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9 March 2016
Bard College to Pay $4 Million to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Bard College has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act in connection with a federal grant and with regard to the receipt and disbursement of Title IV federal student aid funds, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today.
The settlement announced today stems from a whistleblower complaint filed by two former students of Bard’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Paramount Bard Academy in Delano, California (Kern County) pursuant to the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private persons to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in the proceeds of the suit. The act permits the United States to intervene and take over the lawsuit, as it did in this case as to some of the students’ claims. The students will receive a percentage share of the settlement in an amount to be determined.
Bard College, a nonprofit institution with its main campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, received funds under the Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program. The settlement resolves allegations that Bard received funds under the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant Program despite failing to comply with the conditions of the grant.
The settlement also resolves allegations that Bard awarded, disbursed, and received Title IV student loan funds at campus locations before such locations were accredited or before providing notice of such locations to the Department of Education, in violation of applicable regulations and Bard’s Title IV Program Participation Agreements with the Department of Education.
“When institutions of higher education opt to participate in loan and grant programs administered by teh Department of Education, their participation comes with conditions designed to protect the institution’s students and the integrity of the Department of Education’s programs,” said United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. “Today’s resolution demonstrates the Department of Justice’s continuing commitment to ensuring that such institutions meet those conditions and fulfill their promises.”
“Throughout this Administration, the Department of Education has aggressively enforced accountability and compliance laws for institutions of higher education to protect students, families, and taxpayers. Today’s agreement illustrates our commitment to these enforcement efforts,” said U.S. Education Under Secretary Ted Mitchell. “Bard’s resolution through this agreement indicates a willingness to take responsibility, and a commitment to more effectively meet the requirements for implementing grants and distributing federal student aid and loans. As with all institutions, the Department will continuously monitor Bard to ensure that students, families and taxpayers are protected. ”
“I’m proud of the work of OIG special agents and staff and our colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office whose work brought about today’s fair and reasonable settlement,” said Natalie Forbort, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General’s Western Regional Office. “We will continue to work together to protect and maintain the integrity of the Department of Education’s programs. America’s taxpayers and students deserve nothing less.”
The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort among the Eastern District of California’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Vincente A. Tennerelli represented the United States in this matter.
The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Armed Career Criminal from Knott County Sentenced to 320 Months for Illegal Possession of FirearmsRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. – A Knott County man, with a significant criminal history, has been sentenced to 320 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing firearms.
On March 3, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves sentenced Roy Dean Pratt, Jr., 50, for being a felon in possession of firearms. Pratt’s sentence was enhanced because his criminal history classified him as an armed career criminal, which means he had previously been convicted of three or more violent felonies or serious drug offenses. Under federal law, Pratt must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.
In December, 2015, a jury convicted Pratt of the offense. Testimony at trial established that, in April 2015, Kentucky State Police conducted a search of Pratt’s home and located numerous firearms. Pratt’s prior felony convictions prohibited from possessing the firearms. Pratt has a significant criminal record dating back to 1995.
Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; John R. Cooper, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, Louisville Field Division; and Rodney Brewer, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.
Amherst Company Fined for Criminal ContemptRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Acquest Transit, LLC, based in Amherst, NY, which was convicted of criminal contempt, was fined $250,000 and sentenced to two years probation by Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that Acquest Transit, LLC, was established to purchase an approximately 97-acre piece of property at 10880 Transit Road in Amherst. William L. Huntress served as the sole member and manager of Acquest Transit, LLC. On January 20, 2006, the defendant purchased the site for $425,000.
In 2009, the Department of Justice instituted a civil proceeding alleging that the site purchased by Acquest contained federally protected wetlands. The civil action further alleged that the company was engaging in prohibited filling of the wetlands.
On July 15, 2009, Judge Skretny issued a preliminary injunction ordering the defendant not to place additional fill or perform any additional earthmoving work at the site. On May 25, 2010, a farmer, acting on behalf of the defendant, performed mechanized activities on the site with agricultural equipment. These actions were a violation of Judge Skretny’s order, and the defendant acted willfully in violating the order.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, Vernesa Jones-Allen.
Ambulance Company Employee Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for FraudRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – Fritzroy Brown, 39, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison for a healthcare fraud scheme centering on Brotherly Love Ambulance, Inc. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Gerald J. Pappert ordered three years of supervised release, restitution in the amount of $2,015,712.52 to Medicare, restitution of $14,150 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and a $300 special assessment.
Brown was a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with Brotherly Love. While employed by Brotherly Love, Brown transported patients who were able to walk and could travel safely by means other than ambulance and who, therefore, were not eligible for ambulance transportation under Medicare requirements. Brown and other conspirators falsified reports to make it appear that the patients needed to be transported by ambulance when he knew that the patients could be safely transported by other means and, in fact, many of them could walk. In addition, Brown and other conspirators paid kickbacks to patients to ensure that they would use Brotherly Love Ambulance for services which were not medically necessary. The company also transmitted bills for ambulance services for patients who were not transported by ambulance, but whom Brown and others drove in personal vehicles. Brown and others completed documentation of these transports that made it appear that the individuals had been transported in an ambulance when they had not, and that misrepresented the medical care provided to and safety precautions taken for these patients.
As a result of the fraudulent scheme at Brotherly Love, the Medicare program paid more than $2 million for fraudulent claims from Brotherly Love. In addition, Brown submitted false requests to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for unemployment compensation when he was, in fact, working full time for Brotherly Love. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania paid over $14,000 in unemployment compensation to Brown induced by this fraud.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mary E. Crawley and Paul W. Kaufman.
Alamogordo Resident Pleads Guilty to Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Robin Lee Lovelace, 56, of Alamogordo, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to methamphetamine trafficking charges. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Lovelace will be sentenced to 12 years in federal prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.
Lovelace was one of 34 individuals charged with federal and tribal drug offenses as the result of an 18-month multi-agency investigation led by the DEA and BIA into methamphetamine trafficking on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Eighteen defendants, including five members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe and 13 non-Natives were charged in six federal indictments and a federal criminal complaint. Sixteen other members of the Mescalero Apache Tribe were charged in tribal criminal complaints approved by the Mescalero Apache Tribal Court.
The investigation leading to the federal and tribal charges was initiated in May 2014, in response to an increase in violent crime on the Mescalero Apache Reservation perpetrated by methamphetamine users. The investigation initially targeted a drug trafficking organization that was allegedly distributing methamphetamine within the Reservation, and later expanded to include two other drug trafficking organizations in southeastern New Mexico that allegedly served as sources of supply for the methamphetamine distributed within the Reservation. In Aug. 2014, the investigation was designated as part of the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, which combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations. The investigation is one of the first OCDETF investigations to utilize electronic surveillance (wiretaps) in Indian Country. More than ten kilograms of methamphetamine were seized during the course of the investigation.
Lovelace was arrested on Nov. 20, 2015, on an indictment charging her and seven other non-Natives with methamphetamine trafficking and money laundering offenses. The indictment charged Lovelace with participation in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and use of a communication device to facilitate a drug trafficking crime.
During today’s proceedings, Lovelace pled guilty to the methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, distribution of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and admitted that between April 9, 2015 and Oct. 16, 2015, she and a co-defendant conspired to sell methamphetamine to another individual who unbeknownst to them was an undercover law enforcement agent. During that same time period, she also sold methamphetamine to other individuals who then distributed methamphetamine to their customers.
Lovelace also admitted selling the following quantities of methamphetamine to an undercover agent as follows:
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27.4 grams on April 9, 2015, in Bent, N.M.
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56 grams on April 17, 2015, in Mescalero
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84 grams on May 8, 2015, in Mescalero
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112 grams on May 15, 2015, in Mescalero
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112 grams on June 8, 2015, in Mescalero
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140 grams on July 1, 2015, in Mescalero
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580 grams on July 24, 2015, in Socorro,
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140 grams on Aug. 6, 2015, in Mescalero,
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140 grams on Sept. 3, 2015, in Tularosa, N.M.
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212 grams on Oct. 9, 2015, in Alamogordo, N.M.
Lovelace also admitted that on Oct. 15, 2015, she facilitated the sale of 364.2 grams of methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement agent.
Lovelace remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled
Lovelace is the fourth of the 18 federal defendants to enter a guilty plea. On March 3, 2016, Tandee Sheree Bettag, 38, of Alamogordo, pled guilty and admitted that from Aug. 2015 through Sept. 2015, a codefendant provided her with methamphetamine which she distributed; she repaid her supplier with proceeds she obtained from selling the drugs. Bettag further admitted that on Aug. 15, 2015, she used text messaging to arrange the delivery of money to a codefendant to cover a drug debt and pick up additional methamphetamine, and on Aug. 17, 2015, she used text messaging to discuss, money for a drug transaction. At sentencing, Bettag faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. She remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
On Feb. 17, 2016, Jerilyn Lee Munoz, 27, of Artesia, N.M., pled guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge. In entering the guilty plea, Munoz admitted that between April 2015 and Oct. 2015, she maintained a bank account that was used by another person to deposit the proceeds of drug trafficking crimes in order to conceal the proceeds. Munoz admitted that the other person deposited approximately $25,000.00 into her bank account during that period. At sentencing, Munoz faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison followed by not more than three years of supervised release. Her sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
Wallace Rice, 23, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., pled guilty to a methamphetamine distribution charge on Feb. 5, 2016. At sentencing, Rice faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release.
The remaining 14 federal defendants have entered not guilty pleas to the charges against them. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
The federal and tribal cases were investigated by the Las Cruces office of the DEA, District IV of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services (Mescalero Agency), BIA’s Division of Drug Enforcement, Mescalero Tribal Police Department, Hatch Police Department, FBI and Lea County Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri J. Abernathy of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the federal cases, and Mescalero Tribal Prosecutor Alta Braham is prosecuting the tribal cases.
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Alabama Couple Pleads Guilty to Bank FraudRead the Press Release
Douglas W. Scott, 46, and Azar Ardestani, 33, both of New Market, Alabama, pleaded guilty on March 3, 2016, to Bank Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
At the plea hearing, Scott and Ardestani admitted using their respective used car businesses in a criminal scheme to defraud multiple vehicle finance lenders, including federally insured financial institutions, automotive finance lenders, and federally insured credit unions. As part of their scheme, they would secure a loan to purchase a vehicle and thereafter seek subsequent, secured automotive loans on the same vehicle from other financial institutions.
The defendants were able to secure additional loans on the same vehicle by agreeing to provide as collateral a “clean” or “clear” title of a vehicle that they had fraudulently obtained. Often, they provided subsequent lenders with copies of false title applications, unfiled tax returns, and other qualifying information, knowing that the lenders expected to receive title to the vehicle to perfect the lien, and knowing that the lender would not have funded the loan as an unsecured loan. Scott and Ardestani guaranteed subsequent lenders that they would be in first secured position and promised to provide the subsequent lenders with the original title to perfect their liens. Instead, they would submit fraudulent information to the Alabama Department of Revenue to “erase” the lien or falsely show that the lien had been paid off.
Because both defendants were authorized dealers in Alabama, they had the authorization to apply for replacement of lost titles, which they did in order to fraudulently release liens and to secure replacement titles that showed no liens on the vehicles, effectively “washing” the vehicle title. In some instances, they would delay submission to the lender of the promised “clean” title in order to collateralize another loan. They also sold lien-encumbered vehicles “out of trust” after obtaining “washed” titles. As an example, the couple obtained nine loans for a single vehicle, each time, falsely assuring the new lender that the vehicle was free of liens. When a financial institution put sufficient pressure on the defendants about getting the promised titles, the defendants would pay off the loans, usually by obtaining additional loans.
Between May 19, 2010 and January 10, 2015, Scott and Ardestani perpetrated this scheme with well over a hundred vehicles and over 65 victim financial institutions, with a total anticipated loss of approximately $5,900,000.
The sentencing hearings are set for June 16, 2016. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Scott and Ardestani face potential sentences of up to 30 years in prison, restitution in the amount of at least $3,800,000 to victims of the crime and a fine to be determined by the Court.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Daughtrey is prosecuting the case.
Accounting manager sentenced in embezzlement schemeRead the Press Release
Indianapolis –United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today that a former accounting manager at Carrier Corporation (Carrier), a subsidiary of United Technologies Carrier (UTC), was sentenced for his role in an insider embezzlement scheme. Ryan King, 44, Indianapolis, was sentenced to 12 months in federal prison by U. S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker.
“White collar criminals steal through position and influence but are thieves just the same,” said Minkler. “Those who choose to commit this type of crime will be held accountable through the partnership of government and private industry to root out crime in whatever form.”
King was employed by Carrier as an accounting manager from June 2103 through April 2014. He was entrusted to oversee Carrier’s financial transactions including cost accounting, hourly payroll and preparation of financial statements among other duties.
In June 2013, King opened a personal checking account in the name of “Carrier Services.” He then instructed various vendors to make payments owed in the form of checks made out to Carrier Services. When King received the checks he diverted the money by depositing the checks into his personal account. Further, King sent inflated invoices to several vendors by facsimile transmissions. He then instructed the vendors to wire the over payment to his personal account. In total, $1,095,201 was diverted to his personal account.
Pre-charge, the government recovered over $500,000 from various savings and investment accounts and assets owned by King. These monies and assets will be applied toward the $1,233,343.80 in restitution ordered by the Court.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia J. Ridgeway who prosecuted this case for the government, King was also sentenced to 6 months of home detention during his two years of supervised release that will commence upon his release from the Bureau of Prisons.
8 March 2016
Wesleyan Football Player Pleads Guilty to Distributing Synthetic Drug That Caused OverdoseRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that RYAN WELCH, 22, of Salem, Mass., waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to distributing a synthetic hallucinogenic drug at Wesleyan University.
“Federal law enforcement once again finds itself on a university campus, investigating the broad distribution of a synthetic hallucinogen that nearly caused the fatal overdose of a college student,” said U.S. Attorney Daly. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to work closely with DEA and our state and local partners to actively investigate drug overdoses across Connecticut. It is our collective priority to identify the source and makeup of the drugs that cause overdoses, to remove these drugs from the streets and out of the hands of vulnerable users, and to prosecute those responsible for their illegal distribution. Too many young people believe synthetic drugs are harmless party drugs when, as this case makes abundantly clear, they are highly dangerous.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 31, 2015, the Wesleyan University Department of Public Safety responded to an emergency call from a campus dorm room and found a male student in severe medical distress. The victim was convulsing and struggling to breathe, and his body temperature was significantly elevated. The victim was transported by ambulance to the hospital where he spent several days recovering.
The investigation revealed that the victim had ingested “2C-B,” and that WELCH was the source of the 2C-B that the victim ingested.
The investigation further revealed that that WELCH, a member of Wesleyan’s football team, had distributed 2C-B to between 15 and 20 other members of the team during the 2015 season. Initially, he distributed the drug in liquid form, mixing it in a water bottle with a non-alcoholic drink. Later, he distributed it in powder form, in clear capsules. Some teammates referred to the 2C-B distributed by WELCH as “Welchie’s drug” or “Welchie’s special.” Certain players paid WELCH approximately $10 for each single-dose capsule.
The investigation further revealed that WELCH purchased the synthetic drug on the Dark Web using Bitcoin.
WELCH was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on January 21, 2016.
WELCH pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 2C-E and 2C-B, Schedule I controlled substances (hallucinogens). The offense carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $1 million.
Judge Bolden scheduled sentencing for May 20, 2016.
WELCH is released on a $100,000 bond.
This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, which includes participants from the New Haven, Hamden, Greenwich, Shelton, Bristol, Vernon and Wilton Police Departments.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Spector and Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Eugene Calistro of the Middlesex State’s Attorney’s Office, who has been cross-designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in this matter.
United States Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against 21st Century Oncology for $34.7 MillionRead the Press Release
21st Century Oncology Inc., the nation’s largest physician led integrated cancer care provider and its wholly owned subsidiary South Florida Radiation Oncology LLC, have agreed to settle allegations that they performed and billed for procedures that were not medically necessary, the Department of Justice announced today. 21st Century is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, and has offices in 16 states.
The settlement relates to defendants use of a medical procedure – called the Gamma function – to measure the exit dose of radiation from a patient after receiving radiation treatment. The United States alleged that the defendants knowingly and improperly billed for this procedure under circumstances where the procedure served no medically appropriate purpose. For example, the government alleged that the procedure was performed by physicians and physicists at 21st Century Oncology locations who were not properly trained to interpret and utilize the Gamma function results. The government also alleged that the defendants billed for this procedure when no physician reviewed the Gamma function results until seven or more days after the last day patients received radiation treatment therapy. Finally, the government alleged that the defendants billed for the procedure when no Gamma result was available due to technical failures in the imaging equipment.
“Today’s settlement demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protect the Medicare trust fund against unscrupulous providers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Providers who waste taxpayer dollars by billing for unnecessary services, including services that are not used or improperly performed, will face serious consequences.”
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to taking the steps necessary to protect Medicare, TRICARE, and other federal health care programs from fraud,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III for the Middle District of Florida. “Healthcare providers may bill for new technologies only when they have been proven to be useful and when individual physicians and staff have been trained to use them properly.”
This lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Joseph Ting, a former physicist at South Florida Radiation Oncology. Under those provisions, a private party, known as a relator, can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. Ting will receive more than $7 million.
“The waste of health care program dollars will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond for the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General. “Providers at 21st Century Oncology have agreed to settle claims that in some instances they performed tests that were not only medically unnecessary, but that no one had been trained to properly interpret, thereby allegedly causing the taxpayers to pay for useless tests.”
This past December, 21st Century Oncology LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of 21st Century Oncology Inc., paid $19.75 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing for medically unnecessary laboratory urine tests and for encouraging physicians to order these tests by offering bonuses based in part on the number of tests the physicians referred to its laboratory.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $27.4 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.4 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
“This settlement highlights the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of TRICARE, the Department of Defense health care program that serves our warfighters, their family members, and military retirees,” said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin of DCIS Southeast Field Office. “With DoD’s limited resources and budgets, DCIS must continue to aggressively investigate fraud, waste and abuse to preserve and recover precious taxpayer dollars for our most vulnerable programs.”
This matter was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The lawsuit against the defendants was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and is captioned United States ex rel. Ting v. 21st Century Oncology and South Florida Radiation Oncology.
United States Settles False Claims Act Allegations Against 21st Century Oncology for Nearly $34.7 MillionRead the Press Release
United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that the government has formally settled a lawsuit brought by a whistle-blower alleging that one of the nation’s largest radiation oncology providers, 21st Century Oncology, has agreed to settle allegations that they performed and billed for procedures that were not medically necessary. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, 21st Century shall pay the United States $34,695,243 to resolve these allegations. Headquartered in Fort Myers, 21st Century has offices in 16 states.
The settlement relates to the defendants use of a medical procedure – called the Gamma function – used to measure the exit dose radiating from a patient after the patient receives radiation treatment. The United States alleged that defendants knowingly and improperly billed for this procedure under circumstances where the procedure served no medically appropriate purpose. For example, the government alleged that the procedure was performed by physicians and physicists at 21st Century Oncology locations who were not properly trained to interpret and utilize the Gamma function results.
The government also alleged that defendants billed for this procedure when no physician reviewed the Gamma function results until seven or more days after the last day patients received radiation treatment therapy. Finally, the government alleged that defendants billed for the procedure when no Gamma result was available due to technical failures in the imaging equipment.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to taking the steps necessary to protect Medicare, TRICARE, and other federal health care programs from fraud,” said U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III. “Healthcare providers may bill for new technologies only when they have been proven to be useful and when individual physicians and staff have been trained to use them properly.”
“Today’s settlement demonstrates our unwavering commitment to protect the Medicare trust fund against unscrupulous providers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Providers who waste taxpayer dollars by billing for unnecessary services, including services that are not used or improperly performed, will face serious consequences.”
This lawsuit was originally filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Joseph Ting, a former physicist at South Florida Radiation Oncology. Under those provisions, a private party, known as a relator, can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. Ting will receive more than $7 million.
“The waste of health care program dollars will not be tolerated,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge for the HHS Office of the Inspector General. “Providers at 21st Century Oncology have agreed to settle claims that in some instances they performed tests that were not only medically unnecessary, but that no one had been trained to properly interpret, thereby allegedly causing the taxpayers to pay for useless tests.”
"This settlement highlights the commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and its law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of TRICARE, the Department of Defense health care program that serves our Warfighters, their family members, and military retirees," said Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin, Southeast Field Office. "With DoD's limited resources and budgets, DCIS must continue to aggressively investigate fraud, waste, and abuse to preserve and recover precious taxpayer dollars for our most vulnerable programs."
This past December, 21st Century paid $19.75 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by billing for medically unnecessary laboratory urine tests, and for encouraging physicians to order these tests by offering bonuses based in part on the number of tests the physicians referred to its laboratory.
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $27.4 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.4 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This matter was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Mehta from the Middle District of Florida, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG) and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability. The lawsuit against the defendants was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and is captioned United States ex rel. Ting v. 21st Century Oncology and South Florida Radiation Oncology.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Closes Investigation into the Death of Ramarley GrahamRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal charges in connection with the fatal shooting of Ramarley Graham. Mr. Graham was killed during an encounter with police officers from the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) on February 2, 2012. Mr. Graham was 18 years old at the time. The U.S. Attorney met today with Mr. Graham’s family and their representatives to inform them of this decision.
After conducting a thorough and independent investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has determined that there is insufficient evidence to meet the high burden of proof required for a federal criminal civil rights prosecution. To prove a violation of the federal criminal civil rights statute, prosecutors must establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a law enforcement officer willfully deprived an individual of a constitutional right, meaning that the officer acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids. This is the highest standard of intent imposed by law, and is different from and higher than the intent standard under the relevant state statutes. Neither accident, mistake, fear, negligence nor bad judgment is sufficient to establish a federal criminal civil rights violation.
The evidence from the investigation reveals the following: At approximately 2:00 p.m. on February 2, 2012, two members of a team of NYPD police officers from the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit (“SNEU”) began conducting surveillance of a bodega on White Plains Road in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. At approximately 2:45 p.m., the NYPD officers observed Ramarley Graham and two other individuals open the door to that bodega, walk in, and then immediately walk out. Video evidence from a nearby business shows Mr. Graham adjusting the front of his pants as he walked northbound on White Plains Road near the bodega. The two police officers conducting surveillance informed investigators that, after observing these actions, they transmitted over the police radio a description of Mr. Graham and his companions to the other members of the SNEU team, and further informed the SNEU team that Mr. Graham possibly had a firearm. The police officers then followed Mr. Graham and his companions as they continued walking north on White Plains Road, and then turned east on East 229th Street. One of the NYPD officers conducting surveillance reported that, when Mr. Graham reached with his hands to pull at his belt, the officer observed the slide of a firearm tucked into the waistband of Mr. Graham’s pants. According to the officers, his partner then transmitted over a non-recorded police channel that Mr. Graham had a firearm. Upon hearing this transmission, the other members of the SNEU team, including NYPD Officer Richard Haste (who had not previously observed Mr. Graham and had not had any prior direct interaction with him), moved to intercept Mr. Graham as he walked eastbound on East 229th Street.
Video evidence shows that Mr. Graham walked to 749 East 229th Street, which officers later learned to be Graham’s residence. As Mr. Graham opened the front door, an unmarked police vehicle quickly pulled up and stopped near the front of the house. As Officer Haste and another officer exited the vehicle, Mr. Graham looked in the direction of the officers and then quickly stepped inside the house and closed the front door. Approximately five seconds later, Officer Haste ran up to the front door and found it locked. He then unsuccessfully attempted to kick the door open. Video evidence shows that Officer Haste proceeded to the back of the house in an attempt to gain entry and entered the house through the back. Another officer followed him inside a few seconds later. Video evidence shows that Officer Haste then opened the front door of the building from the inside of the house and let in two additional officers. Officer Haste and another officer then climbed the stairs up to the second floor apartment.
Inside that apartment were Mr. Graham, Mr. Graham’s grandmother, and Mr. Graham’s six-year-old brother. One of the NYPD officers kicked open the door to Mr. Graham’s apartment. The door to the apartment opened onto a hallway, leading to a living room at the end of the hallway. The evidence establishes that Officer Haste advanced into the hallway of the apartment with his firearm drawn, where he encountered Mr. Graham. According to Officer Haste, he gave commands to Mr. Graham to the effect of, “Police, show me your hands.” Mr. Graham instead moved into an adjacent bathroom. Officer Haste then advanced down the hallway to the doorway of the bathroom.
At this critical moment in time, no other witness present in the apartment, including Mr. Graham’s grandmother, had a view of Mr. Graham. According to Officer Haste, when he looked in the bathroom, he saw Mr. Graham facing him, with his hand in his waistband. Also according to Officer Haste, Mr. Graham then made a motion as if he were pulling something out of his pants. Officer Haste stated that he believed that Mr. Graham was reaching for the weapon that had been described in the earlier radio transmission, and that he fired one round from his weapon in response to a perceived deadly threat. The bullet struck Mr. Graham, causing his death. No gun was found at the scene. A bag of marijuana was found in the toilet bowl next to where Mr. Graham was standing.
In the context of this case, to establish a violation of federal law, the Department of Justice would have to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that, at the time of the shooting, Officer Haste lacked probable cause to believe that Mr. Graham posed a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to others, and that he willfully deprived Mr. Graham of his right to be free from excessive force. The weight of the evidence indicates that, at the time the shooting took place, Officer Haste believed Mr. Graham to be in possession of a firearm that was tucked into the waistband of his pants, for which Officer Haste believed Mr. Graham was reaching. Although Officer Haste ultimately was proven to be mistaken in his belief, the determination as to the willfulness of his actions must be assessed in light of his knowledge at the time of the shooting.
The investigation revealed no evidence to refute Officer Haste’s claim that he shot Mr. Graham in response to his mistaken belief that Mr. Graham was reaching for a gun. The evidence that, before Officer Haste began to chase Mr. Graham, other officers reported over the police radio that Mr. Graham had a gun is unrefuted. There are no witness accounts or physical evidence that materially contradict Officer Haste’s statement that Mr. Graham appeared to be pulling something from his waistband at the time of the shooting. Nor is there any video of the shooting itself. Accordingly, the Department of Justice could not conclude or prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was a federal criminal civil rights violation.
This Office analyzed these issues under the standard applicable to criminal cases, which is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The Office expresses no view regarding any claims made against any party under the standard applicable to civil cases, which is proof by a preponderance of the evidence.
Accordingly, this Office’s investigation into Mr. Graham’s death has been closed.
Mr. Bharara expressed his deep sympathy to the family of Mr. Graham for their tragic loss.
U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams Statement Department of Justice Inspector General's InvestigationRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Justice, in consultation with the United State Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, is conducting an investigation regarding the actions of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) in connection with the events on January 26, 2016. Because the investigation is ongoing, there will be no further comment until the investigation is fully concluded.
Please see link to U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General: https://www.oig.justice.gov/press/2016/2016-03-08.pdf
Two men sentenced in Federal court in BluefieldRead the Press Release
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Two men were sentenced today in federal court in Bluefield, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto.
Tyrell Saunders, 22, was sentenced to a year and nine months for possession of a weapon by an inmate of a federal prison. Saunders previously pleaded guilty to the federal crime in January 2016. He admitted that on May 11, 2015, he possessed a handcrafted knife while he was serving time in the Federal Correctional Institution at McDowell. The handcrafted metal weapon, commonly referred to as a “shank,” was sharpened to a point and had fabric around the other end to serve as a handle. The new term of incarceration will run consecutive to the sentence of 15 years Saunders has been serving for several 2013 federal drug convictions in the Western District of Virginia.
In a separate prosecution, Albert Delorso, 49, of Bluewell, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for distributing pain pills. Delorso previously pleaded guilty in November 2015 to distribution of hydromorphone. He admitted that on June 30, 2015, he distributed hydromorphone pills near Bluewell to a confidential informant working with law enforcement.
The case against Saunders was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force investigated the Delorso case. Assistant United States Attorney John File handled the prosecutions. Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber imposed the sentences.
The federal drug prosecution was brought as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers and heroin in communities across the Southern District.
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Two Men Indicted for Conspiring to Defraud Government Program That Assists Minority BusinessesRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX: (716) 551-3051
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging David Pfeiffer, 64, of Killbuck, NY, and Thomas Colton, 53, of Salamanca, NY, with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and mail fraud. Pfeiffer was also charged with making a false statement to a financial institution. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who is handling the prosecution, stated that according to the indictment, Pfeiffer and Colton conspired to defraud government agencies and the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program. A business can be designated a DBE if at least 51% of the business is owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Since 1980, the U.S. the Department of Transportation has utilized the DBE Program in an effort to increase the number of minority and economically disadvantaged individuals who participate in construction projects that receive federal funding.
As set forth in the indictment, between May 2009 and 2013, Pfeiffer and Colton are accused of defrauding among others: • the U.S. Department of Transportation; • the New York State Department of Transportation; • the City of Niagara Falls, NY; • the Buffalo Urban Development Corporation (BUDC); and
• the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA).
Pfeiffer and Colton used Colton’s business, Sue-Perior Concrete and Paving, Inc., as a subcontractor on federal government contracts. Sue-Perior was used to allow Pfeiffer’s construction company Man O’ Trees to obtain government contracts that it would have otherwise been unable to obtain. Sue-Perior was qualified as a DBE by the NFTA based upon a fraudulent application submitted by Pfeiffer and Colton. As a result of the alleged fraud, Pfeiffer and Colton illegally obtained government construction contracts involving at least three projects:
• the New York State Route 104 Project; • the Union Ship Canal Project; and
• the Gallagher Beach Project.
In total, the value of the three projects was approximately $15,500,000. General contractors are only permitted to count funds paid to DBE’s that performed a “commercially useful function.” The indictment alleges that Sue-Perior did not serve a commercially useful function in relation to these construction projects. In addition, the indictment alleges that Pfeiffer also submitted false personal financial statements to Five Star bank to obtain credit extensions for his businesses. The defendants were arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and released on bond.
The indictment is the culmination of an investigation conducted by the Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Douglas Shoemaker, the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone, New York Regional Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Two Area Men Convicted of Heroin Conspiracy ChargesRead the Press Release
St Louis, MO – Timothy Anderson and Oscar Mims were convicted of charges involving a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of heroin in the St. Louis area. The five-day trial was held before United States District Judge Rodney W. Sippel.
According to court documents and testimony presented at trial, Timothy Anderson was the leader of a drug conspiracy that transported large amounts of heroin from Illinois to the St. Louis area for distribution. Oscar Mims was convicted as part of the conspiracy. Eight other co-defendants have previously pled guilty and have been sentenced.
Anderson was convicted of one felony count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute in excess of one kilogram of heroin and Mims was convicted of one felony count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute in excess of 100 grams of heroin. Anderson was also convicted of one felony count of possession with intent to distribute heroin. Sentencing for both defendants has been set for June 17, 2016.
Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute in excess of one kilogram of heroin carries a penalty range of 10 years to life in prison. Conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute in excess of 100 grams of heroin carries a penalty range of 5 years to 40 years in prison. Possession with intent to distribute heroin carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. 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 Drug Enforcement Administration and the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Tuscola Businessman Sentenced for Income Tax Evasion to More Than Two Years in Prison and to Pay $1.1 Million to IRSRead the Press Release
Springfield, Ill. – A Tuscola, Ill., businessman, Lorenzo Shane Stewart, owner of Ten Acres Excavating, has been ordered to serve 30 months (2 ½ years) in prison for failure to pay income tax. Upon release from prison, Stewart was ordered to serve the first six months of his three-year term of supervised release under home confinement. Stewart was also ordered to pay $1,122,074 in restitution to the IRS.
Stewart, 49, appeared today in federal court in Springfield before U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough. Stewart was ordered to report on May 8, 2016, to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence.
Stewart pled guilty on Aug. 21, 2015, to two counts of income tax evasion. During court proceedings and according to court documents, Stewart admitted that he failed to pay more than $1.12 million in income tax for the 2008 and 2009 tax years. In 2006, Stewart began conducting his excavation and construction business under the name Ten Acre Excavating. Stewart put the business under the name of one of his employees. Although Stewart operated the business and received the income generated from the business, Stewart did not claim income generated by Ten Acre Excavating on his own tax returns.
In approximately July 2008, Stewart was awarded contracts to perform excavating and construction work on several natural gas pipeline substations that were being built in the Tuscola area. Stewart and his employees performed work on these substations and received checks related to this pipeline work totaling approximately $1.7 million in 2008 and $5.9 million in 2009. Stewart claimed his adjusted gross income for 2008 was approximately $74,199, when in fact, his adjusted gross income for 2008 was approximately $279,803. For 2009, Stewart claimed his adjusted gross income was approximately $257,361, when in fact, his adjusted gross income was approximately $3,044,980.
Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller prosecuted the case. The charges were investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.
Roanoke Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin ChargeRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today the guilty plea of a man to a federal heroin distribution charge.
Michael Anthony Kemp II, 35, of Roanoke, Va., pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke to one count of conspiring to distribute heroin.
“Heroin is ruining lives and destroying communities all across Western Virginia,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “We will continue to do all we can to prosecute those who deal in this highly addictive and deadly drug and provide support and treatment to those who are suffering from addiction.”
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Roanoke City Police Department and the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Bassford prosecuted the case for the United States.
River Ridge Man Sentenced for Fraud in Security System ContractsRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that WAYNE WILLIAMS, age 38, of River Ridge, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey sentenced WILLIAMS to 24 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. WILLIAMS was also ordered to pay $502,353.99 in restitution to victims of his crimes.
According to court records, WILLIAMS was responsible for selling security systems and services, and also for negotiating and signing customer contracts on behalf of ADT Security and Protection One. WILLIAMS was compensated by his employers through commissions received on contracts he negotiated.
WILLIAMS forged a customer’s signature on a $466,046.18 ADT Security equipment and installation services contract. Without ADT Security’s knowledge, WILLIAMS secretly executed a separate contract with the customer in which only $109,148.93 was charged. The defendant received approximately $73,576.72 in commissions from ADT Security as a result of the fraudulent contract.
With regard to Protection One, WILLIAMS forged a purported customer’s signature on an $80,240.48 Protection One equipment and installation services contract. The defendant received approximately $2,353.99 in commissions from Protection One as a result of this fraudulent contract.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney G. Dall Kammer was in charge of the prosecution.
Rio Arriba County Man Sentenced to 71 Months for Federal Conspiracy and Mail Fraud ConvictionRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Gerald Archuleta, 45, of Ojo Caliente, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 71 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on conspiracy and mail fraud charges arising out of a scheme to defraud the federal and state unemployment insurance system. Archuleta also was ordered, jointly with his co-defendant, to pay $719,858.73 in restitution.
Archuleta’s co-defendant, Jasonn Gonzales, 43, an accountant from Velarde, N.M., previously was sentenced to 111 months for a conviction arising out of the same scheme in Dec. 2014.
Archuleta and Gonzales were charged in a six-count indictment filed in March 2014. Count 1 charged the two men with conspiracy to commit mail fraud in furtherance of a scheme to defraud the federal and state Unemployment Insurance System in New Mexico, Texas and Colorado of money by false and fraudulent pretenses. Counts 2 through 5 of the indictment charged the men with mail fraud, and Count 6 charges Gonzales alone with aggravated identity theft.
According to court filings, the federal and state Unemployment Insurance System seeks to lessen the effects of unemployment through payments made to claimants (laid-off workers) on a weekly basis while the claimants seek employment. The unemployment insurance program is administered on behalf of the federal government by state workforce agencies in each state. In entering their guilty pleas, Gonzales and Archuleta admitted that between 2009 and 2012, they schemed to defraud the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, the Texas Workforce Commission and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment of more than $1,356,000 by making false and fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits in the names of real people.
Gonzales and Archuleta perpetuated their unlawful scheme by fraudulently registering numerous non-existent companies with the three state workforce agencies and filing false quarterly reports for the fictitious companies which identified claimed employees. The two men provided the names, dates of birth and social security numbers of the claimed employees to the state agencies without the knowledge or authorization of the claimed employees, who were real people. Gonzales and Archuleta then made false and fraudulent claims for unemployment benefit claims on behalf of the claimed employees of the fictitious companies. The two men opened post office boxes in New Mexico, Texas and Colorado, which they provided to the three state workforce agencies as mailing addresses for the claimed employees. The state agencies mailed debit cards to the claimed employees at the post office boxes and the defendants used the debit cards to withdraw the fraudulently obtained benefits. During the life of the conspiracy, Gonzales and Archuleta submitted fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits in the aggregate amount of $1,356,461, and defrauded the three state workforce agencies of approximately $801,848, in total.
On Oct. 24, 2014, Archuleta entered a guilty plea to Counts 1 through 5 of the indictment; his guilty plea was amended on Feb. 26, 2016. Gonzales entered a guilty plea on Aug. 18, 2014, to all six counts of the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. In entering his guilty plea, Gonzales also admitted to the forfeiture provisions of the indictment and to the entry of an $801,848.00 money judgment against him.
This case was investigated by the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Frauds Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara C. Neda.
Prince George’s County Suspect Faces Federal Gun ChargeRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – Quinton Darnell McLean, age 21, of Washington, D.C., has been charged by federal criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The criminal complaint was filed on February 29, 2016, and McLean has an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt today at 2:40 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge William Connelly.
The charges were announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief Hank Stawinski of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks.
“Criminals who are not deterred from carrying guns by the threat of prison time can be deterred by the reality of years spent in a federal prison far from home,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Police and prosecutors are working to identify armed criminals who deserve to be charged in federal court.”
According to the affidavit filed in support of his criminal complaint, on February 12, 2016, McLean was traveling with two other men in a green Saturn on the Suitland Parkway. Officers with the Prince George’s Police Department Washington Area Vehicle Enforcement Team (WAVE) conducted a query of the temporary registration on the Saturn, which revealed that the tag was issued for a 1987 Mercedes Benz. Officers followed the vehicle, which pulled into a carwash on Branch Avenue in Temple Hills, Maryland.
The driver of the Saturn pulled the vehicle into the carwash bay and began washing the car while McLean and the other occupant stood outside the entrance to the carwash bay. One of the officers, whose unmarked car was next in line for the wash bay behind the green Saturn, saw McLean adjusting his waistband and clutching the right side of his waistband as he stood outside the carwash bay. The officer knew that McLean’s behavior was indicative of an armed person, and believed that McLean had a firearm in his waistband. The officer frisked McLean for weapons and recovered a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol that was tucked in the right front side of McLean’s waistband area. McLean was arrested. While in custody, McLean made several calls from jail. During these conversations, which are recorded by the detention center, McLean made several statements, including, “Maryland time is cheap as s**t.” McLean has a previous felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
McLean faces a sentence of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a gun. There is no probation or parole in the federal criminal justice system.
As part of the coordinated state effort to reduce violent crime, the Prince George’s County Police Department, ATF, FBI, DEA, HSI, U.S. Marshals Service, the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office, review cases of defendants arrested for firearms violations, drug offenses and other violent crimes, and evaluate whether the case should be considered for federal prosecution. Prosecutors evaluate each defendant’s criminal record, the circumstances of the arrest and other relevant information.
A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Prince George’s County Police Department and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew L. Paeffgen, who is prosecuting the case.
Plain Green Officials Sent to PrisonRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS – Former Chief Executive Officers for Plain Green, the Chippewa Cree Tribe’s internet lending business, were both sentenced today to several years in prison by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris in Great Falls. Neal Paul Rosette, 54, of Box Elder, who served as the lending corporation’s CEO from its origination until January of 2012, was sentenced to 38 months in prison and restitution of $1,488,472. His colleague, Billi Anne Morsette, was sentenced to 41 months in prison, and $1,421,045 in restitution.
In December of last year, Rosette and Morsette pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Encores Services, a Las Vegas business, in exchange for facilitating the award and payment on fraudulent tribal contracts. In another indictment the two pleaded guilty to helping Chippewa Cree Tribal Vice-Chairman John Chance Houle siphon off over $55,000 in tribal monies, laundering them through First American Capital Resources, the predecessor company to Plain Green, and then diverting the money to the Chippewa Cree Rodeo Association accounts which Houle had used as a slush fund. Included in their pleas was a plea by Rosette to income tax evasion and by Morsette to willful failure to file tax returns.
In court records filed at the time of the plea, the Unites States Attorney’s office advised the Court that in May of 2010, the Chippewa Cree Tribe created First American Capital Resources, LLC (FACR) to be a partner with outside interests to provide a pay-day, on-line lending platform which, using tribal sovereignty, could be exempt from state laws and regulations regarding usury and predatory lending practices. The FACR CEO was Neal Rosette, the FACR COO was Billi Anne Morsette, and the Chairman of the oversight board created by the tribal council to administer the internet lending program was tribal Vice-Chairman, John Chance Houle.
THE RODEO ASSOCIATION EMBEZZLEMENT: On September 15, 2010, Houle authorized and signed a $27,949.33 check to FACR from the Chippewa Cree Tribe Tribal Grants and Contracts account. Once the Grants and Contracts money was in the FACR account, a check for $6,000 was made payable to Rosette (signed by Morsette) and another check for $6,000 was made payable to Morsette (signed by Rosette). Also on that same date, a check for $15,000 was written to the Chippewa Cree Tribe Rodeo Association and signed by Rosette and Morsette. Chance Houle was the President of the Chippewa Cree Rodeo Association with exclusive control over its bank account.
The second payment from the Grants and Contracts account to FACR was made on October 5, 2010, for $27,842.94. On that same date, a FACR check for $4,000 was made payable to Rosette (signed by Morsette) and another check for $4,000 was made payable to Morsette (signed by Rosette). Also on that same date, a check for $15,000 was written to the Indian National Finals Rodeo (INFR), and signed by Rosette and Morsette.
THE IDEAL CONSULTING KICK-BACK SCHEME: On October 22, 2010, FACR, the Tribe, and Encore Services Corporation, of Henderson, Nevada, entered into a Management Agreement making Encore the tribe’s partner in the on-line lending business. FACR and Encore did not make any online loans prior to April 2011. The salaries of Rosette and Morsette were subsidized by Encore and its affiliates, along with James Eastlick, Jr., Clinical Psychologist at the Tribe, through bridge loans. One specific loan from Eastlick to cover the salaries of Rosette and Morsette was in December 2010 for $60,000, and the note on the loan was between Eastlick and Encore.
In March of 2011, after Rosette had entered into negotiations with Think Finance of Fort Worth, Texas, the Tribe created another online lending company, Plain Green. Plain Green was created for online installment loan lending and, as with FACR, Plain Green would utilize the Tribe’s sovereignty to shield the business from state usury and predatory lending laws. Rosette, Morsette, and Houle all remained in the same positions for Plain Green as they had for FACR. After Rosette’s departure in January 2012, Morsette took over both the CEO and the COO roles for FACR and Plain Green.
After a deal was struck between the Tribe, Plain Green, and Think Finance, Encore was no longer a relevant participant. On May 4, 2011, and at the request of Encore, a revised management agreement between FACR and Encore was signed. Under this agreement, Section 2.9 now stated the “Enterprise” shall include FACR “and any other entity formed by the Tribe to undertake business of the type conducted by FACR.” This is after Plain Green and Think Finance have already started making loans in April. The amended agreement was designed to provide “exclusive” rights to Encore with regard to all of the Tribe’s online lending ventures, including Plain Green. Rosette forged Houle’s signature on the revised management agreement.
On July 11, 2015, without any written agreement as to fees, Rosette and/or Morsette wired $38,242 of the Tribe’s share of the Plain Green distribution, to Encore. In late July 2011, a Fee Agreement was executed providing Encore Services, LLC, a newly formed company owned by the same individuals of Encore Service Corporation, 15% of all profits from the Plain Green – Think Finance venture. This agreement was backdated to June 1, 2011, one day before Plain Green received its first payment of $199,141.
On August 3, 2011, an entity called Ideal Consulting, LLC, invoiced Encore for “5% consulting fees” for the months of May, June and July 2011. The total billed was $50,652.40. That same day, Plain Green wired $93,800.42 to Encore Services. Ideal Consulting had registered with the Montana Secretary of State’s Office on August 2, 2011. Eastlick opened a bank account using the articles of incorporation for Ideal Consulting at Wells Fargo Bank in Havre, and on August 5, 2011, an Encore affiliate wired $50,652.40 to the new account.
At its essence, the scheme that began with the second agreement was designed to put Encore back into the tribal stream of revenue from the on-line lending operation once Think had come in to supplant Encore. In exchange for giving Encore 10% of the tribe’s revenues, Encore agreed to take 15% and kick 5% back to Rosette, Morsette, and Eastlick as a reward for keeping money flowing to Encore, even though it had not been able to establish a viable lending operation.
The relationship with Encore, and the resulting payments to Ideal, continued for the next two years, until July 31, 2013. In that time, Plain Green paid Encore $3,523,471, and Encore paid Ideal $1,208,395. The profits from the scheme were split evenly between Rosette, Morsette and Eastlick—each taking over $400,000.
During this period Morsette received over $800,000 in income from her salary and the payments from Ideal. She never filed a tax return. As part of her plea agreement she agreed to pay $165,253 in tax liability to the IRS. Rosette filed for 2009 but did not file any returns after that. Based upon his unreported income, Rosette agreed to pay $232,680 in tax liability to the IRS.
Rosette was allowed to surrender himself to the institution once the Bureau of Prisons designates where he will serve his sentence. Morsette was immediately remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal.
The case was brought by the federal agents of the Guardians Project and was investigated by the agents of the Offices of Inspector General of the Departments of Interior and Health and Human Services, as well as by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.
Pennsylvania man sentenced for drug trafficking, unlawful possession of firearmsRead the Press Release
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Richard Cervi, Jr., 31, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for methamphetamine trafficking and unlawful possession of firearms, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.
Cervi, who has a previous felony conviction in state court in Pennsylvania, was discovered in Ohio County, West Virginia in February 2015 in unlawful possession of methamphetamine and a .45 caliber revolver. He was previously convicted of the felony offense of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine” in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
Cervi pled guilty in November 2015 to one count of “Felon in Possession of a Firearm,” and one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.” He was sentenced to 37 months in prison on each count. The sentences will run concurrently for a total of 37 months in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Perri prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the West Virginia State Police, and the United States Secret Service investigated.
U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.
North Hollywood Man Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison in Tax Scheme that Fraudulently Sought over $1.2 Million in RefundsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A North Hollywood man has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for his role in a tax fraud conspiracy scheme that fraudulently claimed more than $1.2 million in fraudulent tax refunds.
Antonio Jerome Cook, 37, received the prison sentence yesterday from United States District Judge George H. King. In addition to the prison term, Judge King ordered Cook to pay $537,309 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Cook pleaded guilty in October 2015 to one count of conspiracy to commit tax fraud.
According to documents filed with the court, starting in late 2008 or early 2009, Cook, along with two co-conspirators, developed a tax fraud scheme in which the defendants prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns for individuals. The fraudulent returns were filed on behalf of individuals who agreed to have the defendants prepare their tax returns (apparently without knowledge of the fraud scheme), as well as individuals whose identities were stolen.
The fraudulent tax returns indicated that the taxpayers were employed by Picaso Fashions, a business established by Cook in name only. In fact, Picaso Fashions did not have any employees and the taxpayers were never actually employed by Picaso. The tax returns indicated that Picaso Fashions had excessively withheld income tax for each taxpayer, and each fraudulently filed tax return sought a tax refund the taxpayers were not entitled to receive.
The scheme related to Picaso Fashions resulted in the filing of 69 false individual federal tax returns during 2009 that claimed tax refunds totaling $621,589.
In addition to Picaso Fashions, Cook and a co-conspirator independently established other companies to serve as fraudulent employers in tax schemes, according to court documents. Specifically, Cook established at least five other companies to perpetrate similar tax fraud schemes. For example, Cook filed an additional 72 tax returns listing a fictitious employer, Arkitek Entertainment Group, which fraudulently claimed $486,659 in refunds.
In total, Cook filed 182 fraudulent returns between 2009 and 2010 seeking tax refunds totaling $1,225,901. The IRS paid full or partial tax refunds on 81 of these returns and suffered actual losses of $537,309.
“As we enter the 2016 tax season, it is important that we continue to work with IRS criminal investigators to ensure the honesty and integrity of the tax system,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Identifying fraudulent claims against the government and prosecuting those responsible for illegally filing false tax returns protects all taxpayers and helps ensure the fairness of the entire system.”
Co-conspirator Rebecca Magruder, 37, of Dallas, Texas was sentenced in January to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $119,671 for her role in the scheme.
The investigation into Cook and Magruder was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation.
North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine ChargeRead the Press Release
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A North Carolina man pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke to federal drug conspiracy charges, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.
Bradley Scott Kennedy, 37, of Jonesville, North Carolina, pled guilty today in District Court to one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
“In conjunction with a robust coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies we have been able to make significant progress in the fight against methamphetamine distribution,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “However, there is still work to be done and we will continue to be vigilant in investigating and prosecuting those who manufacture and distribute this dangerous this substance.”
The investigation of the case was conducted the Virginia State Police, the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office, the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office, the Galax Police Department, the Carroll County Sherriff’s Office, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley B. Neese prosecuted the case for the United States.
New York Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Attempting to Acquire RicinRead the Press Release
Cheng Le, 22, of Manhattan, New York, was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for attempting to acquire ricin, postal fraud and identity theft in relation to a terrorism offense. Le was convicted on Aug. 27, 2015, following a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan of the Southern District of New York, who imposed today’s sentence. Le’s trial conviction marked the first time in the Southern District of New York a defendant had been convicted at trial of attempting to possess a biological toxin for use as a weapon or of aggravated identity theft during and in relation to a terrorism offense.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York.
“Cheng Le attempted to acquire ricin for use as a lethal weapon, and used a stolen identity to do so,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Le sought a ‘risk-free’ way to murder an individual, but thanks to the efforts of law enforcement, his lethal plans were thwarted and the deadly toxin was kept out of his hands.”
“Through the Dark Web, Cheng Le attempted to acquire a lethal toxin,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “In Le’s own words, established at trial, he was looking for ‘simple and easy death pills’ and ways to commit ‘100% risk-free’ murder. Thanks to the FBI, the NYPD and the Postal Inspection Service, Le’s deadly plot was thwarted and he has been incapacitated by a lengthy term in federal prison.”
According to the allegations contained in documents previously filed in federal court and the evidence presented at trial:
Ricin is a highly potent and fatal toxin with no known antidote. The dark web is a colloquial name for a number of extensive, sophisticated and widely used online criminal marketplaces, which allow participants to buy and sell illegal items, including ricin.
In early December 2014, Le contacted a FBI online covert employee (OCE) on a particular dark web marketplace using an encrypted messaging service. The OCE had taken over the dark web identity from another individual who had a reputation for selling lethal poisons. After making contact with the OCE, Le inquired, “this might sound blunt but do you sell ricin?”
Following that initial contact, Le exchanged a series of messages with the OCE concerning his efforts to purchase ricin. During these messages, Le confirmed his understanding of the lethal nature of ricin, revealed his intent to resell the ricin to at least one secondary buyer, proposed that the OCE conceal the ricin in a single pill in an otherwise ordinary bottle of pills and indicated a desire to obtain more ricin in the future. Le’s messages to the OCE included the following:
• “If [the ricin’s] good quality, I’ve already had buyers lining up.”
• “Does ricin have antidote? Last I check there isn’t one, isn’t it?”
• “Injection can be difficult to pull off. Ricin doesn’t work immediately. You wouldn’t expect the target to not fight back after being jabbed.”
• “The client would like to know . . . if it is wise to use ricin on someone who is hospitalized. . . . Injection will leave needle holes on the body which could be found in regular forensic examination. But hospitalized people already have needles in them so it wouldn’t be suspicious. Thing is, would ricin make the death look like someone succumbed to the injuries after an accident and didn’t make it through? In that case then, a little anethestical [sic] gas in the target’s car, get him drowsy when driving, get into an accident, and then kill him in the hospital bed.”
• “I probably told you this before, about mixing one and only one toxic pill into a bottle of normal pills. They all look identical. And as the target takes the medicine every day, sooner or later he’d ingest that poisonous pill and die. Even if there is a murder investigation, they won’t find any more toxin. 100% Risk Free.”
• “If you can make them into simple and easy death pills, they’d become bestsellers.”
• “I’ll be trying out new methods in the future. After all, it is death itself we’re selling here, and the more risk-free, the more efficient we can make it, the better.”
• “Also, besides that one bottle of pills with one poisonous pill in there, can you send some extra loose powder/liquid ricin? I’d like to test something.”
Moreover, during these exchanges, Le revealed to the OCE that he had a specific victim in mind: “someone middle-aged. Weight around 200 lbs.”
On Dec. 18, 2014, Le directed the OCE to send a quantity of ricin addressed to the name of an individual whose stolen identity Le had assumed at a particular postal box in Manhattan. On Dec. 22, 2014, the FBI prepared a mock shipment of ricin that was consistent with Le’s request to the OCE. The sham shipment included a fake ricin tablet concealed in a pill bottle, and a quantity of loose fake ricin powder. The next day, the sham shipment was delivered to the postal box. Le, wearing latex gloves, retrieved the sham shipment, opened it and took the contents to his apartment.
When FBI agents entered Le’s apartment to arrest him and search the apartment pursuant to a search warrant, they saw the pill bottle open in his apartment. The agents also recovered from Le’s apartment an envelope containing castor seeds from which Ricin can be produced. The agents further observed that Le’s computer was open to the online account that he had used to communicate with the OCE and to Le’s personal email account.
Le was arrested in New York on Dec. 23, 2014, and was later convicted at trial of one count of attempting to possess a biological toxin for use as a weapon, one count of using a fictitious name in furtherance of unlawful business involving the mail and one count of aggravated identity theft during and in relation to a terrorism offense. In addition to the prison term, Le was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
Assistant Attorney General Carlin joined U.S. Attorney Bharara in praising the outstanding investigative efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
This prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilan Graff and Andrew D. Beaty of the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Joseph Kaster of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
New York Man Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 16 Years in Prison for Attempting to Acquire Deadly Toxin, RicinRead the Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced that CHENG LE was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for attempting to acquire ricin, postal fraud, and identity theft in relation to a terrorism offense. LE was convicted on August 27, 2015, following a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan, who imposed today’s sentence. LE’s conviction marked the first time in the District that a defendant had been convicted at trial of attempting to possess a biological toxin for use as a weapon or of aggravated identity theft during and in relation to a terrorism offense.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Through the Dark Web, Cheng Le attempted to acquire a lethal toxin. In Le’s own words, established at trial, he was looking for ‘simple and easy death pills’ and ways to commit ‘100% risk-free’ murder. Thanks to the FBI, the NYPD, and the Postal Inspection Service, Le’s deadly plot was thwarted and he has been incapacitated by a lengthy term in federal prison.”
Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin said: “Cheng Le attempted to acquire ricin for use as a lethal weapon, and used a stolen identity to do so. Le sought a ‘risk-free’ way to murder an individual, but thanks to the efforts of law enforcement, his lethal plans were thwarted and the deadly toxin was kept out of his hands.”
According to the allegations contained in documents previously filed in federal court and the evidence presented at trial: Ricin is a highly potent and fatal toxin with no known antidote. The “Dark Web” is a colloquial name for a number of extensive, sophisticated, and widely used online criminal marketplaces, which allow participants to buy and sell illegal items, including ricin.
In early December 2014, LE contacted a Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) online covert employee (the “OCE”) on a particular Dark Web marketplace using an encrypted messaging service. The OCE had taken over the Dark Web identity from another individual who had a reputation for selling lethal poisons. After making contact with the OCE, LE inquired, “this might sound blunt but do you sell ricin?”
Following that initial contact, LE exchanged a series of messages with the OCE concerning his efforts to purchase ricin. During these messages, LE confirmed his understanding of the lethal nature of ricin, revealed his intent to resell the ricin to at least one secondary buyer, proposed that the OCE conceal the ricin in a single pill in an otherwise ordinary bottle of pills, and indicated a desire to obtain more ricin in the future. LE’s messages to the OCE included the following:
-
“If [the ricin’s] good quality, I’ve already had buyers lining up.”
-
“Does ricin have antidote? Last I check there isn’t one, isn’t it?”
-
“Injection can be difficult to pull off. Ricin doesn’t work immediately. You wouldn’t expect the target to not fight back after being jabbed.”
-
“The client would like to know . . . if it is wise to use ricin on someone who is hospitalized. . . . Injection will leave needle holes on the body which could be found in regular forensic examination. But hospitalized people already have needles in them so it wouldn’t be suspicious. Thing is, would ricin make the death look like someone succumbed to the injuries after an accident and didn’t make it through? In that case then, a little anethestical [sic] gas in the target’s car, get him drowsy when driving, get into an accident, and then kill him in the hospital bed.”
-
“I probably told you this before, about mixing one and only one toxic pill into a bottle of normal pills. They all look identical. And as the target takes the medicine every day, sooner or later he’d ingest that poisonous pill and die. Even if there is a murder investigation, they won’t find any more toxin. 100% Risk Free.”
-
“If you can make them into simple and easy death pills, they’d become bestsellers.”
-
“I’ll be trying out new methods in the future. After all, it is death itself we’re selling here, and the more risk-free, the more efficient we can make it, the better.”
-
“Also, besides that one bottle of pills with one poisonous pill in there, can you send some extra loose powder/liquid ricin? I’d like to test something.”
Moreover, during these exchanges, LE further revealed to the OCE that he had a specific victim in mind: “someone middle-aged. Weight around 200 lbs.”
On December 18, 2014, LE directed the OCE to send a quantity of ricin addressed to the name of an individual whose stolen identity LE had assumed at a particular postal box in Manhattan (the “Postal Box”). On December 22, 2014, the FBI prepared a mock shipment of ricin (the “Sham Shipment”) that was consistent with LE’s request to the OCE. The Sham Shipment included a fake “ricin” tablet concealed in a pill bottle (the “Pill Bottle”), and a quantity of loose fake “ricin” powder. The next day, the Sham Shipment was delivered to the Postal Box. LE, wearing latex gloves, retrieved the Sham Shipment, opened it, and took the contents to his apartment.
When FBI agents entered LE’s apartment to arrest LE and to search the apartment, pursuant to a search warrant, they saw the Pill Bottle open in his apartment. The agents also recovered from LE’s apartment an envelope containing castor seeds, from which ricin can be produced. The agents further observed that LE’s computer was open to the online account that he had used to communicate with the OCE and to LE’s personal email account.
LE was arrested in New York, New York, on December 23, 2014.
* * *
LE, 22, of Manhattan, New York, was convicted after trial of one count of attempting to possess a biological toxin for use as a weapon, one count of using a fictitious name in furtherance of unlawful business involving the mail, and one count of aggravated identity theft during and in relation to a terrorism offense. In addition to the prison term, LE was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
In pronouncing today’s sentence, Judge Nathan described LE’s conduct as “a horrible, serious, and quite terrifying offense.”
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative efforts of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force – which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department – and the United States Postal Inspection Service. He also thanked the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice for its assistance.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Ilan Graff and Andrew D. Beaty are in charge of the prosecution.
-
Muskogee Man Sentenced to 37 Months for Wire and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced that DAVID ALLEN EDWARDS, age 69, of Muskogee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 37 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release and a $300 special assessment fee for WIRE FRAUD, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343; TAX FRAUD, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1) and FAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR AND PAY EMPLOYMENT TAXES OWED, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7202.
It was also ordered that the defendant pay restitution in the amounts of $143,272.88 to Children’s Clinic, PLLC; $18,000.00 to Ron Wright and $534,342.90 to the Internal Revenue Service.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Muskogee Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division.
The Information filed on July 6, 2015, alleged that on or about January 9, 2014, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma and elsewhere, the defendant devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud Children's Clinic, PLLC to obtain money and property in the amount of $403,307.09 by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises.
Further investigation revealed that on or about June 2, 2011, the defendant willfully made and subscribed a false 2010 Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, which contained and was verified by a written declaration that it was made under the penalties of perjury, and which he did not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter, in that he knowingly reported a false Adjusted Gross Income by failing to report $116,610.00 in additional income that was fraudulently obtained from Children’s Clinic, PLLC.
Agents also discovered that Office Medic, Inc., which is owned and operated by the defendant, withheld payroll taxes from its employees' paychecks, including federal income taxes, Medicare and social security taxes but failed to send $534,342.09 in withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service.
The Honorable Frank H. Seay, Senior District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. The defendant will report to the Bureau of Prisons on April 8, 2016, where he will serve his nonparoleable sentence.
First Assistant United States Attorney Doug Horn represented the United States.
Mount Olive Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Methamphetamine Manufacturing and DistributionRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that in federal court today, Senior United States District Judge James C. Fox, sentenced RANDALL STEWART HILL, 39, of Mount Olive, North Carolina, to 420 months’ imprisonment followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
On November 13, 2015, HILL was found guilty in a jury trial of Conspiracy to Manufacture, Distribute, Dispense, and Possess with the Intent to Distribute a Mixture and Substance Containing 500 Grams or more of Methamphetamine from January 2010 to April 8, 2015.
The investigation revealed that HILL was involved in manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine (meth) in Duplin
County, North Carolina, from at least January 2010 to April 8, 2015. Manufacturing meth requires many ingredients found in over-the-counter cold medicine, as well as other commonly found ingredients. Multiple cooperating witnesses explained how HILL arranged for numerous individuals, commonly referred to as “smurfs,” to obtain the pseudoephedrine (pseudo) through purchase at various stores. HILL then used the pseudo to cook meth and compensated the “smurfs” by providing them with meth.
On April 21, 2010, a deputy with the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by HILL for a traffic infraction. HILL stopped his vehicle at a residence frequented by meth users and sellers. HILL was observed moving around inside the vehicle and looked as though he was reaching beneath the seat. HILL refused the deputy’s orders to exit the vehicle. As a second deputy attempted to gain entrance to the passenger side of the vehicle, HILL rapidly accelerated and drove away. Deputies pursued HILL as he drove down a dirt path and entered a field. HILL’S vehicle began to slow down and the officer attempted to block HILL’S driver’s side door to prevent HILL from jumping from the vehicle, but HILL accelerated and struck the deputy’s vehicle with his own vehicle in the right front quarter panel. A short time later, HILL was taken into custody by other responding units.
Investigators located two plastic bags with electrical tape wrapped around them along the path they had been driving in pursuit of HILL. About five feet from the bags, deputies recovered .1 gram of meth. A search of HILL’S pants pockets and wallet revealed a sum of $1,806 in United States currency, which converts to 18.6 grams of meth. A HILL is responsible for an estimated amount of 729.57 grams of meth from at least January 2010 to April 8, 2015. HILL possessed at least one firearm and maintained a premise for manufacturing meth. HILL manufactured meth and created a substantial risk of harm to the life of a minor and involved an individual who was less than 18 years of age in the offense. HILL paid at least five individuals with meth to purchase pseudo. As such, HILL acted as a manager of a criminal activity involving five or more participants. Finally, HILL recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement officer.
The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Wells handled the prosecution on behalf of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Miami-Dade County Resident Sentenced to Prison for Filing More Than $7 Million in False Refund Claims with the IRSRead the Press Release
A Miami-Dade County resident was sentenced to 44 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for filing more than $7 million in false refund claims with the Internal Revenue Service.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement.
Efrain Galvez, 53, of Miami, Florida, previously pled guilty to one count of making a false, fictitious, and fraudulent claim against the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 287.
According to court documents, Galvez filed false 2005 through 2008 federal income tax returns with the IRS claiming a total of $7,421,987 in fraudulent refunds. In the returns, Galvez falsely asserted that he was owed millions of dollars in income from various entities, and that those entities had withheld the money as federal income tax paid to the IRS. In fact, the entities owed no such income to Galvez, and withheld no such taxes on his behalf. Specifically, Galvez filed a 2007 amended tax return requesting a tax refund of $2,852,566 claiming that he received income from two county courts among other entities. Galvez attached Forms 1099-OID to the tax return, purportedly from the two courts, reflecting that the courts paid the amounts to the IRS on Galvez’s behalf as taxes. The filed 1099-OID forms contained false information. Neither court paid or owed income to Galvez or withheld taxes on his behalf. The amounts referenced in the court documents were in fact foreclosure judgments filed against Galvez for his failure to pay mortgages.
Court documents indicate that Galvez had previously filed legitimate tax returns that did not include fabricated income and withholding amounts and he knew that he had not received the income from the various entities reported on the fraudulent returns, the taxes claimed had not been withheld, and the 1099-OID forms were false.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Gonsoulin.
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 on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Marion Man Pleads Guilty to Weapons ChargesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – On the morning his trial was slated to begin, a Marion, Mass., man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston to illegally possessing a revolver, a sawed-off shotgun and ammunition.
Jeffrey E. Tosca, Jr., 32, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and to possession of an unregistered firearm. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for May 31, 2016.
Late in the evening of September 14, 2013, Tosca made threats from his home in Marion to shoot members of law enforcement and others. Law enforcement, including a SWAT team, quickly responded and took steps to secure the area. Several hours later, law enforcement arrested Tosca without incident and seized weapons and ammunition discovered in a storage container buried on the grounds of his residence.
Tosca has previously been convicted on multiple criminal charges, including 2012 and 2010 convictions on state weapons charges, a 2010 conviction for possession of narcotics, knowingly receiving stolen property and resisting arrest, and convictions in 2005 and 2006 for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The charging statutes provide a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, made the announcement today. The Marion Police Department and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office also assisted with the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus and Mary B. Murrane of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
Manclark Sentenced to Violating EPA RegulationsRead the Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2016
www.justice.gov/usao/msn
OXFORD, Miss. Felicia C. Adams, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, together with Andy Castro, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement program in the Southeast, announces:
William Michael Manclark, 51, of Newport Beach, California, was sentenced on March 7, 2016, by United States District Judge Neal B. Biggers, Jr., in Oxford, Mississippi, following a previous guilty plea to one felony count of aiding and abetting others in knowingly making false material statements in a record or report maintained or used for the purpose of compliance with regulations set forth by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. At the time of the offense, Manclark was the Chief Executive Officer and sole shareholder of Leading Edge Aviation Services, Inc. (Leading Edge), a corporation headquartered in Costa Mesa, California. Leading Edge operated a commercial aircraft painting facility at Greenville’s Mid-Delta Regional Airport until mid-2013. Leading Edge has previously entered a guilty plea to one felony count of treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste without a permit at Leading Edge’s now shuttered Greenville, Mississippi, facility, and was ordered to pay monetary penalties in the total amount of $1 million.
Manclark was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of five (5) months to be followed by five (5) months of home confinement. Once his term of incarceration and home confinement is complete, Manclark will be on supervised release for a period of one (1) year. In addition to the incarceration, Manclark was ordered to pay a fine of $250,000.00. Manclark was ordered to report to prison on April 18, 2016.
Felicia C. Adams, United States Attorney, stated: “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi is working aggressively to pursue those individuals who commit fraudulent acts and bring them to justice. Today’s sentence insures that those illegal practices will not be tolerated and fraudsters who knowingly make false material statements will be punished. Our office appreciates the hard work of the Environmental Protection Agency during this investigation.”
“Without accurate and honest information, EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment is severely undermined,” said Andy Castro, Acting Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Mississippi. “The type of paints and solvents used by the defendant’s company are especially hazardous, and can put public health at risk if not handled and disposed of properly. This sentence demonstrates that companies and their senior managers who knowingly submit false reports will face the consequences in court.”
This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
Man Sentenced to Prison for Facebook ThreatsRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore. – Timothy Loren McCoy Fleming, 24, a transient with no permanent residence, was sentenced yesterday, March 7, 2016, to 18 months in federal prison for transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. Fleming pled guilty last September to communicating a threat in interstate commerce, via Facebook, to kill or injure a police officer.
According to a sentencing memorandum filed by the U. S. Attorney’s Office, in January 2015, the Albany Police Department in Albany, Oregon received a call from Fleming’s sister, reporting that Fleming had posted Facebook threats to kill a police officer at Albany city hall. Fleming’s posts included statements like “stash the salvation in my pocket, safety off, trigger finger cold and willing,” and “walk into Albany city hall, smile at the uniform as I pass him in the hall, turn round, salvation speaks, a roaring sound, uniform goes down, no armor on the head makes a corrupt cop dead.”
Fleming’s Facebook postings included a picture of a hand holding a pistol and a picture of the front door of Albany city hall. When police apprehended Fleming, he was carrying an inoperable pellet gun that matched the pistol in the Facebook posting.
Before being sentenced, Fleming apologized to the Albany Police and FBI. Judge Michael McShane cited Fleming’s mental illness, homelessness and inoperable gun as factors warranting less prison time. Judge McShane ordered Fleming to participate in a mental health treatment program and to stay at a residential reentry center upon his release from prison.
This case was investigated by the Albany Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney William “Bud” Fitzgerald was the prosecutor.
Louisville Attorney Charged with Wire Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
Defrauded clients’ estates of $1,666,671.18
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr. today charged David Cary Ford, 53, of Louisville, Kentucky, with criminal counts of wire fraud and money laundering, stemming from Ford’s activities while he was a practicing attorney and the executor of seven estates in Louisville.
"Attorneys are professionally and ethically bound to serve their clients' best interests," stated U.S. Attorney John Kuhn. "We simply cannot tolerate attorneys or any other fiduciaries using their positions of trust to steal from those they are obligated to protect. This prosecution serves the principle of justice and vindicates the breach of a trust that is an absolutely essential component of a multitude of professional relationships."
The criminal information charging Ford alleges that from November 6, 2008, through February 11, 2015, Ford, serving as executor of the estates of Saundra A. Benzinger, Kenneth L. Keith, William T. Lawson, Mary Helen Pfeffer, Elinor E. Starr, Mary Augustine Starr, and Richard Steinmetz, defrauded those estates of approximately $1,666,671.18, and used those estates’ funds for personal expenses and enjoyment, including significant gambling activity.
Specifically, as executor of estates, Ford was authorized at various banks to pay estate expenses. However, Ford also used these estate accounts, without authorization, to withdraw cash and to pay his personal expenses with estate client funds. In his capacity as executor, Ford processed these withdrawals of estate funds and mischaracterized them as estate expenses. For example, Ford made a $4,000 cash withdrawal from an account belonging to the Estate of Kenneth L. Keith at PNC Bank on May 22, 2013.
The criminal information also alleges that from July 21, 2014, to July 28, 2014, Ford laundered fraud proceeds by using funds from one estate to conceal the depletion of the funds from another estate. Specifically, to conceal or disguise the source of proceeds from unlawful activity, on July 24, 2014, after depleting the funds of the Estate of Kenneth L. Keith, Ford took $35,960.18 from the estate of Elinor E. Starr, in a cashier’s check, deposited those funds into his escrow account, and then on July 28, 2014, used $25,000 of those funds to pay a beneficiary of the Estate of Kenneth L. Keith.
In the event of a conviction, the maximum potential penalties Ford faces are forty years’ imprisonment, $750,000 in fines, and supervised release for a period of three years.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jason Snyder, and it results from an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to Child PornographyRead the Press Release
CONTACT: Barbara Burns
PHONE: (716) 843-5817
FAX #: (716) 551-3051BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that John K. Carrillo, 35, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that on November 11, 2014, the defendant possessed images and videos of child pornography which were stored on a laptop computer. Carrillo obtained the images and videos over the internet.
At the time, an undercover FBI agent logged onto a peer-to-peer sharing program downloaded 69 images and seven videos of child pornography directly from a username belonging to the defendant. At the time of this download, the defendant possessed the images and videos of child pornography on his laptop computer which was located in his residence in Williamsville, New York.
On February 27, 2015, while Carrillo was then living in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he was found to again be utilizing a peer-to-peer network to distribute child pornography. Some of the images and videos depicted violence involving minors less than 12 years old.
The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge, Adam Cohen.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 13, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. before Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Little Rock Man Steals Money Meant to Feed Hungry Children, Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced Tuesday that Reuben Nims, 52, of Little Rock, pled guilty to an Information charging him with conspiring to commit mail fraud. Nims conspired to steal money intended to feed children in low income areas during the school year.
Tuesday’s plea hearing took place in Little Rock before United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr., who will sentence Nims at a later date.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program, which includes an at-risk after school component. In Arkansas, the feeding programs are administered by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS). Sponsors who want to participate in the feeding programs must submit an application to DHS for approval. After they are approved, they can provide meals as part of the feeding program, and they are reimbursed for the eligible meals they serve.
Nims was a sponsor for a feeding program through an organization called "Blessed Thru Success." Nims had one approved feeding site on Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock, where he claimed as many as 300 children were fed each day. No children were ever actually fed there. In this way, Nims stole over $182,000 in USDA funds that were intended to feed children in need. DHS paid this money to Nims by checks that were mailed to his home.
Nims admitted that he was recruited by Anthony Waits, who has been indicted on similar charges in Case No. 4:14CR00250 JM. Waits’ wife, Gladys Waits, worked for DHS and approved Nims’ application. She has also been indicted on similar charges in Case No. 4:14CR00250 JM. The plan was for Nims to pay Anthony Waits a percentage of the money Nims received. Out of the money Nims received, he withdrew approximately $130,000 in cash. Nims paid Anthony Waits approximately 50% of the total amount of money he received.
Nims is the sixth person to plead guilty concerning the theft of USDA feeding program funds for children. Previous charges filed in this investigation detail alleged fraud involving over $10 million in USDA feeding program funds.
The statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit mail fraud is not more than 20 years imprisonment, not more than a $250,000 fine, or both, and not more than three years supervised release.
The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the USDA–Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigations, and United States Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jana Harris and Allison W. Bragg.
If you are aware of any fraudulent activity regarding these feeding programs, please email that information to [email protected].
Lincoln County Drug Dealer Sentenced to 72 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
EUGENE, Ore. – Zak Harris, 33, of Lincoln County, Oregon, was sentenced on Thursday, March 3, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken to 72 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and felon in possession of a firearm. Following his release from prison, Harris will be on supervised release for four years.
On February 21, 2013, law enforcement in Lincoln County located Harris and three other people in a beach house with drugs and firearms. They also found a box buried on public property belonging to Harris, which contained methamphetamine, a firearm and a small quantity of heroin. The investigation revealed defendant had been selling methamphetamine in the local community. Harris has three prior convictions for delivery of controlled substances.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Lincoln City Police Department, the Oregon State Police, the Toledo Police Department and the Eugene, Oregon office of the ATF. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Potter.
Lawrence Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Lawrence tax preparer pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with filing false tax returns with the IRS resulting in over $220,000 in fraudulent refunds.
Leonidas Nunez, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims and six counts of filing false, fictitious or fraudulent claims with the IRS.
From October 2010 to April 2011, Nunez conspired with others to defraud the IRS by presenting false income tax returns. The fraudulent returns falsely alleged income earned by Puerto Rican residents who had not had federal income tax withheld and who were not required to file income tax returns in the United States. Nunez and his co-conspirators caused the IRS to deposit the resulting fraudulent refunds into bank accounts controlled by Nunez and his co-conspirators. Together, they filed over 100 fraudulent returns with the IRS for tax year 2010, resulting in over $550,000 in fraudulent claims and over $220,000 in refunds.
The charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of filing false claims provides a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Manny J. Muriel, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Fisher of Ortiz’s Public Corruption Unit.
KC Man Sentenced to 21 Years for Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.
Wesley Wyatt, 59, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. Wyatt was sentenced as an armed career offender due to his prior felony convictions.
On Aug. 18, 2015, Wyatt was found guilty at trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Wyatt was in possession of a Davis Industries .38-caliber two-shot derringer pistol on Sept. 18, 2013.
Kansas City police officers responded to a domestic violence call at Wyatt’s apartment on Sept. 18, 2013. The victim of the assault, Wyatt’s girlfriend, told officers that she and Wyatt were arguing when he pulled out a gun, pointed it at her, and said “If you don’t get out of my house I will kill you!” Wyatt was not in the residence when officers arrived, but returned a short time later and was arrested for domestic assault. A firearm was not located at that time.
While Wyatt was being held in the Kansas City detention unit, he called another person to go retrieve his gun from the mailbox. That person, instead, called Wyatt’s girlfriend, who then called the police to come retrieve the loaded gun.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Wyatt has two prior felony convictions for robbery, three prior felony convictions for distributing a controlled substance and prior felony convictions for trafficking in a controlled substance and for possessing a controlled substance.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin G. Davids and Jeff Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Justice Department Settles Disability-based Housing Discrimination Lawsuit with Owners and Developers of 71 Apartment Complexes in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and TennesseeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that the owners and developers of 71 multifamily housing complexes in four states with more than 2,500 ground-floor units have agreed to pay $350,000 to settle claims that they violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by building apartment complexes that were inaccessible to persons with disabilities. As part of the settlement, the companies also agreed to make substantial retrofits to remove accessibility barriers.
Under the terms of the agreement, which was approved today by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Alabama-based developers Allan Rappuhn, Gateway Construction Corporation, Gateway Development Corporation and other affiliated companies must take extensive actions to make the complexes accessible to persons with disabilities. These corrective actions include replacing excessively sloped portions of sidewalks, installing properly sloped curb walkways to allow persons with disabilities to access units from sidewalks and parking areas, replacing cabinets in bathrooms to provide sufficient room for wheelchair users and removing accessibility barriers in public and common use areas at the complexes. The defendants will pay $300,000 to establish a settlement fund for the purpose of compensating individuals with disabilities who have been impacted by the accessibility violations and $50,000 as a civil penalty.
“Our country prohibits discrimination because of an individual’s disability, and our laws guarantee all people the right to access housing of their choice,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will continue aggressively enforcing the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that residential multi-family housing is built with the required accessible features.”
“Because of the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons with disabilities, like all Americans, have the right to live in housing free of discrimination” said U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance. “My office remains committed to aggressively protecting the housing and other rights of individuals with disabilities.”
The agreement also requires the defendants to receive training about the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that all future multifamily housing construction complies with these laws and to provide periodic reports to the Justice Department.
Those who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Persons who believe they may have been harmed by the inaccessible conditions at any of these properties, either when they or someone associated with them lived there or considered living there, should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox #2, or e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected].
The 71 complexes at issue, 69 of which were built with financial assistance from the federal government’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program or other federal programs, are:
- Alexander Terrace Apartments, Moulton, Alabama
- Americus Gardens Apartments, Americus, Georgia
- Applegate Apartments, Florence, Alabama
- Autumn Ridge Apartments, Jacksonville, North Carolina
- Bailey Springs Apartments, Lincolnton, North Carolina
- Belle Isle Apartments, Robertsdale, Alabama
- Blue Springs Apartments, Jacksonville, North Carolina
- Bradbury Apartments, Newton, North Carolina
- Brentwood Landing Apartments, Prattville, Alabama
- Brentwood Landing II Apartments, Prattville
- Brookstone Village Apartments, Jacksonville, Alabama
- Canebreak Apartments, Wilmington, North Carolina
- Cedar Glades Apartments, Shelbyville, Tennessee
- Charleston Square Apartments, Troy, Alabama
- Cherry Ridge Independent Living Apartments, Birmingham, Alabama
- Cottage Hill Pointe Apartments, Mobile, Alabama
- Double Creek Apartments, Florence
- Eagle Pointe Apartments, Madison, Alabama
- Evergreen Village Apartments, Cedartown, Georgia
- Glencoe Trace Apartments, Griffin, Georgia
- Hamilton Place Apartments, Millbrook, Alabama
- Harbor Square Apartments, Decatur, Alabama
- Heatherwood Apartments, Alexander City, Alabama
- Heritage Vista Apartments, Milledgeville, Georgia
- Heron Lake Apartments, Valdosta, Georgia
- Heron Lake II Apartments, Valdosta
- Hickory Run Apartments, Jacksonville, Alabama
- Hickory Run II Apartments, Jacksonville, Alabama
- Highland Park Senior Village, Douglasville, Georgia
- Hunter Pointe Apartments, Centreville, Alabama
- Ivy Pointe Apartments, Tuscumbia, Alabama
- Ivy Pointe II Apartments, Tuscumbia, Alabama
- Kirby Creek Apartments, Cairo, Georgia
- Kirkwood Trail Apartments, Cedartown
- Lakeshore Crossing Apartments, Huntsville, Alabama
- Lenox Station Apartments, Rockingham, North Carolina
- Liberty Square Apartments, Montgomery, Alabama
- Mallard Lake Apartments, LaGrange, Georgia
- Maple Square Apartments, Jefferson, Georgia
- Meadowview Apartments, Greenville, Alabama
- Oakland Mill Apartments, Lincolnton, North Carolina
- Oleander Park Apartments, Mobile
- Orchard Park Apartments, Hayneville, Alabama
- Palladian Apartments, Mobile
- Palladian II Apartments, Mobile
- Palladian-Fairhope Apartments, Fairhope, Alabama
- Palladian-Jubilee Apartments, Daphne, Alabama
- Parkwood Apartments, Pell City, Alabama
- Pebble Creek Apartments, Butler, Alabama
- Pinewood Apartments, Pooler, Georgia
- Powell Place Apartments, Barnesville, Georgia
- Preston Place Apartments, Quitman, Georgia
- Shadowood Apartments, Stevenson, Alabama
- Shellbrooke Pointe Apartments, Fairhope, Alabama
- Sheppard Station Apartments, Pooler, Georgia
- Skyline Trace Apartments, Monroe, Georgia
- Sterling Oaks Apartments, Spindale, North Carolina
- Stoney Creek Apartments, Laurinburg, North Carolina
- Stony Ridge Apartments, Hogansville, Georgia
- Sullivan Village Apartments, Tuscumbia, Alabama
- The Park at Rocky Ridge Apartments, Birmingham
- Timberfalls Apartments, Thomaston, Georgia
- Valley Ridge Apartments, LaGrange, Georgia
- Village at Wedgewood Apartments, Cairo
- Villas on Forsyth Apartments, Barnesville, Georgia
- Waring Apartments, Waycross, Georgia
- Waring II Apartments, Waycross
- Waterford Farms Apartments, Arab, Alabama
- Wincliff Apartments, Gainesville, Georgia
- Woodlawn Terrace Apartments, Valdosta
- Westfork Apartments, Jasper, Alabama
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on disability, race, color, religion, national origin, sex and familial status. Among other things, the Fair Housing Act requires all multifamily housing constructed after March 13, 1991, to have basic accessibility features, including accessible routes without steps to all ground floor units, and units accessible to wheelchair users and others with disabilities. Enacted in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires, among other things, that places of public accommodation, such as rental offices at multifamily housing complexes designed and constructed for first occupancy after Jan. 26, 1993, be accessible to persons with disabilities.
Fair housing enforcement is a priority of the Civil Rights Division. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at http://www.justice.gov/crt.
Justice Department Settles Disability-Based Housing Discrimination Lawsuit with Owners and Developers of 71 Apartment Complexes in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and TennesseeRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today that the owners and developers of 71 multi-family housing complexes in four states with more than 2,500 ground-floor units have agreed to pay $350,000 to settle claims that they violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by building apartment complexes that were inaccessible to persons with disabilities. As part of the settlement, the companies also agreed to make substantial retrofits to remove accessibility barriers.
Under the terms of the agreement, which was approved today by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Alabama-based developers Allan Rappuhn, Gateway Construction Corporation, Gateway Development Corporation and other affiliated companies must take extensive actions to make the complexes accessible to persons with disabilities. These corrective actions include replacing excessively sloped portions of sidewalks, installing properly sloped curb walkways to allow persons with disabilities to access units from sidewalks and parking areas, replacing cabinets in bathrooms to provide sufficient room for wheelchair users and removing accessibility barriers in public and common use areas at the complexes. The defendants will pay $300,000 to establish a settlement fund for the purpose of compensating individuals with disabilities who have been impacted by the accessibility violations and $50,000 as a civil penalty.
“Our country prohibits discrimination because of an individual’s disability, and our laws guarantee all people the right to access housing of their choice,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We will continue aggressively enforcing the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that residential multi-family housing is built with the required accessible features.”
“Because of the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons with disabilities, like all Americans, have the right to live in housing free of discrimination” said U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama. “My office remains committed to aggressively protecting the housing and other rights of individuals with disabilities.”
The agreement also requires the defendants to receive training about the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act to ensure that all future multifamily housing construction complies with these laws and to provide periodic reports to the Justice Department.
Those who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Persons who believe they may have been harmed by the inaccessible conditions at any of these properties, either when they or someone associated with them lived there or considered living there, should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox #2, or e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected].
The 71 complexes at issue, 69 of which were built with financial assistance from the federal government’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program or other federal programs, are:
- Alexander Terrace Apartments, Moulton, Alabama
- Americus Gardens Apartments, Americus, Georgia
- Applegate Apartments, Florence, Alabama
- Autumn Ridge Apartments, Jacksonville, North Carolina
- Bailey Springs Apartments, Lincolnton, North Carolina
- Belle Isle Apartments, Robertsdale, Alabama
- Blue Springs Apartments, Jacksonville, North Carolina
- Bradbury Apartments, Newton, North Carolina
- Brentwood Landing Apartments, Prattville, Alabama
- Brentwood Landing II Apartments, Prattville
- Brookstone Village Apartments, Jacksonville, Alabama
- Canebreak Apartments, Wilmington, North Carolina
- Cedar Glades Apartments, Shelbyville, Tennessee
- Charleston Square Apartments, Troy, Alabama
- Cherry Ridge Independent Living Apartments, Birmingham, Alabama
- Cottage Hill Pointe Apartments, Mobile, Alabama
- Double Creek Apartments, Florence
- Eagle Pointe Apartments, Madison, Alabama
- Evergreen Village Apartments, Cedartown, Georgia
- Glencoe Trace Apartments, Griffin, Georgia
- Hamilton Place Apartments, Millbrook, Alabama
- Harbor Square Apartments, Decatur, Alabama
- Heatherwood Apartments, Alexander City, Alabama
- Heritage Vista Apartments, Milledgeville, Georgia
- Heron Lake Apartments, Valdosta, Georgia
- Heron Lake II Apartments, Valdosta
- Hickory Run Apartments, Jacksonville, Alabama
- Hickory Run II Apartments, Jacksonville, Alabama
- Highland Park Senior Village, Douglasville, Georgia
- Hunter Pointe Apartments, Centreville, Alabama
- Ivy Pointe Apartments, Tuscumbia, Alabama
- Ivy Pointe II Apartments, Tuscumbia, Alabama
- Kirby Creek Apartments, Cairo, Georgia
- Kirkwood Trail Apartments, Cedartown
- Lakeshore Crossing Apartments, Huntsville, Alabama
- Lenox Station Apartments, Rockingham, North Carolina
- Liberty Square Apartments, Montgomery, Alabama
- Mallard Lake Apartments, LaGrange, Georgia
- Maple Square Apartments, Jefferson, Georgia
- Meadowview Apartments, Greenville, Alabama
- Oakland Mill Apartments, Lincolnton, North Carolina
- Oleander Park Apartments, Mobile
- Orchard Park Apartments, Hayneville, Alabama
- Palladian Apartments, Mobile
- Palladian II Apartments, Mobile
- Palladian-Fairhope Apartments, Fairhope, Alabama
- Palladian-Jubilee Apartments, Daphne, Alabama
- Parkwood Apartments, Pell City, Alabama
- Pebble Creek Apartments, Butler, Alabama
- Pinewood Apartments, Pooler, Georgia
- Powell Place Apartments, Barnesville, Georgia
- Preston Place Apartments, Quitman, Georgia
- Shadowood Apartments, Stevenson, Alabama
- Shellbrooke Pointe Apartments, Fairhope, Alabama
- Sheppard Station Apartments, Pooler, Georgia
- Skyline Trace Apartments, Monroe, Georgia
- Sterling Oaks Apartments, Spindale, North Carolina
- Stoney Creek Apartments, Laurinburg, North Carolina
- Stony Ridge Apartments, Hogansville, Georgia
- Sullivan Village Apartments, Tuscumbia, Alabama
- The Park at Rocky Ridge Apartments, Birmingham
- Timberfalls Apartments, Thomaston, Georgia
- Valley Ridge Apartments, LaGrange, Georgia
- Village at Wedgewood Apartments, Cairo
- Villas on Forsyth Apartments, Barnesville, Georgia
- Waring Apartments, Waycross, Georgia
- Waring II Apartments, Waycross
- Waterford Farms Apartments, Arab, Alabama
- Wincliff Apartments, Gainesville, Georgia
- Woodlawn Terrace Apartments, Valdosta
- Westfork Apartments, Jasper, Alabama
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on disability, race, color, religion, national origin, sex and familial status. Among other things, the Fair Housing Act requires all multifamily housing constructed after March 13, 1991, to have basic accessibility features, including accessible routes without steps to all ground floor units, and units accessible to wheelchair users and others with disabilities. Enacted in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires, among other things, that places of public accommodation, such as rental offices at multifamily housing complexes designed and constructed for first occupancy after Jan. 26, 1993, be accessible to persons with disabilities.
Fair housing enforcement is a priority of the Civil Rights Division. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at http://www.justice.gov/crt.
Rappuhn Consent Order
Justice Department Announces New Interagency Initiative to Combat Religious DiscriminationRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced the launch of “Combating Religious Discrimination Today,” a new interagency community engagement initiative designed to promote religious freedom, challenge religious discrimination and enhance enforcement of religion-based hate crimes. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in partnership with other federal agencies, will host a series of community roundtables across the country that focus on protecting people and places of worship from religion-based hate crimes; combating religious discrimination, including bullying, in education and employment; and addressing unlawful barriers that interfere with the construction of places of worship.
The inaugural roundtable, which is taking place today in Newark, New Jersey, will focus on addressing bullying and religious discrimination in schools. It will examine how students encounter bullying and harassment based on their actual or perceived religion, as well as discrimination based on religious clothing, holidays and expression.
Subsequent roundtables will focus on a variety of related topics, including a discussion in Dallas that will center on preventing and prosecuting religion-based hate crimes targeting individuals and houses of worship; a meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, that will examine religious discrimination in employment; and a convening in Detroit that will address discrimination by local zoning officials against congregants seeking to build places of worship. The final roundtable will also concentrate on bullying and religious discrimination in schools and will take place in Palo Alto, California.
“Hate-motivated violence, harassment and discrimination violate America’s laws and threaten our founding vision of a free and tolerant society that welcomes people from every creed and walk of life,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Robust community engagement and meaningful dialogue can help our country fulfill its promise of religious freedom, and we look forward to tackling this challenging work with creative solutions in the months ahead.”
Agencies participating in the new initiative include the Departments of Education, Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL); the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); and within the Justice Department, the Civil Rights Division, FBI, Office of Justice Programs, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and Community Relations Service. Agency officials will facilitate the roundtable discussions to help identify key priorities and lead robust dialogue with community members and civil rights advocates.
“We are eager to continue partnering with our federal colleagues to address bias and discrimination in our nation’s schools, and to continue our strong enforcement of federal civil rights laws to ensure that all students can learn in safe school environments,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
“Since DHS was established, we have worked closely with communities across the country to combat intolerance and ensure safety at houses of worship,” said Officer Megan H. Mack of the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. “Ensuring the protection of uniquely American rights and liberties is a fundamental part of DHS’s mission to build safe and resilient communities. We look forward to expanding our already extensive engagement with communities by working closely with our federal partners on this effort.”
“A diverse and inclusive workplace reflects the strength and richness of America and its history,” said Director Patricia Shiu of the DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. “Built by immigrants from every corner of the world, our nation’s greatness must not be diminished by unlawful religious discrimination. The Department of Labor welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with our federal partners on this important issue.”
“Our nation was founded on the principles of freedom and equality,” said Jenny R. Yang, EEOC Chair. “Working with our federal and community partners enables EEOC to better understand and address religious discrimination in the workplace, and to inform affected communities of protections under federal law.”
The new initiative supplements the department’s long-standing criminal and civil enforcement efforts to prevent religious discrimination and religion-motivated hate crimes. Since the 9/11 terrorists attacks, the department has investigated more than 1,000 incidents involving acts of violence, threats, assaults, vandalism and arson targeting diverse religious and ethnic groups, prosecuting dozens of these cases to the fullest extent of the law. The Civil Rights Division, often in close partnership with other federal agencies, also utilizes civil enforcement to combat religious discrimination and protect religious freedom. This includes preventing religious discrimination in education, through Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and in employment, through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, the division enforces the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which protects individuals, houses of worship and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning and landmarking laws. For more information about the new initiative, please email [email protected]. Additionally, EEOC is posting a ‘What You Should Know’ document today on its homepage, www.eeoc.gov, compiling EEOC’s resources regarding religious and national origin-based discrimination.
Justice Department Announces New Interagency Initiative to Combat Religious DiscriminationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced the launch of “Combating Religious Discrimination Today,” a new interagency community engagement initiative designed to promote religious freedom, challenge religious discrimination and enhance enforcement of religion-based hate crimes. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in partnership with other federal agencies, will host a series of community roundtables across the country that focus on protecting people and places of worship from religion-based hate crimes; combating religious discrimination, including bullying, in education and employment; and addressing unlawful barriers that interfere with the construction of places of worship.
The inaugural roundtable, which is taking place today in Newark, N.J., will focus on addressing bullying and religious discrimination in schools. It will examine how students encounter bullying and harassment based on their actual or perceived religion, as well as discrimination based on religious clothing, holidays and expression.
Subsequent roundtables will focus on a variety of related topics, including a meeting in Birmingham, that will examine religious discrimination in employment; a discussion in Dallas that will center on preventing and prosecuting religion-based hate crimes targeting individuals and houses of worship; and a convening in Detroit that will address discrimination by local zoning officials against congregants seeking to build places of worship. The final roundtable will also concentrate on bullying and religious discrimination in schools and will take place in Palo Alto, California.
“Hate-motivated violence, harassment and discrimination violate America’s laws and threaten our founding vision of a free and tolerant society that welcomes people from every creed and walk of life,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Robust community engagement and meaningful dialogue can help our country fulfill its promise of religious freedom, and we look forward to tackling this challenging work with creative solutions in the months ahead.”
“Our communities can thrive only when individual’s civil rights are protected, so that we have broad inclusion in the work force,” said U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama. “Protecting the employment rights of religious groups is an important matter. We welcome the opportunity to engage the community in a roundtable discussion of this issue.”
Agencies participating in the new initiative include the Departments of Education, Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL); the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); and within the Justice Department, the Civil Rights Division, FBI, Office of Justice Programs, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and Community Relations Service. Agency officials will facilitate the roundtable discussions to help identify key priorities and lead robust dialogue with community members and civil rights advocates.
“We are eager to continue partnering with our federal colleagues to address bias and discrimination in our nation’s schools, and to continue our strong enforcement of federal civil rights laws to ensure that all students can learn in safe school environments,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
“Since DHS was established, we have worked closely with communities across the country to combat intolerance and ensure safety at houses of worship,” said Officer Megan H. Mack of the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. “Ensuring the protection of uniquely American rights and liberties is a fundamental part of DHS’s mission to build safe and resilient communities. We look forward to expanding our already extensive engagement with communities by working closely with our federal partners on this effort.”
“A diverse and inclusive workplace reflects the strength and richness of America and its history,” said Director Patricia Shiu of the DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. “Built by immigrants from every corner of the world, our nation’s greatness must not be diminished by unlawful religious discrimination. The Department of Labor welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with our federal partners on this important issue.”
“Our nation was founded on the principles of freedom and equality,” said Jenny R. Yang, EEOC Chair. “Working with our federal and community partners enables EEOC to better understand and address religious discrimination in the workplace, and to inform affected communities of protections under federal law.”
The new initiative supplements the department’s long-standing criminal and civil enforcement efforts to prevent religious discrimination and religion-motivated hate crimes. Since the 9/11 terrorists attacks, the department has investigated more than 1,000 incidents involving acts of violence, threats, assaults, vandalism and arson targeting diverse religious and ethnic groups, prosecuting dozens of these cases to the fullest extent of the law. The Civil Rights Division, often in close partnership with other federal agencies, also utilizes civil enforcement to combat religious discrimination and protect religious freedom. This includes preventing religious discrimination in education, through Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and in employment, through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, the division enforces the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which protects individuals, houses of worship and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning and landmarking laws. For more information about the new initiative, please email [email protected]. Additionally, EEOC is posting a ‘What You Should Know’ document today on its homepage, www.eeoc.gov, compiling EEOC’s resources regarding religious and national origin-based discrimination.
# # #
Justice Department Announces New Interagency Initiative to Combat Religious DiscriminationRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – The Justice Department announced the launch of “Combating Religious Discrimination Today,” a new interagency community engagement initiative designed to promote religious tolerance, challenge religious discrimination and enhance enforcement of religion-based hate crimes. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in partnership with other federal agencies, is hosting a series of community roundtables across the country that focus on protecting people and places of worship from religion-based hate crimes; combating religious discrimination, including bullying, in education and employment; and addressing unlawful barriers that interfere with the construction of places of worship.
The inaugural roundtable is taking place today at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark and is focusing on addressing bullying and religious discrimination in schools. It will examine how students encounter bullying and harassment based on their actual or perceived religion, as well as discrimination based on religious clothing, holidays and expression.
Subsequent roundtables will focus on a variety of related topics, including a discussion in Dallas that will center on preventing and prosecuting religion-based hate crimes targeting individuals and houses of worship; a meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, that will examine religious discrimination in employment; and a convening in Detroit that will address discrimination by local zoning officials against congregants seeking to build places of worship. The final roundtable will also concentrate on bullying and religious discrimination in schools and will take place in Palo Alto, California.
“Protecting the rights of everyone to worship as they choose is fundamental to our way of life,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, District of New Jersey, said. “Our office has worked with our law enforcement partners to enhance and maintain connections with the many communities of faith that exist in a state as diverse as New Jersey. The discussions that we’re kicking off here today are a natural extension of that work, and I look forward to continuing this important dialogue with all of our partner agencies and the people we represent.”
“Hate-motivated violence, harassment and discrimination violate America’s laws and threaten our founding vision of a free and tolerant society that welcomes people from every creed and walk of life,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Robust community engagement and meaningful dialogue can help our country fulfill its promise of religious freedom, and we look forward to tackling this challenging work with creative solutions in the months ahead.”
Agencies participating in the new initiative include the Departments of Education, Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL); the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); and within the Justice Department, the Civil Rights Division, FBI, Office of Justice Programs, Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and Community Relations Service. Agency officials will facilitate the roundtable discussions to help identify key priorities and lead robust dialogue with community members and civil rights advocates.
“We are eager to continue partnering with our federal colleagues to address bias and discrimination in our nation’s schools, and to continue our strong enforcement of federal civil rights laws to ensure that all students can learn in safe school environments,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
“Since DHS was established, we have worked closely with communities across the country to combat intolerance and ensure safety at houses of worship,” said Officer Megan H. Mack of the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. “Ensuring the protection of uniquely American rights and liberties is a fundamental part of DHS’s mission to build safe and resilient communities. We look forward to expanding our already extensive engagement with communities by working closely with our federal partners on this effort.”
“A diverse and inclusive workplace reflects the strength and richness of America and its history,” said Director Patricia Shiu of the DOL Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. “Built by immigrants from every corner of the world, our nation’s greatness must not be diminished by unlawful religious discrimination. The Department of Labor welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with our federal partners on this important issue.”
“Our nation was founded on the principles of tolerance and equality,” said Jenny R. Yang, EEOC Chair. “Working with our federal and community partners enables EEOC to better understand and address religious discrimination in the workplace, and to inform affected communities of protections under federal law.”
The new initiative supplements the department’s long-standing criminal and civil enforcement efforts to prevent religious discrimination and religion-motivated hate crimes. Since the 9/11 terrorists attacks, the department has investigated more than 1,000 incidents involving acts of violence, threats, assaults, vandalism and arson targeting diverse religious and ethnic groups, prosecuting dozens of these cases to the fullest extent of the law. The Civil Rights Division, often in close partnership with other federal agencies, also utilizes civil enforcement to combat religious discrimination and protect religious freedom. This includes preventing religious discrimination in education, through Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and in employment, through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, the division enforces the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which protects individuals, houses of worship and other religious institutions from discrimination in zoning and landmarking laws. For more information about the new initiative, please email [email protected]. Additionally, EEOC is posting a ‘What You Should Know’ document today on its homepage, www.eeoc.gov, compiling EEOC’s resources regarding religious and national origin-based discrimination.
Joplin, Carl Junction Men Plead Guilty to Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that two Joplin, Mo., men and a Carl Junction, Mo., man have pleaded guilty in federal court to their roles in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Jasper and Newton counties.
David B. Garrett, 60, of Joplin, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Jasper and Newton counties from Oct. 24, 2014, to March 13, 2015.
Co-defendants Vance W. Cooley, 62, of Joplin, and Sheldon John Oliver, 60, of Carl Junction, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 7, 2016, to their roles in the drug-trafficking conspiracy. Cooley admitted that he supplied methamphetamine to Garrett and Oliver, who admitted they distributed methamphetamine to other persons in Jasper and Newton counties.
The investigation began on Oct. 24, 2014, when a Jasper County sheriff’s deputy saw two flashlights in a wooded area behind Cooley’s residence on Rabbit Run Road in Joplin. The deputy saw two people loading items into the back of a Chevrolet S10 truck. Cooley, who was one of the men, then got into the truck and started driving. When the deputy conducted a traffic stop, he arrested Cooley for driving with a revoked license. The deputy found a baggie containing 8.6 grams of methamphetamine and $1,608 in Cooley’s possession. After searching Cooley’s vehicle, deputies found a Mossberg 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun, a Mauser 7.65-caliber rifle, an EIG .22-caliber rifle, an EIG .22-caliber revolver and various rounds of ammunition in the bed of the truck.
On Dec. 10, 2014, Jasper County Drug Task Force officers met with a confidential source who provided information regarding illegal narcotics being sold from Cooley’s residence. Officers conducted surveillance on the residence and saw Oliver and Garrett leave in a Chevrolet Lumina. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and found a marijuana joint and two hypodermic needles in the vehicle; Oliver and Garrett were placed under arrest. Deputies searched Oliver and found approximately nine grams of methamphetamine in his watch pocket. Deputies searched Garrett and found approximately 32 grams of methamphetamine in his shirt pocket.
Task force officer executed a search warrant at Cooley’s residence on Dec. 10, 2014. Officers found 575 grams of methamphetamine, individually packaged in Ziploc baggies, inside a Chevrolet pick-up truck that was parked in a detached garage. They also found another Ziploc baggie containing approximately 58 grams of methamphetamine inside a leather-bound box in the truck. Approximately 633 grams of methamphetamine in total was found inside the truck.
On Jan. 13, 2015, members of the Jasper County Drug Task Force and the Joplin, Mo., Police Department executed a search warrant at Oliver’s residence. Oliver and his wife were detained in an RV located on the rear of the property. Officers found a black case on the floor of the RV that contained a bag with 2.8 grams of methamphetamine, several baggies (commonly used for distribution) and a spoon. Also discovered in the RV were two scales and syringes.
On Jan. 22, 2015, members of the Jasper County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant on a hotel room in Joplin occupied by Garrett. Garrett, who was inside the hotel room with an unidentified female, had approximately 10 grams of methamphetamine, approximately two grams of cocaine, and approximately 10 grams of marijuana on the nightstand.
Later that night, task force officers executed a search warrant at Garrett’s residence. They found a Thompson .50-caliber muzzle loader, a loaded Davis Industries .38-caliber pistol, a loaded Bridge 20-gauge sawed-off shotgun, a Stevens .410 sawed-off shotgun and various rounds of ammunition. Garrett admitted that he possessed the firearms and ammunition in connection with his involvement in the drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Cooley was arrested by Joplin police officers on March 13, 2015. At the time of his arrest, Cooley was in possession of approximately 3.6 grams of methamphetamine, two 10mg pills of Diazepam and three Acetaminophen and Oxycodone hydrochloride pills. A police detective searched Cooley’s vehicle and found a clear plastic baggie containing approximately 7.2 grams of methamphetamine underneath the driver’s seat. The police detective also found a loaded Taurus .38-caliber revolver and a loaded Thompson Auto Ordinance .45-caliber handgun inside a green bag in the trunk.
Approximately 650 grams of methamphetamine, in total, was seized from Cooley during the investigation of this case.
Under federal statutes, Garrett, Cooley and Oliver are each subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole, due to their prior drug convictions. 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 Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jody Larison. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, the Jasper County Drug Task Force, the Jasper County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Indictment Alleges Five Fraudsters Ran Scheme to Bilk BanksRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA - Eric Hudson, 21, Keith Larke, 36, Warren Smith, 51, Anwar Hameen, 33, all of Philadelphia, PA, and Fred Rush, 34, of Lansdale, PA, were charged by indictment, unsealed today, in a bank fraud scheme in which they attempted to deposit more than $1 million worth of bogus checks, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. The defendants are charged with conspiracy, bank fraud, and numerous counts of aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, between July 20, 2007 and September 26, 2014, the defendants obtained the names, account numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs) of TD Bank customers and, with their co-conspirators, used that information to deposit bad checks into TD Bank accounts. They then attempted to quickly withdraw funds from those accounts through point of sale transactions and the purchase of United States postal money orders. It is further alleged that in order to accomplish the financial fraud, the defendants recruited and paid some account holders to open accounts at TD Bank and then turn over the account information so that they could use it to deposit the bad checks and make the withdrawals. The indictment alleges that during the course of the conspiracy, the defendants deposited bogus checks totaling more than $1,195,331.83 and fraudulently obtained more than $607,813.10 through ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases.
If convicted, each defendant faces a two year mandatory minimum sentence with the following maximum statutory sentences: Eric Hudson faces up to 77 years in prison; Keith Larke and Fred Rush each face up to 57 years in prison; Warren Smith and Anwar Hameen each face up to 55 years in prison; plus possible fines and supervised release.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Secret Service, with the assistance of the Philadelphia Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yvonne Osirim.
An Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Humble Fugitive Sought on Charges of Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – Moises Valdez, 41, of Humble, has been charged in a criminal complaint with production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Agents were unable to arrest him today and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest.
On Jan. 29, 2016, FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at the residence of Valdez. At the time of execution, FBI agents seized a laptop as well as a desktop computer located within a bedroom belonging to Valdez, according to the complaint.
On March 2, 2016, the complaint alleges that FBI agents began the forensic review of those items and found approximately 75 images and more than 180 videos of child pornography. Additionally, agents also allegedly found one particular video that appeared to be taken from a cellular phone which agents believed was produced by Valdez. Agents believed that this video was of an underage female who appeared to be under the age of 10, being vaginally penetrated by an adult male penis, according to the complaint. Also depicted in the video was an adult male’s fingers that can be seen spreading open the vagina of the child who appears to be unconscious throughout the sexual assault, according to the charges.
Agents were able to identify the bedroom as that of belonging to Valdez, according to the complaint.
On March 8, 2016, agents contacted and interviewed Valdez’ wife who allegedly identified the child depicted in the video as a minor female who would have been under the age of five at the time of the assault. The wife was further able to identify body parts of Valdez that were seen in the video, according to the complaint.
Valdez is considered a fugitive and a warrant remains outstanding for his arrest. If anyone has information about his whereabouts, they are asked to contact the FBI at 713-693-5000.
The charges are the result of investigation conducted by the FBI.
If convicted, Valdez faces a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in federal prison.
This case, being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
A criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
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Hartford Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Gang-Related Narcotics TraffickingRead the Press Release
Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that MICHAEL MORRISON, also known as “Nazzie,” 26, of Hartford, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for trafficking narcotics.
According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a year-long joint law enforcement investigation headed by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force into narcotics trafficking by members and associates of WestHell street gang, and gang-related violent activity. The investigation, which included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, controlled purchases of narcotics and physical surveillance, identified Melkuan Scott, also known as “Young God,” “Mel,” “Young” and “YG,” as the leader of the West Hell street gang who, along with his associates, distributed crack cocaine in the Westland Street area of Hartford.
MORRISON regularly received “8-ball” quantities (3.5 grams) of crack cocaine from members of the conspiracy and sold the drug to others.
MORRISON was arrested on May 7, 2014. On April 17, 2015, he pleaded guilty to using a telephone to facilitate a narcotics trafficking offense. He has been detained since January 26, 2016, when his bond was revoked.
Twenty-five individuals were charged as a result of the investigation. One defendant was convicted after trial and 23 defendants pleaded guilty to various offenses. One defendant was shot and killed while his case was pending. Scott pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Northern Connecticut Violent Crimes Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The FBI Task Force includes members of the Hartford Police Department, East Hartford Police Department, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction. The Hartford Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Squad, Major Crimes Unit and Shooting Task Force are providing valuable assistance to the investigation, and the Capitol Region Emergency Response Team (CREST) assisted with the arrest of certain defendants.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John H. Durham and Peter S. Jongbloed.
Harnett County Man Sentenced to 9 Years for Unlawful Possession of FirearmRead the Press Release
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced that in federal court today Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced SHANE JAMES SHIRLEY, 32, of Erwin, North Carolina, to 108 months’ imprisonment followed by 3 years’ supervised release.
On September 23, 2015, a Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment charging SHIRLEY with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition while subject to a domestic violence protection order. On October 29, 2015, SHIRLEY pled guilty to the charge.
According to the investigation, on June 2, 2015, a domestic violence protection order was filed against SHIRLEY which prohibited him from possessing firearms and from having any contact with his wife. On June 21, 2015, the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home invasion at a residence in Lillington. SHIRLEY, pointed an AR-15 style rifle through the window of a residence, and then kicked in the front door. SHIRLEY threatened and terrorized the victims inside the residence with the firearm. SHIRLEY fled the residence on foot and was later captured near the residence. Officers found a loaded 30-round magazine in the driveway and a bulletproof vest. SHIRLEY’S jacket, a loaded Smith and Wesson M&P 15 semi-automatic 5.56 caliber AR-15 style rifle with scope and magazine were located in the woods near the residence. SHIRLEY was located approximately 100 yards from the residence and was taken into custody.
The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office, and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Jane J. Jackson handled the prosecution on behalf of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Guatemalan Man Sentenced for Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
A man who illegally re-entered the United States was sentenced today to time served.
Eriberto Nimamac-Tzoy, age 39, from Guatemala, received the prison term after a December 24, 2015, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry.
At the guilty plea, Nimamac-Tzoy admitted he had illegally re-entered United States from Guatemala after being deported on November 13, 2006. On November 23, 2015, Nimamace-Tzoy was encountered by ICE agents at the Hamilton County Jail where he was incarcerated for public intoxication.
Nimamac-Tzoy was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Nimamac-Tzoy was sentenced to time served. He must serve a 1-year term of supervised release.
Nimamac-Tzoy is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to ICE custody.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 15-CR-3052.
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Georgia Man Charged with Flying from Georgia to Minnesota to Have Sex with 13-Year-Old GirlRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced a federal criminal complaint charging JOHN JAMES DENICOLA, 55, with traveling from the Atlanta, Ga., area to the Twin Cities for the purpose of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Bloomington hotel. DENICOLA made an initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minn., before Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer. A detention hearing is expected to be held on Friday, March 11, 2016.
“The sexual exploitation of children is a heinous crime,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “According to the complaint, this 55-year-old defendant flew to Minnesota to have sex with an eighth grader. Working with our law enforcement partners, we are actively preventing predators from sexually exploiting vulnerable children and we will continue to prosecute those who attempt to engage in such activity to the fullest extent of the law.”
“With this arrest, HSI has taken a suspected pedophile off the street and has prevented the potential abuse of additional innocent victims,” said HSI St. Paul Acting Special Agent in Charge William Lowder. “The sexual abuse of children is an unconscionable crime that will not be tolerated. HSI will use all the resources at its disposal to combat this reprehensible behavior and seek justice for the victims.”
According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in court, on February 26, 2016, DENICOLA, using the screen name “Johnnyman,” initiated a conversation on teenchat.com with an undercover law enforcement officer who DENICOLA believed was a 13-year-old girl. During the conversation, DENICOLA asked the undercover agent questions of a sexual nature, sent a picture of himself to the undercover agent, and told the agent that he had previously traveled to Nebraska to “meet a girl.” DENICOLA also told the agent that he would try to take time off from work to travel to the Twin Cities on March 7, 2016, to see the agent.
According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in court, DENICOLA repeatedly expressed concern to the undercover agent that “she” was a law enforcement officer. During the communications, the undercover agent repeatedly stated that “she” was a 13-year-old girl and an eighth grader. During the Kik Messenger conversation, DENICOLA asked numerous questions about the undercover agent’s sexual experience and also indicated various sexual acts in which he wished to engage with “her.” The defendant also indicated to the undercover agent that he had previously had sex with three or four other young girls on separate occasions.
According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in court, DENICOLA and the undercover agent continued to message one another using Kik Messenger. On February 29, 2016, DENICOLA sent the undercover agent the itinerary for his upcoming trip, which indicated that DENICOLA would fly on March 7, 2016, from Atlanta to Minneapolis/St. Paul. The defendant indicated to the undercover agent that he would bring a video recording device and that he had booked a room at the Park Plaza Hotel in Bloomington, Minn.
According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in court, upon arrival in Minnesota, DENICOLA went to a local Target and bought condoms and candles. He also went to a local florist and bought several bouquets of flowers and helium balloons that read “love you,” or words to that effect. DENICOLA was arrested inside the hotel room he had rented for his planned rendezvous. A video camera was found in DENICOLA’s room at the time of his arrest.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Twin Cities, HSI Atlanta, HSI Laredo and HSI San Jose.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carol M. Kayser.
Defendant Information:
JOHN JAMES DENICOLA, 55
Suwanee, Ga.
Charges:
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Traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, 1 count
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Attempted coercion and enticement, 1 count
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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600
The charges contained in the criminal complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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