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14 January 2021
MS-13’s Highest-Ranking Leaders Charged with Terrorism Offenses in the United StatesRead the Press Release
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY - Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed in Central Islip, New York charging 14 of the world’s highest-ranking MS-13 leaders who are known today as the Ranfla Nacional, which operated as the Organization’s Board of Directors, and directed MS-13’s violence and criminal activity around the world for almost two decades.
Specifically, the indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to provide and conceal material support to terrorists, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to finance terrorism and narco-terrorism conspiracy in connection with the defendants’ leadership of the transnational criminal organization over the past two decades from El Salvador, the United States, Mexico and elsewhere.
Defendant Borromeo Enrique Henriquez, aka “Diablito de Hollywood,” is widely recognized as the most powerful member of the Ranfla Nacional. Three of the indicted defendants, Fredy Ivan Jandres-Parada, aka “Lucky de Park View” and “Lacky de Park View,” Cesar Humberto Lopez-Larios, aka “El Grenas de Stoners” and “Oso de Stoners,” and Hugo Armando Quinteros-Mineros, aka “Flaco de Francis,” remain at large and should be considered armed and dangerous. Members of the public with information concerning their whereabouts are strongly encouraged to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) toll-free MS-13 tip line, 1-866-STP-MS13 (1-866-787-6713), or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at (866) 347-2423 or https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form. Together, FBI and HSI have offered $20,000 in rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of each of the three fugitives. Henriquez and 10 other defendants are in custody in El Salvador. The United States will explore options for their extradition to the U.S. with the government of El Salvador.
Jeffrey A. Rosen, Acting Attorney General; Seth D. DuCharme, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY); John J. Durham, Director of Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV); Christopher A. Wray, Director, FBI; and Derek Benner, Executive Associate Director, HSI, announced the unsealing of the indictment.
“The indictment announced today is the highest-reaching and most sweeping indictment targeting MS-13 and its command and control structure in U.S. history. When Attorney General Barr announced the creation of JTFV in August 2019, he envisioned a whole-of-government approach that would combine proven prosecution tools from the past with innovative strategies designed specifically to eliminate MS-13 leadership’s ability to operate the gang and direct its terrorist activity. This indictment reflects an important step toward achieving that goal. By working side-by-side with our U.S. law enforcement partners and with our partners in El Salvador, we have charged MS-13’s highest-ranking leaders with operating a transnational criminal organization that utilizes terror to impose their will on neighborhoods, businesses and innocent civilians across the United States and Central America,” stated Acting Attorney General Rosen.
“MS-13 is responsible for a wave of death and violence that has terrorized communities, leaving neighborhoods on Long Island and throughout the Eastern District of New York awash in bloodshed,” said Acting U.S. Attorney DuCharme. “Even when incarcerated, the Ranfla Nacional continued to direct MS-13’s global operations, recruit new members, including children, into MS-13, and orchestrate murder and mayhem around the world. Today’s ground-breaking indictment seeks to demolish MS-13 by targeting its command and control structure and holding MS-13’s Board of Directors accountable for their terroristic actions.”
“The FBI is committed to combatting all forms of terrorism that threaten the American people as well as our international partners,” stated FBI Director Wray. “In collaboration with our federal, state, local and international partners, we took aggressive steps to target and pursue some of the highest levels of leadership of MS-13. This operation is a clear signal to others who engage in this type of transnational criminal activity: the FBI will work tirelessly to bring them to justice wherever they are based.”
“For over a decade, HSI has remained steadfast in our resolve to dismantle transnational gangs like MS-13, stated HSI Executive Associate Director Benner. “As one of the most violent and dangerous criminal enterprises, MS-13 and La Ranfla Nacional were directly responsible for unthinkable violence and criminal activity in communities across the United States and throughout Central America. As a result of the hard work and substantial resources dedicated to Joint Task Force Vulcan by our domestic and international law enforcement partners, this indictment will have a lasting disruptive effect on the future global illicit activities of this transnational criminal organization.”
As alleged in the indictment, the Ranfla Nacional comprises the highest level of leadership of MS-13. In approximately 2002, the defendants and other MS-13 leaders began establishing a highly-organized, hierarchical command and control structure as a means to effectuate their decisions and enforce their orders, even while in prison. They directed acts of violence and murder in El Salvador, the United States, and elsewhere, established military-style training camps for its members and obtained military weapons such as rifles, handguns, grenades, improvised explosive devices (IED) and rocket launchers. As leaders of MS-13, the defendants controlled swaths of territory and engaged in public relations efforts on behalf of the transnational criminal organization. Further, the defendants used MS-13’s large membership in the United States to engage in criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and extortion to raise money to support MS-13’s terrorist activities in El Salvador and elsewhere, and directed members in the United States to commit acts of violence, including murders, to further its goals.
As further alleged in the indictment, a central theme of the rules implemented by the Ranfla Nacional was the requirement of loyalty to MS-13, or to the “barrio.” The requirement for loyalty was central to all aspects of life for MS-13 members. Members who disobeyed the rules, showed disloyalty to the gang or to its leaders, cooperated with law enforcement, or disrespected other members were subject to severe punishment, including death. The rules put in place by the Ranfla Nacional allowed the gang to flourish in parts of the United States, including within the EDNY where, under the defendants’ command, MS-13 has committed numerous acts of violence—including murders, attempted murders, assaults, kidnappings, drug trafficking, extortion of individuals and businesses, obstructed justice and sent dues and the proceeds of criminal activity by wire transfer to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador.
As further outlined in the indictment, the Ranfla Nacional has exercised its power over the Government of El Salvador by committing acts of violence and intimidation over government officials, law enforcement and the population of El Salvador at large. In doing so the Ranfla Nacional has ordered the killing of law enforcement and government officials in El Salvador as well as ordering a “green light,” or killing, of a FBI Special Agent detailed to El Salvador investigating MS-13 and its members. Moreover, by controlling the level of MS-13’s violence, the Ranfla Nacional exercised leverage with the Government of El Salvador. For example, as alleged in the indictment, from approximately 2012 until approximately 2015, the Ranfla Nacional entered into a “truce” with the then-Government of El Salvador. As part of this agreement, the Ranfla Nacional directed MS-13 to reduce homicides in El Salvador in exchange for improved prison conditions, benefits and cash payments. In 2015, when this agreement collapsed, the Ranfla Nacional blamed the United States, believing that the U.S. government pressured the government of El Salvador to end the “truce” as a condition of receiving funds from the United States. Thereafter, in early 2016, the Ranfla Nacional began planning for a major campaign of coordinated violence in El Salvador in retaliation for the harsher measures imposed on its members after the end of the “truce.” As alleged in the indictment, the defendants ordered all cliques in El Salvador to create a specialized unit of MS-13 members to target police officers, military members, and government officials in El Salvador. These members underwent military training at MS-13 military training camps in El Salvador. The defendants also ordered all cliques, including those in the United States and in the EDNY, to provide profits from their MS-13-related criminal activity to be used to purchase weapons for the planned attacks on police in El Salvador. In total, the defendants collected over $600,000 U.S. dollars for this fund which was used to purchase weapons, including M-16s and M-60 machine guns, grenades, IEDs, and rocket launchers. Furthermore, the defendants ordered increased violence, including murders, in the EDNY and other parts of the United States, which saw a dramatic increase in MS-13 violence in 2016 and 2017.
Finally, as alleged in the indictment, the Ranfla Nacional directed the expansion of MS-13 activities around the world, most significantly into Mexico, where several high-ranking leaders were sent to organize operations there. In Mexico, MS-13 leaders made connections to obtain narcotics and firearms, conducted business with Mexican drug cartels such as the Zetas, Gulf Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and Sinaloa Cartel, and engaged in human trafficking and smuggling.
In August 2019, Attorney General William P. Barr created JTFV to carry out the recommendations of the MS-13 Subcommittee formed under the Attorney General’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force (TOC Task Force). The Attorney General’s TOC Task Force resulted from President Donald J. Trump’s February 2017 Executive Order directing the Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, such as MS-13, and increase the safety of the American people.
Since its creation, JTFV has successfully implemented a whole-of-government approach to combatting MS-13, including increasing coordination and collaboration with foreign law enforcement partners, including El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala; designating priority MS-13 programs, cliques and leaders, who have the most impact on the United States, for targeted prosecutions; and coordinating significant MS-13 indictments in U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the first use of national security charges against MS-13 leaders.
JTFV has been comprised of members from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division, as well as U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the EDNY; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the Eastern District of Virginia; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of New York; the District of Alaska; the Southern District of Florida; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; and the District of Columbia. In addition, all Department of Justice law enforcement agencies are involved in the effort, including the FBI; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. In addition, HSI also plays a critical role in JTFV.
Acting Attorney General Rosen expressed his sincere thanks to Attorney General Raul Melara of El Salvador for the assistance of his office, as well as investigators from El Salvador’s Policía Nacional Civil, Centro Antipandilla Transnacional unit for their invaluable cooperation. Additionally, numerous Department of Justice components contributed to this indictment, including: the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section; the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training; and Organized Crime and Gang Section; and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Executive Office. Finally, consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order and the Attorney General’s whole of government approach, the Department of State has provided critical support for JTFV’s mission.
The charges announced today are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Donnelly, Matthew Shepherd and Stewart Young from JTFV, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul G. Scotti, Justina L. Geraci and Megan E. Farrell from the EDNY’s Long Island Criminal Division.
To learn more about the Justice Department’s efforts in combating MS-13 from 2016 to 2020, see report at /media/1120601/dl?inline.
The Defendants:
BORROMEO ENRIQUE HENRIQUEZ (“Diablito de Hollywood”)
Age: 42ELMER CANALES-RIVERA (“Crook de Hollywood”)
Age: 44EFRAIN CORTEZ (“Tigre de Park View” and “Viejo Tigre de Park View”)
Age: 51RICARDO ALBERTO DIAZ (“Rata de Leewards” and “Mousey de Leewards”)
Age: 47EDUARDO ERAZO-NOLASCO (“Colocho de Western” and “Mustage de Western”)
Age: 48EDSON SACHARY EUFEMIA (“Speedy de Park View”)
Age: 46JOSE FERNANDEZ FLORES-CUBAS (“Cola de Western”)
Age: 46FREDY IVAN JANDRES-PARADA (“Lucky de Park View” and “Lacky de Park View”)
Age: 45LEONEL ALEXANDER LEONARDO (“El Necio de San Cocos”)
Age: 40CESAR HUMBERTO LOPEZ-LARIOS (“El Grenas de Stoners” and “Oso de Stoners”)
Age: 42JOSE LUIS MENDOZA-FIGUEROA (“Pavas de 7-11” and “Viejo Pavas de 7-11”)
Age: 56HUGO ARMANDO QUINTEROS-MINEROS (“Flaco de Francis”)
Age: 48
SAUL ANTONIO TURCIOS (“Trece de Teclas”)
Age: 42ARISTIDES DIONISIO UMANZOR (“Sirra de Teclas”)
Age: 42E.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 20-CR-577 (JFB)
MIT Professor Arrested and Charged with Grant FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A professor and researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was charged and arrested today in connection with failing to disclose contracts, appointments and awards from various entities in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Gang Chen, 56, was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud, failing to file a foreign bank account report (FBAR) and making a false statement in a tax return. Chen will make an initial appearance today before Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell.
According to charging documents, Chen is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in China. He is a professor and researcher at MIT where he serves as Director of the MIT Pappalardo Micro/Nano Engineering Laboratory and Director of the Solid-State Solar Thermal Energy Conversion Center (S3TEC). Since approximately 2013, Chen’s research at MIT has been funded by more than $19 million in grants awarded by various U.S. federal agencies.
Since 2012, Chen has allegedly held various appointments with the PRC designed to promote the PRC’s technological and scientific development by providing advice and expertise – sometimes directly to PRC government officials – and often in exchange for financial compensation. This includes acting as an “overseas expert” for the PRC government at the request of the PRC Consulate Office in New York and serving as a member of at least two PRC Talent Programs. Since 2013, Chen allegedly received approximately $29 million of foreign funding, including $19 million from the PRC’s Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech).
It is further alleged that Chen’s efforts to promote the PRC’s scientific and economic development were partially detailed in a February 2016 email that Chen sent himself using his MIT e-mail account. The email read:
1. promote chinese collaboration
2. China places innovation (scientific) as key and core not fashion [sic], but because
we must do it, from historic trend as well from our stage
3. our economy is no. 2, but from technology (structure of economy) and human
resources, we are far from no. 2
4. we are paying big price in environment, not sustainable, as well as from labor cost
5. environment protection and development in same place, environment even higher, clean energy if higher cost, reduce steel, cement. We must count on technology, cannot grow as past
6. communist 18th convention, scientific innovation placed at core. We realize not just independent innovation; but also internationalize to plan for and facilitate. Closed door innovation does not work; innovation as driving force
From at least 2017 to 2019 when Chen was serving in several advisory roles for the PRC and PRC entities, Chen applied for and obtained a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant in order to fund a portion of his research at MIT. In doing so, it is alleged that Chen failed to disclose information about his ongoing affiliations with the PRC as required by DOE.
Chen also allegedly failed to disclose to the IRS in his 2018 tax return that he maintained a bank account in the PRC with more than $10,000 in 2018.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of failing to file an FBAR provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Patrick J. Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office; William S. Walker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigation, Boston; Joleen Simpson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Jim Breckenridge, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann, Chief of Lelling’s National Security Unit, and Jason Casey and Timothy Kistner also of Lelling’s National Security Unit are prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney David Aaron of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
UPDATE: Criminal charges against the defendant in this case were dismissed in January 2022.
Little Rock Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Extortion and Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK— A Little Rock man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for extortion and production of child pornography. Devion Cumbie, 25, was sentenced today by United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr. The sentencing is announced by Acting United States Attorney Jonathan D. Ross and FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge Diane Upchurch.
In June 2020, in the first federal criminal jury trial in the state since the coronavirus pandemic began, a federal jury found Cumbie guilty on all seven counts for which he was indicted: production of child pornography, two counts of attempted production of child pornography, and four counts of extortion.
Testimony during the trial established that in late 2018, a 16-year-old girl in Colorado sent a Facebook message to “Chink Capone,” the online persona of an actor named Alex Drummond. However, the Facebook page actually belonged to Cumbie, posing as Drummond’s online persona. The two began talking, and Cumbie told the minor he might like to meet her soon but would first need to see some photographs of her in her underwear. Cumbie eventually convinced the minor to send him a partially nude photograph. Cumbie then threatened the minor that he would post the photo to her Facebook page unless she sent him a video of herself naked. The minor told her mother, and they reported the conduct to police.
Investigation revealed that Cumbie had conducted a similar scheme with numerous other victims, some of whom were minors. Additionally, Cumbie was on pretrial release awaiting trial on federal gun charges while he engaged in the conduct that led to the child pornography and extortion charges. Cumbie was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2019, and his first trial in February 2020 ended in a hung jury. His second trial resulted in his October 2020 conviction. Cumbie is still awaiting trial on the separate firearms charge.
In addition to the 300 month prison sentence, Judge Moody sentenced Cumbie to 15 years of supervised release. The statutory penalty for production of child pornography, as well as attempted production of child pornography, is not less than 15 years imprisonment, not more than 30 years imprisonment, and not less than five years of supervised release. The statutory penalty for extortion is not more than two years imprisonment and not more than one year of supervised release. All offenses of conviction include a potential penalty of not more than a $250,000 fine.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, and the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kristin Bryant and Erin O’Leary.
# # #
This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at
https://www.justice.gov/edar
Twitter:
@EDARNEWS
Kalamazoo Man Guilty of Distributing Fatal Dose of FentanylRead the Press Release
LANSING, MICHIGAN — On 12 Jan. 2021, Keenan Jermaine Dunigan, 34, pled guilty in federal court to distributing a fatal dose of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl to a 24-year-old Virginia native, then a resident of Kalamazoo.
Dunigan, whose trial was scheduled to begin on 26 January in U.S. District Court in Lansing, was charged with eight different counts involving drug-trafficking and firearms possession. He pled guilty to the most serious count, pursuant to a plea-agreement with the Government that requires a sentence between 25 and 35 years in prison. If he had gone to trial and been convicted of the distribution-causing-death charge, Dunigan would have been subject to a sentence of mandatory life-imprisonment.
In the afternoon of 14 Jan. 2020, the victim was discovered by his girlfriend in their apartment, unconscious and unresponsive. She called 911 and first-responders arrived to find the victim dead. Officers from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) also responded and recovered from a container in the apartment what appeared to be a residual amount of heroin. A few hours earlier and not far away, members of a Michigan State Police (MSP) fugitive team had located and arrested Dunigan on outstanding warrants. The MSP team had been working to find and arrest Dunigan because he became a fugitive in September 2019 after absconding from bond in a state drug-trafficking case, and also because he was the subject of a federal arrest warrant. This federal warrant issued because Dunigan stopped reporting as required under the terms of his supervised release, which began in October 2018 when he was released from federal prison after completing a 13-year-sentence for a 2008 federal drug-trafficking case. When arrested on 14 Jan. 2020, Dunigan was in the middle of making another drug sale.
Examination of the victim’s body determined that he died from a fatal dose of fentanyl. Laboratory examination of both the controlled substance recovered from his apartment and a controlled substance recovered during Dunigan’s arrest determined that both substances were the same unique mixture that included fentanyl and cutting agents.
Investigation by KDPS, the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement team (KVET, an interagency drug unit), the Portage Police Department, and the DEA determined that Dunigan ran a very active heroin/fentanyl-dealing operation for at least several months before the victim died, and that Dunigan sold the victim the fentanyl that killed him. ATF assisted with the firearms investigation.
After Dunigan’s arrest on 14 Jan. 2020, he contacted three acquaintances and enlisted them to continue the drug business, at Dunigan’s direction from jail. Those three, also federally charged, have all pled guilty to drug-trafficking crimes. They are: Richie Lee Edmonds III, 30, of Kalamazoo; Sierra Singleton-Moore, 31, of Kalamazoo; and Jennifer Lynne Davis, 33, of Battle Creek.
“Anyone involved in illegal opioid distribution in West Michigan had better be clear-eyed about the fact that they are not just risking the lives of their customers, they are risking their own liberty—liberty measured by decades. The West Michigan law-enforcement community will come after them, they will be charged and convicted, and it will be a very long time before they get to make any important life-decisions for themselves again,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge.
“The opioid crisis has torn lives apart, creating a great deal of pain and trauma in families across the Kalamazoo community. I was pleased to learn about these indictments, guilty pleas, and upcoming sentencing's. I hope they make it clear that we will not tolerate illegal narcotics distribution in our community. I want to express my gratitude to the United States Attorney’s Office, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Michigan State Police for their tireless work in bringing an end to this opioid distribution network. Cooperation and partnerships like these enable us to bring justice to the victims of this crisis,” added KDPS Chief Vernon Coakley Jr.
Sentencing's for all four defendants have been scheduled during May 2021 in Lansing, before U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kate Zell and Hagen W. Frank.
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Justice Department Settles with Texas-Based Staffing Company to Resolve Immigration-Related DiscriminationRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it reached a settlement with National Systems America LP (National Systems), a Dallas, Texas-based staffing agency.
The settlement resolves the department’s claim that National Systems violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it (1) imposed unlawful citizenship restrictions on applicants for certain positions and (2) required lawful permanent resident applicants, but not U.S. citizens, to provide a specific work authorization document to receive further consideration for a job.
“In the competitive and fast-paced IT staffing industry, it is critical for staffing companies not to impose unlawful hiring restrictions based on citizenship,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John B. Daukas of the Civil Rights Division. “Employers must not request proof of work authorization before a job offer is accepted and must not interfere with a worker’s lawful right to present acceptable work authorization documents to prove authorization to work in the United States.”
Based on its investigation, the department concluded that National Systems implemented U.S. citizens-only hiring restrictions based on assumptions about its clients’ preferences, and regardless of whether there was any legal justification for doing so. The department also concluded that even when National Systems was willing to consider non-U.S. citizen applicants, such as a lawful permanent resident, the company nevertheless discriminated against them by requiring them to show specific documentation to confirm their work authorization before it would advance them to the next stage of the selection process.
In general, the INA allows employers to limit consideration for a job to U.S. citizens only when required by a law, regulation, government contract, or an Executive Order; not based on a client’s discriminatory preferences or assumptions about a client’s preferences. The INA also prohibits employers from requesting more or different documents than necessary to prove work authorization based on employees’ citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Instead, in the INA, Congress determined that all work-authorized individuals, regardless of citizenship status, may choose which valid, legally acceptable documents to present to demonstrate their ability to work in the United States. The INA does, however, permit employers to reject non-genuine looking documents. Finally, the INA does not permit an employer to verify an individual’s authorization to work before a job offer is accepted.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, National Systems will pay to the United States a civil penalty of $34,200, train its employees about the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and change its policies to ensure future compliance with the statute.
The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation.
Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment, or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, can file a charge. The public also can contact IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688; call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); email [email protected]; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.
The Civil Rights Division wants to hear about civil rights violations. Members of the public can report possible civil rights violations through the Civil Rights Division’s reporting portal.
Justice Department Recovers over $2.2 Billion from False Claims Act Cases in Fiscal Year 2020Read the Press Release
The Department of Justice obtained more than $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2020, Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division announced today. Recoveries since 1986, when Congress substantially strengthened the civil False Claims Act, now total more than $64 billion.
“Even in the face of a nationwide pandemic, the department’s dedicated employees continued to investigate and litigate cases involving fraud against the government and to ensure that citizens’ tax dollars are protected from abuse and are used for their intended purposes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Clark. “The continued success of the department’s False Claims Act enforcement efforts are a testament to the dedication of the civil servants who pursue these important cases as well as to the fortitude of whistleblowers who report fraud.”
Of the more than $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments recovered by the Department of Justice this past fiscal year, over $1.8 billion relates to matters that involved the health care industry, including drug and medical device manufacturers, managed care providers, hospitals, pharmacies, hospice organizations, laboratories, and physicians. The amounts included in the $1.8 billion reflect only federal losses, and, in many of these cases, the department was instrumental in recovering additional tens of millions of dollars for state Medicaid programs.
In addition to combating health care fraud, the False Claims Act serves as the government’s primary civil tool to redress false claims for federal funds and property involving a multitude of other government operations and functions. The act helps to support our military and first responders by ensuring that government contractors provide equipment that is safe, effective, and cost efficient; to safeguard American businesses and workers by promoting compliance with customs laws, trade agreements, visa requirements, and small business protections; and to protect other critical government programs ranging from the provision of disaster relief funds to nutrition benefits for needy families.
In 1986, Congress strengthened the act by increasing incentives for whistleblowers to file lawsuits alleging false claims on behalf of the government. These whistleblower, or qui tam, actions comprise a significant percentage of the False Claims Act cases that are filed. If the government prevails in a qui tam action, the whistleblower, also known as the relator, typically receives a portion of the recovery ranging between 15 and 30 percent. Whistleblowers filed 672 qui tam suits in fiscal year 2020, and this past year the department recovered over $1.6 billion in these and earlier-filed suits.
Health Care Fraud
The department’s health care fraud enforcement efforts restore funds to federal programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE, the health care program for service members and their families. But just as important, the department’s vigorous pursuit of health care fraud prevents billions more in losses by deterring others who might otherwise try to cheat the system for their own gain. The department investigates and resolves matters involving a wide array of health care providers, goods, and services.
The largest recoveries in the past year came from the drug industry. For example, following years of litigation and multiple unsuccessful attempts to have the government’s claims dismissed, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation paid over $591 million to resolve claims that it paid kickbacks to doctors to induce them to prescribe its drugs. Novartis sales representatives, on the instruction of their managers, selected high-volume prescribers to serve as paid “speakers” to induce the prescribers to write Novartis prescriptions.
The department also continued to investigate efforts by drug manufacturers to protect high drug prices by funding the co-payments of Medicare patients. Congress included co-pay requirements in the Medicare program, in part, to serve as a check on health care costs, including the prices that pharmaceutical manufacturers can demand for their drugs. This year, two pharmaceutical manufacturers – Novartis and Gilead Sciences – paid a combined total of over $148 million to resolve claims that they illegally paid patient copays for their own drugs through purportedly independent foundations that the companies in fact treated as mere conduits for these payments. In addition, four of the purportedly independent foundations paid a total of $13 million this year to resolve liability for their involvement in the kickback schemes. In August 2020, the department sued Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and Teva Neurosciences, Inc., alleging that they conspired with two purportedly independent foundations to illegally subsidize Medicare co-pays for the drug Copaxone.
The department continued to pursue opioid-related fraud schemes. One of the largest opioid-related recoveries this past year was from Practice Fusion, Inc., a health information technology developer that accepted kickbacks from the opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma in exchange for implementing clinical decision support alerts in its electronic health records (EHR) software that were designed to increase prescriptions for OxyContin, and caused its users to submit false claims for federal incentive payments by misrepresenting the capabilities of its EHR software. In addition, the $145 million Practice Fusion settlement reflects that complex EHR-related fraud schemes remain a focus of the Department’s work.
Kickbacks in the healthcare industry are pernicious because of their potential to subvert medical decision-making. In addition to pursuing improper payments by drug manufacturers, the department resolved other schemes involving the willful solicitation or payment of illegal remuneration to induce the purchase of a good or service paid for by a federal health care program. For example, ResMed Corp., a durable medical equipment manufacturer, agreed to pay more than $37 million to resolve allegations that it paid kickbacks to suppliers, sleep labs, and other health care providers. The Oklahoma Center for Orthopaedic and Multi-Specialty Surgery, a specialty hospital in Oklahoma City, its part-owner and management company, an orthopedic physician group, and two physicians agreed to pay a total of over $72 million to resolve allegations that the hospital provided improper remuneration to the physician group in exchange for patient referrals. UTC Laboratories Inc. (RenRX) agreed to pay $41.6 million, and its three principals agreed to pay $1 million, to resolve allegations that they paid kickbacks in exchange for laboratory referrals for pharmacogenetic testing and for furnishing and billing for tests that were not medically necessary.
In addition to these recoveries, in March 2020, the department filed a complaint against medical device manufacturer SpineFrontier, Inc., its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kingsley Chin, and certain related entities and individuals, alleging that they paid kickbacks to spine surgeons in the form of sham “consulting” agreements to induce use of SpineFrontier surgical devices.
As in years past, the department also resolved a number of matters in which providers billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary services or services not rendered as billed. For example, Universal Health Services paid $117 million to resolve allegations that its inpatient psychiatric hospitals and residential psychiatric and behavioral treatment facilities knowingly submitted false claims for inpatient behavioral health services that were not reasonable or medically necessary and/or failed to provide adequate and appropriate services to its patients. Additionally, Logan Laboratories, Inc., pain clinic Tampa Pain Relief Centers, Inc., and two of their former executives agreed to pay a total of $41 million to resolve allegations that they automatically ordered both presumptive and definitive urine drug tests for all patients at every visit, without any individualized determination that either test was medically necessary for the particular patients for whom the tests were ordered.
The department also pursued health care frauds arising under government contracts, as in the case of its $1.85 million settlement with Veterans Administration contractor Sterling Medical Associates for allegedly failing to offer timely appointments to veterans and falsifying wait times at Minnesota outpatient clinics.
Procurement Fraud
In the past year, the department also pursued a variety of other fraud matters involving the government’s purchase of goods and services. For example, major federal contractors Bechtel National Inc., Bechtel Corporation, AECOM Energy & Construction, Inc., and their joint venture Waste Treatment Completion Company, LLC agreed to pay over $57 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to the U.S. Department of Energy by charging inflated labor hours and by billing for work not actually performed to construct and maintain the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant.
In another case, QuantaDyn Corporation agreed to pay $37 million to resolve both its criminal and civil liability for engaging in a bribery scheme to steer government contracts for training simulators to the company. William T. Dunn Jr., the President and Chief Executive Officer of QuantaDyn, separately agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve his personal civil liability for the alleged scheme.
In some cases, the department pursued allegations that government contractors provided goods or services that did not comply with contract requirements. For example, Unitrans International, Inc. agreed to pay $27 million to resolve allegations that it fraudulently induced the Army and the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to award wartime contracts for food and trucks by falsely certifying compliance with United States sanctions against Iran. The agreement also resolved allegations that a company associated with Unitrans falsely represented construction progress on a warehouse to induce DLA to award the prime vendor contract to provide food to U.S. troops in Afghanistan. In another matter, Bradken Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi Construction Machinery and a leading supplier of high-yield steel for naval submarines, paid over $10 million to resolve allegations that it produced and sold substandard steel components for installation on U.S. Navy submarines. The government alleged that Bradken produced castings that failed lab tests and did not meet the Navy’s standards, and that its Director of Metallurgy falsified test results to hide the failures.
SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., one of the largest engineering firms in South Korea, paid $7.8 million to settle False Claims Act claims arising out of a fraudulent scheme to obtain a large U.S. Army construction contract in South Korea by paying millions of dollars to an Army contracting official through a fake Korean construction company. The firm also entered into a plea agreement with the United States and paid over $60 million in criminal fines for the same misconduct.
Other Fraud Recoveries
The number and variety of judgments and settlements announced during fiscal year 2020 reflect the diversity of fraud recoveries arising under the False Claims Act. For example, Hybrid Tech Holdings LLC, Hybrid Technology LLC, and Ace Strength International LTD, agreed to pay $29 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by colluding to rig the bidding of an auction to purchase a non-performing loan from the U.S. Department of Energy.
This year, three states paid a total of over $24 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act in their administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as the Food Stamp Program. Although the federal government funds SNAP benefits, it relies on the states to determine whether applicants are eligible for benefits, to administer those benefits, and to perform quality control to ensure that eligibility decisions are accurate. The settlements resolved allegations that the states submitted false quality control data and information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for which they received performance bonuses to which they were not entitled.
The department pursued fraud in connection with Public Assistance program funds that FEMA provided to institutional applicants, such as schools and universities, for the replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina. For example, Xavier University of Louisiana agreed to pay $12 million to resolve allegations that it received excess disaster assistance funds that substantially exceeded the amounts it was entitled to receive under program rules. The settlement with Xavier was based on false and misleading repair estimates that were submitted on its behalf by AECOM and certain affiliates, which received more than $300 million from FEMA between 2005 and 2019 to serve as technical assistance contractors in support of FEMA’s disaster response efforts. In July 2020, the department filed a complaint against AECOM and its affiliates for their role in the alleged scheme.
Linde GmbH, a multinational corporation that imports materials into the United States to build natural gas and chemical manufacturing plants, and its U.S. subsidiary, the importer of record, agreed to pay more than $22 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly made false statements on customs declarations to avoid paying duties owed on the companies’ imports, including in some instances antidumping and countervailing duties. Linde and its subsidiary allegedly misrepresented the nature, classification, and valuation of imported merchandise, as well as the applicability of free trade agreements.
The Scripps Research Institute agreed to pay $10 million to settle claims that it improperly charged NIH-funded research grants for time spent by researchers on non-grant related activities such as developing, preparing, and writing new grant applications, teaching, and engaging in other administrative activities.
Lakeway Regional Medical Center LLC agreed to pay $13.5 million to resolve allegations that it improperly obtained Federal Housing Administration insurance for a mortgage to develop a Texas hospital and used loan funds in violation of FHA requirements. Five other individuals and entities involved in the development project paid an additional $1.8 million for their part in the alleged scheme.
Holding Individuals Accountable
The department continued its commitment to use the False Claims Act and other civil remedies to deter and redress fraud by individuals as well as corporations. A number of corporate settlements required individuals, particularly senior executives or owners, to pay a portion of the settlement amount, as noted above. The following are additional examples of recoveries involving individuals.
Following a $260 million settlement with Health Management Associates, the department negotiated a $4.25 million civil settlement with Glenn A. Kline, D.O. and his surgical practice, Community Surgical Associates, to resolve civil allegations relating to illegal kickbacks received from two hospitals formerly operated by HMA. To secure Dr. Kline’s referrals, HMA allegedly paid Dr. Kline in excess of the fair market value of his services and paid additional amounts to benefit his practice, Community Surgical Associates. These funding arrangements were allegedly structured to disguise payments that were, in actuality, payments for patient referrals rather than for legitimate services.
In connection with the department’s litigation against SpineFrontier, six orthopedic surgeons agreed to pay a total of over $3.25 million to resolve allegations that they accepted kickbacks in the form of sham consulting fees from SpineFrontier and a third-party entity, Impartial Medical Experts, LLC, which was owned and controlled by the company’s founder and CEO. The consulting payments were allegedly based on the number of times the surgeons used a SpineFrontier product in a given month, as opposed to the actual time they spent consulting. As part of the settlement agreements, each physician admitted to reporting and being paid for consulting hours in excess of actual or documented consulting time.
In another example, Texas doctor Bibi Sattar and her medical practice paid $210,000 to resolve allegations that she accepted kickbacks in the form of sham laboratory processing and handling fees in exchange for referring laboratory tests to True Health Diagnostics, LLC.
As part of a $4.25 million settlement, five individual shareholders of Dave O’Mara Contractor, Inc. (DOCI), an Indiana-based asphalt contractor, agreed to pay a total of nearly $2 million to resolve the United States’ allegations that DOCI violated the False Claims Act by misrepresenting to the government the materials that were used to pave federally funded roads in the state of Indiana. Specifically, the government alleged that DOCI claimed that its hot mix asphalt mixture contained a sufficient amount of binder or glue to hold the mix together when, in fact, DOCI frequently failed to meet the minimal levels of binder required to properly pave the roads.
Recoveries in Whistleblower Suits
Of the $2.2 billion in settlements and judgments reported by the government in fiscal year 2020, over $1.6 billion arose from lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. During the same period, the government paid out $309 million to the individuals who exposed fraud and false claims by filing these actions.
The number of lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the Act has grown significantly since 1986, with 672 qui tam suits filed this past year – an average of nearly 13 new cases every week.
“Whistleblowers with insider information are critical to identifying and pursuing new and evolving fraud schemes that might otherwise remain undetected,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Clark. “These individuals often make substantial sacrifices to bring these schemes to light, and our efforts to protect taxpayer funds continue to benefit from their actions.”
In 1986, Senator Charles Grassley and Representative Howard Berman led the successful efforts in Congress to amend the False Claims Act to, among other things, encourage whistleblowers to come forward with allegations of fraud. In 2009 and 2010, further improvements were made to the False Claims Act and its whistleblower provisions.
Pending Recoveries
The $2.2 billion in recoveries announced today do not include settlements totaling billions of additional dollars that are not yet final or did not become final before the end of the fiscal year. On Oct. 21, 2020, the department reached a resolution with Purdue Pharma that provides the United States with an allowed, unsubordinated, general unsecured bankruptcy claim of $2.8 billion to resolve allegations that Purdue caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs arising from its conduct in promoting and unlawfully inducing prescriptions of opioids. The settlement remains contingent on the inclusion of certain conditions in a chapter 11 plan of reorganization. Under a separate civil settlement, individual members of the Sackler family agreed to pay the United States $225 million arising from their alleged conduct in intensifying marketing efforts directed toward extreme, high-volume prescribers.
The department also concluded a multi-year investigation of Indivior plc related to its marketing of the opioid addiction treatment drug Suboxone. In July 2020, Indivior agreed to pay a total of $600 million, of which $300 million was paid to resolve civil allegations that Indivior promoted Suboxone to physicians who were writing prescriptions for uses that were unsafe, ineffective, and medically unnecessary and used false and misleading claims that it was less susceptible to diversion, abuse, and accidental pediatric exposure than other buprenorphine products. The global resolution was conditioned on the district court’s acceptance of Indivior’s criminal plea, which occurred in November 2020.
While these resolutions are not included in the total recoveries for fiscal year 2020, they are notable because they reflect significant work over the last year on opioid matters, one of the department’s key priorities.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Clark expressed appreciation for all the work over the past year by the many public servants who continued to support the department’s efforts to protect the public fisc: “I am grateful to all those in the Civil Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, as well as the agency Offices of Inspector General and the many other federal and state agencies who worked tirelessly, often overcoming daunting challenges, to provide substantial benefits to the taxpayers.”
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Except where indicated, the government’s claims in the matters described above are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. The numbers contained in this press release may differ slightly from the original press releases due to accrued interest.
Justice Department Issues Favorable Business Review Letter to Institute of International Finance for Sovereign Debt Information Sharing PrinciplesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced today that it has completed its review of the proposal by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) to promulgate voluntary guidelines, called the Principles for Debt Transparency (Principles), allowing for public disclosure of information regarding the issuance of sovereign debt. Based on the representations in IIF’s letter request, including its description of certain safeguards, the department has concluded that the Principles are unlikely to harm competition. Therefore, the department does not presently intend to challenge IIF’s proposed Principles.
“IIF’s proposed Principles will enhance transparency in the market for sovereign debt,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. “IIF has put in place safeguards to avoid harm to competition, such as making the Principles voluntary, delaying the release of information, and grouping specific price terms (such as interest rates) into more general ranges.”
According to the department’s business review letter, IIF represents a wide constituency in the international finance industry, including approximately 450 members from 70 countries, that had input into the proposed Principles. The department’s business review letter recognizes that the current sovereign debt market often lacks transparency, which can lead to increased transaction costs and less efficient pricing. IIF’s proposed Principles attempt to remedy those issues by allowing for voluntary and delayed disclosure of some terms from the issuance of sovereign debt.
Under the department’s business review procedure, an organization may submit a proposed action to the Antitrust Division and receive a statement as to whether the department currently intends to challenge the action under the antitrust laws based on the information provided. The department reserves the right to challenge the proposed action under the antitrust laws if the actual operation of the proposed conduct proves to be anticompetitive in purpose or effect.
Copies of the business review request and the department’s response are available on the Antitrust Division’s website at https://www.justice.gov/atr/business-review-letters-and-request-letters, as well as in a file maintained by the Antitrust Documents Group of the Antitrust Division. After a 30-day waiting period, any documents supporting the business review will be added to the file, unless a basis for their exclusion for reasons of confidentiality has been established under the business review procedure. Supporting documents in the file will be maintained for a period of one year, and copies will be available upon request to the FOIA/Privacy Act Unit, Antitrust Documents Group at [email protected].
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Two California Doctors for Discrimination Against Patient with HIVRead the Press Release
The Justice Department filed lawsuits today alleging that two obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN) doctors in Bakersfield, California, refused to provide routine medical care to a patient on the basis of her HIV status, in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“The Justice Department continues to work to end discriminatory and stigmatizing treatment of people with HIV based on unfounded fears and stereotypes,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Daukas for the Civil Rights Division. “Medical providers have a legal obligation under the ADA to provide individuals with HIV equal access to healthcare services, and are in the best position to ensure all involved are adequately protected.”
The complaints, filed in the Eastern District of California, allege that Dr. Chibuike Anucha, MD, PC, and Dr. Umaima Jamaluddin, MD, in unconnected incidents, refused to provide routine OB/GYN care to a patient due to the patient’s HIV status. According to the complaint against Dr. Jamaluddin, the doctor refused to allow the patient to make an appointment for preventative care, including a Pap smear, when she learned of the patient’s HIV status during intake. According to the complaint against Dr. Anucha, the doctor, during a consultation for uterine fibroids, told the patient that she needed a Pap smear, but the doctor said he would not perform it because he does not treat high-risk patients, including patients with HIV. The lawsuit alleges that a Pap smear is a routine medical procedure, and that an individual with HIV is not high-risk for a Pap smear such that referral to a specialist would be necessary.
Title III of the ADA prohibits public accommodations, including doctors or other professional offices of health care providers, from discriminating against people with disabilities, including those with HIV. These prohibitions include denying individuals with disabilities the ability to benefit from the public accommodation’s goods or services.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. The complaint for Dr. Anucha can be viewed here: https://www.ada.gov/anucha_comp.html. The complaint for Dr. Jamaluddin can be viewed here: https://www.ada.gov/jamaluddin_comp.html.
Jackson Woman Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison under Project EJECT for Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – Cherilyn Patrice Humphery, 46, of Jackson, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee, to 60 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Smith was also ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.
On May 23, 2019, the Jackson Police Department was looking for a potential robbery suspect at a local hotel. Law enforcement came in contact with Humphery in a hotel room. Officers obtained consent to search the room and found cocaine residue and a firearm. Humphery admitting ownership of the firearm. Humphery was previously convicted of armed robbery and manslaughter in Hinds County in 1995, cocaine possession in Hinds County in 1998, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and brandishing a firearm during and relation to a crime of violence in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi in 2003.
Humphery was indicted on January 15, 2020 and pled guilty before Judge Lee on October 8, 2020.
This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and Project Guardian. EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for “Empower Justice Expel Crime Together.” PSN is bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jackson Police Department investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Wansley.
Inmate at USP Lee Pleads Guilty to Weapon PossessionRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Virginia - Juan Fernando Sanchez, an inmate at United States Penitentiary (USP) Lee in Jonesville, Virginia, pleaded guilty earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Abington to possessing contraband within a prison, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar announced today.
Sanchez, 24, pleaded guilty January 12, 2021 to one count of possession of contraband inside a federal prison, specifically a prison made shank designed to be used as a weapon.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 13, 2021. At sentencing, Sanchez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 60 months in prison.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Special Assistant United States Attorney Debbie Stevens prosecuted the case for the United States.
Individual Indicted for Possession of Machinegun in Furtherance of A Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On January 14, 2021, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Lorenzo Torres-Echevarría with firearms violations and drug trafficking, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is in charge of the investigation of the case.
According to the indictment, on January 10, 2021, in the District of Puerto Rico, defendant Torres-Echevarría knowingly possessed one Glock pistol, model 27, .40 caliber, modified to fire automatically more than one shot by a single pull of the trigger, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The defendant is charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marihuana.
Upon conviction of the offenses the defendant shall forfeit to the United States any firearms and ammunition involved in the commission of the offense, including, but not limited to: one Glock pistol, model 27, .40 caliber; seventy-four rounds of .40 caliber ammunition; eight rounds of .380 caliber ammunition; and one Glock magazine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Chattah is in charge of the prosecution of the case. If convicted of the 924(c) machine gun charge, the defendant faces a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence.
An indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Hyde Park Man Indicted on Bank Robbery ChargeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Hyde Park man was indicted today by a grand jury in Boston in connection with robbing a Citizen’s Bank in Concord.
Angel Robles, 36, was indicted on one count of armed bank robbery. Robles was charged by criminal complaint in November 2020.
According to the indictment, on Nov. 9, 2020, Robles entered the Citizen’s Bank in Concord, gave the teller a note that read “ROBBERY, ONLY READY TO DIE ON A DEATH WISH,” stole approximately $358 and left the Bank.
The charge of bank robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary; Concord Police Chief Joseph F. O'Connor; and Saugus Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Gotlob of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Husband and Wife Sentenced for Meth Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a man and a woman from Brookings, South Dakota, convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, were sentenced on January 11, 2021 by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.
Jeremy Dean Riemersma, age 41, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Jody Marie Riemersma, age 42, was sentenced to 12 months and a day months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
The Riemersmas were indicted by a federal grand jury on April 2, 2019. They both pled guilty on May 11, 2020.
The conviction stemmed from incidents beginning on an unknown date, until on or about April 1, 2019, in the District of South Dakota, when the Riemersmas knowingly and intentionally combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together with each other, and others known and unknown, to intentionally distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a Schedule II controlled substance.
This case was investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation and various law enforcement agencies in Minnesota. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara Nash prosecuted the case.
Jeremy and Jody Riemersma were ordered to self-surrender to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service by February 16, 2021.
Hollywood Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge that He Recklessly Operated Drone that Collided with and Damaged LAPD HelicopterRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Hollywood man pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge that he recklessly operated a drone that crashed into and damaged the fuselage of a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter.
Andrew Rene Hernandez, 22, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft.
According to his plea agreement, on September 18, 2020, at approximately 12:18 a.m., Hernandez heard police vehicles driving near his residence and a police helicopter flying overhead. Curious about the commotion, Hernandez launched a drone that he owned toward the police activity and in the helicopter’s direction.
An LAPD helicopter operated by two police officers was flying towards a reported emergency at a pharmacy in Hollywood. As the helicopter approached the pharmacy, the pilot saw the drone and attempted to evade the unmanned aircraft.
Despite the evasive efforts, the drone stuck the helicopter, forcing the pilot to initiate an emergency landing. According to an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint in this case, “if the drone had struck the helicopter’s main rotor instead of the fuselage, it could have brought the helicopter down.”
LAPD officers located parts of the drone near the pharmacy and discovered a vehicle damaged by the drone as it fell from the sky. Further investigation, including a review of the drone’s camera and secure digital (SD) card, led to the identification of Hernandez as the drone’s operator, according to court documents.
United States District Judge George H. Wu scheduled an April 12 sentencing hearing, at which time Hernandez will face a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison.
The investigation in this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the LAPD, with the assistance of the Federal Aviation Administration. This conviction is believed to be the nation’s first criminal conviction for the unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section.
Hartford Man Charged with Federal Narcotics and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that CHRISTOPHER ALAMO, 33, of Hartford, was arrested yesterday on federal narcotics distribution and firearm possession charges.
Alamo appeared yesterday via videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing that is scheduled for January 19.
As alleged in court documents, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Hartford Task Force identified Alamo as a distributor of heroin and cocaine in Connecticut, New York and elsewhere. On January 13, 2021, Alamo was arrested after a court-authorized search of his Hartford residence revealed more than 12,000 dose bags of suspected fentanyl, approximately 390 grams of loose fentanyl, approximately one kilogram of cocaine, approximately 300 grams of marijuana, items used to process and package narcotics for street sale, a .40 caliber Glock 22 handgun equipped with a loaded high-capacity magazine, a separate large capacity magazine loaded with 51 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and a bulletproof vest.
It is alleged that Alamo’s criminal history includes felony convictions for narcotics, weapon and larceny offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
The criminal complaint charges Alamo with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years, possession of firearm by a convicted felon, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, an offense that carries a consecutive term of imprisonment of at least five years.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The DEA’s Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Willimantic Police Departments. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria del Pilar Gonzalez, with the assistance of the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office.
Grundy Man Sentenced for Illegally Selling FirearmsRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va.- Leon St. Clair, a Grundy, Virginia man who engaged in the business of selling firearms without a license, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Abingdon to two years of probation, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division announced.
St. Clair, 78, pleaded guilty in October 2020 to one count of engaging in the business of selling firearms without a license.
According to court documents, the ATF began investigating flea markets in southwest Virginia in order to identify individuals who were engaging in the business of selling firearms without a license. St. Clair was one of the individuals ATF identified.
St. Clair admitted to regularly buying, displaying, and selling numerous long guns and handguns at the Indian Mountain Trade Center and at a warehouse parking lot in Grundy, Virginia. St. Clair admitted that he profited from his gun sales, and that he did so without a Federal Firearms License.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Virginia State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Zachary T. Lee and Whit D. Pierce are prosecuting the case for the United States.
This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.
Grant County man facing drug chargeRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Phillip Michael Sites, of Maysville, West Virginia, appeared in federal court today to face a drug charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Sites, 53, was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Elkins in December 2020. He is facing one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.” Sites is accused of having methamphetamine, also known as “crystal meth” or “ice,” in December 2019 in Grant County.
Sites is facing up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $$1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen D. Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Michael John Aloi presided.
An indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former Urbana University High School Teacher, Coach Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid today sentenced a former physical education teacher at Urbana’s University High School to serve 10 years in prison for distribution and possession of child pornography. Douglas O. Mynatt, 57, of the 100 Block of Dropseed Ave., Savoy, Ill., also previously served as the coach of the school’s girls’ cross-country program. In addition to the prison sentence, Mynatt was ordered to serve 15 years of supervised release following his release from prison. Mynatt has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest in April 2020.
On Oct. 9, 2020, Mynatt pleaded guilty to three counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Mynatt was identified by the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office after an instant messaging application self-reported that one of its online social media users possessed content believed to be images and movies of child pornography. As a result of the cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the computer addresses for logins by the user were identified as Mynatt, including from his home address in Savoy and at the University of Illinois in Champaign / Urbana.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson represented the government in the prosecution. U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, and the Urbana Police Department conducted the investigation.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), to marshal federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Former Member of Hebron Bank Board of Directors Pleads Guilty to Federal Charge of Making False Statements to Obtain and Maintain Personal and Business LoansRead the Press Release
January 14, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact MARCIA MURPHY
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4854
Baltimore, Maryland – Brian Thomas Twilley, age 57, of Greenbackville, Virginia, formerly of Salisbury, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to making a false statement on a loan or credit application.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Robert W. Manchak of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General (FHFA OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG).
From 2011 through 2015, Brian Twilley served as a member of the Board of Directors for Hebron Savings Bank, located in Wicomico County, Maryland. Twilley also owned a commercial printing business in Wicomico County and was a member of the faculty for the Economics and Finance Department at Salisbury University.
According to his guilty plea, from April 2010 through March 2017, Twilley provided false personal financial statements to Hebron that omitted from his net worth a $200,000 Home Equity Line of Credit (“HELOC”) due to Bank 2 that should have been paid off and closed with the proceeds of a separate HELOC that Twilley had obtained from Hebron. Twilley also provided false personal financial statements to Bank 3.
As detailed in his plea agreement, in August 2006 Hebron issued Twilley a $350,000 HELOC for the purpose of paying off and closing his $200,000 HELOC at Bank 2. As part of Hebron’s approval of the HELOC it required that Bank 2 release their lien on Twilley’s personal residence so that Hebron could secure a first-position lien on this collateral. On August 28, 2006, Twilley signed a letter addressed to Bank 2 directing them to accept the payoff of the loan, close the HELOC account, and forward the release documents to Hebron. The payoff was funded with a Teller’s Check issued by Hebron in the amount of $200,392.04, but the letter directing Bank 2 to close the loan was never delivered and the HELOC account at Bank 2 remained open. Twilley admitted that he continued to make withdrawals of the available funds in Bank 2’s HELOC and by 2010 had withdrawn the full $200,000 available.
As a member of Hebron’s Board of Directors and as a condition of his ongoing loan relationship with Hebron, which included the $350,000 HELOC and multiple commercial loans, Twilley was required to provide Hebron with an annual personal net worth statement. Twilley admitted that from 2010 through 2014 he provided Hebron with his personal financial statement, but failed to disclose the continued existence of the HELOC with Bank 2, which Hebron believed had been closed since 2006.
Further, in December 2014, as part of a request to renew a $100,000 commercial line of credit for his company with Bank 3, Twilley submitted a personal financial statement to Bank 3 that failed to disclose the existence of the HELOC with Bank 2 and the associated debt. When Twilley was questioned by a representative of Bank 3 as to why his credit report reflected a $200,000 HELOC due to Bank 2 that was not listed on his net worth statement, Twilley falsely advised that the HELOC at Bank 2 had been closed when he opened the HELOC at Hebron. The Bank 3 representative informed Twilley that Hebron may want to contact Bank 2 to have them close out the HELOC because Hebron’s secured position in the collateral might be behind Bank 2 if the lien was not released.
Twilley left his position as a member of Hebron’s Board of Directors in 2015. By 2017 Twilley was having difficulty servicing his debts and Hebron attempted to restructure his loan payments. As part of the negotiations, on March 17, 2017, Twilley again sent a personal financial statement to Hebron that failed to disclose the existence of his debt due on the HELOC with Bank 2, which then had a balance of approximately $176,000, thereby underreporting Twilley’s outstanding obligations. When a representative subsequently suggested that the collateral for the Hebron HELOC be sold, they learned that Bank 2 still held a first-position lien on the property because the HELOC with Bank 2 had never been closed. In July 2018 Twilley declared bankruptcy and Hebron restructured all of Twilley’s personal and commercial debts. In November 2018, the collateral for the HELOC was sold and $163,081.88 of the proceeds was disbursed to Bank 2 as a lien holder in first position, depriving Hebron of the proceeds of the sale.
As part of his plea agreement, Twilley will be required to pay restitution of $163,081.88, the full amount of the victim’s loss.
Twilley faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison for making a false statement on a loan or credit application. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties and are determined by a federal district court judge after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher has not yet scheduled a sentencing date for Twilley.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FHFA OIG and FDIC OIG for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean R. Delaney, who is prosecuting the case.
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Former Member of Boston Chapter of Latin Kings Sentenced for Racketeering Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former member of the Boston-based Morton Street Bricks Chapter of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (“Latin Kings”) was sentenced today for racketeering charges.
Oscar Pena, a/k/a “King DO-Block,” 29, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to 32 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In August 2020, Pena pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy.
The Latin Kings are a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States. The Latin Kings adhere to a national manifesto, employ an internal judiciary and use a sophisticated system of communication to maintain the hierarchy of the organization. As alleged in court documents, the gang uses drug distribution to generate revenue, and engages in violence against witnesses and rival gangs to further its influence and to protect its turf.
Named for the Morton Street housing project in Boston, the MSB Chapter of the Latin Kings included approximately half-a-dozen members. The MSB Chapter, in turn, reported to the Massachusetts State Leadership of the Latin Kings, providing information, structure, funds and other resources to further the Latin Kings goals and directives in the state. In addition to conspiring with members of the Latin Kings to further the goals of the enterprise through the commission of criminal acts, Oscar Pena personally sold a cooperating witness approximately 38 grams of fentanyl.
In December 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy and firearms charges against 62 leaders, members and associates of the Latin Kings. Oscar Pena is the 12th defendant to be sentenced in the case.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Commissioner Carol Mici of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross made the announcement. Valuable assistance was also provided by the FBI North Shore Gang Task Force and the Bristol County and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip A. Mallard and Lauren Graber of Lelling’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Mayor of Yona, Guam Sentenced to Prison for ExtortionRead the Press Release
Hagatña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Jesse Mendiola Blas, age 58, from Yona, Guam, was sentenced in the United States District Court of Guam to 37 months imprisonment for Extortion Under Color of Official Right, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951. The Court also ordered three years of supervised release following imprisonment, one hundred hours of community service, a mandatory $100 special assessment fee, and a forfeiture money judgment of $11,700.
Beginning in November 2018, Blas used his position as Mayor of Yona to accept cash bribes from a confidential informant (CI), who posed as a drug trafficker to obtain United States Postal Service cluster box units (CBU). The CBUs are offered free to residents for the lawful receipt of mail. Blas agreed to provide a mailbox to the CI to enable drug traffickers to securely receive packages of methamphetamine through the U.S. mail system. Continual access to the mailbox was conditioned upon sharing proceeds from the drug packages with Blas. During the scheme, he received $11,700 for the use of a single mailbox. Blas also offered to sell a second mailbox to the CI for $15,000. He also offered to change the assigned box each week to avoid interception of the drug packages by law enforcement. When the CI stopped making payments, Blas asked for $8,000 more and threatened to shut down the mailbox. Blas was subsequently arrested in September 2019.
U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “We entrust our elected officials with the responsibility to act in the best interests of the public. Community safety is among their basic duties. This case exposed a mayor acting in his own self-interest to the potential detriment of an entire island. I commend the hard work by our agency partners that brought Mr. Blas to justice. The sentence imposed by the Court further demonstrates that officials who engage in criminal conduct will be held accountable.”
“Most public officials are honorable and dedicated to serving their communities. Unfortunately, the actions displayed by Mayor Blas undermines the public’s trust in elected officials," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eli S. Miranda. “Citizens expect and deserve their public officials to serve them honestly and in accordance with the law. Failure to do so erodes the public’s faith in government – which is crucial in ensuring public safety. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate any corrupt public official who willfully and maliciously abuse their office.”
“As the law enforcement and security arm of the U.S. Postal Service, the safety of postal employees and the public is our top priority,” said Inspector in Charge Rafael Nunez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “Anyone who uses the Post Office or its products for unlawful activities should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable. When local and federal law enforcement work together, we can better protect our communities, our families, and our neighborhoods. Working together we will continue to investigation, arrest and prosecute those individuals responsible for endangering U.S. Postal Service employees and the citizens of Guam.”
“Public corruption has far reaching effects on the day to day lives of everyone in society,” said John F. Tobon, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Identifying acts of corruption, the proceeds of these acts and bringing those responsible to justice is a top priority for HSI. We will continue to work tirelessly in order to root out corruption.”
This case was a result of a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Laura C. Sambataro, Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Guam.
Former Beaumont Employees and Medical Device Distributor Charged with Wire Fraud for a Scheme to Steal Medical DevicesRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed charging two former Beaumont employees and a medical supply distributor with wire fraud based upon a scheme to steal medical devices and/or medical supplies from Beaumont Hospital and then sell them on the internet, announced United States Attorney Matthew Schneider.
Schneider was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Lynda Burdelik, Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Charged were:
Paul Purdy, 49, of Beavercreek, Ohio;
Valdet Seferovic, 32, of Auburn Hills, Michigan; and
Zafar Khan, 40, of Fenton, Michigan
According to the indictment, from 2003 – 2017, Paul Purdy was employed at Beaumont Hospital. During his employment, he stole medical devices and/or medical supplies from the hospital and resold them via the internet to customers throughout the United States. Defendant Paul Purdy never informed the purchasers that the medical devices and/or supplies he sold to them were stolen. Purdy resigned from the hospital in 2017 and enlisted Valdet Seferovic, an employee of the hospital, to continue the scheme of stealing medical device and/or medical supplies. Valdet Serferovic had access to the medical supply and the cleaning and disinfecting rooms at the hospital. Purdy and Seferovic primarily stole three types of medical devices: (1) cystoscopes, a thin tube with a camera which is inserted through the urethra and into the bladder, some of which may have been contaminated as they were stolen from the cleaning and disinfecting room after being used in surgical procedures; (2) Ophthalmoscopes, an instrument for inspecting the retina and the other parts of the eye; and (3) Otoscopes, an instrument for inspecting the ears. Purdy and Seferovic sold these devices and/or supplies via the internet to customers throughout the United States. The purchasers were never informed that the medical devices and/or supplies were stolen.
According to the indictment, in September 2017, Valdet Seferovic also agreed to steal and sell medical devices and/or medical supplies to Zafar Khan, the owner of Wholesale Medical & Surgical Suppliers of America, LLC. Once Khan acquired the stolen medical devices and/or medical supplies he sold them to unsuspecting purchasers via the internet.
United States Attorney Schneider stated, “These defendants used their employment status to circumvent the safety protocols established by Beaumont Hospital to profit from the theft of medical devices and put the health and safety of the general public at risk in doing so. This indictment should send a clear message that our office is committed to prosecuting anyone who would endanger the health and safety of the general public for personal gain.”
“Medical devices that are removed from their rightful place in a hospital or other medical setting put patients’ health at risk by denying them access to needed diagnostic imaging and treatment,” said Special Agent in Charge Lynda M. Burdelik, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who jeopardize the public’s health for profit. And we commend our law enforcement colleagues for their assistance in this case.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Regina R. McCullough. The case was investigated by special agents of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations and the Royal Oak Police Department.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Florida Resident Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking Idaho ResidentsRead the Press Release
BOISE – Alvin Willie George, 25, of Cross City, Florida, pleaded guilty to two counts of cyberstalking, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today. George was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Boise on December 11, 2019. Sentencing is set for April 8, 2021, before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise.
According to court records, in December 1999, in Texas, two female children were attacked in a bedroom. During the attack both children had their throats slit. One child survived the attack, but her friend was killed. The perpetrator of these crimes was convicted. Beginning in or around November 2016, and over the next several months, George began sending photos from the 1999 crime scene to the surviving victim and her sisters, all of whom live in Idaho. George did not know the surviving victim or her sisters, rather he researched the 1999 murder on the internet and used various Facebook accounts he created to send harassing and intimidating messages to these women, as well as threatening to rape and kill them.
The charge of cyberstalking is punishable by up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release, per count.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Boise Police Department.
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El Departamento de Justicia alega que las condiciones de la Cárcel del Condado de Cumberland violan la ConstituciónRead the Press Release
Hoy la División de División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia y la Oficina del Fiscal del Distrito de Nueva Jersey concluyeron que hay causa razonable para creer que las condiciones en la Cárcel del Condado de Cumberland, Nueva Jersey, violan las Enmiendas Dieciocho y Catorce a la Constitución.
La investigación del Departamento de Justicia concluyó que hay causa razonable para creer que la Cárcel del Condado de Cumberland falló en tomar las medidas para prevenir los suicidios de los reclusos y proporcionar cuidado de la salud mental adecuado. El departamento alegó que estas violaciones fueron resultado de la falla de la Cárcel del Condado de Cumberland para evaluar y proporcionar tratamiento de salud mental adecuado a los reclusos en riesgo de auto lastimarse y de suicidio debido a la falla de la cárcel de proveer tratamiento asistido con medicamento, donde era clínicamente indicado, para los reclusos que sufrían de abstinencia de opioides no medicados, el financiamiento de dichos tratamientos futuros sigue siendo incierto.
“Nuestra investigación reveló que el Condado de Cumberland falló en proporcionar el cuidado de la salud mental adecuado para reclusos en riesgo de auto daño y suicidio”, dijo el Fiscal General Interino de Derechos Civiles, John B. Daukas. “Esperamos trabajar con los oficiales del condado para asegurar que la cárcel proporciona cuidado constitucionalmente adecuado, incluyendo tratamiento asistido con medicamento para reclusos que sufren de abstinencia de opioides no medicados, cuando sea apropiado”.
“La epidemia de opioides continúa afligiendo a las comunidades en todo el país”, dijo la Fiscal de EE.UU. Interina, Rachael A. Honig, para el Distrito de Nueva Jersey. “Al proporcionar el tratamiento asistido con medicamentos a los reclusos que sufre de abstinencia de opioides no medicados, lo oficiales en las cárceles y prisiones pueden dar importantes pasos tanto para combatir la epidemia y proteger los derechos constitucionales de los individuos encarcelados. Nos anima la cooperación de los oficiales de la Cárcel del Condado de Cumberland en nuestra investigación y declararon su compromiso para garantizar la seguridad y derechos constitucionales de sus reclusos. Estamos esperando continuar trabajando con ellos para resolver estas importantes preocupaciones”.
Como lo requiere la Ley de Derechos Civiles de Personas Institucionalizadas (CRIPA), el departamento proporcionará a la instalación un aviso por escrito que apoye los hechos de los alegatos de violación y las medidas de remediación mínimas necesarias para abordarlos.
La División de Derechos Civiles y la Oficina del Oficina del Fiscal de EE.UU. para el Distrito de Nueva Jersey iniciaron la investigación en junio de 2018 bajo CRIPA, que autoriza al departamento para tomar medidas para abordar el patrón o práctica de privación de los derechos constitucionales de los individuos confinados a instituciones correccionales del gobierno estatal o local.
Información adicional sobre la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia se encuentra disponible en su página web en www.justice.gov/crt. Los individuos que piensan que se violaron sus Derechos Civiles pueden presentar una queja en la Oficina del Fiscal de EE.UU. en http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement/complaint.
El Departamento de Jusiticia Llega a un Acuerdo con una Agencia de Empleo con Sede en Tejas que Resuelve Casos de Discriminación Relacionada con la InmigraciónRead the Press Release
El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha llegado a un acuerdo con National Systems America, LP (National Systems), una agencia de empleo con sede en Dallas, Tejas. El acuerdo resuelve la acusación del Departamento de que National Systems había vulnerado la ley de Inmigración y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglés) al (1) imponer a solicitantes de ciertos puestos restricciones ilegales relacionadas con su ciudadanía y (2) requerir a los solicitantes que eran residentes permanentes legales, pero no a los que eran ciudadanos, que presentaran un documento específico de autorización para trabajar para seguir siendo considerados para un puesto.
«En la industria competitiva y acelerada de dotación de personal informática, es fundamental que las agencias de empleo no impongan restricciones ilegales de contratación basadas en la ciudadanía», afirmó el Fiscal General Auxiliar en funciones de la División de Derechos Civiles, John B. Daukas. «Los empleadores no deben pedir pruebas de autorización para trabajar antes de que se acepte una oferta de trabajo y no deben interferir en el derecho legal del trabajador a presentar documentos aceptables de autorización para trabajar para demostrar su autorización para trabajar en los Estados Unidos».
Con base en su investigación, el Departamento concluyó que National Systems había restringido la contratación únicamente a ciudadanos de los EE. UU., basándose en suposiciones acerca de las preferencias de sus clientes e independientemente de si existían fundamentos legales para lo mismo. Por otra parte, el Departamento concluyó que incluso cuando National Systems estaba dispuesto a considerar a solicitantes que no eran ciudadanos de los EE. UU., tales como residentes permanentes legales, la agencia los discriminó de todos modos al requerir que presentaran documentación específica para confirmar su autorización para trabajar antes de pasarlos al próximo paso del proceso de selección.
Por lo general, la INA solamente permite que los empleadores consideren exclusivamente a ciudadanos de los EE. UU. cuando así lo requiere una ley, un reglamento, un contrato gubernamental o una orden ejecutiva y no con base en las preferencias discriminatorias de un cliente o en suposiciones acerca de las preferencias de un cliente. La disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA también prohíbe que los empleadores pidan documentos adicionales o diferentes a los que sean necesarios para demostrar la autorización para trabajar con base en el estatus migratorio o de ciudadanía del empleado o bien por su nacionalidad de origen. A su vez, en la INA, el Congreso determinó que todo individuo con autorización para trabajar, independientemente de su estatus de ciudadanía, puede elegir los documentos válidos y legalmente aceptables que desea presentar para demostrar su elegibilidad para trabajar en los Estados Unidos. No obstante, la INA sí permite que los empleadores rechacen documentos que no parecen ser genuinos. Por último, la INA no permite que un empleador verifique la autorización para trabajar de uno antes de ofrecerle un trabajo.
Conforme a los términos del acuerdo conciliatorio, National Systems pagará a Estados Unidos una sanción civil que asciende a 34.200 $, capacitará a sus empleados en cuanto a los requisitos de la disposición antidiscriminatoria de la INA y cambiará sus políticas para garantizar su futuro cumplimiento con la ley.
Edmonson Co. High School Teacher Charged with Attempted Production of Child Pornography, Attempted EnticementRead the Press Release
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – An Edmonson County High School Teacher has been arrested and charged with attempted production of child pornography and attempted online enticement, announced United States Attorney Russell Coleman.
“The United States Attorney’s Office and the Kentucky Attorney General stand united in protecting our kids,” said U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman. “We will not permit predators to use the guise of our some of our most trusted and respected fellow citizens, its teachers, to exploit our young people.”
“Child perpetrators are becoming increasingly clever in the methods they use to entice and exploit children, and our Department of Criminal Investigations is focused on devoting resources to tracking these perpetrators online and stopping them before they can carry out crimes against a child,” said Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. “Our office worked closely on this investigation with U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman, U.S. Secret Service, Kentucky State Police, Edmonson County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and Louisville Metro Police Department, and I appreciate their partnership.”
William Oneal Lindsey, 28, of Brownsville, Kentucky, was charged on January 13, 2021, by criminal complaint.
According to the criminal complaint, on January 7, 2021, the defendant began an online conversation that was sexual in nature with what he believed to be a minor. In fact, Lindsey was talking with an undercover officer with the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General’s Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
After several days of conversations, Lindsey was taken into custody at his place of employment, Edmonson County High School without incident. According to the complaint, Lindsey waived Miranda and agreed to be interviewed. During the interview, he admitted the person he met online he knew to be a minor and that the conversation was sexual in nature and he asked for images. He offered that he should not have engaged in the behavior because of the age of the person he was talking to, and went on to say that he had communicated with numerous other girls on various platforms concerning sexually explicit topics and that he believed many of them were minors.
The statutory maximum penalty for attempted enticement is no less than 10 years and no more than life; attempted production carries a sentence of no less than 15 years, and no more than life.
Both counts carry a fine of $250,000, and no less than 5 years and no more than life of Supervised Release per count.
A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged and must be made under oath before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. The charge set forth in a complaint is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a Court of law.
Assistant United States Attorney Jo Lawless is prosecuting the case. The Office of the Kentucky Attorney General, Department of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from the United States Secret Service, Kentucky State Police, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and Edmonson County Sheriff’s Office.
Edgerton, Wisconsin Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Enticement of a ChildRead the Press Release
A man who enticed a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity was sentenced on January 14, 2021, to 12 years in federal prison.
Sean Matthew Williams, age 25, from Edgerton, Wisconsin, received the prison term after an August 27, 2020, guilty plea to one count of Coercion and Enticement.
In a plea agreement, Williams admitted that between March 1, and May 8, 2020, he persuaded a person under the age of 18 to engage in illegal sexual activity. He further admitted engaging in cell phone conversations with the victim, whom he knew to be 15 years old. During the conversations, he knowingly persuaded the victim to have sex with him or attempted to do so. Williams admitted driving from Edgerton, Wisconsin to northwest Iowa to have sex with the 15-year-old victim. Williams went to the victim’s residence, picked her up, and was driving with her when stopped by local law enforcement for a traffic violation. Alert questioning by the law enforcement officer resulted in the discovery of Williams’ scheme. A search of the vehicle Williams was driving revealed a box of condoms, zip ties, and a roll of Gorilla brand tape.
Williams was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Williams was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Williams is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Duax and investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa Crimes Against Children Task Force, the LeMars, Iowa Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-CR-4045.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Dominican National Sentenced for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for heroin trafficking.
Angel Martinez-Peguero, 30, who previously resided in Lawrence, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 10 years in prison and four years of supervised release.
In November 2020, Martinez-Peguero pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. In January 2019, Angel was charged along with his brother, Alexander Martinez-Peguero, 38, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison in December 2020.
On Dec. 20, 2018, investigators seized nearly one kilogram of heroin from the Martinez-Peguero brothers during a law enforcement operation in Lawrence. Investigators also seized a loaded semi-automatic pistol from Angel Martinez-Peguero’s waistband upon his arrest. During a search of the Martinez-Peguero brother’s residence agents seized over $15,000 cash and $17,000 worth of jewelry.
United States Attorney Andrew Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England Division; and Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
Department of Justice provides list of charges relating to Capitol BreachRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice has created a webpage listing each defendant charged in connection with the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The list includes the name of the defendant, case number, charges, a link to any DOJ press releases relating to the case, and the status of the case:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/investigations-regarding-violence-capitol
Every case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Following arrests, or surrender, defendants must appear before district court magistrate/judge where the arrest takes place, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
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Department of Justice Alleges Conditions at Cumberland County Jail Violate the ConstitutionRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey today announced that they believe the Cumberland County Jail failed to take measures to prevent inmate suicides and provide adequate mental health care.
The Department concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that the facility failed to screen for or provide adequate mental health treatment to inmates at risk of self-harm and suicide, in violation of the Eighth and 14th Amendments of the Constitution. The Department alleged that inmates faced a heightened risk of self-harm and suicide due to the jail’s failure to provide medication-assisted treatment, where clinically indicated, to inmates experiencing unmedicated opiate withdrawal.
“The opioid epidemic continues to afflict communities across the country,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. “By providing medication-assisted treatment to inmates experiencing opiate withdrawal, officials at jails and prisons can take significant steps to both combat that epidemic and protect the constitutional rights of incarcerated individuals. We have been encouraged by the cooperation of Cumberland County Jail officials throughout our investigation, and their stated commitment to ensure the safety and constitutional rights of their inmates. We look forward to continuing to work with them to resolve these significant concerns.”
“Our investigation revealed that Cumberland County fails to provide adequate mental health care to inmates at risk of self-harm and suicide,” Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights John B. Daukas said. “We look forward to working with County officials to ensure that the jail provides constitutionally adequate care, including medication-assisted treatment for inmates experiencing unmedicated opiate withdrawal, when appropriate.”
Although the Cumberland County Jail, located in Bridgeton, New Jersey, recently began providing medication-assisted treatment to inmates experiencing opiate withdrawal, the funding for such future treatment remains uncertain.
As required by the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), the Department provided the facility with written notice of the supporting facts for these alleged violations and the minimum remedial measures necessary to address them.
The Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for District of New Jersey initiated the investigation in June 2018 under CRIPA, which authorizes the Department to take action to address a pattern or practice of deprivation of constitutional rights of individuals confined to state or local government-run correctional facilities.
Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals who believe their civil rights may have been violated may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office at http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement/complaint.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael E. Campion, Chief of the Civil Rights Unit; Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Vassallo, Deputy Chief of the Civil Division; Mary Bohan, Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section; Marlysha Myrthil, Senior Trial Attorney, Special Litigation Section; and Curtis Harris, Trial Attorney, Special Litigation Section.
Defendant Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISISRead the Press Release
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Azizjon Rakhmatov, a citizen of Uzbekistan and a resident of New Haven, Connecticut, was sentenced to 12 ½ years’ imprisonment by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II, for conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). In August 2019, Rakhmatov pleaded guilty to the charge. The U.S. government intends to seek the defendant’s removal to Uzbekistan upon completion of his sentence of imprisonment.
Seth D. DuCharme, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Dermot F. Shea, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.
“Today’s sentence demonstrates that there are significant consequences for those who support terrorism.” stated Acting United States Attorney DuCharme. “The investigation and prosecution of Rakhmatov and his co-conspirators are the result of this Office’s unwavering commitment, along with our outstanding partners on the New York Joint Terrorist Task Force, to detect, disrupt and neutralize any individual or group that is under the mistaken impression that violence is a legitimate means to effect political change, here or abroad. Once again, we have rooted out ISIS’s supporters, methods and means, and prevented ISIS from carrying out its abhorrent extremist agenda.”
According to court filings, in 2014, Rakhmatov’s co-defendants Abdurasul Juraboev and Akhror Saidakhmetov planned to travel to Syria to fight on behalf of ISIS. Rakhmatov and co-defendant Abror Habibov discussed providing their own money to cover Saidakhmetov’s travel expenses and to purchase a firearm for Saidakhmetov once he arrived in Syria. Rakhmatov also agreed to collect money from others to fund Saidakhmetov’s travel. On the day before Saidakhmetov’s scheduled departure, Rakhmatov transferred $400 into co-defendant Akmal Zakirov’s personal bank account to facilitate Saidakhmetov’s travel to and expenses in Syria. Co-conspirator Dilkhayot Kasimov also agreed to fund Saidakhmetov’s travel and brought the group’s money to Saidakhmetov at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Juraboev, Saidakahmetov, Habibov and Zakirov have previously pleaded guilty, and Kasimov was convicted at trial in September 2019. Juraboev and Saidakahmetov each were sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. Kasimov, Habibov and Zakirov are awaiting sentencing.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security & Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Douglas M. Pravda, David K. Kessler, and J. Matthew Haggans are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance provided by Trial Attorney Steven Ward of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
The Defendant:
AZIZJON RAKHMATOV
Age: 33
New Haven, ConnecticutE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-95 (S-3)
Decatur Man to Serve 90 Years in Prison for Child Sex CrimesRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – U.S. District Judge James E. Shadid today sentenced Gary L. Boyle, 36, of Decatur, Ill., to 50 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child and child pornography. Boyle’s federal sentence will be served consecutive to a state sentence of 40 years ordered in September 2020 in Macon County Court for predatory criminal sexual assault. Boyle, of the 5400 block of West Main St., was remanded to the U.S. Marshals Service.
In court documents and at today’s hearing, the government described Boyle as “a manipulative pedophile who consumes young children for his own sexual pleasure,” and as an avid collector of violent child pornography. Evidence demonstrates that Boyle’s collection included images of violent sexual acts committed by adults against toddlers and six-to eight-year old children who are nude and bound with rope at their wrists. Boyle participated in online child exploitation groups where he traded child pornography and ultimately live-streamed abuse against an eight-year-old victim.
On Sept. 6, 2020, Boyle pleaded guilty to seven counts of child sexual exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson represented the government in the federal case. The charges are the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, the Decatur Police Department, and the Macon County Sheriff’s Office.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Convicted Felon with Firearm Who Fled from Police Receives Seven Year SentenceRead the Press Release
Memphis, TN –Patrick Vaughn, 35, has been sentenced to 84 months in federal prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney announced the sentence today.
According to information presented in court, on January 4, 2019, detectives with Memphis Police Department's Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) were conducting surveillance for a suspect in a carjacking that occurred on December 21, 2018 at the Gold Club in Memphis, Tennessee. Detectives were in the area of Poplar Ave and Hollywood Street, when they observed Vaughn, driving a 2006 Kia Amanti. In an attempt to avoid the traffic stop, Vaughn began making several U-turns at a high rate of speed, ultimately striking several vehicles. He was apprehended after a short foot chase.
A search of the vehicle revealed a Ruger .380 pistol on the passenger's side floorboard. The front seat passenger advised law enforcement that the firearm did not belong to her. Vaughn waived his Miranda rights and admitted to possessing the firearm.
Vaughn is a convicted felon, having previously been convicted of Burglary of a Motor Vehicle, Identity Theft, and Carjacking. As a result of his prior felony convictions, Vaughn is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
On January 13, 2021, U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr., sentenced Vaughn to 84 months in federal prison followed by three years supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "As a fleeing felon in possession of a firearm, Vaughn presented a danger to the public and to law enforcement in multiple ways. The seven year sentence imposed in this case rightly punishes him for his recidivist behavior, removes him from the community, and makes Memphis a safer place."
The Memphis Police Department - Violent Crimes Unit (VCU) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated this case.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel D. Winnig prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. SAUSA Winnig is currently assigned from the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office to prosecute violent crimes and firearms offenses in federal court.
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Clinton Woman Sentenced for Social Security Fraud and False StatementsRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Clinton woman was sentenced today in federal court for Social Security fraud and making false statements, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Katherine Prosper, 62, to four years of probation, with a condition of home confinement not to exceed six months. She was also ordered to pay $89,864.00 in restitution to the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). Prosper pleaded guilty on January 10, 2020.
According to court records, from about August 2006 through March 2019, Prosper, a recipient of Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”), concealed the presence of her husband in her household in order to maintain her eligibility to receive benefit payments. SSI benefits are paid to people with limited income who are blind, disabled or elderly. Prosper’s husband had sufficient income to render her ineligible for the benefits she received during that period. In multiple reviews of her eligibility for benefits, she falsely represented to SSA that she was living alone and not receiving help or money from any other person during this time. During an interview with law enforcement agents, she admitted to concealing her living situation from SSA because she knew it would make her ineligible to receive SSI.
SSA’s Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.
Carroll Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Receipt of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who received child pornography was sentenced January 13, 2021 to more than 7 years in federal prison.
Kyler Colten Cook, age 30, from Carroll, IA, received the prison term after a September 23, 2020 guilty plea to receipt of child pornography.
In a plea agreement, Cook admitted that between February 8, 2019 and December 3, 2019, he knowingly received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
While released pending trial, Cook was caught sending graphic texts and visual images to a female and was then detained in federal custody pending trial.
Cook was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Cook was sentenced to 93 months’ imprisonment and fined $3,000. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Carroll Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 20-CR-3023.
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Cahokia Health Care Worker Pleads Guilty to Enticing, Transporting Collinsville Girl for Criminal Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Ricardo D. Minor, 40, of Cahokia, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor, transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, and attempting to obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding. All three crimes arose from an illegal relationship the defendant developed with an underage patient he met while working as a behavioral health specialist at Touchette Regional Hospital in Centreville, Illinois.
Court records establish that between June 14, 2017, and Sept. 3, 2017, Minor used a cell phone and the internet to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce the underage victim (identified as M.F.) to engage in criminal sexual activity that violated Illinois state law. The sexual acts occurred in
Collinsville – near M.F.’s residence and at her friend’s house – and at the defendant’s residence in Cahokia. Minor also worked as an Uber driver and would often travel from Illinois to Missouri.
The defendant sometimes asked M.F. to accompany him on these trips and had sex with her there, in violation of Missouri state law.In late August 2017, staff members at the hospital learned of Minor’s sexual relationship with the victim from another patient (identified as T.Y.). The following day, Minor sent M.F. a series of text messages instructing her to try to convince T.Y. to retract her statement. Four days later, Minor instructed M.F. to tell one of his co-workers and other hospital staff that she had not been engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with the defendant, when in fact she had.
As part of his guilty plea, Minor also admitted that on Nov. 27, 2017, while housed in the St.
Louis County Justice Center on a second degree statutory rape charge relating to his unlawful sexual activity with M.F. in Missouri, he made a series of phone calls to another person
(identified as T.J.) and instructed T.J. to lean on the victim’s family not to pursue criminal charges against him. T.J. did, in fact, contact the victim’s family members and told them that if they pressed charges things would “get ugly.”Minor’s sentencing date has not yet been set. He faces 10 years to life on counts one and two
(enticement of a minor and transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity), and not more than 20 years on count three (attempting to obstruct, nfluence, and impede an official proceeding). All three counts also carry a fine of up to $250,000.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May
2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.
For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”The case was investigated by the Collinsville Police Department, the St. Louis County Polic
Department and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott is prosecuting the case.Butler County Man Sentenced for Role in Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Portersville, PA, has been sentenced in federal court to time served followed by three years’ supervised release on his convictions of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Ray Chrzanowski, age 53.
According to information presented to the court, in 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration initiated a wiretap investigation, primarily targeting the GBK street gang and drug trafficking in and around an area known as the Greenway Projects, located in the West End of the City of Pittsburgh. The wiretap investigation revealed that from in and around November 2017 through in and around June 2018, Ray Chrzanowski conspired to distribute quantities of crack cocaine, heroin, and cocaine.
Prior to imposing sentence, Senior Judge Schwab stated that the sentence was sufficient but not greater than necessary to achieve the goals of sentencing.
Assistant United States Attorneys Tonya Sulia Goodman and Yvonne M. Saadi prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Brady commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration jointly with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police, Robinson Township Police Department, Stowe Township Police Department, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Wilkinsburg Borough Police Department, and the McKees Rocks Police Department, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Chrzanowski.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Brooklyn Man Indicted for Armed Robberies of Cab DriversRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Dermot F. Shea, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, and John B. DeVito, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), announced that KYMAHLI LYSIUS was indicted today in connection with armed robberies he carried out last summer against livery cab drivers. LYSIUS was arrested last week and presented in Manhattan federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin N. Fox.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss stated: “Kymahli Lysius allegedly carried out a spree of brazen gunpoint robberies of livery cab drivers in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Lysius’s alleged conduct includes chillingly pointing a gun at the back of drivers’ heads and demanding their money, then fleeing on foot under the cover of night. We thank the NYPD and ATF for holding Kymahli responsible for alleged acts that put his victims in fear for their lives.”
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said: “This individual allegedly targeted hard-working victims and exploited the nature of their job to lure them to a location for the purpose of a robbery. I commend the detectives and members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District, for targeting violent crime and their hard work which resulted in this indictment.”
ATF Special Agent-in-Charge John B. DeVito said: “As alleged, defendant Lysius committed several armed robberies of honest and hard-working New Yorkers who were trying to provide for their families in the midst of a pandemic. This indictment sends a clear message that ATF and our law enforcement partners remain committed to ensuring public safety and that those who violate federal law and threaten the safety of our communities and the citizens within will be dealt with swiftly."
As alleged in the Complaint unsealed last week in Manhattan federal court[1]:
Between on or about July 28, 2020, and August 7, 2020, LYSIUS committed eight gunpoint robberies and a ninth attempted gunpoint robbery against livery cab drivers. Two of the robberies were in Manhattan; the others were in Brooklyn. The robberies followed a simple but brazen pattern: On each occasion, a livery cab was ordered for a pick up at a specific location. Upon its arrival, LYSIUS would get into the back seat of the cab. Shortly thereafter, he would pull out a firearm from a fanny pack strapped across his chest, place the firearm on the cab driver’s head or back, and demand all of the driver’s money. After taking all the cash the driver had on him and any other cash in the cab, LYSIUS would get out of the cab and flee on foot. Each robbery occurred on dark streets, late at night or in the very early morning hours.
LYSIUS, 28, of Brooklyn, is charged with two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of using a firearm in connection with the two robberies that occurred in Manhattan. The Hobbs Act robbery charges each carry a statutory maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. The charges for using, carrying, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the Hobbs Act robberies each carry a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.
Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, the ATF, and the Strategic Pattern Armed Robbery Technical Apprehension (“SPARTA”) Task Force.
The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah L. Kushner is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint and Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Bristol, Virginia Man Sentenced for Illegal Possession of Machinegun, SilencerRead the Press Release
AGBINGDON, Va.- Michael Houser, a Bristol, Virginia man who was convicted of federal gun offenses occurring in both the Western District of Virginia and Western District of North Carolina, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Abingdon to 30 months in prison, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar of the Western District of Virginia, United States Attorney Andrew R. Murray of the Western District of North Carolina, and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division made the announcement today.
Houser, 48, pleaded guilty in October 2020 to two counts of an indictment filed in the Western District of Virginia charging him with possession of an unregistered machinegun and possession of an unregistered silencer. In addition, Houser pleaded guilty to a one-count Information filed in the Western District of North Carolina charging him with illegal possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon. Today’s sentencing covers the charges filed in both districts.
According to court documents, on December 4, 2019, Houser was arrested at his home in Bristol, Virginia on state charges. Following his arrest, Houser called a friend and asked him to retrieve certain firearms and ammunition from Houser’s home. At Houser’s request, the friend retrieved several firearms, a silencer, and ammunition.
During an investigation, ATF agents examined a receiver from one of the firearms and determined that it met the definition of a machinegun. Houser had not registered either the machinegun or the silencer, as required by federal statute.
On or about January 23, 2020, Houser was convicted of two felonies in Washington County, Virginia. After his July 2020 federal indictment relating to the machinegun and silencer, law enforcement located Houser in Avery County, North Carolina. At the time of his arrest, Houser was found to be in possession of three firearms and ammunition, after having been convicted of the two prior felonies.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Avery County, North Carolina Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Whit D. Pierce, of the Western District of Virginia, and David Thorneloe, of the Western District of North Carolina, are prosecuting the case for the United States.
Bristol Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud Financial InstitutionsRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Virginia – Kathleen Littleford, a Bristol, Virginia woman, who fraudulently opened several bank accounts, deposited counterfeit checks, and shipped large quantities of cash overseas in order to assistant a man with whom she was involved in an online relationship, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to a federal conspiracy charge, Acting United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar announced.
Littleford, 76, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to execute a scheme to defraud financial institutions to obtain money by false pretenses. At sentencing, Littleford faces up to 30 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $1 million. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 6, 2021.
“Financial fraud cases like this are not victimless crimes,” Acting United States Attorney Bubar said today. “Thousands of Americans are targeted in similar online financial schemes, and when they willingly participate, the fraud is perpetuated. The Western District of Virginia is committed to investigating and prosecuting these kinds of online fraud schemes and we appreciate the good work of our federal and state partners in this case.”
According to court documents, beginning in 2018, Littleford opened a series of bank accounts for the purpose of depositing counterfeit checks and receiving fraudulent transfers of funds from other banking institutions. She did so to assist a man she met online calling himself Frank Peterson. Beginning with his introduction and continuing to the present day, Littleford engaged in an amorous relationship with Peterson, engaging in frequent emailing, text messaging, Facebook messaging, and phone call communications.
“Peterson” made representations to Littleford over the course of their relationship that he made a lot of money in a trade deal in Dubai, that those funds were encumbered by the IRS due to taxes he owed, that he had a lot of money tied up in stocks, and that he needed Littleford’s help receiving funds from banking institutions because he could not transfer money himself, due to the IRS claims on his accounts.
Littleford admitted today that premised on Peterson’s representations and enticed by a reciprocal love and devotion he showed her, Littleford undertook extraordinary measures to comply with Peterson’s fraudulent financial requests. Littleford knew what she was doing was wrong, but knowingly and willfully engaged in the conduct anyway.
Over the course of the scheme, Littleford opened accounts with at least five local banks and fraudulently received move than $190,000 in funds to which she was not entitled.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service and the Russell County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel J. Murphy is prosecuting the case for the United States.
Bernalillo County man pleads guilty to possession of firearms, destructive devicesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – David Richard Chavez, 57, of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, pleaded guilty in federal court today to possession of an unregistered destructive device and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to the plea agreement and other court records, on April 26, 2020, Chavez barricaded himself inside his home when officers arrived in response to a domestic dispute between Chavez and his wife. Chavez threatened to burn down the couple’s home and later attempted to do so using two Molotov cocktails. At the time, Chavez also possessed a stolen .380 caliber pistol and 36 rounds of ammunition.
Chavez has five prior felony convictions from New Mexico and Montana, including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, theft and criminal endangerment. As a previously convicted felon, Chavez cannot legally possess a firearm or ammunition.
Chavez will remain in custody pending sentencing. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Chavez faces up to four years and nine months in prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jaymie L. Roybal is prosecuting the case.
Baton Rouge Man Pleads Guilty to Wire FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Brandon J. Fremin announced today that Todd Mixon, age 50, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud before Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick.
According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, Mixon solicited potential victims to invest in investment groups or ventures, in which he promised to trade their pooled funds in the foreign exchange markets, and at the end of the venture, promised to return to each victim his or her proportionate share of the group’s pooled funds, including profits.
In order to induce victims to invest with him, Mixon made numerous materially false promises and representations, including that the funds would be used only for trading in the foreign exchange markets through forex trading outlets; Mixon would invest his own funds in the venture; he would take a small percentage of net profits as a commission; and no other funds would be withdrawn until the end of the investment. To make the investments appear legitimate, Mixon sent victims text messages with screen shots of fake trades and emails with fake account statements from foreign exchange trading platforms, which falsely showed steadily increasing values in the victims’ purported ventures. Mixon further falsely told victims that their investments were making profits.
In truth, none of the money that Mixon received from victims was ever invested in any market, but was instead either diverted to his personal use or used to pay other victims their “proceeds.” Ultimately, Mixon convinced at least 47 individuals to invest with him and obtained at least $550,001 in victim funds.
U.S. Attorney Brandon J. Fremin stated, “Wrongdoers like Mr. Mixon who scam innocent victims for their own personal benefit will be held accountable. We will continue to vigorously prosecute those who devise and participate in these types of schemes and, more importantly, restore justice to the victims to the best of our ability. I would like to recognize the outstanding efforts of our prosecutor and the FBI for their exemplary work in this case.”
“Today’s guilty plea sends a clear message that individuals like Mr. Mixon who engage in fraudulent foreign trading schemes that impact innocent investors will be held accountable. Mr. Mixon knowingly deceived dozens of investors out of over $500,000 and chose to use their money for his own selfish greed,” said Bryan Vorndran, FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge. “I would like to thank the efforts put forth by our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office Middle District of Louisiana and the Miami Regional Office of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for helping the FBI disrupt fraud like this.”
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth White who also serves as Deputy Criminal Chief.
Baltimore Bank Robber Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Douglas Randall Phillips, age 58, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 151 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for federal charges of bank robbery and violation of his federal supervised release from a prior bank robbery conviction. Judge Messitte also ordered Phillips to pay restitution in the full amount of the victim’s loss.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Melissa R. Hyatt of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on December 13, 2019, Phillips entered a bank located in the 11000 block of York Road in Hunt Valley, Maryland and approached a teller. Phillips handed the teller a note which read, “This is a robbery, I have a gun and will begin shooting unless you give me all loose 100’s, 50’s + 20’s immediately.” Phillips obtained more than $700 from the teller and fled the branch on foot. After this incident, the bank circulated an internal alert amongst its employees, which included an image of Phillips from the bank’s surveillance camera footage from December 13, 2019.
On December 18, 2019, Phillips entered a different branch of the same bank in Baltimore, Maryland to make a withdrawal from his own account. The bank employees at this branch recognized Phillips from the internal bank alert and called police. Phillips was arrested and the clothes he was wearing at the time of his arrest were the same clothes worn by the robber in the surveillance footage from the December 13, 2019 robbery. Prior to the robbery, Phillips had been employed at a company located in Hunt Valley, close to the bank branch that he robbed.
At the time that Phillips committed the December 13, 2019, bank robbery Phillips knew he was on supervised release for a previous federal bank robbery conviction. Committing the December 13th robbery violated the conditions of his supervised release.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur praised the FBI, the Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Ayn B. Ducao, who prosecuted the case.
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Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $180 Million Settlement of Suit Against Toyota Motor Corporation for Decade-Long Noncompliance with Clean Air Act Reporting RequirementsRead the Press Release
Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jeffrey Bossert Clark, the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division (“ENRD”) of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), announced today that the United States has filed and simultaneously settled a civil lawsuit against TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC., TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, U.S.A., INC., and TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC. (“TOYOTA”) for systematic, longstanding violations of Clean Air Act emission-related defect reporting requirements, which require manufacturers to report potential defects and recalls affecting vehicle components designed to control emissions.
Along with the civil complaint, the United States has filed a consent decree, agreed to by TOYOTA, that resolves the government’s complaint through TOYOTA’s payment of a $180 million civil penalty and the imposition of injunctive relief. The $180 million penalty is the largest civil penalty for violation of EPA’s emission-reporting requirements. The injunctive provisions require TOYOTA to follow compliance and reporting practices designed to ensure timely investigation of emission-related defects and timely reporting to EPA, and include training, communication, and oversight requirements. The consent decree remains subject to a period of public comment and Court approval.
Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “For a decade, Toyota systematically violated regulations that provide EPA with a critical compliance tool to ensure that vehicles on the road comply with federal emissions standards. Toyota shut its eyes to the noncompliance, failing to provide proper training, attention, and oversight to its Clean Air Act reporting obligations. Toyota’s actions undermined EPA’s self-disclosure system and likely led to delayed or avoided emission-related recalls, resulting in financial benefit to Toyota and excess emissions of air pollutants. Today, Toyota pays the price for its misconduct with a $180 million civil penalty and agreement to injunctive relief to ensure that its violations will not be repeated.”
Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark said: “This settlement is yet another important milestone settlement for this Administration, and it continues our unwavering commitment to ensuring that our environmental laws as written, including EPA’s regulations, are rigorously enforced.
EPA Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine stated: “For a decade Toyota failed to report mandatory information about potential defects in their cars to the EPA, keeping the agency in the dark and evading oversight. EPA considers this failure to be a serious violation of the Clean Air Act.”
The complaint filed in Manhattan federal court today alleges that from approximately 2005 until at least late 2015, TOYOTA systematically violated Clean Air Act automobile defect reporting requirements designed to protect public health and the environment from harmful air pollutants.
Clean Air Act regulations require manufacturers to notify EPA by filing an Emissions Defect Information Report (“EDIR”) when 25 or more vehicles or engines in a given model year have the same defect in an emission control part or an element of design installed in order to comply with emission standards and other EPA regulations. The regulations also require vehicle manufacturers to file a Voluntary Emissions Recall Report (“VERR”) with EPA when they perform a recall to correct defects in emission-related parts, and to update EPA on the progress of such recalls through Quarterly Reports. These mandatory reporting requirements are critical to the Clean Air Act’s purpose of protecting human health and the environment from harmful air pollutants: They encourage manufacturers to investigate and voluntarily address defects that may result in excess emissions of harmful air pollutants, and provide EPA with important information about emission-related defects for use in its oversight of manufacturers.
For 10 years, TOYOTA routinely failed to comply with these reporting requirements. During that time, TOYOTA materially delayed filing an estimated 78 EDIRs, filing many only when disclosing non-compliance to EPA in 2015, at which point some were as much as eight years late. These EDIRs related to millions of vehicles with the potential to exhibit emission-related defects. TOYOTA also failed to file 20 VERRs and more than 200 Quarterly Reports.
During the period of noncompliance, TOYOTA managers and staff in Japan knew that TOYOTA was no longer even attempting to determine whether it was aware of 25 instances of the same emission-related defect in a model year – the threshold requirement for filing an EDIR. Rather than follow this legally required standard, TOYOTA unilaterally decided to file EDIRs principally when TOYOTA was required to file distinct reports with California regulators under a less strict standard – a standard that EPA had rejected as too lenient when TOYOTA had previously proposed to rely on it for federal reporting. TOYOTA managers and staff in Japan repeatedly identified the discrepancy between TOYOTA’s procedures and the plain language of the federal requirements, but failed to bring TOYOTA into compliance.
As a result of its conduct, TOYOTA deprived EPA of timely information regarding emission-related defects and recalls, and avoided the early focus on emission defects contemplated by the regulations. TOYOTA’s conduct likely resulted in delayed or avoided recalls, with TOYOTA obtaining a significant economic benefit, pushing costs onto consumers, and lengthening the time that unrepaired vehicles with emission-related defects remained on the road.
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In the consent decree lodged with the federal court today, TOYOTA admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for the following:
- Between approximately 2005 and late 2015, TOYOTA routinely filed emission defect reports to EPA materially late and, in many cases, failed to file such reports at all until a self-disclosure of non-compliance in late 2015.
Representations to EPA
- In March and May 2002, at EPA’s request, TOYOTA and EPA representatives met to discuss TOYOTA’s internal process for identifying whether 25 instances of a specific emission-related defect exist in vehicles or engines of the same model year, requiring an EDIR filing.
- At a first meeting in March 2002, TOYOTA described its EDIR process in which TOYOTA would investigate whether it had 25 defects only upon receiving 25 “product reports” from its dealers, but would supplement that review by filing an EDIR upon receiving warranty claims for an emission-related part in 4% of TOYOTA’s California fleet (a threshold requiring a separate filing to state authorities under California law).
- At the meeting, EPA rejected this EDIR process as not timely considering warranty claims, despite the incorporation of the 4% California trigger.
- At a May 2002 meeting with EPA, Toyota presented its revised process. Under that process, Toyota would commence an investigation to determine whether an EDIR filing was required when it had received warranty claims for an emission-related part for 1% of relevant vehicles nationwide; when it received 500 such warranty claims regardless of the percentage; or when it received 25 similar early warning reports.
- TOYOTA noted internally that EPA seemed pleased with this approach, which EPA had described as “more stringent than California.”
- In 2003, 2004, and 2005, as part of an annual review, TOYOTA submitted its May 2002 process in writing to EPA as an overview of its EDIR reporting program.
TOYOTA’s Conduct from Approximately 2005 to 2015
- Without notifying EPA, in approximately 2005, TOYOTA stopped following the May 2002 EDIR process.
- In approximately 2005, TOYOTA began filing EDIRs primarily when filing the California reports triggered by the 4% threshold. TOYOTA also filed EDIRs in a small number of instances when it was otherwise filing VERRs with EPA.
- From approximately 2005 to 2015, TOYOTA stopped making any independent determination of whether 25 defects existed requiring an EDIR filing.
- Multiple times during this period, TOYOTA staff charged with preparing EDIRs identified that the plain language of the EDIR regulations called for filing an EDIR upon the identification of 25 defects, but that TOYOTA was not doing so. These staff did not cause TOYOTA to change its practice.
- As a result of this conduct, TOYOTA filed at least 69 EDIRs materially late. Thirty-nine of these were filed materially late in the ordinary course of TOYOTA’s business. In late 2015, TOYOTA self-disclosed another 30 that had not been filed at all. Some EDIRs were ultimately filed as many as eight years after they were due.
- Beyond EDIRs, TOYOTA also failed during this period to file 20 VERRs required for emission-related recall campaigns that it conducted and failed to file more than 200 Quarterly Reports related to such campaigns.
- Between 2005 and 2015, TOYOTA failed to provide its employees with adequate training, resources, or oversight to ensure that TOYOTA complied with its reporting obligations to EPA.
- As a result of TOYOTA’s conduct, EPA did not timely receive mandated information regarding emission-related defects and recalls.
Notice of the proposed consent decree will be published in the Federal Register and the public will have the opportunity to submit comments on the consent decree for a period of at least 30 days before it is submitted for the Court’s approval.
Acting U.S. Attorney Strauss thanked the attorneys in EPA’s Air Enforcement Division, the program staff at EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality, and the agents at EPA’s Criminal Investigative Division for their critical work on this case. Acting U.S. Attorney Strauss also thanked the ENRD attorneys who assisted in the matter.
This case is being handled by the Environmental Protection Unit of the Office’s Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert William Yalen, Dominika Tarczynska, and Jennifer Jude are in charge of the case.
Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen Attends Security Briefing at FBI’s Strategic Information and Operations Center on Inauguration Planning and Recent Capitol AttackRead the Press Release
Acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen attended a briefing today at the FBI’s Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC) on the recent attack on the Capitol building and law enforcement preparations for the upcoming presidential inauguration. Following the briefing, he addressed the assembled law enforcement partners and thanked them for their efforts.
“Americans can be proud of the effort the men and women of the Justice Department and our federal, state, and local partners have made in the days since the attack on the Capitol building,” said Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. “As I have said repeatedly, our efforts at investigating the wrongdoing of that day are continuing around the clock and we are fully committed to hold those who engaged in criminal acts accountable. Simultaneously, security preparations for the presidential inauguration and peaceful transfer of power continue and we will have absolutely no tolerance whatsoever for any attempts to disrupt any aspect of the inauguration or associated events leading up to, on, and following January 20.”
During the SIOC visit, Rosen was briefed by federal, state, and local partners on specifics of the security plans for this week and next. Following that security briefing, Mr. Rosen met with a team of FBI leaders for another update on the investigations concerning the attack on the Capitol building.
To date, approximately 80 cases have been charged and 34 individuals have been arrested for their alleged criminal conduct during the attack on the Capitol Building. The FBI has opened approximately 200 subject case files and received about 140,000 digital media tips from the public. Notably, many of the tips are coming from friends, co-workers and other acquaintances of those allegedly involved in the attack.
The Department also launched a new online service for the public and media to track defendants charged with criminal offenses related to the Capitol attack. The link is at Investigations Regarding Violence at the Capitol (justice.gov).
Following arrests, or surrender, defendants will appear before district court magistrate/judge where the arrest takes place, in accordance with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and prosecution will be by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
13 January 2021
Woman Charged in For-Profit Visa Fraud and Alien Smuggling SchemeRead the Press Release
A Nevada woman was arrested today for her alleged role in a multi-year scheme to commit visa fraud and money laundering, and to illegally bring Chinese nationals into the United States for financial gain.
Haiyan Liao, 43, of Las Vegas, is charged in an indictment obtained in the Eastern District of New York and unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. She is charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and to unlawfully bring aliens into the U.S. for financial gain, bringing aliens into the U.S. for financial gain, and money laundering conspiracy.
“The United States benefits from the rich diversity of culture and experience which results from lawful immigration into our country,” said David P. Burns, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This defendant, however, is charged with submitting false applications for visitor visas to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou and engaging in money laundering as part of a multi-year alien smuggling business that brought Chinese nationals into the United States illegally. This indictment underscores that those who seek to thwart our system of legal immigration to line their own pockets will be prosecuted.”
“As alleged in the indictment, Liao aided and abetted aliens who paid thousands of dollars for her fraudulent immigration services,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Seth D. DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York. “The defendant provided fake documents and coached her accomplices regarding how to lie during visa interviews and customs checks. Our office and our law enforcement agency partners remain vigilant and committed to protecting the integrity of the immigration process and our border security and preventing criminals from seeking profit in the subversion of the rule of law.”
“The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) is firmly committed to protecting the integrity of all U.S. visas and travel documents,” said Jeffrey A. Thomas, Deputy Assistant Director for the Office of Investigations. “This case is the result of a strong partnership among federal law enforcement agencies and DSS’ global network of special agents working together to stop visa and passport crimes, and to stop criminals from earning illegal income by exploiting U.S. visas, passports, and foreign nationals.”
According to the indictment, Liao, with others, fraudulently obtained visitor visas by submitting applications containing false statements to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China as part of a scheme to assist aliens from China to enter the U.S. For the aliens whose applications were approved, Liao would facilitate the aliens’ travel to the U.S., including accompanying them on commercial flights to Queens and Brooklyn, New York. The aliens and their families paid thousands of dollars in exchange for the visitor visas and travel to the U.S. Liao’s co-defendant in the indictment, Ned Michael Moriearty, was recently deceased.
This case is being investigated by the DSS, Criminal Fraud Investigations Unit Branch.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Rami S. Badawy of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nomi Berenson of the Eastern District of New York.
The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
White River Junction Man Sentenced to 36 Months for Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
CONCORD - Hallet Merrick, 34, of White River Junction, Vermont was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm and fentanyl, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 20, 2019, Lebanon Police officers made contact with Merrick and arrested him on a warrant for failing to appear in Grafton County Superior Court. During searches of his person incident to his arrest, officers discovered approximately six grams of fentanyl, which Merrick claimed was for personal use. Officers also discovered a handgun in his sweatshirt pocket. As a convicted felon, Merrick is legally prohibited from possessing firearms.
Merrick previously pleaded guilty on August 28, 2020.
“In order to protect the public, we work closely with our law enforcement partners to keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “Convicted felons who possess firearms are violating federal law and endangering our communities. Armed criminals like Merrick should understand that possessing a gun will have serious consequences, including federal prison time.”
This matter was investigated by the Lebanon Police Department, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joachim H. Barth.
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United States Attorney Jason Dunn's Statement Regarding the Third Circuit's Decision That Supervised Injection Sites Violate Federal LawRead the Press Release
“I commend and agree with the federal appellate court’s decision finding that facilities opened with the purpose of having visitors use heroin and fentanyl are doing so in violation of federal law. And as I have said previously, the idea of a government sponsored drug house is an anathema to the principle that government’s primary duty is to do no harm. We cannot combat the opioid epidemic by enabling individuals to access and use illegal deadly drugs, particularly in light of the recent rise in illicit fentanyl use. Such facilities would only serve to further the illicit drug trade and result in a greater number of overdose deaths, not less.”
safehouse_opinion.pdfU.S. Attorneys warn of charges against potential violent protestersRead the Press Release
HOUSTON - The U.S. Attorneys representing the four districts in Texas have announced intent to prosecute any crimes committed at the state capitol or otherwise in violation of federal law ahead of upcoming presidential inauguration.
“As I’ve said from the beginning, the rioters at the U.S. Capitol should be arrested, charged and incarcerated,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. “I will continue to work with my D.C. area colleagues proving any assistance for leads that come back to my district. And the four Texas US Attorneys will work together to investigate and prosecute any federal crimes that may occur at the state capitol. We cherish the free expression and ability to assemble, but it must be done peacefully as stated in the Constitution.”
U.S. Attorney Patrick joins his counterparts – U.S. Attorneys Gregg N. Sofer and Stephen J. Cox and Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah of the Western, Eastern and Northern Districts of Texas, respectively – to warn those planning to cross state lines to commit crimes in Texas or at the state capitol.
As the chief law enforcement officers in each of the federal districts, the U.S. Attorneys will be working with federal, state and local law enforcement throughout the state to aggressively identify crimes that violate federal law. The plan is to ensure that anyone who is arrested for committing looting, violence or any other crime related to protests or similar events on or about inauguration day will be processed and held in federal custody pending further criminal proceedings.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) in the District of Columbia (DC) is prosecuting those that have been or will be identified as allegedly committing crimes during the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week. The Texas U.S. Attorneys will also be working with Department of Justice (DOJ) officials and necessary law enforcement in those prosecutions. Any questions regarding those matters should be directed to DOJ Office of Public Affairs or to the USAO in D.C.
U.S. Attorneys in Texas Warn of Charges Against Potential Violent ProtestersRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorneys representing the four districts in Texas have announced their intent to prosecute any crimes committed at the state capitol or otherwise in violation of federal law ahead of upcoming presidential inauguration.
“Last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol in D.C. was reprehensible. We will not tolerate that type of behavior from protesters in Austin or anywhere in Texas,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “The Department of Justice will always support free speech, but we will never condone violence and destruction.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Shah joins his counterparts – U.S. Attorneys Ryan K. Patrick, Gregg N. Sofer, and Stephen J. Cox, of the Southern, Western, and Eastern Districts of Texas, respectively – to warn those planning to cross state lines to commit crimes in Texas or at the state capitol.
As the chief law enforcement officers in each of the federal districts, the U.S. Attorneys will be working with federal, state and local law enforcement throughout the state to aggressively identify acts that violate federal law. The plan is to ensure that anyone who is arrested for committing looting, violence or any other crime related to protests or similar events on or about inauguration day will be processed and held in federal custody pending further criminal proceedings.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia (DC) is prosecuting those that have been or will be identified as allegedly committing crimes during the riots at the U.S. Capitol last week. The Texas U.S. Attorneys are working with Department of Justice officials and law enforcement on those prosecutions.