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Monday 14 March 2011
Justice Department Increases Transparency with Launch of <br /> FOIA.gov Website, Commemorates Sunshine WeekRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice marked the start of Sunshine Week today with the launch of FOIA.gov, the “flagship initiative” of the department’s Open Government Plan and one of the most significant contributions yet toward making this the most transparent administration in history.
“The Administration’s openness initiatives are central to this President’s approach to governing. Where we can open up the process of governing and enlist our fellow citizens to participate in solving the challenges we face, we’re all going to be better off,” said Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli. “We believe very simply that if we give people the information they seek, they will create a better government.”
FOIA.gov, brings together all the FOIA data collected by the department on behalf of the federal government.
“As we look forward, today we are pleased to unveil an initiative that will make FOIA easier for the thousands of Americans who use it to find out more about their government or to gain access to information that can make their lives better,” explained Perrelli. “The site is designed not just to make FOIA easier. It tries to make FOIA better.”
FOIA.gov was inspired by public feedback gathered during the Open Government dialogues last year. FOIA.gov:
- Allows the public to easily search, sort and compare data from annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reportsm,
- Offers a plain language explanation of the law,
- Explains how to submit a request, how requests are processed, and
- Provides detailed information on where to send a FOIA request.
At an event held this morning in the department’s Great Hall, experts from across the federal government came together to discuss the ways they are implementing the President and Attorney General’s transparency initiatives.
“The Freedom of Information Act is a vital part of our democracy,” said Melanie Anne Pustay, Director of the Office of Information Policy. ”Greater transparency and a more open government are happening right now, as a direct result of the actions that have been taken by all agencies, large and small, to implement the President’s and Attorney General’s initiatives.”
The Office of Information Policy, which oversees compliance with the FOIA for the entire federal government, released a summary of these achievements which detail how agencies are putting into practice a “presumption of openness” as directed by the President’s directive and the Attorney General’s FOIA guidelines of 2009. For example:
- The Department’s rate of disclosure spiked for both releases in full and in part in 2010 -- with full releases jumping by 21 percent over 2009, and partial releases increasing by 18.2 percent.
- The Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff posted 85 percent of all of its FOIA responses --totaling over 300,000 pages -- on its website, and moved to require all 31 Department of Defense components to follow suit.
- Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) achieved a backlog reduction of 66 percent, after nearly doubling the resources it committed to FOIA and creating a “Backlog Strike Force.”
- By making process changes and focusing on strategic goals, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) slashed its backlog from 88,361 FOIA requests in 2006 to approximately 8,000 backlog cases at the end of FY 2010, for an over 90 percent total reduction.
For more information, visit FOIA.gov or www.justice.gov/oip.
- Allows the public to easily search, sort and compare data from annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reportsm,
Former President of TBW Pleads Guilty to Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Raymond Bowman, the former president of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit bank, wire and securities fraud, and lying to federal agents about his role in a fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of TBW and Colonial Bank.
The guilty plea was announced today by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); Assistant Director in Charge James W. McJunkin of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Michael P. Stephens, Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD OIG); Jon T. Rymer, Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC OIG); Steve A. Linick, Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA OIG); and Victor F. O. Song, Chief of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation.
Bowman, 45, of Atlanta, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia. Bowman faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the false statements charge when he is sentenced on June 10, 2011.
According to court documents, Bowman admitted that from 2003 through August 2009, he and his co-conspirators, including former TBW chairman Lee Farkas, engaged in a scheme to defraud various entities and individuals, including Colonial Bank, a federally-insured bank; Colonial BancGroup Inc.; and the investing public. Bowman admitted that he knowingly and intentionally participated in a fraud scheme that caused Colonial Bank and Colonial BancGroup to purchase tens of millions of dollars of worthless assets, caused Colonial BancGroup to report false information in its financial statements, and artificially inflated the value of TBW’s mortgage servicing rights.
Court documents state that in early 2002, Bowman learned that TBW began running overdrafts in its master bank account at Colonial Bank because of TBW’s inability to meet its operating expenses, which included payroll, servicing payments owed to third-party purchasers of loans and/or mortgage-backed securities and other obligations. In or about the fall of 2003, Bowman, along with Farkas and other co-conspirators, engaged in a series of fraudulent actions to cover up the overdrafts, first by sweeping overnight money from one TBW account with excess funds into another, and later through the fictitious “sales” of mortgage loans to Colonial Bank, a fraud scheme the conspirators dubbed “Plan B.” The conspirators accomplished this by sending mortgage data to Colonial Bank for loans that did not exist or that TBW had already committed or sold to other third-party investors. According to the statement of facts, Bowman believed that Plan B data included data for loans that did not exist and knew that without Plan B, TBW would likely fail and go out of business.
TBW used its mortgage servicing rights (MSR) to collateralize a working capital line of credit at Colonial Bank, and it retained third-party companies to conduct periodic MSR valuations. According to court documents, Bowman admitted that he, at Farkas’s request, directed co-conspirators to manipulate TBW’s borrowing base by billions of dollars to artificially inflate the MSR valuations and to avoid a margin call.
In 2005, TBW established a wholly-owned special purpose entity called Ocala Funding LLC, as a financing vehicle to provide it with additional funding for mortgage loans. The facility obtained funds for mortgage lending from the sale of asset-backed commercial paper to financial institutions. In his statement of facts, Bowman admitted that he learned from Farkas and other co-conspirators at TBW that within a year of its creation, Ocala Funding had a significant collateral deficit. As Bowman acknowledged, the government could prove that by August 2009, that deficit had grown to approximately $1.5 billion and that TBW had caused Colonial Bank and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) to falsely believe that they each had an undivided ownership interest in thousands of the same loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
On Aug. 3, 2009, Bowman was interviewed by agents from the FBI and the Office of the SIGTARP. Today, Bowman admitted that he falsely stated to the agents that he was not aware of Plan B loans, and that he was not aware of any fraudulent activities between Colonial Bank and TBW.
In August 2009, the Alabama State Banking Department, Colonial Bank’s regulator, seized the bank and appointed the FDIC as receiver. Colonial BancGroup also filed for bankruptcy in August 2009.
In June 2010, Farkas was arrested and charged in a 16-count indictment for his role in the fraud scheme. His trial is scheduled to begin in April 2011. An indictment is merely a charge and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Desiree Brown, the former treasurer of TBW, pleaded guilty on Feb. 24, 2011, and Catherine Kissick, a former senior vice president of Colonial Bank and head of its Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division, pleaded guilty on March 2, 2011, for their roles in the fraud scheme.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Patrick Stokes and Trial Attorney Robert Zink of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Connolly and Paul Nathanson of the Eastern District of Virginia. This case was investigated by SIGTARP, FBI’s Washington Field Office, FDIC OIG, HUD OIG, FHFA OIG and the IRS Criminal Investigation. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Department of the Treasury also provided support in the investigation.
This prosecution was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Consol Energy to Pay $5.5 Million Penalty and Install Wastewater Treatment Plant to Settle Clean Water Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of West Virginia announced today that Consol Energy Inc., the largest producer of coal from underground mines in the United States, has agreed to pay a $5.5 million civil penalty for Clean Water Act violations at six of its mines in West Virginia. In addition to the penalty, Consol will spend an estimated $200 million in pollution controls that will reduce discharges of harmful mining wastewater into Appalachian streams and rivers.
“In this settlement, Consol takes responsibility for its past failures to abide by the terms of its Clean Water Act permits,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “As a result of this enforcement action, Consol will install a state-of-the-art system to treat wastewater from multiple mines that will set the standard for the responsible management of discharges from underground mining operations in Appalachia. This settlement will ensure protection of human health and the environment for the benefit of the people who live in Appalachia.”
“Complying with the Clean Water Act is a critical responsibility of those who operate mines near our nation’s treasured rivers, lakes and streams,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The state-of the-art technology required by today’s settlement is an important step forward in protecting local waterways and the health of communities in Appalachia.”
“We are committed to cleaning up the waters of Dunkard Creek and the Monongahela watershed and holding those who pollute it accountable,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “The centerpiece of this settlement – a new advanced wastewater treatment plant – will substantially reduce pollution by keeping nearly 100 million pounds of total dissolved solids, including chloride, from reaching these waterways each year.”
“This agreement between the state, the federal government and industry will create a complex waste water treatment facility that will significantly improve the water quality in the Monongahela watershed, and implement measures that will have positive effects on streams along the Ohio River, while allowing the mineral extraction industry to continue to have a positive economic impact in the region,” said Scott Mandirola, director of the Division of Water and Waste Management for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
“Addressing the serious issues that affect our environment, by measures such as this one, will not only promote a healthier society and enhance our safety, but as recent studies are reporting, the expected investments in technology and alternative production methods may actually result in the creation of jobs,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II. “It is my sincere hope that this settlement will send a strong message that the federal government is serious about protecting the health of its citizens and ensuring that its laws are followed during the process of energy extraction.”
Consol has agreed to build and operate an advanced wastewater treatment plant using reverse osmosis technology near Mannington, W.V., to remove high levels of chloride from mining wastewater. When completed, the plant will be the largest such treatment plant in Appalachia and capable of treating 3,500 gallons of mine water per minute, substantially reducing chloride and other salts in mining waters discharged to streams. This treatment will eliminate over 96 million pounds of total dissolved solids, including over 11 million pounds of chloride. High levels of chloride and dissolved solids can harm aquatic life, clog irrigation devices and carry toxic chemicals that impact drinking water.
The U.S. complaint filed concurrently with the settlement agreement alleges that six Consol mines violated pollution discharge limits in their Clean Water Act permits hundreds of times over the last four years. The complaint alleges chronic exceedances of chloride discharge limits at the Blacksville No. 2, Loveridge, Robinson Run and Four States mines in the Monongahela watershed and the Shoemaker and Windsor mines discharging into tributaries of the Ohio River.
The complaint also alleges that discharges of high amounts of chloride and total dissolved solids from Consol’s facilities at Blacksville No. 2 and Loveridge contributed to severe impairment of aquatic life and conditions favorable for golden algae to thrive in Dunkard Creek. In September 2009, a species of golden algae bloomed in Dunkard Creek, killing thousands of fish, mussels and amphibians.
The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Department of Justice and state of West Virginia websites at:
http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html and
http://www.dep.wv.gov/pio/Pages/Settlements,Ordersouttopublicnotice.aspx
Alleged Mexican Drug Kingpin Extradited to the United States <br /> to Face Drug and Money-Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Alleged Mexican drug kingpin Esteban Rodriguez-Olivera, 47, was extradited from Mexico to the United States on Friday, March 11, 2011, and was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., on charges contained in a superseding indictment returned on March 21, 2008. Rodriguez-Olivera is one of two brothers believed to be the leaders of “Los Gueros,” an international drug organization responsible for shipping more than 100 tons of cocaine to the United States. Mexican authorities arrested Rodriguez-Olivera on a provisional warrant issued from the Eastern District of New York, and he and his brother, Luis Rodriguez-Olivera, also face federal criminal charges in the District of Columbia.
The extradition was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; John P. Gilbride, Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York; and James T. Hayes Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York. The investigation was conducted by DEA offices in New York, Texas and Guadalajara, Mexico, and ICE/HSI, in New York, with assistance provided by the Internal Revenue Service and law enforcement authorities in Mexico.
According to the indictment and an unsealing application filed by the government in the Eastern District of New York, in 2007 the U.S. Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force designated the defendant and his brother drug kingpins, adding them to the list of the world’s most significant narcotics traffickers and money launderers. Los Gueros’ supply route originated in Mexico, stretched into Texas, and branched off to various points within the United States, including the New York City metropolitan area. The organization received multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia along the Gulf coast of Mexico, and transported drug shipments into the United States through Laredo and McAllen, Texas.
The superseding indictment alleges that, from 1996 to 2008, Los Gueros imported more than 100,000 kilograms (100 tons) of cocaine into the United States, and the DEA estimates that between 2004 and 2006, the organization was responsible for shipping truckloads containing more than 2,000 kilograms (two tons) of cocaine to New York City alone. As part of the investigation, in October 2004, ICE agents seized approximately 156 kilograms of cocaine hidden in one of the organization’s tractor-trailers; and in 2005, ICE agents seized approximately $2.1 million in drug proceeds bound for the organization in Mexico.
As detailed in the government’s detention letter, to minimize the chance of his detection and arrest, Rodriguez-Olivera frequently relied on his associates to communicate with other co-conspirators by telephone and rarely spoke on the telephone himself. He also avoided being photographed. However, during the course of the investigation, in one instance when Rodriguez-Olivera spoke by telephone directly with a co-conspirator, he was recorded by law enforcement setting up a meeting in the Dominican Republic to plan shipments of narcotics to New York.
Esteban Rodriguez-Rivera and Luis Rodriguez-Olivera are charged in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia in relation to the seizure of approximately 5.2 tons of cocaine in January 2006 by the Mexican Navy in the Pacific Ocean near Manzanillo, Colima. The defendants are charged with engaging in a conspiracy to import cocaine and to manufacture and distribute cocaine knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States, as well as with the substantive offense of manufacturing and distributing cocaine knowing that it will be imported into the United States.
“No matter what steps a narcotics trafficker might take to avoid being apprehended, ultimately there is no escape from justice,” stated U.S. Attorney Lynch. “Thanks to the cooperation of our partners in Mexico, there is no safe haven for a drug trafficker, and kingpins are no exception.” U.S. Attorney Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the agencies that conducted the government’s investigation and thanked the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs for its significant assistance in this case.
“Extraditions are critical to our ability to bring major narcotraffickers to justice, and are a central component of the cooperative relationship between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “The extradition to the United States of Esteban Rodriguez-Olivera – an alleged leader of a major drug trafficking organization – is a concrete example of how we are working with our Mexican partners to dismantle these criminal enterprises.”
DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Gilbride stated, “With roots in Guadalajara to distribution cells throughout the Eastern seaboard, this drug trafficking organization was responsible for smuggling millions of dollars of cocaine into our nation. The arrest today sends a message to drug traffickers that you can run, but you cannot hide from global law enforcement who share a goal of putting you out of business.”
ICE/HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Hayes stated, “As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, the defendant is not only responsible for importing tons upon tons of cocaine destined for New York City, but he made millions of dollars in profit from this illegal drug activity. Dismantling this type of criminal enterprise and stemming the flow of drugs into the United States remains a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations and our federal partners.”
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case pending in the Eastern District of New York is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Walter M. Norkin. The case pending in the District of Columbia is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Charles D. Griffith Jr. of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.
Friday 11 March 2011
UK Solicitor Pleads Guilty for Role in Bribing Nigerian Government Officials as Part of KBR Joint Venture SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jeffrey Tesler, a former consultant to Kellogg, Brown & Root Inc. (KBR) and its joint venture partners, pleaded guilty today in Houston to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to violating the FCPA for his participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice announced. The EPC contracts to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria, were valued at more than $6 billion.
Tesler, 62, a United Kingdom citizen and licensed solicitor, was extradited on March 10, 2011, from the United Kingdom to the United States. Tesler pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one count of violating the FCPA contained in a Feb. 17, 2009, indictment.
KBR, Technip S.A., Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. and a Japanese engineering and construction company were part of a four-company joint venture that was awarded four EPC contracts by Nigeria LNG Ltd. (NLNG) between 1995 and 2004 to build LNG facilities on Bonny Island. Tesler admitted that from approximately 1994 through June 2004, he and his co-conspirators agreed to pay bribes to Nigerian government officials, including top-level executive branch officials, in order to obtain and retain the EPC contracts. The joint venture hired Tesler as a consultant to pay bribes to high-level Nigerian government officials and hired a Japanese trading company to pay bribes to lower-level Nigerian government officials. During the course of the bribery scheme, the joint venture paid approximately $132 million in consulting fees to a Gibraltar corporation controlled by Tesler and more than $50 million to the Japanese trading company. Tesler admitted that he used the consulting fees he received from the joint venture, in part, to pay bribes to Nigerian government officials.
In related cases, KBR’s former CEO, Albert “Jack” Stanley, pleaded guilty in September 2008 to conspiring to violate the FCPA for his participation in the bribery scheme, while KBR’s successor company, Kellogg Brown & Root LLC, pleaded guilty in February 2009 to FCPA-related charges for its participation in the scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials. Kellogg Brown & Root LLC was ordered to pay a $402 million fine and to retain an independent compliance monitor for a three-year period to review the design and implementation of its compliance program.
In another related criminal case, the department filed a deferred prosecution agreement and criminal information against Technip on June 28, 2010. According to that agreement, Technip agreed to pay a $240 million criminal penalty and to retain an independent compliance monitor for two years. On July 7, 2010, the department filed a deferred prosecution agreement and criminal information against Snamprogetti Netherlands BV, which also agreed to pay a $240 million criminal penalty. Tesler’s co-defendant, Wojciech J. Chodan, was extradited from the United Kingdom on Dec. 3, 2010, and pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2010, to conspiring to violate the FCPA.
As part of his plea agreement, Tesler agreed to forfeit $148,964,568. At sentencing, scheduled for June 22, 2011, Tesler faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, and five years in prison on the FCPA violation charge.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief William J. Stuckwisch and Deputy Chief Patrick F. Stokes of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, with investigative assistance from the FBI-Houston Division. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance. Significant assistance was provided by the SEC’s Division of Enforcement and by the authorities in France, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, including in particular the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office’s International Assistance and Anti-Corruption Units, the London Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police in the United Kingdom.
Two Contractors Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter <br /> for Death of Afghan National in Kabul, AfghanistanRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal jury in Norfolk, Va., today convicted Justin Cannon, 27, of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Christopher Drotleff, 29, of Virginia Beach, Va., of involuntary manslaughter while working as contractors for the U.S. Department of Defense in Afghanistan.
Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement today following the jury’s verdict.
Cannon and Drotleff were acquitted of other charges, including second-degree murder, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and firearms offenses.
Cannon and Drotleff were charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) through a superseding indictment on Aug. 5, 2010. According to court documents, Cannon and Drotleff were charged with shooting and killing two Afghanistan nationals and seriously wounding a third while on an unauthorized convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 5, 2009.
Cannon and Drotleff were Department of Defense contractors employed by a subsidiary of Xe (formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide). According to evidence presented at trial, Cannon and Drotleff left their military base without authorization to join a convoy transporting local interpreters. Evidence at trial established that, after a traffic accident involving one of the vehicles in the convoy, Cannon and Drotleff fired multiple shots into the back of a civilian car that had attempted to pass the accident scene. The passenger of the car was fatally shot and the driver was seriously injured. An individual who happened to be walking his dog in the area was also killed in the shooting. Today, the jury found the defendants guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Romal Mohammad Naiem, the front-seat passenger. They were acquitted of responsibility for the death of the person walking his dog and the injuries to the driver.
According to court records, as contractors, Cannon and Drotleff provided training to the Afghan National Army for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in the use and maintenance of weapons and weapons systems.
At sentencing, scheduled for June 14, 2011, Cannon and Drotleff face a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.
Today’s conviction is the result of a retrial. Cannon and Drotleff were originally tried before a jury in September 2010, which ended in a hung jury and mistrial.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy C. Stoker and Alan M. Salsbury from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia - Norfolk Division as well as Trial Attorney Robert McGovern of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section. The case is being investigated by the FBI.
Houston-Area Resident Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Medicare Fraud Scheme Involving Claims of Hurricane Damage to Power WheelchairsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Helen Etinfoh, the former owner and operator of a Houston durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced today to 41 months in prison in connection with a $3 million power wheelchair fraud scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
Etinfoh, 50, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. of the Southern District of Texas to pay $851,228 in restitution jointly and several with her co-defendant. In addition, Etinfoh was sentenced to three years of supervised release following her prison term. Eitnfoh was remanded to custody after sentencing.
On April 16, 2010, after a week-long trial, a federal jury convicted Etinfoh of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud. The jury also convicted Paula Whitfield, a patient recruiter for the DME company, of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of health care fraud. Whitfield was previously sentenced to 21 months in prison.
According to evidence presented at trial, Etinfoh was the owner and operator of Luant & Odera Inc., a Houston-area DME company doing business as Tonni Medical Equipment & Supplies. Whitfield was a recruiter for Luant who was paid kickbacks in exchange for providing the company with beneficiaries in whose names bills could be submitted to Medicare. Etinfoh and other co-conspirators submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary DME, including power wheelchairs, wheelchair accessories and motorized scooters.
Evidence at trial showed that, based on representations from Whitfield and other recruiters, Luant would bill Medicare under a special code that designated the power wheelchairs as replacements for wheelchairs lost during hurricanes that hit the Houston area in fall 2008. In fact, the hurricanes did not damage the wheelchairs. Certain beneficiaries testified that they did not even have a power wheelchair before receiving the ones provided to them by Luant. Luant used the hurricane code because it allowed the company to submit claims to Medicare without a doctor’s order.
At trial, beneficiaries in whose names claims were submitted to Medicare testified that recruiters whom they had never met, including Whitfield, came to their homes and offered them free power wheelchairs in exchange for their Medicare information. The beneficiaries, all of whom could walk, testified that they neither needed nor used the power wheelchairs delivered to them by Luant, which were often billed to Medicare at more than $6,000 per chair.
Today’s sentences were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas; Special Agent-in-charge Richard C. Powers of the FBI’s Houston Field Office; Special Agent-in-Charge Mike Fields of the Dallas Regional Office of HHS Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations; and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU).
The case was tried by Assistant Chief Sam S. Sheldon and Trial Attorney Joseph S. Beemsterboer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since their inception in March 2007, Strike Force operations in nine locations have obtained indictments of 1,000 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2.3 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov .
Honeywell Pleads Guilty in Illinois to Illegal Storage of Hazardous WasteRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Honeywell International Inc. pleaded guilty today in federal district court in Benton, Ill., to one felony offense for knowingly storing hazardous waste without a permit in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Honeywell was also sentenced today to pay a criminal fine in the amount of $11.8 million.
“Today, Honeywell must account for its knowing violation of a federal law that protects the public from exposure to hazardous waste containing radioactive material,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “All companies who generate hazardous waste must have a permit to store the waste and, when granted a permit under RCRA, must fully comply with its requirements or they will be prosecuted.”
“The citizens of Southern Illinois should not and will not tolerate improper storage of hazardous wastes so near their homes and businesses,” said Stephen R. Wigginton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. U.S. Attorney Wigginton noted that he will “continue to seek out and prosecute environmental criminals on behalf of the residents of the Southern District of Illinois in order to insure the environmental safety of our communities.”
“The defendant’s illegal storage practices put employees at risk of exposure to radioactive and hazardous materials,” s aid Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s plea agreement and sentencing shows that those who try to circumvent the law and place people’s health and the environment at risk will be vigorously prosecuted.”
Honeywell, a Delaware corporation with corporate headquarters in Morristown, N.J., owns and operates a uranium hexafluoride (UF6) conversion facility in Massac County, Ill., near the city of Metropolis and the Ohio River. Honeywell is licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to possess and otherwise manage natural uranium, which it converts into UF6 for nuclear fuel. The Metropolis facility is the only facility in the United States to convert natural uranium into UF6.
At the Metropolis facility, air emissions from the UF6 conversion process are scrubbed with potassium hydroxide (KOH) prior to discharge. As a result of this process, KOH scrubbers and associated equipment accumulate uranium compounds that settle out of the liquid and are pumped as a slurry into 55-gallon drums. The drummed material, called “KOH mud” and consisting of uranium and KOH, has a pH greater than or equal to 12.5.
In November 2002, Honeywell shut down part of the wet reclamation process it used to reclaim the uranium from the KOH mud, knowing that previously accumulated drums of KOH mud and any additional drums of KOH mud generated thereafter would have to be stored onsite until such time as the wet reclamation process was restarted. Honeywell also knew that, because the pH of KOH mud generated at the facility was greater than or equal to 12.5, it is classified as corrosive hazardous waste under regulations issued pursuant to RCRA. Therefore, Honeywell needed, but did not have, a RCRA permit to store any drums of KOH mud at its facility longer than 90 days.
In July 2007, Honeywell requested a modification of its RCRA permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) so that they could store drums of KOH mud. IEPA issued Honeywell a modified permit in July 2008, allowing Honeywell to store drums containing KOH mud only in a KOH container storage area designed to contain any spills, leaks or precipitation that accumulates in the drum storage area. By September 2008, Honeywell had accumulated over 7,000 drums of KOH mud. In April 2009, EPA special agents conducted a search warrant and found nearly 7,500 illegally stored drums containing waste that was both radioactive and hazardous. Honeywell began storing the KOH mud drums in compliance with the terms of its RCRA permit in approximately March 2010.
In accordance with the terms of the criminal plea agreement, Honeywell will serve a five-year term of probation. As a condition of probation, Honeywell must comply with the terms of the interim consent order entered into with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, filed on April 21, 2010, and any subsequent revisions, which imposes a schedule for the processing of KOH mud. As a further condition of probation, Honeywell must implement a community service project in the community surrounding the Metropolis facility, whereby Honeywell will develop, fund and implement a household hazardous waste collection program and arrange for proper treatment, transportation and disposal of this waste collected during at least eight collection events over a two-year period, at a cost of approximately $200,000.
The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division. It was prosecuted by Jennifer A. Whitfield and Susan L. Park of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and by William E. Coonan and Michael J. Quinley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois.
Former Senior U.S. District Judge Sentenced to One Month in Prison for Misuse of Government Property and Drug OffensesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Former Senior U.S. District Court Judge Jack T. Camp Jr., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to one month in prison for unlawful possession of controlled substances charges and unlawful conversion of government property, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin of the FBI’s Atlanta Office and Director Vernon Keenan of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Camp, 67, a former Senior U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of Georgia, pleaded guilty in November 2010 to an information charging him with one count of unlawful possession of controlled substances, one count of aiding and abetting the unlawful possession of controlled substances by a previously convicted drug felon and one count of conversion of government property. Camp was sentenced today in the Northern District of Georgia by Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan for the District of Columbia. Judge Hogan was sitting by designation in the Northern District of Georgia.
As part of his plea, Camp admitted that between May 2010 and Oct. 1, 2010, he unlawfully used and possessed cocaine, marijuana and Roxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance. Camp also admitted to giving an individual, whom he knew had a prior felony drug conviction, money to purchase cocaine, Roxycodone and marijuana for their joint use. Camp admitted that he unlawfully gave the individual a U.S. District Court laptop computer for her personal use. Camp was arrested on Oct. 1, 2010, after attempting to purchase drugs from an undercover FBI agent posing as a drug dealer. Camp further resigned his commission as Senior U.S. District Judge. On Feb. 28, 2011, Camp voluntarily surrendered his license to practice law in the state of Georgia.
Camp was also sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine and $825 in restitution. He was sentenced to one year of supervised release.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Deborah Sue Mayer and Tracee Joy Plowell of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case was investigated by the FBI Atlanta’s Public Corruption Squad. The Georgia Bureau of Investigaiton provided substantial assistance in this case.
Former Alabama Mayor Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – John Jackson, the former mayor of White Hall, Ala., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Walker in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., to one count of filing a false tax return, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to the court documents, Jackson admitted filing a false joint 2004 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040, that did not report all of the total income earned by Jackson and his spouse. Jackson also admitted in his plea to filing false joint Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, for 2005 and 2006, which failed to report all of the total income earned by him and his spouse.
No sentencing date has been scheduled. Jackson faces a maximum of three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the loss resulting from his offense.
The case was investigated by special agents of the IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorney Michael Boteler of the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Southern Criminal Enforcement Section, and Todd Brown, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, handled the case.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.usdoj.gov/tax
Alabama Man Indicted in Tax Fraud & Identity Theft ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Eric Bernard Caldwell was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama on charges of conspiracy and theft of government funds, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The indictment was returned on Feb. 16, 2011, and unsealed today.
Caldwell, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was charged with conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false claims and also charged with one count of theft of government funds. According to the indictment, Caldwell was part of a conspiracy that filed false tax returns using stolen identities. Caldwell provided identifying information to co-conspirator Ora Mae Adamson , who filed the returns, in exchange for a share of the illicit proceeds generated by the false tax returns.
Adamson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and identity theft charges on Dec. 2, 2010, and was sentenced to 46 months in prison on March 10, 2011. Another co-conspirator, Jeffery Leon Ceaser, has also pleaded guilty and was sentenced, on March 2, 2011, to 36 months in prison.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Caldwell faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.
IRS – Criminal Investigation agents investigated this case, and Tax Division trial attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s recent efforts to stop fraudulent claims for the first-time homebuyer tax credit is available here . Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax .
Thursday 10 March 2011
Tennessee Man Charged with Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Kenneth L. Richardson of Nashville, Tenn., was arraigned in Nashville on charges of making and subscribing a false income tax return for 2004, and for failure to file a tax return for years 2005, 2006 and 2007, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
The indictment alleges that Richardson owned and operated a bail bonding company in Nashville, which did business as “Skyy Bonding Company.” According to the indictment, in 2004, Richardson did willfully make and subscribe an IRS Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, which he did not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter. The indictment alleges that Richardson knew he had substantial gross income in addition to the amount stated on his 2004 tax return.
The indictment further alleges that for tax years 2005, 2006 and 2007, Richardson had gross income that required the filing of a tax return, but willfully failed to make an income tax return as required by law.
An indictment is merely a formal charge by the grand jury. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in U.S. District Court. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum potential sentence of six years in prison and maximum fines of $550,000. The court has not yet set a trial date.
The case is being prosecuted by Tax Division trial attorneys Michelle M. Petersen and Kathryn B. Ward. The case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.usdoj.gov/tax .
Former New York Correctional Officer Convicted of Assaulting Inmate, Making False Statements to FBIRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former correctional officer from Cohoes, N.Y., was convicted following a jury trial in Albany, N.Y., of violating the civil rights of an inmate while working at the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility (RCCF), and making false statements to the FBI regarding the incident, the Department of Justice announced today.
Following trial before U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe, the jury found that in January 2009, Keith Ronald Hancock Jr., 37, while employed as a correctional officer at the RCCF in Troy, N.Y., assaulted an inmate and made a false statement to the FBI during the investigation of the incident. At trial, the jury heard evidence that Hancock struck an inmate on multiple occasions while the inmate was handcuffed behind the back and under the control of other correctional officers. After the incident, Hancock prepared an incident report in which he failed to report his uses of force or provide any justification for them. Thereafter, during the course of the federal investigation, Hancock falsely denied his conduct.
“Corrections officers who abuse their authority and violate the rights of inmates under their supervision do a disservice to all officers who take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez. “The Civil Rights Division will aggressively prosecute these abuses of official authority, wherever they occur.”
“Conduct such as the defendant’s has no place in our correctional institutions, or in our society,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York Richard S. Hartunian. “Prosecutions such as this send an important message that such conduct cannot and will not be tolerated.”
The defendant’s conviction for violating the inmate’s civil rights carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The conviction for making a false statement to the FBI carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Sentencing is scheduled for July 12, 2011.
The investigation in this matter was conducted by the Albany Division of the FBI, with the assistance of the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
Former New York Correctional Officer Convicted of Assaulting Inmate, Making False Statements to FBIRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former correctional officer from Cohoes, N.Y., was convicted following a jury trial in Albany, N.Y., of violating the civil rights of an inmate while working at the Rensselaer County Correctional Facility (RCCF), and making false statements to the FBI regarding the incident, the Department of Justice announced today.
Following trial before U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe, the jury found that in January 2009, Keith Ronald Hancock Jr., 37, while employed as a correctional officer at the RCCF in Troy, N.Y., assaulted an inmate and made a false statement to the FBI during the investigation of the incident. At trial, the jury heard evidence that Hancock struck an inmate on multiple occasions while the inmate was handcuffed behind the back and under the control of other correctional officers. After the incident, Hancock prepared an incident report in which he failed to report his uses of force or provide any justification for them. Thereafter, during the course of the federal investigation, Hancock falsely denied his conduct.
“Corrections officers who abuse their authority and violate the rights of inmates under their supervision do a disservice to all officers who take an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez. “The Civil Rights Division will aggressively prosecute these abuses of official authority, wherever they occur.”
“Conduct such as the defendant’s has no place in our correctional institutions, or in our society,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York Richard S. Hartunian. “Prosecutions such as this send an important message that such conduct cannot and will not be tolerated.”
The defendant’s conviction for violating the inmate’s civil rights carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The conviction for making a false statement to the FBI carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. Sentencing is scheduled for July 12, 2011.
The investigation in this matter was conducted by the Albany Division of the FBI, with the assistance of the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.
Former Managers of South Dakota Apartment Complex Fined $30,000 for Racial DiscriminationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota has ordered the former property managers of the Lakeport Village Apartment in Sioux Falls, S.D., to pay a total of $30,000 in civil penalties because they racially discriminated against three families in violation of the Fair Housing Act, the Department of Justice announced today. The former owner of the complex, TK Properties LLC, and one of its principals, Scott Terveen, had previously paid $30,000 to settle the United States’ claims against them as part of a settlement approved by the court on Dec. 21, 2010.
The government’s lawsuit, filed on Oct. 15, 2009, alleged that former property manager Ann Wagner and former maintenance supervisor Corey Anderson created a racially hostile housing environment for one African-American family and two white families who associated with the African-American family while they were tenants at Lakeport Village. The complaint alleged that Wagner and Anderson used racial epithets in reference to the African-American family and in the presence of all three families, including minor children. The complaint also alleged that Wagner and Anderson retaliated against two white families that had befriended the African-American family. All three families eventually moved out as a result of the defendants’ racially hostile and retaliatory conduct. Wagner and Anderson did not respond to the complaint and the court entered a judgment of default against them in July 2010.
“No person or family should be discriminated against because of race, or retaliated against because of the race of their friends or relatives,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The court’s decision makes clear that such discrimination is unacceptable and that perpetrators will be penalized.”
“This decision helps ensure that equal housing opportunities required by law are available to all South Dakotans. Our office will not tolerate discrimination against persons based upon their race,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan Johnson
The lawsuit originated as a result of complaints the three families filed with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After an investigation, HUD found reasonable cause to believe that unlawful discrimination had occurred and referred the matter to the Justice Department.
“Today, HUD and the Justice Department stand together against housing discrimination,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity . “More than that, we will not tolerate retaliation against individuals or families who file discrimination complaints or assist those who do.”
The order, issued on March 9, 2011, by Judge Karen E. Schreier, requires Wagner and Anderson to each pay a $15,000 civil penalty. The order also enjoins Wagner and Anderson from participating in the management or operation of rental housing for a three year period.
Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt .
Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.
Former Drug Company Executive Pleads Guilty in Oversized Drug Tablets CaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Marc S. Hermelin, the former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of St. Louis-based KV Pharmaceutical Company, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in a case involving KV’s production and distribution of oversized morphine sulfate tablets, the Justice Department announced. U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber of the Eastern District of Missouri ordered Hermelin to pay a $1 million fine, forfeit $900,000 and serve a sentence of 30 days in jail.
Hermelin pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). In a plea agreement that was submitted to the court, Hermelin admitted that KV introduced misbranded morphine sulfate tablets into interstate commerce in 2007 and 2008. Morphine sulfate is a pain relief drug and opiate. The government charged that the morphine sulfate discussed in the plea agreement included some oversized tablets, which contained more active ingredient of the drug morphine than was specified in its labeling. This made the morphine sulfate “misbranded” under federal law, according to the court documents.
In May 2008, KV received complaints about oversized morphine sulfate tablets, according to court documents. An oversized tablet discovered by a pharmacist in California weighed twice as much as a normal pill. An oversized tablet found by a Canadian drug distributor was approximately 65 percent heavier than a normal pill. Both oversized tablets had been made on “BB2” pill press machines, which KV used to make many other tablet drugs. In June 2008, KV disclosed the discovery of the oversized morphine sulfate tablets to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and publicly recalled various morphine sulfate lots. At the same time, the government alleged that although KV knew of other oversized, BB2-made tablets and that its BB2 machine could randomly produce some oversized tablets, the company did not inform FDA of the other oversized tablets.
Hermelin also served as an officer of Ethex Corporation, a KV subsidiary that branded and distributed generic drugs, according to court documents. The government charged that by virtue of his roles at KV and Ethex, Hermelin was a “responsible corporate officer” with the authority and responsibility to prevent and correct FDCA violations at both companies.
According to court documents in a related federal case in St. Louis, several months after the oversized drug tablets came to light, FDA conducted an inspection of KV’s facilities and found numerous drug-production problems and potential law violations. In March 2009, the Justice Department filed a civil suit against KV, Ethex and of their several senior executives, including Hermelin, asking the court to have the companies and the executive officers take immediate action to remedy problems. The U.S. District Court in St. Louis issued an order the same month that required the companies and their executives to take prompt remedial action , according to court documents.
In another related case, in March 2010, the Justice Department filed criminal charges against Ethex, which pleaded guilty to two felony offenses as a result of its failure to file required reports with the FDA concerning certain oversized drug tablets. Ethex was ordered to pay $28.1 million in fines, forfeitures and restitution, and was placed on probation for five years.
“We will hold corporate executives responsible when company profits are pursued at the expense of consumer safety,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
“FDA’s drug-labeling laws and regulations are designed to ensure that Americans can safely consume effective drug products,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Patrick Holland, FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. “We will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice to investigate those companies and individuals who participate in the distribution of misbranded drugs,” he added.
The Hermelin case was investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, with assistance from the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Justice Department’s Office of Consumer Litigation. Additional assistance was provided by the FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel.
Florida Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Immigration Fraud Scheme and Tax Evasion Involving Florida Property Development CompanyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Richard A. Murdoch of Florida was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for immigration fraud and tax evasion charges related to his role in a scheme to fraudulently procure visas from the U.S. Embassy in London through a Florida property development company called Royal Development. The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill of the Middle District of Florida; Eric J. Boswell, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security; and Special Agent in Charge Linda J. Osuna of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Division.
Murdoch, 54, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Gregory A. Presnell in the Middle District of Florida. Judge Presnell also ordered Murdoch to pay $2.3 million in restitution, jointly and several with his co-defendants, to United Kingdom visa applicants who were defrauded by Royal Development. Murdoch was also ordered to pay $189,852 in back taxes and sentenced to three years of supervised release.
On April 7, 2010, Murdoch was indicted with Hugh Morgan, 68, a U.K. national residing in Ontario, Canada, and Christopher A. Barrett, 49, a U.K. national residing in Florida, on one count of conspiracy to commit immigration fraud and four counts of immigration fraud in relation to Royal Development. The indictment also charged Murdoch with three counts of tax evasion. Murdoch and Barrett were arrested on April 26, 2010, in Florida and Morgan was arrested on the same day in Ontario in response to a U.S. government extradition request. All three defendants pleaded guilty on Dec. 10, 2010.
Yesterday, Judge Presnell sentenced Morgan to three months in prison and three years of supervised release. Today, Judge Presnell sentenced Barrett to one month in prison and two years of supervised release. Morgan and Barrett are subject to removal from the United States as a result of the convictions.
According to court documents, from approximately June 2003 to November 2006, the defendants conspired to commit immigration fraud through Royal Development, which purportedly sold Florida-based home construction companies to foreign nationals. The conspirators represented that the purchase of a company would enable foreign nationals to qualify for and obtain either a treaty investor (E-2) visa or intracompany transferee (L-1A) visa. Along with the sale of the companies, the conspirators generally represented that they would submit the required visa paperwork to U.S. authorities, help the foreign nationals run the company, and help the foreign nationals adjust to life in the United States. According to court documents, the conspirators required a payment of between $65,000 to $165,000 for the purchase of the company and the visa services. During the course of this conspiracy, Royal Development obtained more than $2.4 million from the U.K. investors.
According to court documents, Murdoch admitted that he knowingly presented required applications, affidavits and other documents that contained materially false statements to U.S. immigration authorities. In addition, Murdoch admitted that from approximately June 2003 to April 2006, Murdoch received approximately $536,593 in income from Royal Development for which he should have paid income taxes and that he intentionally failed to file his federal income tax returns for 2003, 2004 and 2005, by the respective due dates, because he was concealing his income from the IRS. The total tax due and owing on this taxable income to the U.S. government is $189,852. Murdoch also admitted that he used the taxable income from Royal Development for personal expenses such as hang gliding, cigars, and the purchase of a 1987 Porsche.
According to court documents, Morgan and Barrett admitted that they knowingly presented required applications, affidavits and other documents that contained materially false statements to U.S. immigration authorities. In particular, Morgan and Barrett admitted that they knowingly prepared and submitted fraudulent immigration benefit applications for Barrett as well as Barrett’s adult daughter, enabling both Barrett and his daughter to fraudulently procure L-1A visas and come to and work in the United States.
The case was investigated by the Diplomatic Security Service - Criminal Investigations Division in Washington, D.C., and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division in Maitland, Fla. The Fraud Prevention Unit at the U.S. Embassy in London provided significant assistance. The Diplomatic Security Service - Regional Security Offices in Toronto, Canada, and London, and the Diplomatic Security Service Miami Field Office provided invaluable support.
In addition, the government of Canada, including Canadian prosecutors and the Toronto Fugitive Squad, provided significant assistance. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney James S. Yoon of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen L. Gable and Nicole M. Andrejko of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Bexar County, Texas, Corrections Officer Charged with Civil Rights ViolationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Bexar County, Texas, corrections officer was charged today in a two-count federal indictment with violating the civil rights of two detainees, announced the Department of Justice. The charges stem from two incidents – one on Oct. 8, 2007; the other on May 31, 2009 – in which Raymond Quintero, 33, of San Antonio, allegedly assaulted inmates at the Bexar County Detention Center.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, the defendant faces maximum penalties of 10 years in prison on each of the civil rights charges.
This case was investigated by Special Agent Mirella Rodriguez of the San Antonio Division of the FBI with assistance from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Baumann of the Western District of Texas and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Christopher Lomax.
Alabama Women Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ora Mae Adamson, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., was sentenced to 46 months in prison, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to court documents, between March 2009 and September 2009, Adamson conspired with others to defraud the United States by filing 158 false federal income tax returns. As part of the scheme, Adamson and her co-conspirators fraudulently obtained the names and Social Security numbers of individuals. Adamson would then file false tax returns in these individuals’ names, without their authorization. The tax returns falsely claimed the first-time homebuyer’s credit and fuel tax credit. The refunds from the false returns were deposited into bank accounts controlled by Adamson and other co-conspirators.
In all, the conspiracy defrauded the United States of $621,738. One of Adamson’s co-conspirators, Jeffery Ceaser, was sentenced to 36 months in prison on March 2, 2011.
In addition to 46 months in prison, Adamson was also ordered to pay $621,738.41 in restitution to the United States.
Ronald A. Cimino, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Tax Division, and Leura G. Canary, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, commended the IRS special agents who investigated this case and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler, who prosecuted the case.
More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax/. Additional information about the Justice Department’s recent efforts to combat fraudulent claims for the first-time homebuyer tax credit is available here
Alabama Man Pleads Guilty for Role in Tax Fraud and Identity Theft ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Leroy Howard, a resident of Montgomery pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States, the Justice Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
Along with four other defendants, Howard was indicted Dec. 14, 2010, by a federal grand jury sitting in Montgomery on a variety of charges stemming from a large-scale tax fraud and identity theft conspiracy based in that city. According to the indictment and other court documents, over a two year period in 2009 and 2010, the conspirators used stolen identities to file millions of dollars in false tax returns that claimed fraudulent refunds. Between January and June of 2010, Howard was responsible for funneling tens of thousands of dollars in fraud proceedsto his co-conspirators.
In January 2010, Howard opened up a bank account into which fraudulent tax refunds were deposited, he withdrew the money and then provided it to co-conspirator Veronica Dale and others. Howard also received tens of thousands of dollars in checks from Betty Washington, who also helped move fraud proceeds. Howard received a monetary portion of each of these transactions.
Washington pleaded guilty Jan. 5, 2011, to a charge of conspiring to defraud the United States. Her sentencing is set for June 16, 2011. The case against Dale and several other co-conspirators is awaiting trial.
The court did not set a sentencing date. Howard faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the loss caused by the offense.
IRS-Criminal Investigation agents investigated this case, and Justice Department Tax Division trial attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler are prosecuting the case.
More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax/.
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Statement of the Attorney General on Death of Deputy U.S. MarshalRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- The Attorney General made the following statement today:
“Yesterday’s tragic shootings in St. Louis are yet another solemn reminder of the dangers that United States Marshals confront on a daily basis. These brave men and women routinely put their lives on the line in their work to combat crime and gun violence, to apprehend dangerous criminals, and to help bring fugitives to justice. Yesterday’s actions by two Deputy U.S. Marshals and local police officers in St. Louis reflect the dedication and courage that defines America’s law enforcement community.
“Less than a month after Deputy U.S. Marshal Derek Hotsinpiller was killed in the line of duty in Elkins, West Virginia, our thoughts and prayers now are with the families of Deputy U.S. Marshal John Perry, who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as with Deputy U.S. Marshal Theodore Abegg and the St. Louis police officer who were injured yesterday. Their service, their courage, and their willingness to risk their own lives to protect the safety of others will not be forgotten. As we mourn this devastating loss, we also reaffirm that the Justice Department’s commitment to supporting our law enforcement partners – and to ensuring officer safety – will continue to be a top priority.”
State Department Contract Employee Pleads Guilty to Illegally Accessing Confidential Passport FilesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A State Department contract employee pleaded guilty today to illegally accessing confidential passport application files, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
Mark Carter, 51, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging him with unauthorized computer access.
According to information contained in plea documents, Carter worked as a contract employee for the State Department, serving as the network administrator in the Eastern District of Virginia. Carter admitted he had access to official State Department computer databases in the regular course of his employment, including the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS), which contains, among other data, all imaged passport applications dating back to 1994. The imaged passport applications on PIERS contain, among other things, a photograph of the passport applicant as well as certain personal information including the applicant’s full name, date and place of birth, current address, telephone numbers, parent information, spouse’s name and emergency contact information. These confidential files are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, and access by State Department employees is strictly limited to official government duties.
In pleading guilty, Carter admitted that between March 2007 and March 2008, he logged onto the PIERS database and viewed the passport applications of approximately 60 celebrities, musicians, actors, members of the business community, colleagues, a professional athlete, members of his family and other individuals. Carter admitted that he had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that his sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity.
To date, 12 current or former State Department employees or contractors, including Carter, have pleaded guilty in this continuing investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by the State Department Office of Inspector General.
Ohio Man Sentenced in Church Arson CaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An Ohio man was sentenced to 51 months in prison for setting fire to the First Azusa Apostolic Faith Church of God in Conneaut, Ohio , the Department of Justice announced today. Ronald J. Pudder, 23, of Conneaut, pleaded guilty last year to one count of intentionally damaging, destroying and attempting to destroy religious property because of the race, color, and ethnic characteristics of individuals associated with that property.
“In this nation, one of our most basic rights is the freedom to practice our faith in peace. We will not tolerate acts of violence that attempt to disrupt that right,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute acts of violence fueled by hate.”
“The defendant in this case meant to send a hateful message that hearkens back to the darkest days of our nation,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steve M. Dettelbach. “But today, standing here, united against hate, we – black, white, Jewish, Muslim and Christian, man and woman, old and young – are sending a stronger message.
According to court documents, Pudder admitted that on May 20, 2010, he set on fire the First Azusa Apostolic Faith Church of God, which is the sole predominantly African-American church in the Conneaut area.
Neighbors called police around 4:45 a.m. after seeing the church in flames. The front door was scorched, but the flames did not penetrate the interior of the church. Investigators later determined the door had been doused with an accelerant, as had other doors on the church, but those did not catch fire.
This case is being prosecuted by Patricia A. Sumner, trial attorney with the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney James V. Moroney, following an investigation by the Painesville Resident Agency of the Cleveland FBI and the Conneaut Police Department.
Justice Department Fines Houston Bus Company $55,000 for Violating the ADARead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Houston bus company was fined $55,000 for violating passenger carrier accessibility requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), announced the Departments of Justice and Transportation. In addition to the fine, a consent agreement reached with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Justice Department requires Autobuses Ejecutivos LLC dba Omnibus Express to upgrade its fleet to meet ADA requirements by July 2011 or have its operating authority revoked.
An extensive investigation conducted by FMCSA uncovered that Omnibus Express was operating a fleet of 85 leased buses, and none were equipped with wheelchair lifts. In the past 12 months, the bus company leased 22 new buses that were not accessible to individuals with disabilities. ADA regulations require that at least 50 percent of a carrier’s buses be accessible, and that all new buses leased or purchased be accessible by individuals with disabilities.
“Equal access to transportation is at the cornerstone of autonomous and independent living, and this agreement demonstrates the strong commitment both the Justice Department and the Department of Transportation have to joint enforcement of the requirements that transportation be accessible to all,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. “We will continue to vigorously enforce these requirements to ensure individuals with disabilities have equal access as guaranteed by the ADA.”
“Every day, thousands of people rely on motorcoaches and other types of commercial passenger buses to travel where they need to go safely and efficiently,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “We owe it to the traveling public to make sure commercial buses are safe and accessible for everyone.”
In February 2009, FMCSA and the Justice Department entered into a memorandum of understanding concerning the enforcement of commercial passenger buses. The memorandum between the two agencies was included in the Over-the-Road Bus Transportation Accessibility Act of 2007, and is designed to ensure consistent ADA enforcement nationwide.
More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt . The consent agreement with Omnibus Express can be found at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/ABOUT/News/Omnibus-ConsentAgreement-508.PDF .
Federal Court Permanently Bars Owner and Employees of Rhode Island Firm from Preparing Federal Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal court in Providence, R.I., has ordered that Michael Brier, the owner of the tax return preparation firm Refunds Now Inc., and his employees, Jeffrey Sroufe, Esther Santiago and Carmen Miranda, be permanently barred from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The permanent injunction order, to which the four individuals consented, applies to them personally and doing business under the names Refunds Now Inc., RNTS Inc., FTIRS Inc., POTIRS Inc. and IHIRS Inc.
In November 2010 the court entered a preliminary injunction against Brier, Sroufe and Santiago after finding that at least 300 tax returns prepared by Brier and Refunds Now understated customers’ tax liabilities and that Brier and his employees fabricated tax deductions and credits on the returns. The court also noted that a Refunds Now employee had offered to provide one of Brier’s customers with fake receipts in order to substantiate amounts reported on the customer’s tax return.
According to the court, Brier and his employees prepared approximately 24,000 federal income tax returns between 2003 and 2007. The court found that the Internal Revenue Service examined 350 of those returns and determined that 92 percent of them required adjustments, resulting in a government-estimated loss of more than $1.1 million in tax revenue based on the examined returns.
The court’s permanent injunction order requires Brier, Sroufe and Santiago to mail a copy of the order to all customers for whom they have prepared tax returns since Jan. 1, 2004. The order additionally requires Brier to remove or cover all exterior signs at 381 Wickenden Street in Providence indicating that tax preparation service is offered there and to post a copy of the court’s order at the front and back entrances of that address.
Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax-fraud schemes and the preparation of false tax returns. More information about these cases can be found at the Tax Division’s website .
35 miembros y asociados de la pandilla Barrio Azteca fueron acusados de asociación ilícita y otros delitos, incluidos 10 acusados de asesinatos en el Consulado de EE.UU. en Juárez, MéxicoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Treinta y cinco miembros y asociados de la pandilla Barrio Azteca (BA) fueron acusados en una tercera acusación formal sobreviviente revelada hoy de diversos cargos de asociación ilícita, homicidio, delitos asociados a drogas, lavado de dinero y obstrucción de la justicia, anunció el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder. De los 35 demandados, 10 ciudadanos mexicanos fueron acusados de los asesinatos del 13 de marzo de 2010 en Juárez, México, de la empleada del Consulado de EE.UU. Leslie Ann Enríquez Catton, su esposo Arthur Redelfs, y Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, el marido de una empleada del Consulado de EE.UU.
Acompañaron al Secretario de Justicia de EE.UU. Holder en el anuncio de los cargos el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División de lo Penal, el Fiscal Federal John E. Murphy para el Distrito Oeste de Texas, el Director Auxiliar Ejecutivo del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)] Shawn Henry y la Administradora Michele Leonhart de la Administración de Control de Drogas de EE.UU. [U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)].
Hoy, equipos de autoridades federales, estatales y locales estadounidenses arrestaron en Texas y Nuevo México a 12 de los demandados acusados aún sin detener. Siete de los 10 demandados acusados de los homicidios del 13 de marzo de 2010 y otros dos demandados contra los que se formularon cargos se encuentran detenidos en México. Las autoridades de EE.UU. están trabajando con las autoridades mexicanas en la extradición y otros asuntos relacionados con este enjuiciamiento en curso.
"La acusación formal revelada hoy representa nuestra acción continua para garantizar la seguridad a lo largo de nuestra frontera sudoeste, obtener justicia para las víctimas de delitos violentos en esta región y debilitar a organizaciones delictivas peligrosas que operan actualmente en México y los Estados Unidos", dijo el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder. "Estos arrestos y cargos criminales desmantelarán las operaciones actuales de Barrio Azteca, y reafirman que no toleraremos actos de violencia contra quienes sirven y protegen a los ciudadanos estadounidenses. Seguiremos trabajando con nuestros asociados en México y, juntos, incrementaremos nuestra labor conjunta sin precedentes para combatir la violencia y proteger a los pueblos estadounidense y mexicano".
"La acusación formal revelada hoy ofrece un panorama escalofriante de una pandilla altamente organizada y extremamente brutal", dijo el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Breuer. "Las víctimas, como tantas otras víctimas de las guerras mexicanas del narcotráfico, se encontraron, totalmente sin sentido, en el blanco de mira de una violenta empresa criminal". Se trata, a veces, de una batalla macabra. Pero que no queden dudas: dedicaremos toda nuestra fuerza a llevar a Barrio Azteca y otras pandillas ante la justicia por sus actos de violencia e intimidación a lo largo de nuestra frontera".
"Los crueles asesinatos de Leslie Enríquez, su marido Arthur Redelfs, y Jorge Salcido ilustran cuán insensata se ha vuelto la violencia cometida por los cárteles de narcotráfico y sus pandillas delictivas afiliadas", dijo el Fiscal Federal Murphy. "Acompañamos en su dolor a las familias de estas tres inocentes víctimas, así como a las miles de otras que han sufrido pérdidas trágicas para las que no hay reparación. La acusación formal es un reflejo de nuestra determinación de perseguir enérgicamente a los responsables por estos actos injustificables y hacerlos pagar por sus actos bajo el imperio de la ley".
"La violencia trasfronteriza es una amenaza grave para cuya prevención y eliminación estamos utilizando el poder de las asociaciones", dijo el Director Auxiliar Ejecutivo del FBI Henry. "Junto con nuestros otros homólogos de las fuerzas del orden público federales, estatales y locales, estamos especialmente agradecidos a nuestras dependencias mexicanas asociadas por el apoyo crítico que brindaron para ayudar a resolver este caso y hacer con que los autores de estos delitos deban enfrentar a la justicia. Podemos estar en lados opuestos de la frontera, pero estamos del mismo lado de la ley".
"Los miembros de la pandilla Barrio Azteca son delincuentes con sangre fría sin ningún respeto por la ley o la justicia, y que asesinan a víctimas inocentes, trafican drogas e incitan a la violencia", dijo la Administradora de la DEA Leonhart. "Sin embargo, junto con nuestros asociados del FBI y el apoyo del gobierno de México, hemos demostrado que el imperio de la ley prevalecerá, y trabajando juntos enjuiciaremos a esos individuos para que paguen por sus actividades delictivas despiadadas".
La acusación formal alega que los demandados son miembros o asociados de la BA, la que comenzó a fines de la década de 1980 como una pandilla violenta de prisión, ampliándose hasta convertirse en una organización criminal transnacional. La BA está sedeada, principalmente, en el Oeste de Texas; Juárez, México; y en prisiones estatales y federales en los Estados Unidos y México. La pandilla cuenta con una estructura de comando militarista e incluye capitanes, tenientes, sargentos y soldados - todo con la finalidad de mantener el poder y enriquecer a sus miembros y asociados a través del narcotráfico, el lavado de dinero, la extorsión, la intimidación, la violencia, amenazas de violencia y asesinato.
La acusación formal alega que, para incrementar su poder e influencia, la BA formó una alianza con la organización de narcotráfico Vicente Carrillo-Fuentes (VCF) en México. Como parte de esta alianza, se alega que la BA conduce operaciones de coacción contra rivales de la VCF y que la VCF provee drogas ilegales a la BA a precios con descuento.
La acusación formal alega una infinidad de actividades criminales cometidas por miembros y asociados de la BA desde el 1º de enero de 2003, incluidos narcotráfico, extorsión, lavado de dinero, secuestro y asesinato, incluidos los del 13 de marzo de 2010 en el consulado en Juárez.
Específicamente, la acusación formal alega que, el 13 de marzo de 2010, Ricardo Valles de la Rosa llamó a un individuo en el Distrito Oeste de Texas y recibió verificación de la descripción de una persona a ser asesinada. La acusación formal alega que 10 miembros de la BA nombrados, entre otros, participaron en los homicidios de Enríquez, Redelfs y Salcido en Juárez.
José Antonio Acosta Hernández, alias “Diego”; Eduardo Ravelo, alias “Tablas”; Luis Méndez, alias “Alex”; Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, alias “Benny”; Ricardo Valles de la Rosa, alias “Chino”; José Guadalupe Díaz Díaz, alias “Zorro”; Martin Pérez Marrufo, alias “Popeye”; Luis Humberto Hernández Celis, alias “Pac”; Miguel Ángel Nevarez, alias “Lentes”; y Enrique Guajardo López, alias “Kiki” están imputados en la acusación formal con conspiración para matar personas en un país extranjero, homicidio resultante del uso y portación de un arma de fuego y homicidio con la finalidad de cometer delincuencia organizada por su supuesta participación en el homicidio de Enríquez, Redelfs y Salcido.
Hernández, Ravelo y Méndez se encuentran actualmente fugitivos. Los Estados Unidos han presentado órdenes de arresto provisionales al gobierno de México para la detención de estos hombres en conexión con este caso. Ravelo es actualmente uno de los Diez Fugitivos Más Buscados del FBI, y el FBI está ofreciendo una recompensa de hasta $100,000 por información que lleve directamente a su arresto.
Además de los homicidios del consulado, la acusación formal alega que, en diciembre de 2006, un miembro de la BA baleó y mató a José Luis Oviedo en El Paso. En 2007, se alega que miembros de la BA secuestraron a un hombre en El Paso y lo llevaron al otro lado de la frontera entre EE.UU. y México, a la ciudad de Juárez. En marzo de 2008, se alega que la BA ordenó el homicidio del miembro de la BA David Merez, quien fue asesinado ese mismo mes en Juárez. Asimismo, la acusación formal alega que la BA hizo que dos personas fueran baleadas y asesinadas en Socorro, Texas, el 2 de julio de 2009. En agosto de 2010, alega la acusación formal que miembros de la BA secuestraron a la esposa y padres de un miembro de la BA quien creían estar cooperando con las fuerzas del orden público de EE.UU. y también mataron a la hijastra del miembro de la BA.
De acuerdo con la acusación formal, la BA obtiene ganancias a través de la importación de México a los Estados Unidos de heroína, cocaína y marihuana. La acusación formal señala actos específicos en los que más de 8 kilos de heroína, más de 100 kilos de cocaína y casi 300 libras de marihuana están asociados a la posesión, distribución o importación de sustancias controladas a los Estados Unidos.
También se alega que miembros y asociados de la BA cobran un "impuesto callejero" o "cuota" a empresas y delincuentes que operan en su territorio. Estas ganancias son utilizadas para mantener a los miembros de la BA que se encuentran en prisión al encauzar dinero a cuentas de tiendas de prisiones de líderes de pandillas y para pagar por abogados de defensa o multas. También se alega que las ganancias provenientes de las "cuotas" se reinvierten en la organización para la compra de drogas, armas y municiones.
Si se los condena, los demandados enfrentan una variedad de penas máximas por cargo, incluida prisión perpetua.
Una acusación formal es apenas una acusación. Se supone que todos los demandados son inocentes hasta que se pruebe lo contrario en un juicio, más allá de la duda razonable.
Están a cargo de la acusación en este caso los Abogados Litigantes Joseph A. Cooley de la Unidad de Pandillas de la División de lo Penal, el Abogado Litigante Brian Skaret de la Sección de Derechos Humanos y Enjuiciamientos Especiales de la División de lo Penal y fiscales de la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Oeste de Texas. La Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito de Nuevo México brindó importante asistencia en este caso, incluida la Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Sarah Davenport. Las Oficinas de Asuntos Internacionales y Operaciones de Coacción de la División de lo Penal brindaron asistencia valiosa. Las autoridades de las fuerzas del orden público estadounidenses y mexicanas, incluidas la Procuraduría General de la República (PGR) y la Policía Federal (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública o SSP) mexicanas cooperaron y brindaron asistencia recíproca en este caso en curso.
El caso fue investigado por el FBI y la DEA. Brindaron asistencia especial el Buró de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos; el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas; el Servicio de Alguaciles Federales; Control de Aduanas y Protección de Fronteras de EE.UU.; el Buró Federal de Prisiones; el Servicio de Seguridad Diplomática de EE.UU.; el Departamento de Seguridad Pública de Texas; el Departamento de Justicia Penal de Texas; el Departamento de Policía de El Paso; la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de El Paso; el Departamento de Policía del Distrito Escolar Independiente de El Paso; la Comisión de Alcohol y Bebidas de Texas; el Área de Alta Intensidad de Narcotráfico del Oeste de Texas; el Servicio de Libertad Condicional de EE.UU.; la Policía del Estado de Nuevo México; la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Dona Ana, N.M.; el Departamento de Policía de Las Cruces, N.M.; el Establecimiento Correccional del Sur de Nuevo México y la Prisión del Condado de Otero, N.M.
35 Members and Associates of Barrio Azteca Gang Charged with Racketeering and Other Offenses, Including 10 Charged in U.S. Consulate Murders in Juarez, MexicoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Thirty-five members and associates of the Barrio Azteca (BA) gang have been charged in a third superseding indictment unsealed today with various counts of racketeering, murder, drug offenses, money laundering and obstruction of justice, announced Attorney General Eric Holder. Of the 35 defendants, 10 Mexican nationals were charged with the March 13, 2010, murders in Juarez, Mexico, of U.S. Consulate employee Leslie Ann Enriquez Catton, her husband Arthur Redelfs and Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, the husband of a U.S. Consulate employee.
Attorney General Holder was joined in announcing the charges by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy for the Western District of Texas, FBI Executive Assistant Director Shawn Henry and Administrator Michele Leonhart of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Today, teams of U.S. federal, state and local authorities arrested in Texas and New Mexico 12 of the charged defendants not already in custody. Seven of the 10 defendants charged with the March 13, 2010, murders, and two other indicted defendants, are in custody in Mexico. U.S. authorities are working with Mexican authorities regarding extradition and other matters related to this ongoing prosecution.
“The indictment unsealed today represents our continued action to ensure safety along our Southwest border, to seek justice for victims of violent crime in this region, and to weaken dangerous criminal organizations currently operating in Mexico and the United States,” said Attorney General Holder. “These arrests and criminal charges will disrupt Barrio Azteca’s current operations, and they reaffirm that we will not tolerate acts of violence against those who serve and protect American citizens. We will continue to stand with our partners in Mexico, and together, build on our unprecedented joint efforts to combat violence and protect the safety of the American and the Mexican people.”
“The indictment unsealed today offers a chilling picture of a highly organized, and extremely brutal gang,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “The victims – like so many other victims of the Mexican drug wars – were senselessly caught in the crosshairs of a violent criminal enterprise. This is, at times, a gruesome battle. But let there be no mistake: we will devote our might to bringing Barrio Azteca and other gangs to justice for their acts of violence and intimidation along our border.”
“The vicious murders of Leslie Enriquez, her husband Arthur Redelfs, and Jorge Salcido illustrate how senseless the violence perpetrated by the drug cartels and their affiliated criminal gangs has become,” said U.S. Attorney Murphy. “Our hearts go out to the families of these three innocent victims, as well as thousands of others, who have suffered tragic losses for which there can be no reparation. The indictment reflects our resolve to vigorously pursue those responsible for these wanton acts and hold them accountable under the rule of law.”
“Trans-border violence is a serious threat that we are using the power of partnerships to combat and prevent,” said FBI Executive Assistant Director Henry. “Along with our other federal, state and local law enforcement counterparts, we are especially grateful to our Mexican partner agencies for the critical support they provided to help resolve this case and bring the subjects to justice. We may stand on opposite sides of the border, but we stand together on the same side of the law.”
“Barrio Azteca gang members are cold blooded criminals who show no respect for the law or justice , murdering innocent victims, trafficking drugs and inciting violence,” said DEA Administrator Leonhart. “But, along with our FBI partners and the support of the government of Mexico, we have shown that the rule of law will prevail, and working together we will bring these individuals to justice to answer for their ruthless criminal activities.”
The indictment alleges that the defendants are members or associates of the BA, which began in the late 1980s as a violent prison gang and has expanded into a transnational criminal organization. The BA is primarily based in West Texas; Juarez, Mexico; and throughout state and federal prisons in the United States and Mexico. The gang has a militaristic command structure and includes captains, lieutenants, sergeants and soldiers – all with the purpose of maintaining power and enriching its members and associates through drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, intimidation, violence, threats of violence and murder.
The indictment alleges that to increase its power and influence, the BA formed an alliance with the Vicente Carrillo-Fuentes (VCF) drug trafficking organization in Mexico. As part of this alliance, the BA allegedly conducts enforcement operations against VCF rivals and the VCF provides illegal drugs to the BA at discounted prices.
The indictment alleges a host of criminal activity committed by members and associates of the BA since Jan. 1, 2003, including drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering, kidnapping and murder, including the March 13, 2010, consulate murders in Juarez.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that on March 13, 2010, Ricardo Valles de la Rosa called an individual in the Western District of Texas and received verification of the description of an intended target for murder. The indictment alleges that 10 named BA members, among others, participated in the murders of Enriquez, Redelfs and Salcido in Juarez.
Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, aka “Diego”; Eduardo Ravelo, aka “Tablas”; Luis Mendez, aka “Alex”; Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, aka “Benny”; Ricardo Valles de la Rosa, aka “Chino”; Jose Guadalupe Diaz Diaz, aka “Zorro”; Martin Perez Marrufo, aka “Popeye”; Luis Humberto Hernandez Celis, aka “Pac”; Miguel Angel Nevarez, aka “Lentes”; and Enrique Guajardo Lopez, aka “Kiki” are charged in the indictment with conspiracy to kill persons in a foreign country, murder resulting from the use and carrying of a firearm and murder in aid of racketeering for their alleged participation in the murder of Enriquez, Redelfs and Salcido.
Hernandez, Ravelo and Mendez are currently at large. The United States has filed provisional arrest warrants with the government of Mexico for the arrest of these men in connection with this case. Ravelo is currently one of the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, and the FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to his arrest.
In addition to the consulate murders, the indictment alleges that in December 2006, a BA member shot and killed Jose Luis Oviedo in El Paso. In 2007, BA members allegedly kidnapped a man in El Paso and took him across the U.S./Mexico border to Juarez. In March 2008, the BA allegedly ordered the murder of BA member David Merez, who was killed that same month in Juarez. The indictment also alleges that the BA caused two persons to be shot and killed in Socorro, Texas, on July 2, 2009. In August 2010, the indictment alleges that BA members kidnapped the wife and parents of a BA member whom they believed was cooperating with U.S. law enforcement and also killed the BA member’s step-daughter.
According to the indictment, the BA profits by importing heroin, cocaine and marijuana into the United States from Mexico. The indictment points to specific acts in which more than 8 kilos of heroin, more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, and nearly 300 pounds of marijuana are associated with the possession, distribution or importation of controlled substances into the United States.
BA members and associates also allegedly charge a “street tax” or “cuota” on businesses and criminals operating in their turf. These profits are used to support BA members in prison by funneling money into prison commissary accounts of gang leaders and to pay for defense lawyers or fines. The “cuota” profits are also allegedly reinvested into the organization to purchase drugs, guns and ammunition.
If convicted, the defendants face a variety of maximum penalties per charge, including up to life in prison.
An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley of the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit, Trial Attorney Brian Skaret of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico provided significant assistance in this case, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Davenport. Valuable assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Offices of International Affairs and Enforcement Operations. U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities, including the Mexican Attorney General’s Office ( Procuradura General de la República or PGR) and the Mexican Federal Police (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública or SSP) have cooperated and provided assistance to one another in this ongoing matter.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the DEA. Special assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Diplomatic Security Service; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; El Paso Police Department; El Paso County Sheriff’s Office; El Paso Independent School District Police Department; Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission; the West Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area; U.S. Probation Service; New Mexico State Police; Dona Ana County, N.M., Sheriff’s Office; Las Cruces, N.M., Police Department; Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility and Otero County, N.M., Prison Facility.
Tuesday 8 March 2011
Puerto Rico Senator and Businessman Convicted<br /> in Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Puerto Rico Senator Hector Martinez Maldonado and Juan Bravo Fernandez, the former president of one of the largest private security companies in Puerto Rico, were convicted by a jury in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for their roles in a bribery scheme involving legislation beneficial to Bravo Fernandez’ business, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
Martinez Maldonado , 42, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Bravo Fernandez, 55, of San Juan, were each convicted late yesterday of federal program bribery. In addition, Bravo Fernandez was convicted of traveling in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to commit to travel in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering. Martinez Maldonado was acquitted of conspiracy, traveling in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering and obstruction of justice.
“ By participating in a brazen scheme involving the exchange of cash and lavish trips for votes and official acts, these defendants subverted the democratic process,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “Now they are seeing the consequences. As these convictions show, the Justice Department is committed to investigating and prosecuting public corruption wherever we find it.”
“Corruption relies on connections, forcing businessmen to forge questionable relationships with government officials, who facilitate their requests and grant them favors. This corrupt behavior, ingrained so deeply in the Puerto Rican government's fabric, allows money and power to become one. Law abiding citizens must denounce those dishonest government officials in order to weed out corruption from our society,” said Luis Fraticelli, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI-San Juan Field Office.
Martinez Maldonado was elected to the Puerto Rican Senate in 2004 and began serving a four-year term in January 2005. He was reelected in 2008. Bravo Fernandez was the president and chief executive officer of Ranger American, one of the largest private security firms in Puerto Rico.
The jury convicted the defendants for their role in a bribery scheme in which Bravo Fernandez conspired to secure the passage of two bills favorable to his business interests by bribing Martinez Maldonado and Jorge de Castro Font, a former Puerto Rican senator. De Castro Font served in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 1989 to 2004, and served in the Puerto Rico Senate from 2005 to 2008. Beginning in 2005, De Castro Font served as Chairman of the Committee on Rules and Calendars, exercising significant control over which bills, confirmations and other matters were brought to a vote on the floor of the Senate and when they were brought to a vote. Beginning in 2005, Martinez Maldonado served as Chairman of the Puerto Rico Public Safety Committee, exercising significant control over legislation related to the security and community safety.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Martinez Maldonado and De Castro Font exercised significant control over the fate of the legislation benefitting Bravo Fernandez’ business interests. Specifically, Martinez Maldonado’s committee had jurisdiction over Bravo Fernandez’ two bills and was required to approve the legislation before De Castro Font could schedule them for a vote before the entire Senate. Evidence at trial showed that in order to secure passage of the two bills, Martinez Maldonado and De Castro Font made an agreement with Bravo Fernandez to take official acts supporting the legislation benefitting his business interests in exchange for things of value provided by Bravo Fernandez. Specifically, Bravo Fernandez provided numerous cash payments to De Castro Font.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bravo Fernandez also agreed to provide to Martinez Maldonado and De Castro Font a trip to Las Vegas to watch the May 14, 2005, championship boxing match between Winky Wright and Felix “Tito” Trinidad, a popular Puerto Rican boxer. As part of this agreement, Bravo Fernandez provided, among other things, first-class airfare, hotel rooms at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, tickets to the Trinidad vs. Wright boxing match worth $1,000, hotel rooms in Miami for the return trip, as well as meals and drinks. Evidence at trial showed that on March 2, 2005, the day that Bravo Fernandez paid for the boxing tickets, Martinez Maldonado submitted one of the bills for consideration by the Puerto Rico Senate. Also, on April 21, 2005, Bravo Fernandez used his personal credit card to reserve a hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The deposit for this hotel room was credited to Martinez Maldonado’s hotel room. According to court documents, the reservation was made the day after Martinez Maldonado presided over a Public Safety Committee hearing for one of the two bills at which Bravo Fernandez was the only representative from the private security industry to testify. Martinez Maldonado authorized a committee report in support of Bravo Fernandez’ bill immediately after the hearing. According to evidence at trial, on May 17, 2005, the day after the three men returned from their trip to Las Vegas, Martinez Maldonado and De Castro Font both cast their vote in support of one of Bravo Fernandez’ bills in front of the entire Puerto Rico Senate. On May 18, 2005, the other bill was approved by the Puerto Rico Public Safety Committee, Chaired by Martinez Maldonado. That bill was passed by the Puerto Rico Senate on May 23, 2005.
De Castro Font pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2009, to 20 counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion. He is currently awaiting sentencing.
Bravo Fernandez faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy and travel in aid of racketeering and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the bribery count. Martinez Maldonado faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the bribery count. Sentencing has been scheduled for June 7, 2011.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Peter Koski and Deborah Sue Mayer of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by the FBI.
Justice Department Resolves Citizenship Status Discrimination Charge Against California EmployerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – American Education and Travel Services Inc. (AETS) in Antioch, Calif., has agreed to pay $10,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to a lawful permanent resident who was denied a residential counselor position because he was not a U.S. citizen or native English speaker, the Justice Department announced today.
The settlement agreement was jointly negotiated by the department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The underlying charge alleged that AETS violated both the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. In addition to monetary relief for the victim, the agreement requires AETS to provide its managers and employees training on the anti-discrimination requirements of both the INA and Title VII, adopt nondiscrimination policies with respect to recruitment and hiring, and maintain and submit records to the United States for the two-year term of the agreement.
“Federal law protects authorized workers discrimination based on unlawful citizenship requirements,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to working with the EEOC to eliminate this kind of discrimination.”
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, which prohibits employers from discriminating against work-authorized individuals on the basis of citizenship status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or referral for a fee.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under federal immigration law, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TDD for hearing impaired), OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8255 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), or 202-616-5594; email [email protected] ; or visit the website at www.justice/gov/crt/osc .
Justice Department Obtains $110,000 Settlement in Discrimination Lawsuit Against Apartment Complex Near SeattleRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The owners and operators of Summerhill Place Apartments, a 268 apartment complex in Renton, Wash., have agreed to pay $110,000 in damages and civil penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging that the complex had discriminated against African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Indian Americans and families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act, the Justice Department announced today. The settlement must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
“Working families already face enough challenges finding affordable housing,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Unlawful discrimination because of their race, their national origin, or because they have children, should not be one of them.”
“I am pleased that this settlement will both assist those who were discriminated against, and ensure rights are protected going forward,” said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Jenny A. Durkan. “The fair housing training for Summerhill’s employees and the plan to provide a recreation area for all the tenants, including children, will provide a brighter future for all prospective residents.”
The lawsuit, filed on July 16, 2010, named as Summerhill Place LLC (the owner of Summerhill Place Apartments), Gran Inc. (the management company) and Rita Lovejoy (the former on site manager). Lovejoy is no longer employed by the other defendants. The suit alleged, among other things, that defendants steered Indian tenants away from one of the five buildings at Summerhill, treated tenants from India less favorably than other tenants and discouraged African-Americans, Hispanics and families with children from living at Summerhill. The suit arose after the Fair Housing Council of Washington conducted testing at Summerhill, and the results of that testing were reported to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After an investigation, the secretary of HUD determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that discriminatory housing practices had occurred, issued a charge of discrimination, and referred the matter to the Department of Justice.
“HUD has the authority to bring cases under the Fair Housing Act based on any credible evidence that discrimination is occurring at a housing development, even if no specific individual steps forward to file a formal complaint,” said John Trasviña, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “Whenever HUD discovers that a housing provider is turning away potential tenants or mistreating current residents because of their race, ethnicity, or family composition, HUD will vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act.”
Under the terms of the settlement, the defendants will:
- Pay $85,000 to tenants and prospective tenants who were harmed by the discriminatory practices alleged in the lawsuit;
- Pay $25,000 to the government as a civil penalty;
- Maintain a common recreational area for all their tenants, including children;
- Provide fair housing training to their employees; and
- Develop and maintain non-discrimination policies at Summerhill.
Individuals who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Persons who believe they were subjected to unlawful discrimination at Summerhill should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox # 9997 or e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] .
Fighting illegal discrimination in housing is a top priority of the Justice Department. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex familial status, national origin and disability. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.
Former Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Failing to Report His Foreign Bank Account at UBS in SwitzerlandRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Edward Gurary, formerly of Orange Village, Ohio, pleaded guilty today in federal court in the Northern District of Ohio to filing false personal income tax returns for the years 2004 through 2008, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Gurary’s guilty plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland.
According to court documents, Gurary, 45, has resided in Switzerland since 2010, but lived in Orange Village during the prosecution years. Gurary admitted that from approximately 2002 through 2008, he owned and controlled a financial account at UBS AG which was in the name of a Bahamian entity called Demko Ltd. and which contained balances ranging from $490,000 to $947,000. Gurary controlled transactions in the Demko account by sending faxes using a code name “Vanda” to UBS from an OfficeMax store in the Cleveland area rather than his home or business. UBS would in turn send his requests for authorizations to officers of Demko in the Bahamas in order to make it appear that Demko owned and controlled the account. During the prosecution years, interest was paid by UBS into the Demko account, in amounts ranging from $3,400 to more than $21,000, all of which Gurary admitted he failed to report on his tax returns.
According to court documents, Gurary also admitted that for three of the years (2004, 2006 and 2007) he not only failed to report the interest income from his UBS account, but he also falsely stated on his Schedule B attached to his income tax return that he did not have signature or other authority over a foreign financial account. Gurary further admitted that in addition to the account at UBS in Switzerland he also had a foreign financial account with significant assets at Credit Suisse AG. Further, because Gurary did not file any Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Account (FBAR) form or otherwise disclose to the IRS his Demko account at UBS or his Credit Suisse account, he is subject to significant penalties. An FBAR form is a form separate from an income tax return that the law requires taxpayers to file with the IRS every June to disclose additional information about foreign financial accounts over which a taxpayer has signature or other control over, and which had an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any time during the year. Gurary agreed to pay a penalty amount of 50 percent of the highest aggregate amount in the two accounts between the years 2002 and 2009, which according to his plea agreement was at least $473,000. At the plea hearing, Gurary tendered a check in the amount of $300,000 made payable to the government and he has agreed to surrender the $200,000 cash bond he already paid on the date of his sentencing. Gurary faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Judge Polster scheduled sentencing for June 1, 2011.
The announcement was made by Bruce M. Salad, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Offshore Matters of the Justice Department’s Tax Division; Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio; and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John M. Siegel and Tax Division Trial Attorney Richard M. Rolwing, following an investigation by the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Cleveland.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.usdoj.gov/tax
Colorado Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to TerroristsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jamie Paulin Ramirez, 32, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Colorado, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. Ramirez faces a potential maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing.
The guilty plea, which was entered today before U.S. District Court Judge Petrese B. Tucker in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, was announced by Todd Hinnen, acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Zane David Memeger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; and George C. Venizelos, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division.
Ramirez was first charged in a superseding indictment filed in April 2010, along with co-defendant Colleen R. LaRose, a U.S. citizen and former resident of Montgomery County, Pa. On Feb. 1, 2011, LaRose, aka “JihadJane, aka “Fatima LaRose,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements and attempted identity theft.
According to documents filed with the court, Ramirez, LaRose and others conspired to obtain military-style training in South Asia and then traveled to and around Europe to participate in and in support of violent jihad.
In a series of electronic communications dated July 19, 2009, one co-conspirator (identified as CC#2 in the superseding indictment) directed another to recruit online “some brothers that can travel freely . . . with eu passports . . . [A]nd I also need some sisters too.” The co-conspirator further explained that “sister fatima will be in charge of other sister care. . . .[W]e have already organized everything for her. . . . [W]e are will[ing] to die in order to protect her no matter what the risk is.”
Ramirez exchanged e-mail messages with LaRose during the summer of 2009, in which LaRose invited Ramirez to join her in Europe to attend a training camp. For example, on Aug. 1, 2009, LaRose sent electronic communications to Ramirez stating that “soon i will be moving to Europe to be with other brothers & sisters . . . . when i get to europe, i will send for you to come be with me there . . . . [T]his place will be like a training camp as well as a home.”
In electronic communications dated on or about August 7, 2009, CC #2 recruited another individual to find brothers and sisters to go to a “camp for [military-style] training . . . and th[e]n come back to europe to do the job . . . . [T]he job is to [k]nock down some individual[s] that are harming islam.” CC#2 goes on to explain that he is structuring “an ORGANIZATION” divided into a “plan[n]ing team . . . research team . . . action team . . . recruitment team . . . finance team.”
Ramirez accepted LaRose’s invitation to travel to Europe and asked to bring along her minor male child. On Sept, 12, 2009, Ramirez traveled to Ireland with her child with the intent to live and train with jihadists. The day after she arrived in Ireland, Ramirez married CC#2, whom she had never before met in person, in an Islamic ceremony, knowing and intending that her presence in Europe, her marriage to CC#2 and her future actions would provide support for the conspiracy.
“Today’s guilty plea by Jamie Ramirez, coupled with that of Colleen LaRose last month, underscores the evolving nature of the terrorist threat we face,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Hinnen. “Many counterterrorism and law enforcement officials worked tirelessly to deal with the threat these defendants posed; I applaud their efforts and those of all of the national security professionals and prosecutors that work to keep the country safe.”
“Keeping our community and the country safe are a top priority of this office,” said U.S. Attorney Memeger. “This case and the guilty pleas are a culmination of the vigilant efforts by the FBI agents in this district, the prosecutors in my office and law enforcement officers around the globe. It underscores the importance and success of international collaboration when fighting terrorism.”
“The guilty plea in this case today is yet one more success our efforts against the continuing and evolving threats that we face,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Venizelos. “Our Joint Terrorism Task Forces work very closely with all of our partners in the law enforcement and intelligence communities to ensure that we remain vigilant, alert and creative in our approaches to identifying and preventing acts of terrorism.”
This case was investigated by the FBI Field Division in New York, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Philadelphia, the FBI Field Division in Denver, and the FBI Field Office in Washington, D.C. Authorities in Ireland also provided assistance in this matter.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Matthew F. Blue, Trial Attorney from the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division. The Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division also provided assistance.
Monday 7 March 2011
Statement of the Attorney General on Guantanamo Bay and Detainee PolicyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Attorney General made the following statement today:
As the Administration has long stated, it is essential that the government have the ability to use both military commissions and federal courts as tools to keep this country safe. Unfortunately, some in Congress have unwisely sought to undermine this process by imposing restrictions that challenge the Executive Branch’s ability to bring to justice terrorists who seek to do Americans harm. We oppose those restrictions, and will continue to seek their repeal.
It is important, however, that military commissions, as reformed by the Military Commissions Act in 2009 and other reforms, be allowed to resume. In November of that year, after consulting with the Secretary of Defense, I referred a number of cases for consideration for prosecution in military commissions. For the remaining cases the Guantanamo Review Task Force deemed suitable to pursue for prosecution, we will continue to work, along with the Department of Defense, to ensure that justice is done as swiftly as possible.
The executive order issued by the President today strengthens the legal framework under which we will continue to detain those individuals who are at war with our country and who pose a significant threat to the security of the United States. In addition, federal courts will continue to review the legality of detention of individuals at Guantanamo. While we continue to work to close Guantanamo, these steps will ensure that the detention of individuals there is appropriate under our laws.
Las Vegas Woman Pleads Guilty to Acting as the Straw Owner of a Los Angeles Medical Supply Company That Submitted More Than $3.5 Million in False Claims to MedicareRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Las Vegas woman pleaded guilty today to falsely representing to Medicare that she owned a Los Angeles-area durable medical equipment (DME) company that was actually owned and operated by her brother, and used by her brother and others to submit more than $3.5 million in false claims to Medicare, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
Jummal Joy Ibrahim, 55, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge George H. King in the Central District of California. Ibrahim admitted that between January 2006 and September 2009, she allowed her brother, Christopher Iruke, to use her identity to conceal his ownership and control of Contempo Inc., dba Contempo Medical Supplies. Contempo was a fraudulent DME supply company located in Inglewood, Calif., which Iruke and others used to submit false claims to Medicare for expensive, high-end power wheelchairs and other DME.
According to court documents, in 2006, Iruke told Ibrahim that Medicare would not accredit Iruke’s DME company, Pascon Medical Supply, and as a result, Iruke had to close Pascon. Iruke asked Ibrahim if he could use her name, Social Security number and driver’s license to open Contempo. Ibrahim agreed to serve as the straw owner of Contempo even though she knew nothing about the DME business and did not intend to have any role in the operation of Contempo or share in its profits. Ibrahim sent Iruke a copy of her Social Security card and driver’s license, signed articles of incorporation and other documents necessary to the formation of Contempo, and allowed Iruke and others to use her identity to obtain a Medicare provider number for Contempo which Iruke then used to submit false claims to Medicare.
Ibrahim also admitted that she opened a bank account in her name for Contempo, but that she allowed Iruke unrestricted access to the account so that he could transact business in her name. Medicare reimbursement payments to Contempo were deposited into this bank account.
Ibrahim admitted that as a result of her conduct, Iruke and others were able to conceal Iruke’s ownership and control of Contempo and submit approximately $3.5 million in false power wheelchair and DME claims to Medicare. Medicare reimbursed Contempo approximately $1.7 million on these false claims.
At sentencing, scheduled for June 13, 2011, Ibrahim faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Iruke was indicted in October 2009 on health care fraud charges. His trial is scheduled to begin on May 3, 2011, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Today’s guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. for the Central District of California; Tony Sidley, Assistant Chief of the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse; Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jonathan T. Baum of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case is being investigated by HHS-OIG.
The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.
Since their inception in March 2007, Strike Force operations in nine districts have charged 1,000 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2.3 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about HEAT, go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov
Justice Department to Monitor Election in Maricopa County, ArizonaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it will monitor municipal elections on March 8, 2011, in Maricopa County, Ariz. The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group. In addition, the act requires certain covered jurisdictions to provide language assistance during the election process. Maricopa County is required to provide assistance in the Spanish and O’odham languages.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Maricopa County based on the attorney general’s certification. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in the county, and a Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from OPM, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country. To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931.
Visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php for more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws.
Hillsboro School District Agrees to Access for Autism Service DogRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that the Hillsboro, Oregon, School District will allow Jordan “Scooter” Givens to bring his trained autism service dog into his classroom in the Hillsboro School District.
The highly trained service dog, Madison, provides critical assistance to Scooter, recognizing when he is about to engage in behavior that might endanger him, and distracting him to obstruct this type of behavior. For nearly three years, Scooter’s parents’ efforts to get permission for Scooter to bring Madison to school had been rebuffed. After U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton and a senior attorney from the Civil Rights Division met in late January with the superintendent of the Hillsboro School District regarding the failure to accommodate the Givens’ request, the school district announced last Friday that it would allow Scooter to be accompanied by the service dog for a trial period.
The Department of Justice investigation resulted from a complaint filed with the department by Joel Greenberg, an attorney with Disability Rights of Oregon (DRO).
“Service animals assist students with disabilities across the United States every day of the school year without incident,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Fears, generalizations and stereotypes are simply insufficient to deny access to a student’s service dog, and the department will continue to provide school districts with technical assistance to make sure they comply with the ADA.”
“Kids with autism deserve the same opportunity as the rest of us to grow and learn,” said U.S. Attorney Holton. “Scooter’s service dog will help him grow up to meet his full potential – which is something we should all expect and hope for our children.” Holton praised the school district’s decision to engage in a trial period with the service dog: “The last thing we need is years of litigation, costing the people of Hillsboro hundreds of thousands of dollars – Scooter is growing up, and doesn’t have time for lawyers to wrangle.”
The specific terms and parameters of the assessment period are still being worked out, but the school board’s vote shows a good faith effort to voluntarily resolve this dispute without more formal action by the department.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires schools and other public entities and businesses to allow individuals with disabilities to be accompanied by service animals. Service animals cannot be denied access except for the rare instances in which their actual behavior poses a direct threat to the safety of others or results in a fundamental alteration of the nature of a program.
Service animals are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of individuals with disabilities, including individuals with neurological disabilities caused by autism. Because of a recent change in rules on service animals adopted by the Justice Department, beginning March 15, 2011, service animals will be limited to dogs. Service dogs perform a wide variety of functions. Examples of these functions include guiding persons who are blind or have low vision; alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds; warning persons about impending seizures or other medical conditions; performing a variety of tasks for persons with psychiatric disabilities, and picking up items, opening doors, flipping switches, providing physical support and pulling wheelchairs for individuals with mobility disabilities.
The case is being handled by Jeanine Worden, Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian Brown.
More information about the ADA, rights and responsibilities under the ADA relating to service animals, and instructions on filing an ADA complaint with the Justice Department is available at www.ada.gov . This information includes two publications specifically addressing service animal access: “ADA Business Brief: Service Animals” and “Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business.” Those interested in obtaining copies of these documents or additional information about the ADA can also call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY).
Friday 4 March 2011
U.S. Seeks to Bar Georgia Man from Assisting Others in Preparing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The United States has asked a federal court to stop an Atlanta-area financial planner from assisting persons in preparing false tax returns claiming fraudulent tax refunds based on fabricated income tax withholdings, the Justice Department announced today. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, alleges that T. Michael Haney promotes a scheme in which his customers falsely report tax withholdings to generate large bogus refund claims on their tax returns.
According to the government complaint, Haney advises his customers to prepare false Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms, such as Form 1099-OID, to request fraudulent refunds based on phony claims of large income tax withholding. He allegedly tells his customers that the “OID” program is a little known government benefit. The complaint alleges that Haney’s customers have submitted fraudulent refund claims of more than $3.5 million. Haney allegedly has filed two federal tax returns for himself that falsely claim refunds totaling more than $360,000.
In November 2010, a federal court barred another Atlanta-area man, Robert Knupp , from promoting the OID scheme and preparing federal tax returns.
Claiming bogus refunds based on false Forms1099-OID is identified by the IRS as one of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams that taxpayers are urged to avoid. Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent tax returns. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website .
Siete miembros de la pandilla MS-13 de Carolina del Norte fueron sentenciados a prisión por cargos relacionados con asociación ilícita, homicidio, narcotráfico y armas de fuegoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Siete miembros de la MS-13 y líderes de La Mara Salvatrucha, o MS-13, fueron sentenciados a prisión esta semana, después de haber sido condenados o haberse declarado culpables de cargos penales que incluyen asociación ilícita, homicidio, intento de homicidio, agresión, tráfico de cocaína y numerosos delitos federales de armas de fuego relacionados. Las sentencias fueron anunciadas por el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División de lo Penal y la Fiscal Federal Anne M. Tompkins del Distrito Oeste de Carolina del Norte.
Hasta la fecha, 25 de los 26 demandados originalmente acusados en la acusación formal de junio de 2008 fueron sentenciados por sus papeles en actividades de asociación ilícita de la MS-13, una organización delictiva nacional e internacional.
"Estas sentencias reflejan la gravedad de los delitos cometidos por los demandados, entre los que se incluyen homicidio, intento de homicidio y asociación ilícita", dijo el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Breuer. "Como lo hemos hecho en este caso, seguiremos enjuiciando a los líderes y miembros más violentos de pandillas callejeras como la MS-13. Nos negamos a permitir que estos grupos violentos aterroricen a nuestras comunidades, y, como lo han aprendido estos demandados, pediremos sentencias largas de prisión por sus delitos".
"Hoy, vimos que la delincuencia organizada no logrará evadir a las fuerzas del orden público. Los secuaces de la MS-13 acecharon a los más vulnerables e indefensos", dijo la Fiscal Federal Tompkins. "Debido a la labor conjunta de las fuerzas del orden público locales, estatales y federales, la amenaza que representa esta organización delictiva ha sido neutralizada. Las sentencias de hoy demuestran que las pandillas delictivas pueden esperar justicia rápida y castigos duros. La MS-13 y otras pandillas tienen toda mi atención".
"Estamos desmantelando constantemente el poder de la MS-13 sobre comunidades en Charlotte, desbaratando su liderazgo y afectando significativamente su capacidad de operar. No solo irán estos líderes de pandilla a la prisión por periodos prolongados de sus vidas, sino que la capacidad de reemplazarlos se dificultará debido a nuestra labor de investigación persistente entre dependencias", dijo Joseph S. Campbell, Agente Especial Interino a Cargo del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)] en Carolina del Norte. "Este caso fue investigado con éxito por fiscales y personal de las fuerzas del orden público dedicados, y se ha vuelto pionero en su alcance".
El Juez Federal de Distrito Principal Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenció a los siguientes demandados esta semana:
- Julio Cesar Rosales Lopez, 24, alias “Stiler,” del Condado de Guilford, N.C.; fue sentenciado hoy a 320 meses en prisión;
- Juan Gilberto Villalobos, 44, alias “Smoke,” de Charlotte, N.C., fue sentenciado hoy a 204 meses en prisión;
- Elvin Pastor Fernandez Gradis, 34, alias “Tigre,” de Charlotte, fue sentenciado hoy a prisión perpetua;
- Johnny Elias Gonzalez, 22, alias “Solo,” de Charlotte, fue sentenciado hoy a 360 meses en prisión;
- Santos Anibal Caballero Fernandez, 26, alias “Garra,” de Charlotte, fue sentenciado hoy a 150 meses en prisión;
- Carlos Roberto Figeroa-Pineda, 28, alias “Drogo,” de Charlotte, fue sentenciado ayer a 420 meses en prisión: y
- Carlos Ferufino-Bonilla, 31, alias “Tigre,” de Charlotte, fue sentenciado ayer a 78 meses en prisión.
Todos estos demandados, excepto Ferufino-Bonilla, fueron condenados en un juicio en enero de 2010 por conspirar para participar en una asociación ilícita en el Distrito Oeste de Carolina del Norte, El Salvador y otros lugares, a partir de, al menos, enero de 2003 y hasta el 27 de julio de 2009. Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio demostraron que la organización MS-13 planeó y cometió diversos actos delictivos, incluidos robo y extorsión, obstrucción de la justicia, manipulación de testigos, conspiración para distribuir y poseer cocaína y marihuana, distribución y posesión con la intención de distribuir cocaína, uso ilegal de instalaciones de comunicaciones, homicidio y conspiración para cometer homicidio. Testimonios y pruebas presentados durante el juicio demostraron que la organización también se comunicó con su liderazgo en El Salvador, protegió su territorio, ejerció acciones disciplinarias entre sus miembros y cobró deudas a través de un patrón de actividades de asociación ilícita que incluyeron los asesinatos de siete personas en Carolina del Norte y Los Ángeles, intento de homicidio, agresiones y amenazas de violencia. El miembro de la MS-13 Alejandro Umana fue condenado anteriormente en un juicio y sentenciado a la pena de muerte por cinco de los homicidios en Carolina del Norte y Los Ángeles.
Fernandez-Gradis fue condenado por dos cargos asociados a disparos contra y el asesinato de Ulisses Mayo-De La Torre, de 17 años de edad, en South Charlotte, N.C., el 12 de abril de 2008. Pruebas presentadas en el juicio demostraron que Fernandez-Gradis mató a Mayo-De La Torre porque su primo llevaba puesta una camisa roja, el color de un pandilla rival. Fernandez-Gradis realizó múltiples disparos hacia dentro del vehículo en el que la víctima era apenas un pasajero, matando a Mayo-De La Torre. Caballero Fernandez, cuya presencia en el tiroteo quedó demostrada por pruebas presentadas en el juicio, fue condenado por ser cómplice por encubrimiento del homicidio. Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio demostraron que Caballero Fernandez ayudó a Fernandez-Gradis a escapar y tomó el arma utilizada para el homicidio el día siguiente. Caballero Fernandez fue encontrado con el arma utilizada para el homicidio aproximadamente un mes después del homicidio. Tanto Fernandez-Gradis como Caballero Fernandez fueron condenados por posesión ilegal de un arma de fuego por un extranjero ilegal, así como otros cargos.
Rosales Lopez, uno de los líderes de la pandilla, quien, según las pruebas presentadas, fue enviado por líderes de la MS-13 en El Salvador para ejecutar lo que los miembros llamaban "El programa" en las áreas de Charlotte y Greensboro, N.C., fue condenado por robar a una víctima quien sospechaba que estaba traficando drogas en un club nocturno de Charlotte controlado por la MS-13. Rosales Lopez también fue condenado por ser cómplice por encubrimiento de un homicidio doble cometido por Umana en un restaurante en Greensboro en 2007. Además, Rosales Lopez fue condenado por conspiración para cometer extorsión.
Villalobos, quien, según las pruebas presentadas en el juicio, era uno de los principales proveedores de drogas para la pandilla y cuidador de muchas de sus armas, fue condenado por una variedad de delitos asociados a drogas y armas en conexión con su membresía en la MS-13, así como conspiración para cometer extorsión. Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio demostraron que Villalobos "controlaba" los clubes nocturnos Mi Cabana y El Vaquero en Charlotte en nombre de la MS-13.
Gonzales fue condenado por conspiración asociada a la Ley de Organizaciones Corruptas e Influenciadas por la Delincuencia Organizada [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)]. En conexión con dicho cargo, el jurado encontró que Gonzalez participó y fue responsable por un robo-homicidio de Yonni Alexander Morales Maradiaga, quien fue baleado y muerto por otro miembro de la MS-13 durante el robo en East Charlotte, N.C., a principios de agosto de 2005.
Figueroa Pineda fue condenado por conspiración asociada a la RICO, conspiración para cometer narcotráfico, dos cargos de posesión con intención de distribuir marihuana y posesión de un arma durante uno de dichos delitos de narcotráfico. En conexión con el cargo de conspiración asociado a la RICO, el tribunal lo encontró responsable del intento de homicidio de una víctima utilizando un vehículo, causando lesión cerebral permanente.
Ferufino-Bonilla se declaró culpable el 10 de julio de 2009 a conspiración asociada a la RICO incluyendo múltiples robos armados, extorsión y posesión de un arma de fuego por un extranjero ilegal.
Cuatro demandados adicionales también han sido sentenciados desde junio de 2010, cuando se anunciaron sentencias de prisión para 11 de los 26 demandados:
- Cesar Yoaldo Castillo, 23, alias “Chino,”fue sentenciado el 4 de enero de 2011 a 392 meses en prisión;
- Michael Steven Mena, 24, alias “Cholo,” fue sentenciado el 5 de octubre de 2010, a 127 meses en prisión.
- José Amílcar García-Bonilla, 27, alias “Psicópata,” “Sicario,” ‘Lucio Caesario” y “José Luis Ferufino” fue sentenciado el 4 de octubre de 2010 a 78 meses en prisión; y
- Mario Melgar-Díaz, 32, alias “Nino,” fue sentenciado el 5 de octubre de 2010 a 68 meses en prisión.
Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio de enero de 2010 demostraron que la investigación prolongada de cuatro de los homicidios fue iniciada por la Fuerza de Tarea Antipandillas "Calles Seguras" del FBI de Carolina del Norte, cuando un testigo se presentó y explicó cómo los homicidios fueron parte de las operaciones violentas de una única célula de la MS-13 que operaba en el área de Charlotte. La Fuerza de Tarea está compuesta por el FBI, el Buró de Alcohol, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)], el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE.UU. [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)], el Departamento de Policía de Charlotte-Mecklenburg, y el Departamento de Policía de Gastonia, N.C. La Fuerza Nacional de Tareas Antipandilla MS-13 del FBI tuvo un papel significativo en coordinar los aspectos internacionales de la investigación; asistencia crítica adicional fue brindada por la Unidad Transnacional Antipandillas [Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG)]. El Buro de Investigaciones del Estado de Carolina del Norte, así como el Departamento de Policía de Greensboro y el Departamento de Policía de Durham brindaron apoyo de investigación adicional. El Servicio de Alguaciles Federales para el Distrito Oeste de Carolina brindó importante asistencia con respecto a la seguridad durante el enjuiciamiento de dos semanas de duración.
Estuvieron a cargo del enjuiciamiento en el caso los Fiscales Federales Auxiliares Kevin Zolot, Jill Rose y Adam Morris de la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Oeste de Carolina del Norte, y el Abogado Litigante Sam Nazzaro de la Unidad Antipandillas de la División de lo Penal.
Seven North Carolina MS-13 Gang Members Sentenced to Prison on Racketeering, Murder, Drug and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Seven MS-13 members and leaders of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, have been sentenced to prison this week, after being convicted or pleading guilty to criminal charges that include racketeering, murder, attempted murder, assault, cocaine trafficking and numerous related federal firearms offenses. The sentences were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins for the Western District of North Carolina.
To date, 25 of the 26 defendants originally charged in the June 2008 indictment have been sentenced for their roles in the racketeering activities of MS-13, a national and international criminal enterprise.
“These sentences reflect the severity of the defendants’ crimes, which included murder, attempted murder and racketeering,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “As we have done in this case, we will continue to target the leaders and most violent members of street gangs like MS-13. We refuse to let these violent groups terrorize our communities and, as these defendants have learned, we will seek stiff prison sentences for their crimes.”
“Today we saw that organized crime is no match for law enforcement. The thugs of MS-13 preyed on the most vulnerable and defenseless amongst us,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins. “Due to the combined efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement, the threat posed by this criminal enterprise has been neutralized. The sentences today demonstrate that criminal gangs can expect swift justice and harsh punishment. MS-13 and other gangs have my full attention.”
“We are steadily disrupting MS-13’s grip on communities in Charlotte, dismantling the leadership and significantly impacting its ability to operate. Not only are these gang leaders going to prison for extended periods of their lives, the ability to replace them will be made difficult by our persistent interagency investigative efforts,” said Joseph S. Campbell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina. “This case was successfully investigated by dedicated prosecutors and law enforcement personnel, and has become groundbreaking in scope.”
Chief U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. sentenced the following defendants this week:
- Julio Cesar Rosales Lopez, 24, aka “Stiler,” of Guilford County, N.C.; was sentenced today to 320 months in prison;
- Juan Gilberto Villalobos, 44, aka “Smoke,” of Charlotte, N.C., was sentenced today to 204 months in prison;
- Elvin Pastor Fernandez Gradis, 34, aka “Tigre,” of Charlotte, was sentenced today to life in prison;
- Johnny Elias Gonzalez, 22, aka “Solo,” of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 360 months in prison;
- Santos Anibal Caballero Fernandez, 26, aka “Garra,” of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 150 months in prison;
- Carlos Roberto Figeroa-Pineda, 28, aka “Drogo,” of Charlotte, was sentenced yesterday to 420 months years in prison; and
- Carlos Ferufino-Bonilla, 31, aka “Tigre,” of Charlotte, was sentenced yesterday to 78 months in prison.
All of these defendants, except Ferufino-Bonilla, were convicted at trial in January 2010 of conspiring to engage in a racketeering enterprise in the Western District of North Carolina, El Salvador and elsewhere, beginning at least in January 2003 and continuing through July 27, 2009. The evidence at trial showed that the MS-13 enterprise planned and committed various criminal acts, including robbery and extortion, obstruction of justice, tampering with witnesses, conspiring to distribute and possessing cocaine and marijuana, distributing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, illegally using communication facilities, murder and conspiring to commit murder. Testimony and evidence introduced during the trial showed that the enterprise also communicated with its leadership in El Salvador, protected its territory, enforced discipline among members, and collected debts through a pattern of racketeering activities that included the murders of seven people in North Carolina and Los Angeles, attempted murder, assaults and threats of violence. MS-13 member Alejandro Umana was previously convicted at trial and sentenced to receive the death penalty for five of the murders in North Carolina and Los Angeles.
Fernandez-Gradis was convicted of two charges involving the shooting and killing of 17-year-old Ulisses Mayo-De La Torre in South Charlotte, N.C., on April 12, 2008. Evidence at trial showed that Fernandez-Gradis killed Mayo-De La Torre because his cousin was wearing a red shirt, the color of a rival gang. Fernandez-Gradis fired multiple shots into the vehicle where the victim was merely a passenger, killing Mayo-De La Torre . Caballero Fernandez, who the evidence at trial showed was present at the shooting, was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to the murder. The evidence at trial showed that Caballero Fernandez helped Fernandez-Gradis escape and took the murder weapon the next day. Caballero Fernandez was found with the murder weapon approximately one month after the murder. Both Fernandez-Gradis and Caballero Fernandez were also convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, as well as other charges.
Rosales Lopez, one of the gang’s leaders whom the evidence showed was sent by MS-13 leaders in El Salvador to run what members called “The Program” in the Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C.-areas, was convicted of robbing a victim whom he suspected of dealing drugs in a Charlotte nightclub controlled by MS-13. Rosales Lopez was also convicted of being an accessory after the fact to a double homicide perpetrated by Umana in a restaurant in Greensboro in 2007. In addition, Rosales Lopez was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion.
Villalobos, whom the evidence at trial showed was the one of the main drug suppliers for the gang and keeper of many of its guns, was convicted of a variety of drug and gun crimes in connection with his MS-13 membership, as well as conspiracy to commit extortion. The evidence at trial showed that Villalobos “controlled” the Mi Cabana and El Vaquero nightclubs in Charlotte on behalf of MS-13.
Gonzalez was convicted of RICO conspiracy. In connection with that charge, the jury found that Gonzalez participated in and was responsible for a robbery-murder of Yonni Alexander Morales Maradiaga, who was shot and killed by another MS-13 member during the robbery in East Charlotte, N.C., in early August 2005.
Figueroa Pineda was convicted of RICO conspiracy, drug conspiracy, two counts of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possessing a gun during one of those drug crimes. In connection with the RICO conspiracy charge, the court found him responsible for the attempted murder of a victim by use of a vehicle, causing permanent brain injury.
Ferufino-Bonilla pleaded guilty on July 10, 2009, to RICO c onspiracy involving multiple armed robberies, extortion and possession of a firearm by illegal alien.
Four additional defendants have also been sentenced since June 2010, when prison sentences were announced for 11 of the 26 defendants:
· Cesar Yoaldo Castillo, 23, aka “Chino,” was sentenced on Jan. 4, 2011, to 392 months in prison;
· Michael Steven Mena, 24, aka “Cholo,” was sentenced on Oct. 5, 2010, to 127 months in prison.
· Jose Amilcar Garcia-Bonilla, 27, aka “Psicopata,” “Sicario,” ‘Lucio Caesario” and “Jose Luis Ferufino” was sentenced on Oct. 4, 2010, to 78 months in prison; and
· Mario Melgar-Diaz, 32, aka “Nino,” was sentenced on Oct. 5, 2010, to 68 months in prison.
Evidence presented at the January 2010 trial showed that the long-term investigation of four of the murders was initiated by the FBI’s “Safe Streets” Gang Task Force from North Carolina when a witness came forward and explained how the killings were part of the violent operation of a single MS-13 cell operating out of the Charlotte area. The Task Force is composed of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and the Gastonia, N.C., Police Department. The FBI’s MS-13 National Gang Task Force played a significant role in coordinating the international aspects of the investigation, and additional critical assistance was provided by the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) Unit. Additional law enforcement investigative support was provided by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Greensboro Police Department and the Durham Police Department. Substantial assistance has been afforded by the U.S. Marshals Service for the Western District of North Carolina, especially with regard to security during the two-week jury trial.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Zolot, Jill Rose and Adam Morris from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, and Trial Attorney Sam Nazzaro from the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit.
Propietario de una clínica médica y médica del área de Detroit fueron sentenciados a prisión por ardid de terapia de infusión de 2.3 millones de dólaresRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Un propietario y una médica asociados a una clínica de terapia de infusión del área de Detroit fueron sentenciados a 10 meses y 97 meses en prisión, respectivamente, por sus papeles principales en un ardid de fraude contra Medicare por un valor de 2.3 millones de dólares, anunciaron los Departamentos de Justicia y de Salud y Servicios Humanos [Health and Human Services (HHS)]. En un caso separado, un autor de lavado de dinero fue sentenciado a un año en prisión en conexión con un ardid de fraude contra Medicare en otra clínica del área de Detroit.
Juan De Oleo, 51, un propietario de Xpress Center Inc. (XPC); Dra. Rosa Genao, 52, una médica asociada a XPC; y Noel Freytes, 36, un autor de lavado de dinero de Dearborn Medical Rehabilitation Center (DMRC), fueron sentenciados por la Juez Federal de Distrito Denise Page Hood en el Distrito Este de Michigan. Además de sus sentencias en prisión, De Oleo y Genao fueron sentenciados a tres años de libertad bajo supervisión y se les ordenó pagar mancomunada y solidariamente 1.7 millones de dólares en restitución. Freytes también fue sentenciado a dos años de libertad bajo supervisión y se le ordenó pagar 519,540 dólares en restitución, mancomunada y solidariamente con sus codemandados.
De Oleo y Genao fueron condenados después de un juicio de siete días de duración en agosto de 2010. De Oleo fue condenado por un cargo de conspiración para cometer fraude de atención médica, cinco cargos de fraude de atención médica y dos cargos de lavado de dinero. Genao fue condenada por un cargo de conspiración para cometer fraude de atención médica, cinco cargos de fraude de atención médica y un cargo de destrucción o alteración de registros.
De acuerdo con pruebas presentadas en el juicio, De Oleo y otros establecieron XPC con la única finalidad de defraudar a Medicare. XPC era una clínica ambulatoria que alegaba especializarse en terapia de infusión e inyección. Asimismo, De Oleo y sus coconspiradores importaron el concepto de fraude de clínica de infusión a Detroit desde el Sur de Florida después de que se intensificara el escrutinio por parte de las fuerzas del orden público en este último lugar.
De Oleo contrató a su esposa, Genao, para que ayudara a falsificar registros médicos en XPC para que aparentara que los pacientes de la clínica efectivamente necesitaban los medicamentos facturados a Medicare. De acuerdo con pruebas presentadas en el juicio, Genao anotó síntomas ficticios en los registros de los pacientes mantenidos por la clínica, a fin de justificar medicamentos costos y exóticos que la clínica facturó a Medicare.
Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio demostraron que XPC compró apenas una pequeña fracción de los medicamentos que la clínica facturó al programa Medicare. Se les recetaba a los pacientes medicamentos en la clínica con base no en necesidad médica, sino en qué medicamentos generarían los reembolsos más altos por parte de Medicare.
Las pruebas presentadas en el juicio demostraron que los beneficiarios de Medicare no eran remitidos a XPC por sus médicos de cabecera, o para cualquier otra finalidad médica legítima, sino que era reclutados para concurrir a la clínica a través del pago de comisiones ilícitas. A cambio por esas comisiones ilícitas, los beneficiarios de Medicare visitaban la clínica y firmaban documentos indicando que habían recibido los servicios facturados a Medicare.
Según demostraron las pruebas presentadas en el juicio, entre aproximadamente noviembre de 2006 y marzo de 2007, los demandados presentaron aproximadamente 2.3 millones de dólares en reclamos a Medicare por servicios de terapia de inyección que nunca fueron provistos y que no eran médicamente necesarios. Medicare pagó aproximadamente 1.7 millones de dólares de dichos reclamos.
En un caso separado de fraude contra Medicare, Freytes se declaró culpable en septiembre de 2010 a lavado de dinero en nombre de un propietario de DMRC, una clínica separada en el área de Detroit. El lavado de dinero de Freytes fue diseñado de modo a disimular el origen del producto obtenido a través del ardid de terapia de infusión fraudulento en DMRC. Freytes admitió que depositó cheques de una cuenta de DMRC emitidos a una compañía que le pertenecía. Freytes retiró un gran porcentaje del dinero en la cuenta de su compañía y devolvió la mayor parte del mismo a los propietarios y operadores codemandados de DMRC. Freytes admitió haber lavado o intentado lavar 519,540 dólares en nombre de los propietarios de DMRC.
Las sentencias de hoy fue anunciada por el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División de lo Penal; la Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Este de Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; el Agente Especial a Cargo Andrew G. Arena de la Oficina Local de Detroit del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]; y el Agente Especial a Cargo Lamont Pugh III de la Oficina Regional de Chicago del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los EE.UU., Oficina del Inspector General [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG)].
Estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso los Abogados Litigantes Benjamin D. Singer y Gejaa T. Gobena de la Sección de Fraude de la División de lo Penal. Estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso de DMRC el Abogado Litigante Gejaa T. Gobena, el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Philip A. Ross del Distrito Este de Michigan y el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Especial Thomas W. Beimers del Distrito Este de Michigan. Los casos fueron investigados por el FBI y la HHS-OIG, y se iniciaron como parte de la Fuerza de Ataque al Fraude contra Medicare, supervisada por la Sección de Fraude de la División de lo Penal y la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Este de Michigan.
Desde su creación en marzo de 2007, las operaciones de las Fuerzas de Ataque de Fraude contra Medicare en nueve distritos obtuvieron las acusaciones formales de 1,000 demandados que, en conjunto, facturaron de manera fraudulenta al programa Medicare más de 2.3 mil millones de dólares. Además, los Centros para Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid del HHS, trabajando en conjunto con la HHS-OIG, están tomando medidas para aumentar la responsabilización y reducir la presencia de proveedores fraudulentos.
Para obtener más información sobre el Equipo de Prevención de Fraude de Atención Médica y Acción de Coacción [Healthcare Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT)], visite: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Owner of Detroit-Area Medical Clinic and Physician Sentenced to Prison for $2.3 Million Infusion Therapy SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An owner and a physician associated with a Detroit-area infusion therapy clinic were sentenced to 120 months and 97 months in prison, respectively, for their leading roles in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced. In a separate case, a money launderer was sentenced to one year in prison in connection with a Medicare fraud scheme at a separate Detroit-area clinic.
Juan De Oleo, 51, an owner of Xpress Center Inc. (XPC); Dr. Rosa Genao, 52, a physician associated with XPC; and Noel Freytes, 36, a money launderer for Dearborn Medical Rehabilitation Center (DMRC), were all sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood in the Eastern District of Michigan. In addition to their prison terms, De Oleo and Genao were sentenced to three years of supervised release and were ordered to pay jointly and severally $1.7 million in restitution. Freytes was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $519,540 in restitution, jointly and severally with his co-defendants.
De Oleo and Genao were convicted after a seven-day trial in August 2010. De Oleo was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and two counts of money laundering. Genao was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and one count of destruction or alteration of records.
According to evidence presented at trial, De Oleo and others established XPC for the sole purpose of defrauding Medicare. XPC was an outpatient clinic that purported to specialize in infusion and injection therapy. Further, De Oleo and his co-conspirators imported the concept of infusion clinic fraud to Detroit from South Florida after increased law enforcement scrutiny there.
De Oleo enlisted his wife, Genao, to help falsify medical files at XPC to make it appear that the clinic’s patients actually needed the medications being billed to Medicare. According to the evidence presented at trial, Genao wrote down fictitious symptoms in the patient charts maintained by the clinic in order to justify expensive and exotic medications that the clinic billed to Medicare.
Evidence at trial showed that XPC purchased only a small fraction of the medications that the clinic billed the Medicare program for providing. Patients were prescribed medications at the clinic based not on medical need, but rather on what medications were likely to generate the highest Medicare reimbursements.
Evidence at trial showed that Medicare beneficiaries were not referred to XPC by their primary care physicians, or for any other legitimate medical purpose, but rather were recruited to come to the clinic through the payment of cash kickbacks. In exchange for those kickbacks, the Medicare beneficiaries would visit the clinic and sign documents indicating that they had received the services billed to Medicare.
As the evidence at trial showed, between approximately November 2006 and March 2007, the defendants submitted approximately $2.3 million in claims to Medicare for injection therapy services that were never provided and were not medically necessary. Medicare paid approximately $1.7 million of those claims.
In a separate Medicare fraud case, Freytes pleaded guilty in September 2010 to laundering money on behalf of an owner of DMRC, a separate clinic in the Detroit-area. Freytes’ money laundering efforts were designed to disguise the origins of proceeds obtained through a fraudulent infusion therapy scheme at DMRC. Freytes admitted that he deposited checks from a DMRC account that were made out to a company he owned. Freytes withdrew a large percentage of the money in his company’s account and returned most of it to the co-defendant owners and operators of DMRC. Freytes admitted to having laundered or having attempted to launder $519,540 on behalf of the DMRC owners.
Today’s sentences were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the HHS Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.
The XPC case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Benjamin D. Singer and Gejaa T. Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The DMRC case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Gejaa T. Gobena, Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Ross of the Eastern District of Michigan and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas W. Beimers of the Eastern District of Michigan. The cases were investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and were brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Since its inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine districts have obtained indictments of 1,000 defendants that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $2.3 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Owner of Detroit-Area Medical Clinic and Physician Sentenced to Prison for $2.3 Million Infusion Therapy SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An owner and a physician associated with a Detroit-area infusion therapy clinic were sentenced to 120 months and 97 months in prison, respectively, for their leading roles in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced. In a separate case, a money launderer was sentenced to one year in prison in connection with a Medicare fraud scheme at a separate Detroit-area clinic.
Juan De Oleo, 51, an owner of Xpress Center Inc. (XPC); Dr. Rosa Genao, 52, a physician associated with XPC; and Noel Freytes, 36, a money launderer for Dearborn Medical Rehabilitation Center (DMRC), were all sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood in the Eastern District of Michigan. In addition to their prison terms, De Oleo and Genao were sentenced to three years of supervised release and were ordered to pay jointly and severally $1.7 million in restitution. Freytes was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $519,540 in restitution, jointly and severally with his co-defendants.
De Oleo and Genao were convicted after a seven-day trial in August 2010. De Oleo was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and two counts of money laundering. Genao was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and one count of destruction or alteration of records.
According to evidence presented at trial, De Oleo and others established XPC for the sole purpose of defrauding Medicare. XPC was an outpatient clinic that purported to specialize in infusion and injection therapy. Further, De Oleo and his co-conspirators imported the concept of infusion clinic fraud to Detroit from South Florida after increased law enforcement scrutiny there.
De Oleo enlisted his wife, Genao, to help falsify medical files at XPC to make it appear that the clinic’s patients actually needed the medications being billed to Medicare. According to the evidence presented at trial, Genao wrote down fictitious symptoms in the patient charts maintained by the clinic in order to justify expensive and exotic medications that the clinic billed to Medicare.
Evidence at trial showed that XPC purchased only a small fraction of the medications that the clinic billed the Medicare program for providing. Patients were prescribed medications at the clinic based not on medical need, but rather on what medications were likely to generate the highest Medicare reimbursements.
Evidence at trial showed that Medicare beneficiaries were not referred to XPC by their primary care physicians, or for any other legitimate medical purpose, but rather were recruited to come to the clinic through the payment of cash kickbacks. In exchange for those kickbacks, the Medicare beneficiaries would visit the clinic and sign documents indicating that they had received the services billed to Medicare.
As the evidence at trial showed, between approximately November 2006 and March 2007, the defendants submitted approximately $2.3 million in claims to Medicare for injection therapy services that were never provided and were not medically necessary. Medicare paid approximately $1.7 million of those claims.
In a separate Medicare fraud case, Freytes pleaded guilty in September 2010 to laundering money on behalf of an owner of DMRC, a separate clinic in the Detroit-area. Freytes’ money laundering efforts were designed to disguise the origins of proceeds obtained through a fraudulent infusion therapy scheme at DMRC. Freytes admitted that he deposited checks from a DMRC account that were made out to a company he owned. Freytes withdrew a large percentage of the money in his company’s account and returned most of it to the co-defendant owners and operators of DMRC. Freytes admitted to having laundered or having attempted to launder $519,540 on behalf of the DMRC owners.
Today’s sentences were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the HHS Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.
The XPC case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Benjamin D. Singer and Gejaa T. Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The DMRC case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Gejaa T. Gobena, Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Ross of the Eastern District of Michigan and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas W. Beimers of the Eastern District of Michigan. The cases were investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and were brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Since its inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine districts have obtained indictments of 1,000 defendants that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $2.3 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Michigan Property Owner and Manager Ordered to Pay $82,500 in Civil Penalties in Sexual Harassment CaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal court in Detroit has ordered Ypsilanti, Mich., property owner and Washtenaw County Commissioner Ronnie Peterson, and his former manager Glen E. Johnson to pay a total of $82,500 in civil penalties in a sexual harassment case, the Justice Department announced today. The civil penalty is in addition to the $115,000 jury verdict obtained by the department on behalf of six victims of the sexual harassment in August 2010.
“This decision makes clear that property owners can be held accountable for sexual harassment carried out by their rental agents,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division “It is disturbing that some landlords will take advantage of vulnerable women and force them to choose between a roof over their heads or being sexually harassed. It is even more troubling when the harasser is enabled by a property owner who hands him the keys and looks the other way. Rental property owners must establish clear policies against sexual harassment, provide an avenue for tenants to make complaints directly to them, and take those complaints seriously.”
“This order ensures that Mr. Johnson will never again be in a position to prey on tenants who desperately need housing, not harassment,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara McQuade. “It also serves as a warning to other landlords that they will be held accountable if they engage in or enable others to engage in egregious sexual harassment.”
The order, issued yesterday afternoon by Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr., requires Johnson to pay a $55,000 civil penalty, the maximum civil penalty for a first violation of the Fair Housing Act, and orders Peterson to pay a $27,500 penalty. The order also permanently bars Johnson from having any further involvement in the management, rental or maintenance of housing. The order requires Peterson to adopt and implement a comprehensive sexual harassment policy and complaint procedure at his properties.
In its decision, the court noted that Johnson repeatedly sexually harassed six women tenants and that his behavior “was egregious and interfered with the women’s peaceful enjoyment of their homes, which should have been the one place where they could turn for refuge.” The court also noted that Peterson had not taken any corrective action after two of his tenants complained to him about Johnson’s contact. The court noted that Peterson’s conduct was “troubling inasmuch as he was willfully impervious to the complaints from two of his tenants. At the very least, their troubling comments should have put him on notice that he should have given closer attention to Johnson’s supervisory control over his tenants.”
Yesterday’s order is the culmination of a successful civil prosecution against Johnson and Peterson carried out jointly by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. Department attorneys obtained a $115,000 jury verdict against Johnson and Peterson on Aug. 6, 2010, after a six day trial. That verdict required Johnson and Peterson to pay monetary damages to six victims of the harassment. After the verdict, the department asked the court to order civil penalties and issue an injunction to prevent future violations by the defendants. While damages for victims are awarded by a jury, civil penalties and injunctions must be ordered by the court.
Fighting illegal housing discrimination is a top priority of the Justice Department. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt .
Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected] or contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777.
Jared Lee Loughner Charged for Multiple Murders, Attempted AssassinationRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. - A federal grand jury yesterday returned a 49-count superseding indictment against Jared Lee Loughner of Tucson for the murder of a federal judge and a Congressional staff member, as well as for causing the deaths of four other participants and injuries to many more during his alleged attempt to assassinate U.S. Representative Gabrielle D. Giffords at her Congress on Your Corner event held on Jan. 8.
Loughner, 22, is charged with the murder of U.S. District Judge John M. Roll and Gabriel M. Zimmerman, a staff member and Director of Community Outreach for Rep. Giffords, according to the new indictment. Loughner will also face charges for causing the death of participants at a federally provided activity, namely the killings of Dorothy J. Morris, Phyllis C. Schneck, Dorwan C. Stoddard, and a child, referred to in the indictment as C-T G., who were shot while waiting to see Rep. Giffords at the Congress on Your Corner event.
“This was an attack on Congresswoman Giffords, her constituents, and her staff,” said U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke. “We will seek justice for the federal officials, Judge Roll and Gabriel M. Zimmerman, and for Dorothy J. Morris, Phyllis C. Schneck, Dorwan C. Stoddard, and C-T G. These final four Arizonans’ lives were extinguished while exercising one of the most precious rights of American citizens, the right to meet freely and openly with their Member of Congress. The deceased are not the only ones whose rights are being defended. Those citizens who were peaceably assembled to speak to their Member of Congress are also named victims in this indictment. This indictment involves potential death-penalty charges, and Department rules require us to pursue a deliberate and thorough process. That process is ongoing, and we will continue to work diligently to see that justice is done.”
The indictment also includes allegations brought forward in a previous indictment in January that Loughner attempted to assassinate Rep. Giffords, who was shot in the head and is undergoing rehabilitation in Houston, and attempted to murder two federal employees who worked for Giffords, District Director Ronald S. Barber and Community Outreach Coordinator Pamela K. Simon, who were both shot multiple times and are recovering.
Loughner will be arraigned on the new charges at a hearing on Wednesday, March 9, in Tucson before U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns. Loughner has been held in federal custody since Jan. 8. As stated previously, the Pima County Attorney’s Office intends to pursue all state charges against Loughner.
An indictment is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
In determining an actual sentence should Loughner be convicted, Judge Burns will also consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.
Burke emphasized that the procedure in any case which may result in a punishment of death requires a careful and deliberate process, and includes consultation with the victims of the crimes and their families, consideration of all evidence relevant to guilt and punishment, including aggravating and mitigating evidence, and consultation with all the law enforcement agencies investigating the case.
Also, in order to pursue the death penalty the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Arizona must provide information to the Capital Review Committee. For more detailed information about this process, click here.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement team led by the FBI. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wallace H. Kleindienst, Beverly K. Anderson, Christina M. Cabanillas and Mary Sue Feldmeier of the District of Arizona, Tucson.
Former UBS Client Sentenced for Hiding Millions in Offshore Bank AccountsRead the Press Release
SEATTLE – Arthur Joel Eisenberg of Seattle was sentenced today to three years probation by U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Eisenberg pleaded guilty in December 2010 to willfully filing a false individual income tax return.
According to court documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Eisenberg admitted to filing a false tax return for 2004 in which he failed to report that he had an interest in or signature authority over financial accounts at UBS AG, one of Switzerland’s largest banks. He also admitted failing to report the income earned on his UBS financial accounts on his tax return. At the end of 2004, the total balance of Eisenberg’s various UBS financial accounts exceeded $3.1 million.
As part of his guilty plea, Eisenberg admitted that he opened a bank account at UBS in the Islands as early as 1983. The assets held in the account were later transferred to UBS AG in Zurich. In May of 2004, Eisenberg authorized and caused the formation of a Hong Kong corporation named East West Universal Limited and promptly transferred his assets from his existing UBS account to a new UBS account in the name of the corporation. However, Eisenberg continued to be the beneficial owner of the account and earned income from it through 2008. In 2008, Eisenberg instructed UBS to close the account and transfer the funds in the account to another large global Swiss bank headquartered in Zurich. The highest year-end balance of Eisenberg’s various accounts occurred in 2007 and exceeded $4.2 million.
Eisenberg paid a $2.1 million penalty for failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank or Financial Account (FBAR) form. An FBAR is a form separate from an income tax return that a taxpayer is required to file with the IRS every June to disclose additional information about foreign financial accounts over which the taxpayer has signature authority or other control over, and which had an aggregate value exceeding $10,000 at any time during the year.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Offshore Matters Bruce Salad of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Jenny A. Durkan, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, commended the investigative efforts of the IRS agents involved in this case, as well as trial attorney Stephanie M. Carowan of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown who prosecuted the case.
Former Campaign Treasurer for U.S. Congressman from New Jersey Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Campaign FundsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The former campaign treasurer for Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $450,000 from the congressman’s election and re-election campaign accounts, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman for the District of New Jersey and Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward of the FBI’s Newark, N.J. Field Office.
Andrew J. McCrosson Jr., 59, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Irenas in Camden, N.J., to a two-count criminal information charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of embezzling and converting funds contributed to a federal candidate.
According to the court document, McCrosson was the campaign treasurer for Congressman LoBiondo from 1995 through Aug. 23, 2010. The election and re-election campaign committees were known as LoBiondo for Congress. As campaign treasurer, McCrosson was responsible for maintaining the campaign committee’s financial records, keeping track of contributions to and expenditures of the campaign committee and filing necessary submissions with the Federal Election Commission (FEC.) McCrosson was paid a fee for his services ranging between $3,000 and $8,000, either per election cycle or per calendar year.
As outlined in the court document, the campaign committee maintained bank accounts into which campaign contributions were deposited and from which expenditures were paid. During the guilty plea hearing, McCrosson acknowledged that he controlled those bank accounts on behalf of the campaign committee and was responsible for reporting all campaign contributions and expenses to the FEC. McCrosson admitted that from 1995 to August 2010, he wrote checks totaling approximately $458,000 from the LoBiondo for Congress bank accounts to himself without authorization and for no legitimate campaign purpose. According to the court document, McCrosson used the embezzled funds for personal purposes such as the repayment of a federal income tax lien, home mortgage payments, college tuition payments for his children and other living expenses.
According to the court document, McCrosson failed to report to the FEC all of the checks he wrote to himself, in an effort to conceal his theft. McCrosson also admitted that he materially misrepresented in these FEC filings the amount of cash on hand held by the campaign committee in its bank accounts to further conceal his embezzlement from Congressman LoBiondo, the campaign committee, the FEC and the public.
Congressman LoBiondo represents the Second Congressional District of New Jersey which includes all of Salem, Cumberland and Cape May counties and parts of Gloucester, Atlantic and Burlington counties. McCrosson performed his duties as campaign treasurer for the committee from his home in Marmora, N.J., and later from his home in Egg Harbor Township.
Judge Irenas scheduled sentencing for June 16, 2011. The charge of wire fraud carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and the charge of embezzlement carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. McCrosson could also be fined on each count up to $250,000 or twice the gross profits to him or loss to the victim. Pending sentencing, the defendant was released on a personal recognizance bond of $100,000.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin T. Smith, Acting Attorney in Charge of the U.S. Attorney’s Trenton, N.J. branch office, as well as Trial Attorneys Tracee Plowell and Nancy Simmons of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
Thursday 3 March 2011
Rhode Island Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison <br /> for Distribution and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – David Chiaradio of Westerly, R.I., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to 97 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for distribution and possession of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha of the District of Rhode Island.
In November 2010, Chiaradio, 28, was found guilty of one count of distribution of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography after a two-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi. Evidence presented at trial established that in February 2006, Chiaradio, using Limewire, a peer-to-peer file sharing program, distributed three images of child pornography to an undercover FBI agent. FBI agents continued their investigation of Chiaradio and obtained a search warrant that was executed at Chiaradio’s home in late August 2006. During the search, agents seized a laptop and a desktop computer. The computers and various hard drives were examined by a computer forensics expert from the FBI and more than 2,000 images and videos of child pornography were discovered.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence P. Donnelly of the District of Rhode Island and Trial Attorney Andrew McCormack of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Providence Field Office with the assistance of FBI agents from the Innocent Images Task Force in Tulsa, Okla.
Propietario de empresa tecnológica de Illinois se declara culpable de ardid para defraudar el programa federal E-RateRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Un propietario de una empresa tecnológica con sede en Illinois se ha declarado culpable de participar en una conspiración para defraudar al programa federal E-Rate, anunció hoy el Departamento de Justicia. Barrett C. White fue originalmente acusado en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Nueva Orleáns el 18 de noviembre de 2010 por su papel en la conspiración para defraudar al programa E-Rate.
White se declaró culpable hoy en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Nueva Orleáns de conspiración para defraudar al programa E-Rate al pagar sobornos y comisiones ilícitas a funcionarios escolares en múltiples estados. El departamento dijo que White participó en la conspiración a partir de febrero de 2004 o fecha aproximada, hasta agosto de 2005. De acuerdo con el expediente judicial, White ofreció y pagó sobornos y comisiones ilícitas a funcionarios escolares responsables por la contratación de servicios de acceso a Internet a cambio de contratos de E-Rate para las empresas de sus coconspiradores.
El programa E-Rate fue creado por el Congreso en la Ley de Telecomunicaciones de 1996 y es administrado por Universal Service Administrative Company, bajo la supervisión de la Comisión Federal de Comunicaciones [Federal Communications Commission (FCC)]. El programa provee subsidios a escuelas y bibliotecas en desventaja económica. Dependiendo de las necesidades financieras de las escuelas solicitantes, el programa paga del 20 al 90 por ciento del costo de acceso a Internet y servicios de telecomunicaciones, así como redes internas de informática y comunicaciones.
Como resultado de la investigación llevada a cabo por la División Antimonopolios del fraude y conducta anticompetitiva en el programa E-Rate, incluida la declaración de culpabilidad de hoy, un total de siete compañías y 21 personas se han declarado culpables, han sido condenadas en juicio o realizaron acuerdos conciliatorios. Dichas empresas y personas han sido sentenciadas a pagar multas penales y restitución por un total de más de 40 millones de dólares. Quince personas han sido sentenciadas a prisión.
Se acusa a White de conspiración, delito que conlleva una pena máxima de cinco años en prisión y una multa penal de 250,000 dólares para individuos. La multa máxima puede aumentar al doble de las ganancias originadas en el delito o el doble de las pérdidas sufridas por las víctimas del delito, si cualquiera de dichas sumas es superior a la multa máxima legal.
La declaración de culpabilidad anunciada hoy es el resultado de una investigación llevada a cabo por la Oficina Local de Dallas de la División Antimonopolios del Departamento de Justicia, la Oficina Local de Dallas del FBI y la Oficina del Inspector General de la FCC, con la asistencia de la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Este de Louisiana. Se insta a cualquier persona con información acerca de violaciones del programa E-Rate que llame a la Oficina Local de Dallas de la División Antimonopolios al 214-661-8600 o visite www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Owner of Illinois Technology Company Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Defraud the Federal E-Rate ProgramRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - An owner of an Illinois-based technology company has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the federal E-Rate program, the Department of Justice announced today. Barrett C. White was originally charged in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Nov. 18, 2010, for his role in the conspiracy to defraud the E-Rate program.
White pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in New Orleans to conspiring to defraud the E-Rate program by providing bribes and kickbacks to school officials in multiple states. The department said that White participated in the conspiracy beginning on or about February 2004 through August 2005. According to the court document, White offered and delivered bribes and kickbacks to school officials responsible for the procurement of Internet access services in return for E-Rate contracts to his co-conspirators’ companies.
The E-Rate program was created by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company, under the oversight of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The program provides subsidies to economically disadvantaged schools and libraries. Depending on the financial needs of the applicant schools, the program pays 20 to 90 percent of the cost for Internet access and telecommunications services, as well as internal computer and communications networks.
As a result of the Antitrust Division’s investigation into fraud and anticompetitive conduct in the E-Rate program, including today’s plea, a total of seven companies and 21 individuals have pleaded guilty, been convicted at trial or entered civil settlements. Those companies and individuals have been sentenced to pay criminal fines and restitution totaling more than $40 million. Fifteen individuals have been sentenced to serve jail time.
White is charged with conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine for individuals. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
The plea announced today resulted from an investigation by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s Dallas Field Office, the FBI’s Dallas Field Office and the FCC’s Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Anyone with information concerning violations of the E-Rate program is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Dallas Field Office at 214-661-8600 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Natchez, Mississippi, Police Officer Convicted of Civil Rights Offense for Stealing from ArresteeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A jury in Natchez, Miss., yesterday convicted a Natchez Police Department officer of violating the civil rights of an arrestee by stealing credit and debit cards from the arrestee. The officer, Dewayne Johnson, 33, will be sentenced on July 12, 2011.
The evidence at trial showed that while Johnson drove a man under arrest to jail, he stopped the patrol car and stole credit and debit cards from the arrestee in his custody. Johnson’s cousin, Patricia A. Wilson, testified at trial and admitted that Johnson had given one of the stolen cards to her to use for personal purchases. Wilson further testified that Johnson had used one of the stolen cards to buy sneakers at retail stores in Natchez and that he later admitted to her that he had tried to use a second stolen card. Evidence at trial showed that the cards were used at a gas station, restaurants and retail stores in Natchez and Vidalia, La. Wilson, 34, of Ferriday, La., had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring with Johnson to commit identity theft, credit card fraud and bank fraud.
“Every community must be able to rely on their law enforcement officers to serve and protect, and Officer Johnson violated that public trust when he broke the law he had pledged to uphold,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The department will aggressively prosecute any officer who violates the Constitution.”
“This guilty verdict should not reflect negatively on law enforcement or the Natchez Police Department,” said John Dowdy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. “There are thousands of law enforcement officers who maintain the highest level of integrity and professionalism as they put their lives on the line every day, but when a cop goes bad and crosses the line, like this defendant, then they will be prosecuted and punished just like the criminals they arrest every day.”
Johnson and a fellow officer, Elvis Prater, 36, were also charged with civil rights offenses related to the physical abuse of two arrestees and with lying to the FBI. Johnson was also charged with conspiracy to commit identity theft, credit card fraud and bank fraud. The jury acquitted Prater on one abuse count and failed to reach a verdict on the remaining counts. Retrial of both officers will begin on June 13, 2011.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Mississippi State Office of the Attorney General, and was prosecuted by trial attorneys Erin Aslan and Kevonne Small of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda Haynes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.