District Not Recorded
The source did not name an office we could identify. These records remain unassigned rather than guessed.
Owner of Construction Company Pleads Guilty to Obstructing IRS Efforts to Collect $1.4 Million in Unpaid TaxesRead the Press Release
AUSTIN, Texas – The owner of a Texas construction company pleaded guilty today to obstructing the IRS’s efforts to collect unpaid employment taxes.
According to court documents and statements made in court, David Stone willfully failed to pay over employment taxes he had collected on behalf of the employees of Engineered Metals Company, a roofing, siding and sheet metal business that he owned and operated. As a result of his willful failure to pay over these employment taxes, the IRS began collection proceedings against him. Knowing the IRS was attempting to collect this tax delinquency, Stone stopped filing individual income tax returns and used business accounts to pay personal expenses, such as child support and alimony, to keep funds out of his own hands and conceal his income from the IRS. Stone’s obstructive actions persisted from 2013 through 2024 and caused a tax loss to the United States of approximately $1.4 million.
Stone pleaded guilty to corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the due administration of the internal revenue laws. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Assistant Deputy Chief David Zisserson and Trial Attorney Caroline Pearson of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section are prosecuting the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
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Federal Grand Jury Charges Southern Poverty Law Center for Wire Fraud, False Statements, and Conspiracy to Commit Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
A Grand Jury in Montgomery, Alabama, today returned an indictment charging the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division filed two forfeiture actions to recover alleged proceeds of the organization’s fraud scheme. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated this case with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
“The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Using donor money to allegedly profit off Klansmen cannot go unchecked. This Department of Justice will hold the SPLC and every other fraudulent organization operating with the same deceptive playbook accountable. No entity is above the law.”
“The SPLC allegedly engaged in a massive fraud operation to deceive their donors, enrich themselves, and hide their deceptive operations from the public," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "They lied to their donors, vowing to dismantle violent extremist groups, and actually turned around and paid the leaders of these very extremist groups - even utilizing the funds to have these groups facilitate the commission of state and federal crimes. That is illegal – and this is an ongoing investigation against all individuals involved.”
The SPLC is a non-profit organization headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, whose mission, according to its website during the relevant time period, was to be a “catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.”
According to the indictment starting in the 1980s, the SPLC began operating a covert network of individuals who were either associated with violent and extremist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, or who had infiltrated violent extremist groups at the SPLC’s direction. Unbeknownst to donors, some of their donated money was being used to fund the leaders and organizers of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website.
“Donors gave their money believing they were supporting the fight against violent extremism,” said Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. “As alleged, the SPLC instead diverted a portion of those funds to benefit individuals and groups they claimed to oppose. That kind of deception undermines public trust and social cohesion.”
Between 2014 and 2023, the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups including:
- Ku Klux Klan
- United Klans of America
- Unite the Right
- National Alliance
- National Socialist Movement
- Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club
- National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party)
- American Front
According to the indictment, the objective of the scheme and artifice was to obtain money via donations through materially false representations and omissions about what the donated funds would be used for.
In order to covertly pay the individuals, the SPLC opened bank accounts connected to a series of fictitious entities. The covert nature of the accounts allowed the SPLC to disguise the true nature, source, ownership, and control of the fraudulently obtained donated money the SPLC paid the individuals. In order to keep the scheme going, the SPLC made a series of false statements related to the operation of the accounts.
A conviction will result in the forfeiture of financial gains from the alleged illegal activities.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel made the announcement in Washington.
The details contained in the civil forfeiture complaint are allegations only.
New Orleans Man Guilty of Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Distribution and Committing Federal Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –LIONEL WINDING, JR. (“WINDING”), age 20, pleaded guilty on April 14, 2026 before Chief U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter to seven federal drug and gun offenses, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.
WINDING pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846; two counts of distributing various quantities of fentanyl, two counts of distributing 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), (b)(1)(C), and (b)(1)(D); and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i).
According to court documents, over the course of five transactions between November 2024 and January 2025, WINDING, and his co-conspirators, sold fentanyl, methamphetamine, and firearms to individuals WINDING believed to be legitimate buyers. WINDING was personally armed with a handgun during two of those transactions. WINDING was arrested on January 30, 2025. Law enforcement officers searched the motel room where he was staying and recovered cocaine and marijuana that WINDING intended to sell, and a Glock Model 22 firearm equipped with a drum magazine and loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition.
As to his conspiracy conviction, WINDING faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison up to life, up to a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release up to life. As to his convictions for distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, WINDING faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison up to 40 years, up to a $5,000,000 fine, and at least four years of supervised release up to life. As to his convictions for distributing a quantity of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, WINDING faces up to 20 years in prison, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and a mandatory minimum of 3 years of supervised release up to life. As to his conviction for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, WINDING faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to life imprisonment, which must run consecutively to any other sentence, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release. Each conviction also carries a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Justice Department Files Clean Water Act Complaint Against DC Water for Potomac Interceptor FailureRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), filed a civil complaint in federal court today against the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) and the District of Columbia for claims of Clean Water Act violations from the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor resulting in the discharge of more than 200 million gallons of raw, untreated sewage into the Potomac River.
The complaint seeks financial penalties, sewer assessment and rehabilitation projects, and pollutant mitigation work to remedy DC Water’s failure to operate its sewer system in compliance with the Clean Water Act and its permits. The complaint alleges that DC Water failed to properly operate and maintain its sewer system in a manner that keeps untreated sewage out of the Potomac River and its tributaries, and other areas with risk of human contact. The complaint also seeks an order for DC Water to, at a minimum, develop an Enhanced Operations and Maintenance Plan for all its sewer lines.
“DC Water’s failure to maintain the Potomac Interceptor resulted in raw sewage flowing into the Potomac River and the surrounding environment, posing a direct risk to public health,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “As cities grow and infrastructure ages, cities must invest in their wastewater system to prevent such catastrophes. This complaint seeks to secure DC Water’s commitment to properly maintain its foundational sewage infrastructure.”
According to the complaint, DC Water operates the Potomac Interceptor, which conveys an average of up to 60 million gallons a day of sewage from parts of Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland to the Potomac Pump Station in Washington, D.C.
On Jan. 19, a portion of the Potomac Interceptor collapsed where it passes through the C&O Canal National Historic Park, near Lock 12, in Montgomery County, Maryland. Between Jan. 21 and 24 DC Water crews worked to install diversion pumps to route wastewater around the failed section of the Potomac Interceptor. Beginning on Jan. 24, DC Water used a portion of the C&O Canal to contain the bypassed flow until it could re-enter the Potomac Interceptor downstream of the collapse.
DC Water’s use of the C&O Canal to route sewage around the failed section of the Potomac Interceptor required multiple high-powered pumps. These pumps periodically clogged, requiring them to be taken out of service and cleaned. On Feb. 8, DC Water reported that an estimated 500,000 gallons of sewage was discharged to the Potomac River when multiple pumps had to be shut down due to clogging with rags and wipes.
When President Trump declared a FEMA emergency, the Army Corp of Engineers deployed to assist with mitigation efforts, including building stormwater diversions around locations that were still covered with sewage debris to prevent stormwater from coming into contact with harmful pollutants left behind by the deposition of untreated sewage.
In total, the Potomac Interceptor collapse resulted in unauthorized discharge of more than 200 million gallons of raw, untreated sewage to the Potomac River.
EPA investigated the case.
ENRD’s Environmental Enforcement Section filed the complaint.
U.S. Trustee Program Obtains Judgment Requiring National Consumer Bankruptcy Firm to Refund Nearly $200,000 Due to Bankruptcy Code Violations and Service DeficienciesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) recently obtained a judgment requiring a nationwide consumer law firm to refund a total of $196,527 in legal fees to dozens of clients based on the firm’s deficient services and other violations of the Bankruptcy Code.
On March 17, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon entered a stipulated judgment against Recovery Law Group APC (RLG); its owner, Nicholas Wajda; and one of its partners, Grover Peters III. As part of the judgment, RLG agreed to refund fees to a debtor who nearly lost her home because of the firm’s poor services and to refund fees paid by 98 clients in Oregon for whom the firm had not yet filed a case. The judgment also bars RLG, Wajda, and Peters from advertising legal services or filing bankruptcy cases in the district for 18 months.
“Consumer debtors’ attorneys who provide substandard services endanger their clients’ pursuit of a fresh start,” said Acting U.S. Trustee Jonas Anderson for Region 18, which includes the District of Oregon. “The USTP will continue to hold these attorneys responsible for their abusive conduct.”
The Oregon judgment marks the USTP’s third successful enforcement action against RLG in about a year for their actions affecting debtors throughout the country. Last April, the USTP obtained an order from the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia imposing $48,000 in sanctions and other relief against RLG and an affiliated attorney for their deficient legal services and violations of court orders. And in September, the USTP won a judgment in the Eastern District of Michigan imposing more than $392,000 in penalties and a three-year suspension against RLG for its false and misleading disclosures in more than 200 bankruptcy cases.
The USTP’s Oregon enforcement action stemmed from a case in which an elderly woman sought RLG’s help filing for bankruptcy to resolve debts she incurred as the victim of a fraud scheme. After a consultation from Wajda, who is not licensed to practice law in Oregon, the debtor paid a $1,838 fee to the firm to represent her in a chapter 7 bankruptcy case, and RLG had its non-attorney staff prepare the debtor’s bankruptcy documents.
RLG filed the case as a chapter 7 liquidation despite the debtor having nonexempt equity in her house that would be at risk for sale by the private trustee overseeing the case to pay creditors. The debtor was eligible for chapter 13, which would allow her to keep the house while paying her debts through a repayment plan, but Peters did not seek to convert the case to chapter 13 until after the chapter 7 trustee took steps to sell the debtor’s house. Peters — who also acknowledged at a hearing that the case never should have been filed under chapter 7 — continued to put the house at risk by failing to file documents on time and by filing documents that required multiple amendments as they were incompetently prepared by RLG’s non-attorney staff. In November 2025, nearly two-and-a-half years after the case was filed, the bankruptcy court confirmed the debtor’s chapter 13 repayment plan.
The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders — debtors, creditors and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 82 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust.
Justice Department Secures Settlement in First-Ever Lawsuit Enforcing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Housing Rights SubpartRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today the settlement of United States v. David Montanus and Lisa Montanus, the first lawsuit filed by the Civil Rights Division to enforce the Housing Rights Subpart of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA), 34 U.S.C. § 12495.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in May 2025, alleges that Defendants David and Lisa Montanus violated VAWA when they unlawfully penalized the complainant by evicting her after she sought police assistance for domestic violence. The settlement requires the Defendants to comply with VAWA and prohibits them from making adverse credit reports regarding the complainant’s tenancy. If the Defendants acquire rental properties during the three-year term of the settlement, they must report those acquisitions to the United States and undergo VAWA training. The Defendants must also pay $25,000 to compensate the complainant and her minor children.
“Tenants have a right to request law enforcement and emergency services when they need assistance,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “No one should be faced with the choice of calling for help or losing her housing.”
“Violence against women will never be tolerated in New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan for the District of New Hampshire. “Penalizing survivors of violence with eviction for seeking help revictimizes them. We will use all available legal tools to protect the civil rights of victims.”
“I will not allow women seeking police intervention in a domestic violence situation to later be victimized with an eviction because they sought the assistance of our brave police,” said Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor. “Secretary Turner’s HUD is dedicated to protecting women from violence and ensuring that the fair housing rights of all Americans are protected.”
In 2022, Congress reauthorized VAWA and added provisions that strengthened housing protections for people who require emergency assistance at their homes, including survivors of domestic violence. VAWA provides a right to seek law enforcement or emergency assistance, and prohibits housing providers from taking adverse actions, including eviction or threat of eviction, when a tenant, resident, occupant, or guest seeks emergency assistance.
The case was referred to the Civil Rights Division after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
If you have been penalized by a housing provider for seeking law enforcement or emergency services or have suffered other forms of housing discrimination, call the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743 or submit a report online. You may also file a report with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by calling 1-800-669-9777 or submitting a complaint online. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.
In One Week, National Fraud Enforcement Division Announces More Arrests, Convictions and Sentences Representing over $340 Million in Taxpayer FraudRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division announced the following actions from across the country to hold individuals accountable for schemes that attempted or succeeded in defrauding the American taxpayers out of over $340 million.
“The National Fraud Enforcement Division is committed to prosecuting anyone who steals from American taxpayers. Over the past seven days the Department of Justice has taken enforcement action in fraud schemes totaling over $340 million, with loss or intended loss amounts in individual cases ranging from $54,000 to over $100 million. No matter the amount, we are steadfast in our effort to eliminate fraud,” said Colin McDonald, Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
Five people were arrested yesterday in Kentucky, Indiana, and Colorado on federal charges out of the Western District of Kentucky for their role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds. The indictment charges two individuals—Kaelynn Greene, 31, and Camden Newton, 32—with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering, all related to fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 financial assistance program funds. The indictment also charges Betty Walker a/k/a Betty Bailey, 39, Breanna Patterson, 32, and Jordan Greene, 34, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Thursday, April 16
A former teacher pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego admitting that she conspired with others to launder millions of dollars of health care fraud proceeds and paid $3.7 million in unlawful kickbacks. In total, Valenzuela and her co-conspirators billed Medicare nearly $51 million and were paid approximately $20 million, ultimately laundering at least $14 million dollars of Medicare proceeds
A federal grand jury in the District of Maryland jury indicted a former Social Security Administration (SSA) employee in connection with a social security disability theft scheme. Through the scheme, Corbett received $116,537.62 in SSI disability payments.
Wednesday, April 15
In St. Louis, Missouri a chiropractor who committed healthcare fraud and issued fraudulent prescriptions for powerful pain medication (including 94,971 oxycodone pills) and other drugs with no legitimate medical purpose was sentenced to more than eight years in prison and ordered to repay $4.7 million to Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare.
A Seaside, Oregon, woman was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $581,283 in restitution for submitting fraudulent pandemic unemployment applications, falsely claiming over two dozen employees, and causing the government to pay her over half a million dollars in benefits.
In Arizona, Leslie Victor Gentry, a Peoria man pleaded guilty to submitting 14 false Form 941 tax returns claiming false COVID-related tax credits based on fictitious wages paid to fictitious employees. Through the false filings, Gentry fraudulently sought and received more than $1.8 million.
On Wednesday, a New Mexico man was sentenced to 41 months in prison for submitting 21 fraudulent unemployment insurance applications using stolen identities during the pandemic. As a result of his fraudulent activities, he received more than $177,000. https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/belen-man-sentenced-unemployment-fraud-scheme
In Alabama, a Pennsylvania woman was sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison for her role in a $2 million tax fraud scheme.
An Orlando, Florida man was sentenced to over six years in federal prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft involving pandemic unemployment assistance. The court also ordered him to forfeit $549,375.50 in proceeds from his bank fraud scheme.
Tuesday, April 14
A Florida nursing assistant was sentenced to nine years in prison and two years of supervised release for his role in an $11.4 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries were sent thousands of orthotic braces they did not need.
An illegal alien from Mexico residing in Houston has admitted to theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft. Using a stolen identity, she submitted immigration petitions on behalf of family members and obtained disability and Medicare benefits, receiving more than $278,000 in benefits from 2013 through February 2026.
Monday, April 13
A Detroit resident pleaded guilty for his role in an extensive unemployment insurance and Paycheck Protection Program fraud scheme, involving $1.9 million in losses.
A Naples, Florida, tax preparer pleaded guilty to defrauding the IRS of more than $65,000
Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, man was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $352,155 for misappropriating covid relief funds and wire fraud related charges.
Friday, April 10
A Slidell, Louisiana, man was sentenced for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in connection with a scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary cancer genetic tests. This scheme resulted in over $6.6 million in false and fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare.
Federal law enforcement arrested West Bloomfield, Michigan resident who is charged by complaint with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly defrauding financial institutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), by applying for more than $5 million in loans across six applications submitted to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
A federal judge sentenced a Robeson County, North Carolina woman, to 10 months in prison for her role in submitting a false application to the Small Business Administration’s to receive a $150,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
Thursday, April 9
A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 43 months in prison for his role in a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two more defendants—Suleman Yusuf Mohamed and his brother Gandi Yusuf Mohamed—have pleaded guilty for their roles in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme. The conspirators received over $10 million meant to feed children.
A Columbia, South Carolina woman pleaded guilty to theft of public money by collecting pension benefits of a dead relative that she was not entitled to collect. The investigation determined that she collected $54,450 in pension payments after the death of her relative.
A Lynn, Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to receiving stolen Social Security benefits and making false statements. He received approximately $63,959 in stolen Social Security benefits from June 2019 through June 2025 that were intended for a beneficiary that had died.
A Florida Certified Public Accountant pleaded guilty to evading payment of more than $2.2 million of income tax liabilities.
An Iowa farmer was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for cheating federal taxpayers out of more than $1.7 Million.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
DOJ and FTC Extend Deadline for Public Comment on Guidance on Business CollaborationsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (Agencies) hereby extend the period for receiving public comments on their inquiry for consideration of guidance on collaborations among competitors, that was announced on Feb. 23, 2026.
The Agencies are extending the comment period deadline from April 24, 2026 to May 21, 2026 to give all stakeholders more time to provide fulsome input on the development of up-to-date guidance to the business community, building on the previous 2000 Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors.
Interested parties, including attorneys, economists, academics, consumer groups, industry stakeholders or other members of the public, may now submit public comments no longer than 18 pages to Regulations.gov until May 21, 2026. The information submitted will be used by the Agencies to consider updated guidance.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
A Chicago man was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) by using social media to encourage attacks on ISIS’s enemies and recruit ISIS members.
Ashraf Al Safoo was a leader of Khattab Media Foundation, a sophisticated online organization that swore allegiance to ISIS and created and disseminated threats and ISIS propaganda on social media and other online platforms. Al Safoo and other members of Khattab created and posted pro-ISIS videos, articles, essays, and infographics at the direction of, and in coordination with, ISIS. Much of Khattab’s propaganda promoted violent jihad on behalf of ISIS, which has been designated by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization. In one posting, Al Safoo encouraged Khattab members to post pro-ISIS information “to cause confusion and spread terror within the hearts of those who disbelieved.” In another posting, Al Safoo wrote, “Work hard, brothers, edit the issue into short clips, take the pictures out of it and publish the efforts of your brothers in the pages of the apostates. Participate in the war, and spread terror, the [Islamic] State does not want you to watch it only, rather, it incites you, and if you are unable to, use it to incite others.”
Many of Khattab’s postings included images of violence, celebrations of terrorist attacks and mass shootings in the United States, and encouragement for “lone wolf” attacks in western countries.
Al Safoo, 41, has been in federal custody since his arrest in Chicago in 2018. Al Safoo immigrated to the U.S. in 2008 and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2013.
After a bench trial last year in U.S. District Court in Chicago, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey found Al Safoo guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate commerce, conspiracy to intentionally access a protected computer without authorization, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization. Judge Blakey imposed the 25-year prison term during a hearing today in federal court and ordered that it be followed by ten years of court-supervised release.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Peabody of the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Andrew J. Dixon of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Justice Department Announces Settlement to Combat Antisemitism in Massachusetts School DistrictRead the Press Release
This week, the Justice Department and the Concord-Carlisle, Massachusetts School District entered into a voluntary settlement agreement to ensure the district appropriately responds to incidents of antisemitic harassment of students by their peers. The settlement agreement resolves the Department’s investigation under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, regarding complaints of harassment based on religion, race, and national origin.
“The Department will not tolerate antisemitic harassment of students at any level of education,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “School districts, like colleges and universities, must take prompt and effective action to address antisemitic harassment when it creates a hostile environment for Jewish students and must keep taking action until Jewish students are once again safe and welcome at their school.”
Between 2023 and 2025, a series of antisemitic incidents occurred at both the high school and middle school levels in the district. These incidents included the repeated drawing of swastikas and the use of “Jew” as a derogatory term by other students against Jewish students.
After the Department opened its investigation in March 2025, the district adopted reforms and initiatives to combat antisemitism and address the issues caused by these incidents, including working with stakeholders and providing additional training to its employees on handling antisemitism incidents. The Department commends the district for its cooperation with the Department’s investigation, and for entering into this Settlement Agreement. The Department also thanks the Anti-Defamation League, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Mayer Brown, and their clients for filing a complaint and for their assistance with the Department’s investigation.
Under the settlement agreement, the district will review and revise its policies. It will also respond promptly and effectively to potential incidents of harassment, including by ensuring that all incidents are identified, protecting complainants from retaliation, conducting full and comprehensive investigations, taking appropriate remedial measures where warranted (including developing and implementing safety and support plans for victims and making public statements in response to incidents where appropriate), and designating a district-level employee to oversee its compliance with these requirements. The district will also provide additional staff and student training on the district’s harassment policies and procedures. The Department will monitor the district’s compliance with the settlement agreement, and the district will continue to report to the public about its efforts to address antisemitism.
Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and additional information about the Civil Rights Division’s Educational Opportunities Section’s work to combat discrimination is available at www.justice.gov/crt/educational-opportunities-section.
Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov.
Justice Department Announces Completion of Compliance Review After Illinois Removes Unlawful DEI Criteria from Loan Repayment ProgramRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department announced that it has closed a compliance review of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). The Department opened this review based on a provision of the Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program that required ISAC to set aside at least 30% of funding for applicants who are of “African American or Black, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, or Native American origin.” After the Department notified ISAC of the compliance review, Illinois removed this DEI criteria from the Program as well as a number of other programs administered by ISAC.
“State agencies may not accept funds from the Department of Justice and then use race, color, or national origin to decide who benefits from them,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department appreciates that the State of Illinois has recognized that ISAC cannot lawfully base its funding decisions on unlawful criteria and has removed them from this program and others administered by ISAC.”
Title VI prohibits race, color, or national origin discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance, including the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Additional information about the Civil Rights Divisions is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Federal Judge Revokes Citizenship of Immigration and Identity FraudsterRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice has secured the denaturalization of Gurdev Singh Sohal, also known as Dev Singh, also known as Boota Singh Sundu, who naturalized in 2005 despite having been ordered deported in 1994.
After receiving a deportation and exclusion order under the name Dev Singh, Sohal failed to leave the country, and, instead, acquired a new identity with a different and fictitious name, date of birth, and date of entry into the United States. Sohal naturalized under the new and assumed identity. Sohal withheld his prior immigration history under the Dev Singh identity in any of his immigration applications or proceedings under the new identity.
“This case shows this Administration’s strength and commitment to ensuring the sanctity of U.S. citizenship,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The cooperation between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security reflects a strong partnership to protect the nation against immigration and identity fraud.”
This case was investigated as part of the Historic Fingerprint Enrollment project, an ongoing national initiative between the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Expert analysis in February 2020 confirmed that the fingerprints submitted under both identities came from the same individual. The analysis was only made possible after DHS digitized the paper fingerprint submission documents from older immigration files.
On April 13, the court found that Sohal illegally procured his U.S. citizenship because the unlawful acts he committed in hiding his prior identity rendered him unable to show that he had the requisite good moral character to naturalize.
This case was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from USCIS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
Justice Department Reveals the Biden Administration’s Weaponization of Federal Law Against Pro-Life AmericansRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group published a report detailing the Biden Administration’s weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Based on a review of over 700,000 internal records, the report not only details specific ways the Biden Justice Department weaponized federal law, but also outlines the corrective action taken by the current Justice Department to make right the wrongs of the prior administration.
“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system.”
President Trump promised to end the weaponization of the federal government. To many Americans, prosecutions under the FACE Act have been the prototypical example of this weaponization. The Justice Department conducted a thorough review of internal discussions, case files, and prosecutorial decisions under the Act and concludes that the Biden DOJ weaponized the FACE Act in several ways.
- The Biden DOJ closely collaborated with pro-abortion groups to track pro-life activists’ First Amendment activity. Pro-abortion groups—especially the National Abortion Federation, Planned Parenthood, and Feminist Majority Foundation—capitalized on their relationship with the Biden DOJ to gain internal information and push targets for enforcement. These groups compiled evidence and dossiers that ultimately gave rise to search warrants and charges. The Biden DOJ affirmatively asked pro-abortion groups about pro-life individuals’ travel and constitutionally protected advocacy. The Biden DOJ and career attorneys monitored pro-life activists for years before charging them.
- The Biden DOJ’s prosecutors engaged in inappropriate conduct and comments. Prosecutors knowingly withheld evidence that defense counsel requested to prepare an affirmative defense, tried to screen out jurors based on religion, and authorized aggressive arrest tactics instead of allowing pro-life defendants to self-surrender.
- The Biden DOJ helped a pro-abortion group secure funding. The lead prosecutor on each FACE Act prosecution served as a reference on the National Abortion Federation’s application for a private grant. We found no record of ethics approval for the attorney to take an interest in the financial outcome of a party having business before the Biden DOJ.
- The Biden DOJ pursued significantly harsher sentences for pro-life defendants than violent pro-abortion defendants. The Biden DOJ requested an average sentence of 26.8 months for pro-life defendants, compared to 12.3 months for pro-abortion defendants.
- The Biden DOJ violated the rights of Americans through its biased enforcement of the FACE Act. Though the Act was supposed to protect both pro-choice and pro-life facilities, the Biden DOJ provided extensive support to abortion clinics, while ignoring and downplaying vandalism and attacks against pregnancy resource centers.
The Biden DOJ’s actions were wrong. The Trump Administration and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche are committed to rectifying these wrongs by taking the following actions.
- On January 23, 2025, President Trump issued full and unconditional pardons to many of the pro-life Christians unfairly targeted by the Biden DOJ.
- DOJ has settled civil cases to address the injustices and took personnel action against those responsible.
- DOJ leadership has dismissed, with prejudice, three civil lawsuits against pro-life activists: United States v. Connolly, No. 2:24-cv-04467 (E.D. Penn.); United States v. Zastrow, et al., No. 2:24-cv-00576 (M.D. Fla.); United States v. Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, et al., No. 1:24-cv-00893 (N.D. Ohio).
- The Trump DOJ issued a directive that, moving forward, DOJ prosecutors may only bring abortion-related civil actions and prosecutions under the FACE Act in extraordinary circumstances or in cases presenting significant aggravating factors.
- To prepare this report, DOJ reviewed approximately 700,000 internal records. Acting Attorney General Blanche has approved a limited waiver of privileged information to provide the public the opportunity to review the underlying materials.
“The behavior unearthed in this report is shameful,” said Assistant Attorney General Daniel Burrows, Office of Legal Policy. “Lawyers who should have known better withheld evidence, worked to keep committed religious people off juries, and generally allowed the Department of Justice to be used as the enforcement arm of pro-abortion special interests.”
DOJ is committed to prosecuting crime in a manner that is consistent with its mission to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. Should other affected individuals have concerns, DOJ will assess their allegations without fear or favor.
You can find the report and over 800 pages of exhibits here.
Texas Man Faces Multiple Federal Charges Related to Attack on AI Company and its CEORead the Press Release
A Texas man was charged federally today with attempted damage and destruction of property by means of explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm after he threw a Molotov cocktail at a San Francisco residence and attempted to set a related business on fire on April 10, 2026.
According to the federal criminal complaint filed today, Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, of Spring, Texas, is alleged to have traveled to San Francisco from Texas in order to kill the CEO of a major Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) company. Moreno-Gama allegedly approached the residences of the CEO, threw a Molotov cocktail, and then fled the premises.
“Violence cannot be the norm for expressing disagreement, be it with politics or a technology or any other matter,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “These alleged actions – which damaged property and could well have taken lives – will be aggressively prosecuted.”
After throwing a Molotov cocktail at the CEO’s residences, Moreno-Gama allegedly went to the headquarters of the CEO’s AI company. Moreno-Gama attempted to break the glass doors of the building with a chair and stated that he had come to burn down the location and kill anyone inside.
The complaint describes that when San Francisco Police Department (“SFPD”) officers arrived on scene, they found Moreno-Gama in possession of incendiary devices, a jug of kerosene, a blue lighter, and a document. The first part of the document, entitled “Your Last Warning” by Daniel Moreno-Gama, advocated against AI and for the killing and commission of other crimes against CEOs of AI companies and their investors, listing names and addresses that purported to belong to multiple CEOs and investors. In the document, Moreno-Gama admitted to attempting to kill the victim CEO and requested others to join his movement.
Moreno-Gama ended the document with a letter addressed to the victim CEO, writing “If by some miracle you live, then I would take this as a sign from the divine to redeem yourself…”
Law enforcement later learned that on the same day he committed these attacks, Moreno-Gama also emailed a version of the document to representatives at his former college back in Texas.
“We will not tolerate any attempt to change the way Americans live and work through fear or violence,” said United States Attorney Craig Missakian. “We are only at the beginning of this investigation, but if the evidence shows that Mr. Moreno-Gama executed these attacks to change public policy or to coerce government and other officials, we will treat this as an act of domestic terrorism and together with our law enforcement partners prosecute him to the fullest extent allowed by law.”
“The charges announced today reflect a deeply concerning escalation from intent to action targeting a private residence and a technology company with violence. The FBI will not tolerate threats against our nation’s innovation leaders or the companies that drive our economy forward. Acts of destruction aimed at the tech sector will be met with the full force of law enforcement. This case underscores the strength of our partnership with the San Francisco Police Department. Together, we remain committed to identifying, disrupting, and holding accountable anyone who seeks to bring violence to our communities.” said Federal Bureau of Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo.
A criminal complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Moreno-Gama faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for damage and destruction of property by means of explosives, and a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment for possession of an unregistered firearm. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis James is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by FBI and SFPD.
To view the complaint, click here.
Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Arson and Attempting to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
Today, Regan Darby Prater, 28, currently of Tullahoma, Tennessee, entered a guilty plea to one count of arson and one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Prater pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. Sentencing has been set before U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan for Sept. 9, in Knoxville.
Prater faces up to 20 years in federal prison, along with related fines, restitution, and a term of supervised release to be served after he is released from custody. As part of his agreement, Prater waived indictment by a Federal Grand Jury and agreed to plead guilty to the aforementioned charges.
Court documents establish that Prater used a so-called “sparkler bomb,” i.e., a napalm-based incendiary device ignited by a common sparkler, to destroy facilities maintained by the Highlander Center, a school for grassroots leaders and social movements in New Market, Tennessee. As part of his guilty plea, Prater admitted that he drove from his home in Tullahoma to the Highlander Center, ignited the sparkler bomb, and destroyed a building, ultimately causing over $1.2 million in damage.
Before he detonated the bomb, Prater spray-painted the symbol of the Iron Guard, a 1930s-era paramilitary arm of the Romanian Nazi Party, in the Highlander Center parking lot. This same symbol was engraved on the rifle used in the terrorist attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand, just two weeks prior to the arson. Prater acknowledged that he committed the arson at the Highland Center due to his white-supremacist ideology and as a response to the Highlander Center’s faith-based educational priorities and its association with the Civil Rights Movement.
Separately, Prater also admitted that, in 2019, he attempted to provide material support to Hizballah, also known as “Hezbollah,” which the United States has recognized as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997. Specifically, Prater obtained a document purporting to contain personally identifiable information of over 35,000 individuals purportedly affiliated with the government of Israel. He then provided that document to an individual he believed to be associated with Hizballah, stating, among other things: “Start the hunt.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Nashville Field Office made the announcement.
This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey T. Arrowood and Kyle J. Wilson for the Eastern District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Katherine McCallister of the Civil Rights Division and Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division.
Religious Liberty Commission Holds Final Hearing on the Past, Present, and Future of Religious Liberty in AmericaRead the Press Release
Today, the Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) held its final hearing to discuss the past, present, and future of religious liberty in America.
“Today’s capstone hearing of President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission contained more powerful testimony and discussion about how people of religion are under assault by the secular left," said Chairman Dan Patrick. "It is time to set the record straight: there is no such thing as ‘separation of church and state’ in the Constitution. For too long, the anti-God left has used this phrase to suppress people of religion in our country. During all 7 Commission hearings, witness after witness testified that the so-called ‘separation of church and state’ was used to take their God-given religious liberty rights away."
The witnesses included:
- Clarence Henderson – Clarence Henderson is a community activist with deep roots in the nation’s civil rights affairs. He was a participant in the 1960 Woolworth Lunch Counter Sit-in Movement and now is an outspoken advocate for Pro-Life and Pro-family causes in the black community. A former chairmen of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission of North Carolina; a former fundraising chairman of the Gate City Alumni Chapter for North Carolina A&T State University and former secretary of Dudley High School Hall of Fame, Hall of Distinction for historic James B. Dudley High School in Greensboro, NC, Henderson is a passionate bridge builder who has a history of bringing people together across cultural and political divides. His energetic involvement in his church as Head Elder, New Members Coordinator, Sunday school teacher, and Finance committee member; and his life’s journey as a teacher, college administrator, entrepreneur and motivational speaker has given him a unique perspective on what confronts society today.
- Paul Brintley - Dr. Brintley is the Senior Pastor and founder of Fellowship Church in Dallas, North Carolina. He is the son of the late Bishop L.C. Brintley. He was ordained into the ministry in September 1994 by his father in the Lord, Reverend William N. Podaras. During his mentorship with William Podaras, he attended Duke University School of Divinity where he furthered his studies in the gospel. He also has a Paralegal Degree from Kings College. And a Bachelors of Theology from Agape College. His travels have included South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Canada, Haiti, Israel, Germany, India, London, Zimbabwe, and 30 states in the USA. Through his travels and work in the mission field, He has established a number of churches in India and Africa and provides 100’s of DVD’s and printed materials to strengthen and support those churches. Dr. Brintley has authored a book entitled “Loyalty to the Man of God”. He is married to Celeste Crocker and they have one son, Paul Brintley II.
- Helen Aguirre Ferré - Helen Aguirre Ferré is the Administrator for Government and Public Policy at the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom. She is a bilingual government affairs and communications executive with extensive experience in public policy, institutional leadership, and strategic engagement at the state and national levels.She served as Assistant to the President and Director of Media Affairs in the White House during the first Trump administration, where she was also the Spanish-language spokesperson. She later served as Director of Communications for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Helen also served as Executive Director of the Republican Party of Florida. A former journalist, she has experience across print, radio, and television in both English and Spanish. In her current role, she advances research, dialogue, and policy initiatives that promote economic freedom and informed public discourse.
- Erika Bachiochi - Erika Bachiochi is a legal scholar who works at the intersection of constitutional law, political theory, women’s history, and Catholic social teaching. She is a Professor of Practice at the School for Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University, where she teaches courses in the history of political thought, directs the Mercy Otis Warren Initiative for Women in Civic Life and Thought, and serves as editor-in-chief of its online journal, Fairer Disputations.
- Akshar Patel - Dr. Akshar Patel is an active volunteer with BAPS, a Hindu organization, where he dedicates his time to community service, spiritual development, and humanitarian initiatives. Through his involvement, he practices the values of selfless service, compassion, and integrity, contributing to programs that support individuals and strengthen communities. Furthermore, he helps to ensure that the voices of Hindu Americans are heard and recognized by our civic leaders. Professionally, Dr. Patel is an oncologist devoted to providing thoughtful, patient-centered cancer care based in Maryland. He specializes in delivering advanced, precise treatments while guiding patients and their families during one of the most challenging periods in their lives. By combining clinical expertise with a compassionate approach, he strives to improve outcomes and support patients through every step of their journey.
- Heather Rice-Minus – Heather Rice-Minus first joined Prison Fellowship in 2013. In her role, she leads teams that build partnerships with churches, help strengthen relationships between incarcerated parents and their children, foster partnerships with donors at every level, and advocate for restorative criminal justice reform. Previously, as the head of Prison Fellowship’s advocacy team, she was a leading voice behind the passage of the FIRST STEP Act. A sought-after public speaker on the intersection of faith, justice, and incarceration, Rice-Minus has addressed audiences at national conferences and events including Wilberforce Weekend, Q Ideas Conference, and more. She has also contributed to Christianity Today, Slate, CBN News, The Marshall Project, PBS’ Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, and many other media outlets. Previously, Rice-Minus managed prison reform advocacy efforts at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and taught English in East Africa. She graduated cum laude from Colorado State University with a degree in liberal arts and social work. After earning her J.D. from George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, she became a member of the Virginia State Bar, a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Leadership Network and Faith & Public Life Ideas Council, and a Colson Fellow.
- Sister Mary Elizabeth, S.V. - Sr. Mary Elizabeth joined the Sisters of Life in 1993 after graduating from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, having heard the cardinal talk on campus during her junior year.
- Rabbi Aaron Lipskar - Rabbi Aaron Lipskar serves as Aleph’s Chief Executive Officer, operating out of the organization's headquarters in South Florida. He oversees key aspects of the Aleph Institute, including board and program development, finance and administration, fundraising, communications, and government relations with the Pentagon, the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Department of Corrections nationwide. In 1995, Rabbi Lipskar began serving as an Aleph volunteer, conducting national prison visits, and in 2000, he joined the organization as a full-time employee. A highlight of his Aleph experience was leading High Holiday services at GITMO for Jewish military personnel. After concluding formal Talmudic and rabbinic studies in the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva, Rabbi Lipskar studied in Israel and received rabbinical ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He has taught in the United States, Israel, Canada, and South Africa.
- Helen Alvare - Helen Alvaré is a Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, where she teaches Family Law, Law and Religion, and Property Law. She publishes on matters concerning marriage, parenting, non-marital households, and the First Amendment religion clauses. She is faculty advisor to the law school’s Civil Rights Law Journal, and the Latino/a Law Student Association, a Member of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life (Vatican City), a board member of Catholic Relief Services, a member of the Executive Committee of the AALS’ Section on Law and Religion, and an ABC news consultant. She cooperates with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations as a speaker and a delegate to various United Nations conferences concerning women and the family. In addition to her books, and her publications in law reviews and other academic journals, Professor Alvaré publishes regularly in news outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and CNN.com. She also speaks at academic and professional conferences in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Australia. Prior to joining the faculty of Scalia Law, Professor Alvaré taught at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America; represented the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops before legislative bodies, academic audiences and the media; and was a litigation attorney for the Philadelphia law firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young.
- Ms. Oriel Ekşi - Oriel Ekşi is a managing partner with The Woolf Group, specializing in legislative strategy, coalition building, and non-profit development. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Justice Administration from the University of Louisville and brings extensive experience in operations management, grant development, and public speaking. Oriel works with organizations across the country to advance policy initiatives, strengthen programs, and drive sustainable growth.
Justice Department Sues Connecticut, City of New Haven over Sanctuary PoliciesRead the Press Release
Yesterday, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Connecticut, Governor Lamont, Attorney General Tong, the City of New Haven, and Mayor Elicker to challenge the State’s and City’s sanctuary policies that interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws.
The complaint targets Connecticut’s so-called “Trust Act,” as well as other state and local sanctuary policies. Not only are the policies illegal under federal law, but, as alleged in the complaint, they have allowed dangerous criminals to be released into Connecticut communities. The State’s and City’s intentional efforts to obstruct federal law enforcement put citizens at risk and are preempted under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“For years, Connecticut communities have paid the price of these misguided sanctuary policies,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This lawsuit seeks to end such open defiance of federal law.”
The case, filed in the District of Connecticut, is the latest action from the Justice Department targeting illegal sanctuary policies across the country, including Minnesota, Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, New York State, Colorado, Illinois, Rochester, and several New Jersey cities.
Read the full complaint here.
Three Family Members Plead Guilty to Smuggling Drugs into PrisonRead the Press Release
A District of Columbia (D.C.) inmate, his mother, and his brother pleaded guilty yesterday to drug conspiracy and the smuggling of contraband into the District of Columbia Central Detention Facility (CDF) in 2023.
According to statements made in court, on May 23, 2023, D.C. correction officers seized approximately 31 sheets of paper soaked in a synthetic cannabinoid and a mixture or substance containing fentanyl and heroin from the cell of Malique Lewis, 28, of D.C., when Malique was an inmate at the CDF. At the time, Malique was awaiting trial on kidnapping, murder, and firearm charges. He has since been convicted of those charges and is serving a life sentence.
In furtherance of the conspiracy and to facilitate the introduction of controlled substances into the CDF, Malique Lewis communicated with his mother, Teleka Lewis, 47, and his brother, Michael Lewis, 32, both of D.C., as well as the drug supplier, through third-party calling prison accounts. Malique and Teleka arranged to have Michael pack an accordion style legal folder with controlled substances that were disguised as “legal papers” to enable their introduction into the CDF and delivery to Malique. Teleka then delivered this folder to Malique’s legal counsel so that it could be covertly introduced into the prison facility and delivered to Malique. There is no evidence that the lawyer knew that the papers were laced with drugs. Malique intended to distribute, and did distribute, controlled substances to other inmates at the CDF.
Teleka, at Malique’s direction, also managed the proceeds and finances derived from the scheme on Malique’s behalf, including by receiving and making payments for the drugs that were sold inside the CDF through online payment services such as Cash App and Apple Pay.
Malique and Teleka pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute controlled substances, to include fentanyl, heroin, and synthetic cannabinoids, within a federally contracted prison. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 21 where they both face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Michael pleaded guilty to providing contraband in a prison, a misdemeanor crime. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 21 and faces a maximum penalty of one year 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 A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent Jeffrey Lee Tyler of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Washington Field Office and D.C. Department of Corrections Office of Investigative Services are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Brian P. Leaming and Jared Hernandez of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case.
Rhode Island Man Sentenced for Years-Long Bank Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A Rhode Island man was sentenced yesterday to 28 months in prison for deceiving banks by artificially inflating his company’s sales numbers to avoid bank scrutiny over its excessive consumer chargebacks.
According to court documents, Michael Brian Cotter, 64, of Greenville, Rhode Island, was CEO of a tech support company that operated from a call center in India. In 2016, when banks began restricting the company’s ability to process debit and credit card payments because of fraud and chargeback concerns, Cotter and his co-conspirators began purchasing virtual debit cards to run thousands of sham transactions on their own merchant accounts. In doing so, Cotter artificially inflated the company’s sales numbers to make it appear to banks and their agents that the company’s chargeback ratios — a key metric used by banks to detect fraud — were within acceptable levels. Although this tactic amounted to the company effectively paying itself, Cotter used actual customer personal identifying information, without customers’ knowledge or consent, to disguise the transactions from banks by making them appear like legitimate sales.
Cotter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the United States Postal Inspection Service Criminal Investigations Group (USPIS CIG) made the announcement.
The USPIS investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Jason Feldman and Shana Priore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Challenging Biden State Department’s Alleged Social Media CensorshipRead the Press Release
The Justice Department this week announced the settlement of litigation alleging that the Biden State Department actively silenced and censored disfavored speech by American citizens, in particular through its now-closed “Global Engagement Center.” The lawsuit alleged that the prior administration funded and promoted private companies’ development of technologies that social media companies and other private entities could use to downgrade, demonetize, and otherwise suppress protected speech online. Among other claims, plaintiffs alleged these actions violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The settlement implements President Trump’s Executive Order, entitled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” acknowledging that “the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms. Under the guise of combatting ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and ‘malinformation,’ the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government’s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate.” 90 Fed. Reg. 8243 (Jan. 28, 2025).
“The weaponization of the Biden Administration against the American people who they disfavored is over,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This settlement is righting the historic wrong that they perpetrated against Americans, and today we say ‘never again’ will we tolerate these injustices.”
“The Biden Administration muted speech it didn’t like. But progressive elites cannot oust conservative viewpoints from the public square,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. “These settlements are yet another example of DOJ making good on President Trump’s promise to end weaponization against ordinary Americans, ensuring all of our Nation’s citizens may speak freely.”
“The Department of Justice will continue vindicating Americans’ right to free speech,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, of the Civil Division. “The Federal Government has no business promoting and funding tools to censor domestic media or citizens. This resolution ensures the unlawful practices at issue will not recur.”
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found good cause for plaintiffs to take discovery in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction after denying the government’s motions to dismiss and to transfer venue. Now, the Department’s agreement with plaintiffs avoids the need for continued litigation in this case. Daily Wire v. Dep’t of State, No. 6:23-cv-609 (E.D. Tex.).
Securing the right of the American people to engage in constitutionally protected speech is a priority of the Department of Justice. Additional information about the Civil Division is available at www.justice.gov/civil.
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Washtenaw County, Michigan for Interfering with Federal Immigration LawsRead the Press Release
Yesterday, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the County of Washtenaw, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia M. Dyer, the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Slavit, and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, over Washtenaw County’s policies, orders, and resolutions that promote aliens over citizens and obstruct the Executive’s enforcement of our Nation’s immigration laws.
Not only are Washtenaw County’s “sanctuary” policies illegal under federal law, the policies shield criminal illegal aliens from apprehension by federal law enforcement. As alleged in the complaint, Washtenaw County’s ban on cooperation with federal immigration authorities has resulted in the release onto American streets of dangerous criminals from police custody who would otherwise be subject to removal, including illegal aliens convicted of criminal sexual conduct with a child under thirteen years old, sexual assault, domestic violence, and DUI.
Washtenaw County’s policies prioritize the illegal alien over the safety of its own American citizens. The County’s failure to honor ICE detainers endangers the public and places federal officers at great risk. Illegal aliens, previously in Washtenaw County custody but released without being transferred to ICE custody, have been re-apprehended by federal officers only after the illegal aliens attempted to flee from federal officers both on foot and in vehicles. In at least one instance, an illegal alien rammed federal vehicles with his own in an attempt to escape. This chaos is entirely avoidable if Washtenaw County acted with common sense rather than political theater.
“Federal agents are risking their lives to keep Michigan citizens safe, and yet Washtenaw County’s leaders are enacting policies designed to obstruct and endanger law enforcement,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Counties may not deliberately interfere with our efforts to remove illegal aliens and arrest criminals — Washtenaw’s sanctuary policies will not stand.”
Today’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of 14 other suits brought by the Department in the last year targeting illegal sanctuary policies across the country, including in New York, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Boston, and New Jersey.
Acting Attorney General Blanche has vowed to continue bringing litigation to end sanctuary policies nationwide. In keeping President Trump’s campaign promise to the American people to heal our Nation from Biden’s open-border policies, the Department will continue working to identify state and local laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal immigration laws or impede lawful federal immigration operations. “Our efforts will not end until every sanctuary city’s lawless insurrection against the supremacy of Federal law and the Executive’s duty to take care over immigration matters ceases,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
IBM Pays $17 Million to Resolve Allegations of Discrimination Through Illegal DEI PracticesRead the Press Release
Today, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the first False Claims Act resolution secured under the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which he launched in May 2025. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has agreed to pay the United States $17,077,043, inclusive of civil penalties, to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by failing to comply with anti-discrimination requirements in its federal contracts due to practices the United States contends discriminated against employees and applicants for employment because of race, color, national origin, or sex.
Most federal contracts contain provisions that require contractors to comply with anti-discrimination requirements as to employees and applicants for employment. As a condition to being a federal contractor, the company must certify that it will not discriminate against an employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, national origin, or sex and must further certify that it will take steps to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to race, color, national origin, or sex. The settlement resolves allegations that IBM failed to comply with these requirements and knowingly maintained practices that the United States contends were discriminatory employment practices.
“Racial discrimination is illegal, and government contractors cannot evade the law by repackaging it as DEI,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Department launched the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative to root out this misconduct, hold offenders accountable, and end this practice for good.”
In connection with the settlement, the United States acknowledged that IBM took significant steps entitling it to credit for cooperating with the government in its investigation. IBM made early disclosures of facts relevant to the government’s investigation gathered during IBM’s independent investigation, including information to assist in the calculation of damages and penalties. The company also undertook voluntary remedial measures, including the termination and/or modification of various programs and practices at issue.
“Merit drives promotion and opportunity. Not someone’s sex or race,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “Today’s settlement proves this Department’s commitment to ensure companies are not using taxpayer funded work to further woke unconstitutional practices in American workplaces.”
“The Nation’s anti-discrimination laws are clear and reflect our basic commitment that opportunity, compensation, and advancement should turn on merit and performance, and not immutable characteristics,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brenna E. Jenny. “When a company accepts federal funding while engaging in practices that sort, prefer, or disadvantage employees on the basis of race or sex, the company is stepping outside the conditions under which the government agreed to contract with them, and we will hold them accountable.”
The United States alleged that IBM took race, color, national origin, or sex into account when making employment decisions, including by using a diversity modifier that tied bonus compensation to achieving demographic targets. The government further alleged that IBM altered interview criteria based on race or sex through the use of “diverse interview slates” and other related employment practices in connection with identifying “diverse” candidates for hiring, transfer, or promotion. Additionally, the government alleged that IBM developed race and sex demographic goals for business units and took race and sex into account when making employment decisions to achieve progress towards those demographic goals. Finally, the United States alleged that IBM offered certain training, partnerships, mentoring, leadership development programs and educational opportunities only to certain employees, with eligibility, participation, access or admission limited on the basis of race or sex.
The settlement can be viewed here.
The matter was handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section.
The claims resolved by the United States in the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Justice Department Prosecutes a Half-Billion Dollars in Healthcare and COVID Fraud Schemes Exploiting Taxpayer Funded ProgramsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today three separate civil and criminal actions to hold two companies and two individual defendants accountable for schemes that attempted to fraudulently bill taxpayer-funded programs of over $500 million.
Department of Justice efforts support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
“Thanks to the leadership of President Donald Trump, the Department, working closely with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, is supercharging efforts to take down every fraudster and bring them to justice,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “In one day, the Department prosecuted the theft of a half-billion in taxpayer dollars. All those ripping off the American people are on notice.”
National Partnership of Insurance Brokers and its Former Subsidiary Agree to Pay Over $135 Million For Affordable Care Act Enrollment Fraud Scheme
AP of South Florida, LLC (APSF), an insurance brokerage company headquartered in Florida, has agreed to plead guilty for its role in an Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment fraud scheme. APSF, through its highest-ranking executives, preyed on thousands of vulnerable consumers to fraudulently enroll them into fully subsidized ACA plans, for which the federal government awarded $141.5 million in unwarranted subsidies. In a parallel civil resolution, AssuredPartners, Inc., a national partnership of insurance brokers and the then-parent company of APSF, agreed to pay $107 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting fraudulent ACA health insurance plan applications. AssuredPartners, Inc., is not charged in the criminal information.
The Criminal Case
The federal government offers subsidies to help eligible beneficiaries pay for health insurance plans. These subsidies are offered as tax credits to beneficiaries or as payments to insurers as Advanced Premium Tax Credits (APTCs). APTCs are paid directly to insurance plans by the federal government in the form of a payment toward the beneficiary’s applicable monthly premium.
A criminal information was filed yesterday charging APSF with one count of major fraud against the United States. APSF has agreed to resolve the criminal charge by pleading guilty and paying restitution of $27.6 million. As part of its plea agreement, APSF admitted that, through certain of its executives and employees, APSF knowingly and intentionally defrauded the federal government. According to court documents, APSF targeted vulnerable, low-income individuals experiencing homelessness, unemployment, and mental health and substance abuse disorders, and, through “street marketers” working on APSF’s behalf, sometimes offered cash and gift cards to induce those individuals to enroll in subsidized ACA plans. APSF enrolled these vulnerable consumers in ACA plans that were fully subsidized by the federal government by submitting false and fraudulent applications for individuals whose income did not meet the minimum requirements to be eligible for the subsidies. As a result of being enrolled in subsidized ACA plans for which they did not qualify, some of these consumers experienced serious disruptions in their medical care or prior insurance coverage under Medicaid or other programs. Some consumers who APSF fraudulently enrolled into fully subsidized ACA plans lost access to free health benefits through Medicaid or local assistance programs, and as a result, these consumers faced increased costs in accessing HIV medication, medication to treat opioid dependence and medication to treat mental health disorders. At times, consumers faced unaffordable co-pays and other costs because APSF enrolled these consumers in plans without regard to the consumers’ medical needs, the availability of other programs (including Medicaid and local assistance programs) and the consumers’ ability to pay out-of-pocket costs.
FBI, HHS-OIG and IRS-CI are investigating the criminal case.
The Civil Case
The False Claims Act settlement resolves allegations that, from February 2021 through September 2022, APSF knowingly submitted false or fraudulent applications for subsidized ACA plans on behalf of thousands of consumers in order to obtain commissions and bonus payments from insurers. APSF contracted with “street marketers” who targeted homeless shelters, bus stops, drug treatment clinics and similar locations. The marketers offered incentives, such as cash or gift cards, to individuals to enroll in subsidized ACA plans or to provide their personal information so that APSF could submit applications on their behalf. APSF employees then submitted applications falsely representing that the consumers would make a minimum income amount just over the federal poverty line in order to cause the government to pay the highest subsidy amount.
APSF employees also knowingly submitted false information to Florida’s Medicaid program in order to generate letters stating that the applicant was denied Medicaid coverage and then used these letters as a qualifying event to trigger a Special Enrollment Period, which allowed APSF to submit applications for ACA plans outside of the normal enrollment periods. APSF employees also evaded the federal government’s attempts to verify information in consumers’ ACA applications by submitting false information in response to inquiries from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services when it sought to verify the false information (including income information) submitted by APSF. Some consumers experienced disruptions in their medical care as a result of being enrolled by APSF in subsidized ACA plans that did not provide coverage for their medical needs. APSF received commissions, bonuses, and/or other payments for consumers it enrolled in ACA plans, and a significant portion of APSF’s revenues from these fraudulently obtained payments flowed up to its then-parent corporation, AssuredPartners.
The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to bring suit on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower will receive $24.3 million as their share of the recovery in this case.
The claims resolved by the civil settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability in the civil settlement.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Orchestrating $270M Medication Reimbursement Fraud Scheme
A California man pleaded guilty yesterday to submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent claims over an 11-month span to California’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) for expensive prescription drugs that were medically unnecessary and, in many instances, not provided to the purported recipients.
According to court documents, Paul Randall, 66, of Orange, along with pharmacist and pharmacy owner Kyrollos Mekail, 37, of Moreno Valley, and nurse practitioner Patricia Anderson, 58, of West Hills, exploited Medi-Cal’s suspension of its requirement that health care providers obtain prior authorization before providing certain medications at the beginning of 2022. Medi-Cal temporarily suspended the requirement as part of a transition to a new payment system. Using a business called Monte Vista Pharmacy, which Mekail owned, Randall and his co-schemers billed Medi-Cal tens of millions of dollars per month for purportedly dispensing high-reimbursement drugs containing cheap, generic ingredients that were manufactured in unique dosages, combinations or package quantities and were not included in the applicable maximum price lists that cap Medi-Cal reimbursements.
In furtherance of the scheme, Randall paid illegal kickbacks to patient marketers in exchange for Medi-Cal beneficiary information and thereafter paid illegal kickbacks to Anderson to sign pre-filled prescriptions for 19 high-reimbursement, non-contracted, generic drugs. Anderson never met the patients, reviewed their medical records or otherwise determined that the medications were medically necessary before signing the prescriptions. The medications, which included pain creams and Folite tablets, a vitamin available over the counter, were billed for thousands of dollars each, including approximately $13,424 for one prescription of meloxicam 5 mg, a generic drug that typically costs between $5 and $25 for a 30-day supply in larger dosages.
Randall received a portion of Monte Vista’s reimbursements from Medi-Cal, at times equaling approximately 40% of Monte Vista’s profit from the false and fraudulent claims. Randall admitted in his plea agreement that he caused at least $269,120,829 in false and fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal from May 2022 to April 2023, of which Medi-Cal paid at least approximately $178,746,556. Randall also admitted that he committed the offense while on release in another criminal case.
Randall and others laundered their illicit proceeds by transferring the money to a third party to pay kickbacks to Anderson in an attempt to conceal the crime from law enforcement.
In his plea agreement, Randall agreed to forfeit property obtained from the fraud, including bank account balances exceeding $17 million, three vehicles, seven real properties, and sports memorabilia. To date, the government has seized approximately $126.5 million in assets that Randall and his co-schemers accumulated from the scheme, including $111 million in bank funds and securities, nine luxury vehicles totaling approximately $1 million, nine luxury real properties totaling approximately $13.5 million, and more than $1 million worth of sports memorabilia.
Randall pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Relatedly, in August 2024, Mekail pleaded guilty to two counts of health care fraud and awaits sentencing. In April 2025, Anderson pleaded guilty to two counts of health care fraud and also awaits sentencing.
The FBI, HHS-OIG, and the California Department of Justice are investigating the case.
Business Owner Sentenced to Over Four Years in Prison for $100M COVID-19 Tax Credit Scheme
A Nevada woman was sentenced yesterday to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiring to defraud the United States by fraudulently claiming nearly $100 million in COVID-19 related employment tax credits.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Candies Goode-McCoy, formerly of Las Vegas, conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit and paid sick and family leave credit, credits which Congress created to aid struggling businesses during the COVID-19 global pandemic. From approximately June 2022 through September 2023, McCoy filed more than 1,200 tax returns for her own businesses and those of others, which falsely claimed these credits and sought refunds totaling more than $98 million.
In total, the IRS paid out approximately $33 million as a result of the scheme. Personally, Goode-McCoy received over $1.3 million in fraudulent refunds. She also received approximately $800,000 from clients for filing fraudulent returns. McCoy used the proceeds to pay for vacations, luxury cars and other luxury goods, and to gamble at casinos.
Goode-McCoy pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims. In addition to the term of imprisonment, McCoy was ordered to pay the IRS $26,022,188 in restitution.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration investigated the case.
Co-Founder of CJNG Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A California man and co-founder of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, one of the world’s most prolific cartels and a designated foreign terrorist organization, pleaded guilty today to federal narcotics charges.
According to court documents, Erick Valencia-Salazar, also known as “El 85,” 49, of Santa Clara, California, is a co-founder of the Mexico-based drug trafficking organization, the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), which the State Department in February 2025 designated as a foreign terrorist organization. As a leader of CJNG, Valencia-Salazar recruited new CJNG members. He also used information about rival cartels to locate and kill CJNG’s enemies and gain control of all drug trafficking operations in particular territories in Mexico. Valencia-Salazar also conspired to send thousands of kilograms of cocaine to the United States for the CJNG.
Before forming the CJNG, Valencia-Salazar was a member of the Milenio Cartel, another Mexico-based drug trafficking organization. In the Milenio Cartel, Valencia-Salazar regularly distributed pistols and rifles, including AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, to the cartel’s gunmen, also known as “sicarios,” to use in battles with rival cartels. In doing so, Valencia-Salazar supported the Milenio Cartel’s efforts to send multi-ton shipments of cocaine from South America into Mexico each year and then import most of that cocaine into the United States for further distribution.
“Erick Valencia-Salazar co-founded the CJNG, one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, which shipped tons of cocaine into the United States and inflicted immeasurable damage on our country,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Valencia-Salazar was also responsible for furthering the rampant violence in Mexico, at the expense of people’s lives and the safety of communities, that helped destabilize the region and allow crime to flourish. Today’s conviction is yet another example of the Criminal Division’s efforts in disrupting and dismantling transnational drug trafficking organizations that harm the American people.”
“Erick Valencia-Salazar helped build CJNG into a ruthless organization that uses violence as a business model — murdering for control in Mexico while flooding the United States with poison,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “CJNG is a designated terrorist organization. They do not just traffic deadly drugs — including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine — they spread violence, fear, and instability on both sides of the border. This guilty plea marks another step in holding its leadership accountable. DEA will continue to target the leaders, financiers, and enablers of these organizations until they are brought to justice and their networks are dismantled.”
Valencia-Salazar pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for unlawful importation into the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 31 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit Los Angeles is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance to Salazar’s February 2025 transfer from Mexico to the United States pursuant to Mexico’s National Security law.
Trial Attorneys Kaitlin Sahni, Lernik Begian, Douglas Meisel, and Nicole Lockhart of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section are prosecuting the case.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.
MNF’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Unit investigates and prosecutes the top command and control elements of international drug cartels, drug trafficking organizations and related transnational criminal organizations.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Homeland Security Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Civil Rights Division Obtains Settlement with Company that Discouraged U.S. Workers from Applying for JobsRead the Press Release
The United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced that it has secured a $313,420 settlement agreement with Compunnel Software Group, Inc., a New Jersey based professional services provider. The settlement addresses allegations that the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when some of its recruiters posted job advertisements for positions in the United States that included citizenship status restrictions not authorized by law. The explicitly discriminatory language in some of the ads excluded U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents from consideration for desirable employment opportunities while favoring those with H-1B or other temporary visas. Under the settlement agreement, Compunnel has agreed to pay $58,000 in back pay to the Charging Party, a U.S. Citizen who was excluded from consideration for a position as a Python Developer based on his citizenship status. It has also agreed to pay civil penalties to the United States Treasury in the amount of $255,420. Compunnel has agreed to other injunctive relief and has already taken steps to train and monitor its recruiters, as well as enhance compliance systems to prevent future discrimination.
“It’s illegal to discourage U.S. workers from applying for American jobs,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Employers cannot exclude U.S. workers from the labor force by discriminating against them based on their citizenship status. Employers must design recruitment, training, and compliance practices to ensure adherence to federal civil rights laws.”
This settlement is the ninth settlement since the Department re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025 to enforce the INA’s prohibition on citizenship status discrimination against companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with employment visas. Under these settlements, the Department obtains civil penalties for each violation and will continue to seek the maximum penalty permitted by law. The settlements also involve awards of back pay, when warranted, and require employers to conduct comprehensive training for relevant staff and recruiters and cease restricting consideration for job opportunities based on workers’ citizenship status without a lawful reason.
For information about additional settlements under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, visit IER’s website.
For informal assistance, the public can call IER’s free hotline at 1-800-255-7688 for workers or at 1-800-255-8155 for employers (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired between 9am and 5pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email [email protected]; or visit www.justice.gov/ier.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche Issues Memorandum on the Creation of the National Fraud Enforcement DivisionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche today released a Memorandum on the Creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
Read the full memo.
The core mission of the National Fraud Enforcement Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. The National Fraud Enforcement Division will fulfill that mission by coordinating with agencies responsible for administering benefit programs; partnering with federal, tribal, state, territorial, and local law enforcement on fraud-fighting efforts; developing systems and processes that ensure efficient identification of fraud against taxpayer dollars; and equipping prosecutors and law enforcement with state-of-the-art tools and resources needed to bring criminal actors to justice. The attorneys in the National Fraud Enforcement Division will work every day to protect the financial integrity of our government and the tax system that supports it.
Department of Justice efforts support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Former Guam Customs Officer Sentenced to 235 Months in Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Hagåtña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Jesus K. Paulino, Jr. (“Paulino”), age 36, from Dededo, Guam was sentenced, to serve 235 months in federal prison. On December 10, 2025, Paulino was convicted by a jury in the District Court of Guam for Attempted Possession with the Intent to Distribute Fifty or More Grams of Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). The Court also ordered five years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.
On February 19, 2025, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) obtained a search warrant and discovered approximately 14,533 net grams—roughly 32 pounds—of methamphetamine concealed inside a U.S. priority mail package addressed to another person at Mailhub, Oka, Tamuning. The drugs were removed from the package, replaced with sham material, and fitted with a court authorized tracking device as part of an ongoing investigation.
On February 26, 2025, law enforcement observed Paulino carrying the package at Mailhub and placing it in a Toyota 4‑Runner. Paulino dropped off a female passenger and drove around Tamuning and Tumon before arriving at his residence in Tamuning.
On the afternoon of February 27, 2025, law enforcement was alerted that the package had been opened. Officers knocked on the door of the residence, secured the location, and obtained a warrant to search the residence. Authorities seized the package, its contents, the tracking device, two electronic scales, a cellular phone, an Apple iPad, and a SIM card. A search of Paulino’s vehicle revealed trace residue that tested positive for MDMA. Paulino was found with visible amounts of clue spray on his clothing, arms, and hands.
Paulino, was previously employed as a Guam Customs and Quarantine Officer. During that time, he was convicted of Conspiracy to Defraud and Deprive Honest Services, in violation of federal law, in connection with the smuggling of untaxed cigarette shipments from the Philippines.
“Our aggressive mail-stream interdiction efforts removed this drug dealer from Guam for decades,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “The lengthy sentence was warranted by the weight of drugs shipped and Paulino’s troubling history. This case is another example of the many successes of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative that keeps our communities safe.”
“Postal inspectors will not relent when drug traffickers attempt to mail controlled substances that harm our communities and endanger postal workers,” said Stephen Sherwood, Postal Inspector in Charge of the San Francisco Division. “I extend my sincere appreciation to the members of the Guam Interdictions Anti-Narcotics Trafficking Task Force (GIANT TF)—including the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency, the Guam Police Department, and the Guam Army National Guard Counterdrug Program—for their dedication and collaboration. I also thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Guam and our federal law enforcement partners for their invaluable teamwork in bringing this offender to justice.”
“This case highlights how HSI works every day to keep our community safe from criminal organizations. By teaming up with other agencies through the Homeland Security Task Force, we’re able to tackle these threats together. HSI is committed to finding and stopping criminal networks that put Guam and the United States at risk,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas.
“The defendant attempted to exploit the U.S. mail system, making a calculated effort to expand distribution, which endangered countless lives,” said ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Blais. “ATF will hold these traffickers accountable, and we remain committed to disrupting drug distribution at every level.”
“Through coordinated efforts and strong partnerships, this individual has been brought to justice for trafficking destructive narcotics that endanger the health and wellbeing of our island community. Drug peddlers, regardless of occupation or status, will be pursued and held accountable for the devastation they cause,” said Anthony Chrysanthis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division, which oversees Guam. “DEA is in lockstep with our HSTF partners, remaining ever committed to disrupting global drug networks and halting the flow of methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs.”
This investigation was led by United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) with key participation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), Guam Police Department Special Investigations Section, and the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency.
Assistant United States Attorney Rosetta L. San Nicolas prosecuted the case in the District of Guam.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. HSTF Guam comprises agents and officers Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), United States Marshals Service (USMS), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the United States Secret Service (USSS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Chinese Nationals Sentenced for Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
Saipan, M.P. – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that Dong Han, age 52, and Yinhua Yang, age 49, both Chinese nationals, were sentenced on March 26, 2026, in the U.S. District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. Han is a lawful permanent resident married to a U.S. citizen.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona sentenced Han and Yang to 36 months imprisonment each for Conspiracy to Possess Five Grams or More of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute, within 1,000 feet of an Elementary School, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B)(viii), 846, and 860(a). Both defendants were also sentenced to one year of supervised release, 50 hours community service, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating the defendants in March 2025 after receiving information from a cooperating defendant about methamphetamine trafficking in Saipan. The cooperating defendant identified Han as a methamphetamine distributor and reported purchasing drugs from him on several occasions.
Investigators later determined that Han was working with Yang, the manager of a business known as Smile Bar in the Paseo de Marianas in Saipan. Surveillance, business records, and information from the CNMI Department of Public Safety confirmed Yang’s connection to the establishment.
In April 2025, law enforcement monitored a meeting at Smile Bar during which Han offered to sell methamphetamine to the cooperating defendant. On May 9, 2025, while under law enforcement supervision, the cooperating defendant met with Han and Yang at Smile Bar and provided $1,000 for methamphetamine. Yang later directed the cooperating defendant to retrieve the drugs near a stairwell of the business. The cooperating defendant obtained 10.3 grams of methamphetamine packaged inside a cigarette pack.
“Law enforcement continues to combat drug trafficking by foreign nationals in the CNMI,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “As this case demonstrates, we will seek sentencing enhancements to hold drug dealers fully accountable for their unlawful conduct. I commend the work of this multi-agency team in bringing these defendants to justice.”
“This sentencing sends a stern message to criminals who peddle dangerous drugs and endanger the safety and wellbeing of our communities. The fact that these drug traffickers were conducting illicit activity within yards of a school was especially concerning,” said Anthony Chrysanthis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Division, which oversees Guam. “Eventually, they were held accountable for their actions. The strong partnership between local, state, and federal agencies demonstrates DEA’s relentless commitment to bringing drug criminals to justice and halting the flow of methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs.”
This investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, in collaboration with the CNMI Department of Public Safety.
Assistant United States Attorney Albert S. Flores, Jr. and Assistant United States Attorney Eric S. O’Malley prosecuted this case in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Trinity Hospital Agrees to Pay $1.7M to Resolve Alleged Stark Law ViolationsRead the Press Release
Trinity Hospital Holding Company (Trinity) has agreed to pay the United States $1.7 million to resolve allegations relating to improper financial relationships between Trinity and two referring physicians. Trinity operates a hospital located in Steubenville, Ohio. Trinity disclosed the arrangements at issue to the government following an independent investigation.
The Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, prohibits hospitals from billing for certain services referred by physicians with whom the hospital has a financial relationship, unless that relationship satisfies one of the law’s statutory or regulatory exceptions. The settlement resolves allegations that from 2014 through 2020 Trinity made improper financial contributions to two referring physicians in the form of rental arrangements for office space. The United States alleged that these arrangements violated the Stark Law because the rental arrangements exceeded fair market value.
“The Stark Law is designed to ensure that decisions about patient care are not influenced by physicians’ personal financial interest,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “As this settlement reflects, we will hold accountable those who violate these important safeguards, but we will also give credit when resolving such misconduct to those who fully disclose their mistakes, take appropriate remedial actions, and meaningfully cooperate with the government’s investigation.”
In connection with the settlement, the United States acknowledged that Trinity took significant steps entitling it to credit for cooperating with the government. Following an internal compliance review and independent investigation, Trinity promptly took remedial action, disclosed the relevant arrangements to the government, and cooperated with the government’s investigation.
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 Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The matter was handled by Fraud Section Senior Trial Counsel David Finkelstein.
The claims resolved by the United States in the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Texas Doctor Charged with Illegally Distributing Millions of Opioid PillsRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in the Southern District of Texas charging James Robles, 70, of Weslaco, Texas, with operating a cash-only clinic in Houston that he used to sell prescriptions for controlled substances.
According to court documents, Robles, a medical doctor licensed to practice in Texas, conspired with others to illegally prescribe oxycodone, hydrocodone and carisoprodol – all controlled substances with substantial street value that were in high demand on Houston’s black market. Operating from his cash-only Houston clinic, Robles allegedly sold prescriptions to “crew leaders” who recruited others to pose as patients, filled Robles’ prescriptions at complicit pharmacies and resold the drugs on the black market. As alleged, Robles often did not see or examine his purported patients before prescribing them opioids and other controlled substances. In just over four years, Robles allegedly prescribed approximately 2.9 million pills of hydrocodone, 1.3 million pills of oxycodone and 1.1 million pills of carisoprodol. In less than three years of the conspiracy, more than $2 million in cash was deposited into bank accounts controlled by Robles.
Robles is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances, one count of distributing and dispensing controlled substances and one count of maintaining a drug involved premises. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Brian C. Leardo of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made the announcement.
DEA is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Angela Benoit and Andrew Pennebaker 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, currently comprised of eight strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 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 www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
New Orleans Man Sentenced for Federal Weapons ViolationRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –NOLAN LONG (“LONG”), age 34, was sentenced on March 24, 2026 by U.S. District Judge Darryl J. Papillion to 15 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, along with a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, after previously pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).
According to court documents, on January 10, 2023, New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) detectives observed a group of individuals, including LONG, exhibiting signs that they were carrying concealed firearms. When marked NOPD units arrived in the area to investigate, LONG fled on foot and discarded a loaded Walther P22, .22 caliber pistol before being apprehended. LONG is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his felony conviction for simple robbery and a prior felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
New Orleans Man Guilty of Two Counts of Firearm Possession in Furtherance of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA –TYRONE WHITTINGTON (“WHITTINGTON”), age 40, pleaded guilty on March 26, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier to two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i).
According to court documents, WHITTINGTON was arrested by New Orleans Police officers on August 19, 2023, and by Louisiana State Police troopers on December 30, 2024. For each of those arrests, WHITTINGTON was in possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine that he intended to distribute, as well as two handguns that furthered those drug-trafficking crimes.
As to each conviction, WHITTINGTON faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to life in prison, which must run consecutively to each other and any other sentence, up to a $250,000 fine, up to five years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Louisiana State Police, and the New Orleans Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Florida-Based Return PreparerRead the Press Release
Note: View complaint here.
The United States filed a complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking to enjoin a Florida-based return preparer, Glicerio D. Mirambel, from preparing federal income tax returns for others.
The complaint alleges that Mirambel prepares federal income tax returns that underreport the tax his customers owe and claim inflated refunds. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Mirambel attaches Schedules C for fictitious businesses to his customers’ return and claims fabricated business expenses to reduce his customers’ taxable income and claim credits to which they are not entitled. The complaint also alleges that the IRS has assessed tax return preparer penalties against Mirambel, but the penalties have not deterred his abusive conduct.
According to the complaint, the IRS estimates a tax loss of more than $16 million since 2023 from returns prepared by Mirambel.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Wu of the Civil Division’s Tax Litigation Branch made the announcement.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.
In the past decade, the Department of Justice Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.
Mirambel Complaint.pdfJustice Department Intervenes in Lawsuit Accusing Missouri State High School Activities Association of Race and Sex Discrimination in Selecting Board MembersRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division (“DOJ”) intervened in a lawsuit today against the Missouri State High School Activities Association (“MSHSAA”), accusing MSHSAA of illegally classifying prospective board members based on race and sex MSHSAA is a nonprofit association of schools that governs interscholastic competitions in Missouri. MSHSAA’s constitution provides that board members for at-large seats “shall be filled by a candidate representing the under-represented gender of the current Board, or an under-represented ethnicity.” Dr. Merlyn Johnson, a white male, sued MSHSAA after he was nominated for the board, and MSHSAA disqualified him because of his race and sex.
"MSHSAA refused to allow Dr. Johnson to run for the board of directors solely because he is a white male,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Racial and sexual quotas are offensive, demeaning — and most importantly, illegal. They are especially harmful when they exclude qualified candidates such as Dr. Johnson from public service.”
The lawsuit alleges that MSHSAA has violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by discriminating against Dr. Johnson. DOJ argues that MSHSAA is a state actor that lacks a compelling interest in having a “diverse” board of directors. DOJ asks the court to enjoin MSHSAA from disqualifying board candidates on the basis of race or sex.
Justice Department Announces Operation Not Forgotten 2026Read the Press Release
The Department of Justice and FBI announced today a personnel surge in support of Operation Not Forgotten 2026, the latest deployment under Operation Steadfast Promise demonstrating the FBI's sustained commitment to addressing violent crime and improving public safety in Indian Country.
In its fourth year, Operation Not Forgotten focuses on unresolved cases in Indian Country with a priority placed on cases involving violence against women and children, including those who are missing or murdered.
Operation Not Forgotten is a major initiative under FBI’s Operation Steadfast Promise, a comprehensive surge of resources to address a wide range of violent crime threats including gangs and criminal enterprises, violent crimes against children, and fugitive apprehension cases, while working to improve public safety measures impacting Tribal communities. The FBI, in coordination with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Tribal and other federal law enforcement partners, is working across multiple territories to bring investigative aid to cases and resolution for victims and their families.
“We will never accept the high rates of violence suffered by American Indian and Alaska Native people,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This surge will comprehensively address Indian Country violent crime – from gangs, guns and drugs, to domestic and sexual violence – while strengthening partnerships and public safety in Tribal communities.”
“For far too long our tribal partners have been forgotten while their communities suffer unacceptably high rates of violent crime,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Last year’s Operation Not Forgotten was a tremendous success in delivering the resources long needed in Indian Country – and we are just getting started. This FBI will continue working together with our Tribal and federal partners to again surge personnel to block violent actors who think they can act lawlessly within these revered communities.”
“This surge represents the federal law enforcement at its best; coordinated, intelligence-driven, and focused on delivering justice,” said the ATF Deputy Director Rob Cekada. “ATF is proud to stand alongside our partners to bring the full weight of our investigative and forensic capabilities to fight violent crime in Indian Country. This initiative underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring that no community is overlooked and that every victim receives the justice they deserve.”
“Operation Not Forgotten reflects the Department of the Interior’s unwavering commitment to Native families and the strength of our partnership with the FBI to deliver justice where it is long overdue,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “Established during President Trump’s first term, the Bureau of Indian Affair's Missing and Murdered Unit has brought national focus to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis—driving stronger investigations, tighter coordination across jurisdictions, and renewed attention to cases that for too long were left unresolved. That work continues with urgency and purpose today, as we stand alongside the FBI to pursue answers for families and uphold our trust responsibility to Native communities.”
Building on prior deployments that have provided investigative support to more than 700 cases, resulting in the recovery of child victims, arrests, and federal indictments, Operation Not Forgotten 2026 represents the Bureau's continued commitment to ensuring that the most serious unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country receive the full weight of federal investigative resources.
Surged personnel, including investigative, intelligence and victim service support, will be deployed on rotating temporary duty assignments across Indian Country in eleven FBI field offices, in Albuquerque, Billings, Detroit, Denver, Jackson, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Portland and Phoenix. Working in close coordination with Tribal law enforcement agencies, the BIA Missing and Murdered Unit, and U.S. Attorneys' Offices, together law enforcement will work to advance open investigations and pursue accountability for victims and their families.
At the start of this fiscal year, the FBI's Indian Country program carried approximately 4,100 open investigations including death investigations, child abuse cases, and domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations underscoring the persistent and urgent need for sustained resource investment in these communities.
The FBI remains committed to standing alongside Tribal communities, federal partners, and local law enforcement to address the violent crime threats that continue to impact Indian Country. To learn more, visit fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/indian-country-crime.
The FBI encourages anyone with information related to unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country to contact their local FBI field office or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
West Virginia Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Against Inmates’ RightsRead the Press Release
A former corrections officer at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia pleaded guilty Monday for his role in a conspiracy in which he and other correctional officers would use unreasonable force against inmates, including pretrial detainees, as a form of punishment and retaliation. Michael Pack pleaded guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 371.
According to his plea agreement and during the plea hearing, Pack acknowledged that he and his co-conspirators would strike, assault, and harm inmates they believed or perceived to have engaged in misconduct. As part of this conspiracy, Pack and his co-conspirators would bring inmates to “blind spots” – areas of the jail that were not captured on surveillance cameras – so that they could use unreasonable and unjustified force against the inmates without being recorded and thus avoid being held accountable for their actions.
Pack further admitted that, as part of the conspiracy, he and his co-conspirators would prepare false reports denying their unreasonable uses of force against inmates and failing to document injuries that inmates sustained during use of force incidents, so that the conspirators would not be investigated or held accountable for their actions.
Pack pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn. He will be sentenced on July 24. According to his plea agreement, Pack faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and former Trial Attorney Sam Kuhn of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
United States and State of Wisconsin Obtain over $140M Judgment and Permanent Injunction Against Operator of Deceptive Timeshare Exit Services Aimed at Elderly ConsumersRead the Press Release
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted summary judgment to the Department of Justice and State of Wisconsin against Defendant Christopher Lee Carroll, finding he was a “mastermind” of an unlawful timeshare exit services scheme that harmed over 11,000 consumers. As part of its ruling, the court permanently enjoined Carroll from marketing timeshare exit services and from engaging in other unfair and deceptive trade practices. The court also ordered Carroll to pay over $95 million to redress harm caused to consumers and over $45 million in civil monetary penalties for his misconduct.
“The Justice Department will hold accountable anyone who uses unlawful high-pressure sales tactics and deception to take advantage of and exploit consumers,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Americans deserve to be treated fairly and honestly.”
In a memorandum and order, the district court held that Carroll was at the center of an unlawful enterprise that violated the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act’s prohibition on unfair or deceptive trade practices, the federal Cooling-Off Rule’s requirement that consumers be given three business days to cancel certain purchases made at locations other than the seller’s regular place of business, and Wisconsin state laws concerning fraudulent misrepresentations and direct marketing.
The court found that Carroll and his co-defendants used high pressure tactics and false and misleading statements to induce consumers to pay from $5,000 to over $80,000 to businesses including Square One Group LLC, and Consumer Law Protection LLC, for a purported release or exit from the consumers’ timeshare contracts. Carroll and his co-defendants often did not actually provide those services, did not inform consumers of their right to cancel the sales contracts within three business days without penalty, and denied consumers refunds when they or law enforcement officials complained.
Carroll was the final remaining defendant in this action. The court previously also imposed permanent injunctions against seventeen other defendants. Those defendants include several interrelated corporate entities, which were also held liable for the over $140 million monetary judgment against Carroll, and four other individual defendants, who agreed to stipulated orders under which they are collectively liable for over $11 million in monetary penalties, partially suspended due to their demonstrated inability to pay.
The United States is represented in this action by Trial Attorneys Meredith L. Reiter and Zachary L. Cowan and Assistant Director Zachary A. Dietert, from the Enforcement Section of the Civil Division’s Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch, in coordination with staff at the FTC. The United States was previously also represented by former Trial Attorney Wesline N. Manuelpillai. Lewis W. Beilin represents the State of Wisconsin.
For more information about the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch and its enforcement efforts visit www.justice.gov/civil/enforcement-affirmative-litigation-branch.
Justice Department Sues New Jersey Township over Natural Gas BanRead the Press Release
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Morris Township, New Jersey, over its ordinance banning natural gas, propane gas, and fuel oil infrastructure and appliances in certain new construction. This lawsuit is another example of the Department hard at work in keeping President Donald J. Trump’s promise to the American people to restore consumer freedom and cut energy costs.
As detailed in the complaint, filed Tuesday in the District of New Jersey, Morris Township’s natural gas ban drives up energy costs for everyday American consumers and weakens our Nation’s energy dominance. Such policies reflect a radical left effort to outlaw federally regulated gas stoves, furnaces, water heaters, dryers, and other appliances that American families rely on daily to cook their meals and heat their homes.
“This latest litigation in New Jersey follows two successful lawsuits in California as this Department of Justice fights to make energy more affordable for Americans,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Radical environmentalist policies that drive up costs and limit consumer choice will not stand.”
“The Department brought this lawsuit to protect American citizens the Township abandoned by kowtowing to progressive fearmongering in passing its natural gas ban,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
“The Township’s illegal interference with national energy policy must be stopped,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate. “Congress preempted local efforts to outlaw gas stoves and other appliances Americans count on and prefer. This case is about upholding that choice.”
“Where the federal government has exclusive authority to regulate appliances and infrastructure, we will fight state and local overreach,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Banning natural gas is illegal. It makes heating, cooking, drying, and other life functions more unaffordable for consumers. This Administration is committed to unleashing American energy and empowering Americans.”
Read the full Department of Justice complaint here.
The case is the latest action from the Justice Department fighting back against state and local overreach. Earlier this year, the Department successfully sued two California cities, for similar progressive natural gas bans. As a result of the Department’s suit, the City of Morgan Hill and the City of Petaluma passed ordinances earlier this month rescinding their previous prohibitions on natural gas, in recognition of their unlawfulness.
Justice Department Sues Idaho for Failure to Produce Voter RollsRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced it has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Idaho for failing to produce their full voter registration lists upon request. This brings the Justice Department’s nationwide total to 30 states and the District of Columbia.
“The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its oversight role dutifully, neutrally, and transparently wherever Americans vote in federal elections,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Many state election officials, however, are choosing to fight us in court rather than show their work. We will continue to verify that all States are carrying out critical election integrity legal duties.”
According to the lawsuits, the Attorney General is uniquely charged by Congress with broad authority to request election records under the Civil Rights Act of 1960. This Act allows her to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of statewide voter registration lists that can be cross-checked effectively for improper registrations.
Justice Department and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices Reach $3 Million Settlement with Georgia Professional Licensing Boards for Alleged Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief ActRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into an agreement with 42 Georgia state licensing boards (“Georgia Boards”) to resolve allegations that the Georgia Boards failed to recognize the out-of-state professional licenses of servicemembers and their spouses, in violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”).
This settlement is the first of its kind and will provide up to $3 million in compensation to servicemembers and military spouses whose applications for licensure were improperly denied or delayed. The settlement also requires the Georgia Boards to adopt new policies that comply with the SCRA and provide a streamlined application process for servicemembers and military spouses who are already licensed in another state.
“Members of the military and their families already make great sacrifices to defend our nation – they should not have to sacrifice their professional careers or financial well-being because the military requires them to move,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This groundbreaking settlement ensures that servicemembers and their spouses stationed in Georgia can have their out-of-state licenses recognized without facing unnecessary hurdles. Licensing authorities in other states should take note of this settlement and ensure they comply with the SCRA.”
“The agreement we are announcing today allows servicemembers and their spouses to focus on what is most important when military service sends them to Georgia,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Federal law requires every state to recognize hard-earned professional licenses when our warfighters must uproot their families in service to our country. This settlement ensures that servicemembers and military spouses can work in their chosen and trained professions free from bureaucratic hurdles, unnecessary costs, and burdensome waits. I am proud that my office, alongside the Justice Department and the two other U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in Georgia, worked together with our state partners in the Secretary of State’s office, the Attorney General’s office, and the Governor’s office to make it easier for our brave fighting men and women to call Georgia home.”
“As a U.S. Army veteran and reservist, it is a particular honor to announce that our servicemembers are guaranteed the full protections of the SCRA,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes of the Middle District of Georgia. “I am grateful for our strong partnership with state officials in reaching this resolution, which ensures that servicemembers and their spouses with professional licenses can relocate to Georgia and continue their careers and lives here more smoothly.”
“This settlement will provide monetary relief to military spouses whose professional employment opportunities have been limited because of the state of Georgia’s unnecessary delays and red tape,” said U.S. Attorney Margaret “Meg” Heap of the Southern District of Georgia. “More importantly, this settlement clears a path now and in the future for military spouses to pursue continued employment when they move with their servicemember to our community. We are grateful for the work of our staff in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, and to the staffers in the Northern and Middle Districts and the Civil Rights Division for their tireless, detailed work on reaching this settlement. All of our communities are stronger today because of their efforts.”
An investigation led by the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Georgia and the Southern District of Georgia, uncovered multiple complaints from servicemembers and military spouses regarding the Georgia Boards’ previous refusal to recognize out-of-state professional licenses. As a result, servicemembers’ spouses were unable to work in their professional fields or earn money for their families after relocating to Georgia on military orders. One military spouse, for example, had to drive to a neighboring state to work because the Georgia Board did not recognize her professional license as required by federal law.
Since January 2023, the SCRA has required state licensing authorities to recognize the out-of-state professional licenses of servicemembers and military spouses who relocate to a new state due to military orders. The law is intended to remove barriers to employment and improve the financial readiness of military families. Many military spouses work in fields that require licenses and must move across state lines every two to three years due to their spouses’ military orders. The SCRA provides that if a servicemember or military spouse holds a covered license, the new state must recognize the license as valid and may not impose requirements beyond those set forth in the statute.
The United States estimates that up to 5,000 servicemembers and military spouses may be entitled to compensation under this settlement. The professions covered by this settlement include teachers, nurses, electricians, plumbers, cosmetologists, barbers, opticians, massage therapists, physical, occupational, and speech therapists, pharmacists, social workers, and many more.
The investigation and resolution of this matter were led by attorneys from the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marissa Fallica and Aileen Bell Hughes of the Northern District of Georgia in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia.
Any servicemember or military spouse who applied for a professional license from one of the Georgia Boards after January 2023 and who may have been wrongfully denied rights guaranteed by the SCRA should contact the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia at [email protected] or (404) 581-4626.
The Department’s enforcement of the SCRA is conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in partnership with U.S. Attorney's Offices throughout the country. Since 2011, the Department has obtained over $487 million in monetary relief for over 149,000 servicemembers through its enforcement of the SCRA. For more information about the department’s SCRA enforcement efforts, please visit www.servicemembers.gov.
Federal Judge Revokes Naturalization of Married Couple Who Conspired to Steal Medical Trade Secrets and Share Them with ChinaRead the Press Release
On March 30, Judge James E. Simmons Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California entered an order revoking the naturalized U.S. citizenship of husband and wife Li Chen and Yu Zhou, finding they illegally procured their naturalization. Chen and Zhou each previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which the court determined constituted crimes involving moral turpitude that prevented them from having the good moral character necessary to naturalize. The court additionally found that both Chen and Zhou were ineligible to naturalize because they committed unlawful acts that adversely reflected on their moral character for which there were no extenuating circumstances.
“Gaining citizenship after committing serious crimes against the American people is an unacceptable abuse of our immigration system,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “These latest denaturalizations illustrate this Department of Justice's focus on ensuring that citizenship remains a privilege to obtain, not a right to abuse.”
“Naturalization is not a right — it’s a privilege given by the generous people of this nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Divison. “When the generosity of America’s immigration process is abused, our system works to correct such abuse. Full stop.”
Chen, a Chinese national, entered the United States in 2007 on an H-1B Specialty Occupation visa sponsored by Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH). In 2011, after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker as an alien of extraordinary ability, Chen adjusted her immigration status to permanent resident. Zhou, also a Chinese national, entered the United States in 2005 as an exchange visitor. In 2008, Zhou arrived in the United States again on an H-1B Specialty Occupation visa sponsored by NCH, and he adjusted his immigration status to permanent resident in 2011 as the derivative spouse of his wife, Chen. Chen naturalized in 2016, and Zhou naturalized in 2017.
In 2019, both Chen and Zhou were arrested for criminal conduct involving the theft of medical trade secrets used in the course of their employment as NCH research scientists focused on exosome isolation. Each indictment alleged that the couple personally benefitted from their theft and sale of NCH trade secrets by establishing their own company and by acquiring shares in another company that utilized the stolen trade secrets. In addition, both Chen and Zhou received funding from the People’s Republic of China’s State Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs. In total, Defendants jointly received nearly $1.5 million in transactions resulting from their exchange of exosome isolation intellectual property. Chen was subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and Zhou was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release, with over $2.6 million in restitution ordered to be paid jointly and severally between them.
The court held that the couple’s wire fraud — and thus their conspiracy to commit wire fraud — constituted a crime involving moral turpitude that warranted the revocation of Defendants’ naturalization. The court additionally determined that, given the lack of any extenuating circumstances, Zhou and Chen’s crimes of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit trade secret theft constituted unlawful acts that reflected adversely on their moral character, and therefore these crimes represented a separate basis to revoke their U.S. citizenship.
These cases were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the ICE Office of the Principle Legal Advisor (OPLA). The cases were litigated by the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation. The underlying criminal cases were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
Closing the National Center for Disaster FraudRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department announced the closure of the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF), effective March 31, 2026. The NCDF was established in the fall of 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina to coordinate disaster fraud complaints from victims across the country. Since its founding, the NCDF processed more than a million complaints, and served as a national hub for disaster fraud referrals to federal, state, and local law enforcement.
Over the past two decades, the law enforcement landscape has evolved significantly. Following a 2023 program review, the Criminal Division determined that the NCDF’s intake function was no longer the most effective avenue for pursuing disaster fraud. Many of the NCDF’s original agency partners now operate their own dedicated hotlines, and advances in data analysis have given federal investigators powerful new tools to identify and pursue fraud at scale – particularly the large, multi-district schemes that represent the highest enforcement priorities. This closure will save the Department more than $600,000 per year.
Fraud targeting Americans in their most vulnerable moments, whether following natural disasters or during public health crises, is a serious federal crime that the Department of Justice will continue to investigate and prosecute vigorously. Victims of disaster fraud should report their complaints to the appropriate law enforcement agency based on the type of fraud. Reporting information can be found at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud.
Reporting Voluntary Self-Disclosures of Violations of National Security Laws Under the Department-wide Corporate Enforcement PolicyRead the Press Release
The mission of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division (NSD) is to protect and defend the United States against the full range of national security threats, consistent with the rule of law. Business organizations and their employees are at the forefront of protecting the national security of the United States by preventing the unlawful export of sensitive commodities, technologies, and services, as well as unlawful transactions with sanctioned countries and designated individuals and entities. Enforcing our export control and sanctions laws, and holding accountable those who violate them, is a top priority for NSD.
On March 10, 2026, the Department released its first-ever Department-wide corporate enforcement policy (CEP) for criminal matters, promoting uniformity, predictability, and fairness in how it pursues white-collar cases to protect the American people.
As the announcement explains, the “Department-wide CEP provides concrete benefits to incentivize companies to voluntarily disclose discovered misconduct, cooperate with our investigations, and timely and appropriately remediate the wrongdoing. For companies that do, absent certain limited aggravating circumstances, the Department will decline to prosecute the company. Incentivizing corporate self-disclosures — while still permitting prosecutions in appropriate circumstances — allows the Department to quickly pursue culpable individuals, secure justice for victims, and deter white-collar crime, all while not unduly burdening American businesses.”
Under the CEP, “disclosure must be made to the appropriate component of the Department,” CEP n.5, and all resolutions under the CEP “must be approved by the Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the relevant Division.” CEP Background ¶ 4. The CEP also provides that a “[g]ood faith disclosure to one component where the matter is later brought to another appropriate component for investigation will also qualify” for declination. CEP n.5
As pertaining to national security laws, the Justice Manual (JM) assigns the “enforcement of all criminal laws affecting, involving or relating to the national security, and the responsibility for prosecuting criminal offenses, such as conspiracy, perjury and false statements, arising out of offenses related to national security . . . to the AAG of NSD.” JM § 9-90.010.
The scope of these matters, which includes violations of the U.S. government’s primary export control and sanctions regimes — the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), 22 U.S.C. § 2778, the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), 50 U.S.C. § 4801 et seq., and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq. – can be found at JM § 9-90.020.
While the conduct of business organizations and their employees has the greatest potential to implicate U.S. national security interests in the enforcement of export control and sanctions laws, the conduct of business organizations and their employees can also violate other U.S. national security laws, including laws prohibiting material support to and financing of foreign terrorist organizations, criminal violations in connection with the work of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector (Team Telecom). Companies are encouraged to voluntarily self-disclose to NSD any potential criminal violations of U.S. law relating to matters conducted, handled, or supervised by the NSD AAG.
All voluntary self-disclosures concerning potential criminal violations of U.S. national security laws should be sent, with the company name in the subject line, to NSD’s email inbox for voluntary self‑disclosures: [email protected].
Justice Department Sues Minnesota to Protect Girls’ Sports and Intimate SpacesRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division today filed suit to enforce the protections of Title IX and ensure fairness and safety for female student athletes in Minnesota.
According to the complaint, Defendants Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) have engaged in sex-based discrimination by requiring girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions that are designated exclusively for girls and allowing boys to invade intimate spaces designated exclusively for girls, such as multi-person locker rooms and bathrooms. These unfair, intentionally discriminatory practices violate the very core of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any education program or activity that receives federal funding. In open defiance of Title IX’s anti-discrimination protections, Minnesota’s policies and practices create unfair competition, deny girls equal athletic opportunities, and expose girls to a hostile educational environment with heightened risks of physical injury and psychological harm. The lawsuit thus seeks declaratory, injunctive, and damages relief for violations of Title IX.
“The Trump Administration does not tolerate flawed state policies that ignore biological reality and unfairly undermine girls on the playing field,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice is proud to partner with HHS and the Department of Education to protect our girls in Minnesota and across the country.”
“The Justice Department cannot ignore a state’s brazen defiance of federal antidiscrimination law,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “In service of radical gender ideology, Minnesota’s actions violate Title IX and deny female athletes their hard-earned trophies, records, dignity, and safety.”
“We will not allow girls to be denied equal opportunity and basic privacy,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Title IX is clear: schools that accept federal funding must protect the rights, safety, and dignity of female students.”
“The Trump Administration will always fight for the safety and civil rights of women and girls,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Minnesota’s policies allow men to dominate women’s sports, denying female athletes fair competition and eroding their right to equal access in educational programs and activities. Thank you to Attorney General Bondi for bringing this fight to the courts to hold Minnesota accountable.”
MDE receives more than $3 billion in federal funding from the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. As a condition to receiving this federal funding, MDE agreed to comply and ensure its funding subrecipients, including local schools, comply with Title IX. Minnesota law and local schools have ceded responsibility for scholastic sports to MSHSL. MDE has authority over MSHSL and local schools’ athletic policies, including nondiscrimination rules. MSHSL currently has more than 500 member schools. The complaint is available here.
Texas Fugitive Apprehended and Sentenced to over 12 Years in Prison for $61M Telemarketing Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare BeneficiariesRead the Press Release
A Texas man was sentenced Wednesday to 150 months in prison and two years of supervised release for organizing and leading a $61.5 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who were the victims of deceptive telemarketing were sent thousands of orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests they did not need.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Robert “Bobby” Leon Smith III, 50, of Archer City, Texas, owned and operated seven durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies based in Florida, Texas, and Maryland through which he submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for orthotic braces and foot baths that beneficiaries did not need.
Smith also owned a marketing company based in Texas that he used to conduct deceptive telemarketing campaigns that targeted Medicare beneficiaries for medical services they did not need. Working with an offshore call center located in the Philippines, Smith and his co-conspirators peddled medically unnecessary orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide. In audio recordings presented at trial, Smith was heard pressuring beneficiaries to accept these products even after the beneficiaries protested that they did not need or want them.
Smith obtained doctors’ orders for these products by paying kickbacks and bribes to illegitimate telemedicine companies. He then sold these doctors’ orders to other medical suppliers that he knew used them to submit false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. In another recording presented at trial, Smith was heard complaining about instances in which he bought doctors’ orders he could not sell, calling the orders “trash” and “junk.” Smith’s former business partner testified that they eventually began using “fake” doctors’ orders that contained forged signatures of doctors who were unaware of the scheme.
After four days of a jury trial, Smith pleaded guilty in March 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and one count of health care fraud. Smith absconded and failed to appear for sentencing. He remained at large for over a month before he was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service. At sentencing, the Court ordered Smith to pay $30,158,608.25 in restitution and to forfeit $9,215,225 as well as real estate located in Texas.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.
HHS-OIG and FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Owen Dunn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted 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, currently comprised of eight strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 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 www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Telemedicine Company Owner Pleads Guilty to $46M Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner of a telemedicine company pleaded guilty today to organizing and leading a $46.2 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that spanned more than six years.
According to court documents, Christopher Harwood, 43, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, admitted that he owned and operated a telemedicine company called TelevisitMD. Harwood and his co-conspirators targeted Medicare patients through aggressive telemarketing campaigns, inducing them to accept orthotic braces and genetic tests that they did not need. Harwood paid doctors to approve orders for these braces and genetic tests. These doctors did not follow Medicare’s rules for telemedicine visits, did not have real medical relationships with the Medicare patients, and often signed orders for orthotic braces and genetic tests without any meaningful interaction with the Medicare patients. Harwood then sold the signed doctors’ orders to durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies, laboratories, and marketers who were part of the scheme.
Harwood also owned and operated multiple DME supply companies based in Florida that he used to bill Medicare millions of dollars for orthotic braces that Medicare patients did not want or need. In total, at least $46.2 million in false and fraudulent claims were submitted to Medicare as part of Harwood’s scheme. Medicare paid $17.9 million based on these claims, and Harwood personally received more than $10.4 million from the fraud scheme.
Harwood pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and agreed to pay $17.9 million in restitution. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. Harwood faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.
HHS-OIG and FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Owen Dunn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is 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, currently comprised of eight strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 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 www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Miami-Area Tax Return Preparers Preliminarily Enjoined from Preparing Returns for OthersRead the Press Release
Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a preliminary injunction against Miami-area tax return preparer Christopher Brown and Brown’s tax return preparation business Superior Taxes LLC (Defendants).
The court issued the injunction over the defendants’ opposition to the government’s motion, which presented evidence that showed the defendants engaged in a pattern and practice of preparing and filing false returns that understated their customers’ federal income tax liabilities and claimed inflated tax refunds by: (1) claiming incorrect filing statutes, such as “head of household”; (2) fabricating or inflating business losses on Form 1040 Schedule C; (3) falsifying residential energy credits; and (4) fabricating or inflating education credits. Defendants used these schemes to reduce taxable income so that customers could claim the earned income tax credit despite knowing the customers weren’t eligible to claim these deductions and credits.
In addition to finding strong proof that the defendants fabricated deductions and losses, the court determined that the government would face irreparable harm absent a preliminary injunction. The court found Brown’s explanation that he had made a “concerted effort to take more precautions when preparing tax returns” this current tax season was “unavailing” considering the number of “inaccurate returns prepared over several years.”
The injunction bars Brown and Superior Taxes from preparing and filing tax returns for others, working for or having an ownership stake in any tax return preparation business, and advising anyone about the preparation of a tax return and requires Brown and Superior Taxes to post a copy of the preliminary injunction order at every location that they are currently operating for the current tax season.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Joshua Wu of the Civil Division’s Tax Litigation Branch made the announcement.
Attorneys Rachel Iacangelo and Elizabeth Duncan of the Tax Litigation Branch handled this matter.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers 10 tips to avoid tax season fraud and ways to safeguard their personal information.
In the past decade, the Department of Justice has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Civil Division, Tax Litigation Branch with details.
Justice Department Sues SeaWorld and Other Theme Parks over Wheeled Walker BanRead the Press Release
Today, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (collectively, the “Department”) filed a lawsuit against United Parks & Resorts Inc. and its subsidiaries (UPR), alleging UPR’s policy banning guests with disabilities from using wheeled walkers with seats, including rollators, violates Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). UPR is a global theme park and entertainment company that owns, leases, or operates twelve parks and experiences in the United States, including SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Discovery Cove Orlando, and Aquatica Orlando.
“The ADA requires equal access for people with disabilities, and theme parks such as SeaWorld are no exception,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Under my leadership, the Division is committed to defending the rights of all Americans with disabilities, as the law requires.”
“The ADA requires theme park companies like UPR to provide guests with equal access, regardless of ability,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida. “This complaint reinforces our commitment to holding public accommodations in the Middle District of Florida accountable when they engage in disability discrimination.”
The ADA prohibits discrimination based on disability by public accommodations, including UPR and its theme parks. The ADA requires UPR to permit individuals with disabilities to use manually powered mobility aids, including walkers, in areas open for pedestrian use.
The Department sued UPR based on complaints from many people with disabilities alleging UPR would not allow them to enter its parks with their wheeled walkers with seats. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleges that UPR’s policy banning wheeled walkers with seats prevented children, veterans, and other individuals with disabilities from accessing the parks, facially violating the ADA. The civil complaint also alleges that UPR imposes impermissible surcharges on guests with disabilities in the form of rental fees and refuses to reasonably modify UPR’s policies, practices, or procedures, where necessary, to avoid discriminating against guests with disabilities.
The lawsuit seeks a court order to force UPR to stop discriminating against individuals with disabilities, to modify its policies to comply with the ADA, and to train its staff on the ADA. The lawsuit also seeks monetary damages to compensate aggrieved individuals subjected to UPR’s discrimination and demands UPR pay a civil penalty to vindicate the public’s interest in eliminating disability discrimination.
If you believe you have been a victim of disability discrimination by United Parks & Resorts Inc., including parks such as SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Discovery Cove Orlando, and Aquatica Orlando, please file a complaint with the Civil Rights Division online at www.civilrights.justice.gov, or by calling the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (1-833-610-1264 (TTY)). For more information on the ADA and the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.ada.gov or www.justice.gov/crt.
Justice Department Sues New York-Presbyterian Hospital for Anticompetitive Contracts That Increase Healthcare Costs for New YorkersRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today challenging The New York and Presbyterian Hospital’s (New York-Presbyterian) anticompetitive contract restrictions that deny New Yorkers the choice of lower cost healthcare options.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges New York-Presbyterian with violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act. New York-Presbyterian is the largest and most powerful hospital system in New York City. It owns and operates eight hospitals and many outpatient facilities in the New York City area. The suit seeks to enjoin New York-Presbyterian from imposing contractual restrictions that preclude insurers and employers from offering New Yorkers budget-conscious health insurance plans. This is the second case the Division has brought this year to ensure that Americans can access healthcare markets with robust competition and receive high quality, affordable care.
“Millions of New Yorkers pay more for healthcare because of these anticompetitive practices,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “At the direction of President Trump, this Justice Department will fight relentlessly to ensure that Americans get the healthcare they need without facing exorbitant costs.”
“Healthcare is a vital sector of our nation’s economy that touches the life of every single American,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “New York-Presbyterian has known for years that the American consumer wants budget-conscious health plans that reduce healthcare costs. But rather than offer consumers choice, New York-Presbyterian uses its market power to protect its margins, impede competition from rival hospitals, and prevent employers and unions from creating these plans. The Antitrust Division will continue to hold hospitals violating the antitrust laws accountable. I am grateful for the dedicated work of our staff and the Southern District of New York in this matter.”
“The high cost of healthcare is frustrating to every New Yorker,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “Our Office will continue to work with our partners in the Antitrust Division to investigate and confront anticompetitive practices that contribute to higher healthcare costs.”
As alleged in the complaint, New York-Presbyterian imposes plan restrictions in its contracts with payors that prevent payors from offering plans that, for example, do not include New York-Presbyterian or do not feature New York-Presbyterian in the most favored tier of the plan. New York-Presbyterian even forbids payors from offering lower copays when patients chose to receive care at New York-Presbyterian’s — often lower priced — rivals. These unlawful restrictions insulate New York-Presbyterian from price competition, limiting its rival hospitals from competing for patients based on lower prices or better value, and prevent the development of budget-conscious plans for New Yorkers that are available in other parts of the United States.
Justice Department Secures the Denaturalization of Convicted Gun Trafficker and Health Care Fraudster, and Files Complaint Against Marriage ScammerRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it has secured the denaturalization of two individuals who obtained U.S. citizenship through fraud and sued to revoke the citizenship of a third person that secured naturalization by marriage fraud.
“American citizenship is a sacred privilege — not a cheap status that can be obtained dishonestly,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “These actions reflect this Department of Justice's ongoing efforts to strip citizenship from people who conceal crimes or defraud the American people during the immigration process.”
Ukrainian Arms Smuggler Concealed Conspiracy to Smuggle Firearms Parts Abroad
On March 23, the Justice Department secured the denaturalization of Vladimir Volgaev, a native of Ukraine who concealed and misrepresented his involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle over a thousand firearms components out of the United States and ship them to foreign markets.
“This case sends a clear message,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department's Civil Division. “The United States provided Volgaev with safety, housing, and citizenship, and he returned those gains with malice, including by defrauding one of the federal agencies that provided him benefits. We will not reward this kind of behavior by allowing such an individual to retain U.S. citizenship that should not have been granted in the first place.”
Starting in 2011, Volgaev engaged in the clandestine purchase, packaging and smuggling of firearm components to individuals in Ukraine and Italy. Also, beginning in 2013, Volgaev engaged in federal housing benefits fraud by underreporting his assets and income on applications for federal housing benefits. A federal court convicted him of Smuggling Goods from the United States and Theft of Government Money or Property in 2020, after he had naturalized as a U.S. citizen on January 11, 2016.
On Sept. 30, 2025, the Justice Department filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida seeking Volgaev’s denaturalization based on his crimes and his failure to disclose them during his naturalization process.
On March 23, the court entered an order revoking Volgaev’s U.S. citizenship. The court held that Volgaev committed unlawful acts during the period prior to his naturalization in which he was required to show good moral character, thus making him ineligible for naturalization. Also, the court found that Volgaev provided false testimony regarding his criminal background and procured his U.S. citizenship by willfully misrepresenting these facts.
This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christopher Lyerla of the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent Felix Romero and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.
Miami-Dade Resident Was Convicted of Swindling Over $6 Million In Medicare Claims
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued an order on March 24 revoking the 2017 naturalization of Mirelys Cabrera Diaz, a native of Cuba and resident of Hialeah, Florida. Cabrera Diaz illegally procured her citizenship because she committed unlawful acts — namely a health care fraud conspiracy — before she naturalized that disqualified her from United States citizenship.
In 2019, Cabrera Diaz, then 42, was convicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida of conspiring to commit health care fraud. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 29 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of over $6 million. When she pleaded guilty, she admitted that she willfully conspired to commit health care fraud in the years before she became a United States citizen. She specifically admitted that, between August 2011 and March 2014, she and her co-conspirators paid kickbacks to patient recruiters for referring fraudulent prescriptions to the pharmacy where she worked. She admitted to maintaining a log of how much money was owed to each recruiter for fraudulent prescriptions. She also admitted that she was aware that the pharmacy was submitting reimbursement claims for the fraudulent prescriptions to the Medicare Part D program, for which the government paid over $6 million in reimbursements for prescription drugs that were not dispensed.
The U.S. district court held that Cabrera Diaz illegally procured her naturalization. Among the requirements for naturalization, Cabrera Diaz was required to show that she was a person of good moral character during the “statutory period” from five years before she applied for naturalization until she took the oath of citizenship. The court concluded that she could not establish the required good moral character for naturalization because she conspired to commit health care fraud, which reflected adversely on her moral character, and there were no extenuating circumstances to excuse her actions.
The case was investigated by ICE and litigated by the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation.
Justice Department Sues to Revoke U.S. Citizenship Because Of Immigration Fraud
In U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the Justice Department filed a civil denaturalization complaint on March 17 against Alec Nasreddine Kassir, also known as Alec Kassir and Ali Nasreddine Kassir. Kassir is a native of Lebanon and resident of Miami.
The United States seeks an order revoking Kassir’s naturalization based on his false statements made under penalty of perjury on his naturalization application and under oath in his naturalization interview. Kassir falsely represented that he had been living with a U.S. citizen spouse, during the three years immediately preceding the filing of his naturalization application in March 2010.
On Nov. 14, 2018, he pleaded guilty to passport fraud in the Southern District of Florida. In his criminal proceedings, Kassir admitted that he obtained his U.S. passport through the fraudulent procurement of his naturalization. Specifically, he admitted that he was not living in martial union — or even in the same state — with his purported U.S. citizen spouse; rather, but they separated in 2009 and Kassir moved to Florida. Kassir’s immigration fraud was uncovered during an investigation into his trafficking of counterfeit goods after he naturalized, for which he was convicted of conspiring to commit money laundering.
The complaint alleges that Kassir should be denaturalized for three reasons. First, he illegally procured U.S. citizenship because he was not living in marital union with his U.S. citizen spouse for the three years before he applied for naturalization as required by statute. Second, he illegally procured naturalization because he was statutorily barred from showing that he was a person of good moral character during the statutory period of his naturalization. He was unable to demonstrate good moral character because he falsely testified under oath at his naturalization interview that he was living in Michigan, when, in fact, he had moved to Florida. Third, he procured his naturalization by concealing his separation from his U.S. citizen spouse and his move to Florida.
The case was investigated by ICE-HSI and will be litigated by the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The claims made in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.