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Wednesday 23 February 2011
Declaración del Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos acerca del litigio asociado a la Ley de Defensa del MatrimonioRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos realizó la siguiente declaración hoy acerca de la línea de acción en dos demandas, Pedersen contra OPM y Windsor contra los Estados Unidos, que disputan la Sección 3 de la Ley de Defensa del Matrimonio [Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)], la que define al matrimonio, para fines federales, como siendo únicamente entre un hombre y una mujer:
En los dos años desde que asumió este Gobierno, el Departamento de Justicia ha defendido la Sección 3 de la Ley de Defensa del Matrimonio en diversas ocasiones en el tribunal federal. Cada uno de esos casos que evaluaron la Sección 3 fue considerado en jurisdicciones en las que precedentes vinculantes del tribunal de circuito sostienen que las leyes que discriminen a personas con base en su orientación sexual, como ocurre en el caso de la DOMA, son constitucionales si existe una base racional para su promulgación. Si bien el Presidente se opone a la DOMA y cree que debe ser revocada, el Departamento la ha defendido en los tribunales porque pudimos presentar argumentos razonables bajo dicha norma de "base racional".
La Sección 3 de la DOMA ha sido ahora cuestionada en el Segundo Circuito, sin embargo, el que no tiene ninguna norma establecida o vinculante con respecto al tratamiento que se le debe dar a las layes asociadas a la orientación sexual. En estos casos, el Gobierno enfrenta por primera vez la cuestión de si las leyes asociadas a la orientación sexual están sujetas a la norma de revisión más permisiva, o si corresponde una norma más estricta, bajo la que las leyes contra grupos minoritarios con una historia de discriminación son consideradas sospechosas por los tribunales.
Después de consideración cuidadosa, incluido un análisis de mi recomendación, el Presidente ha concluido que, si se cumplen una serie de factores, incluida una historia documentada de discriminación, las clasificaciones que se basen en la orientación sexual deberían estar sujetas a una norma más estricta de escrutinio. El Presidente también ha concluido que la Sección 3 de la DOMA, en lo que se refiere a parejas del mismo sexo casadas, deja de cumplir con dicha norma y, por lo tanto, es inconstitucional. Dada dicha conclusión, el Presidente ha instruido al Departamento que no defienda la ley en dichos casos. Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con la determinación del Presidente.
En consecuencia, el Departamento no defenderá la constitucionalidad de la Sección 3 de la DOMA en lo que se refiere a parejas casadas del mismo sexo en los dos casos entablados en el Segundo Circuito. Sin embargo, seguiremos siendo partes en los casos y seguiremos representando los intereses de los Estados Unidos a lo largo del litigio. He informado a los Miembros del Congreso de esta decisión; por lo tanto, los Miembros que deseen defender la ley podrán hacerlo. El Departamento también trabajará estrechamente con los tribunales para garantizar que el Congreso tenga una oportunidad plena y justa de participar en litigios pendientes.
Asimismo, de acuerdo con las instrucciones del Presidente, una vez notificado el Congreso, instruiré a los abogados del Departamento que avisen a los tribunales en otros litigios pendientes asociados a la DOMA de las conclusiones del Presidente y mías de que correspondería una norma más estricta, de que la Sección 3 es inconstitucional bajo dicha norma y que el Departamento dejará de defender la Sección 3.
El Departamento tiene una práctica de larga trayectoria de defender la constitucionalidad de leyes debidamente promulgadas, si existen argumentos razonables para su defensa. Al mismo tiempo, en el pasado, el Departamento se ha negado a defender leyes, a pesar de la disponibilidad de argumentos profesionalmente responsables, en parte porque, como en este caso, el Departamento no considera que todos dichos argumentos sean "razonables". El Departamento también se ha negado a defender una ley en casos como este, en el que el Presidente ha concluido que la ley es inconstitucional.
Gran parte del panorama legal ha cambiado en los 15 años desde que el Congreso aprobó la DOMA. La Corte Suprema ha fallado que las leyes que criminalicen la conducta homosexual son inconstitucionales. El Congreso ha revocado la política "No pregunte, no cuente". Varios tribunales inferiores han fallado que la propia DOMA es inconstitucional. La Sección 3 de la DOMA seguirá vigente, a no ser que el Congreso la revoque o exista una conclusión judicial final que la invalide, y el Presidente me ha informado que el Poder Ejecutivo seguirá haciendo valer la ley. Sin embargo, si bien la sabiduría y la legalidad de la Sección 3 de la DOMA seguirá siendo objeto tanto de amplio litigio como de debate público, este Gobierno dejará de sostener su constitucionalidad en el tribunal.
Circus President and Former Employee Plead Guilty to Violating Endangered Species Act for Unlawful Purchase and Sale of Asian ElephantsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – John Pugh, Wilbur Davenport, and Cole Brothers Circus Inc., entered plea agreements yesterday in U.S. District Court in Beaumont, Texas to resolve Endangered Species Act (ESA) violations related to the purchase and sale of two Asian elephants named “Tina” and “Jewel.”
Pugh and Cole Brothers Circus Inc. were charged with unlawfully selling the two Asian elephants to Mr. Davenport, who was charged for unlawfully receiving the Asian elephants. Pugh is the owner and president of Cole Brothers and Davenport a former employee. Cole Brothers is a circus that performs in locations across the Eastern United States. Pugh was approached by Davenport in 2005 about the purchase of Tina and Jewel, who were owned by the circus.
Asian Elephants are listed as an endangered species under the ESA. It is unlawful to purchase or sell an endangered species in interstate commerce without a permit. In limited circumstances, permits are issued when applicants demonstrate the sale or transfer of the endangered species will further scientific research, or enhance the propagation and survival of the species. None of the parties possessed, nor had they obtained, any permit that would have authorized such a sale of Tina and Jewel.
The defendants executed a five-year lease to purchase agreement, with the final purchase price of both elephants being $150,000. Davenport performed with the elephants for the circus through the summer and fall of 2006 to pay off the balance owed for Tina and Jewel, and thereafter transported the elephants to his home in Leggett, Texas. Davenport intended to incorporate the two elephants into his own business, which included, among other things, offering the elephants for personal demonstrations, private parties and events, and elephant rides.
In accordance with the terms of the plea agreement, Mr. Pugh and Mr. Davenport were sentenced to three years of probation, a special condition of probation being that each must perform 100 hours of community service every year of their probationary term. Mr. Pugh was also sentenced to pay a $4,000 fine as well as make a $1,200 community service payment to an organization or organizations working for the conservation or rehabilitation of Asian elephants. Mr. Davenport was sentenced to pay a $5,200 fine. According to its plea agreement, Cole Brothers Circus was sentenced to four years of probation and a $150,000 fine.
As stated in the plea agreement, in August 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confiscated Jewel from Mr. Davenport pursuant to its authority under the Animal Welfare Act. Mr. Davenport then abandoned Tina to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, allowing USDA to transport the two elephants together to the San Diego Zoo.
This case was investigated by the USFWS. Trial Attorney Jessie Alloway and Senior Trial Attorney Elinor Colbourn of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Batte of the Eastern District of Texas prosecuted the case.
Cincinnati Area Return Preparer Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Preparing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- A former resident of Cincinnati was sentenced to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false client tax returns and for filing a false individual income return, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to court documents, Idrissa Bassoum began offering tax preparation services under the name Bassoum’s Consulting Service (BCS) in February 2003, operating out of his residence and catering primarily to immigrants. Through BCS, Bassoum prepared and filed hundreds of false tax returns for clients which claimed fraudulent expenses and deductions relating to, among other things, moving expenses, all done to lower his clients’ tax liabilities and increase their refunds. In addition to preparing false client tax returns, Bassoum fraudulently avoided the payment of any income taxes due on his business activities when he failed to report any earnings from his tax preparation activities on his personal income tax returns. As part of his plea agreement, Bassoum admitted that he caused between $400,000 and $1 million in tax loss to the U.S. government.
Bassoum’s tax preparation fees were typically subtracted from the refund amounts he obtained for his clients after arranging for Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs), a short-term consumer loan secured by the taxpayer’s expected tax refund. For each RAL approved for a client, Bassoum’s tax preparation fees were directly wired into his personal bank account. As part of his plea agreement, Bassoum admitted receiving at least $69,915 in unreported income during tax year 2004 and $80,771 in unreported income during tax year 2005.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Beckwith ordered Bassoum to serve one year of supervised release with special conditions that he not prepare any tax returns for others and to file amended personal tax returns for the years of prosecution. In addition, Bassoum was ordered to pay $44,887.80 in restitution, representing the tax loss caused by his personal income tax fraud, as well as a $300 special assessment.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, commended IRS Criminal Investigation special agents who investigated the case and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jorge Almonte and Sean Delaney, who prosecuted the case.
Tuesday 22 February 2011
Justice Department Settles with National Board of Medical Examiners over Refusal to Provide Testing Accommodations to Yale Medical School StudentRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today announced a settlement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), a private, non-profit organization that administers the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), a standardized examination related to medical licensing. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, NBME is committed to providing reasonable testing accommodations to persons with disabilities who seek to take the USMLE, in accordance with the requirements of the ADA. In addition, it will grant Frederick Romberg, a Yale Medical School student, the accommodations of double the standard testing time and a separate testing area to take the USMLE.
“In the past, demands for unnecessary or redundant documentation, burdensome and expensive repeated professional evaluations, or irrelevant evaluative testing unrelated to the ability to demonstrate one’s knowledge or skills on an examination prevented individuals with appropriately documented disabilities from pursuing their chosen professions.” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “By entering into this agreement, NBME is doing its part to ensure that people with a reading disability like Mr. Romberg will have the opportunity to take the USMLE with the reasonable testing accommodations they need to demonstrate their knowledge and ability.”
Under the agreement, the NBME will:
· Only request documentation about (a) the existence of a physical or mental impairment; (b) whether the applicant’s impairment substantially limits one or more major life activities within the meaning of the ADA; and (c) whether and how the impairment limits the applicant’s ability to take the USMLE under standard conditions;
· Carefully consider the recommendations of qualified professionals who have personally observed the applicant in a clinical setting and recommended accommodations based upon their clinical judgment that the individual is substantially limited in one or more major life activities within the meaning of the ADA and needs the requested test accommodations in order to demonstrate his or her ability and achievement level; such recommendations are to be based on generally accepted diagnostic criteria and supported by reasonable documentation.
· Carefully consider all evidence indicating whether an individual’s ability to read is substantially limited within the meaning of the ADA, including the extent to which it is restricted as to the conditions, manner or duration as compared to the reading ability of most people.
The Justice Department opened an investigation in response to a complaint from Mr. Romberg who alleged that the NBME had twice denied him reasonable testing accommodations to take the USMLE because of his disability, dyslexia, in violation of the ADA. Subsequently, the department and the NBME sought to resolve the investigation by reaching a settlement agreement.
The settlement was reached under Title III of the ADA which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by private testing entities that administer examinations related to professional licensing. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at the website www.justice.gov/crt . More information about the settlement with NBME can be found at www.ada.gov or by calling the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TTY).
Alaska-Based Company Pays U.S. More Than $1.5 Million<br /> to Settle False Claims AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – General Communication Inc. (GCI) has paid $1,556,075 to settle allegations that Alaska DigiTel LLC, a former Alaska limited liability company now owned by GCI, submitted false claims to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Low Income Support Program, the Justice Department announced today.
The Low Income Support Program of the Universal Service Fund, which includes the Lifeline, LinkUp and Toll Limitation Services, was created by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company for the FCC. Under the Low Income Support Program, eligible individuals may apply for free or discounted phone or wireless services. Reimbursement is paid directly to Eligible Telecommunications Carriers, such as Alaska DigiTel.
Today’s settlement resolves allegations that Alaska DigiTel violated the False Claims Act by submitting claims to the Low Income Support Program for improperly substantiated, duplicative, or otherwise ineligible subscribers for the period from Jan. 1, 2004, though Aug. 31, 2008.
“We simply won’t tolerate practices that misuse taxpayer dollars and undermine the integrity of important government programs aimed at helping the needy,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “By submitting false claims to the Low Income Support Program, Alaska DigiTel tried to take advantage of a program designed to help individuals who otherwise could not afford telephone service.”
The government’s investigation of Alaska DigiTel was initiated by a lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam or whistleblower provisions, which permit private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower in this case, who alleged that Alaska DigiTel was signing up subscribers who did not qualify for the program, will receive $260,274 from the settlement.
Assistant Attorney General West acknowledged the cooperation among the many government agencies participating in this ongoing matter, including the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Alaska, and the FCC’s Office of the Inspector General and Office of General Counsel. The case is United States ex rel. Napolean v. Alaska Digitel et al., No. 3:08CV66-JWS (D. Ak.)
Friday 18 February 2011
U.S. Parole Commission Denies Lopez Parole ApplicationRead the Press Release
Chevy Chase, MD – The United States Parole Commission has denied parole to Oscar Lopez Rivera, announced Commission Chairman Isaac Fulwood, Jr.
Lopez, who has been incarcerated for 30 years, was sentenced to 55 years’ imprisonment following his August 11, 1981 conviction for seditious conspiracy, use of force to commit robbery, interstate transportation of firearms and ammunition to aid in the commission of a felony, and interstate transportation of stolen vehicles. The offenses arose out of his role in Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (“FALN”), a Puerto Rican nationalist group whose activities included over 100 bombings in which six (6) people were killed and others maimed.
He was sentenced to an additional fifteen years’ incarceration on February 26, 1988, for his activities in conspiring to escape from the Leavenworth federal prison. Lopez solicited unincarcerated supporters to obtain weapons, grenades, and C-4 explosives for use in breaking him and fellow inmates – to whom Lopez had boasted about his leadership role in the FALN – out of prison.
In 1999, President Clinton offered clemency to Lopez on condition that he renounce violence and serve an additional ten years in prison with clear conduct. Lopez rejected the offer.
Chairman Fulwood noted, “We have to look at whether release would depreciate the seriousness of the offenses or promote disrespect for the law, whether release would jeopardize public safety, and the specific characteristics of the offender.”
For more information, please call Johanna Markind at (301) 492-5821 ext. 238.
U.S. Government Intervenes in False Claims Lawsuit Against Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The government has intervened in a lawsuit against Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. (KBR) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, announced the Department of Justice. The lawsuit was filed in February 2007 by James A. Brady III, a former employee of KBR, and alleges that KBR violated the False Claims Act in connection with "LOGCAP III," the third generation of the U.S. Army’s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program awarded and administered at Rock Island, Ill. Under the contract, KBR was to provide logistics and sustainment support to U.S. military troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. KBR performed LOGCAP III largely through subcontractors.
According to the complaint, KBR entered into a subcontract with the Turkish company Yuksel-Reysas to do operations and maintenance work at Army camps near Mosul, Iraq. Brady alleges that KBR violated the False Claims Act because it was unable to account for materials paid for under the Yuksel-Reysas subcontract.
"Contractors hired to provide support to our men and women in uniform must play by the rules," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. "As we’ve done today, the Justice Department will take action against those whom we believe charge the taxpayers for goods and services that were not provided to American troops."
"We’ve decided to pursue the allegation that money that was intended to support the troops was instead used to pay claims that were false," said Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois.
The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private parties to sue on behalf of the United States when they believe that defendants submitted false claims for government funds. The private plaintiffs are called "relators," and, under the statute, are entitled to receive a share of any funds recovered through the lawsuit. The False Claims Act permits the government to recover three times its damages plus civil penalties. The government has asked the court for 60 days to file its own complaint stating the United States’ allegations.
Tribunal Federal prohíbe a mujer de Florida preparar declaraciones de impuestos para tercerosRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Se ha prohibido permanentemente a una mujer de Florida preparar declaraciones de impuestos a la renta federales para terceros, anunció hoy el Departamento de Justicia. La orden de interdicto, a la que consintió Milagros Espinal, exige que provea una copia de la orden a sus clientes, publique una copia en The Miami Herald y El Nuevo Herald, y entregue al gobierno información que identifique a sus clientes.
De acuerdo con la demanda, desde por lo menos 2004, Espinal, de Hialeah, Fla. ha preparado como rutina declaraciones de impuestos que contienen deducciones inventadas o exageradas y reclamos indebidos o falsos de créditos tributarios, tales como el crédito fiscal por ingresos devengados o el crédito fiscal por hijo. El gobierno estima que su preparación de declaraciones resultó en declaraciones de impuestos a la renta federales de sus clientes 10 millones de dólares o más inferiores a la realidad entre 2004 y 2007. Se alega que preparó al menos 2,000 declaraciones durante dicho periodo.
Para obtener información adicional sobre la labor reciente del departamento para acabar con los reclamos fraudulentos de créditos fiscales, haga clic aquí. En los últimos 10 años, la División de Impuestos del Departamento de Justicia ha obtenido centenas de interdictos para detener la promoción de ardides de fraude tributario y la preparación de declaraciones de impuestos fraudulentas. Existe información acerca de estos casos disponible en el sitio web del departamento.
Securities Attorney and Five Others Indicted for Conspiracy, Wire and Mail Fraud in Stock Manipulation SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Six individuals, including a securities attorney, were charged in an indictment unsealed today with defrauding investors in a stock manipulation scheme from 2003 to 2008, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, Deputy Chief Inspector Daniel S. Cortez for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. In a related action, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint in the Southern District of Florida, Miami division.
The defendants charged in the indictment returned in the Southern District of Florida are: Jonathan Randall Curshen, 46, of Sarasota, Fla.; Michael Simon Krome, 49, a securities attorney from Long Island, N.Y.; Ronald Salazar Morales, aka “Ronny Salazar,” 39, of Costa Rica; Robert Lloyd Weidenbaum, 44, of Miami; and Eric Ariav Weinbaum, 37, and Izhack Zigdon, 47, of Israel. Curshen was arrested this morning in Sarasota, Fla., and made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla. Krome was arrested in Long Island, N.Y., and will make an initial appearance later today in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, N.Y. Weidenbaum was arrested today in Miami and is making his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Miami at 2 p.m. EST. Zigdon was previously arrested in Germany in October 2010 and the United States is seeking his extradition.
“The indictment unsealed today alleges that the defendants used their access and training to illegally manipulate stock prices for their own advantage,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “Pump and dump schemes like the one alleged in this case leave legitimate investors holding worthless stocks. Anyone who defrauds the investing public in this way – whether you are a securities lawyer, a stock trader, or a simple fraudster – will be held to account.”
According to the indictment, Curshen was the principal behind Red Sea Management and Sentry Global Securities, two companies located in San Jose, Costa Rica, that provided offshore accounts and facilitated trading in penny stocks. The indictment alleges that Weinbaum and Zigdon took control of the outstanding shares of a company called CO2 Tech (ticker CTTD), which traded in the over-the-counter market through listings on Pink Sheets, an inter-dealer electronic quotation and trading system. Weinbaum and Zigdon allegedly obtained the shares by retaining Krome who allegedly employed a method to evade federal securities registration requirements in order to provide co-conspirators with millions of unregistered and “free-trading” shares of CO2 Tech that the co-conspirators could not have otherwise legally obtained.
The indictment alleges that the shares were subsequently sold to the general investing public by Weinbaum, Zigdon, Curshen and Salazar, a Sentry Global stock trader, through Sentry Global’s stock trading floor in Costa Rica. According to the indictment, the co-conspirators were able to hide from the investing public the actual financial condition and business operations of the company by evading the registration requirements. The indictment also alleges that Weidenbaum was paid approximately $1 million by Weinbaum and Zigdon to participate in sham stock trades of CO2 Tech to make it appear that there were genuine investors in the market that were buying the shares.
As alleged in the indictment, coordinated trades were often made between the co-conspirators in conjunction with the issuance of false and misleading press releases that were designed to make CO2 Tech appear that it had significant business prospects. According to these press releases, CO2 Tech purported to have a business relationship with Boeing to reduce polluting gases emitted from airplanes. The indictment alleges that these relationships never existed.
After fraudulently “pumping” the market price and demand for CO2 Tech stock through these press releases and coordinated trades, Weinbaum, Zigdon, Curshen and Salazar allegedly “dumped” shares by selling them for large profits to the general investing public in the over-the-counter market through listings on Pink Sheets. These shares were allegedly purchased by unsuspecting investors, including in the Southern District of Florida, and were often rendered virtually worthless.
The defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities, mail and wire fraud. Additionally, Weinbaum and Zigdon are charged with three counts of wire fraud, Weidenbaum with two counts of wire fraud and Krome with one count of wire fraud; Curshen and Salazar are charged with two counts of mail fraud, Weinbaum and Weidenbaum with one count of mail fraud; and Krome is charged with one count of violating the securities registration laws and one count of obstruction of justice. The indictment also seeks forfeiture from the defendants.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of wire fraud and mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The securities registration violation carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, while the obstruction count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In a related civil matter, the SEC charged Curshen, Krome, Salazar, Weinbaum and Zigdon with violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Weidenbaum is charged with aiding and abetting certain violations by Weinbaum and Zigdon.
An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the USPIS. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys N. Nathan Dimock and Rina Tucker Harris of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida provided significant assistance in this case. The Department of Justice acknowledges the significant assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the SEC in its investigation. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Costa Rican authorities also provided assistance.
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.
Ohio Businessman Charged with Failing to Report Foreign Bank Account at UBS in SwitzerlandRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - An Ohio man residing in Switzerland was charged by information in the Northern District of Ohio for filing false personal income tax returns for the years 2004 through 2008, the Department of Justice announced today. The announcement was made by John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General 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 from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation in Cincinnati.
According to court records, Edward Gurary, 45 lived in Orange Village, Ohio during the prosecution years. From approximately 2002 through 2008, Gurary owned and controlled a financial account at UBS AG (UBS) 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 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.
The information charged Gurary with filing false income tax returns for 2004 through 2008 that failed to report interest income earned on his Demko bank account at UBS. In addition, for three of the years (2004, 2006 and 2007) the information charged Gurary with falsely stating on his Schedule B attached to his income tax return that he did not have signature or other authority over a foreign financial account. Finally, the information described that between 2004 and 2008, Gurary did not file any FBARs or otherwise disclose his Demko account at UBS to the IRS. 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.
An information merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Gurary faces a maximum of 3 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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 in Cleveland.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Office Manager of Los Angeles Medical Supply Business Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Defraud Medicare of More Than $6 Million in Wheelchair SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The office manager of a Los Angeles durable medical equipment (DME) company pleaded guilty today to conspiring with her former church pastor to run a power wheelchair scheme that defrauded Medicare of more than $6 million, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
Darawn Shadene Vasquez, 26, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge George H. King in the Central District of California. Vasquez admitted that between January 2006 and September 2009, she conspired with her former church pastor, Christopher Iruke, and others to submit false claims to Medicare for expensive, high-end power wheelchairs and other DME through four DME companies that Iruke either owned or controlled through alleged straw owners. The companies included Pascon Medical Supply, Horizon Medical Equipment and Supply Inc., Contempo Medical Equipment Inc. and Ladera Medical Equipment Inc. Vasquez was charged, along with Iruke and four other individuals, in an indictment returned on Sept. 30, 2009.
Vasquez admitted in court documents that she and others used fraudulent prescriptions and documents they purchased from various individuals to support the false power wheelchair and DME claims that Pascon, Horizon, Contempo and Ladera submitted to Medicare. Vasquez admitted that she and her co-conspirators submitted claims to Medicare prior to delivering the power wheelchairs and DME to Medicare beneficiaries in order to ensure that Medicare would pay them. Vasquez admitted that she and her co-conspirators often knew that the Medicare beneficiaries did not need the wheelchairs, either because the beneficiaries said they did not need them, or Vasquez observed them walking. As a result of this scheme, Medicare paid Pascon, Horizon, Contempo and Ladera approximately $6.1 million on the false claims they submitted to Medicare.
Vasquez also admitted that in approximately August 2009, after subpoenas were received for the records of the four companies, she and another individual shredded pages from two ledgers containing the names of all the individuals who sold them fraudulent prescriptions and medical documents, and the amounts of money paid and owed those individuals. According to court documents, when the shredder overheated, they flushed the remaining ledger pages down the toilet.
At sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 3, 2011, Vasquez faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Iruke’s 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 (CAL-DOJ); Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for HHS (HHS-OIG); and Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
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 more than 990 individuals 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.
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.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Federal Court Bars Florida Woman from Preparing Tax Returns for OthersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Florida woman has been permanently barred from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Department of Justice announced today. The injunction order, to which Milagros Espinal consented, requires her to provide a copy of the order to her customers, publish a copy of the order in The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, and turn over to the government information identifying her customers.
According to the complaint, since at least 2004, Espinal, of Hialeah, Fla., has routinely prepared tax returns containing fabricated or overstated deductions and improper or false claims for tax credits, such as the earned-income tax credit and the child tax credit. The government estimates that her return preparation resulted in an understatement of her customers’ federal income tax liabilities of $10 million or more between 2004 and 2007. She allegedly prepared at least 2,000 returns during that period.
Additional information about the department’s recent efforts to stop fraudulent claims for tax credits is available here . In the past 10 years, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. Information about these cases is available on the department’s website .
Eleven Alleged Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Members Charged for Roles in AssaultRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Eleven alleged members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) have been indicted for their alleged roles in the 2008 beating of a gang prospect in Tomball, Texas, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Jose Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas.
The superseding indictment, returned by the federal grand jury on Feb. 16, 2011, and unsealed today in Houston, charges the defendants with violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity (VICAR) and conspiracy to engage in violent crimes in aid of racketeering. The defendants charged in the indictment are Zechariah Aaron Johnston, 31; Steven Walter Cooke, 47; Stephen Kyle Knebel, 33; David Bruce Harlow, 46; Robert Lynn Sheats, 33; Justin Northrup, 25; Benjamin Christian Dillon, 28; Rusty Dwayne Plante, 34; Johnny Ray Nichols, 35; Shane Everett Dallmeyer, 30; and Michael Raymond Burkett, 33. All of the defendants are from the greater Houston-area.
According to the indictment, in order to be considered for ABT membership, a person must be sponsored by another ABT member. Once sponsored, a prospective member must serve an unspecified term, during which he is referred to as a prospect, while his conduct is observed by the members of the ABT.
The indictment alleges that a prospect member of ABT sustained serious bodily injury after he was severely beaten on Sept. 22, 2008, at Cooke’s home in Tomball. The beating was allegedly administered by ABT gang members because the prospect member violated certain ABT rules of conduct.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the VICAR charge. They face a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. The defendants who were not already in federal prison are making initial appearances today in U.S. District Court in Houston.
According to the indictment, the ABT is a race-based, state-wide organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and elsewhere in the United States. The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system. As alleged in the indictment, it modeled itself after and adopted many of the precepts and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s. According to the indictment, previously, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy/separatism. Over time, however, the ABT has expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.
As alleged in the indictment, the ABT enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Members, and oftentimes associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as "direct orders."
An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by a multi-agency task force consisting of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Texas Rangers; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Walker County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; the Montgomery County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department; the Houston Police Department-Gang Division; and the Harris County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by David Karpel of the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hileman of the Southern District of Texas in Houston.
Thursday 17 February 2011
Utah Businessman Charged with Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The former president of Infinia Healthcare LLC, a company that operated long-term healthcare facilities in several states, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court in Utah for three counts of tax evasion, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to the indictment, Jon Robertson, of Bountiful, Utah, attempted to evade taxes he owed in 2003 through 2005 by filing false tax returns, causing money to be transferred to bank accounts he controlled, and by directing others to make false record entries.
An indictment merely allege that crimes have been committed, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Jon Robertson faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
The case is being prosecuted by Tax Division trial attorneys Monica B. Edelstein and Kimberly M. Shartar, and is being investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation in Salt Lake City.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Romanian Man Pleads Guilty for Role in International Fraud Scheme Involving Online Auction WebsitesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Romanian man pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly in Chicago to one count each of wire fraud and conspiracy for his role in moving and hiding the illicit proceeds of an international fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald for the Northern District of Illinois and U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. for the District of Columbia.
Adrian Ghighina, 33, of Bucharest, Romania, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois in April 2008 on seven counts of wire fraud. In May 2010, Ghighina was separately indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering.
According to court documents, Ghighina, who entered the United States legally in late 2004, acted as a “money mule” in a complex Internet fraud conspiracy. Ghighina’s co-conspirators, many of whom are in Romania, created fraudulent online auctions for expensive items such as cars, motorcycles and RVs on websites such as eBay, Craigslist and AutoTrader.com. Victims who responded to these fraudulent listings were directed, in some cases by e-mail or telephone, to transmit payment for the non-existent items using Western Union and bank wire transfers to accounts controlled by Ghighina. Ghighina admitted that he moved from city to city opening new accounts at various banks using false identification as part of the conspiracy. The victims never received the items for which they had paid. From approximately September 2005 until his arrest in October 2009 in Miami, Ghighina opened accounts and/or received funds in Illinois, the District of Columbia, Florida, New York, Arizona and elsewhere.
Ghighina faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the count of wire fraud from the Chicago indictment, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud from the Washington indictment. Both counts also include up to three years of supervised release following any prison term. Sentencing is scheduled for May 9, 2011. Ghighina also previously was convicted on related charges of wire and visa fraud in the Southern District of Florida and sentenced on those charges to 27 months in prison.
The Chicago case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hayes with the Northern District of Illinois. The Washington case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Springsteen for the District of Columbia. Mr. Springsteen also serves as a Trial Attorney with the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. Assistance on the Washington case was also provided by CCIPS Trial Attorneys Gavin Corn and Mysti Degani. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance in this matter. This case is being investigated by the Chicago and Washington Field Offices of the FBI, as well as the Chicago Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Medicare Fraud Strike Force Charges 111 Individuals for More Than $225 Million <br /> in False Billing and Expands Operations to Two Additional CitiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Medicare Fraud Strike Force today charged 111 defendants in nine cities, including doctors, nurses, health care company owners and executives, and others, for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving more than $225 million in false billing, announced Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, FBI Executive Assistant Director Shawn Henry, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson. Also today, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and HHS announced the expansion of Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations to two additional cities – Dallas and Chicago. Today’s operation is the largest-ever federal health care fraud takedown.
The joint DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of federal, state, and local investigators designed to combat Medicare fraud through the use of Medicare data analysis techniques and an increased focus on community policing. More than 700 law enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and other state and local law enforcement agencies participated in today’s operation. In addition to making arrests, agents also executed 16 search warrants across the country in connection with ongoing strike force investigations.
“With this takedown, we have identified and shut down large-scale fraud schemes operating throughout the country. We have safeguarded precious taxpayer dollars. And we have helped to protect our nation’s most essential health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid,” said Attorney General Holder. “As today’s arrests prove, we are waging an aggressive fight against health care fraud.”
“Over the last two years our joint efforts have more than quadrupled the number of anti-fraud Strike Force teams operating in fraud hot spots around the country from two to nine -- with the latest additions Chicago and Dallas -- bringing hundreds of charges against criminals who had billed Medicare for hundreds of millions of dollars. Last year alone, our partnership recovered a record $4 billion on behalf of taxpayers. From 2008-2010, every dollar the Federal Government spent under its Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control programs averaged a return on investment of $6.80,” said HHS Secretary Sebelius.
The defendants charged today are accused of various health care fraud-related crimes, including conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, criminal false claims, violations of the anti-kickback statutes, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. The charges are based on a variety of alleged fraud schemes involving various medical treatments and services such as home health care, physical and occupational therapy, nerve conduction tests and durable medical equipment.
According to court documents, the defendants charged today participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for treatments that were medically unnecessary and oftentimes, never provided. In many cases, indictments and complaints allege that patient recruiters, Medicare beneficiaries and other co-conspirators were paid cash kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information to providers, so that the providers could submit fraudulent billing to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary or never provided. Collectively, the doctors, nurses, health care company owners, executives and others charged in the indictments and complaints are accused of conspiring to submit a total of more than $225 million in fraudulent billing.
“Every American bears the burden of health care fraud, and the FBI, in conjunction with our inter-agency partners, will continue to dismantle criminal networks that bilk the system,” said Shawn Henry, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch. “Our agents and analysts use task forces and undercover operations to identify individuals who treat the health care system as a vehicle to line their pockets.”
“Today, Strike Force operations have charged doctors, nurses, health care executives, and others – from Los Angeles to New York and cities in between – with engaging in Medicare fraud schemes that cheat taxpayers and patients alike,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “With this nationwide takedown and the expansion of the Strike Force to two additional cities, our message is clear: we are determined to put Medicare fraudsters out of business.”
“Today, more than 300 special agents from OIG, in partnership with federal and state agencies across the country, are making more than a hundred arrests on charges of health care fraud,” said Daniel R. Levinson, HHS Inspector General. “These unprecedented operations send a clear message – we will not tolerate criminals lining their pockets at the expense of Medicare patients and taxpayers.”
In Miami, 32 defendants, including 2 doctors and 8 nurses, were charged for their participation in various fraud schemes involving a total of $55 million in false billings for home health care, durable medical equipment and prescription drugs. Twenty-one defendants, including three doctors, three physical therapists and one occupational therapist, were charged in Detroit for schemes to defraud Medicare of more than $23 million. The Detroit cases involve false claims for home health care, nerve conduction tests, psychotherapy, physical therapy and podiatry.
In Brooklyn, N.Y., 10 individuals, including three doctors and one physical therapist, were charged with fraud schemes involving $90 million in false billings for physical therapy, proctology services and nerve conduction tests. Ten defendants were charged in Tampa for participating in schemes involving more than $5 million related to false claims for physical therapy, durable medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
Nine individuals were charged in Houston for schemes involving $8 million in fraudulent Medicare claims for physical therapy, durable medical equipment, home health care and chiropractor services. In Dallas, seven defendants were indicted for conspiring to submit $2.8 million in false billing to Medicare related to durable medical equipment and home health care.
Five defendants were charged in Los Angeles for their roles in schemes to defraud Medicare of more than $28 million. The cases in Los Angeles involve false claims for durable medical equipment and home health care. In Baton Rouge, La., six individuals were charged for a durable medical equipment fraud scheme involving more than $9 million in false claims.
In Chicago, charges were filed against 11 individuals associated with businesses that have billed Medicare more than $6 million for home health, diagnostic testing and prescription drugs.
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 more than 990 individuals 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.
The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by Strike Force teams comprised of attorneys from the Fraud Section in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and from the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Eastern District of New York, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Texas, the Central District of California, the Middle District of Louisiana; the Northern District of Illinois, and the Northern District of Texas; and agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG, and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Justice Department Announces Settlement with Developer of Idaho Condominium ComplexRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A developer of a condominium complex in Post Falls, Idaho, has agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging that they violated the Fair Housing Act by developing the complex with features that made it inaccessible to persons with disabilities, announced the Department of Justice. Under the settlement, which must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, Riverwalk Condominiums LLC will pay $18,500 and take other steps to retrofit the complex in order to make it accessible.
The lawsuit, filed in August 2009, alleged that Riverwalk designed and constructed the condominiums on Greensferry Road in Post Falls, Idaho, with features that made the complex inaccessible to persons with disabilities. If approved by the court, the settlement will require the defendant to:
· Retrofit the complex to make it more accessible;
· Ensure that future or ongoing construction meets the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act;
· Pay a total of $13,500 to an individual with a disability who inquired about housing at Riverwalk and to the Intermountain Fair Housing Council (IFHC), a non-profit fair housing organization that assisted the individual and helped document accessibility barriers at the complex: and
· Pay a $5,000 civil penalty to the United States.
“Since 1991, the Fair Housing Act has required that new multi-family housing meet basic accessibility requirements, and there is no excuse for noncompliance at new developments,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Enforcement actions like this one illustrate the department’s commitment to ensuring accessible housing is available for persons with disabilities.”
“Builders and designers of multi-family housing have an obligation to ensure that their housing is accessible to persons with disabilities,” said Wendy J. Olson, U.S Attorney for the District of Idaho. “We commend the work of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and IFHC for their commitment to the fundamental principles of fair housing for all.”
“While most get it right, HUD and the Justice Department will continue to work together to ensure that all architects, builders and developers comply with their legal responsibility to build housing that is accessible,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
The complex’s condominium association, which is also a party to the proposed settlement, has agreed to allow access to the complex so that the retrofits can be completed.
The lawsuit arose from complaints filed with HUD by an individual seeking housing. After investigating the complaints, HUD issued a charge of discrimination and referred the case to 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, email the Justice Department at [email protected] or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.
Guam Bar Owner Found Guilty for Sex Trafficking and Related CrimesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An owner of bar in Guam was found guilty today of sex trafficking, and coercion and enticement for prostitution related to a scheme to force young women and one juvenile girl into prostitution, the Department of Justice announced. The jury in Guam found Song Ja Cha, 69, guilty on all 20 counts of an indictment returned on July 23, 2008. The trial lasted eight days.
According to court documents, from 2004 through January 2008, Cha and others in the conspiracy recruited and enticed approximately nine victims to come to Guam from the island of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia. The victims were largely poor, young and uneducated. Cha lured the young women and one 16-year-old girl to Guam by promising them legitimate employment in a restaurant or store. In actuality, Cha was the proprietor of Blue House Lounge, a bar that included approximately six VIP rooms offering commercial sex.
According to evidence presented in court, Cha and her co-conspirators compelled the victims to work in the VIP rooms for 12 to 14 hours a day for the financial benefit of the conspiracy. Upon the victims’ arrival to the Blue House Lounge, Cha stripped the young women of their passports, clothing and identities. Cha then used a variety of means to compel the victims to engage in prostitution, including physical assaults, threats of arrest, manipulation of debt, withholding food and restricted access to the outside world. The victims testified that they were terrified of Cha and her co-conspirators, and that Cha used the fact that police officers frequented the lounge to make the victims believe that she was "connected" and could have them arrested and jailed.
"The sexual exploitation of vulnerable individuals is an affront to fundamental rights and will not be tolerated in our country. The defendant preyed on the hopes and dreams of these young victims, forcing them into a life of prostitution," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice is committed to vigorously prosecuting the trafficking of human beings to uphold the rights of those held in modern-day slavery, whether for labor or for sexual exploitation."
"Human traffickers trick, lie and coerce young women with a promise of work in a legitimate job," said Alicia Limtiaco, U.S. Attorney for the District of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. "In reality, these young women lose their freedom and are horribly demeaned by the sexual acts that they are forced to perform. Defendant Cha preyed on vulnerable victims and used threats and abuse to force them into prostitution. The jury’s verdict makes clear that sex trafficking schemes will not be tolerated. We will continue to find traffickers and hold them accountable for their crimes."
Cha faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Sentencing has been set for May 18, 2011.
The Department of Justice has identified human trafficking prosecutions such as this one as a top priority.
This case was investigated by special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Guam Police Department. This case was prosecuted by trial attorneys Jared Fishman and Shan Patel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Criminal Section with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosetta San Nicolas and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
To report trafficking crimes, please call the Department of Homeland Security Tip Line at 1-866-347-2423.
Arkansas Woman Barred from Preparing Federal Tax Returns for OthersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An Arkansas woman who operates Foster’s Income Tax Service in Knobel, Ark., has been permanently barred from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The injunction order against Betty J. Foster, to which she consented, was entered by Judge J. Leon Holmes of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The government’s complaint alleges that Foster, through her company, prepares federal income tax returns for her customers that claim losses for non-existent businesses, as well as inflated or fabricated deductions, in order to understate tax liabilities unlawfully. According to the complaint, Foster has been preparing tax returns for a fee for approximately 25 years, and she consistently prepares approximately 450 tax returns per year. The government estimates that Foster’s unlawful return preparation activity has cost the United States $5 million or more for the 2007 through 2009 tax years.
This civil injunction action is part of the Justice Department’s nationwide efforts to halt abusive tax scams and the preparation of fraudulent federal tax returns. 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 returns. More information about these cases and the Tax Division can be found at www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Wednesday 16 February 2011
Two Virginia Businessmen Charged with Illegally Reimbursing Senate and Presidential Campaign ContributionsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., today returned an indictment charging William P. Danielczyk Jr. and Eugene R. Biagi with reimbursing $186,600 in contributions to the Senate and Presidential campaign committees of a candidate for federal office, and obstructing the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the FBI, announced 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.
The indictment charges Danielczyk, 49, of Oakton, Va., and Biagi, 76, also of Oakton, each with one count of conspiracy, two counts of reimbursing contributions, one count of using corporate funds to reimburse contributions and one count of obstructing justice. The indictment also charges Danielczyk with two counts of causing false statements to be submitted to the FEC.
The defendants are expected to make initial court appearances Friday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.
According to the indictment, Danielczyk co-hosted a September 2006 fundraiser for a candidate’s 2006 campaign for the U.S. Senate, and in March 2007, he co-hosted a fundraiser for the same candidate’s 2008 campaign for President of the United States. Danielczyk and Biagi allegedly reimbursed $30,200 to eight contributors to the 2006 Senate campaign, and reimbursed $156,400 to 35 contributors to the 2008 Presidential campaign. Additionally, the indictment alleges that Danielczyk and Biagi reimbursed the contributions to the 2008 Presidential campaign with corporate funds.
As part of the scheme, Danielczyk and Biagi allegedly created and distributed back-dated letters to 15 contributors that falsely characterized reimbursements for contributions as “consulting fees.” According to the indictment, Danielczyk and Biagi also created checks to 17 contributors containing a memorandum line falsely stating that each check was for “consulting fees.” In addition, according to the indictment, some or all of these checks were delivered with back-dated letters falsely stating that the contributor had received and would receive money for certain work.
According to court documents and information presented in court, Danielczyk and Biagi were aided by Danielczyk’s assistant, April G. Spittle. On Feb. 4, 2011, Spittle pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of making reimbursed contributions to the 2008 Presidential campaign.
According to a statement of facts filed with her plea agreement, Spittle participated in raising the $186,600 in reimbursed contributions at Danielczyk’s direction, received her own contribution reimbursement from Biagi, and distributed other reimbursement checks from Biagi. According to the court documents filed at the time of her guilty plea, Spittle participated, at Danielczyk’s direction, in creating back-dated and false letters for Biagi's signature, which sought to disguise the reimbursed contributions.
According to the indictment, Danielczyk caused the candidate’s campaign committee to unwittingly file with the FEC a 2007 report containing false information about the source and amount of contributions to the campaign. Danielczyk allegedly also caused the submission of correspondence to the FEC, which falsely stated that reimbursements of contributions to a candidate were bonus payments for work performed.
The maximum penalty for the conspiracy charge is five years in prison, while the charges of reimbursing contributions and contributing corporate funds each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Obstruction of justice is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and each count of making a false statement carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Each count of the indictment is additionally punishable by a $250,000 fine, with the exception of the reimbursing contribution counts, which are punishable by a fine of up to 10 times the contribution amount.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
This case is being prosecuted by Richard C. Pilger, Director of the Election Crimes Branch of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, Trial Attorney Ethan H. Levisohn of the Public Integrity Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark D. Lytle. The case was investigated by the FBI.
Two Individuals Plead Guilty in Connection with Costa Rica-based Business Opportunity Fraud VenturesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –Two individuals pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for their roles in business opportunity fraud schemes, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced today.
Silvio Carrano and Gregory Britt Fleming were arrested following their indictment by a Miami federal grand jury on March 9, 2010, based on charges that they and their co-conspirators sold vending machine, beverage and greeting card business opportunities, including fraudulent promises of assistance in establishing, maintaining and operating such businesses. The charges are part of the government’s continued nationwide crackdown on business opportunity fraud.
"Business opportunity fraud imposes significant financial hardship on innocent, hardworking victims," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. "The Department of Justice will continue to aggressively prosecute those who defraud Americans in an effort to make a quick buck."
"Business opportunity schemers need to realize that this type of fraud will be prosecuted vigorously. This is true even if they operate from outside of the United States," said Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. "International law enforcement cooperation eliminates safe havens for those who cheat American citizens from overseas."
Two others involved in this scheme have been arrested and pleaded guilty. On June 29, 2010, Donald Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. On Oct. 27, 2010, he was sentenced to 78 months in prison. On Jan. 18, 2011, Patrick Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 10 counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Patrick Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30, 2011.
According to court documents, beginning in June 2004, Carrano, Patrick Williams, Donald Williams, Fleming and their co-conspirators fraudulently induced purchasers in the United States to buy business opportunities in Apex Management Group Inc., USA Beverages Inc., Twin Peaks Gourmet Coffee Inc., Cards-R-Us Inc., Premier Cards Inc., The Coffee Man Inc. and Nation West Distribution Company. The defendants sold business opportunities costing thousands of dollars each, and most purchasers paid at least $10,000. Each company operated for several months, and after one company closed, the next opened. The various companies used bank accounts, office space and other services in the Southern District of Florida and elsewhere.
The defendants, using aliases, participated in a conspiracy that used various means to make it appear to potential purchasers that the businesses were located entirely in the United States. In reality, Carrano, Patrick Williams, Donald Williams and Fleming operated out of Costa Rica to fraudulently induce potential purchasers in the United States to buy the purported business opportunities, according to court documents.
Carrano and Fleming admitted that the companies made numerous false statements to potential purchasers of the business opportunities. Potential purchasers were falsely told they would likely earn substantial profits; that prior purchasers of the business opportunities were earning meaningful profits; and that the business opportunity worked with locators familiar with the potential purchaser’s area who would secure or had already secured high-traffic locations for the potential purchaser’s merchandise stands.
According to court documents, the companies employed various types of sales representatives, including "fronters," "closers" and references. A fronter spoke to potential purchasers when the prospective purchasers initially contacted the company in response to an advertisement. A closer subsequently spoke to potential purchasers to close deals. References spoke to potential purchasers about the financial success they purportedly had experienced since purchasing one of the business opportunities.
Carrano admitted that, using aliases, he worked as a fronter and reference for USA Beverages; a fronter and reference for Twin Peaks; a fronter and reference for Cards-R-Us; a reference for Premier Cards; and a reference for The Coffee Man. He was also listed on a corporate document as the treasurer of USA Beverages. Fleming admitted that he worked for USA Beverages and Nation West.
Each of the companies was registered as a corporation and rented office space to make it appear to potential purchasers that its operations were fully in the United States. Apex was registered as a Florida corporation and rented office space in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., while USA Beverages was registered as a Florida and New Mexico corporation and rented office space in Las Cruces, N.M. Twin Peaks was registered as a Florida and Colorado corporation and rented office space in Fort Collins, Colo. Cards-R-Us was registered as a Nevada corporation and rented office space in Reno, Nev. Premier Cards was registered as a Colorado and Pennsylvania corporation and rented office space in Philadelphia. The Coffee Man and Nation West were both registered as a Colorado corporation and rented office space in Denver. These locations made it appear to potential purchasers that the businesses were located entirely in the United States when in fact they were not.
"Telemarketing fraud is not limited to operations in the United States. This international and domestic investigation illustrates the Postal Inspection Service’s resolve to protect the American public from business opportunity scams," said Henry Gutierrez, U. S. Postal Inspector in Charge in Miami.
Sentencing has been scheduled for April 20, 2011.
Assistant Attorney General West and U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Postal Inspection Service, and thanked the Federal Trade Commission which previously brought a related civil suit and made a criminal referral. The case is being prosecuted by trial attorneys Jeffrey Steger and Alan Phelps with the Civil Division’s Office of Consumer Protection Litigation.
Three Plead Guilty to Civil Rights Conspiracy in Connection with Cross Burning in Athens, LouisianaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced that U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter accepted the guilty plea of Jeremy Matthew Moro, 33, for conspiring to burn a cross near the home of an interracial couple in Athens, La., in October 2008. Earlier this week, Judge Walter accepted the guilty plea of Joshua James Moro, 25, on the same charge.
Another defendant, Sonya Marie Hart, 31, pleaded guilty on Jan. 31, 2011, to misprision of a felony because she withheld information from the FBI regarding the defendants’ attempt to cover up the cross burning. The Moros’ cousin, Daniel Danforth, was previously convicted by a federal jury for organizing, carrying out and attempting to cover up the same cross burning.
During their pleas, entered before Magistrate Judge Mark L. Hornsby on Jan. 21, and Jan. 26, 2011, Joshua and Jeremy Moro admitted that in October 2008, they agreed with their cousin, Daniel Danforth, to build, erect and burn a cross near the home of another cousin, her African-American boyfriend (now husband), her 11-year-old son and their grandmother who was believed to approve of the cousin’s interracial relationship. Joshua Moro admitted that he offered Danforth diesel fuel to use to burn the cross, and that later that evening he sent a text message to see if Danforth and Jeremy Moro still needed the diesel to burn the cross. Jeremy Moro admitted that he helped Danforth find an accelerant, transport the cross to an area near the victims’ homes, and watched Danforth light the cross on fire because Danforth was upset about the presence of the African-American man living with their cousin. During her plea, on Jan. 31, 2011, Hart admitted that she affirmatively withheld information from the FBI in connection with the investigation into the cross burning and attempted cover-up.
Evidence during Danforth’s trial in January 2010, showed that in the days following the cross burning, Danforth, Jeremy Moro and Hart agreed to remove the burned cross when they learned that the FBI was going to investigate the matter. With Jeremy Moro’s and Hart’s assistance, Danforth removed the cross, disassembled it and hid it in the woods. The evidence also showed that Josh Moro, Jeremy Moro and Hart lied to the FBI and a federal grand jury during the investigation into the cross burning.
“Driven by bigotry and hate, the defendants threatened a member of their own family with violence simply because she associated with persons of another race,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Incidents of this kind have no place in this country, and they are a reminder of the civil rights challenges we still face.”
“Cross burning, unfortunately, remains a terrible symbol of hatred and intolerance. Every citizen has a right to feel safe and secure in their homes and neighborhoods. Intimidation of citizens in this district will not be tolerated. This office will continue to prosecute individuals who participate or facilitate crimes which violate the civil rights laws,” said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana Stephanie Finley.
“All families in America have the right to live where they chose, undisturbed by racial intolerance, racist threats and intimidation. These guilty pleas send a clear message of the FBI’s commitment to aggressively investigate this type of criminal conduct,” said David W. Welker, Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division of the FBI.
Sentencing for Joshua Moro, Jeremy Moro and Hart has been set for April 28, 2011. Joshua and Jeremy Moro each face a maximum punishment of 10 years for conspiring to interfere with another person’s civil rights. Hart faces a maximum punishment of three years for affirmatively withholding information from the FBI regarding the defendants’ attempt to cover up the cross burning. Danforth was sentenced in May 2010 to 48 months in prison for his role in the cross burning and attempted cover-up.
This case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick for the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Erin Aslan from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Statement of the Attorney General on the Shootings in Elkins, West VirginiaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – “Today’s shootings in Elkins, West Virginia, demonstrate yet again the danger that our nation’s law enforcement officers confront on a daily basis. This morning, while attempting to serve a felony arrest warrant, three Deputy United States Marshals were met with gunfire from a dangerous fugitive who was eventually killed. In fulfilling their critical duties, these courageous Deputies put their lives on the line and put the safety of others above their own.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Deputy U.S. Marshal Derek Hotsinpiller, who made the ultimate sacrifice today, and with the two Deputies who were injured in the line of duty. Their valiant actions and their service to our nation will not be forgotten, and the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of all those who serve in law enforcement will continue to be a top priority.”
Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder Form Joint Task Force to Assist Mexico’s Investigation into Yesterday’s Shooting of Two ICE Agents in MexicoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder today met to discuss the shooting by unknown assailants of two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents in the line of duty yesterday while driving in Mexico.
During their meeting, Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder decided to establish a joint task force between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, which will be led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and will leverage the investigative capabilities of both agencies to work with Mexico in tracking down the perpetrators and swiftly bring them to justice.
“This joint task force reflects our commitment to bring the investigatory and prosecutorial power of the U.S. Government to bear as we work with the Mexican Government to bring these criminals to justice,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the ICE agents’ families and loved ones, as we are reminded of the risks and sacrifices undertaken every day by the men and women on the frontlines in protecting the safety and security of the American people.”
“The murder of Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the shooting of another ICE agent provide a sad reminder of the dangers American law enforcement officers face every day,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “Working with our Mexican counterparts, we have already launched an aggressive investigation, and this joint task force will ensure that every available resource is used to bring the perpetrators of this terrible crime to justice.”
During their meeting, Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder underscored the United States’ commitment to work closely with Mexican law enforcement in full support of the ongoing effort. They also reiterated their commitment to the U.S. government’s broader support for Mexico’s efforts to combat violence within its borders.
Today, Secretary Napolitano also spoke with Mexican Interior Minister Fernando Blake Mora. During the call, Secretary Napolitano emphasized to Minister Blake Mora that violence against DHS personnel in Mexico represents an attack against all those who serve our nation and put their lives at risk for our safety, and will not be tolerated by either country.
In yesterday’s attack, one U.S. law enforcement official, ICE Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata, was critically wounded and died from his injuries. The second agent was shot in the leg and has been discharged from the hospital. More information will be released when it is available.
More Than 100 Members and Associates of Transnational Organized Crime Groups Charged with Offenses Including Bank Fraud, Kidnapping, Racketeering and Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – One hundred and two members and associates of transnational organized criminal groups operating in the United States have been charged in indictments unsealed today in Los Angeles; Santa Ana, Calif.; Miami and Denver. Today, teams of federal, state and local authorities have arrested more than 80 of the 102 charged defendants, with arrests expected to continue throughout the day.
The charges were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. for the Central District of California; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida; Executive Assistant Director Shawn Henry of the FBI; members of the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force in Los Angeles; and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
“Today’s indictments allege literally hundreds of criminal acts in three states – from extortion and kidnapping to firearms trafficking and health care fraud,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. “The common denominator among these defendants and their criminal enterprises is the use of violence and intimidation to commit crimes for profit. But we are determined to fight back. In less than one month, the Justice Department has announced the largest one-day takedown against La Cosa Nostra, coordinated a nationwide gang takedown and, today, arrested more than 80 Armenian Power members, associates and others with ties to organized crime. These groups bring fear into our communities, defraud innocent victims, and put the safety and security of our neighborhoods at risk. We are taking an aggressive stand against these organized criminal groups and will continue our efforts to put them out of business.”
“The Southern California indictments that target the Armenian Power organized crime enterprise provide a window into a group that appears willing to do anything and everything illegal to make a profit. These types of criminal organizations – through the use of extortions, kidnappings and other violent acts – have a demonstrated willingness to prey upon members of their own community,” U.S. Attorney Birotte. “As we have seen in Los Angeles and elsewhere, these groups also engaged in various fraud schemes that clearly have had a significant impact on financial institutions and their customers who have lost millions of dollars and lost their sense of security through identity theft and credit card fraud.”
“Organized crime relies on extortion and the intimidation of victims through violence and fear,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer. “Today’s takedown has removed 100 members and associates of organized crime groups from the streets of Miami, Los Angeles and Denver. We stand firm in our resolve to help eliminate organized criminal activity, be it domestic or transnational.”
“We have seen organized crime spread from shakedowns on street corners to complex cyber schemes, human trafficking and other crimes perpetrated across international borders,” said Executive Assistant Director Shawn Henry of the FBI. “Transnational enterprises are siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars from our economy to perpetuate their cycle of greed.”
In Los Angeles, two indictments charge 88 defendants with a wide variety of violent and fraud-related crimes. The alleged crimes include kidnapping, extortion, assault, witness intimidation, bank fraud, credit card fraud and drug distribution. Numerous defendants are alleged to be members and associates of Armenian Power (AP), a racketeering enterprise with a significant presence in Los Angeles.
According to the indictments, AP’s membership consists primarily of individuals whose heritage goes back to Armenia and other Eastern Bloc countries. AP is an international organized crime group that started as a street gang in East Hollywood, Calif., in the 1980s.
A 134-count indictment (U.S. v. Darbinyan, et al) charges 29 of its 70 defendants with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, and alleges a host of illegal activities, including fraud schemes involving identify theft, credit card skimming and manufacturing of counterfeit checks. The financial fraud crimes allegedly committed on behalf of AP were highly sophisticated, targeting thousands of victims and resulting in millions of dollars of actual and intended losses to banks and individual victims.
Among the schemes charged in the Darbinyan indictment is a bank fraud and counterfeit credit card scheme that victimized hundreds of customers of 99 Cents Only Stores throughout Southern California when AP members and associates allegedly installed sophisticated “skimming” devices to steal customer account information. According to the Darbinyan indictment, these devices gave the AP members information, which they used to create counterfeit debit cards and credit cards, and steal thousands of dollars from the accounts.
In addition, AP members allegedly engaged in a large-scale check fraud scheme using a wide network of associations in which they unlawfully obtained customer information for high-value bank accounts, impersonated the bank customers to acquire checks, and then cashed and deposited checks in an effort to deplete the accounts. At times, members of the conspiracy allegedly went to victims’ residences to steal bank checks that had been mailed to them.
In addition to the RICO count that includes nearly 450 alleged overt acts, the indictment charges AP members with kidnapping, extortion, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, credit card fraud, marijuana distribution, conducting an illegal gambling business and numerous firearms offenses. In one kidnapping scheme, several AP members allegedly seized a victim and forced him to pay ransom by taking him to an auto body shop belonging to an AP member and threatening him with violence. Several defendants allegedly targeted another victim in an extortion scheme lasting several months, in which they threatened the victim and his family in order to extract repeated payments from the victim. The indictment alleges that the defendants repeatedly possessed and distributed drugs and firearms. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement made numerous seizures of marijuana grows, firearms, ammunition and skimming devices.
The second California indictment (U.S. v. Sharopetrosian, et al) was returned by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana and charges 20 defendants, two of whom are also charged in the Darbinyan indictment. In addition to alleging schemes similar to those alleged in the Darbinyan indictment, the Sharopetrosian indictment alleges that AP members engaged in a bank fraud scheme that targeted elderly and vulnerable victims. Members of AP allegedly joined with members of other gangs and allegedly obtained confidential information about bank accounts. The conspirators paid bank insiders for the confidential information, which included social security numbers and passwords used to access the accounts. According to the indictment, the conspirators then used that information to take control of the bank accounts and stole at least $10 million from hundreds of accounts.
The investigation of AP also revealed that its members took great efforts to conceal their criminal activities from law enforcement, and some continued to be involved in various schemes even after they were incarcerated. Two of the defendants are accused of using smuggled mobile phones to coordinate bank fraud schemes while in state prison, and one of those incarcerated defendants allegedly helped organize a scheme to threaten and extort another person while still in prison.
According to the Darbinyan indictment, AP is closely allied with the Mexican Mafia, a prison gang that controls much of the narcotics distribution and other criminal activities within California correctional facilities. In addition to its connections to criminal groups operating in California, such as the Mexican Mafia, AP leadership is alleged to maintain ties to Armenia and Russia and to deal directly with high-level Armenian/Russian organized crime figures, both within the United States and abroad. Among those high-level crime figures are traditional “Thieves-in-Law,” who are used to resolve disputes and address criminal activity. According to the indictment, because of its large network of members and associates, its demonstrated ability to carry out acts of violence, and its strong relationship with the Mexican Mafia, Armenian Power leaders interact with traditional Thieves-in-Laws as equals. At times, AP members and associates confront and commit acts of violence against associates of traditional Thieves-in-Law in a demonstration of the authority of AP leadership.
In addition to the federal indictments, the Los Angeles County District Attorney has charged 11 defendants in California state court, bringing the total number of AP members charged with crimes to 99.
Also today, in a related case, 13 defendants were charged in three indictments unsealed in Miami with extortion conspiracy, credit card fraud, money laundering, smuggling of firearms and health care fraud, among other crimes. According to the Miami court documents, several of the defendants maintain associations with members and associates of AP as well as with a “thief-in-law” who was arrested in the Southern District of New York in October 2010. According to court documents, Aram Khranyan, 41, of Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., was the “overseer” of the extortion conspiracies and maintains strong ties to Armenia and Russia.
In addition, according to court documents, Khranyan entered into a false marriage with Mira Shatkhin, 35, of Sunny Isles Beach, in order to obtain permanent legal status in the United States. Three defendants (Andranik Itchmelyan, 48, of Davie, Fla.; Gegam Kalashyan, 41, of Hallandale Beach, Fla.; and Vladimir Okun, 44, of Davie) also are charged with transporting numerous firearms in 2009 from the United States to Yerevan, Armenia, without obtaining the appropriate license to do so.
Two indictments unsealed today in Miami allege health care fraud schemes running from 2007 to the present. The first health care fraud indictment charges three defendants (Andranik Itchmelyan, 48; Anahit Karapetyan, 40 of Davie; and Frank Rodriguez, 52, of North Miami Beach, Fla.) with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and substantive counts of health care fraud in connection with their ownership and operation of Hallandale Medical Associates Inc. The second health care fraud indictment charges another three defendants (Vladimir Okun; Andrey Schegolev, 49, of Hollywood, Fla; Harvey Lerfelt, 51 of North Miami Beach) with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and substantive counts of health care fraud in connection with their ownership and operation of Family Chiropractic Center Inc. Both of these clinics allegedly paid individuals to refer “patients” of staged accidents. The clinics billed private insurance carriers for treatments that were either not medically necessary or were not provided.
Finally, in an indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Nadezda Nikitina, 24, of Denver, was charged with conspiring with others to make false statements to the United States on credit and loan applications. The indictment charges that Nikitina, acting under the control of a transnational criminal group, established a shell company and then used that shell company to apply for business and personal credit cards, car loans and leases, consumer loans and a home equity loan. In those credit applications, Nikitina allegedly claimed that she was the owner or an employee of the company. The indictment charges that Nikitina and her co-conspirators would conduct little activity on the credit card accounts and then go on a spending splurge, or “bust out” the lines of credit up to and over the credit limits on her various accounts. The indictment also charges Nikitina with 10 counts of false statements on credit and loan applications, bank fraud and wire fraud.
An indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Copies of court documents can be found at www.justice.gov/opa/ioc.htm.
The two-year investigation of Armenian Power in Los Angeles – known as Operation Power Outage – was conducted by the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, which is made up of investigators from federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – Criminal Investigation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Glendale Police Department and the Burbank Police Department. The mission of the Task Force is to investigate and disrupt or dismantle Eurasian organized crime groups operating within the Los Angeles area, and elsewhere.
The Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force Task Force worked with several other law enforcement agencies that provided substantial assistance during this morning’s takedown, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Marshals Service; and investigators with the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
The Miami cases were investigated by the FBI, IRS, ICE, Customs and Border Patrol and the Sunny Isles Beach Police Department. Valuable assistance was also provided by the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2); Miami-Dade Police Department; North Miami Beach Police Department; Hallandale Beach Police Department; U.S. Secret Service; HHS – Office of the Inspector General, Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud; the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom.
These cases are being prosecuted separately and independently of each other. The Los Angeles cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys E. Martin Estrada, Sarah Levitt, Stephen G. Wolfe and Joseph McNally, as well as Trial Attorney Cristina Moreno of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section (OCRS). The Miami cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Huynh and Cynthia Stone, as well as OCRS Trial Attorney Margaret Honrath and Trial Attorney Constantine Lizas of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. The Denver case is being prosecuted by OCRS Trial Attorneys Robert S. Tully and Joe Wheatley.
Joint U.S.-Croatia Statement on Preventing and Combating Serious Crime AgreementRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The United States and Croatia today signed an Agreement on Preventing and Combating Serious Crime. The agreement was signed on behalf of the United States by Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. On behalf of Croatia, the agreement was signed by Interior Minister Tomislav Karamarko.
The U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Republic of Croatia Ministry of Interior released the following statement:
“This agreement reflects, and further advances, the close collaboration between U.S. and Croatian law enforcement and border security personnel in fighting terrorism and transnational crime. It also provides an opportunity for overall security cooperation between the United States and Croatia as well as avenues in which to explore the possible further strengthening of such cooperation.
“The Agreement on Preventing and Combating Serious Crime provides 21st century tools to fight terrorism and transnational crime, while protecting individual privacy. It reinforces our shared commitment to international cooperation and will help prevent known criminals and terrorists from causing harm to our citizens. It allows for fingerprint matching “hit/no hit” queries between our two nations, pursuant to which law enforcement officials in either country may submit the fingerprint information of a suspected criminal or terrorist to the other country for an immediate determination whether the queried country holds matching fingerprint records, while incorporating important privacy protections. If this initial inquiry results in a match, only then may follow-up inquiries be made through law enforcement or mutual legal assistance channels.
This agreement – which is modeled on the EU’s “Prüm” Agreement – provides for the sharing of important law enforcement information regarding criminal and terrorists, while ensuring that the privacy of citizens is protected.”
El Secretario Napolitano y el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder forman una Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta para ayudar en la investigación mexicana de los disparos de ayer contra dos Agent...Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - La Secretaria de Seguridad Nacional Janet Napolitano y el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder se reunieron hoy para discutir los disparos contra dos agentes especiales del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE.UU. [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] en cumplimiento del deber, realizados por dos atacantes desconocidos mientras conducían un vehículo en México.
Durante la reunión, la Secretaria Napolitano y el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder decidieron establecer una fuerza de tarea conjunta entre el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional y el Departamento de Justicia, a ser encabezada por el Buró Federal de Investigaciones. Dicha fuerza de tarea aprovechará las capacidades de investigación de ambas dependencias para trabajar en México en encontrar a los autores del delito y llevarlos ante la justicia.
"Esta fuerza de tarea conjunta es un reflejo de nuestro compromiso de utilizar todo el poder de investigación y enjuiciamiento del Gobierno de EE.UU. al trabajar con el gobierno mexicano para lograr el enjuiciamiento de estos delincuentes", dijo la Secretaria Napolitano. "Nuestros pensamientos y oraciones están con las familias y los seres queridos de los agentes del ICE, al ser recordados de los riesgos y sacrificios asumidos cada día por los hombres y mujeres en las las líneas de frente, para proteger la seguridad del pueblo estadounidense".
"El homicidio del Agente Especial Jaime Zapata y los disparos efectuados contra otro agente del ICE son un triste recordatorio de los peligros que los agentes de las fuerzas armadas de los Estados Unidos enfrentan todos los días", dijo el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder. "Trabajando con nuestros homólogos mexicanos, ya hemos lanzado una investigación agresiva, y esta fuerza de tarea conjunta asegurará que todo recurso disponible se utilice para enjuiciar a los autores de este terrible delito. ”
Durante su reunión, la Secretaria Napolitano y el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder destacaron el compromiso de los Estados Unidos de trabajar estrechamente con las fuerzas del orden público mexicanas en pleno apoyo a la labor en curso. También reiteraron su compromiso de un mayor apoyo del gobierno estadounidense a la labor de México de combate a la violencia dentro de sus fronteras.
Hoy, la Secretaria Napolitano también habló con el Ministro del Interior de México Fernando Blake Mora. Durante la llamada, la Secretaria Napolitano enfatizó al Ministro Blake Mora que la violencia contra personal del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional [Department of Homeland Security (DHD)] en México representa un ataque contra todos aquellos que sirven a nuestra nación y ponen en riesgo sus vidas para nuestra seguridad, y no será tolerada por ninguno de los dos países.
En el ataque de ayer, un agente de las fuerzas del orden público estadounidenses, el Agente Especial del ICE Jaime J. Zapata, recibió heridas críticas que causaron su fallecimiento. El segundo agente recibió disparos en la pierna y ha recibido el alta hospitalaria. Se divulgará más información al respecto a medida que esté disponible.
Dos personas se declaran culpables en conexión con empresas de oportunidades comerciales fraudulentas con sede en Costa RicaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Dos personas se declararon culpables hoy de conspiración para cometer fraude postal y telegráfico por sus papeles en ardides de oportunidades comerciales fraudulentas, anunciaron hoy el Departamento de Justicia y el Servicio de Inspección Postal de EE.UU.
Silvio Carrano y Gregory Britt Fleming fueron arrestados después de su acusación formal emitida por un gran jurado federal en Miami el 9 de marzo de 2010, con base en cargos de que ellos y sus coconspiradores vendieron oportunidades de máquinas expendedoras, bebidas y tarjetas de felicitaciones, incluidas promesas fraudulentas de asistencia en el establecimiento, mantenimiento y operación de dichas empresas. Los cargos son parte de la campaña nacional continua del gobierno contra el fraude de oportunidades comerciales.
"El fraude de oportunidades comerciales impone dificultades financieras significativas a víctimas inocentes y trabajadoras", dijo Tony West, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División de los Civil del Departamento de Justicia. "El Departamento de Justicia seguirá enjuiciando enérgicamente a quienes defrauden a los ciudadanos estadounidenses con la finalidad de ganar dinero rápido".
"Los estafadores de oportunidades comerciales necesitan darse cuenta de que este tipo de fraude será enérgicamente enjuiciado. Esto es así aunque operen desde afuera de los Estados Unidos", dijo Wifredo A. Ferrer, Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Sur de Florida. "La cooperación internacional de las fuerzas del orden público elimina los refugios para quienes estafen a ciudadanos estadounidenses desde el exterior".
Otros dos individuos involucrados en este ardid han sido arrestados y se han declarado culpables. El 29 de junio de 2010, Donald Williams se declaró culpable de conspiración para cometer fraude postal y telegráfico. El 27 de Octubre de 2010, fue sentenciado a 78 meses en prisión. El 18 de enero de 2011, Patrick Williams se declaró culpable de conspiración para cometer fraude postal y telegráfico, 10 cargos de fraude postal y tres cargos de fraude telegráfico. La lectura de la sentencia de Patrick Williams está programada para el 30 de marzo de 2011.
De acuerdo con el expediente judicial, a partir de junio de 2004, Carrano, Patrick Williams, Donald Williams, Fleming y sus coconspiradores convencieron fraudulentamente a compradores en los Estados Unidos que compraran oportunidades comerciales en Apex Management Group Inc. , USA Beverages Inc., Twin Peaks Gourmet Coffee Inc., Cards-R-Us Inc., Premier Cards Inc., The Coffee Man Inc. y Nation West Distribution Company. Los demandados vendieron oportunidades comerciales por miles de dólares cada una, y la mayoría de los compradores pagó por lo menos 10,000 dólares. Cada compañía operó durante varios meses, y después de que se cerraba una, se abría otra. Las diversas compañías utilizaron cuentas bancarias, oficinas y otros servicios en el Distrito Sur de Florida y otros lugares.
Los demandados, utilizando nombres ficticios, participaron en una conspiración que utilizó diversos medios para que los potenciales compradores pensaran que las empresas estaban plenamente ubicadas en los Estados Unidos. En realidad, Carrano, Patrick Williams, Donald Williams y Fleming operaban desde Costa Rica para convencer fraudulentamente a potenciales compradores en los Estados Unidos a comprar las supuestas oportunidades comerciales, de acuerdo con el expediente judicial.
Carrano y Fleming admitieron que las empresas realizaron numerosas declaraciones falsas a potenciales compradores de las oportunidades comerciales. Se les dijo falsamente a los compradores potenciales que probablemente recibirían lucros significativos; que compradores anteriores de las oportunidades comerciales recibían lucros significativos; y que la oportunidad comercial trabajaba con localizadores familiarizados con el área del comprador potencial, quienes obtendrían o ya habían obtenido ubicaciones de alto tráfico para los puestos comerciales del comprador potencial.
De acuerdo con el expediente judicial, las empresas emplearon diversos tipos de representantes de ventas, incluidos "personal de frente", "personal de cierre" y referencias. El personal de cierre hablaba con los potenciales compradores cuando inicialmente entraban en contacto con la compañía en respuesta a un aviso publicitario. A seguir, el personal de cierre hablaba con potenciales compradores para cerrar los negocios. Las referencias hablaban con potenciales compradores acerca de su supuesto éxito financiero desde que habían comprado una de las oportunidades comerciales.
Carrano admitió que, usando aliases, trabajó como empleado de frente y referencias para USA Beverages; empleado de frente y referencias para Twin Peaks; empleado de frente y referencias para Cards-R-Us; referencia para Premier Cards; y referencia para The Coffee Man. También figuraba en un documento societario como tesorero de USA Beverages. Fleming admitió que trabajó para USA Beverages y Nation West.
Cada una de las compañías estaba registrada como una sociedad y alquilaba oficinas para que los potenciales compradores pensaran que sus operaciones estaban plenamente ubicadas en los Estados Unidos. Apex estaba registrada como una empresa de Florida y alquilaba oficinas en Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., mientras que USA Beverages estaba registrada como una empresa de Florida y Nuevo México y alquilaba oficinas en Las Cruces, N.M. Peaks estaba registrada como una empresa de Florida y Colorado y alquilaba oficinas en Fort Collins, Colo. Cards-R-Us estaba registrada como una empresa de Nevada y alquilaba oficinas en Reno, Nev. Premier Cards estaba registrada como una empresa de Colorado y Pensilvania y alquilaba oficinas en Filadelfia. The Coffee Man y Nation West estaban ambas registradas como empresas de Colorado y alquilaban oficinas en Denver. Estas ubicaciones hicieron con que los potenciales compradores pensaran que las empresas estaban totalmente ubicadas en los Estados Unidos, cuando de hecho no lo estaban.
"El fraude de telemarketing no se limita a operaciones en los Estados Unidos. Esta investigación internacional y nacional ilustra la determinación del Servicio de Inspección Postal de proteger al público estadounidense contra los ardides de oportunidades comerciales", indicó Henry Gutierrez, Inspector Postal de EE.UU. a Cargo en Miami.
La lectura de la sentencia ha sido programada para el 20 de abril de 2011.
El Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar West y el Fiscal Federal Ferrer felicitaron al Servicio de Inspección Postal por su labor de investigación, y agradecieron a la Comisión Federal de Comercio quien había entablado una demanda relacionada anteriormente y realizado una remisión penal. Están a cargo de la acusación en el caso los abogados litigantes Jeffrey Steger y Alan Phelps de la Oficina de Litigio de Protección al Consumidor de la División de lo Civil.
Tuesday 15 February 2011
Virginia Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for<br /> Engaging in a Child Exploitation EnterpriseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Fred Woolum of Lexington, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania David J. Hickton and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge John Kelleghan.
Woolum, 59, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise before U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Schwab on July 22, 2010. According to court documents and proceedings, Woolum and others distributed images and videos of children being sexually abused to other members of an international group that had restricted membership and was formed on a social networking website. Members of the group distributed to one another thousands of sexually explicit images and videos of children, many of which graphically depicted prepubescent, male children, including some infants, being sexually abused and sometimes sodomized or subjected to bondage.
This case was investigated by HSI in Pittsburgh and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig W. Haller of the Western District of Pennsylvania and CEOS Trial Attorney Andrew McCormack prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Twenty People Indicted in Florida for Health Care Fraud Scheme Involving Approximately $200 Million in Medicare BillingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Twenty individuals, including three doctors, were charged today in the Southern District of Florida for various health care fraud, kickback and money laundering charges related to their alleged participation in a fraud scheme involving approximately $200 million in Medicare billing for purported mental health services, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).
The 38-count indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida alleges that the defendants worked with and for American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC) and Medlink Professional Management Group Inc. According to court documents, the defendants participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting false claims for mental health services administered at ATC facilities that were medically unnecessary or not provided at all. The indictment alleges that various defendants paid kickbacks to patient brokers and owners and operators of halfway houses and assisted living facilities (ALFs), in exchange for delivering patients to ATC facilities. Various defendants are charged with participating in an extensive and complicated money laundering scheme related to the cash for kickback payments. Sixteen defendants were arrested this morning in the Southern District of Florida and are expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Miami later today. Arrests are expected to continue in the coming days.
ATC’s and Medlink’s owners and managers, Lawrence S. Duran, Marianella Valera, Judith Negron and Margarita Acevedo, were originally indicted along with the corporate entities, ATC and Medlink, in October 2010. A superseding 38-count indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of Florida charges them with additional offenses.
“As today’s charges reflect, defrauding the Medicare system was not an aberration at ATC, but instead part and parcel of its business operations,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. “The alleged scheme was brazen in scope, and carried out by the company’s owners, doctors, marketers and others. By exploiting positions of trust, these defendants masked their fraudulent operation as a legitimate mental health business. These charges are evidence that we will pursue Medicare cheats no matter their position.”
“Community mental health centers are an essential element of the nation’s health care system and serve vulnerable populations,” said Daniel R. Levinson, HHS Inspector General. “Today’s arrests by OIG agents and our law enforcement partners show that we will not tolerate criminals who pay kickbacks for referrals of Medicare business or who bill for services that were either medically unnecessary or never provided.”
“Community Mental Health Centers can no longer use phantom medical care as a front to bilk Medicare for unnecessary or nonexistent medical services,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge John V. Gillies of the Miami Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will investigate and criminally prosecute such fraud to the fullest extent of the law.”
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida stated, “Health care fraud has evolved from DME fraud, to infusion fraud, to home health care fraud, and now, as this case shows, to community mental health treatment fraud. Worse yet, health care fraud has come to permeate every level of the health care industry, from the owners and managers of dirty clinics, to complicit doctors, program directors, therapists, marketers, and patient recruiters. Today’s prosecution confirms that we are well-equipped and primed to fight the changing face of Medicare fraud in the Southern District of Florida, and that we will prosecute every link in the fraud chain.”
According to court documents, ATC, headquartered in Miami, operated purported partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) in seven different locations throughout Florida, from Homestead to Orlando. A PHP is a form of intensive treatment for mental illness. Court documents allege that Duran and Valera orchestrated the fraud, kickback and money laundering schemes. Negron assisted Duran and Valera in operating the schemes. Acevedo operated the kickback scheme.
According to court documents, doctors Mark Willner, Alan Gumer and Alberta Ayala were medical directors for ATC, and Vanja Abreu (Ph.D.), Nancy Merced-Sola and Lydia Ward (Ph.D.) served as program directors who managed ATC facilities. Nichole Eckert was a therapist at ATC. Court documents allege that Duran, Negron and Valera, along with the program directors and Eckert, regularly altered and instructed others to alter patient charts and notes from therapy sessions at ATC in order to make it appear that the patients being treated qualified for PHP treatments, when, in fact, they did not. According to the indictment, Willner, Gumer and Ayala then signed the false patient charts authorizing unnecessary treatment or continued treatment for patients who were not eligible for PHP treatment, without examining the patients or the charts. Duran and Valera also allegedly instructed employees and doctors at ATC, including Willner, Gumer and Ayala, to alter diagnoses and medication types and levels to falsely make it appear that the patients qualified for PHP treatments.
According to court documents, Valera, Willner, Gumer and Ayala manipulated the length of patients’ stays in order to maximize the number of days Medicare would pay for the PHP services. According to a civil complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida, ATC routinely admitted patients to the PHP program who suffered from Alzheimer’s and severe dementia and therefore were not eligible for the PHP program because their mental capacity did not allow them to benefit from group therapy.
The indictment also alleges that Sandra Jimenez, Hilario Morris and Joseph Valdes were marketers for ATC and participated in the kickback operation. These marketers, along with Duran, Valera, Negron and Acevedo, allegedly paid kickbacks to patient brokers and owners and operators of ALFs and halfway houses in exchange for delivering patients from their facilities to ATC. The indictment alleges that defendants Mathis Moore, Nelson Fernandez, Leyanes Placeres, James Edwards, Frank Criado and Curtis Gates were patient brokers and, in exchange for kickbacks, provided patients to ATC every month from ALFs and halfway houses with which they had relationships. The indictment alleges that the kickback payments totaled millions of dollars.
The indictments allege that the kickback scheme was supported by a money laundering scheme whereby individuals received checks in their own names or in the names of shell corporations they created, cashed the checks and returned the cash to Duran and Valera, which Duran and Valera then used to pay the kickbacks. Defendants Adriana Mejia, Pedro Sosa, Yoisel Cancio and an unnamed coconspirator, along with Moore, Fernandez, Placeres, Edwards, Criado and Gates, allegedly participated with Duran, Valera, Negron and Acevedo in the charged money laundering conspiracy. According to the indictment, Mejia, Sosa and Cancio received monthly, bi-weekly and weekly payments from Medlink despite the fact that they had no job functions at Medlink or ATC, other than laundering money. The indictments also charge that Duran, Valera, Negron, Mejia, Sosa and Cancio engaged in transactions designed to conceal proceeds of unlawful activity and structured their transactions to avoid reporting requirements that require banks to report certain transactions. According to the indictments, these defendants together laundered millions of dollars over several years.
The alleged scheme also involved a company called American Sleep Institute (ASI), which purportedly provided sleep study services. The defendants paid additional kickbacks for some patients to also visit ASI. Court documents allege that Willner, Gumer and Ayala furthered the health care fraud conspiracy by referring patients to ASI.
In a separate action in October 2010, a civil complaint for injunctive relief was filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida and a preliminary injunction was obtained to freeze the assets of Duran, Valera, Negron, Acevedo, ATC and Medlink as well as ASI and D&V Development Inc., as participants in the health care fraud. Civil court documents allege that D&V Development was owned and operated by Valera and Duran and was established in an effort to divert funds received by ATC and ASI.
An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Today’s actions were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge John V. Gillies of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of HHS.
The criminal cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jennifer L. Saulino, Maria Gonzalez Calvet and Joseph S. Beemsterboer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The related civil action is being prosecuted by Vanessa I. Reed and Carolyn B. Tapie of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted L. Radway of the Southern District of Florida. The cases are being investigated by the FBI and HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG). The cases 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 Southern District of Florida.
Since their inception in March 2007, Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 850 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for approximately $2.1 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
Latin Kings Leader Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison for a Racketeering Conspiracy Related to His Gang ActivitiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) in Maryland was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. to 60 years in prison for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with his gang activities as a member and leader of the Latin Kings.
Erick Roman, aka “Erick Javier Sierra,” “Malian-T” and “King Malian-T,” 34, of Laurel, Md., was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; Interim Chief Mark Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks.
“As the founder and leader of a Latin Kings tribe in Maryland, Mr. Roman orchestrated a series of violent crimes, including a murder, firebombings and robberies,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “As this case shows, the Justice Department is committed to working with state and local law enforcement to target the leadership of local gangs and make our communities safer.”
“The strategy of combining the resources and intelligence of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue federal racketeering charges against criminal gangs is proving effective in removing violent offenders from the streets and making our neighborhoods more safe,” said U.S. Attorney Rosenstein.
“ATF did not relent in our pursuit to eradicate the founding leadership of the Maryland Latin Kings,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Stoop. “Our solid investigation brought down the man who was directing these malignant acts of violence.”
According to court documents and statements made at yesterday’s hearing, the Latin Kings is a violent street gang with thousands of members across the country and overseas. The Latin Kings have a detailed and uniform organizational structure, which is outlined – along with various “prayers,” codes of behavior and rituals – in a written “manifesto” widely distributed to members throughout the country. Members of the Latin Kings are also traditionally given “King Names” or “Queen Names,” which are names other than their legal names, by which they are known to members of the gang and to others. At the local level, groups of Latin Kings are organized into “tribes,” including the Royal Lion Tribe, MOG, Sun Tribe and UTL.
Prosecutors advised the court that Roman brought the Latin Kings to Maryland and founded the Royal Lion Tribe. He served as the Inca of the tribe and, in that capacity, sanctioned or ordered numerous violent acts, including a home invasion robbery of a drug dealer at the Marylander Condominiums in Langley Park, Md.; the robbery of a prostitute at a motel in Laurel; the firebombing of an apartment on July 24, 2007; the firebombing of a house on Jan. 8, 2008; and the murder of John Realpe-Montoya on April 25, 2008.
Eight co-defendants have previously pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy.
The ATF-led Regional Anti-Gang Enforcement (RAGE) Task Force, which includes the Gaithersburg, Md., Police Department; the Montgomery County Department of Police; the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Prince George’s County Police Department; the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office; the Maryland National Capital Park Police - Prince George’s County Division; and the Maryland State Police; as well as the New York City Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation provided assistance in the investigation and prosecution.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Glatfelter and David Salem, and Trial Attorney Lara M. Peirce with the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit.
Justice Department Signs Agreement with the Town of Swansea, Massachusetts, to Ensure Civic Access for People with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - An agreement has been reached with the town of Swansea, Mass., to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities, the Justice Department today announced. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“Individuals with disabilities must have the opportunity to participate in local government programs, services and activities on an equal basis with their neighbors,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. “I commend Swansea’s officials for their big commitment to make this small town’s programs and facilities accessible to residents and visitors with disabilities. We hope that other cities and counties throughout the country will follow Swansea’s example by working with us to make their communities fully accessible.”
PCA was initiated to ensure that persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in civic life, a fundamental part of American society. As part of the PCA initiative, Justice Department investigators, attorneys and architects survey state and local government facilities, services and programs in communities across the country to identify the modifications needed for compliance with the ADA. The agreements are tailored to address the steps each community must take to improve access. This agreement is the 187th reached under the PCA initiative.
Under the agreement announced today, Swansea will take several important steps to improve access for individuals with disabilities, such as:
- Making physical modifications to facilities surveyed by the department so that parking, routes into buildings, entrances, service areas and counters, restrooms, public telephones and drinking fountains are accessible to people with disabilities;
- Surveying other facilities and programs and making modifications wherever necessary to achieve full compliance with ADA requirements;
- Posting, publishing and distributing a notice to inform members of the public of the provisions of Title II of the ADA and their applicability to the town’s programs, services and activities;
- Training town staff in using the Massachusetts Relay Service as a key means of communicating with individuals who are deaf, are hard-of-hearing or have speech impairments;
- Undertaking the required planning and modifications to ensure equal, integrated access to emergency management for individuals with disabilities, including emergency preparedness, notification, evacuation, sheltering, response, clean up and recovery;
- Ensuring that the town’s official website and other web-based services are accessible to people with disabilities;
- Developing a method for providing information for interested persons with disabilities concerning the existence and location of the town’s accessible services, activities and programs;
- Installing signs at any inaccessible entrance to a facility directing individuals with disabilities to an accessible entrance or to information about accessing programs and services at other accessible facilities; and
- Implementing a comprehensive plan to improve the accessibility of sidewalks, transportation stops and pedestrian crossings by installing accessible curb ramps throughout the town of Swansea.
Swansea was established in 1663 as a colonial site. The historical town is located in Bristol County at the mouth of the Taunton River in southeastern Massachusetts, less than 50 miles from Boston. According to U.S. Census data, Swansea has just under 16,000 residents. Approximately 16 percent of Swansea residents have a disability and will benefit from this agreement.
Today’s agreement was reached under Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by state and local governments. The agreement will remain in effect for three years from Feb. 15, 2011, or until all actions required by the agreement have been completed, whichever is later. The department will actively monitor compliance with the agreement until all required actions have been completed.
People interested in finding out more about the ADA, today’s agreement with the town of Swansea, the Project Civic Access initiative or the ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments can access the ADA Web page at www.ada.gov or call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TTY).
More information regarding the agreement is available at www.ada.gov/swansea_pca/swansea_facsht.html .
Federal Courts Order Seizure of Website Domains Involved in Advertising and Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Seizure warrants have been executed against 10 domain names of websites engaged in the advertisement and distribution of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. The seizures are part of a new joint Justice Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) initiative called Operation Protect Our Children.
Seizure warrants have been executed against 10 domain names of websites that hosted hundreds of photos depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Individuals attempting to access the websites will now find a banner notifying them that the domain name of that website has been seized by federal authorities.
“For all its positive impact, the Internet has also unfortunately created a new way for child predators to commit their inexcusable crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “The production and distribution of child pornography wreak havoc on innocent lives. With these domain seizures, we are taking our fight against child pornography to websites that facilitate the exchange of these abusive images.”
“Each year, far too many children fall prey to sexual predators and all too often, these heinous acts are recorded in photos and on video and released on the Internet,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. “DHS is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to shut down websites that promote child pornography to protect these children from further victimization.”
Members of the public are encouraged to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through the ICE-HSI toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or www.cybertipline.com . The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and NCMEC have assisted ICE HSI in the efforts to identify websites dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography.
The seizure warrants were prepared by prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), with assistance from the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia also provided assistance. The warrants were executed by ICE-HSI agents.
FBI and Justice Department Response to NAS Review of Scientific Approaches Used During the Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax LettersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The following is in response to the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, “Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI’s Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax Letters” (Report).
“The FBI appreciates the efforts, time and expertise of this group of highly respected professionals of the Academy. The Academy was asked by the FBI to conduct an independent review in appreciation of the significance of the anthrax investigation and the groundbreaking nature of the science involved and its role in resolving the case. We commend the committee formed by the Academy for a report that provides valuable guidance and better prepares the FBI to respond to attacks of a similar nature in the future.
“Among other findings, the committee confirmed the value of the emerging field of ‘microbial forensics,’ which proved significant in solving this case. This scientific technique established a critical lead as to the origins of the anthrax used in the attacks, allowing investigators to focus investigative resources and efforts. Ultimately, the late Dr. Bruce Ivins was determined to be the perpetrator of the deadly mailings. The FBI and Department of Justice were preparing for prosecution at the time of Dr. Ivin’s death.
“As the Report recognizes, this was an investigation of almost unprecedented scope, complexity, and duration. Its origins were in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks when the FBI was unsure of possible links to those attacks and concerned about follow-on attacks. The investigation necessarily moved at a rapid pace, proceeding on two parallel fronts: a traditional investigation, involving tracking leads and conducting interviews, and a scientific one, led by the FBI Lab and included scientists from outside of law enforcement. From the outset, the scientific and traditional investigations were mutually reinforcing. Each helped guide and direct the other. The report notes the complexity of the parallel tracks of the investigation and how aspects of each track informed decisions to proceed with or abandon particular lines of the investigation.
“As the report notes, one of the most significant scientific approaches undertaken in the case – the field of microbial forensics – was being developed as the investigation unfolded. While the biological and chemical analytical methods applied in the investigation were neither new nor unique, the application was both innovative and groundbreaking. The committee’s findings highlight the emerging role that microbial forensics played in this investigation and its promise for future investigations. The Report also recognized the FBI’s unprecedented efforts to form outside partnerships within the scientific community and the value that their expertise can lend to a criminal investigation of this magnitude.
“The committee’s Report reiterates what is and is not possible to establish through science alone in a criminal investigation of this magnitude. The committee’s focus was on the more novel scientific approaches used in this investigation and did not review the traditional forensic methods and techniques employed or the significant body of evidence gathered through traditional law enforcement techniques. The committee also concluded that it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the B. anthracis in the mailings based on the available scientific evidence alone. The FBI has long maintained that while science played a significant role, it was the totality of the investigative process that determined the outcome of the anthrax case. Although there have been great strides in forensic science over the years, rarely does science alone solve an investigation. The scientific findings in this case provided investigators with valuable investigative leads that led to the identification of the late Dr. Bruce Ivins as the perpetrator of the anthrax attacks.
“Over the course of the investigation, the FBI and the Postal Inspection Service devoted 600,000 investigator work hours to the case and assigned 17 Special Agents to a Task Force, along with 10 U.S. Postal Inspectors. The investigation spanned six continents; involved over 10,000 witness interviews, 80 searches, 26,000 e-mail reviews, and analyses of 4 million megabytes of computer memory; and resulted in the issuance of 5,750 grand jury subpoenas. Additionally, 29 government, university, and commercial laboratories assisted in conducting the scientific analyses that were an important aspect of the investigation.
“The FBI believes that today’s Report will increase the public’s understanding of the exhaustive effort that resolved one of the most extensive investigations in the history of the FBI.
“The FBI and Justice Department investigative summary of evidence developed in the ‘Amerithrax’ investigation and numerous attachments are accessible to the public and were posted last year to the Justice Department website at www.justice.gov/amerithrax under the Freedom of Information Act. In addition, roughly 2,700 pages of FBI documents related to the Amerithrax case are accessible to the public and were posted last year to the FBI website at http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/amerithrax.htm under the Freedom of Information Act.”
Construction Manager of Iowa Building Renovation Pleads Guilty to Environmental CrimesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The construction manager for a renovation project at the Equitable Building in Des Moines, Iowa, pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and for violating the Clean Air Act’s work practice standards related to asbestos removal, the Department of Justice announced.
Russell Coco, 51, of Des Moines, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James E. Gritzner for the Southern District of Iowa to one count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and one count of failing to remove all regulated asbestos containing material from the Equitable Building before commencement of the renovation project.
The Clean Air Act requires contractors who remove asbestos from public buildings to follow federally established work practice standards to ensure the safe removal of the asbestos. The required standards include providing notice to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before commencing asbestos removal, adequately wetting the asbestos during the removal and before disposal and properly disposing of the asbestos at an EPA-approved disposal site.
According to a plea agreement filed with the court, from 2006 through February 2008, Coco acted as the construction manager for the renovation project which involved converting several floors of the building into luxury residential condominium units, and renovating other floors to attract additional commercial tenants.
According to the facts contained in the plea agreement, Coco was employed as the construction supervisor and reported directly to the building owner Bob Knapp. Coco admitted that he conspired with Knapp to remove asbestos containing materials from the building without complying with the requirements of the Clean Air Act. While Coco was the construction manager for the project, more than 260 feet of steam pipes with asbestos containing insulation and more than 160 square feet of floor tile containing asbestos were removed from the building and disposed of in an uncovered dumpster. None of the workers involved in removing and disposing of the asbestos containing materials were properly accredited to perform asbestos abatement work.
According to the plea agreement, Coco has agreed to face up to one year in prison and, under the law, is subject to a fine of up to $250,000. A sentencing date has been set for May 20, 2011.
An indictment is pending against Knapp, alleging conspiracy and multiple violations of the Clean Air Act, and his case is scheduled for trial on Feb. 28, 2011. The allegations in the indictment are mere accusations and all persons are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The investigation was conducted by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa together with the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section.
Monday 14 February 2011
Solicitud de presupuesto para el Departamento de Justicia para el año fiscal 2012Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder anunció hoy que la propuesta de presupuesto del Presidente Obama para el año fiscal 2012 por un total de 28,200 millones de dólares para el Departamento de Justicia identifica 2,000 millones de dólares en eficiencias y ahorros y brinda recursos para fortalecer la seguridad nacional, preservar las misiones tradicionales del departamento, mantener prisiones y centros de detención y asistir a nuestros asociados estatales, locales y tribales de las fuerzas del orden público. La solicitud representa un incremento del 1.7 por ciento en la autoridad presupuestaria y una suba de 2,905 puestos sobre el nivel de Resolución Continua [Continuing Resolution (CR)] anualizado del año fiscal 2011.
“La solicitud presupuestaria del Presidente demuestra que está dedicado a proteger nuestra seguridad nacional y comprometido a usar todos los instrumentos de poder disponibles para luchar contra el terrorismo y proteger a los Estados Unidos. Este presupuesto respeta el rol histórico del departamento en la lucha contra la delincuencia, la protección de los derechos civiles, la preservación del medio ambiente y la garantía de justicia en el mercado, mientras responde a nuevos desafíos como el derrame de petróleo de Deepwater Horizon”, dijo el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder. “Dado el clima económico actual, este presupuesto también identifica ahorros y eficiencias, mientras se asegura de que nuestros recursos se destinen a nuestras áreas de misión más cruciales”.
La solicitud de presupuesto de 28,200 millones de dólares financia operaciones y actividades base para todos los componentes del Departamento de Justicia [Departament of Justice (DOJ)] e incluye 1,400 millones de dólares en mejoras a programas y 2,000 millones de dólares en eficiencias administrativas, ahorros programáticos y rescisiones de balances. El presupuesto brinda fondos cruciales para los programas esenciales de seguridad nacional del departamento, así como también apoya la continuación de fuertes iniciativas contra el fraude financiero y en la atención médica. El presupuesto también mantiene funciones clave de las fuerzas del orden público, lo que incluye apoyo a iniciativas a lo largo de la frontera sudoeste. Además, el presupuesto se encarga de la población carcelaria federal y costos asociados a largo plazo a través de reformas en las sentencias y la expansión de programas de reinserción, mientras sigue fortaleciendo programas de justicia penal estatales, locales y tribales. Para eliminar redundancias y aprovechar recursos, el presupuesto optimiza programas y redirige fondos para mejorar las capacidades de los agentes de las fuerzas del orden público del Departamento de Justicia. El presupuesto propone ahorrar 301 millones de dólares adicionales optimizando operaciones y consolidando programas que se duplican. Debido a restricciones fiscales, también fueron necesarias renuncias importantes en subsidios locales y estatales, que se redujeron 588 millones de dólares respecto del nivel promulgado en 2010. Además, el presupuesto incluye 62 millones de dólares de ahorros logrados a través de eficiencias y consolidaciones en el departamento.
Las prioridades clave del Departamento de Justicia incluyen:
- un incremento de 128.6 millones de dólares para fortalecer la seguridad nacional;
- un incremento de 57.4 millones de dólares para preservar misiones tradicionales;
- un incremento de 461.4 millones de dólares para mantener prisiones y centros de detención;
- un incremento de 786.4 millones de dólares para asistir a fuerzas del orden público estatales, locales y tribales;
- 2,000 millones de dólares en eficiencias administrativas, ahorros programáticos y rescisiones de balances.
Fortalecer la seguridad nacional
Prevenir, desbaratar y hacer fracasar actos terroristas antes de que se produzcan sigue siendo la mayor prioridad del Departamento de Justicia. El presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 solicita un incremento de 128.6 millones de dólares, lo que incluye 170 nuevos puestos (71 agentes y 5 abogados), para fortalecer la seguridad nacional y contrarrestar la amenaza del terrorismo. Dado que las amenazas a la seguridad nacional están en un proceso constante de evolución y adaptación, se necesitan recursos adicionales para contrarrestar los nuevos desafíos a la seguridad nacional. Asimismo, un mayor acceso global a los avances tecnológicos también ha provocado nuevas vulnerabilidades que deben tratarse. Los incrementos a programas solicitados en el presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 ofrecen capital tecnológico y humano esencial para detectar, desbaratar y disuadir amenazas a nuestra seguridad nacional.
El gobierno apoya programas cruciales de seguridad nacional dentro del departamento, lo que incluye al Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)] y la División de Seguridad Nacional [National Security Division (NSD)]. Los recursos de seguridad nacional solicitados incluyen 122.5 millones de dólares en incrementos de programas del FBI. Esta cifra incluye 48.9 millones de dólares para que el FBI expanda la vigilancia relacionada con la seguridad nacional y mejore su Sistema de Integración y Visualización de Datos; 40 millones de dólares para el programa de Facilitadores Operativos del FBI y capacidades de Armas de Destrucción Masiva/Desactivación [Render Safe] para distribuir activos de desactivación por todo el país para desactivar, bloquear o destruir armas de destrucción masiva; y 18.6 millones de dólares para la Iniciativa de Intrusión Informática del FBI para incrementar la cobertura de detección de intrusiones cibernéticas.
Para abordar la creciente brecha tecnológica entre las capacidades de vigilancia electrónica de las fuerzas del orden público y la cantidad y diversidad de dispositivos de comunicación disponibles al público, se solicitan incrementos a programas de 17 millones de dólares para mejorar las capacidades de vigilancia electrónica del departamento.
Para obtener más información, visite la Hoja Informativa de Fortalecer la Seguridad Nacional en www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Preservar misiones tradicionales
Una de las misiones del Departamento de Justicia es hacer valer la ley y garantizar una administración justa e imparcial de la justicia para todos los estadounidenses. Cumplir esta misión requiere recursos para investigar y litigar de parte del pueblo estadounidense y el gobierno en su totalidad. El presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 solicita un incremento de 57,4 millones de dólares, que incluye 189 nuevos puestos (68 agentes y abogados), para expandir la capacidad de litigio y de proteger a las poblaciones vulnerables del departamento. Para promover la misión de defender a poblaciones vulnerables, se solicitan 1.5 millones de dólares para el Servicio de Relaciones Comunitarias para incrementar las actividades de prevención contra delitos por odio.
El presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 también apoya las iniciativas constantes contra el fraude financiero. Entre agosto y diciembre de 2010, la Fuerza de Tarea de Coacción contra el Fraude Financiero del Secretario de Justicia de los EE.UU. presentó acusaciones contra más de 500 demandados penales y civiles por ardides de fraude que han afectado a más de 120,000 víctimas en todo el país y representado más de 8,000 millones de dólares en pérdidas penales estimadas y más de 2,100 millones de dólares en pérdidas civiles estimadas. Además, el presupuesto para el año fiscal 2012 solicita incrementos de programas de 3 millones de dólares para la División de lo Penal para la coacción internacional de leyes de propiedad intelectual.
El departamento también mantiene responsabilidades sustanciales respecto de la inmigración, lo que incluye coacción, detención, funciones judiciales, audiencias administrativas y litigios. El presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 solicita 15 millones de dólares para la Oficina Ejecutiva de Revisión de Inmigración [Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)] para responder al crecimiento de la carga de trabajo generado por el incremento de las actividades de coacción inmigratoria del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional y para expandir el Programa de Orientación Legal para mejorar las eficiencias en procedimientos de los tribunales de inmigración para extranjeros detenidos mejorando su conocimiento del proceso general.
Por último, el Título II de la Ley de Salud y Compensación del 11 de septiembre James Zadroga (P.L. 11-347) reabre el Fondo de Compensación a Víctimas del 11 de septiembre y extiende la elegibilidad para compensación asociada a lesiones físicas relacionadas con la remoción de escombros y extiende la fecha límite para reclamos asociados a afecciones no descubiertas antes de la fecha límite original del fondo. La ley pone a disponibilidad hasta 2,800 millones de dólares para la conciliación de nuevos reclamos.
Para obtener más información, visite la Hoja Informativa de Preservar Misiones Tradicionales en www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Mantener prisiones y centros de detención
El departamento siempre ha tenido como prioridad mantener instalaciones de detención seguras y controladas, y brindar los recursos necesarios para adaptarse a una creciente población carcelaria. La solicitud del presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 mantiene este compromiso, brindando 224 millones de dólares en ajustes a prisiones y centros de detención para mantener los servicios actuales y 461.4 millones en incrementos a programas para garantizar que los delincuentes estén confinados en instalaciones seguras y mejorar los índices de reincidencia y reinserción en la sociedad de los presos.
El presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 solicita un total de 8,400 millones de dólares para mantener las operaciones de prisiones y centros de detención. Esto financia más de 800 puestos nuevos de agentes correccionales y 1,200 puestos existentes vacantes de trabajadores correccionales en nuestras instalaciones, y suma más de 7,200 camas en las prisiones. De este monto, se solicitan 6,800 millones de dólares para el Buró de Prisiones [Bureau of Prisons (BOP)] y 1,600 millones de dólares para la Oficina del Síndico de Detención Federal. Los incrementos en los programas son esenciales para asegurar la detención segura de la creciente población carcelaria. Los incrementos del BOP incluyen 140.4 millones de dólares para comenzar la activación de tres prisiones, entre ellas la Institución Correccional Federal segura para mujeres en Aliceville, Ala., que reducirá los niveles de hacinamiento en instalaciones seguras para mujeres de más del 50 por ciento a un 13 por ciento. La solicitud presupuestaria también incluye 22.2 millones de dólares para Iniciativas de Segunda Oportunidad para mejorar la reinserción de los presos, específicamente programas de orientación vocacional, educación y tratamiento contra las drogas. Además, se solicitan 156.6 millones de dólares en incrementos para programas de detención federal para compensar incrementos en la población diaria de detenidos e incrementos inflacionarios de costos relacionados con la detención, como el transporte y la atención médica.
Para obtener más información, visite la Hoja Informativa de Mantener Prisiones y Centros de Detención en www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Asistir a fuerzas del orden público estatales, locales y tribales
El presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 solicita un total de 3,000 millones de dólares para asistencia a fuerzas del orden público estatales, locales y tribales, lo que representa un 11 por ciento de la autoridad presupuestaria total del departamento. Estos fondos permitirán que el departamento incremente el apoyo a agencias policiales estatales, locales y tribales que luchan contra los delitos violentos, combaten la violencia contra la mujer y apoyan a programas de víctimas.
El departamento solicita un total de 1,900 millones de dólares para la Oficina de Programas Judiciales.
Esta solicitud incluye 120 millones de dólares para un nuevo programa de incentivo mediante subsidios basados en el desempeño del Sistema de Justicia Juvenil; 30 millones de dólares para el Programa Byrne de Innovación en Justicia Penal; 30 millones de dólares para seguir implementando la Ley Adam Walsh de 2006 para proteger a los niños de la explotación; 25 millones de dólares para ayudar a niños expuestos a la violencia; y 10 millones para una iniciativa de prácticas policiales inteligentes.
El departamento solicita un total de 454.9 millones de dólares para la Oficina de Violencia contra la Mujer [Office on Violence Against Women (OVW)] para brindarles recursos a las comunidades para combatir la agresión sexual y la violencia contra la mujer. Esta solicitud incluye un total de 50 millones de dólares para el Programa de Asistencia Legal a Víctimas; 35 millones de dólares para el Programa de Servicios contra la Agresión Sexual; y 14 millones de dólares para un Programa Consolidado de Subsidios Orientado a la Juventud de la OVW para aprovechar recursos para lograr el mayor impacto posible en las comunidades financiando proyectos integrales que incluyan componentes tanto de servicios a la juventud como de prevención.
La solicitud del departamento incluye 302 millones de dólares adicionales para el programa de contratación de Servicios Policiales Comunitarios, lo que eleva el total de fondos del programa de contratación a 600 millones de dólares. Estos fondos, en forma de subsidios competitivos, permitirán que dependencias policiales estatales y locales incrementen el número de agentes disponibles por patrulla y otras estrategias comprobadas para prevenir y reducir la delincuencia.
Además, el presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 propone 250 millones de dólares en fondos obligatorios para que los estados reformen sus leyes sobre mala praxis médica.
Para obtener más información, visite la Hoja Informativa de Asistir a las Fuerzas del Orden Público Estatales, Locales y Tribales en www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Promover ahorros y eficiencias
El presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 financia misiones cruciales del DOJ de una manera responsable a nivel fiscal. Así, el presupuesto del año fiscal 2012 incluye 2,000 millones de dólares en rescisiones y compensaciones administrativas que reinvertiremos en nuestras misiones de mayor prioridad. Estas compensaciones incluyen artículos como consolidaciones espaciales y de fuerzas de tarea, ahorros en programas específicos a un componente, eficiencias de administración de proyectos de Tecnología de la Información, reducciones a programas de subsidios menos eficientes y rescisiones de balances del año anterior. Por ejemplo, el departamento propone eliminar los Equipos Móviles de Coacción de la Administración de Control de Drogas (con lo que se ahorran 39 millones de dólares), reducir y reenfocar el Centro Nacional de Información sobre Drogas (con lo que se ahorran 19 millones de dólares) y revisar la manera en que se calcula el Crédito por Buen Comportamiento para presos de cárceles federales (con lo que se ahorra 41 millones de dólares).
Para obtener más información, visite la Hoja Informativa de Ahorros y Eficiencias en www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Former California Congressional Candidate Sentenced to Federal Prison for Lying During InvestigationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tan Nguyen, 35, from Oceanside, Calif., was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter to one year and one day in federal prison for his conviction last year on a federal obstruction of justice charge stemming from lies he told California investigators about his involvement in a letter sent to Latino voters during his 2006 campaign for U.S. House of Representatives. In addition to the prison term, Judge Carter ordered Nguyen to serve six months at a halfway house.
A federal jury in December 2010 found Nguyen guilty of obstruction of justice for lying to the California Department of Justice, which was investigating numerous complaints from Latino voters in the 47th Congressional District in Orange County. The complaints came after approximately 14,000 voters in the district received a letter in Spanish that made claims about who was eligible to vote and what would happen to immigrant voters if they cast ballots. The mailer went out on letterhead that was similar to that of an anti-illegal immigration group, the California Coalition for Immigration Reform, which had nothing to do with the letter.
During an interview with investigators in October 2006, Nguyen falsely stated that campaign volunteers created the letter without his knowledge.
“The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting the voting rights of all individuals. We simply will not tolerate those who attempt to interfere with efforts to enforce civil rights laws in our nation,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.
“Mr. Nguyen’s conduct undermined the public’s expectation of honesty from public officials and those who desire to serve,” said U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California André Birotte Jr.
Judge Carter ordered Nguyen to surrender to begin serving his sentence by March 28, 2011.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. This case was prosecuted by Civil Rights Division trial attorney D.W. Tunnage and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Staples of the Central District of California.
Ex candidato al Congreso de California sentenciado a prisión federal por mentir durante una investigaciónRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Tan Nguyen, 35, de Oceanside, Calif. fue condenado esta mañana por el Juez Federal de Distrito David O. Carter a un año y un día en prisión federal por su condena el año pasado por una acusación de obstrucción federal de la justicia surgida de mentiras que les dijo a investigadores de California sobre su participación en una carta enviada a votantes latinos durante su campaña de 2006 para llegar a la Cámara de Representantes de los EE.UU. Además de la condena a prisión, el Juez Carter le ordenó a Nguyen que pasara seis meses en un centro de reinserción social.
En diciembre de 2010, un jurado federal dictaminó que Nguyen era culpable de obstruir la justicia por mentirle al Departamento de Justicia de California, que estaba investigando diversas denuncias de votantes latinos en el 47° Distrito Electoral en el Condado de Orange. Las denuncias se produjeron después de que alrededor de 14,000 votantes del distrito recibieran una carta en español que hacía afirmaciones sobre quién tenía derecho a votar y qué les pasaría a los votantes inmigrantes si votaban. La carta fue enviada con un papel membrete parecido al de un grupo contra la inmigración ilegal, la Coalición para la Reforma Inmigratoria de California [California Coalition for Immigration Reform], que no tuvo nada que ver con la carta.
En un interrogatorio con los investigadores en octubre de 2006, Nguyen declaró falsamente que voluntarios de la campaña habían creado la carta sin su conocimiento.
“La División de Derechos Civiles está comprometida a proteger los derechos electorales de todas las personas. No toleraremos de ninguna manera a quienes intentan interferir con iniciativas para hacer valer las leyes de derechos civiles de nuestro país”, dijo Thomas E. Perez, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles.
“La conducta del Sr. Nguyen minó la expectativa del público de honestidad en funcionarios públicos y quienes desean servir al país”, dijo el Fiscal Federal del Distrito Central de California André Birotte Jr.
El Juez Carter le ordenó a Nguyen que se entregara para empezar a cumplir su sentencia el 28 de marzo de 2011.
La investigación fue llevada a cabo por el Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]. Estuvieron a cargo de la investigación en el caso el abogado litigante de la División de Derechos Civiles D.W. Tunnage y el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Gregory Staples del Distrito Central de California.
Department of Justice FY 2012 Budget RequestRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that President Obama’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget proposal totaling $28.2 billion for the Department of Justice identifies $2.0 billion in efficiencies and savings while providing resources to strengthen national security, preserve the department’s traditional missions, maintain prisons and detention, and assist our state, local and tribal law enforcement partners. The request represents a 1.7 percent increase in budget authority and an increase of 2,905 positions over the annualized FY 2011 Continuing Resolution (CR) level.
“The President’s budget request demonstrates a dedication to protecting our national security and a commitment to using every instrument of power to fight terrorism and keep America safe. This budget upholds the department’s historic role in fighting crime, protecting civil rights, preserving the environment, and ensuring fairness in the marketplace, while responding to new challenges such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” said Attorney General Holder. “Given the current economic climate, this budget also identifies savings and efficiencies, while assuring that our resources will be devoted to our most critical mission areas.”
The $28.2 billion budget request funds base operations and activities for all DOJ components, and includes $1.4 billion in program enhancements and $2.0 billion in administrative efficiencies, programmatic savings, and rescissions from balances. The budget provides critical funding for the department’s essential national security programs, as well as supports continued robust efforts to crack down on financial and health care fraud. The budget also maintains core law enforcement functions, including support for efforts along the Southwest border. In addition, the budget addresses the federal prison population and associated long-term costs through sentencing reform and expanded re-entry programming, while continuing to strengthen state, local and tribal criminal justice programs. In order to eliminate redundancies and target resources, the budget streamlines programs and redirects funding to improve the capabilities of Department of Justice law enforcement agents. The budget proposes to save an additional $301.0 million by streamlining operations and consolidating duplicative programs. Due to fiscal constraints, important trade-offs were also necessary in local and state grants, which are reduced $588.0 million from the 2010 enacted level. In addition, the budget includes $62.0 million in savings achieved through efficiencies and consolidations in the department.
The Department of Justice’s key priorities include:
· $128.6 million increase to strengthen national security;
· $57.4 million increase to preserve traditional missions;
· $461.4 million increase to maintain prisons and detention;
· $786.4 million increase to assist state, local and tribal law enforcement;
· $2.0 billion in administrative efficiencies, programmatic savings and rescissions from balances.
Strengthen National Security
Preventing, disrupting, and defeating terrorist acts before they occur remains the Department of Justice’s highest priority. The FY 2012 budget requests a $128.6 million increase, including 170 new positions (71 agents and 5 attorneys), to strengthen national security and counter the threat of terrorism. With national security threats constantly evolving and adapting, additional resources are required to counteract new national security challenges. Likewise, increasing global access to technological advancements has also resulted in new vulnerabilities that must be addressed. The requested FY 2012 budget program increases provide essential technological and human capital to detect, disrupt and deter threats to our national security.
The administration supports critical national security programs within the department, including the FBI and the National Security Division (NSD). The requested national security resources include $122.5 million in program increases for the FBI. This figure includes $48.9 million for the FBI to expand national security related surveillance and enhance its Data Integration and Visualization System; $40.0 million for the FBI’s Operational Enablers program and Weapons of Mass Destruction/Render Safe capabilities to deploy render safe assets throughout the country to diffuse, disrupt or destroy weapons of mass destruction; and $18.6 million for the FBI’s Computer Intrusion Initiative to increase coverage in detecting cyber intrusions.
To address the growing technological gap between law enforcement’s electronic surveillance capabilities and the number and variety of communications devices available to the public, $17.0 million in program increases are being requested to bolster the department’s electronic surveillance capabilities.
For more information, view the Strengthen National Security Fact Sheet at www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Preserve Traditional Missions
It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the law and ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. Accomplishing this mission requires resources to both investigate and litigate on behalf of the American people and the government as a whole. The FY 2012 budget requests a $57.4 million increase, including 189 new positions (68 agents and attorneys), to expand the department’s enforcement litigation capacity and ability to protect vulnerable populations. In order to further the mission of defending vulnerable populations, $1.5 million in program increases is requested for the Community Relations Service to increase prevention activities for hate crimes.
The FY 2012 budget also supports the continued efforts to crack down on financial fraud. From August through December 2010, the Attorney General’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force brought charges against over 500 criminal and civil defendants for fraud schemes that have harmed more than 120,000 victims throughout the country, involving more than $8.0 billion in estimated criminal losses and more than $2.1 billion in estimated civil losses. In addition, the FY 2012 budget requests $3.0 million of program increases for the Criminal Division for transnational enforcement of intellectual property law.
The department also maintains substantial responsibilities with respect to immigration, including enforcement, detention, judicial functions, administrative hearings and litigation, among others. The FY 2012 budget requests $15.0 million for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to support increasing workload generated by increasing immigration enforcement activities at the Department of Homeland Security and to expand the Legal Orientation Program to improve efficiencies in immigration court proceedings for detained aliens by increasing their awareness of the overall process.
Finally, Title II of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-347), reopens the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, extending eligibility for compensation associated with physical harm stemming from debris removal and extending the deadline for claims associated with harms not discovered before the fund’s original deadline. The act makes available up to $2.8 billion for settlement of new claims.
For more information, view the Preserve Traditional Missions Fact Sheet at www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Maintain Prisons and Detention
The department has always prioritized maintaining secure, controlled detention facilities, and providing the necessary resources to accommodate a growing inmate population. The FY 2012 budget request maintains this commitment, providing $224.0 million in prison and detention adjustments to maintain current services and $461.4 million for program increases to ensure offenders are confined in secure facilities and improve inmate reentry and recidivism rates.
The FY 2012 budget requests a total of $8.4 billion to maintain prison and detention operations. This funds over 800 new correctional officer and 1,200 existing vacant correctional worker positions in our facilities, and adds more than 7,200 prison beds. Of this amount, $6.8 billion is requested for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and $1.6 billion is requested for the Office of the Federal Detention Trustee. The program increases are essential for ensuring the secure detention of a growing inmate population. Increases for BOP include $140.4 million to begin activation of three prisons, including the secure female Federal Correctional Institution Aliceville, Ala., which will reduce crowding levels at secure female facilities from over 50 percent to 13 percent. The budget request also includes $22.2 million for Second Chance Initiatives to enhance inmate re-entry, specifically vocational training, education and drug treatment programs. Further, $156.6 million in program increases is requested for federal detention to offset increases in the average daily detainee population and inflationary increases for detention related costs such as transportation and medical care.
For more information, view the Maintain Prisons and Detention Fact Sheet at www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Assist State, Local and Tribal Law Enforcement
The FY 2012 budget requests $3.0 billion in total for state, local and tribal law enforcement assistance, which represents 11 percent of the department’s total budget authority. These funds will allow the department to increase support to state, local and tribal police agencies that fight violent crime, combat violence against women and support victim programs.
The department requests a total of $1.9 billion for the Office of Justice Programs.
This request includes $120.0 million for a new performance-based Race to the Top-style Juvenile Justice System Incentive Grant Program; $30.0 million for the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program; $30.0 million to continue implementation of the Adam Walsh Act of 2006 to protect children from exploitation; $25.0 million to assist children exposed to violence; and $10 million for a smart policing initiative.
T he department requests a total of $454.9 million for the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) in order to provide communities with resources to combat sexual assault and violence against women. This request includes a total of $50.0 million for the Legal Assistance for Victims Program; $35.0 million for the Sexual Assault Services Program; and $14.0 million for an OVW Consolidated Youth Oriented Grants Program that will enable OVW to leverage resources for maximum impact on communities by funding comprehensive projects that include both youth services and prevention components.
The department’s request includes an additional $302.0 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services hiring program, bringing total hiring program funding to $600.0 million. These funds, in the form of competitive grants, will enable state and local police agencies to increase the number of officers available for targeted patrol and other proven strategies designed to prevent and reduce crime.
In addition, the FY 2012 budget proposes $250.0 million in mandatory funds for states to reform their laws on medical malpractice.
For more information, view the Assist State, Local and Tribal Law Enforcement Fact Sheet at www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Promote Savings and Efficiencies
The FY 2012 budget funds DOJ’s critical missions in a fiscally responsible manner. As such, the FY 2012 budget includes $2.0 billion in rescissions and program and management offsets that we will reinvest in our highest priority missions. These offsets include items such as task force and space consolidations, component-specific program savings, Information Technology project management efficiencies, reductions to less effective grant programs, and rescissions of prior year balances. For example, the department is proposing to eliminate the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Mobile Enforcement Teams (saving $39 million), reduce and refocus the National Drug Intelligence Center (saving $19 million), and revise the way Good Time Credit is calculated for federal prison inmates (saving $41 million).
For more information, view the Savings and Efficiencies Fact Sheet at www.justice.gov/jmd/2012factsheets/
Friday 11 February 2011
Virginia Man Sentenced to 102 Months in Prison forEngaging in a Child Exploitation EnterpriseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ryan Chiles of Hampton, Va., was sentenced today in the Western District of Pennsylvania to 102 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania David J. Hickton and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge John Kelleghan.
Chiles, 22, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Schwab on July 14, 2010, to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. According to court documents and proceedings, Chiles and others distributed images and videos of children being sexually abused to other members of an international group that had restricted membership and was formed on a social networking website. Members of the group distributed to one another thousands of sexually explicit images and videos of children, many of which graphically depicted prepubescent, male children, including some infants, being sexually abused and sometimes sodomized or subjected to bondage.
This case was investigated by HSI in Pittsburgh and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig W. Haller of the Western District of Pennsylvania and CEOS Trial Attorney Andrew McCormack prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Hombre de Virginia sentenciado a 102 meses de prisión por participar en empresa de explotación infantilRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Ryan Chiles de Hampton, Va., fue sentenciado hoy en el Distrito Oeste de Pensilvania a 102 meses de prisión y libertad bajo supervisión de por vida por participar en una empresa de explotación infantil, anunciaron el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División de lo Penal, el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Oeste de Pensilvania David J. Hickton y el Agente Especial a Cargo de la Oficina de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional [Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)] del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de los EE.UU. [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] John Kelleghan.
Chiles, 22, se declaró culpable ante el Juez Federal de Distrito Arthur J. Schwab el 14 de julio de 2010 de un cargo de participar en una empresa de explotación infantil. Según el expediente judicial y los procesos judiciales, Chiles y terceros distribuyeron imágenes y videos de niños siendo abusados sexualmente a otros miembros de un grupo internacional con membresía restringida formado en un portal de redes sociales. Miembros del grupo se enviaron mutuamente miles de imágenes y videos sexuales explícitos de niños, muchos de los cuales mostraban gráficamente a varones previos a la pubertad, entre ellos algunos infantes, siendo abusados sexualmente y a veces sodomizados o atados.
Este caso fue investigado por la HSI en Pittsburgh y la Unidad de Investigaciones de Alta Tecnología de la Sección de Explotación y Obscenidad Infantiles [Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS)] de la División de lo Penal. Estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Craig W. Haller del Distrito Oeste de Pensilvania y el Abogado Litigante de la CEOS Andrew McCormack.
Este caso fue entablado como parte del Proyecto Niñez Segura, una iniciativa nacional para combatir la creciente epidemia de explotación y abuso sexual de menores lanzada en mayo de 2006 por el Departamento de Justicia. Encabezado por las Fiscalías Federales y la CEOS, el Proyecto Niñez Segura reúne recursos federales, estatales y locales para ubicar, aprehender y enjuiciar mejor a individuos que exploten a menores a través del Internet, así como también identificar y rescatar víctimas. Para obtener más información sobre el Proyecto Niñez Segura, visite www.projectsafechildhood.gov
Former Abramoff Business Partner Michael Scanlon Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Role in Public Corruption and Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Michael P.S. Scanlon, 40, a business partner of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to 20 months in prison for his role in a wide-ranging public corruption and fraud conspiracy, announced the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the FBI.
Scanlon also was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Ellen S. Huvelle to pay $20,191,537 in restitution to his victims and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term, as well as to perform 300 hours of community service. Scanlon pleaded guilty in November 2005 to a one-count information charging him with participating in a conspiracy with others to commit bribery, mail and wire fraud, and honest services fraud.
According to court documents, from March 2000 through 2001, Scanlon was employed in the Washington, D.C., offices of two law and lobbying firms where Abramoff worked. During this time, Scanlon also formed and began to operate Capital Campaign Strategies LLC (CCS), a company that provided grass-roots work, public relations services and election campaign support.
In pleading guilty, Scanlon admitted that he and Abramoff conspired to defraud four Native American Indian tribes that either operated or were interested in operating gaming casinos in a scheme referred to as “Gimme Five.” Each of these four clients, which were tribes located in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Michigan, hired Abramoff to give advice regarding how best to limit competition from competing casinos or, in one instance, to re-open a previously closed casino. According to court documents, once Abramoff had established a relationship with the tribal clients, he told them that they needed grass-roots work and public relations services, and he recommended Scanlon and CCS primarily to provide these services. As Scanlon knew, the clients relied on Abramoff’s recommendation in deciding to hire Scanlon and CCS because of Abramoff’s expertise in these matters.
As part of the scheme, Scanlon and Abramoff agreed to charge fees that incorporated huge profit margins and then split the net profits in a secret kick-back arrangement. According to information presented in court, Scanlon knew keeping the kick-back arrangement a secret from the clients was crucial to the success of their scheme, therefore he and Abramoff concealed the arrangement from the tribal clients. According to the plea agreement, CCS received net profits of approximately $39.5 million through this scheme. Scanlon kicked-back approximately $20 million to Abramoff for his assistance to CCS in obtaining these profits.
In addition to the kick-back scheme, Scanlon also admitted that he, Abramoff and others engaged in a pattern of bribery and honest services fraud. Through these schemes, Scanlon and the lobbyist co-conspirators offered and provided a stream of things of value to public officials, including trips, campaign contributions, meals and entertainment, in exchange for agreements that the public officials would use their official positions and influence to benefit Abramoff, Scanlon and their clients.
In one example, according to court documents, Scanlon and Abramoff provided a stream of things of value to former Congressman Robert Ney, and members of his staff, in exchange for numerous official acts. According to court documents, the things of value included a lavish trip to Scotland to play golf on world famous courses; tickets to sporting events and other entertainment; regular meals at restaurants, including Abramoff’s restaurant, Signatures; and campaign contributions for Ney, his political action committees and other political committees on behalf of Ney. In exchange for these things of value, Scanlon and Abramoff, together and separately, sought and received Ney’s agreement to perform, both directly and through others, a series of official acts. These acts included agreements to support and pass legislation, agreements to place statements in the congressional record, meetings with Abramoff and Scanlon’s clients, and advancing the application of a client of Abramoff’s for a license to install wireless telephone infrastructure in the House of Representatives.
To date, 20 individuals, including lobbyists and public officials, have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial in connection with the activities of Abramoff and his associates. Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, honest services fraud and tax evasion. He was sentenced in September 2008 to 48 months in prison.
This case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Mary K. Butler and Trial Attorney M. Kendall Day of the Public Integrity Section, and Assistant Chief Nathaniel B. Edmonds of the Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI, the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General, the Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.
Thursday 10 February 2011
Tyson Foods Inc. Agrees to Pay $4 Million Criminal Penalty to Resolve Foreign Bribery AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Tyson Foods Inc. has agreed to pay a $4 million criminal penalty to resolve an investigation into improper payments by company representatives to government-employed inspection veterinarians in Mexico, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
“Tyson Foods used false books and sham jobs to hide bribe payments made to publicly-employed meat processing plant inspectors in Mexico,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “The penalty and resolution announced today reflect the company’s disclosure of this conduct, its cooperation with the government’s investigation and its commitment to implementing enhanced controls.”
A criminal information filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia in connection with a deferred prosecution agreement charges Tyson with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and with violating the FCPA. Tyson, which is headquartered in Springdale, Ark., produces prepared food products. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the department, Tyson acknowledged responsibility for the actions of its subsidiaries, employees and agents who made improper payments to government-employed veterinarians who inspected two of its chicken processing plants in Gomez Palacio, Mexico.
Any company that exports meat products from Mexico must participate in an inspection program, supervised by the Mexican Department of Agriculture. According to court documents, the inspection program at each facility is supervised by an on-site veterinarian employed by the government of Mexico to ensure that all exports conform to Mexican health and safety laws.
According to documents filed in court, Tyson’s Mexican subsidiary, Tyson de Mexico, paid approximately $90,000 between 2004 and 2006, to two publicly-employed veterinarians who inspected its Mexican plants, resulting in profits of approximately $880,000. The payments were made both directly to the veterinarians and indirectly through their wives, who Tyson de Mexico listed on its payroll, although neither performed any services for Tyson. According to court documents, the bribe payments were made to keep the veterinarians from disrupting the operations of the meat-production facilities. When payments to the spouses were terminated in 2004, Tyson representatives agreed to increase the amount paid to the veterinarians to match the amount previously paid to their spouses.
The agreement requires that Tyson pay a $4 million penalty, implement rigorous internal controls, and cooperate fully with the department. The agreement recognizes Tyson’s voluntary disclosure and thorough self-investigation of the underlying conduct. If Tyson abides by the terms of the agreement for the two-year term, the department will dismiss the criminal information.
In a related matter, Tyson reached a settlement today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under which it agreed to pay more than $1.2 million in disgorgement of profits, including pre-judgment interest.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kathleen M Hamann of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Ohio Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Preparing False ReturnsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Thierno M. Diallo of Cincinnati was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S District Court Judge Sandra Beckwith in Cincinnati for aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
On Aug. 6, 2010, a jury found Diallo guilty of seven counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false tax returns. According to documents and testimony presented during the trial, for the 2005-2007 tax years, Diallo prepared materially false U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns (Forms 1040) for customers of his return preparation business, Madina Consulting Services. These returns caused the IRS to issue refunds that his customers were not entitled to receive. Witnesses testified that Diallo, a U.S. citizen originally from Guinea, used his knowledge of west African culture and language to recruit customers from other west African nations who live in the Cincinnati area. These witnesses testified that Diallo included false items on their returns without their knowledge.
At sentencing, Judge Beckwith found that the intended tax loss to the government associated with this scheme was $95,370.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Beckwith ordered Diallo to serve 1-year of supervised release. As a condition of supervised release, Judge Beckwith barred Diallo from engaging in the business of tax return preparation.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio commended IRS Criminal Investigation special agents who investigated the case and Tax Division Trial Attorney Melissa Siskind and Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Grimes, who prosecuted the case.
More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax .
Medical Assistant Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison forHis Role in a Fraudulent Home Health SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A medical assistant was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services announced. Guy Ross was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood in the Eastern District of Michigan to three years of supervised release following his prison term and was ordered to pay $472,623 in restitution.
Ross, 51, pleaded guilty in July 2010 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, Ross received kickbacks from the owners and/or operators of two Detroit-area home health agencies, Patient Choice Home Healthcare Inc. and All American Home Care Inc., in exchange for referring home health patients to those entities. Ross admitted to receiving $500 per patient, paid either by check or in cash, in exchange for providing co-conspirator Mohammed Shahab with Medicare beneficiary information for various patients he recruited. After paying the kickbacks to Ross, Shahab, an owner of Patient Choice and All-American, billed Medicare for home health visits purportedly made to the beneficiaries recruited by Ross. Ross referred 21 patients to Patient Choice and All American. During the time Ross participated in the scheme, Patient Choice and All American submitted claims for $172,573 in improper benefits. Shahab pleaded guilty in February 2010 to health care fraud charges in connection with this case.
According to court documents, Ross also admitted to engaging in a similar scheme with a home health agency called Visiting Nurses Services (VNS), a home health agency that purportedly provided physical therapy services. Ross admitted he accepted money in exchange for providing patient referrals to VNS. According to court documents, Ross referred approximately 80 patients to VNS and VNS submitted claims for $300,050 as a result of those referrals.
In total, Ross’s kickback arrangements with Patient Choice, All American and VNS resulted in $472,623 in fraudulent billing to Medicare.
Of the total restitution amount, Ross was ordered to pay $172,573 joint and several with co-defendants in the Patient Choice and All American scheme.
Today’s sentence was 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 (OIG) Chicago Regional Office.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Gejaa T. Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and 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 Eastern District of Michigan.
Since its inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 850 individuals and organizations that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $2.1 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
Massachusetts Man Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion Related to Organized Crime InvestigationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- A Massachusetts man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to 12 months and one day in prison for tax evasion related to an FBI investigation of organized crime activity in Rhode Island.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi also ordered Gerald Diodati, 61, of Seekonk, Mass., to pay $194,031 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. Diodati pleaded guilty in November 2010 to tax evasion related to his 2003 income tax filings.
Diodati’s sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha for the District of Rhode Island ; Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Tax Division; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)
According to court documents, f rom approximately 2003 through 2006, Diodati concealed from the IRS at least $586,000 he earned through his construction business by converting the proceeds of his businesses to cash and using check cashing services to evade assessment of income tax. For each year of the scheme, false income tax returns were prepared and filed, concealing additional taxes Diodati rightfully owed. In all, from 2003 through 2006, Diodati attempted to evade the assessment of more than $194,000 in federal income taxes.
According to information presented in court, the FBI established an undercover company, Hemphill Construction, which sought the award of union construction contracts. Diodati began working as a consultant to Hemphill Construction in 2002, operating his own businesses out of the construction company’s office in Johnston, R.I.
In 2003, Hemphill Construction was awarded a subcontract after signing a collective bargaining agreement with the Rhode Island Laborers District Council on behalf of three local unions, to perform demolition work at the Rising Sun Mills rehabilitation project in Providence. Hemphill, in turn, subcontracted the work to Diodati through RI Demolition Inc., a company Diodati formed for this purpose. According to information presented during the plea hearing, Diodati suggested to Hemphill in late 2003 that he be paid in cash for the work that his company performed on the Rising Sun Mills project. Diodati proposed that Hemphill keep 20 percent of what he was owed and pay him the balance in cash in order to reduce his taxable income, stating that, “Uncle Sam doesn’t have to know about it, so it keeps me down in the lower bracket.” Diodati later noted that both Hemphill and RI Demolition made money on the scheme and that, “the only one who is losing is the government.”
According to information presented in court, Diodati requested that the money owed him by Hemphill be paid in cash installments placed in a safety deposit box he opened at a local bank, rather than by business checks. Between December 2003 and March 2004, Diodati received more than $230,000 in cash payments for construction work placed into his safety deposit box.
As a result of this practice as well as other means Diodati used to conceal income, RI Demolition underreported business receipts to the IRS for 2003 by $244,486. In August 2004, Diodati tried to evade the assessment of a substantial income tax by causing to be prepared, signed and filed an individual income tax return for tax year 2003 that reported zero taxable income, which meant no taxes were due, when in fact his actual tax liability was $58,503.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Scott Lawson of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section and Trial Attorney Jessica Nuzzellilo of the Tax Division.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS – Criminal Investigation.
Justice Department Sues Nevada Man to Stop Alleged Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The United States has sued David Champion of Pahrump, Nev., seeking to bar him from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme designed to assist his customers evade paying federal taxes, the Justice Department announced today.
According to the civil injunction complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, Champion promotes a tax fraud scheme based on the frivolous claim that U.S. citizens can choose to opt out of federal income taxation by declaring themselves to be "non-taxpayers." The lawsuit alleges that Champion, who previously resided in Los Angeles, helps customers evade federal taxes by setting up sham "pure trusts" to which they transfer their businesses and personal assets.
The government further alleges that Champion falsely tells his customers that their purported trusts need not file income tax returns or pay taxes. According to the complaint, Champion himself has an unpaid federal tax liability exceeding $800,000.
Champion’s misconduct, the government alleges, has led to civil and criminal penalties against his customers. The complaint states that Internal Revenue Service inquiries concerning eight of Champion’s customers revealed that he had assisted them in evading payment of approximately $1.4 million in income taxes.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop tax fraud promoters and tax return preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.
Justice Department Settles Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Against Dalton Township, MichiganRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that Dalton Township, Mich., will pay $62,500 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the township discriminated against a group home for persons recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The settlement was approved today by Judge Gordon J. Quist of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
"The Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act ensure that persons with disabilities, including those recovering from addiction, can live in a community of their choosing free from discrimination," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of federal laws to protect the civil rights of persons with disabilities across the country."
"Cities and towns have an obligation to make reasonable accommodations to their zoning policies when they are necessary to afford people with disabilities the same housing opportunities that others enjoy," said John Trasviña, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "HUD will continue to work with the Justice Department to enforce the Fair Housing Act to ensure equal housing opportunities for people with disabilities."
Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, Dalton Township will:
- Pay $55,000 to the owner of the group home, and permit him to operate the group home for up to nine men recovering from alcohol and drug dependency at its current location;
- Pay $7,500 to the United States as a civil penalty;
- Develop a written policy that will provide a process by which persons may request reasonable accommodations or modifications on the basis of disability from the Township’s zoning and land use requirements; and
- Obtain training in the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act for Township officials involved in land use and zoning decisions.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department on July 28. 2010, alleging that the township violated the Fair Housing Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act when it refused to grant a special use permit that would have allowed a group home for persons recovering from drug and alcohol addiction to continue operating. The United States’ complaint alleged that the group home had provided housing from persons recovering from drug and alcohol addictions since 2006. Residents of the home were subject to random unannounced drug testing and were also required to attend regular Alcoholics Anonymous and/or Narcotics Anonymous meetings. After the township refused to allow the home permission to continue operating, the owner filed a complaint with HUD, which referred the matter to the Justice Department.
Fighting illegal housing discrimination 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. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that state and local governments give persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all of their programs, services and activities.
More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination or have information related to this lawsuit 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 Staff Member in U.S. House of Representatives<br /> Convicted on Corruption ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal jury in the District of Columbia today convicted a former staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives on corruption charges relating to his acceptance of an all-expenses paid trip to Game One of the 2003 World Series , announced the Criminal Division and the FBI.
Fraser C. Verrusio, 41, was convicted after a 10-day trial on one count of conspiring to accept an illegal gratuity, one count of accepting an illegal gratuity and one count of making a false statement in failing to report his receipt of gifts from a lobbyist and the lobbyist’s client on his 2003 financial disclosure statement.
“Today, a federal jury in the District of Columbia sent a strong message that corruption on Capitol Hill will not be tolerated. Accepting gifts from lobbyists and then lying about those gifts on financial disclosure forms is simply not acceptable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman. “The Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and our partners in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are committed to holding accountable government servants who abuse their positions for personal gain.”
“Mr. Verrusio’s conduct cuts against the thousands of government workers who live their lives by the ethical code they pledged to uphold,” said James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “This case of public corruption serves as a reminder that misuse of position extends to all levels of government service. As seen here, accepting sporting tickets is influence peddling, no matter in what arena it occurs.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Verrusio worked as the policy director for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The committee had responsibility for, among other things, the Federal Highway Bill in the House of Representatives.
According to evidence and testimony presented at trial, Verrusio and Trevor Blackann, a legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, accepted an all-expenses-paid trip to Game One of the 2003 World Series from a lobbyist working for an equipment rental company interested in inserting three amendments into the Federal Highway Bill. The trip was funded by the equipment rental company and the lobbyist’s firm. According to evidence presented at trial, the senator for whom Blackann worked also served on a committee with responsibility for the Federal Highway Bill. Evidence also established that one of the lobbyists who helped arrange for the trip worked with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and that the equipment rental company was a client at Abramoff’s firm.
Testimony at trial established that Verrusio accepted the trip knowing it was given because of official assistance the equipment rental company expected he would provide in connection with its efforts to secure favorable amendments to the Federal Highway Bill.
The all-expenses paid trip accepted by Verrusio and Blackann included round-trip commercial airline travel from Washington, D.C., to New York City, use of a chauffeured Cadillac Escalade for transportation while in New York City, a ticket for each individual to Game One of the World Series, lodging, a steak dinner, drinks and entertainment at a strip club. According to evidence presented at trial, Verrusio, Blackann, the lobbyist and the equipment rental company representative discussed the Federal Highway Bill and the equipment rental company during a steak dinner on the all-expenses paid trip.
Federal law required Verrusio to report his receipt of gifts valued at more than $285 per year from a single source on a 2003 annual financial disclosure statement. Evidence at trial established that Verrusio made a false statement on that form when he certified that the form was, “true, complete and correct,” when in truth and in fact Verrusio knew and believed the form to be incomplete and incorrect in that it did not identify the World Series trip and related gifts, their value or their source.
At sentencing, scheduled for May 6, 2011, Verrusio faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. He faces a maximum of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the illegal gratuity charge, and a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the false statement charge.
Blackann previously pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme. To date, 20 individuals, including lobbyists and public officials, have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial in connection with the activities of Abramoff and his associates. Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, honest services fraud and tax evasion. He was sentenced in September 2008 to 48 months in prison.
This case is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Justin V. Shur and Trial Attorneys Emily Rae Woods and David V. Harbach II of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Federal Court Permanently Bars North Carolina Woman from Preparing Federal Tax Returns for OthersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal court has permanently barred Jody S. Ball of Bryson City, N.C.,from preparing federal income tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The injunction order, to which Ball consented, was entered by Judge Martin Reidinger of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The order requires Ball to provide the government with a list of all persons for whom she prepared federal tax returns since January 2007 and to send each person a copy of the court’s order
According to the government’s complaint, Ball, doing business as The Tax Lady Inc. and Jody Ball Accounting, included false claims for charitable donation deductions, business expense deductions and earned income tax credits on tax returns that she and her businesses prepared. Even after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) imposed penalties on Ball in 2004, she allegedly prepared more than 1,600 federal income tax returns during and after 2006. According to the complaint, of those returns that the IRS audited, approximately 80 percent understated customers’ tax liabilities.
In the past ten years, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website.