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Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
10 June 2020
The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security Propose Rule on Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of RemovalRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (collectively, the Departments) submitted to the Federal Register for publication a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would amend multiple provisions of the Departments’ regulations to create more efficient procedures for the adjudication of claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) regulations. The NPRM is now available for public inspection and is expected to publish in the Federal Register in the near future.
The NPRM proposes to make the following changes to the Departments’ regulations:
- Amend the regulations governing credible fear determinations so that individuals found to have such a fear will have their claims for asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the CAT adjudicated by an immigration judge in streamlined proceedings, rather than in immigration court proceedings conducted under section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);
- Permit immigration judges to pretermit asylum applications without a hearing if the application does not demonstrate prima facie eligibility for relief;
- Clarify when an application is “frivolous”;
- Clarify standards for the adjudication of asylum and withholding claims including amendments to the definitions of the terms “particular social group,” “political opinion,” “persecution,” and “firm resettlement”;
- Outline factors for adjudicators to consider when making discretionary determinations;
- Clarify the standard for determining the acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity under the CAT regulations;
- Raise the burden of proof for the threshold screening of withholding and CAT protection claims from “significant possibility” to a “reasonable possibility” standard;
- Apply bars to asylum and withholding when making credible fear determinations; and
- Clarify the requirement to protect certain information contained in asylum applications.
Overall, the NPRM, consistent with the INA, would allow the Departments to more effectively separate baseless claims from meritorious ones. This would better ensure groundless claims do not delay or divert resources from deserving claims. The Departments will consider written comments regarding the NPRM that are submitted per the instructions in the publication.
St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Trafficking, Discharging FirearmRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A St. Louis, Missouri, man who shot a law enforcement officer before shooting himself pleaded guilty in federal court today to drug trafficking and illegally discharging a firearm in Joplin, Missouri.
E.F. Fitchpatrick, Jr., 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of discharging a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime.
By pleading guilty today, Fitchpatrick admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine from Feb. 18 to March 1, 2017. Fitchpatrick, who had been released from federal prison a few months earlier, was traveling back and forth to Texas to pick up methamphetamine in the weeks before his arrest. He picked up nearly a pound of methamphetamine in February 2017, which he distributed to several individuals in Joplin.
On March 1, 2107, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the Econolodge Inn and Suites at 3510 S. Rangeline Road in Joplin. After several failed attempts to open the room door with the hotel key card, officers attempted to ram the door, but were not able to get the door open. An Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team (ODET) detective used the battering ram to knock out the hotel room window. Another ODET detective reached in the window to move the curtain, and Fitchpatrick, who was standing in the bathroom doorway, shot the detective in the left side of his body before retreating to the bathroom and barricading himself inside.
Joplin police officers, utilizing a robot, were able to see that the bathroom door was closed with towels stuffed at the bottom of the door. After a couple of hours and numerous attempts and tactics, Fitchpatrick was taken into custody. Fitchpatrick had flushed the remaining drugs and shot himself in the face while barricaded inside the bathroom.
Inside the hotel room, officers found the Hi-Point .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun used in the shooting, drug paraphernalia, and items with methamphetamine residue.
Under federal statutes, Fitchpatrick is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Keller. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team, and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, and local law enforcement to specifically identify criminals responsible for significant violent crime in the Western District of Missouri. A centerpiece of this effort is Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program that identifies the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develops comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, Project Safe Neighborhoods focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.South Korean Engineering Company Pleads Guilty to Defrauding U.S. Army, Agrees to Pay $68.4 MillionRead the Press Release
SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. (SK), one of the largest engineering firms in the Republic of Korea, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud, in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain U.S. Army contracts through payments to a U.S. Department of Defense contracting official and the submission of false claims to the U.S. government.
SK entered the plea, pursuant to a plea agreement with the United States, before U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker in the Western District of Tennessee, who sentenced SK to pay $60,578,847.08 in criminal fines, the largest fine ever imposed against a criminal defendant in the Western District of Tennessee, pay $2,601,883.86 in restitution to the U.S. Army, and serve three years of probation, during which time SK agreed not to pursue U.S. federal government contracts. The U.S. Army previously suspended SK by order dated Nov. 17, 2017, from future contracting throughout the executive branch of the U.S. Government.
As part of SK’s plea agreement, SK agreed to, among other things, cooperate fully with the United States in all matters relating to the conduct covered by the plea agreement and other conduct under investigation by the United States, to report violations of U.S. federal law, and to continue to implement a compliance and ethics program designed to effectively detect and deter violations of U.S. federal law throughout its operations. Separately, SK has entered into a False Claims Act settlement with the United States, under which it is obligated to pay $5,200,000 in civil penalties to the United States, which the department credited against SK’s criminal fine.
“SK paid millions of dollars to secure contracts with the Army and submitted false claims to conceal those illicit payments,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s guilty plea and substantial criminal penalty sends a clear message: companies who voluntarily self-disclose misconduct, cooperate, and remediate will receive appropriate credit for their efforts. But companies like SK – which withheld and destroyed documents, attempted to persuade a witness not to cooperate, and failed to discipline any responsible employees – will pay a price.”
“This settlement demonstrates our commitment to root out corrupt practices that harm our military and American taxpayers, and to hold contractors accountable for their corruption,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
“Protecting the U.S. Treasury and the interests of the federal government abroad is a top priority of this office, and this guilty plea and sentence shows our commitment to hold foreign actors accountable for major fraud committed against the United States,” said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee. “The scheme committed by the defendant in this case is a serious crime of dishonesty and deceit that strikes at the very heart of those national interests and will not be tolerated. The Army-CID, the FBI, and DCIS are to be commended for their diligent investigative work in uncovering and exposing this fraud, and I am pleased that we have achieved justice by holding the defendant legally and financially accountable.”
“American contracts are not for sale in the United States, nor abroad,” said Paul Delacourt, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “This case should send a message to companies and officials domestically and overseas that the FBI and our partners will hold accountable those who threaten the integrity of our military operations and who abuse their position to profit personally at the expense of American taxpayers.”
“This plea demonstrates the great cooperation among our federal investigators and prosecutors,” said Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit. “It also holds SK responsible for their actions and sends a strong message that this type of conduct will not be tolerated.”
“This sort of abhorrent behavior is a serious threat to the integrity of the DoD acquisition process and a gross betrayal of the public trust” said Special Agent in Charge Stan Newell of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Transnational Operations Field Office. “The special agents of the DCIS, along with our partner agencies, will vigorously investigate and bring to justice those who pilfer taxpayer dollars and shamelessly enrich themselves through corruption and deceit.”
According to plea documents, SK obtained a large U.S. Army construction contract at Camp Humphreys, South Korea in 2008 worth hundreds of millions of dollars. SK paid millions of dollars to a fake Korean construction company named S&Teoul, which subsequently paid that money to a contracting official with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In order to cover approximately $2.6 million in payments to S&Teoul, and ultimately to the contracting official, SK submitted false documents to the U.S. Army.
SK also admitted that its employees obstructed and attempted to obstruct federal criminal investigations of the fraud and bribery scheme. SK admitted that, in April 2015, its employees burned large numbers of documents related to U.S. Army contracts, in order to hamper U.S. and Korean investigators. Further, SK admitted that, in the fall of 2017, its employees obstructed a federal criminal proceeding by attempting to persuade an individual not to cooperate with U.S. authorities.
A number of relevant considerations contributed to the United States’ criminal resolution with SK, including that SK frustrated the United States’ investigation by withholding requested documents and information, destroying documents relevant to a pending federal investigation, and attempting to persuade a potential witness not to cooperate with the investigation. In addition, SK did not discipline any employees responsible for the misconduct, either through direct participation or failure in oversight, or those with supervisory authority over the area in which the criminal activity occurred, and failed to retain business records and otherwise failed to prohibit the improper destruction and deletion of business records.
In November 2018, two SK employees, Hyeong-won Lee and Dong-Guel Lee, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Tennessee on charges of conspiracy, major fraud against the United States, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and obstruction of justice for their alleged roles in the scheme.
The indictment is only an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until found guilty by a court of law. The case is U.S. v. Lee (2:18-cr-20378-TLP). Hyeong-won Lee and Dong-Guel Lee are currently fugitives of justice.
Army-CID, DCIS, and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office investigated this case. Assistant Chief Justin Weitz and Trial Attorney Danny Nguyen of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Arvin of the Western District of Tennessee prosecuted the case. Trial Attorney Andrew Steinberg of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section represented the government in the civil case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Public Integrity Section and the Korean National Police Agency provided assistance in connection with the case.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
South Florida Resident Sentenced to 71 Months in Prison After Stealing about $2 million from Texas School DistrictRead the Press Release
Key West, Fl. – Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Matthew J. DeSarno, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Dallas Field Office, announced that Donald Howard Conkright, 63, a resident of the Florida Keys, was sentenced to 71 months in prison for laundering about $2,000,000 of a school district’s money.
Conkright was sentenced after a Key West jury found him guilty on March 4, 2020, of conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering. At trial, the government proved that through an elaborate business email compromise, the defendant obtained about $2,000,000 from a Texas School District intended for the ongoing construction of a new elementary school. Based on the fraudulent emails, the victim sent the $2,000,000 to the Defendant’s bank account. As soon as the victim’s money hit the Defendant’s bank account, the Defendant began to spend and conceal the money. He purchased Rolex watches, Apple products, and even a $128,000 BMW, among other transactions. The Defendant also withdrew tens of thousands of dollars from the account and wired hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the country. In addition, he sent $70,000 worth of computers to Nigeria. The evidence at trial also demonstrated that the Defendant had laundered and attempted to launder other victims’ money as part of the same conspiracy between 2017 and 2019.
U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsey Lazopoulos Friedman and Yisel Valdes prosecuted the case. AUSA Nicole Grosnoff handled asset forfeiture.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
South Bend, Indiana Man Re-Sentenced to 43 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND - Derek Fields, 30, of South Bend, Indiana was re-sentenced before United States District Court Judge Robert Miller, Jr, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch. This re-sentencing was necessary following the Seventh Circuit’s opinion vacating the district court’s previous sentence.
Fields was re-sentenced to 516 months in prison following his trial and subsequent guilty verdict on November 16, 2016 of kidnapping, extortion, felon in possession and using a firearm in a crime of violence. Fields was also ordered to pay restitution of $193,384.98 for lost wages of the victim and medical expenses.
“Crimes of violence, like those committed by Fields, will not be tolerated. As a result of Fields’ conduct, an individual suffered permanent injury. Crime is not victimless. Crime victims deserve to be protected from criminals like Fields, and I am grateful to the law enforcement agents and officers in bringing Fields to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
According to documents filed in this case, Fields and his codefendants unlawfully confined or kidnapped an individual against his will and demanded a ransom for that individual from his family. A firearm was discharged, hitting the victim, and caused permanent injuries to the victim. Two co-defendants, Lindani Mzembe and Ivan Brazier were also convicted in separate trials of similar offenses, and were sentenced to 524 months and 444 months respectively.
Fields’ original sentencing was announced in a February of 2017 press release.
This case was prosecuted as a result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Federal Bureau of Investigation; South Bend Police Department and the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John M. Maciejczyk and Joel Gabrielse.
Somerset County Man Charged with Online Enticement of Minor and Traveling Overseas to Engage in Criminal Sexual ConductRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Somerset County, New Jersey, man made his initial court appearance by videoconference today on charges that he enticed a minor over the internet to engage in sexual activity and traveled to the Philippines to engage in sex with the minor, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
James A. Diggs, 44, of Somerville, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of online enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity and one count of foreign travel to engage in criminal sexual activity. He made his initial appearance by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre and was detained.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between September 2018 and February 2019, Diggs used an online messaging application to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce “Minor Victim-1,” who was located in the Philippines, to engage in sexual activity. During the communications, Diggs solicited Minor Victim-1 to engage in sexual acts with him in return for money or material objects. Diggs encouraged Minor Victim-1 to keep their relationship secret because Minor Victim-1 was underage. In October 2018, Diggs traveled from New Jersey to the Philippines to meet and engage in sexual activity with Minor Victim-1.
Diggs used an online messaging application to entice and coerce three other minor victims in the Philippines to engage in unlawful sex acts. Between February 2015 and February 2019, Diggs traveled to the Philippines on at least seven occasions.
The online enticement of a minor charge carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years, and a $250,000 fine. The foreign travel to engage in criminal sexual activity charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Cherry Hill Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason Molina, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked agents of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, John F. Kennedy International Airport, for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Astorga of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Sanford and Waterville Awarded Funds to Address COVID-19 PandemicRead the Press Release
Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has awarded $56,996 to the City of Sanford and $41,186 to the City of Waterville to address the public safety challenges posed by the outbreak of COVID-19.
OJP awarded the grants as part of $850 million available under the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding program, authorized by the stimulus legislation President Trump signed in March. Since the program’s launch in early April, OJP has awarded over $825 million to 1,739 state, local and tribal agencies and organizations. Seventeen Maine jurisdictions have received a total of $4.3 million.
“The coronavirus continues to affect the entire state of Maine,” said U.S. Attorney Frank. “The Department of Justice is committed to supporting our law enforcement partners as they keep us safe during this unprecedented time.”
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act gives jurisdictions considerable latitude in the use of funds for dealing with COVID-19. Potential uses include hiring personnel, paying overtime, purchasing protective equipment and distributing resources to hard-hit areas. Grant recipients may also use funds to help correctional facilities cover costs related to COVID-19, including, but not limited to, sanitation, contagion prevention and measures designed to address the related medical needs of inmates, detainees and correctional personnel.
OJP, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information is at www.ojp.gov.
South Korean Engineering Company Pleads Guilty to Defrauding U.s. Army, Agrees to Pay $68.4 MillionRead the Press Release
MEMPHIS, TN– SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. (SK), one of the largest engineering firms in the Republic of Korea, pleaded guilty today to one count of wire fraud, in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain U.S. Army contracts through payments to a U.S. Department of Defense contracting official and the submission of false claims to the U.S. government.
SK entered the plea, pursuant to a plea agreement with the United States, before U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker in the Western District of Tennessee, who sentenced SK to pay $60,578,847.08 in criminal fines, the largest fine ever imposed against a criminal defendant in the Western District of Tennessee, pay $2,601,883.86 in restitution to the U.S. Army, and serve three years of probation, during which time SK agreed not to pursue U.S. federal government contracts. The U.S. Army previously suspended SK by order dated Nov. 17, 2017, from future contracting throughout the executive branch of the U.S. Government.
As part of SK’s plea agreement, SK agreed to, among other things, cooperate fully with the United States in all matters relating to the conduct covered by the plea agreement and other conduct under investigation by the United States, to report violations of U.S. federal law, and to continue to implement a compliance and ethics program designed to effectively detect and deter violations of U.S. federal law throughout its operations. Separately, SK has entered into a False Claims Act settlement with the United States, under which it is obligated to pay $5,200,000 in civil penalties to the United States, which the department credited against SK’s criminal fine.
"SK paid millions of dollars to secure contracts with the Army and submitted false claims to conceal those illicit payments," said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. "Today’s guilty plea and substantial criminal penalty sends a clear message: companies who voluntarily self-disclose misconduct, cooperate, and remediate will receive appropriate credit for their efforts. But companies like SK – which withheld
and destroyed documents, attempted to persuade a witness not to cooperate, and failed to discipline any responsible employees – will pay a price."
"This settlement demonstrates our commitment to root out corrupt practices that harm our military and American taxpayers, and to hold contractors accountable for their corruption," said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
"Protecting the U.S. Treasury and the interests of the federal government abroad is a top priority of this office, and this guilty plea and sentence shows our commitment to hold foreign actors accountable for major fraud committed against the United States," said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee. "The scheme committed by the defendant in this case is a serious crime of dishonesty and deceit that strikes at the very heart of those national interests and will not be tolerated. The Army-CID, the FBI, and DCIS are to be commended for their diligent investigative work in uncovering and exposing this fraud, and I am pleased that we have achieved justice by holding the defendant legally and financially accountable."
"American contracts are not for sale United States, nor abroad," said Paul Delacourt, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. "This case should send a message to companies and officials domestically and overseas that the FBI and our partners will hold accountable those who threaten the integrity of our military operations and who abuse their position to profit personally at the expense of American taxpayers."
"This plea demonstrates the great cooperation among our federal investigators and prosecutors," said Director Frank Robey of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command's (CID) Major Procurement Fraud Unit. "It also holds SK responsible for their actions and sends a strong message that this type of conduct will not be tolerated."
"This sort of abhorrent behavior is a serious threat to the integrity of the DoD acquisition process and a gross betrayal of the public trust" said Special Agent in Charge Stan Newell of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Transnational Operations Field Office. "The special agents of the DCIS, along with our partner agencies, will vigorously investigate and bring to justice those who pilfer taxpayer dollars and shamelessly enrich themselves through corruption and deceit."
According to plea documents, SK obtained a large U.S. Army construction contract at Camp Humphreys, South Korea in 2008 worth hundreds of millions of dollars. SK paid millions of dollars to a fake Korean construction company named S&Teoul, which subsequently paid that money to a contracting official with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In order to cover approximately $2.6 million in payments to S&Teoul, and ultimately to the contracting official, SK submitted false documents to the U.S. Army.
SK also admitted that its employees obstructed and attempted to obstruct federal criminal investigations of the fraud and bribery scheme. SK admitted that, in April 2015, its employees burned large numbers of documents related to U.S. Army contracts, in order to hamper U.S. and Korean investigators. Further, SK admitted that, in the fall of 2017, its employees obstructed a
federal criminal proceeding by attempting to persuade an individual not to cooperate with U.S. authorities.
A number of relevant considerations contributed to the United States’ criminal resolution with SK, including that SK frustrated the United States’ investigation by withholding requested documents and information, destroying documents relevant to a pending federal investigation, and attempting to persuade a potential witness not to cooperate with the investigation. In addition, SK did not discipline any employees responsible for the misconduct, either through direct participation or failure in oversight, or those with supervisory authority over the area in which the criminal activity occurred, and failed to retain business records and otherwise failed to prohibit the improper destruction and deletion of business records.
In November 2018, two SK employees, Hyeong-won Lee and Dong-Guel Lee, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Tennessee on charges of conspiracy, major fraud against the United States, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and obstruction of justice for their alleged roles in the scheme.
The indictment is only an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until found guilty by a court of law. The case is U.S. v. Lee (2:18-cr-20378-TLP). Hyeong-won Lee and Dong-Guel Lee are currently fugitives of justice.
Army-CID, DCIS, and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office investigated this case. Assistant Chief Justin Weitz and Trial Attorney Danny Nguyen of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Arvin of the Western District of Tennessee prosecuted the case. Trial Attorney Andrew Steinberg of the Civil Division’s Fraud Section represented the government in the civil case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Public Integrity Section and the Korean National Police Agency provided assistance in connection with the case.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
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Putnam County Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A Hurricane man was sentenced to federal prison for a child pornography offense, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Christopher Charles Hirst, 26, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for receipt of child pornography. Following his release from prison, Hirst will serve a term of 20 years on supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.
“Predators like Hirst are a parent’s worst nightmare,” United States Attorney Mike Stuart said. “My team and our federal, state and local law enforcement partners are committed to protecting West Virginia’s children. We will bring the full force of the law against child sex offenders.”
Hirst previously admitted that beginning in approximately August 2018 he began a relationship with a 14-year-old girl from Putnam County. During the course of that relationship, Hirst repeatedly asked the minor to send him sexually explicit photographs via the Snapchat app. When the minor ultimately sent the images, Hirst preserved those images without the minor’s knowledge. Hirst also admitted to taking several sexually explicit images of the minor in person, including one depicting them engaged in a sexual act.
The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald handled the prosecution.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice Continues Hearing on Community EngagementRead the Press Release
Yesterday, the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice continued its hearing on community engagement. The hearing was conducted via teleconference and featured expert witnesses who provided testimony and answered questions from the commissioners.
The commission received testimony from Glen Gilzean, President and CEO of the Central Florida Urban League; Norman Reimer, Executive Director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and; Deena Hayes-Greene, Managing Director, Trainer, and Organizer of the Racial Equity Institute.
The panelists discussed the role of community engagement in the criminal justice system. Mr. Gilzean testified to the importance of building trust between the African American community and law enforcement and provided a number of examples of programs that have demonstrated success in fostering dialogue between the two communities. Ms. Hayes-Greene testified to the systemic disparities that exist for African Americans across all professional fields, but particularly throughout the criminal justice system. Mr. Reimer’s testimony provided many recommendations for reforms for law enforcement, one in particular, he argued, is the need for law enforcement to be subject to certification and de-certification like other professional fields, such as lawyers, social workers, doctors, etc. The prospect of losing one’s certification could serve as a deterrent to wrongdoing and abuse, he said.
For more information on the commission, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/ag/presidential-commission-law-enforcement-and-administration-justice. Audio recordings and transcripts of the hearings will be posted online once available.
Portland Home Healthcare Company and Owner Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank today announced that a Portland home healthcare company and its owner have agreed to pay $111,200.46 to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act.
The civil settlement agreement with the United States and the State of Maine resolves allegations that Noble Home Health Care, Inc. (“Noble”) and its owner Mohamed A. Hassan (“Hassan”), submitted false claims to MaineCare (Maine’s Medicaid program) from May 2016 through September 2016. MaineCare is primarily funded by the United States, which pays approximately two-thirds of all reimbursed claims.
As alleged in a civil complaint filed today, Noble and Hassan submitted false claims for reimbursement to MaineCare for services provided to children with mental health diagnoses despite the fact that Noble did not hold the necessary mental health licensure to bill for such services. The United States and Maine contended that Maine Department of Health and Human Services (“Maine DHHS”) officials informed Hassan several times that Noble could neither provide nor bill for mental health services for its clients. Despite this, for nearly five months Noble and Hassan sought and received MaineCare funds for non-reimbursable, unlicensed services provided to 45 MaineCare members with mental health diagnoses. Hassan subsequently admitted to Maine DHHS that he had to pay MaineCare back for the services Noble had provided without a license.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine; and the Office of the Maine Attorney General investigated the case. The civil action is docketed United States & State of Maine v. Noble Home Health Care, Inc. et al., 20-cv-00204-GZS (D. Me.).
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to over Four Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Khalil Key, 32, of Philadelphia, PA was sentenced to 52 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl.
Key pleaded guilty in November 2019 to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, specifically a loaded Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol. In March 2019, Key was approached by Amtrak Police at the Lancaster train station after he departed a train originating from Philadelphia. Key dropped a backpack on the floor of the station and ran from the officers. Police recovered the backpack and found the loaded weapon and Key’s personal identification inside. Key has previously been convicted of, and served terms of imprisonment for, weapons offenses.
“Reducing violent crime is a top priority of my Office and the Department of Justice,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Firearms in the hands of convicted felons pose a serious threat to public safety. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to address this threat, whether it be on the streets of large cities, in small towns or anywhere in between -- including on public transportation.”
“This case is a reflection of our incredible working relationships with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt, ATF Philadelphia Field Division. “Any time we can get a firearm out of the hands of a prohibited person, especially one with a history of weapon offenses, is a good day.”
“Amtrak Police appreciates the strong partnerships that we have with our Federal, state and local agencies, which all assist with keeping our system safe and secure,” said Amtrak Police Department Chief Neil Trugman.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Amtrak Police. The U.S. Marshals Service assisted in Key’s arrest. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul L. Gray.
Pharmacist Indicted for Presenting Forged Prescriptions for Opioid and Anti-Malaria PrescriptionRead the Press Release
St. Louis, MO – Tamara Jo Nyachira, 40, of Pittsburg, Kansas, was indicted today with three felony charges of obtaining anti-malaria and narcotic opioid prescription drugs with forged prescriptions.
According to the Indictment, Nyachira was a pharmacist for a large pharmacy chain, and worked at various pharmacies throughout Missouri, including one in Farmington, Missouri. During March of 2020, Nyachira used several forged prescriptions to obtain two drugs, amoxicillin clavulanate potassium (sometimes marketed as Augmentin®) and hydroxychloroquine sulfate (sometime marketed as Plaquenil®). Hydroxychloroquine sulfate (sometime marketed as Plaquenil®) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to treat malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, and can also be used on an emergency basis for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
Further, the Indictment alleges that Nyachira used a forged prescription to fraudulently obtain Codeine/butalbital/acetaminophen/caffeine (sometimes marketed as Fioricet® with Codeine), which is an opioid drug and Schedule III controlled substance.
“Nyachira is charged with forging prescriptions and fraudulently obtaining opioids and other drugs, thereby limiting availability of medications to patients legitimately reliant on these drugs,” said Curt L. Muller, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We are dedicated to working with local, state, and federal officials to hold accountable individuals who engage in such illegal activities.”
If convicted, the anti-infection prescription drug charges each carry a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while the controlled substance charge carries a maximum penalty of 4 years. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Pittsburg, Kansas Police Department, the Branson, Missouri Police Department, and the Farmington Police Department, with assistance from the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Missouri Pharmacy Board, the Eastern District of Missouri OPIOID Task Force, and the Eastern District of Missouri COVID-19 Task Force, a multi-agency working group committed to fighting COVID-19 frauds and scams that is operated under the leadership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Secret Service.
Charges set forth in the Indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Operators of California Charity Plead Guilty to Mail Fraud Conspiracy and Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
A California couple pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to commit mail fraud and tax evasion, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer, Jr. for the Southern District of California.
According to court documents and statements made in court, married couple Geraldine Hill and Clayton Hill operated On Your Feet (OYF), also known as Family Resource Center, a tax-exempt charitable organization whose stated mission was to provide assistance to low income families and individuals in need. From 2011 through 2016, the Hills fraudulently obtained more than $1.35 million in donated clothing and other items by falsely representing to the donors that the items would be given to needy recipients. In fact, the Hills made charitable donations of only about $13,000, sold the remaining donated items, and used the proceeds to financially enrich themselves and others. To conceal their conduct from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Hills filed false charitable tax returns for OYF and false personal tax returns that did not report the income they received from their scheme.
“The Hills not only evaded their taxes, but they did so by abusing their company’s tax-exempt charitable status and thereby cheated not only the public fisc but the donors and intended beneficiaries of the donations,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman. “As the guilty pleas make clear, this conduct will not go unpunished.”
“I am committed to using the resources of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California to aggressively pursue fraudsters and tax cheats,” said U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr. for the Southern District of California. “The conduct by Geraldine and Clayton Hill is particularly offensive because they used the benefits afforded by the 501(c)(3) status of their charity to defraud donors and conceal their profits. By abusing the generosity of companies and individuals who put their faith in the promises made by the Hills, the defendants threatened to undermine the trust and integrity underpinning charitable giving.”
“Geraldine Hill and Clayton Hill exploited the public trust and charitable giving by using their charity to solicit over $16 million in goods from hardworking businesses and falsely promising to donate those goods to assist low income families and individuals in need,” said Ryan L. Korner, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. “Instead, the Hills resold the goods and profited over $1.34 million which they spent on vehicles, vacations, and entertainment, as well as personal expenses for their family members. The Hills concealed their fraud by filing false tax returns on behalf of the charity and failing to report their illicit income to the IRS. Their guilty pleas evidence the hard work of IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents to bring to justice those that defraud businesses in the name of charity, and who benefit themselves instead of serving those most in need.”
“While fraud is always wrong, the theft of charitable donations that were to be used to help San Diego’s low income families is particularly disheartening,” said Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Omer Meisel. “This type of fraud and deceit for personal gain simply cannot be tolerated. The FBI is committed to ensuring that white collar predators don’t prevent those less fortunate from receiving all the benefits that generous donors provide to seemingly legitimate non-profit organizations.”
U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw scheduled the sentencing for Aug. 28, 2020. At sentencing, the Hills face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for each mail fraud conspiracy and tax evasion. The Hills also face a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Brewer commended special agents of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Valerie Preiss of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Kanter, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.
Operation Mad Hatter Leads to Multiple Arrests in Pine BluffRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Twelve defendants are in custody after a DEA operation led to several arrests this morning as part of a federal drug investigation. Operation Mad Hatter has resulted in the identification of multiple drug traffickers and the seizure of large quantities of cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine, and heroin.
Operation Mad Hatter, run by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, is an ongoing DEA Domestic Cartel Initiative investigation. Today’s arrests follow the unsealing of indictments of 13 individuals who were charged by a federal grand jury on March 3, 2020. Of those, eight were taken into custody this morning, three were already in police custody, and one has made arrangements to turn herself in.
The investigation was initiated in June 2018 to target violent drug trafficking organizations operating in central Arkansas and, in particular, Pine Bluff. The investigation revealed that the Stuttgart Police Department was responding to drug and violence caused by a local gang organization called Porter Block Mafia, or PBM. Detectives reported this particular organization was responsible for several shootings and other violent crimes in Stuttgart. The organization was also known for selling crack cocaine, marijuana and illegally-obtained pills. Stuttgart police reported there have been several drug robberies in their city suspected to be carried out by the PBM organization.
The Pine Bluff Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office advised investigators that the main violent gang organization in their community is known as Murder Gang and Murder MOB, or MOB. Local investigators advised that these violent organizations were responsible for three to four shootings a night in their community as well as several murders. Both agencies advised that the killings were related to narcotics and gang rivalries. Additionally, over 120 firearms had been stolen from a pawn shop in Pine Bluff, and police advised that they suspected MOB has been using these stolen weapons to commit crimes in their community.
In response to the drug and gun violence in Pine Bluff and Stuttgart, DEA launched Operation Mad Hatter in 2019. In February 2019, DEA made the first arrests related to the operation, and in August 2019, additional arrests resulted from activity uncovered during the ongoing investigation. Today’s arrests mark the third phase of the operation, which has resulted in a total of 43 arrests to date.
On March 3, 2020, the grand jury for the Eastern District of Arkansas returned an indictment charging Kendrick Thorn and 11 codefendants in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, as well as firearms offenses. Thorn and three codefendants are charged with enhanced penalties based on prior convictions for drug trafficking and crimes of violence. Four additional defendants are indicted with drug trafficking and firearm offenses in separate indictments.
During the course of Operation Mad Hatter, investigators have seized 29 kilograms of methamphetamine, four kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy), 1.5 kilograms of heroin, 82 grams of fentanyl, over 200 diverted prescription pills, more than $107,000 in assets, and seven firearms. During today’s arrests, officers recovered an additional 600 grams of methamphetamine, approximately one pound of marijuana, three firearms, and approximately $6,000 in U.S. currency.
“Today’s arrests demonstrate that law enforcement is working hard to eradicate drugs and violence from our communities,” stated Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “This third phase of Operation Mad Hatter is an example of the continued pressure we will apply to drug trafficking organizations. We appreciate the efforts of our many law enforcement partners who were instrumental in carrying out this investigation.”
Shirley Washington, Mayor of Pine Bluff, stated, “The City of Pine Bluff is committed to revitalizing our community and making this a place of destination for families, students, and businesses to thrive. We support all efforts to make this a safe environment for such progress to grow and flourish.”
“Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our communities. This Domestic Cartel Initiative operation is a powerful attack against a violent drug trafficking organization and will have an immediate impact in this region of Arkansas and beyond,” DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Justin King said. “The resulting arrests demonstrate the combined strength local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies bring to bear in the fight against these domestic cartels and strike a substantial blow to their drug trafficking operations. By working together, we are leveraging our respective resources to achieve results that we could not accomplish on our own.”
“These arrests represent a lengthy investigation and send a clear message to drug traffickers. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will defend the nation’s mail system from illegal use, and stopping the flow of dangerous drugs to our cities is a high priority,” said D. Glen Henderson, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Fort Worth Division. “Removing drugs from the streets and taking guns from criminals is always a victory for the community. We thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and all county, state and local law enforcement officers who worked together with Postal Inspectors to make this investigation a success.”
Operation Mad Hatter is a joint investigation with participation from the DEA Little Rock District Office; FBI; United States Postal Inspection Service; United States Marshals Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives; Arkansas State Police; Pine Bluff Police Department and the Narcotics Unit; Little Rock Police Department; North Little Rock Police Department; Benton Police Department; Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office; Saline County Sheriff’s Office; Central Arkansas Drug Task Force; and Arkansas Community Corrections.
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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
Oneida County Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Firearms and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Joseph W. Cromp, Sr., age 46, of Blossfield, New York, pled guilty today to possessing two firearms and over 100 rounds of ammunition as a convicted felon, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and New York State Police Superintendent Keith Corlett.
As part of his guilty plea today, Cromp admitted that he possessed a Rohm .22 caliber revolver and an Izhmash SAIGA 7.62 x 39 mm AK-47 style semiautomatic rifle, as well as 113 rounds of rifle ammunition that were seized pursuant to a search warrant by New York State Police from the defendant’s home in Blossfield, New York, on October 2, 2019. Cromp was previously convicted of the felony offense of Attempted Assault in the Second Degree in Oneida County Court on February 9, 2001. The search warrant followed a confrontation Cromp had with another man earlier in the evening.
At sentencing on October 27, 2020, Joseph W. Cromp, Sr. faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. As part of his guilty plea, Cromp will forfeit both firearms and all ammunition seized during the execution of the search warrant at his residence. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Southwick, with assistance from the Oneida County District Attorney’s office.
Prosecution of this case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
New Iberia Man Caught During Foot Chase Sentenced for Illegally Possessing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced today that David Youman, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Juneau, to serve five years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Youman pled guilty on January 23, 2020.
On January 4, 2018, a Broussard Police officer was conducting a traffic patrol on Highway 90 westbound and observed the driver of a green Dodge Stratus commit several traffic violations. As the officer proceeded to catch up to the vehicle, it switched lanes into the left lane and then into the turn lane of Ambassador Caffery Parkway. The officer activated his lights to stop the vehicle. The vehicle continued on Ambassador Caffery then appeared to turn right and stop but continued and pulled into the driveway of a residence. At that point, Youman exited the vehicle and fled on foot. As he was running, the officer observed him throwing a backpack in the yard. A Louisiana State Police trooper assisting with the stop observed the defendant flee and apprehended him in the backyard of the residence. Youman told the officers that he ran because he has warrants for his arrest.
During their encounter, the officers detected the smell of marijuana coming from Youman and asked him if he had any marijuana on his person. Youman stated that he had a sack of week hidden in his underwear. Approximately 21 grams of marijuana was in the bag removed from Youman’s underwear. Officers also found approximately 238 grams of marijuana, a black digital scale, and a Kahr .45 caliber handgun with six rounds of ammunition in Youman’s backpack. Youman admitted to possessing the marijuana with the intent to distribute it and that he was in possession of the firearm to further his drug trafficking crimes.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Broussard Police Department, and Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Ayo prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. PSN is a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN plays a major role in the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.
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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Midland Man Sentenced to Statutory Maximum of 80 Years in Federal Prison on Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
In Midland today, a federal judge sentenced 32-year-old Christopher Ernest Martinez to a statutory-maximum 80 years in federal prison for producing and distributing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge David Counts ordered that Martinez be placed on supervised release for a period of ten years after completing his prison term. On December 19, 2019, Martinez pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
On March 4, 2020, Judge Counts sentenced co-defendant, 23-year-old Kelsey Renee Hubbard of Midland, to 40 years in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release after pleading guilty to one count of aiding and abetting production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
According to court records, a local business contacted the Midland Police Department (MPD) on September 30, 2019, about a computer sold to them by Hubbard. The computer contained several images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The business contacted MPD when Hubbard appeared the next day attempting to sell jewelry. Officers arrived on the scene and detained Hubbard. Hubbard admitted to investigators that she attempted to clear the computer’s memory before selling it. She also consented to allow MPD to search her cell phone. A forensics exam of her phone revealed several text messages in September 2019 in which Hubbard and Martinez exchanged approximately 60 images of child pornography, most of them produced by Hubbard at the request of Martinez.
“Today a child predator is off the streets for good. The 80-year sentence sends a powerful signal about our seriousness in fighting the scourge of child abuse,” stated U.S. Attorney Bash.
The Midland Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Daniels and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Austin Berry prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the 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, 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.
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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Man Pleads Guilty and Sentenced for Lying on Passport ApplicationRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Peter Strasser announced June 9, 2020 that VICTOR RAMIREZ, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty to and was sentenced on an indictment for false statements in a passport application in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1542.
According to the indictment, VICTOR RAMIREZ (“RAMIREZ”) made an application for a U.S. passport using information belonging to another individual. It is a crime to lie on a passport application.
RAMIREZ faced a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of three years, and a mandatory $100 special assessment on the false statement charge. U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey sentenced Ramirez to credit for time served. He has been incarcerated since March 2020. He will be turned over to Federal immigration authorities for deportation.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the United States Diplomatic Security Service of the State Department in investigating this matter. Assistant U. S. Attorney Carter K. D. Guice, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.
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Man Charged with Pointing Laser at Police HelicopterRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney John Parmley (619) 546-7957
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – June 10, 2020
SAN DIEGO – Rudy Alvarez of Lemon Grove was charged in federal court today with knowingly aiming the beam of a laser pointer at a San Diego Police helicopter as the aircraft flew over protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
According to a federal complaint, the incident occurred at a large demonstration that passed through the area of 500 University Avenue in Hillcrest on June 6 at 8:30 p.m. Two officers from the San Diego Police Department’s Air Support Unit were monitoring the crowd in a marked San Diego Police Department helicopter. The officers reported that one of the demonstrators in the crowd was shining a laser at their aircraft that impeded their ability to safely operate the helicopter.
“Aiming a laser pointer at or near an aircraft could cause distraction or blindness to a pilot and the consequences could be devastating,” said U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer. “We support the Constitutional rights of free speech and assembly, but it is our duty to protect the public and law enforcement from danger.”
“The use of laser pointers upon law enforcement aircraft threatened the safety of the police officers protecting lawful protestors and created a potentially dangerous incident,” said FBI San Diego Acting Special Agent in Charge Omer Meisel. “The FBI is focused on identifying and investigating individuals who commit crimes that threaten the safety of our community and will continue to work with our local partners to pursue federal prosecutions.”
Alvarez was arraigned in federal court today. U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel E. Butcher set bond at $5,000. The next hearing is scheduled for June 23 at 9 a.m. before Judge Butcher.
The San Diego police officers were able to locate the man who pointed the laser at the helicopter multiple times over the course of an hour as he marched with the protestors in downtown San Diego.
Based on a description of the man pointing the laser, San Diego police detectives located and later identified Rudy Alvarez in the crowd of demonstrators in the vicinity of 600 G Street at approximately 9:45 p.m. One detective noted that Alvarez was wearing the same clothing as described by the officers in the helicopter. Alvarez was arrested without incident.
After his arrest, detectives found a high-powered gray metal laser pointer in Alvarez’s front left pant pocket.
DEFENDANT Case Number 20MJ2212
Rudy Alvarez Age: 24 Lemon Grove
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Aiming a Laser Pointer at an Aircraft – Title 18, United States Code, Section 39A
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison, $250,000 fine
AGENCY
San Diego Police Department
Federal Bureau of Investigation
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Man Charged with Mail Fraud Committed While Serving Federal Sentence for Previous FraudRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – The president of a company providing goods to government agencies was charged today by a federal grand jury with allegedly attempting to defraud businesses in connection with government contracting, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Keith Fisher Sr., 62, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Burlington, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with one count of mail fraud. He was previously charged with this conduct in a criminal complaint and also with violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior conviction. Fisher will be arraigned at a later date.
According to documents filed in this and other cases and statements made in court:
On July 18, 2017, Fisher was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to 60 months in prison for conspiring to commit mail fraud using various companies he owned and controlled. In that case, Fisher and his companies won bids for U.S. government contracts; subcontracted with victim-businesses to provide goods to the government pursuant to the contracts; collected payments from the government for fulfilling the contracts; and then failed to pay the subcontractor victim-businesses that actually provided the goods.
The fraud scheme charged today involved another company, Atlantic Safety Corp., controlled by Fisher, and began when Fisher was nearing the end of his previous prison sentence. Fisher used Atlantic Safety to bid on federal contracts through Unison Marketplace, a reverse auction online marketplace that enabled government agencies to post requirements for goods. Upon submitting a winning bid, Atlantic Safety was awarded a contract to provide goods to a government agency.
Fisher orchestrated his fraud by using an alias to subcontract with a third-party vendor to provide goods directly to the government agency. Fisher induced the third-party vendor to ship the goods to the government agency on credit by falsely promising to pay the vendor for the goods. Fisher also made false and fraudulent representations to other potential subcontractor vendors about the credit-worthiness and financial status of Atlantic Safety.
The mail fraud count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents with the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Timothy Westfall; special agents with the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations Mid-Atlantic Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Eric D. Radwick; and special agents with the U.S. Department of State Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Americas, Pacific, and Asia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Smolich, with the investigation leading to today’s indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
The charge and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Lowell Man Arrested on Illegal Firearm and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lowell man was arrested today and charged in connection with advertising the sale of a firearm on Snapchat.
Juan Aparicio, 29, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Aparicio will make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell this afternoon.
According to the charging document, on Jan. 6, 2020, police officers executed a search of Aparicio’s residence after viewing Snapchat videos that evening showing Aparicio offering to sell numerous firearms. A loaded assault rifle and cocaine were recovered during the search. Due to previous convictions punishable by more than one year in prison, Aparicio is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. 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; Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan; Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Lowell Superintendent of Police Raymond Kelly Richardson made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Panich of Lelling’s Office 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. PSN is 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 documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Louisiana Man Enters Guilty Plea for Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
Defendant fraudulently obtained over $150,000
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Edward Stephen entered a guilty plea for federal health care fraud, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Stephen, 61, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, faces up to 10 years of incarceration, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release when he is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28, 2020. He also will be subject to an order of restitution for $151,660.53, with the final determination to be made by the court at sentencing.
“For 12 years Mr. Stephen lied to get federal health insurance for ineligible family members,” United States Attorney Mike Stuart said. “Let this be a clear message, if you are cheating the system we will find you.”
Stephen was a federal employee with the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. As a federal employee, he was eligible for health insurance provided by the federal government. Stephen fraudulently enrolled extended family members into his federal health care plan knowing they were not eligible for federal health care benefits. Specifically, Stephen enrolled his sister as though she was his wife and his niece as though she was his stepchild so that they would obtain federal health care coverage they were not entitled to receive. This scheme lasted from 2005 to 2017 and included several years where Stephen resided in and worked in Charleston, West Virginia as a federal employee. When investigators learned of the fraud, Stephen gave a statement to investigators with Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, in which he admitted that he fraudulently placed his extended family members on his federal insurance knowing they were not entitled to receive benefits. In total, the health insurance company was defrauded out of $151,660.53 in fraudulent premium payments and reimbursements.
Stuart praised the work of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General. The investigation was conducted by members of the United States Attorney’s Healthcare Fraud Abuse, Recovery and Response Team (ARREST), an approach linking civil and criminal enforcement efforts together in a comprehensive attack on the opioid epidemic and healthcare fraud. United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced the formation of ARREST in February 2019. All health care related cases in the Southern District of West Virginia, whether they are the subject of criminal or civil investigation or enforcement, are directed through ARREST. Included within the purview of the team are the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit, Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force, Medicare and Medicaid fraud, and asset forfeiture efforts related to all health care matters.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the plea hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution.
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Louisiana Chemical Company Agrees to Pay over $1.9 Million and Company Executives Charged in Investigation of the Unlicensed Distribution and Exportation of Regulated List 1 ChemicalsRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Natural Advantage LLC a/k/a Taste Advantage LLC (“Natural Advantage”), a chemical manufacturer headquartered in Oakdale, Louisiana, entered a deferred prosecution agreement and was charged in a criminal information with the unregistered distribution and exportation of regulated List 1 chemicals. Carol Callahan Byrne, age 65, and Dr. Brian Byrne, age 74, both of Oakdale, Louisiana, also were charged in a criminal information with the failure to report List 1 chemical manufacturing to the Attorney General.
Natural Advantage entered a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, under which the United States has agreed to defer prosecution of the company unless it fails to comply with the terms of the agreement. Pursuant to the deferred prosecution agreement, Natural Advantage has agreed to forfeit $1,938,650.10, which represents the gross revenue of its List 1 chemical sales. The company also has agreed, among other things, to undergo annual audits for List 1 chemical compliance, the results of which will be reported to the United States.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Carol Callahan Byrne served as the Chief Financial Officer and Dr. Brian Byrne served as the Chief Executive Officer of Natural Advantage, a company that manufactured chemicals for customers in the flavor, fragrance, and cosmetics industries. Among the chemicals manufactured by Natural Advantage were Piperonal, Heliotropine, Phenylacetic Acid, Isoamyl Phenylacetate, and Ethyl Phenylacetate, all of which were List 1 chemicals that, in addition to legitimate uses, are also precursor chemicals for manufacturing methamphetamine and ecstasy. List 1 chemicals are subject to extensive regulations, including licensing requirements for distributors and regular reporting to the United States.
As alleged, beginning in approximately January 2011, and continuing until January 2017, Natural Advantage distributed and exported in excess of 1,550 kilograms of List 1 chemicals to customers in the United States and worldwide, without obtaining the requisite registration from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and despite being warned by the DEA not to distribute List 1 chemicals. None of the chemicals are alleged to have been diverted to narcotics traffickers.
Company executives are alleged to have known of Natural Advantage’s unlicensed distribution of List 1 chemicals, and of arrangements to use other domestic companies as intermediaries to sell List 1 chemicals to foreign customers who discovered that Natural Advantage was not licensed and refused to purchase the chemicals. Company executives also are alleged to have concealed Natural Advantage’s List 1 chemical activities, including, as alleged against Carol Callahan Byrne and Dr. Brian Byrne, by failing to file annual manufacturing reports with the Attorney General.
“The defendants in this case violated the law when they sold and exported nearly $2 million-worth of precursor chemicals, without following the regulations and procedures designed to ensure that these chemicals do not end up on the black market,” said U.S. Attorney Freed. “As part of our responsibility to help protect the public from dangerous drugs, this office will continue to ensure that companies properly handle List I chemicals.”
“By intentionally evading the regulations in place for List I chemicals, Natural Advantage greatly increased the possibility that these chemicals could end up in the hands of cartels for the production of methamphetamine, ecstasy, and other dangerous and illicit substances,” said Jonathan A. Wilson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division. “In light of the rise of methamphetamine use in the United States and the damage it causes to our families and our society, DEA will continue to enforce these regulations and seek out these violators.”
The case was investigated by DEA Diversion Investigators. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo, and the Financial Litigation Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office are prosecuting the case.
Criminal informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for the charge against Natural Advantage is up to five years of probation, and the maximum penalties for the charges against Carol Callahan Byrne and Brian Byrne are up to one year of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Lafayette Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Transportation of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Lafayette, Louisiana, man was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael J. Juneau, after previously pleading guilty on January 21, 2020, to one count of transportation of child pornography.
Jared Tyler Olivier, 24, was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender upon release.
The investigation began in January 2019 when special agents with the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations (LBI) Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) containing information that a Tumblr user had uploaded a file containing an image of a prepubescent male engaging in a sexual act. Agents with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and LBI executed a lawful search warrant at Olivier’s apartment in April 2019. Olivier admitted to the officers that he was the user of the Tumblr account and that he used it to view images and videos of child pornography.
Following further investigation, agents learned that Olivier had used a Dropbox account to store images and videos of child pornography. After receiving permission from Olivier for agents to access the Dropbox account, they found approximately 39 videos of prepubescent and post pubescent males engaged in various sexual acts. Some of the videos depicted males approximately three years of age. Jared Olivier admitted that he transported child pornography from a computer to his Dropbox account in January and February 2018.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office Cyber Crime Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Bordelon, II prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the 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 combines 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.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the “resources” tab.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423. Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/tipline or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.
Tips may also be submitted through your local law enforcement agency or through the following agencies:
- Leave a tip with the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be submitted anonymously.
- File a report with NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST or online at www.cybertipline.org.
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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Knightdale Felon Found with Firearm After Suspected Drug Transaction SentencedRead the Press Release
NEW BERN, N.C. – Naeem Branch, 39, of Knightdale was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to information provided to the court, on March 22, 2018, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) agents were conducting surveillance at the Pit Stop II, a convenience store on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh. Agents noticed a car at the back of the parking lot with two occupants who were leaning back in their seats. After ten minutes, a man, later identified as Branch, drove into the parking lot in a blue Sonata and parked beside the car with the two men. Agents watched Branch get in the back seat of the other car and lean forward as the two men leaned back. They appeared to exchange something, and branch immediately left the vehicle, with the total interaction taking approximately 45 seconds. Branch drove away, and believing they had witnessed a drug transaction, the agents conducted an investigatory traffic stop on him.
When agents asked for Branch’s license and registration, they noticed that his hands were shaking and that he seemed unusually nervous. When Branch leaned over to retrieve his registration, the agent saw a digital scale and glassine bag peeking out from Branch’s right jacket pocket. Branch proceeded to twice hand over irrelevant documents as his hands shook uncontrollably.
Agents ordered him from the car and detained him. Searching the car, they found small rocks of suspected crack cocaine on the car floor. And under the driver’s seat, they found a Ruger SR-9 nine millimeter handgun, loaded with sixteen rounds of ball ammunition. Branch could not legally possess firearms or ammunition due to prior felony convictions, including a 2015 conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon and a 2016 conviction for possession of cocaine.
Robert J. Higdon, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan. Alcohol Law Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:18-cr-000453-FL.
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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Jacksonville Man Indicted for Possession of Molotov Cocktail at ProtestRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida– United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Ivan Jacob Zecher (27, Jacksonville) with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm. If convicted, Zecher faces up to 10 years in federal prison on each count. At a hearing on June 10, 2020, U.S. Zecher was ordered detained pending trial.
According to court documents, during a protest in downtown Jacksonville that was related to the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Zecher was part of a group of protesters blocking traffic and throwing items such as water bottles and rocks at police officers and cars. After refusing orders to disperse, Zecher was arrested by officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for unlawful assembly. An officer removed Zecher’s backpack to place him in flexcuffs and noticed a liquid leaking from it. A search of the backpack revealed a liquor bottle that smelled strongly of gasoline, a lighter, and a hatchet. Zecher admitted that he was holding the bottle in his backpack for an associate, and that he knew the bottle contained gasoline. Special Agents from the FBI were on the scene and responded immediately. Preliminary analysis by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined that the bottle – which contained gasoline (a flammable liquid) and polystyrene (a flammable gel), and the cork to which was coated with polystyrene – constituted a “Molotov cocktail,” which is an incendiary bomb and destructive device, and therefore considered a firearm under federal law. As a previously convicted felon, Zecher is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the FBI-Jacksonville Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian.
High School Spanish Teacher Pleads Guilty to Traveling to Have Sex with Student and Adderall DistributionRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A former high school Spanish teacher from Huntington, West Virginia pled guilty to traveling across state lines to have sex with one of her students, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Amy Adkins, 30, pled guilty to travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and distribution of Adderall.
“No teacher should ever behave this way. This isn’t what we expect when a high school student signs up to learn Spanish. Teachers should be role models, not models of despicable behavior. Adkins was supposed to be teaching Spanish – not providing drugs and engaging in sex with them,” United States Attorney Mike Stuart said. “Protecting children is a priority in my office and we will prosecute anyone putting them in harm’s way.”
Adkins admitted that while she was a Spanish teacher at Fairland High School in Proctorville, Ohio during the 2017 to 2018 academic year, she communicated frequently with one of her young male students on social media. This student was under 16 years old at the time. On April 7, 2018, Adkins admits that she drove from her home in Huntington, to Ohio, where she picked up this underage student, and brought him back to Huntington with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with the student. Ultimately, Adkins had sex with the victim that day at her home in Huntington.
In addition to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, Adkins also admitted that from September 2017 to May 2018 she frequently sold a portion of her Adderall prescription to her friends and acquaintances. Specifically, Adkins admitted that she sold one close friend five pills of Adderall on March 9, 2018. Adderall is a Schedule II controlled substance.
Adkins faces up to eight years in prison when sentenced on September 8, 2020 in Huntington.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the West Virginia State Police, and the Lawrence County, Ohio, Department of Job and Family Services conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Kristin F. Scott is handling the prosecution.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative of the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Follow us on Twitter: SDWVNews and USAttyStuart
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Hattiesburg Brothers Sentenced under Project EJECT for Drug Trafficking and Possession of Stolen FirearmsRead the Press Release
Hattiesburg, Miss. – Brothers Victor Smith, 43, and Michael Smith, 42, of Hattiesburg, were sentenced today for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and possession of stolen firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In a proceeding before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett, Victor Smith was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, while his brother Michael Smith was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.
On August 25, 2016, Hattiesburg Police Department officers, supported by other law enforcement agencies, responded to a call for service at the Southern Village Apartments in Forrest County. Upon arrival, law enforcement was directed to the Smith brothers’ apartment, where they found over half a pound of marijuana bagged for distribution, scales, and five firearms, two of which were stolen.
Victor Smith and Michael Smith were originally indicted for this offense on April 3, 2019. They were both found guilty on Wednesday, February 26, 2020, following a two-day jury trial.
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.
Hattiesburg Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew W. Eichner and Erin Chalk.
Hartford Man Sentenced for Selling Heroin, FirearmRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TYLON CEASAR, 20, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant to 16 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for distributing heroin and illegally selling a firearm.
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the sentencing occurred via videoconference.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on five occasions in November and December 2018, law enforcement made five controlled purchases of heroin and crack cocaine from Ceasar in the vicinity of his Putnam Street residence. Some of the purchased heroin contained fentanyl. Ceasar also sold a firearm to a government witness on January 3, 2019.
Ceasar was arrested on criminal complaint on January 17, 2019. Investigators seized a small quantity of crack from Ceasar’s residence at the time of his arrest. After his arrest, Ceasar was released on bond under a condition that he wear a GPS monitoring device.
Ceasar has been detained since August 14, 2019, after, as the government alleges and Judge Bryant today found, he shot at another person and accidently struck an associate on August 13. The state charges against Ceasar stemming from this incident were dismissed.
On November 6, 2019, Ceasar pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of distribution of heroin.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department. The Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson.
This prosecution has been brought through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Distribution and Firearm Possession OffensesRead the Press Release
John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRIAN EVANS, 21, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today to fentanyl distribution and firearm possession offenses.
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding occurred via videoconference.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in July 2019, after a spate of gun violence in Hartford, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, DEA, Hartford Police Department and other law enforcement agencies initiated an investigation targeting gang-related drug distribution and associated violence in north Hartford. On August 7, 2019, investigators made a controlled purchase of fentanyl from Evans.
Evans was arrested on September 13, 2019. On that date, investigators searched his residence and seized a loaded semiautomatic pistol, a loaded handgun with no serial number, and $1,025 in cash.
In May 2014, Evans was convicted in state court of first degree robbery and conspiracy to commit first degree robbery. 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.
Evans pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of fentanyl, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer on September 4, 2020.
Evans has agreed to forfeit the firearms and cash that were seized from him at the time of his arrest.
The FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson.
This prosecution has been brought through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Gulfport Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Gulfport, Miss – Mims Jacquez Gray III, 22, of Gulfport, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 60 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent Brad L. Byerley with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Gray was also ordered to pay a $2,500 fine.
On November 2, 2018, Gulfport Police officers stopped Gray for driving with only one headlight. Smelling marijuana, the officers searched the car and found marijuana, scales, 48 dosage units of alprazolam, and a Taurus 9mm hand gun. Gray admitted selling both marijuana and alprazolam.
Gray was charged in a federal criminal indictment and pled guilty before Judge Ozerden on February 19, 2020.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Gulfport Police Department investigated the case. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.
Grand jury indicts mother and son in drug conspiracyRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – According to a federal indictment filed today, the woman accused of shooting a Columbus police officer during a search warrant on May 28 also allegedly possessed in her home fentanyl, nine firearms, nearly $20,000 in cash, 13 cell phones and multiple magazines of ammunition. An additional firearm was found in her car.
A grand jury charged Rita Gray, 68, of Columbus, in each of the indictment’s six counts.
According to court documents, on May 28, 2020, Gray shot and seriously wounded 53-year-old Columbus Police Officer Russ Weiner while Weiner participated in executing a narcotics-related search warrant at Gray’s residence on Chelford Drive.
Documents detail that agents and officers knocked on the door of the residence and announced their presence. After the knock and announce went unanswered, agents and officers made entry into the residence.
Upon entering the residence, law enforcement executing the warrant took on gunfire from Gray, who was present in the vicinity of an interior hallway. Gray was apprehended shortly thereafter, with two semiautomatic Glock manufactured pistols in close proximity.
In January 2020, state and federal law enforcement began an investigation into suspected drug trafficking involving Rita Gray and her son, Eric Gray, among others. The investigation remains ongoing.
Today’s indictment also charges Eric Gray, 31, with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. The drug conspiracy is punishable by 10 years up to life in prison.
Rita Gray is charged in the drug conspiracy, and with possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl, assault of an officer, two counts of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime and one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. She faces 20 years up to life in prison.
David M. DeVillers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan; Jonathan McPherson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); Bryant Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); James Giehl, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division; Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall and Salvador A. Dominguez are representing the United States in this case.
An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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Government Contractor Resolves Charges Relating to Fraud on General Services Administration Contract to Modernize State Department BuildingRead the Press Release
Alutiiq International Solutions LLC (AIS), a subsidiary of Afognak Native Corporation (Afognak) and an Alaskan Native Corporation, within the meaning of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, that performs construction work on government contracts, has entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) and has agreed to pay over $1.25 million to resolve the Justice Department’s investigation into a kickback and fraud scheme perpetrated by a former AIS manager on a U.S. Government contract administered by the General Services Administration (GSA), announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
As part of the NPA, AIS has agreed to pay $1,259,444 in victim compensation payments to the GSA. Under the terms of the NPA, AIS and its parent company, Afognak, have agreed to cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation and prosecution of individuals, and to report to the department evidence of allegations of violations of U.S. fraud, anti-corruption, procurement integrity, and anti-kickback laws. Afognak and AIS also agreed to enhance their compliance program and internal controls, where necessary and appropriate, to ensure they are designed to detect and deter, among other things, fraud and kickbacks in connection with U.S. federal government contracts.
According to AIS’s admissions contained in the NPA, beginning in or around June 2010, the AIS project manager assigned to a multi-million dollar GSA contract to modernize the Harry S. Truman Federal Building in Washington, D.C., began receiving kickbacks from a subcontractor on the project in exchange for steering work to the subcontractor. These kickbacks initially were paid in the form of meals, vacations, and other things of value but, by 2015, the AIS project manager began demanding cash kickbacks equivalent to 10 percent of the value of contract modifications that were being awarded to the subcontractor. At the same time, the AIS project manager billed the GSA for services purportedly provided by an on-site superintendent when there was no superintendent on site. The AIS project manager’s false and fraudulent billings caused the GSA to pay $568,800 to AIS that it should not have paid. Additionally, when making contract modification requests to the GSA, the AIS project manager illegally inflated the estimated costs that AIS received from its subcontractor, resulting in $690,644 in monies paid by GSA to AIS.
A number of relevant considerations contributed to the department’s criminal resolution with AIS, including that AIS fully and completely cooperated with the investigation from the moment it became aware of the conduct, committed to paying full restitution to compensate for the GSA’s losses and, at the time of the offense conduct, provided its profits from the relevant contracts to Afognak, which uses these profits to support Afognak’s Alaskan Native shareholders, who are members of severely economically disadvantaged villages.
In addition, as soon as AIS and Afognak learned of the misconduct, the companies engaged in extensive remedial measures, including enhancing their compliance program and internal controls by, among other things: revising their policies and procedures to complete the separation of the contract procurement and contract execution functions; conducting annual risk assessments related to government contracting; conducting regular audits of a sampling of all procurement files and reviewing all procurements over certain cost thresholds; introducing additional management controls for prime contracts, subcontracts, and government projects that includes requiring higher levels of management to approve contract awards and budget changes; requiring additional trainings specific to the Anti-Kickback Act, including training quizzes, ethics publications, and additions to the annual Code of Conduct training; and tracking all compliance reports received through a third-party hotline and email accounts.
A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging the AIS project manager, Elmer Baker, with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Act, and four counts of wire fraud, in May 2019. Trial is currently scheduled for Dec. 7, 2020, before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The GSA Office of Inspector General, FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the State Department’s Office of Inspector General are investigating this case. Trial Attorney Vasanth Sridharan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case. The Army Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office provided assistance in connection with the case.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Glendale Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud for Setting up Accounts that Laundered $1.9 Million in Falsely Obtained Tax RefundsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A Glendale man pleaded guilty today to a federal fraud charge for opening more than a dozen bank accounts, knowing that they would be used to launder fraudulently obtained tax refunds obtained by filing tax returns under stolen identities.
Armen Martirosyan, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. After federal agents interviewed him in connection with this case, Martirosyan fled the United States before he was named in a federal grand jury indictment filed in November 2017. He ultimately was arrested in Colombia and was extradited to the United States in August 2018 to face the criminal charges in this case.
Martirosyan admitted in his plea agreement that in April 2009 he opened a bank account in his name at a Bank of America branch in Glendale, knowing that it would be used to deposit tax refunds that had been fraudulently obtained using stolen identities. The IRS deposited $189,000 in 24 fraudulently obtained tax refunds into that account. Martirosyan signed blank checks from that account, which he then gave to other schemers.
According to the plea agreement, Martirosyan opened 14 other bank accounts that were similarly used in the scheme. He also admitted to using some of the money in those accounts for personal expenditures, including credit card payments, rent and Amazon.com charges.
According to court records, the bank accounts that Martirosyan had opened were used to receive and launder more than $1,866,000 in stolen tax refund proceeds.
In addition, Martirosyan admitted to filing a false federal income tax return for himself for tax year 2012, which falsely reported that he had worked for a national retailer. The false tax return resulted in a fraudulent refund of $9,900.
United States District Judge John F. Walter scheduled an August 24 sentencing hearing, at which time Martirosyan will face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
This case is related to an underlying Stolen Identity Refund Fraud (SIRF) scheme that involved conspirators who used false identities and fake Republic of Armenia passports to open hundreds of bank accounts used to launder funds fraudulently received from the IRS. Approximately 20 defendants, including ex-Wells Fargo Bank manager Hakop Zakaryan and Glendale lawyer Arthur S. Charchian, have been charged in that scheme, which involved approximately 7,000 fraudulent tax returns that cumulatively sought about $38 million in refunds. The IRS issued about $14 million in fraudulent refunds. The fraudulent tax returns were filed and the bank accounts were opened with personal identifying information that had been stolen from thousands of victims.
The federal investigation into the SIRF scheme has resulted in 12 convictions, and the seizure of at least five residential properties worth millions of dollars, and more than $700,000 from bank accounts. Four defendants remain fugitives from justice, and one defendant is scheduled to go to trial later this year.
This matter was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations. IRS Criminal Investigation and HSI attachés in Bogota and Columbian law enforcement provided considerable assistance relating to the capture of Martirosyan. The United States Marshals Service assisted in the extradition of Martirosyan.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charles E. Pell of the Santa Ana Branch Office.
Former North Carolina man charged with possessing destructive device for bringing improvised firearm to protestRead the Press Release
Seattle- A former North Carolina man who struck a Seattle Police Officer with a large can and threatened to kill all police, is now charged federally with possession of a destructive device for the improvised gun he brought to a Seattle protest, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. DEVINARE ANTWAN PARKER, 25, was arrested Sunday evening, May 31, 2020, after he threw a 16-ounce can of beer through the window of a Seattle Police car, striking an officer in the face. When placed under arrest, PARKER possessed an improvised firearm capable of firing shotgun shells.
“This defendant came to a protest armed with a device that could have proved fatal not only to police, but to peaceful protestors in the area,” said U.S. Attorney Moran. “We will use our federal authority where appropriate to remove such threats from our community, so that people can safely exercise their constitutional right to protest peacefully and honor the memory of George Floyd.”
PARKER is in state custody and will be scheduled for his first appearance in federal court when the state charges are resolved.
According to the criminal complaint, at about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday evening, May 31, 2020, two Seattle Police Officers were driving their marked patrol car north on Third Avenue near Benaroya Hall when PARKER threw a 16-ounce can of Bud Light Ice through the passenger window striking one of the officers in the face. PARKER was placed under arrest for third degree assault. When PARKER was searched, officers found an improvised firearm constructed of two pieces of pipe and a firing pin with a laser pointer/ flashlight attached to the side. PARKER carried several shotgun shells that fit the device.
As he was being arrested PARKER allegedly shouted at the officers that he brought the weapon to the protest to shoot and kill police officers.
The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Possession of a destructive device is punishable by up to ten years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Erin H. Becker.
Former FCI Schuylkill Correctional Officer Charged in Bribe Scheme to Provide Tobacco to InmatesRead the Press Release
SCRANTON—The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Paul Taylor, age 53, of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, a former BOP Correctional Officer at the Federal Correctional Institute Schuylkill (FCI Schuylkill), Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, was charged on June 9, 2020, in a criminal information with bribery and corruption.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the criminal information alleges that between 2011 and 2016, Taylor smuggled tobacco into FCI Schuylkill while employed as a Correctional Officer, and provided the contraband to prisoners in exchange for money.
The investigation was conducted by special agents of the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd K. Hinkley.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 15 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational, and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
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Former Corrections Officer Sentenced to One Year and One Day for Wire FraudRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Tony J. Liesenfeld, age 50, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on June 8, 2020, by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann to a term of imprisonment of one year and one day for wire fraud.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Liesenfeld pleaded guilty and admitted that between June 11, 2001 and November 25, 2015, he embezzled over $77,000 from American Federation of Government Employees Local 148. At the time, Liesenfeld was a correctional officer at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary and conducted his fraudulent scheme while serving as the union’s treasurer and then president. Liesenfeld allegedly used a union credit card to make unauthorized purchases and cash withdrawals, and forged checks from a union account to the same ends.
Liesenfeld was ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution and will serve two years of supervised release after his prison term.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camoni.
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Federal Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging Illinois Man with Arson, RiotRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal indictment charging MATTHEW LEE RUPERT, 28, with civil disorder, rioting, and arson. RUPERT, who was initially charged in a federal criminal complaint on June 1, 2020, will be arraigned before a Magistrate Judge in U.S. District Court at a later date. RUPERT has been ordered to remain in detention pending further proceedings.
According to the allegations in the indictment and documents filed in court, on May 28, 2020, RUPERT posted messages on his Facebook account referencing the public protests occurring in the Twin Cities following the death of George Floyd, including one that stated, “I’m going to Minneapolis tomorrow who coming only goons I’m renting hotel rooms.” On May 29, 2020, RUPERT posted a self-recorded cell phone video to his Facebook account indicating that he was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the video, RUPERT can be seen passing out explosive devices he possessed, encouraging others to throw his explosives at law enforcement officers, actively damaging property, appearing to light a fire in a building and looting businesses in Minneapolis.
According to the allegations in the indictment and documents filed in court, in the video, RUPERT stated, “They got SWAT trucks up there . . . I’ve got some bombs if some of you all want to throw them back . . . bomb them back . . . here I got some more . . . light it and throw it.” RUPERT makes these statements as he hands out an item with brown casing and a green wick to other individuals. The video also depicts RUPERT asking for lighter fluid before entering a Sprint store, followed by his statement, “I lit it on fire.” RUPERT then goes to a nearby Office Depot and states, “I’m going in to get [expletive].” RUPERT can be seen taking items from the store.
According to the allegations in the indictment and documents filed in court, on May 30, 2020, RUPERT posted messages on his Facebook account stating that he was headed to Chicago, Illinois. Specifically, RUPERT stated, “comr [sic] with bro Chicago let’s go” and “We will be back bro we can loot til 2:30.” In the early morning hours of May 31, 2020, RUPERT posted multiple videos to his Facebook account showing him in and around the Chicago area. RUPERT can be heard saying “let’s start a riot” and “I’m going to start doing some damage.” At approximately 2:21 a.m., Chicago police officers arrested RUPERT and his associates for violating the City of Chicago’s emergency curfew order. Law enforcement officers searched RUPERT’S vehicle and recovered several explosive devices, a hammer, a heavy-duty flashlight, and cash.
The FBI and ATF urge the public to report suspected arson, use of explosive devices, or violent, destructive acts associated with the recent unrest. Anyone with information specifically related to business fires in the Twin Cities can call 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), email [email protected] or submit information anonymously via ReportIt.com. In addition to fires, the FBI is looking for people who may have incited or promoted violence of any kind. Anyone with digital material or tips can call 1-800-CALLFBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Minneapolis Field Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the FBI Chicago Field Office, the FBI Springfield Field Office, and the Chicago Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela M. Munoz and Jordan L. Sing.
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Defendant Information:
MATTHEW LEE RUPERT, 28
Galesburg, Ill.
Charges:
- Civil disorder, 1 count
- Organize, promote, encourage, participate in, or carry on a riot, 1 count
- Arson, 1 count
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
Department of Justice Files Friend-of-the-Court Brief in Support of Free Speech Challenge to California's COVID-19 Ban on In-Person Political ProtestsRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of a lawsuit by plaintiffs Ron Givens and Christine Bish, two individuals seeking to hold peaceful in-person protests of 500 to 1,000 people with social distancing on the grounds of the California State Capitol Building.
In its friend-of-the-court brief in the Ninth Circuit, the United States explains that the district court wrongly denied plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief against California’s total ban on peaceful protests. While States have broad authority to protect the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, the First Amendment does not give them carte blanche to ban peaceful public protests and rallies. The brief also explains that the real and legitimate national outcry over George Floyd’s tragic killing has shown the importance of peaceful public protests to maintaining our civic fabric—and has highlighted the extreme nature of a blanket protest ban in California. Going forward, it could raise First Amendment concerns if California were to hold other protests, such as those proposed by the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, to a different standard.
“Political speech in traditional public gathering spaces is at the core of the First Amendment’s protection of speech and assembly,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “Moments of national trial reinforce the importance of the right of the people peaceably to speak and assemble. For more than two centuries, the First Amendment has endured, and it has helped preserve the United States of America as a beacon of hope and liberty for our people and for oppressed people all over the world. The right to protest government peacefully is at the heart of who we are as a people. Today’s filing by the Justice Department makes clear that the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and the rest of the Bill of Rights' protections remain in full force and effect at all times.”
“Now more than ever, Americans are exercising their First Amendment right to peacefully protest, and this fundamental right must be upheld even during times of national emergency,” said Matthew Schneider, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, who, with Assistant Attorney General Dreiband, is overseeing the Justice Department’s effort to monitor state and local policies relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The friend-of-the-court brief is part of Attorney General William P. Barr’s April 27, 2020 initiative directing Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Matthew Schneider, to review state and local policies to ensure that civil liberties are protected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Givens is a firearms instructor and the director of training at the Sacramento Gun Club. He has been seeking to hold a protest on the California State Capitol Building grounds objecting to the State’s delay, purportedly due to the COVID-19 outbreak, in conducting background checks for gun purchasers. Bish is a resident of Sacramento County and is a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 2020 general election who also wishes to organize a protest relating to the State’s response to the outbreak on the California State Capitol grounds.
On March 19, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order, which requires “all individuals living in the State of California to stay at home or at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of operations” in various “critical infrastructure sectors.” The executive order further requires Californians to “heed the State public health directives from the Department of Public Health.” At the time plaintiffs filed their complaint, those directives banned “until further notice” all public gatherings of any size in any “indoor or outdoor” space, and applied to “all non-essential professional, social, and community gatherings regardless of their sponsor.” Violations of the executive order are subject to criminal penalties. Neither the executive order nor the directives in place when plaintiffs filed their complaint made any exceptions for First Amendment activities, such as peaceful protest. Thus in California, all gatherings of any size protesting government action were banned.
Following the executive order, the California Highway Patrol denied Givens’ and Bish’s applications for a permit to protest, even though they planned to practice social distancing and to require protesters to wear masks. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs argued that the grounds of the California State Capitol Building “are the most important and widely used public forum in California” and have been the site of “[c]ountless watershed protests.” They claimed that California’s actions “amount[ed] to a total ban on public gatherings for the purpose of engaging in First Amendment [conduct] by means of demonstrations, rallies, or protests, regardless of the measures taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of the [COVID-19] virus spreading.”
Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief, which the district court denied on the ground that California’s “total ban on public demonstrations” is consistent with the First Amendment. On May 17, 2020, plaintiffs appealed the district court’s order to the Ninth Circuit.
Since the filing of plaintiffs’ appeal, California has announced new guidelines for political protest that, in relevant part, allow socially distant protests of a maximum of 100 attendees or 25% of the relevant area’s maximum occupancy, whichever is lower. According to California, “[t]his limitation on attendance will be reviewed at least once every 21 days, beginning May 25, 2020,” to “assess the impacts of these imposed limits on public health and provide further direction as part of a phased-in restoration of gatherings that implicate the First Amendment.” Plaintiffs, who are seeking to hold protests of 500 to 1,000 attendees, are continuing to challenge California’s revised orders.
The federal case on appeal is Givens, et al. v. Newsom, et al., No. 20-15949 (9th Cir.).
Covington County Felon Pleads Guilty under Project EJECT to Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
Hattiesburg, Miss. – Alexander Knight, 32, of Seminary, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michelle A. Sutphin of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.
On November 19, 2019, during the execution of an arrest warrant for Knight, Covington County Sheriff’s deputies and members of the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force found a firearm on Knight’s person. Following his arrest, but before the execution of the warrant associated with his federal indictment, Knight also managed to escape the Covington County Jail with two other inmates. He remained at large for more than two weeks before being recaptured and transferred into federal custody.
Knight was originally indicted for this offense on January 29, 2020. He will be sentenced on September 23, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
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.
Covington County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew W. Eichner.
Cortez Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Damaging Archeological Resources in the Canyons of the Ancients National MonumentRead the Press Release
DURANGO – United States Attorney Jason R. Dunn today announced that Lonnie Shadrick Winbourn, age 57, of Cortez, Colorado, was sentenced to serve over a year in federal prison (12 months and one day), for violating the Archeological Resources Protection Act (“ARPA”) in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Winbourn appeared at the sentencing hearing in custody and was remanded at its conclusion. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management joined in today’s announcement.
According to court documents, as well as facts presented during sentencing, Winbourn made several trips into a portion of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, near Cortez, Colorado, in May and June 2017. During these trips, Winbourn located an Ancestral Puebloan ceremonial site with a large dance plaza, a likely subterranean kiva, and multiple human burials. Winbourn illegally excavated, removed, damaged, and altered the site. On June 4, 2017, Winbourn was pulled over and subsequently arrested on an unrelated warrant. During the arrest, a Bureau of Land Management Ranger identified pottery shards in Winbourn’s pocket. Winbourn admitted to the Ranger that he had additional artifacts in his backpack. In total, law enforcement discovered sixty-four items from the Ancestral Puebloan Period in his possession, including jewelry, an axe head, and other tools. Archeologists working in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument have restored the original site and curated the stolen objects.
“Archeological resources at the Canyons of the Ancients are irreplaceable cultural artifacts that have been entrusted to the common good,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. “Anyone who seeks to destroy or profit off of these resources will face prosecution and serious consequences.”
“We as a society must recognize the importance of respecting all cultures; including those artifacts representing cultural resources of Native Americans. The protection of Native American cultural resources continues to be a matter central to law enforcement officers and special agents of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management,” said Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Randall Carpenter, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Office of Law Enforcement.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is located west of Cortez, Colorado and is public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. It contains the highest known archeological site density in the United States, with rich, well-preserved evidence of native cultures, to include the Ancestral Puebloan culture.
Winbourn was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 6, 2019. The sentence was pronounced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Land Management. The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Graves.
Complaint Unsealed Charging Man with Distribution of Heroin, Possession, Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY – A federal complaint unsealed recently charges Andrew T. Whitehouse, age 25, of Tooele with distribution of heroin in a case where a Tooele resident, identified as J.B. in the complaint, died from a drug overdose.
According to the complaint, on Oct. 7, 2018, officers from the Tooele City Police Department responded to a residence on a call for a male who was unconscious and not breathing. The father of the victim believed he had overdosed on drugs. Officers and emergency technicians were not able to revive him.
Officers recovered a used syringe in the bathroom sink with what appeared to be heroin residue. They also found a needle mark on J.B.’s wrist. A small baggie, commonly used to store user amounts of heroin, and a digital scale were found. They also found the victim’s cell phone.
A medical examiner later determined the victim died of “mixed drug and alcohol intoxication.” The drugs included heroin metabolites (morphine and 6-monoacetylmorphine) and a by-product of heroin production (codeine).
The phone contained a text message conversation between the victim and a person identified as “Andrew” that started in the early hours of Oct. 7, 2018, with the victim asking Andrew for narcotics at 2:33 a.m. The conversation continued – with 34 messages between the victim and Whitehouse’s phone until about 4:30 a.m. There were also 11 calls back and forth.
The victim’s body was discovered about 7:15 a.m.
According to the complaint, Whitehouse told investigators when he arrived at the victim’s home, the victim only had $13. Whitehouse claimed the victim went back inside his home to find more money. While the victim was in the home, Whitehouse said he divided the heroin into a smaller amount to sell the victim $13 worth of heroin. Whitehouse claims that when victim returned without any more money, he decided to leave without selling the heroin, according to the complaint. Whitehouse claimed that at about 4:30 a.m., he told the victim to buy heroin from someone else. The victim’s phone, however, indicates he had no further contact with anyone that morning.
Whitehouse is also charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography in the complaint.
In June 2019, a victim disclosed to law enforcement that she had received communications from a stranger who sent her a photo of herself naked from the waist up, identified her last name, and other personal information. The individual stated that he obtained the photograph from a website. According to the complaint, the picture of the victim was posted to the website in April 2019 with the caption, “more pictures where that came from.”
The victim recognized the photo as one of several photographs taken of her engaged in sexual activity that she had sent to Whitehouse during 2012 when she was 15 years old. According to the complaint, the victim said Whitehouse knew her age at the time and asked her to pose in sexually explicit positions. The victim said she sent Whitehouse more than 50 pictures.
According to the complaint, in July 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Whitehouse’s residence. A forensic review of the digital media seized from the house uncovered the photograph that the victim had been sent by the stranger. Investigators also found other photos of the 15-year-old victim.
The maximum potential sentence for distribution of heroin is 20 years in prison. If the defendant is convicted of that charge, federal prosecutors could seek an enhancement at sentencing for the victim’s death. Distribution of child pornography has a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison with a five-year minimum mandatory sentence. Possession of child pornography is up to 10 years. Whitehouse is in custody.
A complaint is not a finding of guilt. Defendants charged in a complaint are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.
Prosecutors in the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office are prosecuting the case. Special agents and task force officers with the DEA are investigating the case, with assistance from the Tooele City Police Department.
Cocaine Supplier Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking in Hampton RoadsRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A North Carolina man pleaded guilty today for his role in a cocaine-trafficking conspiracy targeting Virginia communities.
According to court documents, Razagin Kaseen Lee, 46, of Elizabeth City, was the North Carolina-based cocaine source of supply for the family-run Jones Drug-Trafficking Organization based in Portsmouth. The organization’s leader, Malcolm Jones, Sr., was recently sentenced to 24 years in prison for his part in the conspiracy, and co-conspirators Corey Jones, Dominic Jones, Raewkon Pierce, and Malcolm Jones, Jr., have all pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced next month.
Lee participated in this conspiracy for almost four years before he was caught. In September 2019, law enforcement officers searched his Elizabeth City residence and recovered more than 3.2 kilograms of cocaine, two 9mm handguns, more than $213,000 in cash, and two luxury vehicles, all of which are subject to forfeiture.
Lee pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Lee faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on September 16. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division; Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police; Col. K.L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police; Larry D. Boone, Chief of Norfolk Police; Eddie M. Buffaloe, Jr., Chief of Elizabeth City Police; and Tommy Wooten II, Pasquotank County Sheriff, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney William B. Jackson is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:20-cr-15.
Cleveland man sentenced to 10 years for role in armed bank robberyRead the Press Release
Justin E. Herdman, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that Joseph Kyle Sanders, age 20, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 128 months imprisonment after being found guilty of armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to court documents filed for this case, on June 1, 2018, Sanders entered a Citizen’s Bank in Richmond Heights and threatened to shoot multiple bank employees in the head. Sanders produced a plastic bag and demanded the employees fill it with money. Approximately $14,000 was stolen from the bank. Once the bag was filled, Sanders fled and ran through a parking lot when a dye pack exploded, causing him to drop the bag. An investigation revealed that Sanders and I’ziah Clark, age, 21, of Cleveland, worked together to aid and abet one another in order to execute the bank robbery.
I’ziah Clark previously plead guilty in this matter to one count of armed bank robbery and was sentenced to 68 months in prison in May 2020.
Sanders was found guilty of a similar offense committed on June 12, 2018, just twelve days after the Citizen’s Bank robbery. In that case, a firearm was also used in the commission of a robbery at a LoanMax in Cleveland Heights.
This case was investigated by the Cleveland Division of the FBI and the Richmond Heights Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Zarzycki and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katheryn Andrachik.
Clearwater Pair Indicted for Distributing Fentanyl, Causing Serious Bodily InjuryRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez announces the return of an indictment charging Courtney Michaelis (37, Clearwater) and Nicholas Ham (21, Clearwater) with distributing fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury to an individual. Michaelis is also charged with conspiring to distribute fentanyl and heroin, as well as possessing a mixture containing fentanyl and heroin with the intent to distribute it. If convicted on all counts, Michaelis and Ham each face a minimum mandatory penalty of 20 years, and up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Michaelis and Ham that the United States intends to forfeit any property either used to facilitate the offenses or obtained as a result of them.
According to the
indictment , from at least September 18 through November 21, 2019, Michaelis engaged in a conspiracy with others to distribute controlled substances, specifically fentanyl and heroin. On September 18, 2019, Michaelis and Ham worked together to distribute fentanyl to an individual. When the individual used the fentanyl, the individual overdosed, suffering a serious bodily injury. On November 21, 2019, Michaelis was found in possession of a mixture containing fentanyl and heroin, which she had intended to distribute.An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Secret Service. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Gordon.
Charleston Man Sentenced to 130 Months in Prison for Federal Drug and Gun CrimesRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man was sentenced to federal prison for drug and gun crimes, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Lawrence Moles II, 36, was sentenced to 130 months in prison and five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
“Drugs and guns…what a dangerous combination and a dangerous situation for the people of West Virginia,” United States Attorney Mike Stuart said. “Charleston is safer having this man in prison.”
Moles previously admitted that on December 14, 2018, detectives with the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered a Glock, model 21, .45 caliber pistol in his bedroom, as well as 102 grams of methamphetamine, a Springfield, model XD-45, .45 caliber pistol, and a Bryco, model Jennings Nine, 9mm caliber pistol from a safe in his kitchen. The safe also contained digital scales and alleged drug packaging. Moles admitted the methamphetamine was possessed to be distributed and he received a sentencing enhancement because he was using his residence to store the methamphetamine. Moles had previously been convicted on January 20, 2017, in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County for receiving a stolen vehicle.
The Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team conducted the investigation. Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentence. Former Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Saunders and Assistant United States Attorney Nowles Heinrich handled the prosecution.
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Charleston Man Sentenced for Involvement in Akron to West Virginia Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON W.Va. – A Charleston man who participated in a conspiracy that involved large quantities of methamphetamine which were transported from Akron, Ohio and sold in West Virginia was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Bruce David Angeli, 58, previously pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
“Another drug dealer is off the streets,” United States Attorney Mike Stuart said. “I commend the collaborative, multi-jurisdictional law enforcement effort that brought an end to this meth trafficking conspiracy.”
Angeli admitted that between May and June of 2019, he participated with multiple individuals to distribute methamphetamine in the Southern District of West Virginia. During the conspiracy, Angeli frequently obtained quantities of methamphetamine which were transported by other co-conspirators from Akron, Ohio to be sold in multiple cities in West Virginia including Huntington and Charleston. Once Angeli was supplied with the methamphetamine, he would distribute it to other individuals in various amounts. As part of his plea agreement, Angeli admitted that he was responsible for distributing up to 200 grams of methamphetamine.
This joint investigation was spearheaded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Other agencies which participated and assisted in the investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force, the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit, the United States Marshals Service, the Cabell County Sheriff’s Department, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Akron, Ohio Police Department, and the Brecksville, Ohio Police Department. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.
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Catskill Sex Offender Admits Failing to RegisterRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ricky J. Bilyou, age 28, of Catskill, New York, pled guilty today to failing to register as a sex offender.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and United States Marshal David McNulty.
Bilyou was convicted of child exploitation, in Clinton County, Indiana, in 2016.
In pleading guilty today, Bilyou admitted that he was residing in Indiana in May 2019, when he traveled to Colorado. After staying briefly in Colorado, in late September 2019, he took Amtrak trains from Colorado, to Chicago, Illinois, and finally to the Albany-Rensselaer station. He then began residing in Catskill, up until his arrest on March 18, 2020. Bilyou knew that he was required to register as a sex offender in New York, and failed to do so.
Bilyou faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, when he is sentenced by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino on October 14, 2020. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.
Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski Announces Departure from Criminal DivisionRead the Press Release
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced his departure from the department today, effective as of July 3, 2020.
“Brian has served the Department with distinction,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “This was his sixth senior leadership role at Justice, and the entire Department benefitted from his managerial expertise, institutional knowledge, and sound judgment. In addition to his able handling of some of the most complex white-collar investigations the Department has ever conducted, one of his greatest contributions to the country were his efforts combatting the nation’s opioid crisis. His decision to use data analytics changed our approach and undoubtedly saved many lives. That is just one example of the many ways Brian innovatively approached today’s law enforcement challenges to make a lasting impact. I am deeply appreciative for his service to the Department and our nation.”
“It truly has been the honor of my professional career to serve at the department once again, and to lead the men and women of the Criminal Division,” Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski said. “Their work ethic and steadfast commitment to the cause of justice, the rule of law, and vindicating the rights of victims, have inspired me every day.”
During Benczkowski’s tenure as Assistant Attorney General, the Criminal Division has placed a renewed emphasis on exploring the use of data analytics in targeting for criminal investigations and prosecutions. The division has expanded its in-house data analytics support team and made critical investments in data analytics to help ensure that prosecutors are fully leveraging the use of data and statistics to build cases.
In October 2018, the division announced the formation of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force, which combines data analytics with traditional law enforcement tools to effectively and efficiently prosecute medical professionals and others involved in the illegal prescription and distribution of opioids in the Appalachian region. The Strike Force, which currently includes 10 U.S. Attorney’s Office Districts, coordinated takedowns in April and September 2019, resulting in charges against 73 defendants, including 64 licensed medical professionals and 48 prescribers, who were involved the alleged illegal distribution of 50 million controlled substance pills. To date, 27 defendants have pled guilty, and one defendant has been convicted after trial.
The division is also using data analytics as part of an initiative announced in 2018 to investigate and prosecute manipulation of the commodities futures markets by traders injecting orders – that the trader intends to cancel – designed to trick market participants into trading at inaccurate price points. Our efforts have resulted in numerous guilty pleas of individual traders, as well as a June 2019 NPA with Merrill Lynch Commodities Inc.; a November 2019 deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with Tower Research Capital, a New York-based financial services firm; and a January 2020 DPA with Propex Derivatives, an Australia-based trading firm, each of which also settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in parallel proceedings.
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the division has turned to its expertise using data analytics to help facilitate investigating individuals and businesses who make false statements to defraud the government – and in some instances, banks – to receive stimulus payments from CARES Act programs, with a particular focus on fraud relating to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). To date, the division has charged PPP fraud in six cases against seven defendants. The division has also conducted outreach to agencies implementing and overseeing CARES Act funds to assist in developing application forms, draft reporting requirements, and advise on protocols that will facilitate future investigation.
Throughout Benczkowski’s tenure, the division has announced an array of policies and guidance geared towards promoting transparency in white-collar enforcement, including: (1) the division’s “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Program” Guidance, (2) the division’s Monitorship Memo, (3) the Department’s Inability to Pay Guidance, (4) revisions to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Corporate Enforcement Policy (CEP), and (5) the FCPA Unit’s publication of CEP declination letters online. Driving these efforts has been the view that greater transparency in how prosecutors apply standards and criteria to cases will make investigations more efficient and outcomes fairer and more consistent.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.