the Kerry and Chermala cases will be posted to the Department’s Information for Victims in Large Cases website at https://www.justice.gov/largecases.
FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations is investigating the matter.
Senior Trial Attorney James T. Nelson of the Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch is prosecuting the case. Former Trial Attorney Cody Matthew Herche and Associate Chief Counsel Jason Hadges of FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel provided substantial assistance.
For more information about the enforcement efforts of the Consumer Protection Branch, visit the Branch’s website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch
Justice Department Withdraws Outdated Enforcement Policy StatementsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department's Antitrust Division announced today the withdrawal of three outdated antitrust policy statements related to enforcement in healthcare markets: Department of Justice and FTC Antitrust Enforcement Policy Statements in the Health Care Area (Sept. 15, 1993); Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care (Aug. 1, 1996); and Statement of Antitrust Enforcement Policy Regarding Accountable Care Organizations Participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (Oct. 20, 2011).
After careful review and consideration, the division has determined that the withdrawal of the three statements is the best course of action for promoting competition and transparency. Over the past three decades since this guidance was first released, the healthcare landscape has changed significantly. As a result, the statements are overly permissive on certain subjects, such as information sharing, and no longer serve their intended purposes of providing encompassing guidance to the public on relevant healthcare competition issues in today’s environment. Withdrawal therefore best serves the interest of transparency with respect to the Antitrust Division’s enforcement policy in healthcare markets. Recent enforcement actions and competition advocacy in healthcare provide guidance to the public, and a case-by-case enforcement approach will allow the Division to better evaluate mergers and conduct in healthcare markets that may harm competition.
“The healthcare industry has changed a lot since 1993, and the withdrawal of that era’s out of date guidance is long overdue,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will continue to work to ensure that its enforcement efforts reflect modern market realities.”
Guidance documents are non-binding and do not create legal rights or obligations. Antitrust enforcement and competition advocacy in healthcare remain important parts of the division’s mission, and the division will continue to vigorously enforce the antitrust laws in the healthcare industry.
Three Individuals Charged with Operating Multimillion-Dollar Elder Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Las Vegas returned an indictment yesterday charging three individuals with operating a mail fraud scheme that defrauded thousands of U.S. victims, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable.
According to court documents, Kimberly Stamps, 46, of Gilbert, Arizona; John Kyle Muller, 56, of Boulder, Colorado; and Barbara Trickle, 78, of Las Vegas, conspired to operate a fraudulent mass-mailing scheme that deceived thousands of consumers into paying fees for falsely promised prizes. The indictment alleges that, from 2012 to 2018, the defendants mailed millions of prize notices that led victims to believe they were specially chosen to receive a large cash prize and would receive the prize if they paid a small fee. Victims who paid the requested fee, however, did not receive the promised cash prize. Although the notices appeared to be personalized correspondence, they were merely mass-produced form letters that were bulk-mailed to recipients whose names and addresses appeared on mailing lists purchased and rented by the defendants.
“The department is committed to investigating and prosecuting mass-market schemes that harm seniors and other vulnerable persons,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We devote substantial resources to these investigations and prosecutions, in furtherance of our commitment to protecting the financial security of all Americans.”
“Today’s indictment reflects the commitment of Postal Inspectors to protect older Americans from scams that prey on the vulnerable,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group. “These individuals took advantage of the euphoria of winning a prize to bilk victims out of their money, when in fact they knew there was no prize waiting; all while violating a previous cease and desist order to stop their fraudulent behavior. Now they have been brought to justice for their crimes and will face their comeuppance for their illegal activity.”
The indictment alleges that Stamps and Muller selected and edited the prize-notice mailings, set the mailing schedules, and collected and processed victim payments. Trickle – aware of the deceptive nature of the mailings and that victims were in fact deceived – produced the physical mailings, introduced them to the U.S. Mail, and assisted with managing the data that Stamps and Muller used to target consumers for repeated victimization.
According to the indictment, Stamps, Muller, and Trickle continued to operate their fraudulent mass-mailing scheme in violation of a United States Postal Service cease-and-desist agreement and consent order reached in 2012. The agreement and order had permanently barred Stamps and anyone working with her from mailing fraudulent prize notices.
The indictment charges each of the three defendants with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, along with multiple counts of mail fraud and wire fraud. The defendants are expected to make their initial appearances on Feb. 15 before a U.S. magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Each charge in this case carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a statutory maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The USPIS investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Carolyn Rice and Charles Dunn of the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted this case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
The department’s extensive and broad-based efforts to combat elder fraud seeks to halt the widespread losses seniors suffer from fraud schemes. The best method for prevention, however, is by sharing information about the various types of elder fraud schemes with relatives, friends, neighbors, and other seniors who can use that information to protect themselves.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by 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 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.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch, visit its website at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada visit their websites at www.justice.gov/usao-nv.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Regarding United States v. RahimiRead the Press Release
The Justice Department tonight issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland following the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in United States v. Rahimi.
“Nearly 30 years ago, Congress determined that a person who is subject to a court order that restrains him or her from threatening an intimate partner or child cannot lawfully possess a firearm. Whether analyzed through the lens of Supreme Court precedent, or of the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment, that statute is constitutional. Accordingly, the Department will seek further review of the Fifth Circuit’s contrary decision.”
Nine Arrested for Illegally Distributing 1.5 Million Opioid PillsRead the Press Release
Nine Texas individuals were arrested this week in Houston on criminal charges related to their alleged involvement in the unlawful distribution of 1.5 million opioid pills and other controlled substances.
According to court documents, Kent Lyons, 52, of Houston; Roquel Turner, 47, of Manvel; and Traunce Alfred, 43, of Baytown, are charged with illegally distributing controlled substances, including oxycodone and hydrocodone. From August 2017 until late 2022, Lyons and Turner allegedly operated pill-mill pharmacies as fronts to obtain opioids in their highest-strength and immediate-release pill form. They then allegedly sold the drugs on the black market – without the involvement of patients, prescriptions, or doctors – to drug traffickers like Alfred. Lyons and Turner allegedly concealed the drug proceeds using numerous bank accounts and real estate transactions. Lyons also allegedly used some of the proceeds to purchase luxury items, including a Rolls Royce, a Ford F-250, and a Mercedes Maybach.
According to court documents, starting around December 2020, Dwain Ross, 52, and Delores Mackey-Ross, 43, both of Pearland, along with licensed pharmacist Ann Nguyen, 30, of Stafford, allegedly used pharmacies to illegally distribute and dispense nearly half a million pills of oxycodone and hydrocodone. Dwain Ross and Mackey-Ross, along with David Ross, 53, of Houston; Kevin Peterson, 56, of Pearland; and Eleanor Marsh, 56, of Fulshear, also allegedly illegally ordered the opioid potentiators alprazolam, carisoprodol, promethazine with codeine – which are reported to enhance the high from opioids – from a pharmaceutical wholesaler and a pharmaceutical sales representative then allegedly illegally distributed the opioid potentiators in bulk. Dwain Ross and Mackey-Ross allegedly used numerous bank accounts and real estate transactions to conceal their ill-gotten gains. Dwain Ross also allegedly used some of the drug proceeds to purchase a Lamborghini.
The pharmacies alleged in the indictments to have been controlled by the defendants’ drug trafficking organizations are K Med Pharmacy, Nex Gen Pharmacy, TX United Pharmacy, Power Center Pharmacy #2, DR Pharmacy, and Nu Care Pharmacy. Several other pharmacies, including P&A Pharmacy and Pearland Holistic Pharmacy, voluntarily surrendered their DEA Registration numbers, which a pharmacy needs to legally purchase pharmaceutical opioids and other controlled substances.
Lyons, Turner, Alfred, Dwain Ross, Mackey-Ross, and Nguyen are each charged with illegal distribution of Schedule II opioids. Dwain Ross, Mackey-Ross, David Ross, Peterson, and Marsh are each charged with the illegal distribution of Schedule IV drugs. Lyons, Turner, Dwain Ross, and Mackey-Ross are also charged with money laundering crimes. If convicted, Lyons, Turner, Alfred, Dwain Ross, Mackey-Ross, and Nguyen face up to 20 years on the top counts. David Ross and Peterson each face up to five years. Marsh faces up to 10 years if convicted. Court documents allege that over 15 bank accounts, four real properties, and several luxury vehicles – including a Rolls Royce, a Bentley, and a Lamborghini – were involved in, or acquired with proceeds from, the scheme, and are subject to forfeiture if the defendants are convicted. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, Special Agent in Charge James H. Smith III of the FBI Houston Field Office, Chief William Marlowe of the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Pierce of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG), and Acting Inspector in Charge Dana Carter of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Houston Division made the announcement.
The DEA, FBI, MFCU, USPS-OIG, and USPIS are investigating the cases.
Trial Attorney Drew Pennebaker of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the cases.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
New Jersey Man and Company Operating Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities in Wisconsin Charged with Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin returned an indictment yesterday charging Kevin Breslin, 56, of Hoboken, New Jersey, and KBWB Operations, LLC, doing business as Atrium Health and Senior Living (Atrium) in Park Ridge, New Jersey, with a scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in connection with the delivery of or payment for health care benefits, items, or services.
The indictment alleges that the scheme operated from January 2015 to September 2018. The indictment charges the defendants with health care fraud, six counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit tax fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the indictment, Breslin was the Chief Executive Officer of Atrium, which operated 24 skilled nursing facilities and nine assisted living facilities in Wisconsin and Michigan. These facilities included:
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Appleton, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Black River Falls, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Bloomer, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Chetek, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Chilton, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Ellsworth, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Kewaunee, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Lancaster, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Little Chute, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Marshfield, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Menominee, Michigan;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Mineral Point, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Neenah, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of New Holstein, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Oconto Falls, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Plymouth, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Shawano, Wisconsin, at Birch Hill,
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Shawano, Wisconsin, at Evergreen,
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Shawano, Wisconsin, at Maple Lane,
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Stevens Point, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Two Rivers, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Weston, Wisconsin;
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Williams Bay, Wisconsin; and
- Atrium Post Acute Care of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
The indictment alleges that from January 2015 through September 2018, Atrium billed Medicare for over $189,000,000 and received over $49,000,000 and that they billed Medicaid for over $218,000,000 and received over $93,000,000. The indictment alleges that when the defendants obtained money from Medicare and Medicaid, they certified that they would follow all required quality of care standards, but they did not do so, and that they would operate their facilities with adequate staffing, supplies, and services, but they did not do so.
The indictment alleges that as part of the scheme to defraud, Breslin and Atrium diverted funds from the Wisconsin facilities through guaranteed payments to Atrium owners, guaranteed monthly return-on-investment payments to investors that were financing the construction of skilled nursing facilities in New Jersey, and construction costs for the New Jersey facilities. The indictment further alleges that the diversion of funds caused inadequate care of residents, including a shortage of clean diapers, inadequate wound care supplies, inadequate cleaning supplies, and a lack of durable medical equipment and respiratory supplies. In addition, the diversion of funds caused non-payment to vendors, which caused numerous services to be cut off, including physical therapy for residents, fire alarm monitoring services, phone and internet services preventing staff from obtaining prescription orders and accessing electronic medical records systems, and necessary repairs and maintenance of the physical plant facilities.
In addition, the indictment alleges that Breslin and Atrium withheld insurance premiums from employees’ paychecks but failed to pay those monies over to the third-party administrator for use in paying health claims, causing payment of employees’ health claims to be stopped. The indictment further alleges that the defendants withheld 401(k) retirement savings account contributions from employees’ paychecks but failed to pay those monies over to the third-party pension administrator.
The indictment also alleges that Breslin and Atrium evaded payment to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service of state and federal income taxes and employment taxes withheld from employees’ paychecks.
If convicted, Breslin and Atrium face penalties of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy to commit tax fraud charge, and 20 years on each health care fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering charge. The conspiracy to commit tax fraud charge and each of the health care, wire and mail fraud charges carry a $250,000 fine; the money laundering charge carries a $500,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea for the Western District of Wisconsin made the announcement.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; IRS Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Medicare Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit; and the FBI investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Graber for the Western District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorney Karla-Dee Clark of the Consumer Protection Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil 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.
Municipal Employee Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) employee pleaded guilty on Jan. 30 to conspiring with other individuals to engage in wire fraud in connection with MTA excess vehicle auctions.
According to a plea agreement, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City, MTA employee Timour Abramov engaged in a conspiracy with other individuals to thwart the competitive bidding process on numerous excess vehicle auctions conducted by the MTA to ensure that a company controlled by him and a co-conspirator submitted the winning bid and would be awarded the contract. As part of the conspiracy, an MTA sales specialist and co-conspirator provided Abramov confidential pricing information in violation of MTA rules.
“New Yorkers rely on the MTA and this criminal scheme boils down to stealing from the public,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “We will continue to detect and punish those that abuse the public trust.”
“Abusing access to confidential MTA information to interfere with a fair and competitive process undermines the public trust in that process and unfairly reflects on tens of thousands of honest, hardworking MTA employees," said Acting MTA Inspector General Elizabeth Keating. “Our office is grateful for the diligence and commitment from our law enforcement partners at the Department of Justice, who work to ensure that individuals attempting to defraud the MTA are held fully responsible for their actions.”
“The public loses faith in governmental systems when members of an agency don't adhere to policies and procedures created to promote transparency and fairness,” said Special Agent-in-Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI Newark Division. “This investigation demonstrates our commitment to holding accountable those who abuse their positions for their own financial gain.”
Abramov pleaded guilty to one count of wire 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 defendant’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Antitrust Division’s New York Office, the Office of the MTA Inspector General, and the FBI Newark's Atlantic City Resident Agency investigated this 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.
Three California Companies Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Improper Paycheck Protection Program LoansRead the Press Release
Three California companies have agreed to pay a total of $530,000 to settle allegations that they knowingly violated the False Claims Act when they received and retained more than one Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan prior to Dec. 31, 2020, in violation of PPP rules.
La Baguette, LLC, which operates a bakery in Palo Alto, has agreed to pay $430,000 to settle allegations that it received and retained a duplicate PPP loan in 2020 and then later improperly sought and received forgiveness for the duplicate loan.
Dynamic Integrated Solutions, Inc., an industrial equipment supplier located in Santa Clara, has agreed to pay $50,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that it received and retained a duplicate loan. The company agreed to repay the loan in full to its lender, relieving the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) of liability to the lender for the federal guaranty of approximately $985,000 on the duplicate loan.
Priority Acquisitions, Inc., a licensed general contractor located in Castro Valley, has agreed to pay $50,000 in civil damages and penalties to settle allegations that it received and retained a duplicate loan. The company agreed to repay the loan in full to its lender, relieving the SBA of liability for the federal guaranty of approximately $200,625.
Congress created the PPP in March 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to provide emergency financial support to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses struggling to pay employees and other business expenses. Throughout 2020, PPP loan applicants were required to certify that they would not receive more than one PPP loan prior to Dec. 31, 2020.
“PPP loans were intended to provide critical relief to small businesses,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to pursuing those who knowingly violated the requirements of the PPP or other COVID-19 assistance programs and obtained relief funds to which they were not entitled.”
“PPP loans were intended to help qualified businesses retain their employees and pay other bills during the pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “This Office will continue to pursue any business that misused the program by obtaining PPP loans for which they were not eligible, as the three settlements announced today reflect.”
“Those who violate the False Claim Act by fraudulently receiving and retaining SBA pandemic program funds will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Weston King of SBA OIG’s Western Region. “This settlement demonstrates that wrongfully obtaining taxpayer dollars will not go unnoticed, and violators will be identified. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their support and dedication to pursuing justice in this case.”
The settlements resolve claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by J. Bryan Quesenberry. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Quesenberry v. Bay Wire, Inc., et al., No. 2:20-cv-712 (N.D. Cal.). Quesenberry will receive a total of approximately $80,000 in connection with the three settlements.
The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel and Office of the Inspector General.
This matter was handled by Trial Attorney Jared S. Wiesner of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael T. Pyle for the Northern District of California.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud affecting COVID-19 government relief programs can be reported by visiting the webpage of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section, which can be found here. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can also report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Justice Department Settles Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Against the Village of Hinsdale, Illinois, for $800,000Read the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that the village of Hinsdale, Illinois, has agreed to pay $800,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the village violated the Fair Housing Act when it refused to allow the operation of a sober living home for persons in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction in a residential neighborhood.
The settlement, which still must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, resolves a lawsuit that the department filed in November 2020. This settlement also resolves a related suit brought by the sober living home’s owner and operator, Trinity Sober Living LLC.
“Local governments do not have the right to use zoning laws and restrictions as a vehicle to discriminate against people with disabilities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to vigorous enforcement of federal law to ensure that individuals in recovery have access to the housing and support they need to maintain their sobriety and lead productive lives.”
“Individuals with disabilities – including those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction – should not be excluded from living in residential neighborhoods,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois. “Such discrimination by local governments is forbidden under the Fair Housing Act.”
The department’s lawsuit alleged that the village of Hinsdale violated the Fair Housing Act after it denied a reasonable accommodation request by Trinity Sober Living LLC to operate a sober living home with ten residents and a house manager in a residential neighborhood. The complaint alleged that, one day after Trinity requested an accommodation, the village sued Trinity in state court for violations of the zoning code, including that the home was a “commercial use” and would have more than three unrelated adults.
Under the settlement, the village will amend its zoning ordinance to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws, including permitting homes for persons with disabilities in residential districts, with the same size limitations applied to families of similar size, and implementing a reasonable accommodation policy. The village will also pay $790,000 in monetary damages to Trinity as well as a civil penalty of $10,000 to the United States. The village also agreed to take a number of other actions to guard against housing discrimination, including training village officials and employees about their obligations under federal law, designating a fair housing compliance officer and reporting periodically to the Justice Department.
Trinity Sober Living LLC is represented by Kennedy Hunt P.C., a civil rights law firm in St. Louis, and Esposito and Staubus LLP, a law firm in Burr Ridge, Illinois.
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on disability, race, color, religion, national origin, sex and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Justice Department at 1-833-591-0291 or submit a report online at civilrights.justice.gov. Individuals may also contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 or through its website at https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp. Individuals may also report housing discrimination, and other forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities, to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (312) 353-5300.
Justice Department Announces Publication of Second Volume of National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking AssessmentRead the Press Release
Note: The release has been updated to correct a statistic.
The Justice Department today announced the publication of Crime Gun Intelligence and Analysis, the second volume of the National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA), a four-part, comprehensive examination of commerce in firearms and the diversion of firearms to illegal markets. Volume II presents and analyzes data – much of which has not previously been available – regarding criminal use of firearms that have been diverted from lawful commerce. In April 2021, Attorney General Garland directed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to undertake its first comprehensive study of criminal gun trafficking in over two decades. The first volume of the assessment was published in May of 2022.
“In 2021, I directed ATF to begin work on the first study of criminal gun trafficking in over two decades, and today’s report is yet another historic step in that effort,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This collection of data will equip our prosecutors and agents – and our law enforcement partners across the country – with unprecedented insights into firearm trafficking networks and dangerous emerging firearm technologies. The Justice Department will continue to use every tool at its disposal to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and save lives.”
“This report will help law enforcement who are on the front lines in the battle against gun violence take illegal firearms off the streets,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The Department of Justice is committed to using cutting-edge crime gun intelligence to reduce violent crime, and this first of its kind data set on emerging threats, specifically the epidemic of stolen firearms and the proliferation of machinegun conversion devices, will have real-world impact in safeguarding our communities.”
“Information is power,” said ATF Director Steven Dettelbach. “This report provides more information on America’s crime guns than has ever been compiled in a single publication. Much of this data, including comprehensive presentation of results from ATF’s National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN), has not previously been available to policymakers and researchers. The comprehensive – and unprecedented – compilation of data in this report is intended to provide strategic insight to law enforcement, policymakers, and researchers as they work to reduce and prevent gun violence. I commend the excellent work by the men and women of ATF involved in producing this important study.”
Volume II presents and analyzes data on crime guns (firearms used in crime) recovered between 2017 and 2021. The analysis reinforces the critical importance of ATF’s unique crime gun tracing authority and highlights the value of data from ATF’s NIBIN program.
One of the key data-points trace data provides is the “time to crime” – the time from the last known retail sale of a firearm to when it is recovered in a crime. Shorter time-to-crime periods are indicators of illegal trafficking and provide crucial intelligence to investigators. Between 2017 and 2021, nearly 25% of traced crime guns – more than 366,000 guns – had a time-to-crime of less than one-year, and 46% had a time-to-crime of three years or less.
Trace data also provides key intelligence on firearm trafficking patterns. The data analysis in Volume II confirms that although most – 72% nationally – traced crime guns are recovered in the same state in which they were acquired from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), certain states and cities are targets for firearm traffickers. The cross-jurisdictional nature of this issue – guns purchased in one state and trafficked to another where they’re used in crime – is what led the Attorney General to launch five firearms trafficking strike forces in July 2021.
A significant way firearms are diverted is through theft. The report shows that from 2017 to 2021, there were 1,023,538 firearms stolen from private citizens. These private thefts make up 96% of all firearms reported stolen during that time period.
The data also reveals emerging technological trends. For instance, in the last five years, the number of illegal machine gun conversion devices that law enforcement agencies reported being recovered has increased by an alarming 570%. Conversion devices are used to convert semi-automatic firearms, which are legal, into fully automatic machine guns, which are illegal under the National Firearms Act.
In May 2022, the Department issued Volume I of the NFCTA, Firearms in Commerce, which presents and analyzes data collected by ATF and other federal agencies related to the manufacture, exportation, and importation of firearms.
To produce the NFCTA, the ATF assembled a team of subject experts from ATF, as well as from academic and related fields. Although ATF issues a variety of public and law enforcement reports and bulletins regarding firearm commerce, trafficking, and related issues every year, it has not undertaken a joint academic study on the scale of the NFCTA in more than 20 years.
Former Prisoner Transport Officer Sentenced for Civil Rights OffenseRead the Press Release
A former prisoner transport officer was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for violating the civil rights of pretrial detainees entrusted to his care.
On Sept. 28, 2022, a federal jury convicted Anthony Buntyn, 55, a former prisoner transport officer, of violating the civil rights of pretrial detainees in his custody. Specifically, the jury convicted Buntyn of being deliberately indifferent to conditions on the prisoner transport van that posed a risk of serious harm to the health and safety of the detainees entrusted to his care. The jury further found that Buntyn’s deliberate indifference to the conditions on the prisoner transport van resulted in bodily injury to one of the pretrial detainees who had been on the van for several days.
According to court documents and the evidence introduced at trial, Buntyn was a prisoner transport officer employed by Prisoner Transportation Services of America (PTS), a company hired by local jails and prisons throughout the country to transport people who had been arrested pursuant to out-of-state warrants and needed to be transported back to the states that had issued the warrants. Buntyn was the supervising officer on a March 2017 PTS transport that stopped in New Mexico during a cross-country trip. Evidence at trial established that Buntyn knowingly created, and otherwise subjected the detainees to, dangerous, painful and unhealthy conditions on the prisoner transport van. Specifically, evidence at trial showed that Buntyn would retaliate against detainees who complained of transport conditions by handcuffing the detainees behind their backs and forcing them to remain for hours in a small segregation cage inside the van, depriving detainees of meals and access to water while they remained in the cage, cranking up the heat in the already-hot van in retaliation for detainees complaining that, as they passed through the southwestern desert, they were in danger of overheating, and failing to provide the detainees with required restroom breaks until the detainees were left with no choice but to urinate in empty bottles or on the floor.
“Prisoner transport officers, even when they are employed by private companies, must abide by the laws and protect the constitutional rights of the people in their custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department will continue to vigorously enforce our nation’s laws to ensure that officers who break the law — including those who are driving the nation’s backroads in prisoner transport vans and may therefore wrongly believe they can act with impunity — are held accountable.”
“Detainees are entitled to basic human dignity,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico. “Those who are responsible for their detention, from transport personnel to law enforcement and corrections officers, have the same duty to protect the rights and safety of their charges. Any abuse of detainees or failure to provide basic necessities is a violation of that trust and a violation of the law, and it will be roundly prosecuted.”
“During the cross-county transport of these individuals, a stop was made by the PTS at the Shawnee County Detention Center in Topeka, Kansas. If not for the Detention Center notifying the FBI of the detainees’ condition upon arrival, the FBI may have never known or been able to seek justice for these victims. Buntyn’s actions disparage the very core of what he was employed to do – protect these individuals while in his custody,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub of the Kansas City Field Office. “He knowingly disregarded the detainees’ basic civil rights, putting these individuals in harm’s way. Today’s sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s unique ability to conduct a successful nationwide investigation alongside our law enforcement partners.”
Buntyn was acquitted of a use of force and an obstruction of justice charge.
Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Uballez and Special Agent in Charge Dayoub made the announcement.
This FBI Kansas City Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley for the District of New Mexico and Trial Attorney Laura Gilson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Division, with assistance from Special Litigation Counsel Samantha Trepel, prosecuted the case.
Man Charged with Hate Crime and Obstruction and Second Man Charged with Obstruction Offenses Following Murder of Transgender Woman in South CarolinaRead the Press Release
A five-count federal indictment was unsealed charging two South Carolina men with hate crime and obstruction offenses.
The indictment charges Daqua Ritter, 26, with a hate crime for the murder of a transgender woman because of her gender identity; using a firearm in connection with the hate crime; and obstruction of justice. The indictment also charges Xavier Pinckney, 24, with two obstruction offenses for providing false and misleading statements to authorities investigating the murder of the victim, Dime Doe.
The indictment alleges that on Aug. 4, 2019, Ritter shot Dime Doe, a transgender woman, because of Dime Doe’s actual and perceived gender identity. The indictment further charges Ritter with misleading state investigators about his whereabouts the day of the murder. The indictment also alleges that Pinckney concealed from state investigators the use of his phone to call and text Dime Doe the day of the murder and lied to state and federal investigators about seeing Ritter after the morning of the murder.
The hate crime count against Ritter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The counts charging Ritter and Pinckney with obstruction of justice carry a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment. The count charging Pinckney with lying to federal investigators carries a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment.
The FBI’s Columbia Field Office investigated the case, with the assistance of South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brook Andrews, Ben Garner and Elle Klein for the District of South Carolina and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an accusation. Each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Justice Department Observes National Human Trafficking Prevention MonthRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today commemorates National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and renews its commitment to investigating and prosecuting human traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing human trafficking from happening in the first place. We do this work in collaboration with our interagency partners and external stakeholders.
“As the Justice Department’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking recognizes, an effective response to human trafficking requires collaboration across government and beyond. Most important, it requires listening to victims and survivors and incorporating their perspectives into everything we do,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As we commemorate National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Department of Justice reaffirms our commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of survivors, and to empowering them to help bring their traffickers to justice. The Justice Department will continue to work relentlessly to prevent human trafficking crimes, prosecute perpetrators of these crimes, and provide protection and trauma-informed assistance to victims and survivors.”
The Justice Department’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, announced last year by Attorney General Garland, laid out the Department’s multi-year strategy to combat all forms of human trafficking. Over the past 12 months, the Department has taken significant actions to implement the National Strategy. These actions include:
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Launching an interagency Forced Labor Initiative to enhance the detection, investigation, and prosecution of federal criminal forced labor violations. The Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit (HTPU) convened an interagency steering committee of subject matter experts from the FBI, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), and the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to conduct threat assessments and to screen for possible forced labor indicators. The steering committee identifies jurisdictions with elevated forced labor threats, prioritizes among actionable leads, and imparts specialized expertise and strategic guidance to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement and non-governmental partners in each relevant jurisdiction.
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Establishing a departmental working group to review current policies, procedures, practices, and trainings to ensure that the Department is avoiding inappropriate immigration consequences and inappropriate arrest and punishment of victims of human trafficking.
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Convening a Working Group of Victim Assistance specialists from 17 components throughout the Department that meet regularly to exchange expertise in stabilizing and supporting vulnerable victims of human trafficking at all stages of the criminal justice process and to enhance the dissemination of victim-centered, trauma-informed best practices in victim-witness assistance to anti-trafficking partners nationwide.
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Partnering with over 200 federal, state, and local agencies to locate and assist victims of human trafficking, particularly child victims, as part of Operation Cross Country XII (OCC XII). The FBI’s Victim Services Division (VSD) coordinated the national victim assistance response for OCC XII, which included training on the importance of using a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach and ensuring the unique needs of each identified victim were addressed throughout the operation. VSD personnel, in collaboration with local non-government organizations (NGOs), child protective services, medical organizations, and other community, state, and national groups, provided more than 850 services to more than 220 identified minor and adult victims of human trafficking. These services included crisis intervention, needs assessments, child and adult protective services notification, mental health/safety planning, and referrals to human trafficking NGOs and service providers.
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Developing a comprehensive training on human trafficking and gender-based violence to train Bureau of Prisons staff on how to identify and respond to potential indicators of human trafficking among detained people.
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Strengthening coordination among departmental anti-trafficking subject matter experts, such as those in HTPU, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs), and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), to identify challenges and improve District-level anti-trafficking efforts.
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Enhancing the response to human trafficking in Indian Country through increased cooperation with Tribal, federal, state, and local partners. For example, EOUSA, in partnership with the National Indian Country Training Initiative, published a memorandum reaffirming its commitment to ensuring USAOs receive training and support to effectively combat human trafficking and address challenges specific to Indian country. In addition, the Department’s Office on Violence Against Women provided funding for the Sovereign Responses to Sex Trafficking in Indian Country and Alaska national conference held this month in New Orleans. The conference brought together Tribal leadership, federal partners, and experts in the anti-trafficking field, including experts on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, Missing or Murdered Indigenous People, and sex trafficking, in Tribal communities to better address the safety of children, women, and men.
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Funding an almost $1 million award from OVC to support a survivor-led team to assist OVC anti-trafficking grantees and their partners in intentional and sustainable engagement with survivors to improve anti-trafficking programming.
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Funding a $979,022 award from the National Institute of Justice to the National Opinion Research Center to conduct a rigorous 48-month multisite process and outcome evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking Program, which aims to develop, expand, or strengthen a multidisciplinary approach to fight human trafficking.
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Developing legislative proposals to amend existing statutes to combat human trafficking, assist victims, and increase prosecution of perpetrators. These proposals would significantly strengthen procedures for collecting mandatory restitution, criminalize fraudulent labor recruitment practices, and enable consistency in enforcement.
Anyone who has information about a potential human trafficking situation or who thinks they or someone they know may be a victim of human trafficking who needs help should contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
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Former Florida CEO Sentenced to Prison for Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A former Jacksonville company CEO was sentenced yesterday to 32 months in prison for willfully attempting to evade the assessment of his federal income taxes.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2015 and 2016, Jason Cory, 49, of Jacksonville, was a manager at a New York-based IT services company and from 2017 through 2019, he was the CEO of a different IT services company based in Jacksonville. From 2015 through 2018, Cory used his positions to cause more than $1.5 million to be deposited into the bank accounts of Gambit Matrix LLC, a shell company he controlled. As CEO, Cory caused transfers to Gambit Matrix under the false pretense that they were payments for consulting services that had never been provided.
Cory did not report the income he earned through transfers to Gambit Matrix on his tax return for 2015 and did not file tax returns for the years 2016 through 2018 as required by law. To conceal the fraud scheme from the second company and evade taxes on his income for those years, Cory invented fictitious owners of Gambit Matrix, made false representations to his employer, and falsified emails and IRS Forms W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number). Cory used the money directed to Gambit Matrix to pay for personal expenses such as credit card bills, rent, and club memberships. In total, Cory evaded more than $600,000 in taxes through his actions.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Morales Howard ordered Cory to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $606,195 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 Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Richard J. Hagerman of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Mesrobian for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.
Two Florida Doctors Convicted in $31 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted two Florida doctors today for their roles in a scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting over $31 million in claims for expensive durable medical equipment (DME) that Medicare beneficiaries did not need and that were procured through the payment of kickbacks.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dean Zusmer, 54, of Miami, was a chiropractor who conspired with others to steal millions of dollars from Medicare. Zusmer owned one of four DME companies that collectively billed Medicare over $31 million for medically unnecessary DME, of which over $15 million was paid. Zusmer and his co-conspirators, including Jeremy Waxman, acquired patient referrals and signed doctors’ orders by paying kickbacks to marketers who used overseas call centers to solicit patients and telemedicine companies to procure prescriptions for unnecessary braces for these patients.
Court documents and evidence presented at trial further demonstrated that Lawrence Alexander, M.D., 45, of Miami, was an orthopedic surgeon who owned one of the DME companies with Waxman and concealed both his and Waxman’s roles in the scheme by putting the DME company in the name of one of Alexander’s family members.
Zusmer was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to pay illegal health care kickbacks, paying illegal health care kickbacks, and false statements relating to health care matters. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each of the following counts: conspiracy to commit health care fraud; health care fraud; and paying illegal health care kickbacks. Zusmer faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the following counts: conspiracy to pay illegal health care kickbacks and false statements relating to health care matters.
Alexander was convicted of false statements relating to health care matters. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Waxman was previously sentenced to over 15 years in prison for his role in the scheme.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge David Walker of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Catherine Wagner, Patrick Queenan, Meredith Hough, Jamie de Boer, and Keith Clouser of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 24 federal districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $19 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Justice Department Announces Settlement with Logan Square Aluminum Supply over Lead ViolationsRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with Logan Square Aluminum Supply Inc., resolving alleged violations of the federal Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting regulations, known as the RRP rule, at renovation projects Logan Square and its contractors performed in Chicago and Chicago suburbs.
Under the court settlement, Logan Square will implement a comprehensive program to ensure that its contractors are certified and trained to use lead-safe work practices to avoid creating lead dust during home renovation activities. Under a parallel administrative settlement agreement, Logan Square will also pay a $400,000 penalty, and perform $2 million of lead-based paint abatement work in lower-income properties located in Chicago and Chicago suburbs in communities with a higher incidence of childhood lead poisoning.
“Companies that renovate homes built before 1978 must ensure that they hire EPA-certified contractors and follow other EPA rules requiring lead safe work practices,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We will take aggressive action against companies that do not take these important steps.”
“Lead exposure from lead-based paint continues to be a hazard for American families living in older homes, and children in those homes are particularly vulnerable,” said Larry Starfield, EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement requires Logan Square Aluminum Supply, Inc. to take necessary steps to ensure that it meets appropriate safety requirements in future renovation projects that may disturb lead-based paint.”
Renovation is any activity that disturbs painted surfaces and includes most repair, remodeling, and maintenance activities, such as electrical work, plumbing, carpentry and window replacement. Both Logan Square and its contractors are responsible for compliance with the RRP rule to protect the health and safety of families, especially children under the age of six who are most susceptible to lead hazards. For these projects, Logan Square must contract with only EPA-certified firms and renovators, ensure they maintain certification, use lead-safe work practices, and document their work with checklists during renovations.
Logan Square will add a link on its website to EPA’s content on lead-safe work practices. In addition, Logan Square will take action to respond to situations where a contractor is not operating in compliance with the RRP rule; investigate all reports of potential noncompliance; and ensure that any violations are corrected and reported to EPA.
EPA first discovered the alleged violations through customer complaints about a project performed in Evanston, Illinois. EPA learned that Logan Square frequently subcontracted work to uncertified firms and did not use lead-safe work practices, perform required post-renovation cleaning, provide the EPA-required lead-based paint pamphlets to occupants, or establish records of compliance. Logan Square also conducts business under other names, including Climate Guard Thermal Products Co. and Studio 41.
The consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Notice of the lodging of the consent decree will appear in the Federal Register allowing for a 30-day public comment period before the consent decree can be entered by the court as final judgment. View the consent decree here.
Further information is available from the National Lead Information Center (800-424-LEAD) and online at www.epa.gov/lead. Available resources include additional information about the RRP program; information for contractors and property managers about program requirements; and downloadable lead-safety education materials.
To report a possible violation of the RRP Rule requirements, please visit EPA’s website.
Four Washington State Men Sentenced for Hate Crime and False Statement Charges After Racially-Motivated AssaultRead the Press Release
Four men who assaulted a Black man because of the man’s actual and perceived race at a bar in Lynnwood, Washington, were sentenced today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Jason DeSimas, 45, Jason Stanley, 46, Randy Smith, 42, and Daniel Dorson, 27, previously each pleaded guilty to one count of committing a hate crime, as well as one count of making false statements to investigators about their role in the assault.
DeSimas was sentenced to 48 months; Stanley was sentenced to 47 months and nine days; Smith was sentenced to 42 months; and Dorson was sentenced to 28 months.
“The defendants subjected a Black man to a brutal and racially-motivated assault,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racially-motivated hate crimes terrorize entire communities, and they have no place in our society. The Department of Justice will continue to investigate and prosecute individuals who commit these abhorrent crimes.”
“The myth of white supremacy is alive and well and can foment dangerous behavior and violence. These particular defendants are deeply steeped in racial hatred, expressed through their Nazi tattoos, white supremacist symbols on their clothing and their use of racist slurs. They came to our area to honor a man who died leading a racist and violent gang, and thought they could act on their beliefs with impunity,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown for the Western District of Washington. “But the victims and witnesses of their brutal assault have proved they are far stronger than these four. And today our justice system is holding them accountable for the damage they did not only to the people they assaulted, but to the community that recoils when presented with their despicable hatred.”
“Imagine being attacked by four men purely because of the color of your skin.” said Special Agent in Charge Richard A. Collodi of the FBI Seattle Field Office. “The victim in this case does not have to imagine. Tragically, he lived it. With today’s sentences, my hope is the victim feels some sense of justice has been served. However, until all citizens are safe from threats and violence based on their race, ethnicity, gender or beliefs, the FBI’s work protecting victims of hate will continue.”
In their respective plea agreements, DeSimas, Stanley, Smith and Dorson each admitted that, on Dec. 8, 2018, they entered a bar in Lynnwood, with a large group that included fellow members of Crew 38 and the Hammerskins. Crew 38 is a support group for the Hammerskins, which is a white supremacist organization. The majority of the men in the group were similarly dressed in dark jeans or pants, black boots, black “bomber” jackets and dark-colored t-shirts and had crew-cut hairstyles. Some wore jackets with either Crew 38 patches or other patches aligned with white supremacist beliefs. In addition, many wore shirts with phrases, numbers or logos that expressed white supremacist beliefs and/or memberships, including Crew 38. Many in the group also had visible tattoos, including swastika tattoos, that expressed their views on white race superiority. Members of the group, including defendants Stanley and Smith, repeatedly gave the Nazi salute as they danced.
While in the bar, all four defendants assaulted T.S., a Black man who was serving as the disc jockey at the bar, when T.S. attempted to move defendant Stanley away from his music equipment. All four defendants punched and kicked T.S., even after he fell to the floor, while some in the group called T.S. racial slurs. Two bystanders attempted to intervene to help T.S. and stop the assault. The defendants and other assaulted both bystanders, causing them to sustain injuries. As a result of the defendants’ actions, T.S. suffered serious physical injuries, including extrema pain, loss of consciousness, bleeding and swelling in his eye and bruising on his back, chest and legs.
In their plea agreements, the four defendants each admitted that they were members of Crew 38 and/or prospective members of the Hammerskins, and that they had traveled to the Lynnwood area with others to attend events related to “Martyr’s Day,” an annual gathering honoring a white supremacist who died in a shootout with federal agents on Whidbey Island in the 1980s.
In their plea agreements, defendants DeSimas and Stanley each admitted that they knew that the Hammerskins had used a tactic known as “mutual combat” against members of groups whose beliefs they opposed. Members believed that, using this tactic, they could go to bars frequented by groups whose beliefs they opposed and have one or more members initiate a fight. When the fight began, other members of the group could jump in and assault their perceived antagonists, and later claim a defense of “mutual combat” as a way to avoid accountability.
In addition to the hate crime charge, each defendant pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to federal agents who were investigating the assault. Specifically, Stanley falsely claimed to the agents that he was not even present in the State of Washington during the weekend of the assault. Stanley made this false claim in order to cover up his participation in the assault of T.S.
DeSimas falsely claimed to the agents that neither he nor anyone else called T.S. a racial slur during the assault, while Smith falsely claimed to the agents that he did not remember anyone calling T.S. a racial slur during the assault. Dorson falsely told agents that he had not traveled to Washington State during the weekend of the assault to attend a white supremacist’s “Martyr’s Day” observance and that he had not owned a jacket associated with a white supremacy hate group prior to the weekend of Dec. 8, 2018. In their respective plea agreements, these defendants each admitted that they made these false statements in order to cover up the motive for the assault, which was the bias that he and others had against T.S.’s race.
The four defendants were charged in an indictment that was unsealed on Dec. 18, 2020.
Smith was charged in the District of Oregon in an unrelated case for illegal possession of a firearm. That charge was resolved in the Western District of Washington.
The FBI investigated the case, with the support of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. The Smith firearms matter was investigated by the FBI Portland Field Office and the Eugene, Oregon, Police Department.
Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Cohen for the Western District of Washington are prosecuting the case. The Smith firearms matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William McLaren for the District of Oregon.
Former Louisville, Kentucky, Police Officer Sentenced for Using Excessive ForceRead the Press Release
Katie R. Crews, 29, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, was sentenced to two years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $5,000 fine for violating an individual’s rights by using excessive force while acting as a police officer for the Louisville Metro Police Department.
In October 2022, Crews admitted during a plea hearing that on or about June 1, 2020, while acting as a police officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department, she shot an individual with a pepperball even though the individual was standing on private property and not posing a threat to the defendant or others. Crews pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count for using unreasonable force. As part of the plea agreement, Crews is no longer an officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department and has forfeited her Kentucky law enforcement certification.
“This former Louisville police officer abused her authority as a law enforcement officer and violated the victim’s civil rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence makes clear that law enforcement officials are not above the law. The Justice Department will continue to prosecute law enforcement officials who violate our federal civil rights laws and defy the public trust by using excessive force.”
“As in this case, our office will work diligently with our federal and local law enforcement partners to ensure the citizens of the Western District are protected from the use of excessive force by officers sworn to protect them,” said U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett for the Western District of Kentucky.
Assistant Attorney General Clarke, U.S. Attorney Bennett and Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Louisville Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI and the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Public Integrity Unit jointly investigated the case through the Louisville Public Corruption Civil Rights Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda E. Gregory for the Western District of Kentucky and Civil Rights Trial Attorney Anita Channapati of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
Doctor Sentenced for Role in Illegally Distributing 6.6 Million Opioid Pills and Submitting $250 Million in False BillingsRead the Press Release
A Michigan doctor was sentenced today to 16.5 years in prison for his role in a health care fraud scheme that resulted in over $250 million in false and fraudulent claims being submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance programs, exploited patients suffering from addiction by administering unnecessary injections, illegally distributed over 6.6 million doses of medically unnecessary opioids, and engaged in money laundering.
“This defendant exploited vulnerable patients struggling with addiction by overprescribing highly dangerous opioid pills and exposing them to unnecessary and sometimes painful injections,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “To make matters worse, the defendant and his co-conspirators submitted over $250 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other health insurance programs. As this case demonstrates, the Department of Justice will continue to relentlessly combat health care fraud, particularly where defendants endanger patients by providing addictive substances and billing for needless procedures.”
In September 2021, Francisco Patino, M.D., 68, of Wayne County, was convicted at trial in the Eastern District of Michigan of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
Patino joins 21 other defendants who were previously sentenced for participating in the same scheme.
“The defendant in this case preyed upon patients seeking treatment for addiction and pocketed the profits,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain dedicated to pursuing those who exploit our healthcare system and the American people.”
According to court documents and evidence at trial, Patino owned multiple medical practices and clinical laboratories in Michigan. Patino played a critical role in developing and implementing a “shots-for-pills” protocol at several pain clinics, whereby patients were required to receive unnecessary back injections in exchange for prescriptions of dangerous and high doses of medically unnecessary and addictive opioids.
Patino excessively prescribed highly addictive opioids to his patients. In exchange for opioids, these patients would receive – or be billed as if they had received – facet joint or nerve block injections, both lucrative spinal injections. Although these spinal injections were purportedly intended to treat chronic pain, Patino injected the patients without regard to medical necessity. Evidence also revealed that if patients refused to accept the injections, Patino would withhold their prescriptions for opioids. From January 2012 through July 2017, Patino billed Medicare for more of these injections than any other provider in the country. In 2016 and 2017, Patino prescribed more 30-milligram Oxycodone pills than any other provider in Michigan.
“The significance of this sentence underscores the severity of the conduct by the defendant in this investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “In particular, the administration of unnecessary injections, in exchange for unnecessary opioid prescriptions, places patients at serious risk of harm and exploits some of the most vulnerable people. Our office is committed to working together with our law enforcement partners to identify and investigate medical professionals and others who engage in fraudulent conduct and prey on beneficiaries of Federal health care programs.”
Patino also developed an illegal kickback relationship with at least one diagnostic laboratory, from which he was paid in exchange for referring his patients’ samples to that lab. Patino was aware that his ownership structure and kickbacks violated the law and authored emails acknowledging that such ownership constituted a “violation of the Stark and Anti-Kickback laws,” and attempted to conceal and disguise the ownership structure and scheme in order to keep himself “out of Federal Prison & having all our assets seized.” The evidence showed that Patino laundered the proceeds of the scheme to falsely portray himself as a legitimate doctor through the publication of a diet book and plan described as the “next Atkins,” paid-for appearances on a nationally syndicated television show, and the sponsorship of boxers, cagefighters, and prominent Ultimate Fighting Championship World Champions and Hall of Famers. Patino also spent funds he derived from these various schemes on luxury jewelry, cars, and international vacations. Between the medically unnecessary spinal injections and kickback-induced laboratory testing, Patino was responsible for over $120 million worth of fraudulent bills submitted to insurers for payment.
Additionally, Patino pioneered the shots-for-pills protocol while working with CEO Mashiyat Rashid of the Tri-County Wellness Group of medical providers in Michigan and Ohio. In 2018, Rashid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 15 years in prison on March 3, 2021. Others convicted at trial or by guilty plea include 12 other physicians who were trained in Patino’s protocols, along with many non-physician defendants who participated in the conspiracy.
The five other defendants most recently sentenced for their part in this scheme include:
- Yasser Mozeb, 40, of Hamtramck, Michigan, the office manager of the Tri-County clinics, was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay over $46 million in restitution following his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive illegal kickbacks and bribes.
- Kashif Rasool, 47, of Troy, Michigan, a physician, was sentenced to 32 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution following his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Tariq Siddiqi, 45, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, a physical therapist and home health owner, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay over $880,000 in restitution following his guilty plea to one count of health care fraud conspiracy in connection with his payment of illegal kickbacks for the referral of patients from the clinics for medically unnecessary home health services.
- Tasadaq Ali Ahmad, 55, of Canton, Michigan, the owner of a home health agency, was sentenced to 58 months in prison and ordered to pay over $20 million in restitution following his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay and receive kickbacks.
- Stephanie Borgula, 42, of Livonia, Michigan, a licensed physical therapist, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay over $825,000 in restitution following her guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the cases.
Acting Principal Assistant Deputy Chief Jacob Foster, Trial Attorneys Steven Scott, Kathleen Cooperstein, and Shankar Ramamurthy, as well as former Trial Attorney Thomas Tynan, of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the cases.
District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Florida-Based Drug Importer and DistributorRead the Press Release
A federal court today entered a consent decree of permanent injunction prohibiting LGM Pharma LLC, a Florida company, from distributing active pharmaceutical ingredients not manufactured, processed, or held in compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
According to court filings, LGM Pharma LLC is an importer and distributor of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), which the company’s customers use to manufacture and compound finished drug products. In a complaint filed on Jan. 11, the United States alleged that LGM Pharma LLC, its chief executive officer, Prasad Raje, and its senior vice president of quality and regulatory affairs, Shailesh Vengurlekar, introduced into interstate commerce adulterated drugs that were manufactured, processed, packed, or held in conditions that do not comply with current good manufacturing practices (CGMP) as required under the FDCA. The complaint alleged that a 2022 FDA inspection of LGM’s Florida headquarters and a Kentucky facility where the company receives, holds, and distributes API identified significant departures from CGMP that posed a serious and ongoing risk to the public. The complaint further alleged that the problems observed in 2022 were similar to violations previously seen during a 2018 inspection of the Kentucky facility.
The defendants agreed to settle the suit and to be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. The consent decree, which resolves the case against all defendants, requires, among other things, that the defendants hire a CGMP expert to review and inspect LGM’s methods and controls used to receive, label, hold, and distribute drugs to determine whether the company’s processes and quality controls conform with CGMP. The consent decree also requires ongoing compliance auditing and reporting to FDA.
“Compliance by pharmaceutical importers and distributors with current good manufacturing practices is essential to ensuring the safety of drug products,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to ensuring that companies importing and distributing drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients comply with federal law.”
“Protecting patients means we must hold all parts of our drug supply chain to the highest standards of quality allowed by law, including importers and distributors of both finished drug products and active pharmaceutical ingredients,” said Acting Director of the Office of Compliance Jill P. Furman, J.D. of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “LGM Pharma LLC’s failures to adhere to CGMP requirements put patients at risk. This consent decree requires the firm to implement and adhere to rigorous quality standards, under close FDA supervision. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure compliance and address violations of federal law to protect the American public and the safety of the drug products they rely on.”
The government was represented by Trial Attorneys Ann Entwistle and Rachael Doud of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, with the assistance of Tracey Allen of the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
The claims resolved by the resolution announced today are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Readout of U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr.’s Meeting with Colombian Attorney General Francisco Barbosa DelgadoRead the Press Release
On Jan. 25, Criminal Division Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. met in Washington, D.C. with Colombian Attorney General Francisco Barbosa Delgado.
In the meeting, Assistant Attorney General Polite expressed his deep appreciation for the extraordinary law enforcement partnership between the United States and Colombia and thanked Attorney General Barbosa for his leadership in combating transnational organized crime.
“The Department of Justice has enjoyed an exceptional relationship with the Colombian Attorney General’s Office and the thousands of men and women that Attorney General Barbosa leads,” said Assistant Attorney General Polite. “Colombia continues to be an indispensable partner to the United States. Attorney General Barbosa’s steadfast support for the rule of law while honoring bilateral commitments has been the cornerstone of our law enforcement efforts with Colombia.”
Both leaders committed to continue strengthening the close law enforcement relationship between the United States and Colombia, which has led to, among others, the successful investigation and prosecution of drug traffickers, transnational organized crime groups, human smugglers, money launderers, and malicious cyber actors.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland dropped by the meeting to personally thank Attorney General Barbosa for the outstanding cooperation between the United States and Colombia.