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Thursday 2 December 2010
Shipping Company and Senior Crewmembers Convicted of Covering up Oil PollutionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Atlas Ship Management Ltd., a Turkish Corporation, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla. to federal charges of making false statements and knowingly failing to accurately maintain an Oil Record Book as required by international treaty and U.S. law, Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno and U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announced today.
The company was sentenced to pay an $800,000 criminal fine, pay $100,000 in community service to the Pinellas County, Fla., Environmental Fund, and to implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Program that requires detailed inspection and auditing of the defendant’s ships that sail into the United States.
"As this case clearly demonstrates, there is no benefit to deliberately bypassing pollution prevention equipment and dumping oil waste into the ocean. This is simply criminal behavior," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "Thanks to a tip from crew members, the operators of the M/V Avenue Star will pay a significant penalty for breaking the law."
"The investigation and prosecution of this case sends a clear message to owners and operators of commercial vessels that those who choose to intentionally pollute our oceans will be held accountable," said U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill."
"The oceans must be protected from shipping companies that look to cut corners by dumping waste improperly," said Maureen O’Mara, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Criminal Enforcement program for the Tampa region. "Illegally disposed waste endangers the environment and today’s action sends a clear message that those who violate the law and pollute our waters will be vigorously prosecuted."
"We applaud the courage of two whistleblowers who alerted Coast Guard inspectors to the illegal dumping of waste from the Motor Vessel Avenue Star last year," said Capt. Sheryl Dickinson, Commanding Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Sector in St. Petersburg. "Marine Environmental Protection is a primary Coast Guard mission and this case not only illustrates a joint commitment to keeping our waterways clean, but should also serve as a warning to would-be polluters."
Atlas Ship Management Ltd. operated a 10,965 ton, 471.5 foot commercial ocean going ship named the M/V Avenue Star that carried bulk cargo throughout the world including into and out of Tampa. On Oct. 21, 2009, the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the ship to conduct an inspection of the vessel to ascertain if it was in compliance with international and United States law. During the inspection, two crewmembers provided information to the Coast Guard that indicated that senior engineers on the vessel were illegally dumping oily waste from the engine room directly into the sea. The crewmembers also informed the Coast Guard that some oil waste was being stored in the clean sea water ballast tanks on the vessel. The Coast Guard inspection confirmed what the crewmembers had alleged. Engineers on the vessel had installed and used a bypass hose, also referred to as a "magic pipe" or "magic hose", specially crafted to fit between the welden sludge pump discharge line and the "gooseneck" on the Oil Water Separator discharge line, to bypass pollution prevention equipment on board the M/V Avenue Star. The ship's engineers discharged oily bilge wastes that had accumulated in the engineering spaces on the M/V Avenue Star through this "magic pipe" on two or more occasions.
From Oct. 10 until Oct. 21, 2009, engineering officers and other crew members aboard the M/V Avenue Star transferred oily bilge wastes that had accumulated in the engineering machinery spaces into the aft port peak ballast tank. The ballast tanks are used to adjust the stability and trim of the vessel, and are filled with clean sea water and are not intended to be used to store oil waste. Prior to Oct. 21, 2009, while the M/V Avenue Star was transiting from Honduras to Tampa, some volume of the oily waste was discharged from the ballast tank directly into international waters. All discharges of oil from a vessel into the sea, even if illegal, are required to be recorded in the vessel’s Oil Record Book. None of these discharges were recorded in the Oil Record Book for the M/V Avenue Star.
The chief engineer of the vessel, Gunduz Avaz, previously pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for his role in covering up the illegal overboard oil discharges. The second assistant engineer, Yavuz Molgultay, also previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced for his involvement in covering up the illegal discharges of oil from the ship.
For their role in providing valuable information to the U.S. Coast Guard that led to convictions in this case, the two crewmembers who "blew the whistle" in this case were each awarded $125,000 by the district court. The award money is derived directly from the fine paid by Atlas Ship Management Ltd.
The Pinellas County Environmental Fund will receive $100,000 from this case as a community service payment. The Pinellas County Environmental Fund is a partnership among Pinellas County, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The purpose of this partnership is to provide grants for projects that conserve and restore fish and wildlife habitat in Tampa Bay.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida and by the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice.
Residential Homebuilder Settles Clean Water Act Violations in 21 StatesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Beazer Homes USA Inc., a national residential homebuilder, has agreed today to pay a $925,000 civil penalty to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at its construction sites in 21 states, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced.
As part of the settlement, Beazer will also implement a company-wide storm water program to improve compliance with storm water runoff requirements at current and future construction sites around the country.
"This settlement will help many communities across the nation by protecting their waterways from harmful pollutants in stormwater runoff," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "Contamination from runoff can be easily prevented, and those who do not take the necessary measures face the prospect of enforcement action under the Clean Water Act."
"Contaminated stormwater puts children and families at risk as it may carry pollutants, including sediment, debris, and pesticides that contribute to water quality problems. These pollutants affect our nation’s rivers, lakes and sources of drinking water," said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance and Assurance. "Today’s settlement will help protect public health and the environment by requiring Beazer to meet the requirements of our nation’s environmental laws and improve its oversight of its construction facilities."
The government complaint, filed simultaneously with the settlement agreement in federal court in Nashville, Tenn. alleges a pattern of violations that was discovered through site inspections and by reviewing documentation submitted by the company. The alleged violations include failure to obtain permits until after construction began, or failing to obtain them at all. At sites with permits, violations included failure to prevent or minimize the discharge of pollutants such as silt and debris in storm water runoff.
"This settlement, which covers more than 30 Beazer Homes construction sites in middle Tennessee, demonstrates yet again that this office will act vigorously to protect the health and safety of citizens and residents of the district, and to safeguard the environment for all," said Jerry E. Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
The settlement requires Beazer to develop improved pollution prevention plans for each construction site, conduct additional site inspections, and promptly correct any problems detected. The company must properly train construction managers and contractors and designate trained staff for each site. Beazer must also implement a management and internal reporting system to improve oversight of on-the-ground operations and submit annual reports to EPA.
The Clean Water Act requires that construction sites have controls in place to prevent pollution from being discharged with storm water into nearby waterways. These controls include simple pollution prevention techniques such as silt fences, phased site grading, and sediment basins to prevent common construction contaminants from entering the nation’s waterways.
Keeping contaminated stormwater out of America’s waters is one of EPA’s national enforcement initiatives. Construction projects have a high potential for environmental harm because they disturb large areas of land and significantly increase the potential for erosion. Without onsite pollution controls, sediment-laden runoff from construction sites can flow directly to the nearest waterway and degrade water quality. In addition, storm water can pick up other pollutants, including concrete washout, paint, used oil, pesticides, solvents and other debris. Polluted runoff can harm or kill fish and wildlife, degrade aquatic habitat, and affect drinking water quality.
A portion of the settlement helps EPA efforts to protect the Chesapeake Bay, North America’s largest and most biologically diverse estuary. The bay and its tidal tributaries are threatened by pollution from a variety of sources, and overburdened with nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment that can be carried by storm water. The settlement will result in a reduction of approximately 10.4 million pounds of pollutants to the bay watershed.
This settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement actions to address storm water violations from construction sites around the country. In the last several years, EPA and DOJ have reached consent decrees with nine residential construction companies for stormwater violations resulting in approximately $6.3 million in penalties. In 2009, Beazer ranked as the nation’s 10th-largest home building company.
Seven states have joined the settlement. The states of Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, Tennessee and the Commonwealth of Virginia will receive a portion of the $925,000 penalty.
The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department website at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
Kaua‘i Island Utility Pleads Guilty to Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act Violation, Agrees to Help Protect Threatened SeabirdsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) entered a plea agreement today in federal court in Honolulu to resolve violations of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the U.S. Department of Justice announced today. KIUC pleaded guilty to count one and count 16 of a 19-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in May 2010.
Count one charged a violation of the ESA by knowingly "taking" at least 14 Newell’s shearwaters, a federally protected threatened species, at or near Keâlia Beach. Count 16 charged a violation of the MBTA by the "taking" of at least 18 Newell’s shearwaters, also protected as a migratory species, at KIUC’s Port Allen facility.
Under the ESA, "take" means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.
"The Department of Justice sought a criminal prosecution of KIUC only after a long history of attempts to resolve ongoing violations," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "The resolution of this case will set an example for others and help in the successful recovery of the Newell’s shearwaters, a threatened native species that is part of Hawaii’s cultural and natural heritage."
In accordance with the terms of the plea agreement, KIUC was sentenced to the maximum statutory fine of $40,000 for the two counts to which KIUC pleaded guilty and a period of probation of 18 months with specific conditions intended to avoid additional violations during the period of probation. KIUC agreed to modify and reconfigure power lines associated with the highest incidences of take. KIUC must also monitor two stretches of inland power lines to help determine the number of protected birds colliding with those lines. KIUC is also required to apply for an incidental take permit that would authorize, as required by law, the taking of such threatened species under certain conditions and requirements.
The plea agreement also required that, as community service, KIUC make a payment of $225,000 to an account, established at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, to benefit protected seabirds on Kaua‘i. The plea agreement stated that this requirement was aimed at repairing the loss to Kaua‘i of these culturally and ecologically important seabirds, while recognizing KIUC’s annual funding of the Save Our Shearwaters program since 2003.
"What would we and Hawaii be if these birds vanished from the earth? I say we would be diminished as a community and as a place; a place so special compared to all others," said Paul Chang, Special Agent in Charge of Law Enforcement in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region. "The result of this case allows me to believe there is hope for all of us working together to preserve Hawaii's unique wildlife."
The Newell’s shearwater (known in the Hawaiian language as ‘a‘o) is a seabird native to the Hawaiian Islands. The majority of the world’s population of Newell’s shearwaters nests on the island of Kaua‘i, specifically in burrows on inland mountains. Adult Newell’s shearwaters fly between the ocean and these nesting areas from spring through fall of each year. Young shearwaters leave these inland mountain nests and make their first flight to the sea from September to December each year, typically at night. The young birds use mountain air currents or physical drop offs to become airborne. If a young shearwater falls to the ground in a location without conditions such as those that occur in the inland mountains or at sea, it usually will be unable to regain flight. The species is identified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.
In its plea agreement, KIUC admitted that it knew Newell’s shearwaters could collide with its power lines and that such collisions could kill and otherwise harm the birds. A scientific report completed and made public in 1995 recommended actions to reduce the take of seabirds by utility lines, including modifying the configuration and locations of power lines. According to the indictment, KIUC did not undertake any of the recommended line modification/reconfiguration actions except for a limited stretch of power line near Ke âlia Beach after being notified in March 2007 that it was a target of a federal investigation.
KIUC admitted in its plea agreement that since June 2005, at least 14 Newell’s shearwaters were found dead near KIUC power lines near Ke âlia Beach and Donkey Beach. At least ten more shearwaters were found since 2005 near other KIUC power lines, including lines in and near the Wailua River Valley, Waimea River Valley, ‘Ele‘ele, and Kapa‘a. Necropsies of some birds concluded that they died from blunt force trauma consistent with a collision with a power line or other solid object. Eyewitnesses have observed such collisions with KIUC power lines.
KIUC further admitted it knew that young shearwaters are attracted to lights and this attraction may cause the birds to collide into power lines or fall to the ground from exhaustion due to circling the lights. KIUC acknowledged it knew that modifying or shielding lights so they shine only downward significantly reduced the light attractions and related harm to the birds. KIUC admitted that although it shielded streetlights in 2003, after being required to do so in an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it failed to shield its lights at the Port Allen facility. KIUC acknowledged that nine Newell’s shearwaters were found on the ground at or near the Port Allen facility in an eight-day period in October 2006.
The Endangered Species Act prohibits the unauthorized taking, including harming and harassing, of species listed as threatened or endangered. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the unauthorized "taking", including wounding or killing, of bird species listed as migratory.
Assistant Attorney General Moreno credited special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the investigation of the case culminating in the Indictment and subsequent plea agreement.
The case is being prosecuted by the Environmental Crime Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice.
Former New York City Hospital Purchasing Official Pleads Guilty to Bid Rigging and Fraud ConspiraciesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A former purchasing official at Mount Sinai Medical Center and School of Medicine in New York pleaded guilty to participating in bid rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for maintenance and insulation work performed at Mount Sinai, the Department of Justice announced today.
Mario Perciavalle, a former associate director of plant services at Mount Sinai and resident of Stormville, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to all three counts contained in an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in New York City on April 6, 2010. According to court documents, as associate director, Perciavalle was responsible for obtaining bids from vendors and awarding contracts to them on a competitive basis. Perciavalle pleaded guilty to entering into a conspiracy with co-conspirators, between June 2004 and September 2005, to rig bids on maintenance and insulation services contracts at Mount Sinai by submitting intentionally high, non-competitive bids to make it appear that there had been competition for the contracts when, in fact, there had not been.
Perciavalle also pleaded guilty to engaging in a mail fraud conspiracy between March 2003 and September 2005 in which he awarded work at Mount Sinai to a co-conspirator’s company at the same time he asked for and received cash kickbacks totaling at least $20,500 from the co-conspirator. Perciavalle also pleaded guilty to mail fraud as a result of payments mailed by Mount Sinai to Perciavalle’s co-conspirator for work done on the rigged contracts.
The bid rigging charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for an individual. The mail fraud conspiracy charge and the mail fraud charge each carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fine for each of the three charges may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Today’s plea resulted from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation of bid rigging, fraud, bribery and tax-related offenses in connection with construction, maintenance and service contracts administered by the Engineering Department of Mount Sinai and the Facilities Operations Department and the Engineering Department at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH). Including Perciavalle, 10 individuals and three companies have pleaded guilty to charges arising out this investigation. Eight other defendants have been indicted and are awaiting trial.
The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, the FBI’s New York Division and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s New York Field Office. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging, bribery, tax offenses or fraud related to contracts administered by the Facilities Operation Department at NYPH or the Engineering Departments at Mount Sinai or NYPH should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-264-9308, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or contact the FBI’s New York Division at 212-384-1000.
Former New Jersey Sales Representative Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Bribery Conspiracy in Power Generation IndustryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A former sales representative of a Lyndhurst, N.J.-based industrial pipe supply company pleaded guilty today to participating in a conspiracy to commit fraud and pay bribes to a Consolidated Edison of New York (Con Edison) purchasing manager in return for the manager’s efforts to steer contracts to the sales representative’s company, the Department of Justice announced today.
Robert D. Rosenberg of Florham Park, N.J., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to participating in a conspiracy to defraud Con Edison. According to a one-count felony charge, Rosenberg and others paid approximately $297,000 in bribes to the former department manager in the purchasing department at Con Edison. In exchange, the former department manager steered industrial pipe supply contracts to the company Rosenberg represented. The department said the conspiracy took place from approximately November 2003 through approximately August 2008. According to the plea agreement, Rosenberg has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the power generation industry.
Con Edison is a regulated utility headquartered in Manhattan. It provides electric service to approximately 3.2 million customers and gas service to approximately 1.1 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. Con Edison received more than $10,000 in federal funding each year between 2003 through 2008.
Rosenberg is charged with conspiracy which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victim of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Today’s plea is the second to arise from an ongoing federal investigation of bid rigging, bribery, fraud and tax-related offenses in the power generation industry. On Nov. 19, 2010, James M. Woodason, a former Con Edison manager, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to charges that he accepted and agreed to accept bribes from two Con Edison industrial pipe supply vendors. The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, with the assistance of the FBI’s New York Division and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Con Edison cooperated with the department’s investigation.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging, bribery, tax offenses or fraud in the power generation industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-264-9308, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or contact the FBI’s New York Division at 212-384-3252.
Former Employee of a Financial Institution Subsidiary Arrested on Criminal Complaint for Role in Fraud Scheme Involving Municipal BondsRead the Press Release
A former employee of a subsidiary of a financial institution was arrested on a criminal complaint at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York yesterday after entering the United States, announced the Department of Justice. Peter Ghavami, a Belgian national currently residing in Moscow, was arraigned today in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on one count of wire fraud charged in criminal complaint unsealed today. The criminal complaint, filed on Sept. 16, 2010, alleges that Ghavami participated in a scheme to defraud a municipal bond issuer with respect to the investment of municipal bond proceeds.
According to the criminal complaint, from approximately January 2001 through approximately March 2004, Ghavami worked in the municipal derivatives group of the financial institution’s subsidiary as managing director and co-head of the municipal bond reinvestment and derivatives desk. The financial institution and its subsidiary acted as a broker of investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts, such as swaps, to public entities. Public entities typically hire a broker to conduct a competitive bidding process for the award of investment agreements to invest money from a variety of sources, primarily the proceeds of municipal bonds that they issued. Competitive bidding for these agreements by major financial institutions, often referred to as providers, is the subject of regulations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is related to the tax-exempt status of the bonds.
“Pernicious fraud schemes like the one alleged in this complaint undermine the public’s confidence and trust in the municipal bond and derivatives markets,” said Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “This type of anticompetitive conduct will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
According to the court document, Ghavami engaged in a fraudulent scheme beginning on or about Oct. 24, 2001, and continuing to at least Feb. 11, 2002, to deprive a municipal bond issuer of money by causing it to award an investment agreement at an artificially determined or suppressed rate. The municipal bond issuer hired the financial institution subsidiary that Ghavami worked for to act as its broker to conduct a competitive bidding process to select a provider in which to invest proceeds from a municipal bond offering. As a part of the scheme, Ghavami designated in advance which provider would be the winning bidder for a certain investment agreement in exchange for a kickback to be paid to his employer. The undisclosed kickback, in the amount of $100,000, was disguised as a fee and paid in exchange for Ghavami’s assistance in manipulating and controlling the bidding process for the investment agreement.
The wire fraud charge with which Ghavami is charged carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
To date, eight people have pleaded guilty to charges based on an ongoing investigation into the municipal bond industry, which is being conducted by the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. The department is coordinating its investigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Three former employees of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Rubin/Chambers, Dunhill Insurance Services Inc. (CDR) have pleaded guilty to bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies in relation to the ongoing investigation. Five other individuals have pleaded guilty to charges related to the ongoing investigation. In addition, three former financial services executives were indicted on July 27, 2010, for participating in fraud schemes and conspiracies related to the bidding for investment agreements. In October 2009, CDR, two of its employees and one former employee were charged for participating in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies and related crimes. The CDR trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 12, 2011.
The ongoing investigation is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit http://www.StopFraud.gov.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging and related offenses in any financial markets should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-264-0390 or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, or the FBI at 212-384-5000.
Florida West International Airways Inc., Three Executives Indicted in Conspiracy to Fix Rates on Air Cargo ShipmentsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A Miami grand jury returned an indictment today against Miami-based Florida West International Airways Inc., one of its former executives and two executives of a competing air cargo carrier for participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate certain rates for air cargo shipments from Colombia to Miami, the Department of Justice announced today. Among the rates fixed were peak season surcharges imposed before Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, when imports of fresh-flowers increase, as well as security and fuel surcharges.
The one-count indictment, returned today in U.S. District Court in Miami, charges Luis Augusto Afanador, Rodrigo Hernan Hidalgo and Jaime Lara Rueda Sr. with conspiring to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing and coordinating certain cargo rates, including peak season, security and fuel surcharges for international air shipments from Colombia to Miami. The department said the conspiracy began at least as early as January 2002 and continued until at least Feb. 14, 2006. Florida West is charged with joining and participating in the conspiracy from at least as early as August 2002 and continuing until at least Feb. 14, 2006.
Air cargo carriers transport a variety of cargo, including fresh flowers, consumer goods, and electronics, on scheduled international flights.
According to the indictment, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara and co-conspirators participated in meetings, conversations and communications to discuss and agree on certain components of cargo rates and the elimination of discounts from Bogota to Miami. To facilitate the agreements reached, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara and co-conspirators discussed encouraging air cargo providers to maintain and increase certain components of air cargo rates for shipments from Miami to Bogota. In order to expand the agreements reached, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara and co-conspirators agreed not to compete for certain customers from Medellin, Colombia, to Miami beginning in the summer of 2005. As part of the conspiracy, Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo, Lara and co-conspirators implemented and monitored the agreements reached, and accepted payments for shipments at collusive and noncompetitive rates.
Afanador and Lara are senior executives of a Colombian air cargo carrier based in Bogota. Hidalgo is a former vice president of sales and marketing for Florida West. Hidalgo was indicted on Oct. 28, 2010, by a Miami grand jury for participating in a separate conspiracy to fix surcharges on air cargo shipments from the United States to South and Central America following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. That charge is pending.
Florida West, Afanador, Hidalgo and Lara are charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum $100 million criminal fine for a corporation and a maximum penalty for each individual of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Including today’s charges, as a result of this investigation, a total of 21 airlines and 19 executives have been charged in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry. To date, more than $1.7 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and four executives have been sentenced to serve prison time. Charges are pending against the remaining 15 executives.
Today’s charge is the result of a joint investigation into the air transportation industry being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and Chicago Field Office, the FBI’s field offices in Miami and Washington, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General. Anyone with information concerning price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct in the air transportation industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section at 202-307-6694 or the Chicago Field Office at 312-353-7530, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, or call the FBI’s Miami Field Office at 305-654-1918.
Alabama Woman Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Ora Mae Adamson, a resident of Montgomery County, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and one count of identity theft, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Adamson pleaded guilty before federal Magistrate Judge Charles S. Coody in the U.S. District Court in Montgomery.According to charging documents, between March 2009 and September 2009, Adamson conspired with others to defraud the United States by fraudulently obtaining the names and social security numbers of individuals, and filing false tax returns in these individuals’ names without authorization. The tax returns falsely claimed first-time homebuyer’s and fuel tax credits. As a result of Adamson’s scheme, the IRS disbursed a total of 158 false refunds. Adamson caused these refunds to be deposited into bank accounts she and her co-conspirators controlled. In all, the conspiracy defrauded the United States of $621,738.
Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Adamson faces a maximum of 25 years in prison, three years of supervised release, restitution and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the loss resulting from her offenses.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama, IRS Criminal Investigation agents who investigated this case, as well as Tax Division trial attorneys Jason H. Poole and Michael Boteler, who prosecuted the case.
10-1377
Wednesday 1 December 2010
Líder de Latin Kings sentenciado a 262 meses de prisión por conspiración para cometer delincuencia organizadaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Francisco Ortiz, alias “Francis Gabriel Ortis,” “Pone,” y “King Pone,” 26, de Rockville, Md., fueron sentenciados hoy por el Juez Federal de Distrito Alexander Williams Jr. en Greenbelt, Md, a 262 meses de prisión, seguidos de cinco años de libertad bajo supervisión, por conspiración para participar en una empresa de extorsión, en conexión con sus actividades pandilleras como miembro y líder de la pandilla "Nación Todopoderosa de Reyes y Reinas Latinos" [Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings)].
La sentencia fue anunciada por el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal; el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito de Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; la Agente Especial a Cargo Theresa R. Stoop de la División Local en Baltimore del Buró de Control de Bebidas Alcohólicas, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)]; el Jefe J. Thomas Manger del Departamento de Policía del Condado de Montgomery; el Fiscal Estatal del Condado de Montgomery John McCarthy; el Jefe Roberto L. Hylton del Departamento de Policía del Condado de Prince George; y el Fiscal Estatal del Condado de Prince George Glenn F. Ivey.
"Como parte de su declaración del culpabilidad, el Sr. Ortiz admitió ser líder de esta pandilla violenta, y hoy está viendo las consecuencias de sus actos", dijo el Secretario de Justicia Breuer. "Al ir contra líderes de pandillas, debilitamos la estructura de la pandilla, y, finalmente, logramos una mayor seguridad en las comunidades aterrorizadas por las pandillas".
"La estrategia de combinar los recursos y la inteligencia de las dependencias locales, estatales y federales de las fuerzas del orden público de buscar formular cargos federales contra la delincuencia organizada está demostrando ser eficaz", dijo el Fiscal Federal Rod J. Rosenstein.
"Esta sentencia demuestra la seriedad y la determinación del Buró de Control de Bebidas Alcohólicas, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)] y nuestros asociados de las fuerzas del orden público en llevar ante la justicia a los delincuentes violentos", dijo la Agente Especial a Cargo de la ATF Theresa R. Stoop. "Hemos trabajado sin descanso, y seguiremos haciéndolo, para proteger a nuestras comunidades contra los actos sin sentido de la violencia y la intimidación pandillera. Los delincuentes violentos que participan en actividades pandilleras no tienen lugar en nuestras comunidades y buscaremos retirarlos de las calles para garantizar la seguridad del público".
Según el acuerdo de declaración de culpabilidad de Ortiz, Latin Kings es una pandilla callejera violenta con miles de miembros en todos los Estados Unidos y el extranjero. Los Latin Kings tienen una estructura organizativa detallada y uniforme que se detalla – junto con diversas "oraciones", códigos de conducta y rituales – en un "manifiesto" escrito distribuido comúnmente a miembros de todo el país. Los miembros de los Latin Kings también reciben tradicionalmente "nombres de King" o "nombres de Queen", que son nombres distintos a sus nombres legales por los cuales son conocidos por otros miembros de la pandilla y terceros en la calle. A nivel local, los grupos de Latin Kings se organizan en "tribus", incluidos Royal Lion Tribe, MOG, Sun Tribe y UTL.
De acuerdo con el acuerdo de declaración de culpabilidad, a mediados de 2007, Ortiz se hizo miembro del Royal Lion Tribe en Maryland y la Tercera Corona/Forzador de la Tribu. Ortiz fue Primera Corona/Inca de la tribu en 2008, cuando miembros de la tribu Royal Lion formaron la tribu MOG. Ortiz lideró la tribu MOG hasta mediados de 2009, cuando fue retirado del poder; luego formó y se volvió líder de la tribu UTL. Como líder de los Latin Kings, Ortiz organizó reuniones donde se recogieron cuotas de miembros y se discutieron negocios de la pandilla. Como Primera Corona/Inca, Ortiz viajó a Pensilvania, Nueva York y Florida, donde se reunió con otros líderes de los Latin Kings.
Ortiz admitió que, como parte de sus actividades pandilleras, a fines del verano u otoño de 2007, Ortiz y otros miembros de los Latin Kings llevaron a cabo el robo armado de un narcotraficante en condominios en Langley Park, Md. De acuerdo con la declaración de culpabilidad, uno de los Latin Kings golpeó en la puerta del narcotraficante y cuando se abrió la puerta, Ortiz y otros dos miembros y asociados de los Latin Kings entraron al apartamento a la fuerza, cada uno portando un revolver. Una vez adentro, apuntaron sus revólveres contra las cabezas del narcotraficante y su joven hija. Los miembros de los Latin Kings mantuvieron al narcotraficante y a su hija a punta de pistola en la habitación mientras allanaban el domicilio, eventualmente robando algunas bolsas de cocaína en polvo.
De acuerdo con la declaración de culpabilidad, en diciembre de 2007, Ortiz y otros miembros y asociados de los Latin Kings participaron en el intento de asesinato de un sospechoso de ser miembro de una pandilla rival. Cuando varios miembros de los Latin Kings comenzaron a caminar en el área arbolada detrás de un complejo de condominios en Langley Park, una o más personas que se sospechaba eran miembros de la MS-13 comenzaron a dispararles. Después de que los Latin Kings corrieron a sus automóviles, Ortiz les hizo parar, salir de sus autos y cometió represalias contra los sospechosos de ser miembros de la MS-13. Cuando los Latin Kings encontraron a una persona que creían ser miembro de la MS-13, lo atacaron y acuchillaron.
Ortiz admitió que el 19 de enero de 2009, él y otros miembros y asociados de los Latin Kings amenazaron y agredieron físicamente a una Latin Queen, quien era la víctima pretendida de un bombardeo previo. Tres días antes, tres miembros de los Latin Kings habían sido sentenciados después de declararse culpables en ese caso. Ortiz y otros Latin Kings estuvieron presentes en la emisión de la sentencia en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Greenbelt. Bajo la creencia de que si la Latin Queen no era testigo o cambiaba su testimonio, los tres Latin Kings podrían apelar sus condenas por el bombardeo con éxito, Ortiz y otros Latin Kings implementaron un plan para agredir a la Latin Queen con la intención de influenciar, cambiar o evitar su testimonio. Agentes del ATF se enteraron del plan y pudieron prevenir el ataque.
Finalmente, Ortiz admitió que el 8 de julio de 2009, él y miembros de la tribu UTL intentaron asesinar a una persona en Germantown, Md. La víctima estaba caminando sobre una calle residencial con dos amigos cuando el automóvil se les acercó. Varias personas salieron del automóvil y se pusieron a perseguir a la víctima. En determinado momento, atraparon a la víctima y le golpearon en la parte posterior de la cabeza. La víctima calló al suelo donde Ortiz y otros Latin Kings golpearon a la víctima con un palo de béisbol, la patearon, golpearon y acuchillaron varias veces. Ortiz fue arrestado dos días después del ataque y en el momento de su arresto tenía tres machetes en su posesión.
Seis codemandados ya se han declarado culpables al cargo de conspiración para cometer delincuencia organizada. Todos permanecen bajo custodia federal.
La Fuerza de Tarea Regional de Control Antipandillas [Regional Anti-Gang Enforcement (RAGE) Task Force] liderada por el Buró de Control de Bebidas Alcohólicas, Tabaco, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos [ATF - Bureau of Alcohol, Tabaco, Firearms and Explosives], la que incluye al Departamento de Policía de Gaithersburg, Md., el Departamento de Policía del Condado de Montgomery; la Fiscalía Federal del Condado de Montgomery, el Departamento de Policía del Condado de Prince George; la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Montgomery; La Policía Estatal de Maryland, así como el Departamento de Policía de Nueva York, el Servicio Secreto de EE.UU. y el Servicio de Impuestos Internos - Investigación Criminal, proporcionaron asistencia en la investigación y la acusación.
Estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso los Fiscales Federales Emily Glatfelter y David Salem, y la Abogada Litigante Lara M. Peirce de la Unidad de Pandillas de la División Criminal.
Latin Kings Leader Sentenced to 262 Months in Prison for Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Francisco Ortiz, aka “Francis Gabriel Ortis,” “Pone,” and “King Pone,” 26, of Rockville, Md., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. in Greenbelt, Md., to 262 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities as a member and leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings).
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the 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 (ATF) - Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; Chief Roberto L. Hylton of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey.
“As part of his plea, Mr. Ortiz admitted to being the leader of this violent gang, and today he is seeing the consequences,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “By targeting gang leaders, we weaken a gang’s structure and, ultimately, make safer the communities that gangs terrorize.”
“The strategy of combining the resources and intelligence of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue federal racketeering charges is proving effective,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.
“This sentencing demonstrates how serious and determined ATF and our law enforcement partners are in bringing violent criminals to justice,” says ATF’s Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop. “We have and will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities from senseless acts of gang violence and intimidation. Violent criminals involved in gang activity have no place within our communities and we will target and remove them to ensure the public is safe.”
According to Ortiz’s plea agreement, 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 on the street. At the local level, groups of Latin Kings are organized into “tribes,” including the Royal Lion Tribe, MOG, Sun Tribe and UTL.
According to the plea agreement, in mid-2007, Ortiz became a member of the Royal Lion Tribe in Maryland and the tribe’s Third Crown/Enforcer. Ortiz became the First Crown/Inca of the tribe in 2008, when members of the Royal Lion tribe formed the MOG tribe. Ortiz led the MOG tribe until mid-2009, when he was removed from power, then formed and became the leader of the UTL tribe. As a Latin King leader, Ortiz organized meetings where dues were collected from members and gang business was discussed. As First Crown/Inca, Ortiz traveled to Pennsylvania, New York and Florida where he met with other Latin King leaders.
Ortiz admitted that as part of his gang activities, in late summer or fall of 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members carried out the armed robbery of a drug dealer at condominiums in Langley Park, Md. According to the plea agreement, one of the Latin Kings knocked on the drug dealer’s door and when the door opened, Ortiz and two other Latin King members and associates forced their way into the apartment, each carrying a gun. Once inside, they put their guns to the heads of the dealer and his young daughter. The Latin King members held the drug dealer and his daughter at gunpoint in the bedroom while they searched the residence, eventually stealing a few bags of powder cocaine.
According to the plea agreement, in December 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members and associates participated in the attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member. When several Latin King members began walking in the wooded area behind a condominium complex in Langley Park, one or more people suspected to be MS-13 members began shooting at them. After the Latin Kings began running to their cars, Ortiz made them stop, get out of their cars and retaliate against the suspected MS-13 members. When the Latin Kings found an individual who they believed was a member of MS-13, they attacked and stabbed him.
Ortiz admitted that on Jan. 19, 2009, he and other Latin King members and associates threatened and attempted to physically assault a Latin Queen, who was the intended victim of an earlier firebombing. Three days earlier, three members of the Latin Kings had been sentenced after pleading guilty in that case. Ortiz and other Latin Kings attended the sentencing at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Believing that if the Latin Queen was not a witness or changed her testimony the three Latin Kings would be able to successfully appeal their convictions for the firebombing, Ortiz and other Latin Kings put a plan in place to assault the Latin Queen in an attempt to influence, change or prevent her testimony. ATF agents learned of the plan and were able to prevent the attack.
Finally, Ortiz admitted that on July 8, 2009, he and members of the UTL tribe attempted to murder a person in Germantown, Md. The victim was walking on a residential street with two friends when a car approached them. Several people got out of the car and began chasing the victim. The victim was eventually caught and struck in the back of the head. The victim fell to the ground where Ortiz and other Latin Kings beat the victim with a bat, kicked, punched and stabbed him multiple times. Ortiz was arrested two days after the attack and at the time of his arrest had three machetes with him.
Six co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy. All remain in federal custody.
The ATF-led Regional Anti-Gang Enforcement (RAGE) Task Force, which includes the Gaithersburg, Md., Police Department; the Montgomery County Police Department; 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 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.
Former NOPD Officer Sentenced in Connection with Shootings on Danziger BridgeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former officer with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), was sentenced today to eight years in prison for conspiracy to obstruct justice and for misprision of a felony (for concealing a known crime), in connection with a federal investigation of two police-involved shootings that left two civilians dead and four others seriously wounded in the area of the Danziger Bridge in the days after Hurricane Katrina. In addition, Michael Hunter was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and serve three years supervised release. On April 7, 2010, Hunter, 33, entered a guilty plea in federal court in New Orleans before U.S. District Court Judge Sarah S. Vance.
According to court documents, Hunter drove to the Danziger Bridge on Sept. 4, 2005, in a large Budget rental truck carrying officers in response to a radio call that said officers on the nearby I-10 bridge had come under fire. Hunter has admitted that officers on the east side of the Danziger Bridge fired at civilians even though the civilians did not appear to have any weapons. According to Hunter, one officer (Sergeant A) leaned over a concrete barrier, held out an assault rifle and, in a sweeping motion, fired repeatedly at the civilians, who were at that point lying wounded and apparently unarmed on the ground. Hunter also has admitted that he fired his weapon repeatedly at civilians who were running away over the bridge. In addition, Hunter has acknowledged that he did not see any weapons on these civilians, and that the civilians did not appear to pose a threat to officers as they ran up the bridge.
Hunter further admitted that he was present on the west side of the Danziger Bridge when an officer, identified as Officer A, shot and killed Ronald Madison, a civilian who was running away from officers with his hands in view, and did not have a weapon or pose a threat. Without warning, Officer A fired a shotgun at Madison’s back as Madison ran toward a motel at the bottom of bridge. Hunter also has described watching Sergeant A physically abuse Ronald Madison as he lay on the ground injured, but still alive.
Hunter has admitted that, in the wake of the shootings on the Danziger Bridge, he participated in a conspiracy to cover up the truth about what happened on the bridge. Specifically, he admitted, among other things, that he and other officers provided false statements about what happened on the Danziger Bridge; that before giving formal statements on tape, he and other officers met in a gutted-out police station and discussed their false stories; and that he lied to a state grand jury about what happened on the Danziger Bridge.
This case, which is ongoing, is being investigated by the New Orleans Field Office of the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Bobbi Bernstein and Trial Attorney Forrest Christian of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia K. Evans and Theodore Carter of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Florida Man Indicted in “Ponzi” SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – David R. Lewalski, formerly of Gainesville, Fla., was indicted today on conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud charges in connection with his participation in an investment fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill of the Middle District of Florida.
Lewalski, 47, was originally charged by a criminal complaint and arrested on Nov. 4, 2010. If convicted, Lewalski faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the four counts in the indictment.
According to court documents, Lewalski and one or more coconspirators allegedly solicited money from investors in Florida and throughout the country based on false statements that Lewalski could earn them up to 10% interest per month through trading in the foreign currency (forex) market. Based on these and other fraudulent promises, Lewalski and his coconspirators allegedly took in approximately $30 million from hundreds of investors in Florida and across the country.
Court documents allege that Lewalski invested only a small portion of these investor funds in trading activities and generated little if any profits trading foreign currency. Lewalski made “interest payments” totaling approximately $15 million to investors using other investors’ money. According to court documents, Lewalski spent lavishly on himself, his friends and his family, spending millions of dollars leasing real estate and private jets, and purchasing luxury automobiles, clothing and jewelry.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy Riedel and Trial Attorney Glenn Chernigoff of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. It is being investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, with assistance from the Florida Office of the Attorney General.
Today’s charge is part of efforts being undertaken by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
For more information on the task force, visit StopFraud.gov.
Tuesday 30 November 2010
Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd. Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing on Air Cargo ShipmentsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd. has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $48 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Singapore-based Singapore Airlines Cargo engaged in a conspiracy to fix the cargo rates charged to certain customers in the United States and elsewhere for international air shipments from as early as February 2002, until at least Feb. 14, 2006. Under the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Singapore Airlines Cargo has also agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation.
Singapore Airlines Cargo transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable commodities and consumer goods, on scheduled international flights, including to and from the United States.
According to the charges, Singapore Airlines Cargo and co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing during meetings, conversations and other communications on one or more components of the cargo rates to be charged for shipments on certain routes to and from the United States. As part of the conspiracy, Singapore Airlines Cargo and co-conspirators levied cargo rates in accordance with the agreements reached, and monitored and enforced adherence to the agreed-upon cargo rates.
Singapore Airlines Cargo is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum fine for corporations of $100 million. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Including today’s charge, as a result of this investigation, a total of 20 airlines and 17 executives have been charged in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry. To date, more than $1.7 billion in criminal fines have been obtained and four executives have been sentenced to serve prison time. Charges are pending against the remaining 13 executives.
Today’s charge is the result of a joint investigation into the air transportation industry being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General. Anyone with information concerning price fixing or other anticompetitive conduct in the air transportation industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section at 202-307-6694, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, or call the FBI’s Washington Field Office at 202-278-2000.
Nigerian Woman Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Her Role in Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Nigerian woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).
On March 1, 2010, Linda Eteimo Ere Kendabie, 29, of Nigeria, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud. Kendabie was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore of the Southern District of Texas. Kendabie was also ordered to pay $461,244 in restitution to Medicare.
According to court documents, Kendabie worked as an administrative assistant for B.I. Medical Supply LLC, a Houston-area durable medical equipment (DME) company. Kendabie admitted that B.I. Medical billed Medicare for expensive, rigid orthotics and braces that were packaged together and referred to as an arthritis kit, at a cost of approximately $4,000 per kit, when, in fact, they supplied Medicare beneficiaries with different, less expensive products. Kendabie also admitted that the equipment supplied was not medically necessary. In total, B.I. Medical submitted approximately $846,000 in fraudulent claims to Medicare.
On Sept. 7, 2010, Modupe Babanumi, a patient recruiter for B.I. Medical Supply, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison. Babanumi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud on March 1, 2010.
Today’s sentencing was announced by Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer; U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas; Special Agent-in-Charge Richard C. Powers of the FBI’s Houston Field Office; Special Agent-in-Charge Mike Fields of the Dallas Regional Office of HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations; and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Katherine Houston, Charles D. Reed, Sam S. Sheldon and Jennifer Saulino, of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since their inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 825 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2 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.
Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Retaliation by the Puerto Rico Police DepartmentRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice announced today the filing of a lawsuit against the Policía de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Police Department or PRPD) alleging the PRPD retaliated against Agent Investigator Sofía Figueroa Rossy (Figueroa) for complaining about a hostile work environment based on sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
According to the Justice Department’s complaint, the PRPD retaliated against Figueroa when, after she complained of sexual harassment, the PRPD failed to keep Figueroa’s complaint confidential, involuntarily transferred her out of the PRPD’s Sex Crimes Division, and failed or refused to take action on Figueroa’s appeal of the involuntary transfer.
“All workers have the right to go to work each day without fear of discrimination or retaliation. Public employers should set an example for others by upholding the law and taking prompt and effective action to stop discrimination and retaliation,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will vigorously pursue such violations of Title VII.”
The Justice Department is seeking an order from the court that the PRPD take remedial steps to ensure a non-retaliatory workplace for its employees; that the PRPD supplement its mandatory training for all supervisors regarding sex discrimination and retaliation under Title VII so that complaints like Figueroa’s remain confidential and do not result in retaliation; and that the PRPD provide Figueroa with make-whole remedial relief , including compensatory damages for mental and/or physical injuries caused by the PRPD’s retaliatory conduct.
The San Juan Local Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated and attempted to resolve Figueroa’s charge of discrimination before referring it to the department for litigation. More information about the EEOC is available on its website at www.eeoc.gov
The enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its websites at www.justice.gov/crt/ and www.justice.gov/crt/emp/
Houston Medical Equipment Company Manager Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison and Delivery Driver Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Roles in Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Houston-area residents Oliver Nkuku and Callistus Edozie were sentenced to 120 months in prison and 41 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in a durable medical equipment (DME) Medicare fraud scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today.
Nkuku was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes to 120 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Nkuku was also ordered to pay $453,112 in restitution jointly and severally with Edozie. Edozie was sentenced today by Judge Hughes to 41 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Edozie was ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution jointly and severally with Nkuku.
According to court documents, Nkuku was the manager of and controlled the day-to-day operations of KO Medical Inc., a Houston-area DME company. Edozie was a delivery driver for KO. Nkuku was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud after a week-long trial in July 2010. Upon conviction, Judge Hughes ordered Nkuku detained prior to sentencing and he has remained in federal detention since his trial. Edozie pleaded guilty prior to trial to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of defrauding a health care benefit program.
KO began billing Medicare for fraudulent DME in 2007, according to court documents. According to evidence introduced at trial, Nkuku submitted over $1.1 million in claims to Medicare on behalf of KO for DME, including power wheelchairs, that was medically unnecessary. The wheelchairs and accessories were billed as catastrophe-related in connection with Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Ike and Gustav, even though many of the Medicare beneficiaries, including some who testified at trial, had never owned a power wheelchair during these catastrophes or had owned one that was not damaged during these catastrophes. According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, Nkuku was previously convicted of fraud, and he failed to admit that previous conviction on documents he submitted to Medicare.
Edozie, as a part of his plea, admitted to delivering medically unnecessary DME, including power wheelchairs, to Medicare beneficiaries whom he knew did not need, and in some cases did not even want, the DME.
The sentences were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney José Angel Moreno of the Southern District of Texas; Richard C. Powers, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Houston office; Special Agent-in-Charge Mike Fields of the Dallas Regional Office of the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Investigations; and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on behalf of the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU).
The cases were prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jennifer L. Saulino and Deputy Chief Kathleen McGovern of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The cases were investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and MFCU.
The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Since their inception in March 2007, Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 825 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2 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.
Former Employee of a Financial Institution Subsidiary Pleads Guilty for Role in Bid-rigging and Fraud Conspiracies Involving Municipal BondsRead the Press Release
A former employee of a subsidiary of a financial institution pleaded guilty today for his participation in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to contracts for the investment of municipal bond proceeds and other municipal finance contracts, the Department of Justice announced.
According to the plea proceeding held today in U.S. District Court in New York City, James L. Hertz, a resident of Cranford, N.J., engaged in separate bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies related to the provision of a type of contract, known as an investment agreement, and other municipal finance contracts, including derivatives contracts, to public entities throughout the United States, such as state, county and local governments and agencies. Hertz also pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. According to the plea agreement, Hertz has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
According to the court document, from approximately 1994 through approximately December 2007, Hertz worked in the municipal derivatives group of the financial institution’s subsidiary as a vice president and a marketer of investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts. The Manhattan, N.Y.-based financial institution was a provider of investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts, such as swaps, to public entities. Public entities seek to invest money from a variety of sources, primarily the proceeds of municipal bonds that they issued, to raise money for, among other things, public projects. Public entities typically hire a broker to conduct a competitive bidding process for the award of the investment agreements to invest such money. Competitive bidding for these agreements is the subject of regulations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and is related to the tax-exempt status of the bonds
The department said in court documents that Hertz was authorized to act as an agent of the financial institution in marketing investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts.
According to the court document, Hertz and co-conspirators engaged in a bid-rigging conspiracy from at least as early as October 2001 until at least November 2006. As a part of the bid-rigging conspiracy, Hertz and co-conspirators designated in advance which co-conspirator provider, either his employer or another financial institution, would be the winning bidder for certain investment agreements or other municipal finance contracts. Hertz and co-conspirators also agreed to submit intentionally losing bids for investment agreements or other municipal finance contracts that were steered to other financial institutions, giving the false appearance that these deals had been bid competitively in accordance with relevant U.S. Treasury regulations, or the requirements of the municipality.
According to the court documents, Hertz also participated in a fraud conspiracy with a broker located in Minnesota from as early as 1998 until at least November 2006. As part of this conspiracy, the broker gave Hertz information about the prices, price levels or conditions in competitors’ bids, a practice known as a “last look,” which is explicitly prohibited by U.S. Treasury regulations. On some occasions, the broker signaled Hertz to change his bids to specific numbers so that his employer could make more money. Hertz and co-conspirators also submitted intentionally losing bids to the broker for certain investment agreements to make it appear that his employer had competed for those agreement or contracts, when in fact, it had not. As a result of the bid manipulation, Hertz’s employer won investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts at artificially determined price levels, which deprived municipal issuers of money and property.
The court documents also charge that Hertz and co-conspirators misrepresented to municipal issuers or their bond counsel that the bidding process was in compliance with U.S. Treasury regulations. This caused the municipal issuers to award investment agreements and other municipal finance contracts to providers that otherwise would not have been awarded the contracts if the issuers had true and accurate information regarding the bidding process. Such conduct caused municipal issuers to file inaccurate reports with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and placed the tax-exempt status of the underlying bonds in jeopardy.
The bid-rigging conspiracy with which Hertz is charged carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The fraud conspiracy with which Hertz is charged carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fines for each of these offenses may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
This is the eighth guilty plea to arise from an ongoing investigation into the municipal bonds industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. The department is coordinating its investigation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Three former employees of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Rubin/Chambers, Dunhill Insurance Services Inc. (CDR) have pleaded guilty to bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies in relation to the ongoing investigation. Four other individuals have pleaded guilty to charges related to the ongoing investigation. In addition, three former financial services executives were indicted on July 27, 2010, for participating in fraud schemes and conspiracies related to the bidding for investment agreements. In October 2009, CDR, two of its employees and one former employee were charged for participating in bid-rigging and fraud conspiracies and related crimes. The CDR trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 12, 2011.
Today’s guilty plea is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information on the task force, visit www.StopFraud.gov.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging and related offenses in any financial markets should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-264-0390 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, or the FBI at 212-384-5000.
El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder, los Secretarios Salazar y Visackaplauden la aprobación final de la Ley de Acuerdos Conciliatorios por ReclamosRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Hoy, los Departamentos de Justicia, del Interior y Agricultura aplaudieron la aprobación bipartidista por el Congreso de la Ley de Acuerdos Conciliatorios por Reclamos. La ley, recientemente aprobada por el Senado, proveerá fondos esperados hace muchos tiempo para los acuerdos alcanzados en la demanda Pigford II entablada por agricultores afroestadounidenses; la demanda Cobell entablada por indígenas estadounidenses con respecto a la administración de cuentas fiduciarias y recursos indígenas; y cuatro demandas separadas asociadas a derechos sobre el agua entabladas por tribus indígenas estadounidenses. El Presidente Barack Obama ha dicho que firmará la ley.
"Se trata de acuerdos verdaderamente históricos que no solo resuelven litigios, sino que también ofrecen una nueva relación entre muchos estadounidenses merecedores y dependencias federales que ocupan un papel importante en sus vidas", dijo el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder. "El cierre de este litigio ha sido una prioridad para este gobierno, y el voto de hoy en el Congreso es un importante logro histórico. Estos casos proveen acuerdos justos para los demandantes y para los contribuyentes estadounidenses.
"La aprobación del acuerdo conciliatorio del caso Cobell y los cuatro acuerdos conciliatorios sobre derechos indígenas al agua son hechos históricos para las naciones indígenas", dijo el Secretario del Interior Ken Salazar. "Los acuerdos conciliatorios tratan, de forma honorable y responsable, de injusticias existentes hace mucho tiempo y representan un paso hacia adelante en la intención del Presidente Obama de otorgar a los gobiernos tribales, cumplir con nuestras responsabilidades fideicomisarias para con los miembros tribales y ayudar a los líderes tribales a construir comunidades más seguras, más fuertes, más saludables y más prósperas".
"El Presidente Obama y yo realizamos un compromiso firme no solo de tratar a todos los agricultores de manera justa e igualitaria, sino también arreglar las injusticias cometidas por el Departamento de Agricultura de EE.UU. [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)] en el pasado", dijo el Secretario de Agricultura Tom Vilsack. "Aplaudo a quienes tomaron este paso histórico para asegurar que los agricultores negros que fueron objeto de discriminación cometida por su gobierno finalmente tengan justicia. Y felicito a quienes lideraron esta lucha en el Congreso de EE.UU. y agradezco su determinación inquebrantable. El voto de hoy ayudará al Departamento de Agricultura a dejar atrás este capítulo triste de la historia. La legislación aprobada por el Senado y el Congreso incluye fuertes protecciones contra el desperdicio, el fraude y el abuso para garantizar la integridad del proceso de reclamos. En los meses y años que vienen, no dejaremos de trabajar en transportar al Departamento a una nueva era como empleador modelo y proveedor de servicios de primera línea. También debemos continuar el buen trabajo que comenzamos y resolver todos los demás reclamos administrativos".
El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder habla en la conferencia de prensasobre la Operación en Nuestros Portales IIRead the Press Release
Buenos días y gracias a todos por venir.
Me acompañan hoy dos de los principales líderes en la labor realizada por el gobierno de EE.UU. para combatir los delitos de propiedad intelectual – John Morton, el Director del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas, y Ron Machen, el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito de Columbia.
Nos complace anunciar un paso importante en nuestra labor constante para proteger los intereses y la seguridad de los consumidores, para asegurar la fuerza de nuestros mercados y para proteger los derechos de propiedad intelectual de innovadores y empresarios.
A lo largo de los últimos días, la División Criminal del Departamento de Justicia, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional y nueve Fiscalías Federales de todo el país obtuvieron y ejecutaron órdenes de confiscación contra 82 nombres de dominios de portales en Internet dedicados a la venta y distribución de mercaderías falsificadas y obras ilegales objeto de violación de derechos de autor.
Esta labor coordinada de las fuerzas del orden público - conocida como "Operación en Nuestros Portales II" - se concentró en detallistas en el Internet de una amplia gama de mercaderías falsificadas, incluidos equipos deportivos, calzado, carteras, ropa deportiva, gafas solares y copias ilegales de DVDs, música y programas de informática.
En el transcurso de esta operación, agentes de las fuerzas del orden público federales realizaron compras encubiertas de una variedad de detallistas en el Internet bajo sospecha de vender mercaderías falsificadas. En el caso de los artículos en que se pudo confirmar que eran falsificados o violaban la ley, se obtuvieron órdenes de confiscación para los nombres de los dominios de los portales en Internet que vendían estas mercaderías a través de Jueces Auxiliares Federales.
A partir de hoy - lo que se conoce como "Lunes Cibernético" y como el día de más compras en Internet del año - cualquier persona que intente acceder a uno de estos sitios utilizando su nombre de dominio ya no logrará realizar una compra. En su lugar, los compradores en Internet encontrarán un aviso que les notifica que el nombre del dominio del portal ha sido confiscado por autoridades federales.
Con las confiscaciones de hoy, estamos obstaculizando la venta de miles de artículos falsificados. Les estamos cortando los fondos a quienes busquen obtener ganancias a través de la venta de mercadería ilegal y de aprovecharse de la ingenuidad ajena. Y, a medida que avanza la temporada de compras para las fiestas de fin de año, aprovechamos para recordar a los consumidores que tengan cuidado al buscar buenos negocios y descuentos en Internet. Dicho de manera simple: Si el negocio parece demasiado bueno para ser real, probablemente lo sea.
El compromiso del Departamento de Justicia hacia hacer valer las leyes de PI nunca ha sido más fuerte. Esta labor es una de sus principales prioridades. Y a través del liderazgo de la División Criminal del Departamento y nuestras Fiscalías Federales - y con la ayuda del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)], el Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)], y muchas otras dependencias y asociados de las fuerzas del orden público - seguiremos adelante con nuestra labor de proteger los derechos de propiedad intelectual y desmantelar los mercados de mercaderías falsificadas o ilícitas.
Hace demasiado tiempo que el robo de ideas innovadoras o la venta de mercaderías falsificadas, defectuosas y peligrosas vienen aceptándose como "algo normal". Esto ha dejado de ser así. Los delitos de PI ponen en peligro las oportunidades económicas y la estabilidad financiera. Destruyen empleos. Contienen la innovación. Y pueden poner en peligro la salud y la seguridad de los hombres y mujeres que juramos proteger.
No se equivoquen: Los delitos de propiedad intelectual sí tienen víctimas, y no están libres de riesgos.
Las confiscaciones de nombres de dominios de hoy son el resultado de una serie de pasos críticos que tomamos recientemente para asegurar la protección de los derechos de propiedad intelectual.
Durante la "Operación Nuestros Portales I" a lo largo del verano, las autoridades ejecutaron órdenes de confiscación contra los nombres de dominios de varios portales que ofrecían copias ilegales de estrenos de películas. En febrero último, reestablecí la Fuerza de Tarea de Propiedad Intelectual del Departamento, la cual está fortaleciendo nuestra labor de investigación y enjuiciamiento de los delitos de PI. Y el mes pasado, viajé a Hong Kong y Beijing para encontrarme con nuestros colegas de las fuerzas del orden público de China y de alrededor del mundo para pedirles que hagan más para luchar contra estos delitos.
A través de la Fuerza de Tarea y otras iniciativas, hemos mejorado la coordinación con nuestros asociados en las fuerzas del orden público federales. En particular, deseo mencionar la gran labor que se está realizando a través del Centro nacional de Coordinación de Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual, liderado por nuestros colegas en ICE y que reúne a investigadores y analistas de una serie de dependencias federales.
Sin estas asociaciones, el éxito de hoy no hubiera sido posible.
Estoy especialmente agradecido por los aportes de la Sección de Delitos de Informática y Propiedad Intelectual de la División Criminal, así como de nuestras Fiscalías Federales en el Distrito de Columbia, el Distrito Sur de Nueva York, el Distrito Medio de Florida, el Distrito de Colorado, el Distrito Sur de Texas, el Distrito Central de California, el Distrito Norte de Ohio, el Distrito de Nueva Jersey y el Distrito Oeste de Washington.
Todos los que han contribuido con la operación de hoy - los muchos agentes, investigadores, abogados y personal de apoyo - han trabajado largas horas en proteger a los consumidores y los derechos de propiedad intelectual. Gracias a todos ustedes por su trabajo sobresaliente.
Y si bien el progreso alcanzado hoy es un paso importante, no podemos darnos por satisfechos. No debemos dormirnos sobre nuestros laureles.
Nuestra lucha contra los delitos de propiedad intelectual continúa. En los días críticos que nos esperan, insto a los consumidores a que estén atentos y compartan inquietudes e información con nosotros. Insto a todos nuestros asociados de las fuerzas del orden público a que sigan adelante con el fantástico trabajo que vienen realizando.
Con su ayuda, creo que podremos resolver un problema que representa una amenaza para la seguridad de los consumidores y para la seguridad económica de nuestra nación.
Gracias a todos. Ahora, entrego la palabra al Director John Morton.
El Departamento de Justicia entabla demanda que alega represalias por parte del Departamento de Policía de Puerto RicoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que se entabló una demanda contra la Policía de Puerto Rico [Puerto Rico Police Department o PRPD], alegando represalias por parte del PRPD contra la Agente Investigadora Sofía Figueroa Rossy (Figueroa) por quejarse de un ambiente de trabajo hostil basado en el sexo, en violación del Título VII de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964 y sus enmiendas.
De acuerdo con la demanda del Departamento de Justicia, el PRPD tomó represalias contra Figueroa después de que se quejó de acoso sexual, el PRPD dejó de mantener la confidencialidad de la queja de Figueroa, la transfirió contra su voluntad de la División de Delitos Sexuales del PRPD, y dejó de o se negó a tomar acción con respecto a la apelación de la transferencia involuntaria presentada por Figueroa.
“Todos los trabajadores tienen derecho a dirigirse al trabajo sin temor a la discriminación o represalias. Los empleadores públicos debe ser ejemplos para los demàs, respetando la ley y tomando acción inmediata y efectiva para acabar con la discriminación y las represalias”, dijo el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Thomas E. Pérez de la División de Derechos Civiles. “El Departamento de Justicia enjuiciarà enérgicamente dichas violaciones del Título VII”.
El Departamento de Justicia ha solicitado una orden al tribunal para que el PRPD tome medidas correctivas para asegurar un ambiente de trabajo sin represalias para sus empleados; para que el PRPD suplemente su capacitación obligatoria para todos lo supervisores con relación a la discriminación sexual y las represalias bajo el Título VII, de modo que quejas como las de Figueroa permanezcan confidenciales y no resulten en represalias; y para que el PRPD proporcione a Figueroa compensación completa, incluidos daños compensatorios debido a lesiones mentales y/o físicas causadas por la conducta vengativa del PRPD.
La Oficina Local de San Juan de la Comisión para la Igualdad de Oportunidades en el Empleo [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)] investigó e intentó resolver el cargo de discriminación presentado por Figueroa antes de referirlo al Departamento para litigio. Para obtener màs información sobre la EEOC, visite su portal en www.eeoc.gov.
Hacer valer el Título VII es una de las principales prioridades de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. Para obtener información adicional sobre la División de Derechos Civiles, visite sus portales www.justice.gov/crt/ y www.justice.gov/crt/emp/.
Attorney General Holder, Secretaries Salazar and Vilsack Applaud Final Passage of the Claims Settlement ActRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today, the Departments of Justice, Interior and Agriculture applauded the bipartisan House passage of the Claims Settlement Act. The act, which recently passed the Senate, will provide long-awaited funding for the agreements reached in the Pigford II lawsuit, brought by African American farmers; the Cobell lawsuit, brought by Native Americans over the management of Indian trust accounts and resources; and four separate water rights suits made by Native American tribes. President Barack Obama has said that he will sign the legislation into law.
"These are truly historic settlements that do not only resolve litigation, but also offer a new relationship between many deserving Americans and the federal agencies that play an important role in their lives," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "Bringing this litigation to a close has been a priority for this administration, and today’s vote in Congress is a significant, historic achievement. These cases provide fair deals for the plaintiffs and for the American taxpayers."
"Congress’ approval of the Cobell settlement and the four Indian water rights settlements is nothing short of historic for Indian nations," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said. "The settlements honorably and responsibly address long-standing injustices and represent a major step forward in President Obama’s agenda to empower tribal governments, fulfill our trust responsibilities to tribal members and help tribal leaders build safer, stronger, healthier and more prosperous communities."
"President Obama and I made a firm commitment not only to treat all farmers fairly and equally, but to right the wrongs in USDA’s past," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "I applaud those who took this historic step to ensure black farmers who faced discrimination by their government finally receive justice. And I commend those who led this fight in the U.S. Congress and I am thankful for their unwavering determination. Today’s vote will help the Department of Agriculture move beyond this sad chapter in history. The bill that passed the Senate and House includes strong protections against waste, fraud, and abuse to ensure integrity of the claims process. In the months and years ahead, we will not stop working to move the Department into a new era as a model employer and premier service provider. We also must continue the good work we started to resolve all remaining administrative claims."
Monday 29 November 2010
Tribunales Federales ordenan la confiscación de 82 dominios de portales en Internet involucrados en la venta de mercadería falsificada como parte de unainiciativa del DOJ y del ICE del "Lunes Cibernético"Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Se han ejecutado órdenes de confiscación contra los nombres de 82 nombres de dominios de portales comerciales en Internet dedicados a la venta y distribución ilegal de mercaderías falsificadas y obras protegidas por leyes de propiedad intelectual como parte de la Operación en nuestros Portales v 2.0, anunciaron hoy el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder y el Director John Morton del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional.
La operación coordinada de las fuerzas del orden público federales tuvo como objetivo a vendedores detallistas en el Internet de una amplia gama de mercaderías falsificadas, incluidos equipos deportivos, calzado, carteras, ropa deportiva y gafas solares, así como copias ilegales de juegos en caja en DVDs de música y programas de computadora con derechos de autor.Durante la operación, agentes de las fuerzas del orden público federales realizaron compras encubiertas de vendedores detallistas en Internet sospechados de vender mercaderías falsificadas. En muchos casos, las mercaderías fueron enviadas directamente a los Estados Unidos de proveedores en otros países a través de correo expreso internacional. Si se confirmaba que la mercadería era falsificada o ilegal, se obtenían órdenes de confiscación de los nombres de los dominios de los portales que vendían los productos a través de Jueces Auxiliares Federales de EE.UU. Las personas que intenten acceder a los portales encontrarán ahora un aviso de que el nombre del dominio de dicho portal ha sido confiscado por las autoridades federales.
"Al confiscar dichos nombres de dominios, hemos obstaculizado la venta de miles de artículos falsificados, cortándoles también los ingresos a quienes están dispuestos a aprovecharse de la ingenuidad ajena por ganancias personales", dijo el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder. "Los delitos de propiedad intelectual dejan víctimas. El robo de ideas y la venta de mercaderías falsificadas representan una amenaza a las oportunidades económicas y la estabilidad financiera, contienen la innovación y destruyen empleos. El Departamento de Justicia, con la ayuda de nuestros asociados de las fuerzas del orden público, está cambiando la percepción de que estos delitos son libres de riesgos con acciones de control como la que se anuncia hoy".
"La venta de marcas estadounidenses falsificadas en Internet roba la labor creativa de otros, le cuesta empleos e ingresos a nuestra economía y puede poner en riesgo la salud y la seguridad de los consumidores estadounidenses", dijo el Director de ICE John Morton. "La protección de la propiedad intelectual es una de las principales prioridades de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional y el Centro nacional de Coordinación de Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual. Nos dedicamos a proteger los empleos, los ingresos y los ingresos tributarios que desaparecen cuando se trafican mercaderías falsificadas".
La operación se base en la Operación en Nuestros Portales I, anunciada en junio de 2010. En dicha prima acción de esta iniciativa de control más amplia, las autoridades ejecutaron órdenes de confiscación contra nueve nombres de dominios de portales en Internet que ofrecían copias pirateadas de películas recién lanzadas.
La operación nacional estuvo liderada por el Centro Nacional de Coordinación de Propiedades Intelectuales [National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) ], liderado por Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional [Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)] del ICE, en coordinación con la Sección de Delitos de Informática y la Sección de Propiedad Intelectual de la División Criminal y nueve Fiscalías Federales, incluidos el Distrito Sur de Nueva York; el Distrito de Columbia; el Distrito Medio de Florida; el Distrito de Colorado; el Distrito Sur de Texas; el Distrito Central de California; el Distrito Norte de Ohio; el Distrito de Nueva Jersey; y el Distrito Oeste de Washington. La Sección de Confiscación de Activos y Lavado de Dinero de la División Criminal también brindó importante asistencia.
El Centro IPR es una de las principales armas del gobierno de EE.UU. en la lucha contra la falsificación y la piratería criminal. El Centro IPR está liderado por HSI del ICE e incluye a asociados de la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de los EE.UU.; el Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]; el Departamento de Comercio; la Administración de Medicamentos y Alimentos de los EE.UU.; el Servicio de Inspección Postal; la Administración de Servicios Generales, la Oficina del Inspector General; el Servicio Naval de Investigaciones Criminales; el Servicio de Investigaciones Criminales de Defensa; la Unidad de Fraude de Compras Mayores de la División de Investigaciones Criminales del Ejército; la Comisión de Seguridad de Productos de Consumo; INTERPOL; y el Servicio Administrativo de Impuestos del Gobierno de México. El Centro IPR permite a las fuerzas del orden público y al sector privado tratar en forma conjunta del problema transnacional creciente de los productos falsificados. El Centro IPR coordina las iniciativas de extensión comunitaria a los que poseen los derechos de autor estadounidenses y conduce iniciativas de aplicación legal domésticas e internacionales, así como coordina y dirige investigaciones contra la falsificación. Para conocer más sobre el Centro IPR, visite www.ice.gov
Las acciones de cumplimiento anunciadas hoy son un ejemplo del tipo de labor realizada por la Fuerza de Tarea sobre la Propiedad Intelectual [Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force)]. El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder creó la Fuerza de Tarea IP para combatir el número creciente de delitos nacionales e internacionales contra la propiedad intelectual, proteger la salud y la seguridad de los consumidores estadounidenses, y salvaguardar la seguridad económica de la nación contra quienes busquen obtener ganancias ilegalmente a partir de la creatividad, la innovación y el trabajo arduo ajenos. La Fuerza de Tarea de PI busca fortalecer la protección de los derechos de propiedad intelectual a través de una mayor aplicación legal criminal y civil, una mayor coordinación entre asociados federales, estatales y locales de las fuerzas del orden público y una mayor concentración en la labor de control internacional, incluido el refuerzo de relaciones con asociados extranjeros clave y líderes industriales estadounidenses. Para conocer más sobre la Fuerza de Tarea de PI, visite www.justice.gov/dag/iptaskfor ce/.
Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on Glenn FineRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - “For more than fifteen years, Glenn Fine’s commitment to integrity and professionalism has helped the Department of Justice fulfill its most important responsibilities. It has been a privilege to work with Glenn during my service as both Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General. Throughout his decade-long tenure as Inspector General, he has embodied the Justice Department’s highest ideals and greatest traditions of service.
“In the Justice Department’s most critical operations and practices, especially our efforts to combat corruption, fraud, waste and abuse, the work done by the Office of the Inspector General is essential. Thanks to Glenn’s outstanding leadership, this Office has never been stronger.
“I am grateful for his service, and I am certain that the Justice Department and the American people will continue to benefit from Glenn’s enduring contributions.”
Justice Department Requires GrafTech International to Make Key Changes to Supply Contracts in Order to Proceed with its Acquisition of Seadrift LPRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement that will require GrafTech International Ltd., a major producer of graphite electrodes, to make significant modifications to its supply agreement with ConocoPhillips Company, along with reporting and firewall obligations, in order to proceed with its proposed acquisition of Seadrift Coke LP.
The department said, in its current form, the GrafTech-Conoco supply agreement and intended ongoing supply arrangements could encourage the exchange of pricing and output information or enable coordination between competitors –Conoco and Seadrift –for the production and sale of a critical petroleum product used in the production of graphite electrodes. The department said that requiring GrafTech to remove certain provisions from the GrafTech-Conoco supply agreement along with providing reports on demand and capacity utilization and implementing firewalls removes the ability and incentive for GrafTech and Conoco to coordinate on price and output post-acquisition.
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the proposed acquisition from extending the audit and most favored nation (MFN) provisions under the Conoco supply agreement to Seadrift and imposing conditions as a result of the ongoing supply arrangement. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive concerns alleged in the lawsuit.
Graphite electrodes are used by steel manufacturers to conduct electricity into electric arc furnaces, which melt steel for a variety of applications. The supply agreement involves a critical petroleum product, called petroleum needle coke, which is an important input into the production of graphite electrodes. Seadrift makes petroleum needle coke.
"The proposed settlement removes a means for potential price and output coordination that otherwise likely would result in higher prices and reduced supply for consumers of this critical petroleum product," said Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. "At the same time, the settlement will permit quality improvements by GrafTech in Seadrift’s equipment and processes, benefiting consumers."
The department’s complaint alleges that the GrafTech-Conoco supply agreement includes provisions such as MFN pricing which, combined with a right for GrafTech to audit the books, records and documents of Conoco, could incentivize the exchange of contemporaneous, customer-specific pricing information between competitors Conoco and Seadrift post-acquisition. In this case, the MFN provision would have required that Conoco guarantee that no other customer can receive a lower price than GrafTech. Reporting and firewall obligations reduce the possibility of coordination on price or output as a result of ongoing supply arrangements.
The inclusion of reporting and firewall requirements in the terms of the proposed settlement, provides an important tool in the Antitrust Division’s efforts to ensure competition remains in this industry, Varney added.
The proposed settlement requires GrafTech to remove the audit rights and MFN pricing from its supply agreement with Conoco, and agree not to include similar provisions in future supply agreements for the 10-year term of the consent decree. During that time, GrafTech also must provide the department with copies of all supply agreements with Conoco, as well as copies of business documents relating to production, capacity and sales. The settlement also sets up firewalls that protect confidential and valuable competitor data. The reporting and firewall requirements will ensure that GrafTech will be precluded from sharing confidential Conoco information with Seadrift employees, that GrafTech will not share certain Seadrift information with Conoco, and Seadrift may not share confidential customer information with GrafTech.
GrafTech is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Parma, Ohio. GrafTech produces graphite electrodes at facilities in Mexico, Brazil, Africa, France and Spain. In 2009, GrafTech’s revenue from the sale of graphite electrodes was approximately $483 million.
Seadrift is a Delaware limited partnership, headquartered in Port Lavaca, Texas. Seadrift produces petroleum needle coke from a manufacturing plant in Port Lavaca that ships petroleum coke internationally. In 2009, Seadrift’s revenues were approximately $62 million.
As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Maribeth Petrizzi, Chief, Litigation II Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 8700, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the proposed settlement upon finding that it is in the public interest.
Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Shut Down Colorado Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The United States has filed a complaint in federal court in Colorado against George Thomas Gaines of Aurora, Colo, the Justice Department announced today. The government’s lawsuit seeks to bar Gaines and his tax preparation companies from preparing federal tax returns for others.
According to the government’s complaint in the case, Gaines, through his companies, G&G Tax Service and American Benefits, prepares federal income tax returns for customers that claim losses for non-existent businesses and inflated or fabricated deductions in order to unlawfully understate tax liabilities or claim the earned income tax credit.
According to the complaint, the Internal Revenue Service has identified 210 returns prepared by Gaines between 2004 and 2007 that contain understatements of customers’ tax liabilities, out of 218 returns audited. The government alleges that these understatements have resulted in a tax harm of more than $900,000, and the total lost revenue could be as much as nearly $4 million.
This civil injunction action is part of the Justice Department’s nationwide crackdown on tax scams, including the preparation of fraudulent federal tax returns. Since 2001, the Justice Department has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Related Documents:
United States v.
GeorgeThomas Gaines, et al.
Complaint for Permanent Injunction
(PDF documents)Portable Document Format (PDF) files may be viewed with a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader
Accessibility Information
10-1356Federal Courts Order Seizure of 82 Website Domains Involved in Selling Counterfeit Goods as Part of DOJ and ICE Cyber Monday CrackdownRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Seizure orders have been executed against 82 domain names of commercial websites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit goods and copyrighted works as part of Operation In Our Sites v. 2.0, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director John Morton of the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today.
The coordinated federal law enforcement operation targeted online retailers of a diverse array of counterfeit goods, including sports equipment, shoes, handbags, athletic apparel and sunglasses as well as illegal copies of copyrighted DVD boxed sets, music and software.During the course of the operation, federal law enforcement agents made undercover purchases from online retailers suspected of selling counterfeit goods. In many instances, the goods were shipped directly into the United States from suppliers in other countries using international express mail. If the goods were confirmed as counterfeit or otherwise illegal, seizure orders for the domain names of the websites that sold the goods were obtained from U.S. magistrate judges. 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.
"By seizing these domain names, we have disrupted the sale of thousands of counterfeit items, while also cutting off funds to those willing to exploit the ingenuity of others for their own personal gain,” said Attorney General Holder. “Intellectual property crimes are not victimless. The theft of ideas and the sale of counterfeit goods threaten economic opportunities and financial stability, suppress innovation and destroy jobs. The Justice Department, with the help of our law enforcement partners, is changing the perception that these crimes are risk-free with enforcement actions like the one announced today.”
“The sale of counterfeit U.S. brands on the Internet steals the creative work of others, costs our economy jobs and revenue and can threaten the health and safety of American consumers,” said ICE Director John Morton. “The protection of intellectual property is a top priority for Homeland Security Investigations and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center. We are dedicated to protecting the jobs, the income and the tax revenue that disappear when counterfeit goods are trafficked.”
The operation builds upon Operation in Our Sites I, which was announced in June 2010. In that first action of this broader law enforcement initiative, authorities executed seizure warrants against nine domain names of websites offering pirated copies of first-run movies.
The nationwide operation was spearheaded by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) led by ICE’s Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in coordination with the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and nine U.S. Attorneys’ Offices including the Southern District of New York; District of Columbia; Middle District of Florida; District of Colorado; Southern District of Texas; Central District of California; Northern District of Ohio; District of New Jersey; and the Western District of Washington. The Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section also provided significant assistance.
The IPR Center is one of the U.S. government’s key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy. The IPR Center is led by ICE’s HSI and includes partners from U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the FBI; the Department of Commerce; the Food and Drug Administration; the Postal Inspection Service; the General Services Administration, Office of the Inspector General; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Army Criminal Investigative Division’s Major Procurement Fraud Unit; the Consumer Product Safety Commission, INTERPOL; and the Government of Mexi co Tax Administrative Service. The IPR Center allows law enforcement and the private sector jointly to address the growing transnational problem of counterfeit products. The IPR Center coordinates outreach to U.S. rights holders and conducts domestic and international law enforcement as well as coordinates and directs anti-counterfeiting investigations. To learn more about the IPR Center, visit www.ice.gov
The enforcement actions announced today are an example of the type of efforts being undertaken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force). Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation’s economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation and hard work. The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement, greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders. To learn more about the IP Task Force, go to www.justice.gov/dag/iptaskforce/.
El Departamento deJusticia exige que GrafTech International realice cambios clave en contratosde suministro a fin de proseguir con su adquisición de Seadrift LPRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha logrado un acuerdo conciliatorio que exigirá que GrafTech International Ltd., un importante productor de electrodos de grafito, realice modificaciones importantes en su acuerdo de provisión con ConocoPhillips Company, junto con obligaciones de emisión de informes y firewall, a fin de proseguir con su adquisición de Seadrift Coke LP propuesta.
El Departamento dijo que, en su forma actual, el acuerdo de suministro GraftTech-Conoco y arreglos de provisión continua propuestos podrían estimular el intercambio de información de precios y salidas o permitir la coordinación entre competidores - Conoco y Seadrift - para la producción y la venta de un producto de petróleo crítico utilizado en la producción de electrodos de grafito. El Departamento dijo que exigir a GrafTech que eliminara ciertas disposiciones del acuerdo de suministro entre GraftTech y Conoco junto con la provisión de informes a pedido y utilización de capacidad e implementación de firewalls elimina la habilidad y el estimulo para que GraftTech y Conoco coordinen el precio y la salida después de la adquisición.
La División Antimonopolios del Departamento de Justicia presentó una demanda civil antimonopolios en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito para el Distrito de Columbia para evitar que la adquisición propuesta extendiera las disposiciones de auditoría y nación más favorecida [most favored nation (MFN)] bajo el acuerdo de provisión por Conoco a Seadrift e impusiera condiciones como resultado del arreglo de suministro continuo. Al mismo tiempo, el Departamento presentó una propuesta de acuerdo conciliatorio que, si es aprobada por el tribunal, resolvería las inquietudes en la demanda respecto de la competencia.
Los electrodos de grafito son utilizados por fabricantes de acero para conducir electricidad hacia hornos de arco eléctrico, los cuales derriten acero para una variedad de aplicaciones. El acuerdo de suministro se refiere aun producto de petróleo crítico llamado aguja de coque de petróleo, el cual es un suministro importante para la producción de electrodos de grafito. Seadrift fabrica agujas de coque de petróleo.
"El acuerdo propuesto elimina un medio de potencial coordinación de precios y producción que probablemente resultaría en precios más altos y suministro reducido para los consumidores de este producto de petróleo crítico", dijo Christine Varney, Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar a cargo de la División Antimonopolios del Departamento de Justicia. "Al mismo tiempo, el acuerdo permitirá mejoras de calidad por GrafTech en los equipos y procesos de Seadrift, en beneficio de los consumidores".
La demanda entablada por el Departamento alega que el acuerdo de suministro GrafTech-Conoco incluye disposiciones tales como precios MFN, los cuales, combinados con el derecho de GrafTech a auditar los libros, registros y documentos de Conoco, podría estimular el intercambio de información contemporánea específica a clientes entre los competidores Conoco y Seadrift después de la adquisición. En este caso, la disposición de MFN hubiera exigido que Conoco garantizara que ningún otro cliente puede recibir un precio más bajo que GrafTech. Las obligaciones de emisión de informes e implementación de firewalls reducen la posibilidad de coordinación de precios o producción como resultado de arreglos de provisión continua.
La inclusión de las exigencias de emisión de informes y firewalls en lo que se refiere al acuerdo propuesto, provee una herramienta importante en la labor de la División Antimonopolios de asegurar que la competencia permanezca en este ramo, agregó Varney.
El acuerdo conciliatorio propuesto exige que GrafTech elimine los derechos de auditoría y precios MFN de su acuerdo de suministro con Conoco, y acepte no incluir disposiciones similares en futuros acuerdos de suministro durante el plazo de 10 años del decreto por consentimiento. Durante dicho tiempo, GrafTech también debe proveer al Departamento copias de todos los acuerdos de suministro con Conoco, así como copias de documentos comerciales relacionados con la producción, la capacidad y las ventas. El acuerdo conciliatorio también establece firewalls que protegen datos confidenciales y valiosos de la competencia. Las exigencias de emisión de informes e implementación de firewalls asegurarán que GrafTech no pueda compartir información confidencial de Conoco con empleados de Seadrift, que GrafTech no pueda compartir cierta información de Seadrift con Conoco, y que Seadrift no pueda compartir información confidencial de clientes con GrafTech.
GrafTech es una empresa establecida en Delaware con sede central en Parma, Ohio. GrafTech produce electrodos de grafito en establecimientos en México, Brasil, África, Francia y España. En 2009, los ingresos de GrafTech provenientes de la venta de electrodos de grafito fueron de aproximadamente $483 millones de dólares.
Seadrift es una sociedad limitada de Delaware, con sede en Port Lavaca, Texas. Seadrift produce aguja de coque de petróleo en una planta de manufactura en Port Lavaca que envía coque de petróleo a todo el mundo. En 2009, los ingresos de Seadrift fueron de aproximadamente $62 millones de dólares.
Como lo requiere la Ley Tunney, el acuerdo conciliatorio propuesto, junto con una declaración de impacto sobre la competencia, será publicado en el Registro Federal. Cualquier persona puede presentar comentarios por escrito relacionados con el acuerdo conciliatorio propuesto durante un periodo de comentario de 60 días a Maribeth Petrizzi, Chief, Litigation II Section, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 8700, Washington, D.C. 20530. Al finalizar el periodo de comentario de 60 días, el Tribunal Federal de Distrito para el Distrito de Columbia puede firmar el acuerdo conciliatorio propuesto al determinar que el mismo es de interés público.
D.C. Fish Wholesaler Profish Ltd. Owner and Employee Sentenced for Purchasing Illegally Harvested Striped BassRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Ocean Pro Ltd. dba Profish, one of the District of Columbia’s largest seafood wholesalers, as well as its vice-president and its fish buyer, were sentenced on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., for their roles in a more than decade-long conspiracy to illegally harvest striped bass from the Potomac River, the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced today.
On Nov. 24, 2010, Timothy Lydon of Bethesda, Md., a part owner as well as officer in the company, was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $60,000 fine. Benjamin Clough of Graysonville, Md., a fish-buyer for Profish, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay a $7,500 fine. Profish was sentenced to three years probation, ordered to pay a fine of $575,000, restitution in the amount of $300,000 (for which both Lydon and Clough are also jointly liable) and a special assessment of $5,000. All the defendants’ fines will go to the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund, and restitution will be paid to the Commonwealth of Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the State of Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Also sentenced today was Gordon Jett, of Fredericksburg, Va., the last of seven fishermen who supplied the striped bass that Lydon, Clough and Profish knew was illegal.
"When fisherman and fish wholesalers do not comply with the law, they imperil the entire fishery and adversely impact livelihoods of those in the fishing industry who abide by the law, and reap an impermissible economic advantage through their non-compliance," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "The Chesapeake Bay watershed is a national treasure, and the striped bass fishery is an important resource that we must protect from plunder for our enjoyment and that of future generations."
"If commercial fishermen and wholesalers obey the rules, we can all enjoy rockfish forever," said U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. "If they don’t, the rockfish population could be wiped out very quickly. This case sends a message that we are serious about protecting the rockfish population in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
On July 1, 2010, following a five-week jury trial, the Lydon, Clough and Profish were found guilty of purchasing illegally harvested striped bass, known locally as rockfish. The rockfish had been illegally harvested from the Potomac River in Virginia and Maryland from 1995 through 2007. All the defendants were convicted of conspiracy and violations of the Lacey Act, which prohibits individuals or corporations from transporting, selling or buying fish and wildlife harvested illegally. Clough was also convicted of making a false statement when he denied purchasing the illegally harvested fish to law enforcement during the investigation.
Jett, who, along with a number of other fishermen testified at trial, plead guilty a Lacey Act felony for his role in harvesting rockfish illegally. Jett admitted that in 2007 he commercially caught from the Potomac River in Virginia 14,850 pounds of rockfish that were either over size limits designed to protect spawning fish, were untagged, or were falsely tagged. Profish, Lydon and Clough then bought those illegal rockfish. Jett was sentenced today to five months in prison, five months of home of detention and to pay $4,572 in restitution.
"This cooperative investigation exposed a pattern of abuse that undermines state fishing laws in the name of profit and at the expense of the majority of fisherman who make their living lawfully," said Special Agent in Charge Sal Amato of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northeast Region. "Enforcing striped bass quotas ensures that future generations can continue to make their living on the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay."
The sentencings last week and today cap a multi-state investigation and the prosecutions of illegal commercial striped bass harvest and sales that began in 2003 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and resulted in the conviction of 19 individuals in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, in addition to three corporate fish wholesalers.
Combined, the individuals have been sentenced to more than 140 months in prison, and total fines and restitution have exceeded $1,361,000. The cases revealed that in excess of one million pounds of striped bass worth more than $5 million were illegally harvested and sold through a number of schemes that involved the failure to affix required tags to the fish, fishing during closed season, falsely affixing required tags, taking fish in violations of size restrictions, falsifying required harvest records, and creating false receipts and records to conceal the harvests and sales from state regulators. The exploitation revealed during the investigation also contributed to Maryland revising portions of its striped bass regulations last year.
The evidence at the trial proved that Profish and Lydon began buying striped bass from Virginia fishermen fishing on the Potomac River in 1995. Lydon and Profish agreed to buy striped bass that they knew was illegally harvested by seven fishermen between 1995 and 2007. Clough joined Profish in 2001, and he continued to knowingly purchase the illegally harvested striped bass through 2007. In total, the defendants purchased more than 212,700 pounds of striped bass illegally harvested from Maryland and Virginia waters, with a fair market retail value more than $875,000. Evidence also showed that they altered records regarding their striped bass purchases, and changed records indicating the harvest date on shellfish to make it appear that they were harvested more recently than they were. Profish, Lydon and Clough also bought commercially caught striped bass more than the applicable size limit during the spawning season and did not have the required tags affixed. This allowed commercial fishermen to catch and sell more striped bass than they were allowed, and to catch and sell protected spawning striped bass from 1995 through 2007.
Fishermen are given a quota of striped bass that they are allowed to catch each year. The fishermen are issued plastic tags that they are required to affix to every striped bass harvested. In addition, during certain times of the spring, commercial striped bass fishing is prohibited, or, if allowed, a maximum striped bass size limit is imposed that prohibits the harvest of striped bass over that size. The quota restrictions and tagging requirements are designed to prevent the over-harvest of striped bass, and the seasonal closing and size restrictions are designed to protect striped bass while they are spawning and to protect the larger, sexually mature and more productive spawning fish. These restrictions were implemented in the early 1990s following the crash of the striped bass fishery in the 1980s, which resulted in a moratorium on commercial striped bass harvest from 1985 to 1990.
In early spring each year, striped bass (Morone saxatilis), enter the estuary or river where they were born to spawn, and then return to ocean waters to live, migrating along the coastline. Fish spawned from the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem contribute the greatest number of striped bass to the Atlantic coastal fishery, and the commercial fishery for Atlantic coastal striped bass is based primarily on migrations of fish born in the Chesapeake Bay area. Striped bass do not die after spawning. They may live up to 30 years and reach 50 pounds or more. The population of coastal Atlantic striped bass depends heavily upon the capability of older, larger, female striped bass to successfully reproduce.
The charges are a result of the investigation by an interstate task force formed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maryland Natural Resources Police and the Virginia Marine Police, Special Investigative Unit in 2003. The task force conducted undercover purchases and sales of striped bass in 2003, engaged in covert observation of commercial fishing operations in the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River area, and conducted detailed analysis of area striped bass catch reporting and commercial business sales records from 2003 through 2007.
These cases were prosecuted by Wayne D. Hettenbach and Kevin M. Cassidy of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Stacy Belf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Saturday 27 November 2010
Oregon Resident Arrested in Plot to Bomb Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in PortlandRead the Press Release
PORTLAND – Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia and resident of Corvallis, Ore., has been arrested on charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) in connection with a plot to detonate a vehicle bomb at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony earlier this evening in Portland, Ore., the Justice Department announced.
According to a criminal complaint signed in the District of Oregon, Mohamud was arrested by the FBI and Portland Police Bureau at approximately 5:40 p.m. (PST) Nov. 26, 2010 after he attempted to detonate what he believed to be an explosives-laden van that was parked near the tree lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square. The arrest was the culmination of a long-term undercover operation, during which Mohamud had been monitored closely for months as his alleged bomb plot developed. The device was in fact inert; and the public was never in danger from the device.
Mohamud is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Portland on Monday. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
“The complaint alleges that Mohamud attempted to detonate what he believed to be a vehicle bomb at a crowded holiday event in downtown Portland, but a coordinated undercover law enforcement action was able to thwart his efforts and ensure no one was harmed,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “While the public was never in danger from the device, this case serves as yet another reminder of the need for continued vigilance both at home and abroad.”
Dwight C. Holton, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, said, “This defendant’s chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people -- even here in Oregon -- who are determined to kill Americans. The good work of law enforcement protected Oregonians in this case -- and we have no reason to believe there is any continuing threat arising from this case.”
“The threat was very real. Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale,” said Arthur Balizan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “At the same time, I want to reassure the people of this community that, at every turn, we denied him the ability to actually carry out the attack.”
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, in August 2009, Mohamud was in email contact with an unindicted associate (UA1) overseas who is believed to be involved in terrorist activities. In December 2009, while UA1 was located in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan, Mohamud and UA1 discussed the possibility of Mohamud traveling to Pakistan to engage in violent jihad. UAI allegedly referred Mohamud to a second unindicted associate (UA2) overseas and provided Mohamud with a name and email address to facilitate the process.
In the months that followed, Mohamud allegedly made several unsuccessful attempts to contact UA2. Ultimately, an FBI undercover operative contacted Mohamud via email in June 2010 under the guise of being an associate of UA1. Mohamud and the FBI undercover operative then agreed to meet in Portland in July 2010. At this meeting, Mohamud allegedly told the FBI undercover operative that he had written articles that were published in Jihad Recollections, an online magazine that advocated violent jihad. Mohamud also indicated that he wanted to become “operational.” Asked what he meant by “operational,” Mohamud stated that he wanted to put an “explosion” together, but needed help.
At a second meeting in August 2010, Mohamud allegedly told undercover FBI operatives he had been thinking of committing violent jihad since the age of 15. According to the affidavit, Mohamud then told the undercover FBI operatives that he had identified a potential target for a bomb: the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square on Nov. 26, 2010.
According to the affidavit, the undercover FBI operatives cautioned Mohamud several times about the seriousness of this plan, noting there would be many people at the event, including many children, and emphasized that Mohamud could abandon his attack plans at any time with no shame. “You know there’s gonna be a lot of children there?” an undercover FBI operative asked Mohamud. According to the affidavit, Mohamud responded that he was looking for a “huge mass that will . . . be attacked in their own element with their families celebrating the holidays.” Further discussing the attack, Mohamud allegedly stated, “…it’s in Oregon; and Oregon like you know, nobody ever thinks about it.”
The affidavit alleges that in subsequent months, Mohamud continued to express his interest in carrying out the attack and worked on logistics. He allegedly identified a location to place the bomb and mailed bomb components to the undercover FBI operatives, who he believed were assembling the device. He also mailed them passport photos, as part of a plan to help him sneak out of the country after the attack. In addition, Mohamud provided the undercover FBI operatives with a thumb drive that contained detailed directions to the bomb location and operational instructions for the attack.
According to the affidavit, on November 4, 2010, Mohamud and the undercover FBI operatives traveled to a remote location in Lincoln County, Ore., where they detonated a bomb concealed in a backpack as a trial run for the upcoming attack. Afterwards, on the drive back to Corvallis, undercover FBI operatives questioned Mohamud as to whether he was capable of looking at the bodies of those who would be killed in the upcoming attack in Portland. According to the affidavit, Mohamud responded, “I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or injured.”
Upon returning to Corvallis that same day, the affidavit alleges that Mohamud recorded a video of himself with the undercover FBI operatives in which he read a written statement that offered a rationale for his bomb attack. On Nov. 18, 2010, undercover FBI operatives picked up Mohamud to travel to Portland in order to finalize the details of the attack.
Earlier this evening, Mohamud was arrested after he attempted to remotely detonate what he believed to be explosives in a van that was parked near the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, the affidavit alleges.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Oregon State Police, the Corvallis Police Department, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Portland Police Bureau. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ethan D. Knight and Jeffrey Sweet from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. Trial Attorneys Jolie F. Zimmerman and David Cora, from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, are assisting.
The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Oregon Resident Arrested in Plot to Bomb Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in PortlandRead the Press Release
PORTLAND – Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia and resident of Corvallis, Ore., has been arrested on charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) in connection with a plot to detonate a vehicle bomb at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony earlier this evening in Portland, Ore., the Justice Department announced.
According to a criminal complaint signed in the District of Oregon, Mohamud was arrested by the FBI and Portland Police Bureau at approximately 5:40 p.m. (PST) Nov. 26, 2010 after he attempted to detonate what he believed to be an explosives-laden van that was parked near the tree lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square. The arrest was the culmination of a long-term undercover operation, during which Mohamud had been monitored closely for months as his alleged bomb plot developed. The device was in fact inert; and the public was never in danger from the device.
Mohamud is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Portland on Monday. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of the charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
“The complaint alleges that Mohamud attempted to detonate what he believed to be a vehicle bomb at a crowded holiday event in downtown Portland, but a coordinated undercover law enforcement action was able to thwart his efforts and ensure no one was harmed,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “While the public was never in danger from the device, this case serves as yet another reminder of the need for continued vigilance both at home and abroad.”
Dwight C. Holton, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, said, “This defendant’s chilling determination is a stark reminder that there are people -- even here in Oregon -- who are determined to kill Americans. The good work of law enforcement protected Oregonians in this case -- and we have no reason to believe there is any continuing threat arising from this case.”
“The threat was very real. Our investigation shows that Mohamud was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack on a very grand scale,” said Arthur Balizan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “At the same time, I want to reassure the people of this community that, at every turn, we denied him the ability to actually carry out the attack.”
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, in August 2009, Mohamud was in email contact with an unindicted associate (UA1) overseas who is believed to be involved in terrorist activities. In December 2009, while UA1 was located in the northwest frontier province of Pakistan, Mohamud and UA1 discussed the possibility of Mohamud traveling to Pakistan to engage in violent jihad. UAI allegedly referred Mohamud to a second unindicted associate (UA2) overseas and provided Mohamud with a name and email address to facilitate the process.
In the months that followed, Mohamud allegedly made several unsuccessful attempts to contact UA2. Ultimately, an FBI undercover operative contacted Mohamud via email in June 2010 under the guise of being an associate of UA1. Mohamud and the FBI undercover operative then agreed to meet in Portland in July 2010. At this meeting, Mohamud allegedly told the FBI undercover operative that he had written articles that were published in Jihad Recollections, an online magazine that advocated violent jihad. Mohamud also indicated that he wanted to become “operational.” Asked what he meant by “operational,” Mohamud stated that he wanted to put an “explosion” together, but needed help.
At a second meeting in August 2010, Mohamud allegedly told undercover FBI operatives he had been thinking of committing violent jihad since the age of 15. According to the affidavit, Mohamud then told the undercover FBI operatives that he had identified a potential target for a bomb: the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square on Nov. 26, 2010.
According to the affidavit, the undercover FBI operatives cautioned Mohamud several times about the seriousness of this plan, noting there would be many people at the event, including many children, and emphasized that Mohamud could abandon his attack plans at any time with no shame. “You know there’s gonna be a lot of children there?” an undercover FBI operative asked Mohamud. According to the affidavit, Mohamud responded that he was looking for a “huge mass that will . . . be attacked in their own element with their families celebrating the holidays.” Further discussing the attack, Mohamud allegedly stated, “…it’s in Oregon; and Oregon like you know, nobody ever thinks about it.”
The affidavit alleges that in subsequent months, Mohamud continued to express his interest in carrying out the attack and worked on logistics. He allegedly identified a location to place the bomb and mailed bomb components to the undercover FBI operatives, who he believed were assembling the device. He also mailed them passport photos, as part of a plan to help him sneak out of the country after the attack. In addition, Mohamud provided the undercover FBI operatives with a thumb drive that contained detailed directions to the bomb location and operational instructions for the attack.
According to the affidavit, on November 4, 2010, Mohamud and the undercover FBI operatives traveled to a remote location in Lincoln County, Ore., where they detonated a bomb concealed in a backpack as a trial run for the upcoming attack. Afterwards, on the drive back to Corvallis, undercover FBI operatives questioned Mohamud as to whether he was capable of looking at the bodies of those who would be killed in the upcoming attack in Portland. According to the affidavit, Mohamud responded, “I want whoever is attending that event to leave, to leave either dead or injured.”
Upon returning to Corvallis that same day, the affidavit alleges that Mohamud recorded a video of himself with the undercover FBI operatives in which he read a written statement that offered a rationale for his bomb attack. On Nov. 18, 2010, undercover FBI operatives picked up Mohamud to travel to Portland in order to finalize the details of the attack.
Earlier this evening, Mohamud was arrested after he attempted to remotely detonate what he believed to be explosives in a van that was parked near the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, the affidavit alleges.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Oregon State Police, the Corvallis Police Department, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Portland Police Bureau. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ethan D. Knight and Jeffrey Sweet from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. Trial Attorneys Jolie F. Zimmerman and David Cora, from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, are assisting.
The charges and allegations contained in the criminal complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Friday 26 November 2010
Bureau of Prisons Implements Key Provision of Tribal Law and Order Act with Pilot Program to Incarcerate Tribal Prisoners in Federal PrisonsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons today implemented a key provision of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 by launching a four-year pilot program to begin accepting certain tribal offenders sentenced in tribal courts for placement in Bureau of Prisons institutions.
The pilot program allows any federally recognized tribe to request that the bureau incarcerate a tribe member convicted of a violent crime under the terms of Section 234 of the Tribal Law and Order Act and authorizes the bureau to house up to 100 tribal offenders at a time, nation-wide. By statute, the pilot will conclude on Nov. 26, 2014.
"The launch of the Bureau of Prisons pilot program is an important step forward in addressing violent offenders and under-resourced correctional facilities in Indian country," said Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli. "This is one step among many to bolster the safety and security in tribal communities. Under the landmark Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, the Justice Department will continue to work with our tribal partners on a multilateral approach that includes better law enforcement training, enhanced treatment and prevention programs, and improved tribal crime data gathering and information sharing." In anticipation of the Tribal Law and Order Act , Attorney General Eric Holder in January 2010 directed all U.S. Attorneys’ Offices with districts containing Indian country (44 out of 93) to: meet and consult with tribes in their district annually; develop an operational plan addressing public safety in Indian country; work closely with tribal law enforcement on improving public safety in tribal communities, and to pay particular attention to violence against women in Indian country and make prosecuting these crimes a priority. The Justice Department routinely briefs Congress, and state, local and tribal governments on the progress of the Tribal Law and Order Act implementation.
A fundamental goal of the Bureau of Prisons is to reduce future criminal activity by encouraging inmates to participate in a range of programs that have been proven to help them adopt a crime-free lifestyle upon their return to the community. Accordingly, the bureau provides many self-improvement programs, including work in prison industries and other institution jobs, vocational training, education, substance abuse treatment, parenting, anger management, counseling, religious observance opportunities and other programs that teach essential life skills.
Additional information and referral materials on the bureau’s pilot program may be found at: www.bop.gov/inmate_programs/tloa.jsp . To review the Tribal Law and Order Act, visit: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ211.111.pdf.
Wednesday 24 November 2010
U.S. Court Approves Agreement Between Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, United States, State of Michigan, Isabella County and City of Mt. Pleasant to Settle JurisdictionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – On Nov. 23, 2010, Judge Thomas L. Ludington, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, approved a settlement of Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and United States v. Granholm, et al. The settlement declares the entire Isabella Reservation to be Indian Country, resolving longstanding disputes over the boundaries and existence of the Isabella Reservation in south central Michigan.
The settlement also encompasses various intergovernmental memoranda of agreement regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act, taxation, regulation, land use, revenue sharing and law enforcement jurisdiction that seek to resolve the manner in which the tribe, state, city of Mt. Pleasant and Isabella County operate on a day-to-day basis.
"This historic settlement brings resolution and clarity to the jurisdictional boundaries of the Saginaw Chippewa Reservation and serves the interests of the people of the state of Michigan, the county of Isabella, the city of Mt. Pleasant, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and the United States," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "This will resolve a complex patchwork of jurisdiction, and pave the way for greater coordination and communication that will strengthen public safety for all."
The Department of Justice seeks to facilitate cooperative government-to-government agreements, such as this one, between tribes, states and local governments in order to resolve jurisdictional disputes while avoiding protracted litigation.
Philadelphia-based CDI Corporation Settles False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- CDI Corporation has agreed to pay the United States $1.95 million to resolve allegations in a lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act that CDI wrongfully charged labor costs to work orders under military aircraft engine contracts for The General Electric Company (GE), the Justice Department announced today. According to the government’s allegations, the work for which the military was charged was not actually performed.
CDI is headquartered in Philadelphia. The CDI regional office, located in Sharonville, Ohio, was the subject of the False Claims Act allegations. CDI is a supplier of engineering services under time and material subcontracts with GE Transportation and Aviation divisions for engineering work on commercial and military projects.
The civil investigation examined CDI’s labor and billing records from Jan. 15, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2006. The civil investigation found that during this time period, CDI directed the mischarging of employees’ labor costs to purchase orders that would be reimbursed by the U.S. military. In fact, the employees did not perform the work billed to those military projects. CDI entered these mischarged labor costs in increments of 0.5 hours or less to evade detection.
"Those who contract with the U.S. military must do so fairly and honestly," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. "Taxpayers should not foot the bill when government contractors charge for work that was not done."
The lawsuit was filed in the federal district court in Cincinnati by Vicki Lanich, a former CDI employee. Under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the recovery. Under the settlement, the whistleblower will receive $360,750.
This civil investigation was conducted by special agents of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Audit support was provided by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, Mid-Atlantic Region. The settlement was negotiated by the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
Florida-based Medicare Advantage Plan Owners & Primary Care Provider Agree to Pay $22.6 Million to Settle Claims of Falsifying DiagnosesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Dr. Walter Janke, his wife, Lalita Janke, and Vero Beach, Fla.-based Medical Resources L.L.C. (MR) have agreed to pay $22.6 million to resolve allegations that they caused Medicare to pay inflated amounts based upon the submission of false diagnosis codes, the Justice Department announced today.
The Jankes were the owners of America’s Health Choice Medical Plans Inc. (AHC), a Medicare Advantage Organization (MAO), approved by the federal health care program to provide health care to enrolled Medicare beneficiaries. The Jankes also owned MR, AHC’s primary care provider. AHC and MR are no longer doing business.
The agreement resolves a lawsuit brought by the United States in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that the Jankes and MR violated the False Claims Act by causing AHC to falsely increase the severity of beneficiary diagnoses to obtain higher Medicare payments. Under the Medicare Advantage Program, MAO's are paid more to provide services for members with serious and/or chronic medical conditions then they are for relatively healthy members.
In addition to suing the Jankes and MR, the United States successfully petitioned the court to freeze approximately $20 million of the Janke's assets believed to be the proceeds of their unlawful scheme. A portion of the Janke’s frozen assets, along with monies resulting from the dissolution of AHC now held in receivership by the Florida Department of Financial Services, will be used to pay the settlement.
"Patients seeking health care should be able to rely on the diagnoses they are given," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. "We will aggressively pursue those who falsify medical diagnoses in order to receive taxpayer funds to which they are not entitled."
Christopher B. Dennis, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Miami Regional Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), stated, "[w]hile the OIG continues to target healthcare fraud criminally, this case involving Medicare’s managed care program also reinforces the OIG’s commitment to civilly investigate health care fraud."
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, Donald Berwick, M.D., added, "[t]his case confirms that Medicare Advantage plans must comply with Medicare’s requirements that payment data must be accurate."
Both HHS-OIG and CMS expressed appreciation for the Department of Justice’s willingness to collaborate with them on the case and to ensure that restitution be made to the Medicare Trust Fund and the federal taxpayers.
The settlement is part of the government's emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover approximately $4.2 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department's total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 have topped $5.8 billion
The settlement was part of a coordinated effort among the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, HHS’s OIG and Office of the General Counsel, and the CMS.
Tuesday 23 November 2010
United States Announces Global Environmental Bankruptcy Settlement with TronoxRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Under a global bankruptcy settlement lodged in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan today, Tronox Inc. and its affiliated debtors will pay $270 million into trusts and to federal and state agencies that will fund the cleanup of contaminated sites in 22 states, numerous federal agencies announced today.
Officials from the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced that the United States, 22 states, the Navajo Nation, and local governments in Chicago and West Chicago, Ill., have entered into a consent decree and settlement agreement with Tronox Inc., a chemical company and its 14 affiliated debtors, to settle certain environmental liabilities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) also known as the "Superfund", the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and other state, local, and tribal environmental laws.
The settlement agreement, filed today in Manhattan bankruptcy court, will create five environmental response trusts to take title to contaminated properties currently owned by Tronox. Tronox will pay the governments and the trusts $270 million for future cleanup and administration at these and other sites contaminated by Tronox and its predecessor companies, and in compensation for moneys previously expended by the governments and penalties for which Tronox is liable.
Additionally, Tronox will transfer to the governments and trusts an 88 percent share of Tronox’s interest in a pending lawsuit against the company’s former parent company Kerr-McGee Corporation, and its parent company Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. This lawsuit alleges that these defendants fraudulently transferred valuable assets out of Tronox, leaving Tronox with insufficient funds to pay the billions of dollars of environmental liabilities that Tronox owed to the governments. The United States has intervened in the lawsuit. Tronox will also create and fund with a portion of the $270 million, a litigation trust to conduct the lawsuit after the effective date of Tronox’s plan of reorganization.
The five environmental response trusts are:
- A multistate trust will take custody of more than 25 contaminated properties in 14 states and will perform or fund cleanup at more than 1,800 potentially contaminated former service station properties around the country.
- The Henderson Trust will take custody of real property owned by Tronox in Henderson, Nev., on which Tronox’s electrolytic chemical facility is situated.
- The Cimarron Trust will take custody of Tronox’s former nuclear fuel processing facility in Cimarron, Okla.
- The Savannah Trust will take custody of Tronox’s former titanium dioxide facility and active sulfuric acid plant, in Savannah, Ga.
- The West Chicago Trust will take custody of Tronox’s thorium-contaminated Rare Earths Facility in West Chicago and will also perform clean up work at related vicinity properties. A portion of the proceeds and of Tronox’s interest in the pending lawsuit will go directly to the governments for civil penalties and natural resource damages, as well as past and future cleanup costs at sites not owned by Tronox.
Tronox filed bankruptcy in January 2009 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In August 2009, the United States filed claims against Tronox in the bankruptcy seeking to recover past and future environmental cleanup costs, decommissioning costs, and natural resource damages for sites presently or formerly owned or operated by Tronox. The United States also sought civil monetary penalties for violations of CERCLA, RCRA, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. The claims of the United States were brought on behalf of the EPA, the Forest Service, the NRC, the Fish and Wildlife Service of DOI, and NOAA. The Settlement also resolves claims of the Bureau of Land Management of DOI, and a contribution claim brought on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Before being considered by the bankruptcy court for approval under applicable environmental laws, the Settlement Agreement will be lodged with the bankruptcy court for a period of 30 days to provide public notice and to afford members of the public the opportunity to comment on the settlement.
The United States, the Navajo Nation, the states and the local governmental entities worked closely and engaged in extensive negotiations to ensure that the settlement agreement reflected the needs of the contaminated sites and provided a fair resolution of Tronox’s environmental liabilities to the governments.
Southern District of New York Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert William Yalen, Tomoko Onozawa and Joseph Pantoja, along with Alan S. Tenenbaum, Frederick S. Phillips, Katherine Kane, Marcello Mollo, and Erica Pencak of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, are handling the case.
For more information on clean-ups, visit the EPA website: www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/cleanup/cercla/tronox/index.html.
Man Found Guilty for Forcing Women and Juveniles into ProstitutionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal jury today convicted Amador Cortes-Meza, 36, of Mexico, of multiple charges of sex trafficking and human smuggling offenses related to a scheme to force women and juveniles into prostitution. The jury found Cortes-Meza guilty on all 19 counts after a trial lasting approximately two weeks.
“The exploitation of these vulnerable individuals is a violation of the fundamental rights on which our country was founded, and is intolerable in a nation that prides itself on freedom,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute vigorously the trafficking of human beings to vindicate the rights of those held in modern-day slavery, whether for labor or for sexual exploitation.”
U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This defendant preyed on the most vulnerable of victims--girls and young women hoping for a better life-- through promises of jobs or marriage. He then physically abused them, enslaved them, and forced them into prostitution. This trial provided a glimpse into the monstrous world of human trafficking. We are committed to giving voice to the victims of these horrific crimes and holding the defendants accountable for their crimes.”
“We hope that the victims who suffered at the hands of this monster can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that justice has been served,” said Brock Nicholson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office that oversees the Carolinas and Georgia. “We are committed to working with our local, state and federal partners to target human traffickers who think that their heinous crimes will go unchecked.”
According to the evidence presented in court, from Spring 2006 through June 2008, Amador Cortes-Meza and others charged in the conspiracy recruited and enticed approximately 10 victims to enter the United States illegally from Mexico and come to the Atlanta area. Amador Cortes-Meza then forced them into prostitution for the financial benefit of the members of the conspiracy. He lured the young women and girls to the U.S. by promising better lives, legitimate employment or romantic relationships with him. A brother and two nephews of Amador Cortes-Meza were previously convicted after pleading guilty to sex trafficking charges related to this scheme.
Nine of the victims addressed the court about what they suffered at the hands of this sex trafficking ring, telling of physical threats, beatings, and intimidation which caused them to work as prostitutes against their will. Evidence at trial showed that after smuggling the victims into the United States, Amador Cortes-Meza forced them to engage in prostitution by isolating them from their families, brutally beating them, and threatening to harm them and their loved ones. One victim testified that he told her that “he was going to hit her where it hurt the most” and she took that to mean he was going to go after her family. Another victim testified that the defendant told her he would kill her parents in Mexico if he was ever arrested. On a nightly basis, Amador Cortes-Meza provided the victims to drivers who drove them to apartments and homes in Duluth, Ga.; Chamblee, Ga.; Canton, Ga.; Marietta, Ga.; Forrest Park, Ga.; and as far away as Alabama and North Carolina to provide commercial sex to as many as 40 customers a night. The victims testified that the clients were charged $25-30 for 10 to 15 minutes of time with them from which the drivers were given $10.
The jury convicted Amador Cortes-Meza on 19 counts, including offenses of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; sex trafficking of minors; conspiracy; importation and harboring of aliens for the purposes of prostitution; and smuggling aliens into the United States. Amador Cortes-Meza faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Human trafficking prosecutions are a top priority for the Justice Department. The Department of Homeland Security Tip Line to report trafficking crimes is 1-866-347-2423.
This case was investigated by ICE/HSI Special Agents assigned to the Atlanta Special Agent in Charge office.
Deputy Chief Karima Maloney of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Coppedge prosecuted the case.
Lawyer for A&O Entities Pleads Guilty for His Role in $100 Million Fraud Scheme Involving Life SettlementsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Russell Mackert, 51, of Spring, Texas, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., to conspiracy charges in connection with his role as a lawyer for the A&O entities, a group of businesses that acquired and marketed more than $100 million of fraudulent investments in life settlements to more than 800 victims across the United States and Canada, announced U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
"Russell Mackert today admitted he helped perpetuate a massive fraud estimated at over $100 million against innocent investors – including a number of elderly retirees – throughout the country," said U.S. Attorney MacBride. "Mr. Mackert abused his position as an attorney to mislead investors, and now he is being held responsible for his financial crimes. I want to commend the outstanding work of the Virginia Financial and Securities Fraud Task Force for its outstanding work in uncovering this massive fraud."
"Investment fraud schemes like the one perpetrated by Mr. Mackert and his co-conspirators can lead to devastating losses for individual victims," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "We will continue to be aggressive in prosecuting individuals who attempt to profit by such criminal schemes, including the lawyers and accountants who facilitate them."
Mackert pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal in the Eastern District of Virginia to a two-count criminal information alleging conspiracy to commit mail fraud and bulk cash smuggling involving losses to investors of more than $19 million. At sentencing, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit mail fraud charge and five years in prison on the bulk cash smuggling charge, as well as a $250,000 fine on each count.
According to court documents, Mackert admitted to making material misrepresentations and omissions to investors about A&O. Specifically, he admitted making false statements and omissions about A&O’s safekeeping and use of investor funds and about the risks of A&O’s investment offerings. Mackert also admitted that he and his co-conspirators failed to inform A&O investors that the vast majority of investor money was used for purposes wholly unrelated to purchasing and maintaining portfolios of life settlements. Mackert also admitted that he facilitated the sham sales transaction of A&O to Blue Dymond and created a fictional person named "RJ Stephenson" to serve as Blue Dymond’s purported representative. Mackert also admitted to taking undeclared cashiers’ checks totaling $10 million out of the United States as part of an effort to open offshore bank accounts in which to hide his co-conspirators’ gains from the conspiracy.
This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service and FBI, with significant assistance from the Texas State Securities Board. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. Dry and Jessica Aber Brumberg from the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Albert B. Stieglitz Jr., of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
The investigation has been coordinated by the Virginia Financial and Securities Fraud Task Force, an unprecedented partnership between criminal investigators and civil regulators to investigate and prosecute complex financial fraud cases in the nation and in Virginia. The task force is an investigative arm of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination at Condominium in Methuen, MassachusettsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has reached an agreement with Stonecleave Village Association, Inc. to resolve allegations that Stonecleave engaged in a pattern or practice of familial status discrimination by imposing excessive fines on residents with children for alleged violations of Stonecleave’s rules. The settlement still must be approved by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro.
According to the department’s findings, Stonecleave fined families with children more than $500 when their children played games, such as wiffle ball and tag, on the complex's outdoor common area, yet fined other residents only $10 for similar rules violations. The United States also alleged that Stonecleave retaliated against one mother who filed a complaint of discrimination by charging her $1,000 to cover the costs of hiring an attorney to defend against her complaint. Five families with children filed complaints with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) . After an investigation, HUD determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that Stonecleave had violated the Fair Housing Act and referred the matter to the Justice Department.
“There is no excuse for violating our nation’s fair housing laws and imposing fees on families with children,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of Fair Housing laws along with its partners at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
“This settlement should serve as a warning to condo associations across the Commonwealth that discrimination against residents with children is unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “My office remains committed to vigorously prosecuting all types of civil rights violations in Massachusetts.”
“Forcing families to pay so their children can play is unacceptable and illegal. We thank our Department of Justice partners in vigorously enforcing the Fair Housing Act,” said John Trasvina, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
Under the terms of the settlement, Stonecleave has agreed to pay $130,000 to the victims and $20,000 in civil penalties to the United States. In addition to the $150,000 payment, the settlement also requires Stonecleave to obtain training on the Fair Housing Act for the condo board members.
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. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt . Persons who believe they have experienced or witnessed unlawful housing discrimination may 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. More information about the Fair Housing Act can also be found at www.usdoj.gov/crt/housing or www.hud.gov/fairhousing .
Jury Convicts Oakland, California, Patient Recruiter for Participating in Wheelchair Scam to Defraud MedicareRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An Oakland, Calif., woman was convicted of health care fraud in connection with a scheme to bill Medicare for power wheelchairs that were medically unnecessary, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).
On Monday, after a one-week trial in federal court in Los Angeles, a jury found Donna K. Wells, 52, guilty of one count of health care fraud. The evidence introduced at trial showed that Wells worked the streets and low-income, senior living communities of Oakland to recruit Medicare beneficiaries to bill Medicare for expensive power wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment (DME) which the beneficiaries did not want, need or use. The beneficiaries who testified at trial said that Wells approached them on the street, at the store, or in the lobby of their apartment buildings and offered them free power wheelchairs in exchange for the beneficiaries allowing Wells to copy their Medicare and California identification cards. One beneficiary testified that when she told Wells that she wanted a hospital bed and did not need or want a power wheelchair, Wells said that the beneficiary had to accept a power wheelchair in order to get a hospital bed. Based on that representation, the beneficiary agreed to accept both a power wheelchair and a hospital bed even though she did not need and never used the wheelchair.
Witnesses who lived in or worked at the San Pablo Hotel, one of the low-income senior living communities where Wells illegally recruited beneficiaries, testified that Wells often sat in the lobby of the hotel offering residents free power wheelchairs and copying their Medicare and California identification cards. These and other witnesses testified that many of the residents of the San Pablo Hotel did not use the power wheelchairs they received through Wells.
According to testimony at trial, Wells sold the beneficiaries’ Medicare information to others. Witnesses testified that Wells charged them between $400 and $500 for the Medicare information of each beneficiary she recruited. One witness testified that over a four-year period, Wells sold the witness the Medicare information of approximately 200 different beneficiaries. Once these witnesses received the Medicare information from Wells, they sold the information to a fraudulent medical clinic in Los Angeles, which then used the information to fabricate fraudulent prescriptions for power wheelchairs and other DME in the names of the beneficiaries whom Wells recruited. One of the doctors whose name appeared on these fraudulent prescriptions testified that he never wrote the prescriptions or treated any of the Oakland beneficiaries whom Wells recruited.
Witnesses testified that they purchased the fraudulent power wheelchair and DME prescriptions from the fraudulent medical clinic, and then sold both the Medicare information they received from Wells and the fraudulent prescriptions for more than $1,000 per prescription to a number of Los Angeles-area DME supply companies. These DME supply companies used the beneficiaries’ information and the fraudulent prescriptions to submit claims to Medicare for power wheelchairs which cost Medicare approximately $4,000 per wheelchair but cost the DME supply companies approximately $900 per wheelchair wholesale. Evidence introduced at trial showed that these DME supply companies submitted more than $577,000 in false power wheelchairs claims to Medicare. Several beneficiaries testified at trial that they did not need and rarely, if ever, used their power wheelchairs.
One of the DME supply companies that used the Medicare information from Wells was Maydads Medical Supply of Arleta, Calif. Trial evidence established that between June 2007 and August 2009, Maydads Medical Supply submitted approximately $470,973 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, almost all of which were for power wheelchairs. The owner and operator of Maydads Medical Supply, Sylvester Ijewere, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and was sentenced on Oct. 5, 2010, to 46 months in prison.
Wells was originally charged in October 2009 with three counts of health care fraud. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on two of the three counts. U.S. District Court Judge Dales S. Fischer scheduled Wells’ sentencing for March 28, 2011. Wells faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Today’s guilty verdict was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. for the Central District of California; Tony Sidley, Assistant Chief of the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse; Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent-in-Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the Office of Inspector General for HHS (HHS-OIG); and Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jonathan Baum and Senior Trial Attorney John Michelich of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the California Department of Justice. HHS OIG assisted with the trial. 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.
Since their inception in March 2007, Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 825 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $2 billion. In addition, HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Hombre fue encontrado culpable de forzar a mujeres y jóvenes a cometer prostituciónRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Un jurado federal condenó hoy a Amador Cortés-Meza, 36, de México, por múltiples cargos de tráfico sexual y contrabando de personas asociados a un ardid para forzar a mujeres y jóvenes a practicar la prostitución. El jurado encontró a Cortés-Meza culpable de los 19 cargos después de un juicio que duró aproximadamente dos semanas.
"La explotación de estas personas vulnerables es una violación de los derechos fundamentales sobre los que se fundó nuestro país, y es intolerable en una nación que se vanagloria de su libertad", dijo Thomas E. Pérez, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles. "El Departamento de Justicia seguirá enjuiciando enérgicamente el tráfico de seres humanos para reivindicar los derechos de quienes son objeto de la esclavitud moderna, ya sea para trabajo forzado o explotación sexual".
La Fiscal Federal Sally Quillian Yates dijo, "Este demandado acechó a las más vulnerables de las víctimas -- niñas y jóvenes que buscaban una vida mejor -- a través de promesas de empleo o matrimonio. Luego, abusó físicamente de ellas, las esclavizó y las obligó a practicar la prostitución. Este enjuiciamiento permitió un vistazo al mundo monstruoso del tráfico de personas. Nos comprometemos a darles voz a las víctimas de estos delitos horrorosos y a hacer pagar a los demandados por sus delitos".
"Esperamos que las víctimas que sufrieron en manos de este monstruo puedan respirar con alivio al saber que se ha hecho justicia", dijo Brock Nicholson, Agente Especial Interino a Cargo de la Oficina de Investigaciones de Seguridad Nacional [Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)] del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE.UU. [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] que supervisa las Carolinas y Georgia. "Nos empeñamos en trabajar con nuestros asociados locales, estatales y federales para enjuiciar a los traficantes de personas que creen que sus delitos atroces quedarán impunes".
De acuerdo con pruebas presentadas en el tribunal, desde la primavera de 2006 a junio de 2008, Amador Cortés-Meza y otros acusados en la conspiración reclutaron y atrajeron a aproximadamente 10 víctimas para que ingresaran a los Estados Unidos ilegalmente desde México y vinieran al área de Atlanta. Amador Cortés-Meza luego las obligó a practicar la prostitución en beneficio financiero de los miembros de la conspiración. Atrajo a las jóvenes y niñas a EE.UU. prometiéndoles mejores vidas, empleos legítimos o relaciones románticas consigo. Un hermano y dos sobrinos de Amador Cortés-Meza habían sido previamente condenados después de declararse culpables de cargos de tráfico sexual asociados a este ardid.
Nueve de las víctimas se dirigieron al tribunal respecto a cómo habían sufrido en manos de esta red de tráfico de personas, contándole sobre amenazas físicas, golpizas e intimidación recibidas por las que trabajaron como prostitutas contra su voluntad. Pruebas presentadas en el juicio demostraron que, después de haber contrabandeado a las víctimas a los Estados Unidos, Amador Cortés-Meza las obligó a dedicarse a la prostitución al aislarlas de sus familias, golpearlas brutalmente y amenazar hacerles daño a ellas y a sus seres queridos. Una víctima atestiguó y le dijo que "la golpearía donde más dolor le causaría" y ella entendió por ello que le haría daño a su familia. Otra familia atestiguó que el demandado le dijo que mataría a sus padres en México si llegaba a ser arrestado. Todas las noches, Amador Cortés-Meza entregaba a las víctimas a conductores que las llevaban a apartamentos y hogares en Duluth, Ga.; Chamblee, Ga.; Cantón, Ga.; Marietta, Ga.; Forrest Park, Ga.; y a lugares lejanos como Alabama y Carolina del Norte para proveer sexo comercial a hasta 40 clientes por noche. Las víctimas atestiguaron que se le cobraba $25-$30 dólares a cada cliente por 10 a 15 minutos con ellas, de los cuales los conductores recibían $10 dólares.
El jurado condenó a Amador Cortés-Meza por 19 cargos, incluidos cargos de tráfico sexual por fuerza, fraude y coerción; tráfico sexual de menores; conspiración; importación y alojamiento de extranjeros para fines de prostitución; y contrabando de extranjeros a los Estados Unidos. Amador Cortés-Meza enfrenta una sentencia máxima de prisión perpetua.
Los enjuiciamientos de tráfico de personas son una de las principales prioridades del Departamento de Justicia. La Línea Abierta del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional para denunciar delitos de tráfico es (866) 347-2423.
Este caso fue investigado por Agentes Especiales de ICE/HSI asignados a la oficina del Agente Especial a Cargo en Atlanta.
La Jefe Adjunta Karima Maloney de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia y la Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Susan Coppedge estuvieron a cargo de la acusación en el caso.
Former Massachusetts Direct Mail Production Director Agrees to Plead Guilty to Fraud Conspiracies and Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A former employee of two Massachusetts-based customer relationship management agencies that purchase direct mail advertising has agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to his receipt of more than $1.8 million in kickbacks, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to the charges filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston, Reed A. Richard conspired with others to defraud two of his employers by accepting kickbacks from two direct mail advertising printing brokers in exchange for awarding printing work to companies the brokers represented. The conspiracy took place from approximately January 2000 through at least February 2006. According to the court documents, Richard, a former director of production at PreVision Marketing LLC who resided in Carlisle, Mass. during the conspiracy, took the kickbacks during different periods of employment with two separate customer relationship management agencies, which he defrauded as part of the schemes. Richard is also charged with tax evasion for tax years 2004 and 2005 by falsely claiming substantial personal expenses as business expenses on tax returns.
The customer relationship management agencies that employed Richard purchased direct mail printing services for their direct mail advertising clients. Direct mail advertising allows companies to specifically target potential customers and contact them with custom tailored offers, promotional materials or advertisements using the United States mail. According to the court documents, Richard was responsible for procuring direct mail printing services by obtaining competitive bids from printing companies, awarding contracts, reviewing invoices and authorizing payment.
According to the charges, Richard approved invoices knowing that they were fraudulently inflated to include the kickbacks he was to receive. A portion of the inflations were passed from the brokers to Richard as kickback payments. In order to conceal his role in the scheme, Richard purported to provide consulting services to the printing brokers through a shell company he owned. Richard claimed substantial illegitimate business deductions on his corporation’s federal income tax returns. As a result, he under-reported his corporate and personal taxable income, resulting in a total tax loss of approximately $170,000. The plea agreement is subject to court approval.
Today’s charge arose from an ongoing investigation into the direct mail printing industry being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, in Springfield, Mass. Anyone with information concerning fraud or tax offenses relating to the direct mail printing industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-264-9308, visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm or contact the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Springfield Office at 413-785-0090.
El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder nombra 18 expertos para la Nueva Junta Asesora CientíficaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder nombró hoy a 18 expertos - eruditos y profesionales practicantes de la criminología, la estadística, la sociología y profesionales de los campos de la justicia criminal y juvenil - para la nueva Junta Asesora Científica de la Oficina de Programas Judiciales [Office of Justice Programs (OJP)]. Laurie O. Robinson, la Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar de la OJP, recomendó la creación de la junta asesora como medio de unir la brecha entre la investigación y la práctica en los campos de la justicia criminal. La primera reunión de la junta tendrá lugar a principios de 2011.
"Este gobierno se compromete a utilizar la ciencia para ayudar a informar y orientar el desarrollo de políticas. Al proveer consejos y asesoría al Departamento de Justicia, los miembros de esta junta asesora nos ayudarán a concentrarnos en enfoques basados en las pruebas para prevenir y reducir la delincuencia", dijo el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder.
En el año fiscal 2010, la OJP, la que administra subsidios en nombre del Departamento, otorgó casi 5,000 subsidios por un total de $2.6 billones de dólares al campo de la justicia criminal y juvenil, incluidas dependencias de las fuerzas del orden público federales, estatales, locales y tribales y organizaciones comunitarias. Los fondos brindan apoyo a una amplia gama de actividades, incluidos programas de investigación y evaluación diseñados para mejorar la creación de programas innovadores para prevenir y controlar la delincuencia, prestar asistencia a víctimas y aumentar la capacidad las dependencias de las fuerzas del orden público estatales, locales y tribales.
"Me complacerá trabajar con esta junta asesora en asegurar que la investigación realizada por la OJP sea científicamente rigurosa y sea traducida eficientemente para formuladores de políticas y profesionales en los campos de la justicia criminal y juvenil", dijo la Secretaria de Justicia Auxiliar Robinson.
La junta asesora proveerá una revisión extra-dependencias y recomendaciones para programas de investigación, estadísticas y subsidios de la OJP, asegurando que los programas y actividades sean científicamente sólidos y pertinentes a los formuladores de políticas y profesionales. Los miembros de la junta asesora nombrados hoy incluyen:
Presidente: Alfred Blumstein, Ph.D., The H. John Heinz III College, Carnegie Mellon University. El Dr. Blumstein es un ganador del Premio de Estocolmo en Criminología y es el Profesor de J. Erick Jonsson de Sistemas Urbanos e Investigación de Operaciones en el Carnegie Mellon Heinz College.
William J. Bratton, Presidente, Altegrity Risk International. El Sr. Bratton ha sido más recientemente Jefe del Departamento de Policía de Los Ángeles.
Andrea J. Cabral, Alguacil, Condado de Suffolk, Mass. La Alguacil Cabral fue elegida el 30º Alguacil del Condado de Suffolk y es la primera mujer en ocupar este cargo en la historia del estado.
Frank Cullen, Ph.D., Distinguido Profesor Investigador de Justicia Criminal, Universidad de Cincinnati. El Dr. Cullen es ex editor de Justice Quarterly y Journal of Crime and Justice y fue presidente de la Academia de Ciencias de Justicia Criminal.
Tony Fabelo, Ph.D., Director de Investigaciones, Consejo del Centro Judicial de Gobiernos Estatales. El Dr. Fabelo fue miembro del panel del Consejo Nacional de Investigación de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias que emitió dos informes nacionales en 2000 y 2001 sobre la delincuencia juvenil y la justicia juvenil.
James M. Lepkowski, Ph.D., Presidente, Programa de Metodología de Encuestas, Universidad de Michigan. El Dr. Lepkowski es Científico Principal de Investigación del Centro de Investigación de Encuestas y Profesor Adjunto de Bioestadística en la Universidad de Michigan.
Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D., Director General Ejecutivo, Asociación Estadounidense para la Promoción de la Ciencia [American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)]. El Dr. Leshner ha sido el Director General Ejecutivo de la AAAS y Editor Ejecutivo de la publicación, Science, desde diciembre de 2001.
Mark Lipsey, Ph.D., Director, Peabody Research Institute, Vanderbilt University. El Dr. Lipsey es el director del Peabody Research Institute y sus intereses en investigación y enseñanza incluyen políticas públicas, evaluación de programas e intervención social con énfasis en programas para niños y jóvenes.
Colin Loftin, Ph.D., Escuela de Justicia Criminal, Universidad de Albany, Universidad Estatal de Nueva York. El Dr. Loftin es el codirector del Grupo de Investigación sobre la Violencia [Violence Research Group], una colaboración en investigaciones con colegas de la Universidad de Albany y la Universidad de Maryland que realiza investigaciones sobre las causas y las consecuencias de la violencia interpersonal.
El Honorable Theodore A. McKee, Juez Principal, Tribunal de Apelaciones de EE.UU. para el Tercer Circuito. Antes de ser nombrado juez, el Juez McKee fue Fiscal Federal Auxiliar donde se ocupó de la acusación en casos de corrupción, brutalidad policial y violaciones de los derechos civiles.
Tracey L. Meares, J.D., Decana Adjunta y Profesora de Derecho de Walton Hale Hamilton, Universidad de Yale. La investigación y los intereses de enseñanza de la Profesora Meares se concentran en procedimientos criminales y políticas de leyes criminales, con énfasis especial en la investigación empírica de estos temas.
Edward P. Mulvey, Ph.D., Director, Investigación de Derecho y Psiquiatría, Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad de Pittsburgh. El Dr. Mulvey es miembro tanto de la Asociación Psicológica de Estados Unidos como de la Sociedad Psicológica de Estados Unidos.
Joan Petersilia, Ph.D., Codirectora de Docentes, Centro de Justicia Criminal de Stanford
La Dra. Petersilia es autora de 11 libros sobre la delincuencia y políticas públicas y ha llevado a cabo investigaciones sobre la reforma de la libertad bajo palabra, el reingreso de prisioneros en la sociedad y políticas de emisión de sentencias.
Joycelyn Pollock, Ph.D., Departamento de Justicia Criminal, Universidad del Estado de Texas. La Dra. Pollock comenzó su carrera en la justicia criminal como agente de libertad condicional y bajo palabra en el estado de Washington. Sus áreas de investigación principal incluyen prisiones, mujeres en el sistema (como profesionales, delincuentes y víctimas) y asuntos legales.
Richard Rosenfeld, Ph.D., Profesor, Justicia Criminal y Criminología, Universidad de Missouri. El Dr. Rosenfeld es el Profesor de Criminología y Justicia Criminal de los Curadores en la Universidad de Missouri-St. Louis. Recientemente, fue Presidente de la Sociedad Estadounidense de Criminología. El Dr. Rosenfeld es coautor, con Steven Messner, de La delincuencia y el sueño estadounidense [Crime and the American Dream], actualmente en su cuarta edición.
Elizabeth A. Stasny, Ph.D., Profesora de Estadística y Vicepresidente de Estudios de Posgrado en Estadística y Bioestadística, Universidad Estatal de Ohio. La Dr. Stasny ha sido miembro de las juntas de editores de la publicación "Journal of the American Statistical Association and Survey Methodology" [Publicación de la Asociación Estadística Estadounidense y Metodología de Encuestas]. Es una especialista reconocida en el tratamiento de datos faltantes y otros errores de respuesta en encuestas.
Robert J. Sampson, Ph.D., Profesor de Ciencias Sociales, Departamento de Sociología, Universidad de Harvard. El Dr. Sampson es el co destinatario del Premio en Criminología de Estocolmo de 2011. Él y el Dr. John H. Laub, Director del Instituto Nacional de Justicia, son ganadores conjuntos por su labor en comprender cómo y por qué los delincuentes dejan de cometer delitos. Actualmente, el Dr. Sampson se encuentra en un sabático de investigación de un año de la Universidad de Harvard en la Fundación Russell Sage. Los intereses de investigación del Profesor Sampson se concentran en la delincuencia y la violencia, el rumbo de vida, efectos en el vecindario y la sociología de la ciudad moderna.
David Weisburd, Ph.D., Profesor de Derecho y Justicia Criminal, Hebrew University y George Mason University. El Dr. Weisburd es el ganador de 2010 del Premio en Criminología de Estocolmo y uno de los primeros proponentes de la investigación experimental en criminología basada en el lugar.
Delaware Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Receiving Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON– James White, 46, of Wilmington, Del., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release for receiving child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss of the District of Delaware.
White pleaded guilty on May 18, 2010, to one count of receiving child pornography. According to court documents, White purchased membership access to various commercial child pornography websites over a three-year period. A search of his Wilmington residence on May 5, 2009, resulted in the seizure of computer equipment containing thousands of images and videos of child pornography that depicts the sexual abuse of prepubescent and teenage minors. White has been detained since his May 13, 2009, arrest.
The case arose from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nationwide investigation which began in 2005. The investigation focused on commercial websites offering access to videos and images of child pornography. The website alerted would-be subscribers that subscribing to the website was illegal and warned them to be discreet about their purchases. White purchased access to the websites on multiple occasions.
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 the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. McAndrew of the District of Delaware and Trial Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of CEOS. The case was investigated by ICE.
Attorney General Eric Holder Names 18 Expertsto New Science Advisory BoardRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder today named 18 experts – scholars and practitioners in criminology, statistics, sociology and practitioners in the criminal and juvenile justice fields – to the newly created Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Science Advisory Board. Laurie O. Robinson, OJP’s Assistant Attorney General, recommended the creation of the advisory board as a means of bridging the divide between research and practice in criminal justice fields. The first meeting of the board will take place early in 2011.
“This Administration is committed to using science to help inform and guide policy development. By providing advice and counsel to the Department of Justice, the members of this advisory board will help us focus on evidence-based approaches to prevent and reduce crime,” said Attorney General Holder.
In FY 2010, OJP, which administers grants on behalf of the department, awarded nearly 5,000 grants totaling $2.6 billion to the criminal and juvenile justice field, including federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, and community organizations. The funding supports a wide range of activities, including research and evaluation programs designed to encourage innovative programs to prevent and control crime, assist victims, and increase the capacity of state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies.
“I look forward to working with this advisory board to ensure that OJP’s research is scientifically rigorous and that it is translated effectively for policymakers and practitioners in the criminal and juvenile justice fields,” said Assistant Attorney General Robinson.
The advisory board will provide an extra-agency review of and recommendations for OJP research, statistics and grant programs, ensuring the programs and activities are scientifically sound and pertinent to policymakers and practitioners. The members of the advisory board named today include:
Chair: Alfred Blumstein, Ph.D., The H. John Heinz III College, Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Blumstein is a previous winner of the Stockholm Prize in Criminology and serves as the J. Erik Jonsson Professor of Urban Systems and Operations Research at Carnegie Mellon Heinz College.
William J. Bratton, Chairman, Altegrity Risk International. Mr. Bratton most recently served as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Andrea J. Cabral, Sheriff, Suffolk County, Mass. Sheriff Cabral was elected as the 30th Sheriff of Suffolk County and she is the first female in the commonwealth’s history to hold the position.
Frank Cullen, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati. Dr. Cullen is the past editor of Justice Quarterly and Journal of Crime and Justice and was president of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
Tony Fabelo, Ph.D., Director of Research, Council of State Governments Justice Center. Dr. Fabelo was a member of the National Research Council panel of the National Academy of Sciences that issued two national reports in 2000 and 2001 on juvenile crime and juvenile justice.
James M. Lepkowski, Ph.D., Chair, Program in Survey Methodology, University of Michigan. Dr. Lepkowski is Senior Research Scientist at the Survey Research Center and Associate Professor of Bio-statistics at the University of Michigan.
Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Leshner has been the Chief Executive Officer of the AAAS and Executive Publisher of the journal, Science, since December 2001.
Mark Lipsey, Ph.D., Director, Peabody Research Institute, Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Lipsey is the director of the Peabody Research Institute and his research and teaching interests include public policy, program evaluation and social intervention with an emphasis on programs for children and youth.
Colin Loftin, Ph.D., School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, State University of New York. Dr. Loftin is co-director of the Violence Research Group, a research collaboration with colleagues at the University at Albany and the University of Maryland that conducts research on the causes and consequences of interpersonal violence.
The Honorable Theodore A. McKee, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge McKee served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney where he prosecuted cases of public corruption, police brutality and civil rights violations.
Tracey L. Meares, J.D., Deputy Dean and Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law, Yale University. Professor Meares’ research and teaching interests center on criminal procedure and criminal law policy, with a particular emphasis on empirical investigation of these subjects.
Edward P. Mulvey, Ph.D., Director, Law & Psychiatry Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Mulvey is a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society.
Joan Petersilia, Ph.D., Faculty Co-director, Stanford Criminal Justice Center
Dr. Petersilia is the author of 11 books about crime and public policy and has conducted research about parole reform, prisoner reintegration, and sentencing policy.
Joycelyn Pollock, Ph.D., Department of Criminal Justice, Texas State University. Dr. Pollock began her career in criminal justice as a probation and parole officer in the state of Washington. Her primary research areas include prisons, women in the system (as professionals, offenders and victims) and legal topics.
Richard Rosenfeld, Ph.D., Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri. Dr. Rosenfeld is the Curators Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He recently served as the President of the American Society of Criminology. Dr. Rosenfeld is the co-author with Steven Messner of Crime and the American Dream, now in its fourth edition.
Elizabeth A. Stasny, Ph.D., Professor of Statistics and Vice Chair of Graduate Studies in Statistics and Bio-Statistics, Ohio State University. Dr. Stasny has served on the editor boards of the Journal of the American Statistical Association and Survey Methodology. She is a recognized expert in dealing with missing data and other response errors in surveys.
Robert J. Sampson, Ph.D., Professor of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology, Harvard University. Dr. Sampson is the 2011 co-recipient of the Stockholm Prize in Criminology. He and Dr. John H. Laub, Director of the National Institute of Justice, are joint winners for their work on understanding how and why criminals stop committing crime. Dr. Sampson currently is on a one-year research sabbatical from Harvard University to the Russell Sage Foundation. Professor Sampson’s research interests center on crime and violence, the life course, neighborhood effects and the sociology of the modern city.
David Weisburd, Ph.D., Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, Hebrew University and George Mason University. Dr. Weisburd is the 2010 winner of the Stockholm Prize in Criminology and one of the early proponents of place-based experimental research in criminology.
Monday 22 November 2010
Justice Department Files Lawsuit in California Against Titan Laboratories Inc. and Its Owner to Enforce the Employment Rights of Army Reserve MemberRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department today announced that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that Titan Laboratories Inc., and its owner Harvey Berger willfully violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) by discriminating against and failing to reemploy U.S. Army reservist Miguel Orozco Garduño (Orozco), of Mountain View, Calif. The suit was filed in federal district court in California.
Under USERRA, an employer is prohibited from discriminating against servicemembers because of their obligation to perform military service. In addition, and subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires that servicemembers who leave their civilian jobs to serve in the military be reemployed promptly by their civilian employers in the same positions, or in positions comparable to the positions they would have held had their employment not been interrupted by military service.
The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that while Orozco was away on military leave, Titan and Berger terminated Orozco’s employment because of his military obligations and hired a permanent replacement who did not have such obligations. The complaint also alleges that when Orozco completed his honorable military service and requested reemployment, Titan and Berger refused to reemploy him because he had been replaced.
"Rather than face discrimination because of their military obligations, our service members should be honored for the sacrifices they make, and they should know they will not have to also sacrifice their jobs to serve our country," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department is committed to vigorously enforcing federal laws that protect the employment rights of our servicemembers."
The case stems from a referral by the Department of Labor following an investigation by the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service.
The Justice and Labor Departments place a high priority on the enforcement of servicemembers’ rights under USERRA. "Our two agencies work closely together to ensure that our Service Members are treated right when they return from service" said Ray Jefferson, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training.
Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department website: www.servicemembers.gov and www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp, as well as on the Labor Department’s website at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.
El Departamento de Justicia recupera $3 billones de dólares en casos de reclamos falsos en el año fiscal 2010Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - El Departamento de Justicia logró $3 billones de dólares en acuerdos conciliatorios y fallos en casos asociados al fraude contra el gobierno en el año fiscal finalizado el 30 de septiembre de 2010, anunció hoy el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División Civil, Tony West. Esto incluye $2.5 billones en recuperaciones de fraude de servicios médicos - la mayor de toda la historia - y representa la segunda mayor recuperación anual de reclamos de fraude civil. Asimismo, las sumas recuperadas bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos desde enero de 2009 han eclipsado cualquier periodo anterior de dos años con $5.4 billones de dólares de los contribuyentes devueltos a programas federales y al Tesoro. El valor total de recuperaciones desde 1986, cuando el Congreso reforzó significativamente la Ley Civil de Reclamos Falsos, es ahora de más de $27 billones de dólares.
"Bajo el liderazgo del Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder, nuestro enjuiciamiento enérgico del fraude bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos ha resultado en la mayor recuperación de dólares de los contribuyentes en un plazo de dos años en la historia del Departamento de Justicia", dijo el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar West. "En ningún lugar resulta esto más evidente que en nuestro éxito en la lucha contra el fraude de servicios médicos. Desde enero de 2009, la División Civil, junto con las Fiscalías Federales, comenzaron más investigaciones de fraude de servicios médicos, lograron cobrar multas más significativas y más enjuiciamientos, y recuperaron más dólares de los contribuyentes perdidos al fraude de servicios médicos que en cualquier otro periodo de dos años.
La lucha contra el fraude contra programas de servicios médicos públicos es una de las principales prioridades del gobierno de Obama. El 20 de mayo de 2009, el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder y la Secretaria del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos [Health and Human Services (HHS)] Kathleen Sebelius, anunciaron la creación de una nueva fuerza de tarea interagencias, el Equipo de Acción, Prevención y Control de Fraude de Servicios Médicos [Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT)] para aumentar la coordinación y mejorar la aplicación legal criminal y civil. Esta labor no solo protege al Fondo Fiduciario de Medicare para personas mayores de edad y el programa Medicaid para los ciudadanos más necesitados del país, sino que también resultan en servicios médicos de más alta calidad a un precio más razonable.
Las recuperaciones civiles récord en fraude de servicios médicos de $2.5 billones de dólares anunciadas hoy representan el 83 por ciento del total de recuperaciones de fraude civil del año. El HHS obtuvo las recuperaciones más importantes, en gran parte debido a sus programas Medicare y Medicaid. También fueron obtenidas recuperaciones por la Oficina de Administración de Personal, la cual administra el Programa de Beneficios de Salud para Empleados Federales, el Departamento de Defensa para su programa de seguro TRICARE y el Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos, entre otros.
El Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar West observó que desde enero de 2009, la División Civil, junto con las Fiscalías Federales, lograron un récord de labor de control asociada al fraude de servicios médicos para un plazo de dos años, recuperando $4.6 billones de dólares en fondos de los contribuyentes bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos de proveedores de servicios médicos y otros en el ramo, y logrando 25 condenas criminales así como más de $3 billones de dólares en multas, confiscaciones, restitución y devolución de ganancias bajo la Ley de Alimentos, Medicamentos y Cosméticos [Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)].
Los casos de la Ley de Reclamos Falsos resueltos exitosamente este año no solo incluyeron ardides de pago asociados a programas de salud federales, sino también a contratos de compras en tiempos de guerra y otros contratos gubernamentales; subsidios para empresas pequeñas, chalecos antibalas para las fuerzas del orden público, y otras finalidades; hipotecas aseguradas federalmente; alquileres minerales federales e indígenas; y muchos otros programas federales.
El Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar West felicitó a los abogados de carrera de la División Civil, a las Fiscalías Federales, y a las agencias federales y estatales que investigan y trabajan en la acusación en casos de violación de la Ley de Reclamos Falsos por su labor significativa, y comentó que "su dedicación y cooperación nos permiten utilizar todos nuestros recursos en combatir el fraude contra tanto el gobierno federal como los estatales".
La mayoría de los casos que resultaron en recuperaciones fueron presentados al gobierno por denunciantes bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos, la principal arma del gobierno federal en la batalla contra el fraude. En 1986, el Senador Charles Grassley y el Diputado Howard Berman realizaron una importante labor en el Congreso para lograr la enmienda de la Ley de Reclamos Falsos de modo a modificar las disposiciones qui tam (o de denunciante) de la ley, las que estimulan a personas a denunciar alegatos de fraude. El Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar West homenajeó a los patrocinadores de las enmiendas de 1986, al decir: "Sin su visión de futuro, estas recuperaciones no hubieran sido posibles". También expresó su gratitud al Senador Patrick J. Leahy, Presidente del Comité Judicial del Senado, y al Senador Grassley y al Representante Berman por su apoyo a la Ley de Recuperación y Control contra el Fraude de 2009, la cual realizó mejoras adicionales a la Ley de Reclamos Falsos y otras leyes asociadas al fraude.
De los $3 billones de dólares en acuerdos conciliatorios y fallos obtenidos en el año fiscal 2010, casi $2.3 billones fueron recuperados en demandas entabladas bajo las disposiciones qui tam de la Ley de Reclamos Falsos. Bajo estas disposiciones, los denunciantes (conocidos como "relatores") - muchos de los cuales enfrentan riesgos personales considerables al presentar sus alegatos de fraude - tienen derecho a recuperar entre el 15 y el 30 por ciento del producto de un enjuiciamiento exitoso. En el año fiscal 2010, denunciantes recibieron $385 millones de dólares. Desde 1986, cuando el Congreso reforzó las disposiciones qui tam, las recuperaciones en estos casos superaron los $18 billones de dólares y los denunciantes han obtenido más de $2.8 billones en recuperaciones.
El Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar West también aplaudió la aprobación por el Congreso este año de la Ley de Servicios Médicos Accesibles [Affordable Care Act (ACA)], la cual incluye disposiciones adicionales para ayudar al gobierno a tratar del fraude contra el sistema de servicios médicos del país y promover incentivos para que personas denuncien fraudes al gobierno. Entre muchos otros cambios, la ACA enmendó la disposición de divulgación pública de la Ley de Reclamos Falsos y reforzó las disposiciones de la Ley Federal contra las Comisiones Ilegales de Servicios Médicos [Anti-Kickback Statute].
En el año fiscal 2010 también se obtuvo un récord para varios tipos de fraude de servicios médicos. Un acuerdo conciliatorio de $2.3 billones con Pfizer Inc. marcó el mayor acuerdo conciliatorio de servicios médicos de la historia. Los $2.3 billones de dólares incluyen $669 millones de dólares recuperados bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos, $1.3 billones en multas criminales y confiscaciones, y $331 millones en recuperaciones para programas estatales de Medicaid y el Distrito de Columbia. (Estos dos últimos montos no están incluidos en el total de recuperaciones de fraude de servicios médicos anunciado hoy, los cuales se limitan a recuperaciones civiles del gobierno federal). Además, un acuerdo conciliatorio de $108 millones de dólares con The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati y uno de sus hospitales ex miembros, The Christ Hospital, fue el mayor acuerdo ya logrado bajo la Ley contra las comisiones ilícitas en servicios médicos por la conducta de un único hospital.
Las mayores recuperaciones por la Ley de Reclamos Falsos para el año fiscal 2010 provino de las industrias farmacéutica y de dispositivos médicos, las cuales fueron responsables por $1.6 billones de dólares en acuerdos conciliatorios, incluidos los $660 millones de dólares de Pfizer Inc., $302 millones de dólares de AstraZeneca, y $182.7 de Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation.
Además de las recuperaciones civiles por fraude de servicios médicos bajo la Ley de Reclamos Falsos, la Oficina de Litigio de Consumidores [Office of Consumer Litigation (OCL)] de la División Civil entabla demandas civiles y criminales por violaciones de la FDCA. Junto con sus asociados de las Fiscalías Federales de todo el país, la OCL se ocupa de asuntos tales como la comercialización ilícita de medicamentos y dispositivos, fraude asociado a la FDA y la distribución de productos adulterados. En el año fiscal 2010, esas iniciativas resultaron en más de $1.8 billones en multas criminales, confiscaciones, restitución y devolución de ganancias, en la mayor suma asociada a los servicios médicos bajo la FDCA en la historia del Departamento. Desde enero de 2009, la OCL ha entablado casos exitosos que resultaron en 25 condenas criminales y más de $3 billones de dólares en multas, confiscaciones, restitución y devolución de ganancias.
Además, la División Civil sigue ocupando un papel principal en la Fuerza de Tarea de Control contra el Fraude Financiero, creada en noviembre último por el Presidente Obama para mejorar la labor del gobierno federal de investigación y tratamiento del fraude de consumo y financiero. La División Civil, en conjunto con sus asociados en la fuerza de tarea, está atacando toda forma de ardid de fraude financiero, incluido el fraude hipotecario, fraude de compras no asociadas a guerras y fraudes asociados al Programa de Asistencia para Activos en Dificultades, la Ley de Recuperación y Reinversión de Estados Unidos y otros fondos de estímulo económico. Las recuperaciones asociadas a la Ley de Reclamos Falsos en estos casos representaron el 11 por ciento de las recuperaciones del año fiscal 2010, con $327.2 millones de dólares en acuerdos conciliatorios y fallos.
La División Civil también se dedica a reclamos de fraude asociados a contratos en apoyo a las guerras en Irak y Afganistán. Durante el año fiscal 2010, la División Civil recuperó $10.6 millones de dólares en estos casos. Hasta la fecha, los acuerdos conciliatorios y fallos en casos de fraude de compras asociados a guerras en el sudoeste asiático totalizaron $137.2 millones de dólares. De esta suma, $114.7 millones de dólares han sido recuperados desde enero de 2009.
El Departamento de Justicia entabla demanda en California contra Titan Laboratories Inc. y supropietario para hacer valer los derechos laborales de un miembro de lareserva del ejércitoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — El Departamento de Justicia anunció hoy que ha entablado una demanda alegando que Titan Laboratories Inc., y su propietario Harvey Berger deliberadamente violaron la Ley de Derechos de Empleo y Reempleo de los Servicios Uniformados de 1994 [Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA)] al discriminar a, y dejar de recontratar al miembro de la reserva del Ejército de EE.UU. Miguel Orozco-Garduño, de Mountain View, Calif. La demanda fue entablada en el tribunal federal de distrito de California.
Bajo la USERRA, se prohíbe que el empleador discrimine a miembros de las fuerzas armadas debido a su obligación de cumplir con servicio militar. Además, y sujeto a ciertas limitaciones, la USERRA exige que los miembros de las fuerzas armadas que dejen sus empleos civiles para cumplir con el servicio militar sean recontratados de inmediato por sus empleadores civiles en los mismos cargos, o cargos comparables con los que hubieran tenido si su empleo no hubiera sido interrumpido por el servicio militar.
La demanda del Departamento de Justicia alega que mientras Orozco se encontraba cumpliendo con el servicio militar, Titan y Berger cesaron a Orozco en su empleo debido a sus obligaciones militares y contrataron a un reemplazante permanente sin dichas obligaciones. La demanda también alega que cuando Orozco completó su servicio militar honorable y solicitó su recontratación, Titan y Berger se negaron a volver a contratarlo porque había sido sustituido.
"En lugar de enfrentar la discriminación debido a sus obligaciones militares, nuestros miembros del servicio deben ser homenajeados por los sacrificios que realizan, y deben saber que no tendrán que sacrificar también sus empleados para servir al país", dijo Thomas E. Pérez, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles. "El Departamento de Justicia se compromete a hacer valer las leyes federales enérgicamente y proteger los derechos laborales de quienes cumplan el servicio militar".
El caso se origina en un referido del Departamento del Trabajo, seguida de una investigación del Servicio de Empleo y Capacitación de Veteranos del Departamento del Trabajo.
Los Departamentos de Justicia y del Trabajo dan alta prioridad a los derechos de los miembros del servicio militar bajo USERRA. "Nuestras dos dependencias trabajan estrechamente para asegurar que los Miembros de nuestro Servicio Militar reciban el tratamiento correcto al regresar del servicio militar", dijo Ray Jefferson, Secretario Auxiliar de Trabajo para Empleo y Capacitación de Veteranos.
Para obtener información adicional sobre la USERRA, visite el portal en Internet del Departamento de Justicia: www.servicemembers.gov y www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp, así como el portal del Departamento del Trabajo en www.dol.gov/vets/pro grams/userra/main.htm.
Department of Justice Recovers $3 Billion in False Claims Cases in Fiscal Year 2010Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice secured $3 billion in civil settlements and judgments in cases involving fraud against the government in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2010, Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, announced today. This includes $2.5 billion in health care fraud recoveries—the largest in history—and represents the second largest annual recovery of civil fraud claims. Moreover, amounts recovered under the False Claims Act since January 2009 have eclipsed any previous two-year period with $5.4 billion in taxpayer dollars returned to federal programs and the Treasury. Recoveries since 1986, when Congress substantially strengthened the civil False Claims Act, now total more than $27 billion.
"Under Attorney General Eric Holder’s leadership, our aggressive pursuit of fraud under the False Claims Act has resulted in the largest two-year recovery of taxpayer dollars in the history of the Justice Department," Assistant Attorney General West said. "Nowhere is this more apparent than in our success in fighting health care fraud. Since January 2009, the Civil Division, together with the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, commenced more health care fraud investigations, secured larger fines and judgments, and recovered more taxpayer dollars lost to health care fraud than in any other two-year period."
Fighting fraud committed against public health care programs is a top priority for the Obama Administration. On May 20, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced the creation of a new interagency task force, the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), to increase coordination and optimize criminal and civil enforcement. These efforts not only protect the Medicare Trust Fund for seniors and the Medicaid program for the country’s neediest citizens, they also result in higher quality health care at a more reasonable price.
The record health care fraud civil recoveries of $2.5 billion announced today made up 83 percent of the year’s total civil fraud recoveries. HHS reaped the biggest recoveries, largely attributable to its Medicare and Medicaid programs. Recoveries were also made by the Office of Personnel Management, which administers the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the Department of Defense for its TRICARE insurance program and the Department of Veterans Affairs, among others.
Assistant Attorney General West noted that since January 2009, the Civil Division, together with the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, set a two-year record for health care fraud enforcement efforts, recovering $4.6 billion in taxpayer funds under the False Claims Act from health care providers and others in the industry, and securing 25 criminal convictions as well as more than $3 billion in fines, forfeitures, restitution and disgorgement under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
The False Claims Act cases successfully resolved this year not only included payment schemes implicating federal health care programs, but also wartime and other government procurement contracts; grants for small businesses, bullet-proof vests for law enforcement, and other purposes; federally insured mortgages; federal and Indian mineral leases; and many other federal programs.
Assistant Attorney General West commended the substantial efforts of the Civil Division’s career attorneys, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and the federal and state agencies that investigate and support False Claims Act prosecutions, remarking that "their dedication and the cooperation we enjoy allow us to bring all of our resources to bear in combating fraud against both the federal and state governments."
Most of the cases resulting in recoveries were brought to the government by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act, the federal government’s primary weapon in the battle against fraud. In 1986, Senator Charles Grassley and Representative Howard Berman led successful efforts in Congress to amend the False Claims Act to revise the statute’s qui tam (or whistleblower) provisions, which encourage whistleblowers to come forward with allegations of fraud. Assistant Attorney General West paid tribute to the 1986 amendments’ sponsors, saying: "Without their foresight, these recoveries would not have been possible." He also expressed his gratitude to Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, and to Senator Grassley and Representative Berman for their support of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, which made additional improvements to the False Claims Act and other fraud statutes.
Of the $3 billion in settlements and judgments obtained in fiscal year 2010, over $2.3 billion was recovered in lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions. Under these provisions, whistleblowers (known as "relators") – many of whom face considerable personal risk in coming forward with allegations of fraud –are entitled to recover between 15 and 30 percent of the proceeds of a successful suit. In fiscal year 2010, relators were awarded $385 million. Since 1986, when the qui tam provisions were strengthened by Congress, recoveries in qui tam cases have exceeded $18 billion, and relators have obtained more than $2.8 billion in awards.
Assistant Attorney General West also applauded Congress’ passage this past year of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which included additional provisions to aid the Government in redressing fraud on the nation’s health care system, and to promote incentives for whistleblowers to disclose fraud to the government. Among many other changes, the ACA amended the False Claims Act’s public disclosure provision and strengthened the provisions of the federal health care Anti-Kickback Statute.
Fiscal year 2010 also saw records for several types of health care fraud. A $2.3 billion settlement with Pfizer Inc. marked the largest health care fraud settlement in history. The $2.3 billion includes $669 million recovered under the federal False Claims Act, $1.3 billion in criminal fines and forfeitures, and $331 million in recoveries for state Medicaid programs and the District of Columbia. (These latter two amounts are not included in the total health care fraud recoveries announced today, which are limited to the federal government’s civil recoveries.) In addition, a $108 million settlement with The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and one of its former member hospitals, The Christ Hospital, was the largest ever under the health care Anti-Kickback Statute for the conduct of a single hospital.
The largest fiscal year 2010 False Claims Act recoveries came from the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, which accounted for $1.6 billion in settlements, including the $669 million from Pfizer Inc., $302 million from AstraZeneca, and $192.7 from Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation.
In addition to the civil health care fraud recoveries under the False Claims Act, the Civil Division’s Office of Consumer Litigation (OCL) brings civil and criminal actions for violations of the FDCA. Together with their partners in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices around the country, OCL pursues such matters as the unlawful marketing of drugs and devices, fraud on the FDA, and the distribution of adulterated products. In fiscal year 2010, those efforts yielded more than $1.8 billion in criminal fines, forfeitures, restitution and disgorgement, the largest health care-related amount under the FDCA in department history. Since January 2009, OCL has successfully pursued cases resulting in 25 criminal convictions and more than $3 billion in fines, forfeitures, restitution and disgorgement.
In addition, the Civil Division continues to play a leading role in the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, created last November by President Obama to improve the federal government’s efforts to investigate and redress consumer and financial fraud. The Civil Division, in conjunction with its partners on the task force, is aggressively pursuing all manner of financial fraud schemes, including mortgage fraud, non-war related procurement fraud, and fraud involving the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and other economic stimulus funds. False Claims Act recoveries in these cases accounted for 11 percent of fiscal year 2010 recoveries, with $327.2 million in settlements and judgments.
The Civil Division also pursues fraud claims related to contracts in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During fiscal year 2010, the Civil Division recovered $10.6 million in these cases. To date, settlements and judgments in procurement fraud cases involving the wars in Southwest Asia total $137.2 million. Of this amount, $114.7 million has been recovered since January 2009.
Friday 19 November 2010
Two Michigan Construction Firms to Pay More Than $1.4 Million to Resolve Alleged False ClaimsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two Michigan construction companies have agreed to pay the United States $1.407 million to resolve allegations that they knowingly submitted false claims relating to a federally funded construction project at Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport, the Justice Department announced today. The United States alleges that the companies, John Carlo Inc. and Angelo Iafrate Construction Company, falsely claimed that they had used Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) for part of the work on the project when they had not. The DBE program provides assistance to businesses owned by minorities, women, and other socially and economically disadvantaged individuals to enter federally-funded construction and design industries.
Under their contracts, the two firms were required to comply with the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) DBE regulations and accurately report their DBE contracting to obtain and maintain the construction contracts. The companies claimed BN &M Trucking, a DBE, performed substantial work on the contracts when, in fact, the trucking firm did not and was merely a pass-through used to obtain the appearance of DBE participation.
"Those who contract with the United States must do so fairly and honestly," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. "It is not acceptable for government contractors to take advantage of programs meant to help businesses owned by minorities and women."
In addition to the $1.407 million payment to resolve civil claims, Angelo Iafrate Construction has also entered into a separate administrative agreement with DOT to ensure future compliance with DBE requirements.
"When contractors abuse programs designed to benefit disadvantaged businesses, they are stealing from the legitimate businesses that the law was intended to help," said Barbara L. McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. "We are very grateful to the Wayne County Airport Authority, whose help was instrumental in this case."
The government’s claims were based upon an investigation conducted by the Civil Division of the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, DOT’s Office of Inspector General and the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the Wayne County Airport Authority. The Wayne County Airport Authority first brought the case to the government’s attention and provided substantial assistance throughout the investigation and resolution of the matter.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge Pleads Guilty to Possession of Controlled Substances and Conversion of Government PropertyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Senior U.S. District Judge Jack T. Camp Jr., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to possession of controlled substances and conversion of government property, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Brian D. Lamkin of the FBI’s Atlanta office and Director Vernon Keenan of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Camp, 67, a Senior U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of Georgia, pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of controlled substances and one count of conversion of government property. Camp’s guilty plea was accepted by Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Hogan for the District of Columbia, who was sitting by designation in the Northern District of Georgia. Sentencing has been scheduled for March 4, 2011, at 11:00 a.m.
As part of his guilty plea, Camp admitted that between May 2010 and Oct. 1, 2010, he unlawfully possessed and used cocaine, marijuana and Roxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance. Camp also admitted to giving an individual, whom he knew had a prior felony drug conviction, money to purchase cocaine, Roxycodone and marijuana. Camp admitted that he unlawfully gave the individual a U.S. District Court laptop computer for her personal use. Camp was arrested on Oct. 1, 2010, after attempting to purchase drugs from an undercover FBI agent posing as a drug dealer.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Deborah Sue Mayer and Tracee Joy Plowell of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case was investigated by the FBI Atlanta’s Public Corruption Squad. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation provided substantial assistance in this case.