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Friday 19 November 2010
Massachusetts Man Convicted for Trafficking in Illegally-Imported Sperm Whale Teeth and Narwhal TusksRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—A Massachusetts man was convicted today by a jury in federal court in Boston of seven felonies related to the illegal importation and illegal trafficking of sperm whale teeth and narwhal tusks, the Department of Justice announced today.
The federal jury in Boston found David L. Place, 57, of Nantucket, Mass., guilty on seven felony counts of conspiracy, Lacey Act, and smuggling violations for buying and illegally importing sperm whale teeth and narwhal tusks into the United States, as well as selling the teeth after their illegal importation.
The evidence showed that from 2001 to 2006, Place knowingly purchased and imported sperm whale teeth and narwhal tusks into the United States in violation of federal law. Sperm whales are classified as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is illegal to import parts of sperm whale teeth into the United States without the requisite permits/certifications, and without declaring the merchandise at the time of importation to U.S. Customs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Place conspired with persons located in Ukraine to illegally import the protected whale teeth for resale in the United States. Place owns Manor House Antiques Cooperative in Nantucket. Sperm whale teeth are commonly used for scrimshaw and can fetch large sums of money from collectors and tourists. Scrimshaw, as defined by the ESA, is any art form which involves the substantial etching or engraving of designs upon, or the substantial carving of figures, patterns, or designs from, any bone or tooth of any whale, dolphin or porpoise.
Place faces up to 20 years in prison as well as fines of up to $250,000 on smuggling charges. He also faces up to five years on each of five counts of Lacey Act violations and related conspiracy charges.
The case was investigated by agents from the Law Enforcement Offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Gary N. Donner and James B. Nelson of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crime Section.
Former New York Con Edison Manager Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Bribery and Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A former Consolidated Edison of New York (Con Edison) manager pleaded guilty today to charges that he accepted and agreed to accept approximately $807,000 in bribes from two Con Edison industrial pipe supply vendors, the Department of Justice announced today.
James M. Woodason of Edison, N.J., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, to participating in two separate conspiracies to defraud Con Edison. According to a four-count felony charge, Woodason, a former department manager of purchasing at Con Edison, accepted bribe payments from two industrial pipe supply vendors, in exchange for steering contracts to each of those vendors. The department said that Woodason was responsible for purchasing and awarding contracts for millions of dollars in goods and services and managing inventory on behalf of Con Edison.
According to court documents, Woodason accepted approximately $297,000 from one vendor in a bribery scheme that took place from approximately November 2003 through approximately August 2008. Woodason accepted approximately $45,000 in bribe payments from another vendor in a bribery scheme that took place from approximately January 2009 until approximately August 2010. He had also agreed to take an additional $465,000 in bribes from that vendor.
On Aug. 5, 2010, Woodason was arrested in connection with this investigation by special agents of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation.
According to court documents, in addition to two separate conspiracies, Woodason also pleaded guilty to one count of bribery for receiving a $20,000 cash bribe payment related to the 2009-2010 conspiracy and to one count of income tax evasion for failing to report bribes he received as income in the tax years 2004 through 2008.
According to the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Woodason agreed not to contest forfeiture of the $20,000 bribe payment found at his residence on the date of his arrest. As part of his plea agreement, Woodason also agreed to put $322,000 in escrow to pay restitution to Con Edison.
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 2010.
Woodason is charged with two counts of conspiracy, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Woodason is also charged with income tax evasion, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The bribery count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fine on each count 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.
These charges arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation of bid rigging, bribery, fraud and tax-related offenses in the power generation industry. The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, with the assistance of the FBI and the IRS 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 FBI’s New York Division at 212-384-3720, or the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-264-9308 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Holder y el Vice presidente Biden anuncian nuevas iniciativas para ayudar a los propietarios de viviendas, veteranos y trabajadores a obtener servicios legalesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC – El Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder y la Iniciativa de Acceso a la Justicia del Departamento de Justicia organizaron un evento de la Fuerza de Tarea para la Clase Media hoy con el Vicepresidente Joe Biden para anunciar una serie de medidas creadas para ayudar a familias de clase media y baja a ejercer sus derechos legales. Estas medidas incluyen fortalecer programas de mediación en ejecuciones, ayudar a veteranos a obtener la ayuda legal que necesitan y facilitar el acceso de los trabajadores a un abogado calificado cuando creen que se han violado sus derechos.
“En períodos económicos difíciles, queremos asegurarnos de que todos los estadounidenses—sin importar sus ingresos o su estatus social—tengan acceso a los recursos que necesitan para buscar justicia”, dijo el Vicepresidente Joe Biden. “Las iniciativas que estamos anunciando hoy representan un paso importante hacia ese objetivo y ayudarán a miles de estadounidenses a obtener la asistencia legal que necesitan”.
El anuncio de hoy es la culminación del trabajo entre la Iniciativa de Acceso a la Justicia del Departamento de Justicia [Department of Justice (DOJ)] y agencias federales como el Departamento de Trabajo [Department of Labor (DOL)], el Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano [Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)], el Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos [Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)], así como también asociados en la comunidad de defensa.
Como fiscal y ex juez, sé que la integridad fundamental de nuestro sistema de justicia criminal, y nuestra fe en el mismo, depende de una representación legal eficaz en ambos lados del tribunal”, dijo el Secretario de Justicia de los EE.UU. Holder. “Con los avances que hemos hecho – y con las medidas adicionales que están por venir – confío en que podemos construir un sistema de justicia más justo y eficaz”.
La vida de muchas personas se puede mejorar sin realizar grandes inversiones, y de hecho con ahorros reales, si simplemente los ayudamos a obtener los derechos legales y beneficios que les corresponden. Es por eso que la Iniciativa de Acceso a la Justicia del Departamento se complace en trabajar con el Vicepresidente, el HUD, el DOL y el VA para hacer que la justicia sea una realidad”, dijo el Consejero Principal de Acceso a la Justicia del DOJ Laurence Tribe.
Apoyo legal para los trabajadores
El Departamento de Trabajo y el Colegio de Abogados de los EE.UU. [American Bar Association (ABA)] anunciaron hoy que colaborarán para ayudar a los trabajadores a resolver denuncias recibidas por la División de Salarios y Horas del DOL, como no percibir el salario mínimo o no recibir paga por las horas extra, o sufrir la denegación de una licencia médica familiar. A partir del 13 de diciembre de 2010, los denunciantes con casos que no hayan podido ser resueltos por el DOL por capacidad limitada recibirán un número de llamadas gratuitas a un nuevo sistema en el que son conectados a un proveedor de referidos a abogados aprobados por la ABA si existen abogados participantes en su zona.
Además, si el DOL ha realizado una investigación, el denunciante recibirá información sobre los hallazgos para entregársela al abogado que podría tomar el caso. Esta información incluye las violaciones en cuestión y todos los salarios retroactivos debidos. El DOL también ha desarrollado un proceso especial para que los denunciantes y los abogados que los representan obtengan información y documentos relevantes del caso cuando estén disponibles.
La Secretaria de Trabajo Hilda Solís dijo,“Los trabajadores de nuestro país merecen una compensación plena y justa, y este gobierno está comprometido a garantizar que la reciban. La colaboración anunciada hoy con el Colegio de Abogados de los Estados Unidos mejora el acceso de los trabajadores a recursos legales adicionales y las iniciativas constantes del Departamento de Trabajo para asegurarse de que los empleados cumplan con las leyes laborales de los Estados Unidos”.
Acceso de los veteranos a la asistencia legal
El Vicepresidente anunció hoy que el Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos (VA) y la Corporación de Servicios Legales [Legal Services Corporation (LSC)] han lanzado una campaña de concienciación entre los Centros de Veteranos comunitarios del VA y proveedores locales de servicios de asistencia legal de la LSC para ayudar a los veteranos a enfrentar mejor disputas legales como ejecución hipotecaria, fraude contra consumidores y problemas laborales. La primera etapa de la nueva campaña de concienciación ya está en curso.
Los programas financiados por la LSC han ayudado a 51 Centros de Veteranos operados por el Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos en la región del Atlántico central, Maine y Arkansas para compartir información sobre servicios legales y crear sistemas correctos de referidos para minimizar la frustración de los veteranos a la hora de obtener asesoría y representación en problemas legales civiles.
En apoyo a esta iniciativa, la LSC anunció el lanzamiento de un nuevo portal, www.StatesideLegal.org , para ayudar a los veteranos a obtener información en línea. El sitio fue desarrollado para explicar términos jurídicos y militares de manera sencilla e incluye videos y formularios interactivos para ayudar a los veteranos a defenderse. La información contenida en el portal abarca temas como beneficios por discapacidad, empleo y protecciones legales para miembros del ejército que enfrentan medidas de ejecución hipotecaria.
Programas de mediación en ejecuciones hipotecarias
Los programas de mediación en ejecuciones hipotecarias están diseñados para detectar alternativas a la ejecución que beneficien tanto al propietario de la vivienda como al prestamista. Hoy el Vicepresidente anunció diversas iniciativas para fortalecer estos programas de mediación.
La Iniciativa de Acceso a la Justicia del DOJ y el HUD anunciaron un informe conjunto que identifica estrategias emergentes para programas eficaces de mediación en ejecuciones hipotecarias, como consejeros de vivienda bien capacitados y abogados voluntarios que pueden asesorar y apoyar a los propietarios durante todo el proceso de mediación. Para asistir a jurisdicciones que están desarrollando o expandiendo programas de mediación, el informe describe diversas características que tienen un impacto positivo en la eficacia de los programas. El informe también da listas de programas existentes de mediación en ejecuciones interesados en compartir sus experiencias con otras partes interesadas en estos programas de todo el país. Para ver el informe, visite h ttp://www.justice.gov/atj/effective-mediation-prog-strategies.pdf
Además,el HUD anunció un nuevo seminario de capacitación en Internet que destacará estrategias y recursos para evitar la ejecución hipotecaria. La capacitación, que está dirigida a una gran variedad de audiencias, que incluye a los propietarios, consejeros de vivienda, abogados voluntarios y mediadores, abordará temas como el acceso a recursos de asesoría de vivienda, cómo encontrar recursos de prevención de ejecuciones hipotecarias específicos de cada estado, cómo evitar ardides de rescate de ejecuciones hipotecarias y de comprensión de programas federales de prevención de ejecuciones hipotecarias.
El HUD también brindó orientación sobre el uso del Subsidio en Bloque de Desarrollo Comunitario y Fondos de Estabilización de Vecindarios para asesoría sobre vivienda, un recurso que puede incrementar la eficacia de programas de mediación en ejecuciones hipotecarias. Para ver este material, visite www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/pdf/housing_counseling .pdf
Además de estas iniciativas, NeighborWorks®, una organización sin fines de lucro creada por el Congreso y financiada por asignaciones del Congreso, estrenará un taller de mediación en ejecuciones hipotecarias en el Instituto de Capacitación NeighborWorks en diciembre. Se espera que más de 2,000 consejeros y otros profesionales de organizaciones sin fines de lucro asistan al Instituto de Capacitación. NeighborWorks es uno de los principales financiadores de programas de asesoría de mitigación de ejecuciones hipotecarias del país y es administrador del Programa Nacional de Asesoría de Mitigación de Ejecuciones Hipotecarias.
Por último, la Comisión Federal de Comercio [Federal Trade Commission (FTC)] anunció hoy una nueva norma y diversas acciones de control para proteger a los propietarios vulnerables contra el fraude de rescate hipotecario. Para ver el comunicado de prensa de la FTC, visite http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/11/mars.shtm
Para obtener más información sobre la Iniciativa de Acceso a la Justicia del Departamento de Justicia, visite: www.justice.gov/access .
Attorney General Holder, Vice President Biden Announce New Initiatives to Help Homeowners, Veterans and Workers Access Legal ServicesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON , DC – Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice’s Access to Justice Initiative co-hosted a Middle Class Task Force event today with Vice President Joe Biden, announcing a series of steps designed to help middle class and low-income families secure their legal rights. These actions include strengthening foreclosure mediation programs, helping veterans secure the legal help they need, and making it easier for workers to find a qualified attorney when they believe their rights have been violated.
“In difficult economic times, we want to make sure all Americans—regardless of income or status—have access to the resources they need to pursue justice,” said Vice President Joe Biden. “The initiatives we are announcing today represent an important step toward that goal and will help thousands of Americans get the legal assistance they need.”
Today’s announcement is the culmination of work between the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Access to Justice Initiative and federal agencies like the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as partners in the advocacy community.
“As a prosecutor and former judge, I know that the fundamental integrity of our justice system, and our faith in it, depends on effective representation on both sides of the courtroom ,” said Attorney General Holder. “With the strides we have made – and with the additional steps soon to come – I am confident that we can build a fairer and more effective justice system.”
“Many people’s lives can be improved without major new investments, and in fact with real savings, if we simply help them access the legal rights and benefits that are theirs. That’s why the Department's Access to Justice Initiative is honored to work with the Vice President, HUD, the Labor Department, and the VA to make justice a reality. ” said DOJ Senior Counselor for Access to Justice Laurence Tribe.
Legal Support for Workers
The Department of Labor and the American Bar Association (ABA) today announced a collaboration to help workers resolve complaints received by DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, such as not getting paid the minimum wage or not being paid overtime, or being denied family medical leave. Beginning on December 13, 2010, complainants whose cases cannot be resolved by DOL because of limited capacity will be given a toll-free number to a newly created system where they are connected to an ABA-approved attorney referral provider if there are participating attorneys in their area.
In addition, if DOL has conducted an investigation, the complainant will be given information about the findings to provide to an attorney who may take the case, including the violations at issue and any back wages owed. DOL has also developed a special process for complainants and representing attorneys to obtain relevant case information and documents when available.
Said Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, “Our nation’s workers deserve full and fair compensation, and this Administration is committed to ensuring that they receive it. Today’s announced collaboration with the American Bar Association streamlines worker access to additional legal resources and builds on the Department of Labor’s continued efforts to ensure that employers comply with America’s labor laws.”
Veterans’ Access to Legal Help
Today the Vice President announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) have launched an awareness campaign between the VA’s community-based Vet Centers and local LSC legal aid service providers to help veterans better address legal challenges in areas such as foreclosure, consumer fraud, and employment issues. The first phase of the new awareness campaign is already underway.
LSC-funded programs have reached out to 51 Vet Centers operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs in the mid-Atlantic region, Maine, and Arkansas to share information about legal services and to create appropriate referral systems to minimize veterans’ frustration in obtaining advice and representation on civil legal problems.
In support of this effort, the LSC announced the launch of a new website, www.StatesideLegal.org , to help veterans access information online. The site was developed to explain legal and military terms in a straightforward way, and includes videos and interactive forms to help veterans advocate for themselves. Information on the website covers such topics as disability benefits, employment, and legal protections for service members confronted with foreclosure actions.
Foreclosure Mediation Programs
Foreclosure mediation programs are designed to identify alternatives to foreclosure that benefit both the homeowner and the lender. Today, the Vice President announced a number of initiatives to strengthen these mediation programs.
DOJ’s Access to Justice Initiative and HUD issued a joint report identifying emerging strategies for effective foreclosure mediation programs, such as well-trained housing counselors and pro bono attorneys who can counsel and support homeowners throughout the mediation process. To assist jurisdictions that are developing or expanding mediation programs, the report describes several features that have a positive impact on program effectiveness. The report also lists existing foreclosure mediation programs that are interested in sharing their experiences with other program stakeholders throughout the country. To view the report, visit http://www.justice.gov/atj/effective-mediation-prog-strategies.pdf
Additionally,HUD announced a new training webinar that will highlight strategies and resources for avoiding foreclosure. The training, which is aimed at a wide variety of audiences including homeowners, housing counselors, pro bono attorneys and mediators, will include topics such as accessing housing counseling resources, finding state-specific foreclosure prevention resources, avoiding foreclosure rescue scams, and understanding Federal foreclosure prevention programs.
HUD also provided guidance on the use of Community Development Block Grant and Neighborhood Stabilization Funds for housing counseling, a resource that can increase the effectiveness of foreclosure mediation programs. To view the guidance, visit www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/pdf/housing_counseling.pdf
In addition to these efforts, NeighborWorks®, a national non-profit created by Congress and funded by Congressional appropriations, will debut a foreclosure mediation workshop at the NeighborWorks Training Institute in December. More than 2,000 counselors and other nonprofit professionals are expected to attend the Training Institute. NeighborWorks is one of the largest funders of foreclosure-mitigation counseling in the nation, and is the administrator of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program.
Finally, the Federal Trade Commission today announced a new rule and several enforcement actions to protect vulnerable homeowners from mortgage rescue fraud. To view the FTC’s press release, visit http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/11/mars.shtm
More information about the Department of Justice’s Access to Justice Initiative can be found at: www.justice.gov/access .
Thursday 18 November 2010
Two Defendants Each Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two defendants were sentenced to prison today for their participation in an online child pornography conspiracy and for child pornography production charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett of the Southern District of Indiana, U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler of the District of Alaska, and U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag of the Northern District of California.
Charles Neyhart, 34, of Chugiak, Alaska, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for his role in the child pornography conspiracy and for charges of child pornography production. Richard Schweich, 40, of San Jose, Calif., was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his participation in the conspiracy and for producing child pornography. Each defendant also was sentenced to lifetime supervised release following their respective prison terms. Both defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William T. Lawrence in Indianapolis.
Neyhart pleaded guilty on April 7, 2010, to one count of conspiracy to advertise child pornography, one count of conspiracy to distribute child pornography, 13 counts of advertising child pornography and two counts of distributing child pornography. Neyhart also pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with three counts of producing child pornography between February and June 2009. According to the criminal information filed in the District of Alaska, Neyhart produced sexually explicit photographs of a 10 year-old girl in West Virginia and transported the photographs to his home in Alaska,.
On June 15, 2010, Schweich pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to advertise child pornography, one count of conspiracy to distribute child pornography, 13 counts of advertising child pornography and two counts of distributing child pornography in conjunction with the child pornography conspiracy. Schweich also pleaded guilty to a criminal information filed in the Northern District of California, charging him with one count of producing child pornography. According to the criminal information, Schweich produced sexually explicit photographs of an 11 year-old girl in January 2008.
The charges against Neyhart, Schweich and 24 co-defendants are a result of “Operation Nest Egg,” an ongoing and joint investigation led by the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Operation Nest Egg, launched in February 2008, targeted 26 defendants charged in the Southern District of Indiana, as well as approximately 500 additional individuals located throughout the world for their involvement in an online group dedicated to trading images of child pornography.
According to court documents filed in the Southern District of Indiana, the 26 co-conspirators participated in a sophisticated, password-protected Internet bulletin board group, which existed to allow members to meet like-minded individuals with a sexualized interest in children, to discuss that interest and to trade images of child pornography. The defendants are charged with conspiring to advertise and distribute child pornography, along with substantive counts of advertising and distributing child pornography. Twenty-two of the 26 defendants charged in the conspiracy have been arrested and 20 of the 22 individuals arrested have been convicted or have pleaded guilty. Seventeen defendants have been sentenced to prison on previous dates.
Four of the 26 individuals charged in the conspiracy remain at large and are known only by their online identities. Efforts to identify and apprehend these four individuals continue.
To date, as a result of Operation Nest Egg, more than 80 searches have been conducted in the United States. In total, more than 50 individuals have been arrested and 43 individuals have been convicted. The investigation is ongoing. Numerous members of the Internet-based bulletin board were found to have been personally sexually abusing children and to date, 16 child victims have been identified through Operation Nest Egg. For example, the 10 year-old child depicted in the sexually explicit photographs recovered from Charles Neyhart’s home was identified through an extensive investigation conducted by ICE, the Anchorage Police Department, the Alaska State Troopers and the West Virginia State Police. An extensive investigation conducted by USPIS and the San Jose Police Department led to the identification of the 11 year-old girl depicted in the sexually explicit photographs produced by Richard Schweich.
Additionally, lead administrator Delwyn Savigar of the United Kingdom, was identified and arrested in partnership with the U.K.’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, for his involvement in the conspiracy. After his initial arrest, Savigar was identified through DNA testing as the perpetrator of a previously unsolved sexual assault against a minor female in Great Britain, to which he pleaded guilty. Following this discovery, Savigar was linked to additional incidents of sexual assaults. Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to either abusing or attempting to abuse three minors from 1999 to 2002. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the United Kingdom.
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 Steven D. DeBrota of the Southern District of Indiana, Assistant U.S. Attorney Audrey J. Renschen of the District of Alaska, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hanley Chew of the Northern District of California and CEOS Trial Attorney Alecia Riewerts Wolak. The investigation was conducted jointly by CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit, USPIS and ICE, with assistance provided by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce, Indiana State Police, the Anchorage Police Department, the Alaska State Troopers, the West Virginia State Police, the San Jose Police Department and numerous local and international law enforcement agencies across the United States and Europe.
Operator of Miami HIV Clinic Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Role in Medicare Fraud RingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jose Garcia, 55, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Miami to 57 months in prison for his participation in a Medicare fraud scheme involving a Miami-area HIV clinic, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan also ordered Garcia to serve three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay, jointly and severally with his co-conspirators, restitution of $7,992,391.
Garcia was indicted in 2008 and was a fugitive for nearly two years before surrendering to FBI agents in May 2010. Garcia pleaded guilty in August 2010 to one count of conspiracy to cause the submission of false claims to the Medicare program and to pay health care kickbacks; and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
According to court documents, Garcia operated Global Med-Care Corp. Inc., a medical clinic in Miami that purported to specialize in treating patients with HIV. Garcia, his co-defendant Nayda Freire and others caused Global Med-Care to submit claims to the Medicare program for expensive HIV medication that was medically unnecessary or never provided. In return for a share of Global Med-Care’s profits, Garcia and Freire agreed with their co-conspirators to oversee the staff necessary to operate Global Med-Care; the Medicare patients whom Global billed to the Medicare program; and the transportation for the patients. Garcia admitted he knew that Global Med-Care would need to pay kickbacks to its patients and that Global Med-Care could bill Medicare for HIV infusion services three times a week, for up to three months, for each patient. Garcia also admitted that from April 2003 through August 2003, Global Med-Care submitted approximately $10.9 million in claims to the Medicare program for HIV infusion services that were never provided and/or medically unnecessary.
Freire pleaded guilty in August 2008 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, and was sentenced by Judge Jordan on Nov. 12, 2008, to 30 months in prison.
Freire admitted that after payments from Medicare were made into the bank accounts of Global Med-Care, she and others transferred approximately $6 million of the fraud proceeds to sham management, marketing and investment companies owned and operated by co-conspirators Carlos, Luis and Jose Benitez. Carlos, Luis and Jose Benitez and Thomas McKenzie were charged separately with health care fraud and other related crimes in an indictment unsealed on June 11, 2008. According to the separate indictment, these co-conspirators allegedly provided the money and staff necessary to open Global Med-Care; the Medicare patients whom the clinic would bill to the Medicare program; and transportation for the HIV patients who visited the clinic. That indictment also alleges that Carlos and Luis Benitez were the true owners of Global Med-Care.
The three Benitez brothers and McKenzie were charged with participating in the commission of approximately $109 million in HIV infusion fraud and money laundering through Global Med-Care and 10 other HIV infusion clinics. On Sept. 18, 2008, McKenzie pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of submitting false claims to the Medicare program, and also admitted his role in a $119 million HIV infusion fraud scheme. McKenzie was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold on Dec. 18, 2008, to 14 years in prison in connection with his role in the HIV infusion Medicare fraud scheme. In addition to the prison sentence, McKenzie was ordered to pay $84 million in restitution to the Medicare program. The Benitez brothers remain fugitives. An indictment is merely an accusation and the Benitez brothers remain innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Today’s sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Miami field office; and Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Dennis of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Hank Bond Walther and Trial Attorney N. Nathan Dimock of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG. The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
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 approximately $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 .
Operador de clínica de VIH de Miami fue sentenciado a 57 meses en prisiónpor su papel en una red de fraude contra MedicareRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – José García, 55, fue sentenciado hoy en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Miami a 57 meses en prisión por su participación en un ardid de fraude contra Medicare asociado a una clínica para el VIH en el área de Miami, anunciaron los Departamento de Justicia y de Salud y Servicios Humanos [Health and Human Services (HHS)].
El Juez Federal de Distrito Adalberto Jordàn también ordenó a García cumplir con tres años de libertad bajo supervisión y a pagar, en forma individual y mancomunadamente con sus coconspiradores, una restitución de $7,992,391 dólares.
García fue acusado formalmente en 2008 y estuvo fugitivo por casi dos años antes de entregarse a agentes del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)] en mayo de 2010. García se declaró culpable en agosto de 2010 a un cargo de conspiración para causar la presentación de reclamos falsos al programa Medicare y pagar comisiones ilícitas asociadas a los servicios médicos; y un cargo de conspiración para cometer fraude de servicios médicos.
De acuerdo con el expediente judicial, García administraba la empresa Global Med-Care Corp. Inc., una clínica médica en Miami supuestamente especializada en el tratamiento de pacientes con VIH. García, su codemandada Nayda Freire y otros causaron la presentación por Global Med-Care de reclamos falsos al programa Medicare por medicamentos costosos para el VIH que eran médicamente innecesarios o nunca fueron provistos. A cambio por una participación en las ganancias de Global Med-Care, García y Freire acordaron con sus coconspiradores supervisar al personal necesario para las operaciones de Global Med-Care, pacientes de Medicare facturados al programa Medicare por Global y el transporte de los pacientes. García admitió que sabía que Global Med-Care debería pagar comisiones ilícitas a sus pacientes y que Global Med-Care podría facturarle a Medicare por servicios de infusión para el VIH tres veces a la semana, por hasta tres meses, por cada paciente. García también admitió que entre abril de 2003 y agosto de 2003, Global Med-Care presentó aproximadamente $10.9 millones de dólares en reclamos al programa Medicare por servicios de infusión para VIH que nunca fueron provistos y/o eran médicamente innecesarios.
Freire se declaró culpable en agosto de 2008 de un cargo de conspiración para defraudar al programa Medicare, y fue sentenciada por el Juez Jordan el 12 de noviembre de 2008 a 30 meses en prisión.
Freire admitió que, después de que se realizaron pagos de Medicare a las cuentas bancarias de Global Med-Care, ella y otros transfirieron $6 millones de dólares del producto del fraude a empresas de administración, mercadeo e inversión falsas pertenecientes a y operadas por los coconspiradores Carlos, Luís y José Benítez. Carlos, Luis y José Benítez y Thomas McKenzie fueron acusados separadamente de fraude de servicios médicos y otros delitos relacionados en una acusación formal relevante el 11 de junio de 2008. De acuerdo con la acusación formal separada, se alega que estos coconspiradores proporcionaron el dinero y el personal necesario para abrir Global Med-Care; los pacientes de Medicare por los que las clínicas facturarían al programa Medicare y transporte para los pacientes con VIH que visitaban la clínica. Dicha acusación formal también alega que Carlos y Luis Benítez eran los verdaderos propietarios de Global Med-Care.
Los tres hermanos Benítez y McKenzie fueron acusados de participar en un fraude de infusión para el VIH y lavado de dinero de aproximadamente $109 millones de dólares a través de Global Med-Care y 10 otras clínicas de infusión del VIH. El 18 de septiembre de 2008, McKenzie se declaró culpable de un cargo de conspiración para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y un cargo de presentación de reclamos falsos al programa Medicare, y admitió su papel en un ardid de fraude de infusión para el VIH de $119 millones de dólares. McKenzie fue sentenciado por el Juez Federal de Distrito Alan S. Gold el 18 de diciembre de 2008, a 14 años en prisión en conexión con su papel en el ardid de fraude contra Medicare asociado a infusiones para el VIH. Además de la sentencia en prisión, se le ordenó a McKenzie pagar $84 millones de dólares en restitución al programa Medicare. Los hermanos Benítez se encuentran fugitivos. Una acusación formal es apenas una acusación y los hermanos Benítez son considerados inocentes hasta que se pruebe lo contrario en un tribunal de justicia.
La sentencia de hoy fue anunciada por el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal; el Fiscal Federal Wifredo A. Ferrer del Distrito Sur de Florida; John V. Gillies, Agente Especial a Cargo de la Oficina Local de Miami del FBI; y el Agente Especial a Cargo Christopher Dennis de la Oficina de Investigaciones de Miami de la Oficina del Inspector General [Office of the Inspector General (OIG)] del HHS.
El caso fue enjuiciado por el Jefe Adjunto Hank Bond Walther y el Abogado Litigante N. Nathan Dimock de la Sección de Fraude de la División Criminal, y fue investigado por el Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)] y la Oficina del Inspector General del HHS (HHS-OIG). La demanda fue entablada como parte de la Fuerza de Ataque al Fraude contra Medicare, supervisada por la Sección de Fraude de la División Criminal y la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Sur de Florida.
Desde su creación en marzo de 2007, las operaciones de las Fuerzas de Ataque en siete distritos obtuvieron las acusaciones formales de más de 825 individuos que, en conjunto, facturaron de manera fraudulenta al programa Medicare aproximadamente $2 billones de dólares. Además, los Centros para Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid del HHS, trabajando en conjunto con la HHS-OIG, están tomando medidas para aumentar la responsabilización y reducir la presencia de proveedores fraudulentos.
Para obtener màs información sobre el Equipo de Acción, Prevención y Control de Fraude de Servicios Médicos [Healthcare Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
New Jersey Man Convicted on Tax ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Following a jury trial that began on Nov. 9, 2010, a federal jury in Trenton, N.J., convicted James and Theresa Demuro, of Bridgewater, NJ, of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and twenty-one counts of failure to pay over employment taxes, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to the indictment and evidence introduced during trial, James and Theresa Demuro co-owned and operated an engineering and surveying firm called TAD Associates LLC, dba DeMuro Associates. From 2002 through 2008, the Demuros withheld employment taxes from their employees’ paychecks but failed to pay more than $546,247 of those withholdings to the IRS. In addition, the Demuros operated under a prior entity name, DA Resources Inc., which they ceased operating in an effort to thwart the ability of the IRS to collect unpaid employment taxes related to that entity.
At trial, the government introduced evidence that beginning with the first quarter of 2007 through the last quarter in 2008, the defendants paid employees’ wages and withheld employment taxes from their paychecks but did not pay over any of the employee withholdings to the IRS. In addition, the Demuros withheld funds from their employees’ pay checks for health insurance, child support, and retirement savings accounts, and failed to pay these funds over to the appropriate entities.
Evidence was also introduced that the Demuros used the withholdings for their business and personal use, including more than $280,000 in purchases from QVC, Home Shopping Network and Jewelry Television.
U.S. District Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. scheduled sentencing for Feb. 21, 2010. James and Theresa Demuro face a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conviction.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Justice Department’s Tax Division commended the IRS Criminal Investigation special agents who investigated the case as well as Tax Division trial attorneys Tino M. Lisella and Jessica L. Nuzzelillo who prosecuted the case. Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco also thanked United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman and his entire office for their assistance.
Justice Department Announces Settlement of Litigation with AMC Entertainment Inc.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today announced a settlement agreement with AMC Entertainment Inc. to resolve a lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The suit challenged, among other things, the design of stadium-style movie theaters that fail to provide persons who use wheelchairs with comparable lines of sight to those of other moviegoers. AMC is the second largest movie theater chain in the country with about 5,300 screens.
"Going to the movies is an archetypal American leisure activity," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "We are pleased that AMC is taking steps to provide persons who use wheelchairs with access to the enhanced viewing experience of stadium-style theaters."
Today’s settlement agreement will improve the movie-going experience for people who use wheelchairs and their companions at AMC stadium-style theaters nationwide. All stadium-style theaters opened by AMC after entry of the decree will be constructed in accordance with design requirements that place accessible seating near the middle of the auditorium. During the course of the lawsuit, AMC, with the approval of the Department of Justice, made changes to its stadium theater design template that provided full accessibility to its newly constructed theaters. Additionally, at nearly 250 existing stadium-style theaters across the country, AMC has agreed to make sure that a specified percentage of auditoriums provide wheelchair spaces and companion seating in the stadium section. AMC also will move wheelchair seating from the front row to locations further back from the screen and otherwise ensure that movie patrons who use wheelchairs enjoy an unobstructed view of the screen. Additionally, stadium-style theaters acquired by AMC during the five-year term of the order also will be required to provide enhanced lines of sight and improved accessibility for patrons who use wheelchairs.
Stadium-style theaters offer superior lines of sight and a superlative movie-going experience. However, in early stadium theater designs, accessible seating wasoften located at or near the very front of the auditoriums. Today’s agreement will afford movie patrons who use wheelchairs and their companions the opportunity to enjoy the same product as other moviegoers.
The Justice Department filed suit to enforce the ADA in January 1999 in federal court in Los Angeles. The suit was based upon private complaints filed with the Justice Department and its own investigation. Today’s settlement agreement has been submitted to the federal district court in the Central District of California and is subject to the review and approval by Judge S. James Otero.
People interested in finding out more about the ADA can call the Justice Department’s toll-free Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access the ADA homepage at: www.ada.gov
California UBS Client Charged with Hiding Assets in Secret Swiss Bank AccountRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jeffrey Chatfield of San Diego pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nita Stormes to a criminal information charging him with filing a false tax return related to a Swiss bank account that he maintained at UBS, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
The guilty plea is subject to final acceptance by U.S. District Judge Michael M. Anello. Sentencing has been set for Feb. 7, 2011. Chatfield remains free on bail pending sentencing, where he faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Chatfield pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return for 2003 in which he failed to report that he had an interest in or a signature authority over a Swiss financial account at UBS. He also failed to report income earned on this UBS Swiss bank account. In or about 2000, with the assistance of a UBS banker, Chatfield opened a bank account at UBS Bahamas Ltd., in the name of nominee entity Alder West. Chatfield deposited into the account approximately $900,000 in untaxed securities and cash that he received in 2000 from his consulting work, which included advising private companies seeking to go public.
In August 2002, Chatfield closed the Alder West account and with the assistance of his UBS banker and others, formed Iberia West Ltd., a Bahamian nominee entity. Chatfield then opened a new Swiss account at UBS in the name of Iberia West and transferred into that account securities and cash previously held at UBS Bahamas Ltd. In August 2004, Chatfield closed his Iberia West account and transferred all remaining assets to an account at another large global Swiss bank headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, also held in the name of the nominee entity Iberia West. In 2008, this other Swiss bank told Chatfield that it was closing all accounts held by U.S. taxpayers. Chatfield closed this account in 2008.
Chatfield admitted to filing false tax returns from 2000 to 2008 that concealed his interest in these various offshore accounts and failing to report any income earned from these accounts. Chatfield also admitted that he never filed any reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts
(FBARs) disclosing his interest in any offshore financial accounts. As part of his plea agreement, Chatfield agreed to pay a 50 percent penalty for the one year with the highest balance in his Swiss UBS account in order to resolve his civil liability for failing to file FBARs, Forms TD F 90-22.1.
"This is part of a continuing effort by the IRS and Justice Department to combat international tax evasion," said IRS Deputy Commissioner Steven T. Miller. "These actions send a clear, unmistakable message to anyone who tries to use international borders to evade federal taxes."
In February 2009, UBS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement under which the bank admitted to helping U.S. taxpayers hide accounts from the IRS. As part of their agreement, UBS provided the United States government with the identities of, and account information for, certain U.S. customers of UBS’s cross-border business, including Chatfield.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Laura E. Duffy commended the investigative efforts of the IRS Criminal Investigation agents who investigated the case and Tax Division trial attorney Timothy J. Stockwell and Assistant U.S. Attorney Yesmin Saide, who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Attorney General Issues Memoranda to Improve Use of DNA EvidenceRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder issued two memoranda today – on the collection of DNA evidence and the use of DNA waivers when defendants plead guilty – to ensure the Department of Justice uses DNA evidence to the greatest extent possible to convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent.
The memorandum on sample collection provides guidance concerning the requirements and procedures for DNA sample collection, the treatment of cases in which DNA has not been collected from a defendant prior to his appearance in court, and the status of and response to litigative challenges to DNA sample collection. It notes that the regular collection of DNA samples from federal arrestees must be a priority, as DNA provides a powerful tool in the enforcement of federal and state criminal laws and the administration of justice.
The memorandum on the use of DNA waivers establishes as general department policy that prosecutors will not require as part of plea agreements that defendants waive their rights to testing under the Innocence Protection Act. Under exceptional circumstances, prosecutors may obtain such waivers.
"DNA evidence is one of the most powerful tools available to the criminal justice system, and these new steps will ensure the department can use DNA to the greatest extent possible to solve crimes and ensure the guilty are convicted," Attorney General Holder said. "Improving both the collection and the use of DNA evidence will help law enforcement and prosecutors keep communities safe."
Congress enacted the Innocence Protection Act in 2004 to allow convicted individuals access to DNA testing if they met certain conditions such as the possibility that testing could produce new material evidence that would raise a reasonable probability that the individual did not commit the offense. Among other restrictions, it limits new testing to evidence that was not previously tested and generally requires it to be done within 36 months of conviction.
Federal law since 2004 has also required the collection of DNA samples from most persons convicted of federal crimes, and regulations implemented by the department in January, 2009 extended DNA collection to include arrestees and defendants in federal jurisdiction.
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Viktor Bout extraditado a los Estados Unidos para ser enjuiciado por cargos de terrorismoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Después de más de dos años de procesos judiciales, el supuesto traficante internacional de armas Viktor Bout ha sido extraditado al Distrito Sur de Nueva York de Tailandia para ser enjuiciado por cargos de terrorismo, anunció hoy el Departamento de Justicia.
Bout llegó esta noche en un avión fletado de la Administración de Control de Drogas [Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)] y fue llevado a una prisión de alta seguridad en Manhattan, donde quedará detenido a la espera de su enjuiciamiento. Bout, también conocido por otros nombres, incluidos "Boris," "Víctor Anatoliyevich Bout," "Víctor But," "Viktor Budd," "Viktor Butt," "Viktor Bulakin," y "Vadim Markovich Aminov," deberá presentarse en el tribunal federal de Manhattan mañana a la tarde ante la Juez Federal de Distrito Shira A. Scheindlin, a quien se le ha asignado el caso.
"Viktor Bout ha sido acusado formalmente en los Estados Unidos; sin embargo, su supuesta actividad de tráfico de armas y apoyo a conflictos armados en África ha sido causa de inquietud en todo el mundo. Su extradición es una victoria para los Principios de la Ley mundial", dijo el Secretario de Justicia de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder. "Considerado hace mucho tiempo uno de los traficantes de armas más prolíficos, el Sr. Bout comparecerá ante el tribunal federal en Manhattan para responder por los cargos de conspiración para vender millones de dólares en armas a una organización terrorista para ser usadas para matar a ciudadanos estadounidenses".
El Fiscal Federal de Manhattan Preet Bharara dijo, "Viktor Bout supuestamente aprovechó la oportunidad de armar a narcoterroristas con la intención de matar a ciudadanos estadounidenses con un arsenal de armas de tipo militar. La extradición exitosa de hoy destaca nuestro compromiso de proteger a nuestros ciudadanos en nuestra propia tierra y en todo el mundo. La operación histórica que culminó en la extradición de hoy no hubiera sido posible sin el trabajo valiente e innovador de nuestros asociados de la DEA".
"Con Viktor Bout detrás de las rejas en los Estados Unidos, este demandado finalmente enfrentará la consecuencia que más temía: será responsabilizado por sus supuestos delitos en un tribunal de derecho", dijo Michele M. Leonhart, Administradora Interina de la DEA. "Se alega que durante más de una década el Sr. Bout realizó un comercio mortífero de misiles de superficie a aire, minas terrestres, balas, muerte y destrucción. Afortunadamente, con su arresto, extradición y su enjuiciamiento pendiente en el Distrito Sur de Nueva York, su último supuesto intento de realizar negocios con la muerte significa que finalmente enfrentará la justicia".
De acuerdo con la acusación formal y los demás documentos judiciales:
Hasta su arresto en marzo de 2008, Bout era un supuesto traficante internacional de armas. Para llevar a cabo su negocio de tráfico de armas, Bout creó una flota de aviones de carga capaces de transportar armas y equipos militares a diversas partes del mundo, incluidos África, América del Sur y el Medio Oriente. En 2004, como resultado de sus actividades de tráfico de armas en Liberia, la Oficina de Control de Activos [Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)] del Departamento del Tesoro, colocó a Bout en la lista de Ciudadanos Especialmente Designados, la cual prohíbe toda transacción entre Bout y cualquier ciudadano estadounidense, y congela todos los activos de Bout dentro de la jurisdicción de los Estados Unidos.
Entre noviembre de 2007 y marzo de 2008, Bout aceptó vender a la organización narcoterrorista colombiana, las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) millones de dólares en armas -- incluidos sistemas de misiles de superficie a aire [surface-to-air missile systems (SAMs)], lanzadores de cohetes perforadores, armas de fuego AK-47, millones de municiones, repuestos rusos para rifles, minas terrestres antipersonal, explosivos plásticos C-4, equipos de visión nocturna, aviones "ultraleves" que podían ser equipados con lanzadores de granadas y misiles, y vehículos aéreos sin tripulación.
Las FARC se dedican al derrocamiento violento del gobierno democráticamente electo de Colombia y es, también, el mayor proveedor de cocaína del mundo. Bout acordó vender las armas a dos fuentes confidenciales que trabajan para la DEA, quienes alegaron estar adquiriendo las armas para las FARC, con el entendimiento específico de que las armas serían utilizadas para atacar a helicópteros estadounidenses en Colombia.
Durante una reunión secretamente grabada en Tailandia el 6 de marzo de 2008, Bout informó a las fuentes confidenciales que haría arreglos para arrojar las armas a las FARC en Colombia desde un avión, y ofreció vender dos aviones de carga a las FARC que podrían usarse para entregas de armas. Asimismo, Bout proveyó un mapa de América del Sur y pidió a las fuentes confidenciales que le indicaran las ubicaciones de radar estadounidenses en Colombia.
Bout indicó que entendía que las fuentes confidenciales querían las armas para usarlas contra personal estadounidense en Colombia, y declaró que los Estados Unidos también eran su enemigo, indicando que la lucha de las FARC contra los Estados Unidos también era su batalla. Durante la reunión, Bout también ofreció proveer gente para capacitar a las FARC en el uso de las armas. Después de esta reunión, Bout fue arrestado por autoridades de las fuerzas del orden público tailandesas.
La acusación formal acusa a Bout de cuatro delitos de terrorismo distintos:
- Primer cargo: conspiración para matar a ciudadanos estadounidenses,
- Segundo cargo: conspiración para asesinar a autoridades o empleados estadounidenses;
- Tercer cargo: conspiración para adquirir y utilizar un misil antiaéreo; y
- Cuarto cargo: conspiración para proveer apoyo material o recursos a una organización terrorista extranjera designada.
Si se le condena por todos los cargos, Bout enfrenta una sentencia obligatoria mínima de 25 años en prisión y una máxima de prisión perpetua.
Esta investigación fue conducida por la DEA y su éxito es el resultado de la labor cooperativa de las fuerzas del orden público internacionales alrededor del mundo. Están a cargo del caso la Unidad de Terrorismo y Narcóticos Internacional del Distrito Sur de Nueva York. Los Fiscales Federales Auxiliares Anjan Sahni y Brendan R. McGuire están a cargo de la acusación. También brindaron asistencia significativa la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales y la División de Seguridad Nacional del Departamento de Justicia, así como el Departamento de Estado de EE.UU.
Los cargos enunciados en esta acusación formal son solo acusaciones y se supone que el demandado es inocente hasta que se pruebe lo contrario.
Viktor Bout Extradited to the United States to Stand Trial on Terrorism ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – After more than two years of legal proceedings, alleged international arms dealer Viktor Bout has been extradited to the Southern District of New York from Thailand to stand trial on terrorism charges, the Justice Department announced today.
Bout arrived this evening on a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) charter plane and was brought to a high-security prison in Manhattan, where he will be held pending trial. Bout, who also goes by many other names, including "Boris," "Victor Anatoliyevich Bout," "Victor But," "Viktor Budd," "Viktor Butt," "Viktor Bulakin," and "Vadim Markovich Aminov," is scheduled to be presented in Manhattan federal court tomorrow afternoon before U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, to whom the case has been assigned.
"Viktor Bout has been indicted in the United States, but his alleged arms trafficking activity and support of armed conflicts in Africa has been a cause of concern around the world. His extradition is a victory for the rule of law worldwide," Attorney General Eric Holder said. "Long considered one of the world’s most prolific arms traffickers, Mr. Bout will now appear in federal court in Manhattan to answer to charges of conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to a terrorist organization for use in trying to kill Americans."
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, "Viktor Bout allegedly jumped at the chance to arm narco-terrorists bent on killing Americans with an arsenal of military grade weapons. Today’s successful extradition underscores our commitment to protect Americans on our own soil and throughout the world. The historic operation culminating in today’s extradition would not have been possible without the courageous and groundbreaking work of our partners at the DEA."
"With Viktor Bout now behind bars in the United States, this defendant will finally face his most feared consequence: accountability for his alleged crimes in a court of law," said Michele M. Leonhart, Acting Administrator of the DEA. "For more than a decade, Mr. Bout is alleged to have plied a deadly trade in surface-to-air missiles, land mines, bullets, death and destruction. Fortunately, with his arrest, extradition, and pending prosecution in the Southern District of New York, his last alleged attempt to deal in death means that he will finally face justice."
According to the indictment and other court documents:
Until his arrest in March 2008, Bout was an alleged international weapons trafficker. To carry out his weapons trafficking business, Bout assembled a fleet of cargo airplanes capable of transporting weapons and military equipment to various parts of the world, including Africa, South America and the Middle East. In 2004, as a result of his weapons trafficking activities in Liberia, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed Bout on the Specially Designated Nationals list, which prohibits any transactions between Bout and any U.S. nationals, and freezes any of Bout’s assets that are within the jurisdiction of the United States.
Between November 2007 and March 2008, Bout agreed to sell to the Colombian narco-terrorist organization, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), millions of dollars worth of weapons -- including surface-to-air missile systems; armor piercing rocket launchers; AK-47 firearms; millions of rounds of ammunition; Russian spare parts for rifles; anti-personnel land mines; C-4 plastic explosives; night-vision equipment; "ultralight" aircraft that could be outfitted with grenade launchers and missiles; and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The FARC is dedicated to the violent overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Colombia and is also the world’s largest supplier of cocaine. Bout agreed to sell the weapons to two confidential sources working with the DEA (the "CSs"), who represented that they were acquiring these weapons for the FARC, with the specific understanding that the weapons were to be used to attack U.S. helicopters in Colombia.
During a covertly-recorded meeting in Thailand on March 6, 2008, Bout stated to the CSs that he could arrange to airdrop the arms to the FARC in Colombia, and offered to sell two cargo planes to the FARC that could be used for arms deliveries. Bout also provided a map of South America, and asked the CSs to show him American radar locations in Colombia.
Bout indicated that he understood that the CSs wanted the arms for use against American personnel in Colombia, and advised that the United States was also his enemy, stating that the FARC’s fight against the United States was also his fight. During the meeting, Bout also offered to provide people to train the FARC in the use of the arms. Following this meeting, Bout was arrested by Thai law enforcement authorities.
The indictment charges Bout with four separate terrorism offenses:
- Count one: conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals,
- Count two: conspiracy to kill U.S. officers or employees,
- Count three: conspiracy to acquire and use an anti-aircraft missile, and
- Count four: conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization
If convicted of all counts, Bout faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.
This investigation was conducted by the DEA and its success is the result of international law enforcement cooperation efforts spanning the globe. The case is being handled by the Southern District of New York’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anjan Sahni and Brendan R. McGuire are in charge of the prosecution. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and National Security Division, as well as the U.S. State Department, also provided substantial assistance.
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Statement of Matthew Miller, Director of Public Affairs, on the Conviction of Ahmed GhailaniRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – "We respect the jury’s verdict and are pleased that Ahmed Ghailani now faces a minimum of 20 years in prison and a potential life sentence for his role in the embassy bombings."
Pennsylvania Contractor Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The owner of a Langhorne, Penn., asbestos abatement company pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Justice announced today.
Andrzej Gosek pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to one count of a three-count indictment, originally filed under seal on Feb. 18, 2010. The indictment charges Gosek and David Porath, a former owner of a maintenance and insulation company, with participating in a conspiracy to defraud the IRS. This was the only count of the indictment in which Gosek was charged.
According to the indictment, between October 2000 and February 2005, Gosek conspired with Porath to defraud the IRS and to subscribe to false tax returns. Porath gave Gosek checks made out to companies in Brooklyn, N.Y., purportedly for work done at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) by the Brooklyn companies as sub-contractors to Porath’s company. However, the companies had not performed the work. The checks totaled approximately $229,100 in 2000; $1.19 million in 2001; $760,000 in 2002; $50,000 in 2003; and $125,000 in 2004.
The Brooklyn companies cashed the checks and Gosek delivered the cash back to Porath, less approximately five percent. Based upon these checks to the Brooklyn companies, Porath took false deductions on his company’s and his personal federal tax returns, allowing Porath to fraudulently reduce his taxable income. Count one of the indictment charges Porath with participating in a bid rigging conspiracy at NYPH and count three of the indictment charges Porath with filing a false federal tax return on or about Feb. 17, 2005, which substantially understated his income. Porath is currently under indictment and remains at large.
The tax fraud conspiracy violation that Gosek is charged with 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 victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine. Sentencing for Gosek is scheduled for March 18, 2011.
Including Gosek, nine individuals and three companies have pleaded guilty to charges arising out of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation of fraud, bribery, tax-related offenses and bidding irregularities relating to the award of contracts by the Engineering Department of NYPH. Nine others have been indicted and are awaiting trial.
The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office with the assistance of the FBI and the IRS 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 or the Engineering Department at NYPH or the Engineering Department at Mount Sinai should contact the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office at 212-264-9308 or the FBI’s New York Division at 212-384-1000 or visit http://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.
Michigan Software Salesman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Defraud the GovernmentRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Theodore R. Kramer pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States before U.S. District Court judge John Corbett O'Meara in Detroit, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The court set sentencing for March 15, 2011.
According to court documents, Kramer was a self-employed computer software salesman. Kramer sold a computer software program called Journal Sales Remover (JSR) to business, including two Detroit-area strip clubs. JSR's design was to remove a portion of a business's sales from the business's computerized books. JSR thus created the appearance that a business received less income than it actually did.
In 2001, the owner of two Detroit-area strip clubs requested that Kramer load the JSR program onto his clubs' computer systems so that the club owner could report less income to the IRS. From about 2001 to about 2004, Kramer periodically visited the clubs to run the JSR program to remove a substantial amount of the clubs' sales from their computers. The club owner then provided the reduced sales figures to his accountant. With Kramer's assistance, the club owner understated his clubs' gross receipts by more than $500,000.
Kramer faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice, Tax Division, and Barbara L. McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, commended the IRS Special Agents who investigated the case and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Kenneth C. Vert and Tiwana L. Wright, who are prosecuting the case.
Miami Man Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison for Purchasing, Selling and Using Stolen Credit Card InformationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Juan Javier Cardenas of Miami was sentenced today in the Southern District of Florida to 121 months in prison for buying, trafficking and possessing stolen credit card information, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Michael K. Fithen of the U.S. Secret Service, Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Kenneth T. Jenkins Jr., of the U.S. Secret Service, Criminal Investigative Division.
U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore also ordered Cardenas to serve 3 years of supervised release following his prison term, pay restitution in the amount of $106,915, and pay a money judgment of $350,000.
At his plea hearing before Judge Moore on Sept. 1, 2010, Cardenas, 45, admitted that from February 2008 through May 2009, he purchased stolen credit card information from a co-conspirator using the Internet. Cardenas resold that information, also using the Internet, to others who used it to make fraudulent credit card purchases. On May 27, 2009, when U.S. Secret Service agents searched his house, Cardenas had 26,669 credit card numbers stored on his computer.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Osborne of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Joseph E. Springsteen of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.
Medical Assistant Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for His Role in a Fraudulent Home Health SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A medical assistant was sentenced today to 46 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced. Mohammed El-Fallal was also sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood in the Eastern District of Michigan to two years of supervised release following his prison term and was ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution.
El-Fallal, 56, pleaded guilty in June 2010 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. El-Fallal admitted that he was responsible for submitting or causing the submission of approximately $2.8 million in false or fraudulent claims to the Medicare program between July 2008 and April 2009. According to court documents, El-Fallal, an unlicensed physician, was approached in July 2008 by co-defendant Muhammad Shahab, the owner and/or operator of two home health agencies, Patient Choice Home Healthcare Inc. and All American Home Care Inc. Patient Choice and All American purported to provide home health services, including physical and occupational therapy services, to Medicare beneficiaries, which were then billed to Medicare.
To bill Medicare for home health services, a home health agency must have a physician’s order. El-Fallal admitted in court documents that he entered into an agreement with Shahab under which El-Fallal would sign physician’s orders for Patient Choice and All American using the identity of a licensed physician. El-Fallal worked as a medical assistant with the physician who was suffering from mental illness at the time. According to court documents, El-Fallal was paid approximately $100 by Shahab for therapy orders he signed as the licensed physician. By signing the orders using the physician’s identity, El-Fallal facilitated the ability of Patient Choice and All American to bill Medicare for home health visits that either were not done or were medically unnecessary.
According to court documents, El-Fallal, using the physician’s identity, signed orders that caused approximately $2,802,461 in home health claims by Patient Choice and All American.
Today’s sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the HHS Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Chicago Regional Office.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Chief John K. Neal and Trial Attorney Gejaa T. Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Since its inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 825 individuals and organizations that collectively have 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/.
Hombre de Miami fue sentenciado a 121 meses en prisión por comprar, vender y utilizar información de tarjetas de crédito robadaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Juan Javier Càrdenas de Miami fue sentenciado hoy en el Distrito Sur de Florida a 121 meses en prisión por comprar, traficar y poseer información robada de tarjetas de crédito, anunciaron el Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar Lanny A. Breuer de la División Criminal; el Fiscal Federal Wifredo A. Ferrer del Distrito Sur de Florida; el Agente Especial a Cargo Michael K. Fithen del Servicio Secreto de EE.UU., Oficina Local de Miami; y el Agente Especial a Cargo Kenneth T. Jenkins Jr., del Servicio Secreto de EE.UU., División de Investigaciones Criminales.
El Juez Federal de Distrito K. Michael Moore también ordenó que Càrdenas cumpliera 3 años de libertad bajo supervisión después de haber cumplido su sentencia en prisión, pagara una restitución de $106,915 dólares, y pagarà un fallo monetario de $350,000 dólares.
En su audiencia de declaración de culpabilidad ante el Juez Moore el 1º de septiembre de 2010, Càrdenas, 45, admitió que de febrero de 2008 a mayo de 2009, compró información robada de tarjetas de crédito de un coconspirador a través del Internet. Càrdenas revendió dicha información a terceros, también a través del Internet, y los terceros la utilizaron para realizar compras fraudulentas con las tarjetas de crédito. El 27 de mayo de 2009, cuando agentes del Servicio Secreto de EE.UU. allanaron su domicilio, Càrdenas tenía 26,669 números de tarjeta de crédito almacenados en su computadora.
Están a cargo de la acusación en el caso el Fiscal Federal Auxiliar Marc Osborne de la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito Sur de Florida y el Abogado Litigante Joseph E. Springsteen de la Sección de Delitos de Informática y Propiedad Intelectual de la División Criminal. El caso fue investigado por el Servicio Secreto de EE.UU.
Four Student Aid Lenders Settle False Claims Act Suit for Total of $57.75 MillionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Four student aid lenders have paid the United States a total of $57.75 million to resolve allegations that they improperly inflated their entitlement to certain interest rate subsidies from the U.S. Department of Education in violation of the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced today.
The settlements resolve allegations brought in a whistleblower action filed in the Eastern District of Virginia under the False Claims Act, which permits private citizens to bring lawsuits alleging violations of the Act on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower suit was filed by Dr. Jon Oberg, a former employee of the Department of Education, who alleged that several lenders participating in the federal student financial aid programs created billing systems that allowed them to receive improperly inflated interest rate subsidies from the Department of Education. The United States did not intervene in this action, which was litigated by the whistleblower, but it provided assistance at many stages of the case, including during the settlement process.
Nelnet Inc. and Nelnet Educational Loan Funding Inc. have paid $47 million to the United States. Southwest Student Services Corp. has paid $5 million. Brazos Higher Education Authority and Brazos Higher Education Service Corp. have paid $4 million. Panhandle Plains Higher Education Authority and Panhandle Plains Management and Servicing Corp. have paid $1.75 million. Dr. Oberg will receive a total of $16.65 million from these settlements.
"Collaboration between the federal government and citizens with knowledge of fraud is important to the successful enforcement of the False Claims Act," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. "Whistleblowers like Dr. Oberg are critical to our efforts to recover taxpayer money lost to waste, fraud, and abuse."
"The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to assisting ordinary citizens who blow the whistle on wrongdoing by companies that take taxpayer dollars," said Neil MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. "Through the efforts of one citizen and the government, these lenders will be paying millions back to the government."
This case was handled on behalf of the United States by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, with the assistance of the Department of Education Office of General Counsel.
Department of Justice Moves Forward on President’s Hiring Reform InitiativeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice joined representatives from across the federal government to mark the progress made in modernizing the federal workforce hiring process over the past six months. In May, President Obama issued a memorandum that directed federal agencies to modernize how they hire employees by directing agencies to reduce the time it takes to hire an applicant, to begin accepting resumes and to simplify the overall hiring process.
As part of meeting the requirements outlined in the President’s memo, the Department of Justice is providing managers and supervisors with new tools to help them in the hiring process, including online and classroom training for hiring managers. This will enable managers to be better equipped to hire quality candidates, the department said.
"The Department of Justice fully supports the President’s effort to streamline and improve the hiring process," said Mari Barr Santangelo, Chief Human Capital Officer and Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the department’s Justice Management Division. "Through a more efficient and user friendly hiring process, the Department of Justice will be better able to hire quality mission critical personnel such as those who carry out the department’s important law enforcement mission."
The Department of Justice has a wide variety of employment opportunities, including crime lab technicians, prison guards, law enforcement agents, attorneys, secretaries, statisticians and budget analysts.
"Department of Justice hiring managers have worked aggressively with human resources to streamline vacancy announcements across all components. The streamlined announcements are the foundation to improving the federal recruitment and hiring process," said Karin O’Leary, Budget Director of the Department of Justice. "Applicants must understand the process and the qualification requirements—it’s that simple. The new announcements provide an easy platform for our candidates to successfully compete for our positions."
Over the upcoming months, the department will continue to work with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget to implement reforms in the hiring process.
California Woman Sentenced to More Than Three Years in Prison for Human Trafficking ChargeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON– Fang Ping Ding was sentenced in federal court late yesterday to 37 months in prison for confiscating the passport, visa and other documents of a woman from the People’s Republic of China in order to maintain control over the victim and force her to work as an unpaid, live-in domestic servant. During the same hearing, Ding’s daughter, Wei Wei Liang, and her son-in-law, Bo Shen, were sentenced to home confinement and probationary sentences, respectively, on related immigration charges of harboring the victim, who entered and remained in the United States illegally, in their Fremont, Calif., home. The court also ordered that the defendants jointly pay the victim $83,866.61 and that Liang and Shen also forfeit $346,000 to the government.
The defendants pleaded guilty on Nov. 1, 2010. Ding admitted that she forced the victim to work without pay by physically abusing her, threatening to falsely report her to law enforcement and maintaining control of her visa and passport. Ding began recruiting the victim in China in December 2007, and eventually brought the victim to the United States in April 2008. All three defendants admitted to harboring the victim in their Fremont home until April 2009. The victim provided cooking, cleaning and child care services. Ding gave the victim’s identity documents to Liang, who kept the documents locked in a bedroom. Ding and Liang also admitted to telling the victim that she needed to remain inside the house because she was an illegal alien. The sentences were handed down by U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong in the Northern District of California.
"The defendants deprived the victim of her freedom through physical abuse and psychological intimidation for their own financial benefit," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Their conduct created a condition of modern-day slavery for the victim within the walls of their home. The Department of Justice is committed to vigorously prosecuting cases of human trafficking."
"By being forced to work without pay for more than a year, physically abused and having her visa and passport taken from her, the victim in this case was denied a basic constitutional right that American’s take for granted – freedom," said Melinda Haag, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. "Not since 1865, when the Thirteenth amendment to the Constitution was ratified, has slavery been tolerated in this country. My office will continue to work diligently to uphold the laws of the United States and ensure everyone’s rights are protected."
"No one should be forced to live in a world of isolation and servitude as this victim was, particularly in a country that prides itself on its freedoms," said Mark Wollman, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations. "It’s a sad reflection on human greed and heartlessness, that people believe they can engage in this kind of egregious exploitation with impunity. These sentences should send a message to those who traffic in human beings that ICE Homeland Security Investigations and its federal law enforcement partners are committed to protecting those who cannot protect themselves."
The U.S. Attorney filed charges in a superseding information against Ding, 62, Liang, 36, and Shen, 43, all of Fremont, on May 27, 2010. Ding was charged with and pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful conduct regarding documents in furtherance of forced labor. Liang and Shen were each charged with and pleaded guilty to one count of harboring an illegal alien for purposes of private financial gain.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Huang of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and Trial Attorney Karen Ruckert Lopez of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case with the assistance of legal assistant Jeanne Carstensen. This case was the result of a joint investigation between the FBI and ICE Homeland Security Investigations that arose from a referral by the Fremont Police Department in coordination with the San Jose Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force.
Combating human trafficking is a top priority of the Department of Justice. In each of the past two fiscal years, the Civil Rights Division, in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, has brought record numbers of human trafficking prosecutions. Anyone who suspects instances of human trafficking are encouraged to call the Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-3737-888. Anonymous calls are welcome.
Attorney General Holder Announces Establishment of Office of Tribal Justice as Separate Component Within the Department of JusticeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder today announced the establishment of the Office of Tribal Justice as a separate component within the organizational structure of the Department of Justice. The action underscores the department’s commitment to tribal issues, and is required by the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, which was signed into law by the president on July 29, 2010. The statute was adopted with the support of the department and the administration.
President Obama declared November 2010 National Native American Heritage Month.
“I am proud to say today we have formally established the Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ) as a component of the Justice Department,” said Attorney General Holder. “In the coming years, OTJ will play an important role in continuing the critical dialogue between the department and tribal governments on matters including public safety. The establishment of OTJ as a permanent component in the department has been a priority for me and this administration, and it is a critical step in our work to improve coordination and collaboration with tribal communities.”
The Office of Tribal Justice was originally established in 1995 as a unit within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General in response to tribal concerns. Since that time, the Office of Tribal Justice has served as the primary channel for tribes to communicate their concerns to the department, helped coordinate policy on Indian affairs both within the department and with other federal agencies, and sought to ensure that the department and its components work with tribes on a government-to-government basis.
The Office of Tribal Justice takes its place today as a standalone, permanent component within the department’s organizational structure, with internal managerial authority and an established reporting structure through the associate and deputy attorneys general. Over the course of the last 15 years, the Office of Tribal Justice has gained wide acceptance and support throughout the government and among Indian tribes. It is recognized by many as the expert within the federal government on a wide variety of legal issues affecting Indian country.
In addition to fulfilling its historical mission, the Office of Tribal Justice continues to play a key role in the department’s ongoing initiative to improve public safety in Indian country. In September, hundreds of American Indian and Alaska Native communities received almost $127 million to enhance law enforcement, bolster justice systems, prevent youth substance abuse, serve sexual assault and elder victims, and support other efforts to combat crime. These grants are the first under the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, a new effort combining 10 different Department of Justice grant programs into a single solicitation.
In January 2010, the deputy attorney general 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 Office of Tribal Justice continues to fulfill the department and administration’s commitment to a consultation and coordination policy that ensures effective communication with Indian tribes. The director of the office is the official designated to ensure departmental compliance with Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments. The office frequently engages in tribal consultations and related government-to-government communications with leaders from Indian tribes. This engagement has involved representatives from a variety of components including: U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives, the Office of Justice Programs, Office on Violence Against Women and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
The Office is currently staffed by a director, Tracy Toulou, two deputy directors and a special assistant, all of whom are serving on detail from other Department components, and its operating expenses are borne by those components. The president’s FY 2011 Budget Request includes additional staff and direct funding for the office. The department intends to consult with tribal leaders in the coming year on the functions and operation of the Office.
The Federal Register announcement, published today, can be found at: www.federalregister.gov/articles/2010/11/17/2010-28947/office-of-tribal-justice .
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Virginia Man Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison for Child Pornography ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Bedford, Va., man was sentenced today to 96 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy of the Western District of Virginia.
John Michael Carter, 42, pleaded guilty on Aug. 5, 2010, in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Virginia to one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
At the plea hearing, Carter admitted that he was a member of two online bulletin boards dedicated to the trading of child pornography. After he was identified by law enforcement authorities, Carter admitted to viewing child pornography on his computer, including still pictures and movies that featured young girls having sex with adult males. Forensic examination of Carter’s computer revealed the presence of files containing images of child pornography and search terms associated with child pornography websites.
Carter was identified through "Operation Joint Hammer," the U.S. component of an ongoing global enforcement operation targeting transnational rings of child pornographers. The operation has led to the arrest of more than 60 people in the United States involved in the trade of child pornography. Operation Joint Hammer was initiated through evidence developed by European law enforcement and shared with U.S. counterparts by Europol and Interpol. The European portion of this global enforcement effort, "Operation Koala," was launched after the discovery of the activities of several people in Europe who were abusing children and producing photographs of the abuse for commercial gain. Further investigation unveiled a number of online child pornography rings.
The 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.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Anitha S. Ibrahim of CEOS and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Healey of the Western District of Virginia. The investigation is being handled by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Former Humanitarian Workers Convicted for International Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Two former humanitarian aid workers were convicted today for defrauding the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) of $1.9 million, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia.
Morris B. Fahnbulleh, 40, and Joe O. Bondo, 39, both of Monrovia, Liberia, were each convicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, four counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud and four false claims counts. Fahnbulleh was also convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Bondo was also convicted of two counts of witness tampering. Fahnbulleh and Bondo have been in custody since their arrests in 2009. U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton scheduled sentencing for Feb. 3, 2011. At sentencing, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison.
“Rather than help their fellow citizens in need, these defendants sold food intended as aid and pocketed the proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “But their criminal scheme was uncovered, due in large part to the cooperation provided by World Vision, and today they have been held accountable. Fraud involving taxpayer funds, whether in the United States or abroad, will not go unpunished.”
“Corruption is a disease and this case has ramifications far beyond its dollar amount,” U.S. Attorney Machen said. “The work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice and USAID’s Office of Inspector General demonstrates the United States’ commitment to ensure that humanitarian aid worldwide is delivered to its intended recipients. Crimes like these leave behind thousands of victims and a legacy of cynicism and distrust. Today, hopefully we have redeemed some of that trust and sent a message that if you engage in this sort of corruption, you will be held accountable.”
After Liberia’s 14-year civil war, USAID awarded a grant in 2005, through Catholic Relief Services, to World Vision, an international non-profit Christian humanitarian foundation. The grant was a two-year humanitarian project in Liberia for community reconstruction projects. Under the agreement, Fahnbulleh and Bondo were assigned to supervise World Vision employees as they assisted Liberian communities with infrastructure projects, including road, latrine and water well construction. In return for their labor, USAID, through World Vision, was supposed to then distribute food to the residents of these communities.
However, in 2008, an internal audit conducted by World Vision revealed that up to 91 percent of the food never reached its intended beneficiaries. According to the trial evidence, the defendants sold the food and pocketed the proceeds; they then instructed World Vision employees to falsify the documents used to track food distributions. The defendants also directed USAID-salaried employees to perform work on their personal compounds and further concealed these activities from World Vision headquarters, Catholic Relief Services and USAID by intimidating the World Vision employees with threats of job loss and by paying some subordinates “hush money” to cement their silence and cooperation.
“USAID entrusted World Vision to carry out this important humanitarian assistance and unfortunately some of its employees violated that trust,” said Howard “Ike” Hendershot, USAID Assistant Inspector General for Investigations. “The convictions are an outstanding accomplishment for our office and an example of the positive relationship that we have with the Department of Justice.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Borchert of the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Liam Brennan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs assisted in the case. The investigation was conducted by USAID Office of the Inspector General. World Vision also provided assistance.
Former Executives from Two Japanese Airlines Indicted in Conspiracy to Fix Rates on Air Cargo ShipmentsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — An Atlanta grand jury returned an indictment today against a former executive of Japan Airlines International Co. Ltd. (JAL) and two former executives of Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd. for participating in a conspiracy to fix and coordinate components of rates for air cargo shipments to and from the United States, the Department of Justice announced today.
The indictment, returned today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, charges Takao Fukuchi, former president of JAL Cargo Sales, and Yoshio Kunugi and Naoshige Makino, both former senior executives for Nippon Cargo Airlines, with conspiring with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing and coordinating certain components of cargo rates charged to customers for international air shipments to and from the United States. Fukuchi and Kunugi are charged with entering into and participating in the conspiracy from at least as early as December 1999 until at least February 2006. Makino is charged with joining and participating in the conspiracy from at least as early as June 2001 until at least February 2006.
Air cargo carriers transport a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable commodities and consumer goods, on scheduled international flights.
According to the indictment, Fukuchi, Kunugi, Makino and co-conspirators participated in meetings, conversations and communications to discuss and fix certain components of cargo rates and coordinated the timing of changes to those rates. As part of the conspiracy, Fukuchi, Kunugi, Makino and co-conspirators implemented collusive cargo rates in accordance with the agreements reached, and accepted payments for shipments at collusive and noncompetitive rates.
Fukuchi, Kunugi and Makino are charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries 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.
A total of 19 airlines and 17 executives, including Fukuchi, Kunugi and Makino, 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 13 executives, including Fukuchi, Kunugi and Makino.
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 Atlanta Field Office, the FBI’s field offices in Washington and Atlanta, 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 visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm, or call the FBI’s Washington Field Office at 202-278-2000.
Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Jeffery Leon Ceaser, a resident of Montgomery, 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. The guilty plea took place in U.S. District Court in Montgomery.
According to charging documents, between March 2009 and September 2009, Ceaser conspired with others to defraud the United States by filing 158 false federal income tax returns. Ceaser fraudulently obtained names and social security numbers of individuals, and provided that information to a co-conspirator who filed the false tax returns without authorization from the individuals. The tax returns falsely claimed the first-time home buyer’s tax credit and fuel tax credits. The refunds from the false returns were deposited into bank accounts controlled by Ceaser and other co-conspirators. In total, the IRS disbursed $621,738 in false tax refunds.
No sentencing date has been scheduled. Ceaser faces a maximum of 25 years in prison.
The case was investigated by Special Agents of the IRS, Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Jason Poole and Michael Boteler of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at HYPERLINK " http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/ " www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Monday 15 November 2010
San Diego Woman Charged with Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to Al-ShabaabRead the Press Release
An indictment charging San Diego resident Nima Ali Yusuf, 24, with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to provide material support to al-Shabaab and making false statements to a government agency in a matter involving international terrorism, was unsealed today, Laura E. Duffy, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, announced.
With the assistance of Customs and Border Protection, special agents of the FBI arrested Yusuf on Nov. 12, 2010. On Nov. 15, 2010, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nita L. Stormes arraigned Yusuf on the indictment. Yusuf will be held without bail pending a detention hearing scheduled for Nov. 18, 2010.
According to U.S. Attorney Duffy, the arrest arises from an investigation by the San Diego Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The charge of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of making false statements to a government agency in a matter involving international terrorism carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
An indictment itself is not evidence that the defendants committed the crimes charged. The defendant is presumed innocent until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Rochester, New York, Contractor Convicted of Illegal Asbestos Removal and False Statements to OSHARead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -A jury in Rochester, N.Y., convicted Keith Gordon-Smith, and his Rochester-based asbestos abatement company, Gordon-Smith Contracting, Inc. (GSCI) of eight counts of knowing violations of the Clean Air Act asbestos work practice standards. The jury also convicted Gordon-Smith and GSCI of lying to hide the violations at a demolition site in Rochester.
“Gordon-Smith knowingly exposed workers and public areas to the toxic air pollutant asbestos,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “The verdict should send a strong message to those in the asbestos abatement industry. We have zero tolerance for violations of the Clean Air Act asbestos work practice standards.”
After a three-week trial, the jury convicted Gordon-Smith of two counts of causing GSCI workers to violate asbestos work practice standards at the west wing of the Genesee Hospital complex located in Rochester. The west wing was scheduled to be demolished in summer 2009. The first violations took place between January and May 2007, when Gordon-Smith ordered GSCI workers to tear out copper pipes, ceiling tiles and scrap metal from the west wing, a six-story structure that contained over 70,000 square feet of asbestos. Gordon-Smith had a contract with the site owner that provided him with 50 percent of the salvage value of all copper pipe and scrap metal. When the workers removed the pipes and scrap metal, they were repeatedly exposed to asbestos, described to the jurors as falling on them “like snow.” The workers were not wearing any protective clothing and would often wear the asbestos-contaminated clothing back to their homes after work.
The jury convicted Gordon-Smith and the company of making false statements to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspector who had received complaints from GSCI workers. The OSHA inspector visited the site three times in September and October 2007, and on each occasion Gordon-Smith lied and told her that GSCI workers had not removed any copper pipes or other materials from the west wing.
The jury also convicted Gordon-Smith and his company of causing GSCI workers to illegally remove and dispose of asbestos during the actual asbestos abatement at the west wing, from May 2007 until February 2009. Francis Rowe, a former project manager for GSCI, had been charged with one count of causing illegal asbestos removal and disposal from March 2008 until February 2009, and was acquitted of that charge.
“Exposure to asbestos can be fatal and the government will not tolerate illegal activity that puts the public at risk of cancer or other serious respiratory diseases,” said William V. Lometti, Special Agent-in-Charge for EPA Office of Criminal Enforcement in the New York region. “The message is clear that those who endanger human health and the environment will be vigorously prosecuted.”
During the illegal removal, the asbestos was allowed to flow from upper floors through drains and holes in containment. Large amounts of asbestos were left hidden in the west wing and were never disposed off-site at an EPA-approved site. Gordon-Smith was fired from the site in February 2009. A special agent from EPA Criminal Investigation Division inspected the west wing in April 2009 and shut the site down immediately. The building was subsequently abated properly by another contractor and demolished in September 2010.
Gordon-Smith and the company were also convicted of six counts of failing to provide required notice to EPA prior to commencing asbestos abatement projects at six different sites in the Rochester area, between 2005 and June 2008. The sites included the west wing of the Genesee Hospital Complex, Cobbles Elementary School in Penfield, Bloomfield Elementary School in East Bloomfield, the Al Sigl Center in Rochester, and the Hillside Children’s Center in Varick.
Asbestos work practice standards under the Clean Air Act require that all asbestos be removed from any structure where it may be disturbed, such as the areas of the west wing where GSCI workers were ordered to remove pipes contaminated with asbestos. While asbestos is removed during abatement, it must be wetted and kept adequately wet at all times and disposed of as soon as practical at an EPA-approved site.
Gordon-Smith faces criminal penalties of up to five years imprisonment for each count and as well as criminal fines up to $250,000 per count. GSCI faces a criminal fine of up to $500,000 per count.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York with the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. The case was investigated by the U.S. EPA Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General. Criminal investigators were assisted by OSHA and the New York Department of Labor Asbestos Control Bureau.
Any person who was, at some time, present in the west wing of the former Genesee Hospital during the time period Jan. 1, 2007, to present may have been exposed to the asbestos therein. Affected persons have the right to attend any public court proceedings. For more information, please refer to the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nyw or call 1-800-799-6033.
Justice Department Makes the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design Available to Online Viewers NationwideRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today made available online the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010 Standards or Standards). These standards were adopted as part of the revised regulations for Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The standards can be found at www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm.
When the standards go into effect on March 15, 2012, they will set minimum requirements – both scoping and technical – for new construction and alterations of the facilities of more than 80,000 state and local governments and over seven million businesses. Until the 2012 compliance date, entities have the option to use the revised standards to plan current and future projects so that their buildings and facilities are accessible to more than 54 million Americans with disabilities.
“To protect the right of people with disabilities to participate in everyday life with family, friends, and colleagues, we must ensure access to buildings and facilities,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. “This online version of the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design will enable architects, contractors, local government service providers, small business owners, disability rights advocates, and others to find in one place the information they need to provide that accessibility. Whether they search the standards on laptops, desktops or smart phones, in offices, in the field or at home, they can find answers to their questions quickly and efficiently.”
On July 26, 2010, the 20th anniversary of the ADA, President Obama announced newly revised ADA regulations. The final regulations were published in the Federal Register on Sept. 15, 2010. The 2010 Standards, which were adopted as part of the revised regulations, consist of regulatory text and the 2004 ADA Accessibility Guidelines, originally published in the Federal Register as 36 CFR part 1191, appendices B and D. To make it easier for readers to find the necessary requirements for their projects, the department assembled this online version that brings together the information in one easy-to-access location and enables viewers to search the text efficiently with their Internet browsers.
In addition to the official version of the 2010 Standards, the department has also posted on the website important guidance about the standards that is compiled from material in the Title II and Title III regulations. This guidance provides detailed information about the department’s adoption of the 2010 Standards, including changes to the standards, the reasoning behind those changes, and response to public comments received on these topics.
Title II of the ADA applies to state and local government entities and protects qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability in services, programs, and activities provided by state and local government entities.
Title III prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the activities of places of public accommodation (businesses that are generally open to the public and that fall into one of twelve categories listed in the ADA, such as restaurants, movie theaters, schools, day care facilities, recreational facilities and doctors’ offices) and requires newly constructed or altered places of public accommodation—as well as commercial facilities (privately owned, nonresidential facilities like factories, warehouses or office buildings)—to comply with the ADA Standards.
People interested in finding out more about the ADA or the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design can call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (Voice) or 800-514-0383 (TTY), or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov.
Former U.S. Air Force Airman Convicted of Second Degree Murder of Army Sergeant in GermanyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Rico Rodrigus Williams, 33, a former Air Force senior airman, was convicted today of second degree murder and witness tampering charges in connection with the death of Army Sergeant Juwan Johnson in Hohenecken, Germany, in 2005, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia and Brigadier General Kevin J. Jacobsen, Commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Following a 16-day trial in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a jury convicted Williams of one count of second degree murder and one count of witness tampering. Williams was acquitted of a second count of witness tampering. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman has not yet scheduled a sentencing date. The defendant faces up to life in prison.
According to the government’s evidence, Williams was the leader of a gang, the Gangster Disciples sect, in Ramstein, Germany. On July 3, 2005, Williams and others gathered in the small town of Hohenecken near the Ramstein Air Base, and killed 25-year-old Johnson in a gang initiation ceremony.
Evidence presented at trial showed that the defendant and others struck Johnson with their fists and kicked him. Johnson died the following day from blunt force trauma injuries, including hemorrhaging to the brain and heart.
According to evidence presented at trial, Williams later attempted to intimidate and made threats to another witness with the intent to hinder communication to law enforcement regarding Johnson’s death.
Williams is the sixth person to be convicted of charges in the investigation into Johnson’s death. Airman Nicholas Sims, Army Private Terrance Norman and Army Sergeant Rodney Howell were convicted in military court proceedings of involuntary manslaughter. Airman Jerome Jones was convicted in military court proceedings of conspiracy to commit assault, obstruction of justice, gang participation and other charges. Army Specialist Bobby Morissette was convicted in military court proceedings of gang participation and other charges.
“Today, a federal jury has held Rico Williams accountable for his role in the senseless and tragic death of Army Sergeant Johnson,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “Gang-related violence shatters the lives of far too many Americans, including those abroad. The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that criminals who participate in such heinous acts are punished for their crimes.”
“Rico Williams led the Gangster Disciples in a savage gang-initiation ritual that led to the beating death of Army Sergeant Johnson,” U.S. Attorney Machen stated. “These guilty verdicts make him the sixth person to be convicted in connection with his brutal beating death. We hope this conviction brings some measure of justice for Sergeant Johnson and his family.”
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Christine Duey of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Long-Doyle of the District of Columbia. The case was investigated by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Chesapeake Police Department.
Former Abramoff Colleague Kevin Ring Convicted of Conspiracy, Honest Services Fraud and Paying Gratuities Related to Illegal Lobbying SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Today a federal jury in Washington convicted Kevin A. Ring, a former lobbyist who worked with Jack A. Abramoff, on five counts related to a scheme to corrupt public officials by providing a stream of things of value, the Department of Justice announced.
The jury found Ring guilty on one count of conspiring to corrupt congressional and executive branch officials by providing things of value to them and their staff in order to induce or reward those who took official actions benefitting Ring and his clients. In addition, Ring was convicted of one count of paying a gratuity to a public official and three counts of honest services wire fraud for engaging in a scheme to deprive U.S. citizens of their right to the honest services of certain public officials. The jury acquitted Ring on three counts of honest services fraud. A previous federal jury failed to reach a verdict in the case and the court declared a mistrial.
“Through the talent and hard work of prosecutors from the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity and Fraud Sections, another member of ‘Team Abramoff’ has been held accountable for his actions. For years, this team of lobbyists schemed to corrupt public officials, and, because of their actions, Americans were denied the honest services of public servants,” said Mythili Raman, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division. “Through the continued vigilance of our prosecutors and our law enforcement partners, we are committed to bringing to justice those who seek to corrupt our democratic process.”
“The public trusts that government processes will be untainted by those who would seek to corrupt them,” said John G. Perren, Acting Assistant Director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “The FBI will vigorously investigate those who seek to disregard the laws that our country was built on and illegally influence those in office.”
“The Office of the Inspector General is committed to holding accountable those who engage in illegal conduct as part of schemes to corrupt public officials,” said Glenn A. Fine, Inspector General for the Department of Justice.According to evidence presented at trial, as a lobbyist working in Washington, Ring solicited and obtained business throughout the United States, including with Native American tribal governments operating and interested in operating gambling casinos. Trial testimony established that Ring sought to further his clients’ interests by lobbying public officials in the legislative and executive branches of the federal government.
Ring and his co-conspirators identified public officials who would perform official actions that would assist Ring and his clients, and then groomed those public officials by providing things of value with the intent of making those public officials more receptive to requests on behalf of their clients in the future. Evidence presented at trial showed that Ring and his co-conspirators provided things of value as a means of influencing, inducing and rewarding official actions, and in exchange for official actions. These things of value included all-expenses-paid travel, meals, drinks, golf outings, tickets to professional sporting events, concerts and other events, and an employment opportunity for the wife of a congressman. According to evidence introduced at trial, these things of value were often billed to Ring’s and Abramoff’s clients. Evidence established that Ring and his co-conspirators engaged in this illegal conduct with current and former congressional staff members, including chiefs of staff, as well as officials at the Department of Justice and the White House.
Evidence at trial demonstrated the nature of Ring’s lobbying efforts and his attempts to corrupt and reward public officials. In one e-mail message, Ring instructed his co-conspirators to “thank your friends on the Hill and in the Administration. In fact, thank them over and over again this week – preferably for long periods of time and at expensive establishments.” On another occasion, Ring described to a co-conspirator lobbyist what he expected of a public official who had attended a sporting event: “Glad he got a chance to relax. Now he can pay us back.” Similarly, Ring e-mailed a co-conspirator public official and stated: “You are going to eat free off our clients. Need to get us some [appropriations] money.” Testimony at trial from Ring’s co-conspirators described Ring joking about things of value he used to corrupt public officials by saying, “Hello quid, where’s the pro quo.”
Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Ring corruptly sought assistance from public officials on numerous client projects, such as appropriations and authorizations, congressional letters to executive branch entities, as well as meetings and other legislative and official actions. Evidence at trial showed that Ring’s corrupt actions resulted in his clients receiving, among other actions, $14 million in congressional transportation appropriations and an additional $7 million from the Department of Justice to build a jail.
Ring faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy, two years in prison for payment of a gratuity and 20 years in prison for each of the three counts of honest services wire fraud. Ring could also be ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000 on each count of conviction. U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle scheduled sentencing for Mar. 1, 2011, at 2 p.m.
Ring remains charged with an additional two counts of obstructing justice. Those charges stem from alleged efforts by Ring to thwart a grand jury and congressional investigation by preventing the reporting of his criminal conduct to federal authorities. The court severed those two counts and Ring is scheduled to stand trial at a later date. Ring is presumed innocent of these charges until proven guilty in a court of law.
To date, 20 individuals, including lobbyists and public officials, have pleaded guilty, been convicted at trial, or are awaiting trial in connection with the ongoing investigation into the activities of Abramoff and his associates. Abramoff pleaded guilty in January 2006 to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, honest services fraud and tax evasion. He was sentenced in September 2008 to 48 months in prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Nathaniel B. Edmonds of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Trial Attorney Peter Koski of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The investigation of this case is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.
Department of Justice and USDA Announce Registration for Competition Workshop in Washington, D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced additional details for the Dec. 8, 2010, public workshop in Washington, which will examine the issue of margins at various levels of the agricultural supply chain. The workshop will be held in the Jefferson Auditorium at USDA, which is accessible through a designated entrance on Independence Avenue between 12th and 14th Streets, S.W.
This is the fifth in a series of five workshops intended to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to competition and regulatory issues in agriculture. The first workshop was held in March in Ankeny, Iowa, with a focus on row crops and hogs. Held in Normal, Ala, in May, the second workshop addressed issues in the poultry industry. The third workshop focused on issues in the dairy industry and was held in Madison, Wis., in June. The fourth workshop, held in August in Fort Collins, Colo., looked at the livestock industry.
The workshops, which were first announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Aug. 5, 2009, are the first joint Department of Justice/USDA workshops ever to be held to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry.
Attendance at the workshops is free and open to the public. The general public and media interested in attending the Washington workshop on Dec. 8, 2010, should register at www.surveymonkey.com/s/marginsworkshop.
The workshop will begin with opening remarks from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division Christine Varney. The workshop will then move on to a series of panels discussing topics such as supply chain dynamics, issues in food retailing and margins in the beef, pork, poultry and dairy industries. Each panel will feature producers and industry representatives as well as academics with extensive research experience in the relevant field. Additionally, there will be two opportunities for public testimony from those attending the workshop.
Additional details on the schedule and panelists will be provided at a later date. For further information, including submitted public comments, transcripts and videos for past workshops, please visit the Antitrust Division’s agriculture workshop website at www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/index.htm or contact [email protected].
Companies to Pay More Than $6 Million for Natural Resource Damages from Buzzards Bay Oil SpillRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the state of Rhode Island announced today that Bouchard Transportation Co. Inc. and its affiliates will pay more than $6 million to settle a portion of the federal and state natural resource damages claims for the April 2003 spill of up to 98,000 gallons of oil into Buzzards Bay. The settlement announced today is in addition to damage assessment costs for federal and state governments of almost $1.6 million.
“Today’s settlement holds accountable those responsible for the spill that impacted 100 miles of New England coastline,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “This settlement will restore shoreline and aquatic habitats vital to commercial and recreational fisheries, enhance breeding grounds for shorebirds such as the federally-threatened piping plover, and improve opportunities for public recreational use.”
The U.S. Coast Guard first reported an oil spill on April 27, 2003. At that time, the tug Evening Tide was towing the unmanned tank barge Bouchard B. 120, which was carrying No. 6 fuel oil. The barge was in route from Philadelphia to the Mirant Power Generating Facility in Sandwich, Massachusetts.
The barge grounded on a shoal soon after entering the western approach to Buzzards Bay, rupturing its hull and allowing the release of the cargo. In the days and weeks following the grounding, winds and currents drove the spilled oil ashore, affecting approximately 100 miles of shoreline in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Cleanup of the oiled shoreline took months, including at Barney’s Joy and Hoppy’s Landing, where a heavy oil coated boulders and cobble.
Hundreds of loons, seaducks and other birds were killed as a result of the spill. The beaches, which function as breeding and forage habitats for shorebirds, such as piping plovers, were impacted by the spill. In addition, the oil spill adversely affected the public’s use of Buzzards Bay waters and the adjoining coastline, by causing the oiling and temporary closure of shellfishing beds throughout the bay and restricting boat and beach access.
Bouchard Transportation earlier reached a criminal plea agreement as a result of the spill, agreeing to a fine of $10 million. In the criminal matter, the company was charged with negligently piloting the Evening Tide resulting in the death of migratory birds in violation of the Federal Migratory Bird Act.
The natural resource trustees in this case include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the state of Rhode Island.
“The Bouchard oil spill in Buzzards Bay caused extensive damage to our shoreline, to wildlife in the area, and to Massachusetts businesses and citizens who rely on Buzzards Bay for their livelihoods and for recreation. This settlement, while not a substitute for prevention, will help to restore those precious resources,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
“I am pleased to join Attorney General Coakley and our federal partners in announcing this settlement, which will go a long way toward compensating the public for the environmental damage caused by the Bouchard oil spill,” said Ian Bowles, Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “As the commonwealth’s NRD trustee, and with the public’s input, I intend to make sure that these funds are put to the highest and best use to restore the vital wildlife habitat, and important aquatic resources and recreational areas of Buzzards Bay.”
“The state of Rhode Island is pleased that restoration work for the natural resources impacted by the 2003 oil spill into Buzzards Bay can now begin,” said Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Director W. Michael Sullivan.
The settlement will, once approved by the court, compensate the public for injuries to shoreline and aquatic resources, piping plovers and coastal recreational uses, such as beach access, shellfishing and boating that depend on the natural resources affected by the spill. The current settlement does not address injuries to terns, loons and other birds. The trustees continue to discuss these injuries with the responsible parties and also to pursue the recovery of additional damage assessment costs.
The federal and state trustees may use portions of the settlement funds, after public input, to restore salt marsh and river herring runs. In addition, the trustees may use some of the settlement funds to fund a potential project to stabilize a portion of shoreline of Ram Island, which is a state-owned wildlife sanctuary in Massachusetts and serves as critical nesting and fledgling habitat for roseate terns, a federally listed endangered species. The 2003 oil spill caused significant injury to the salt marsh on Ram Island.
“NOAA looks forward to continuing to fully participate with our co-trustees and the public to identify and implement successful restoration projects benefiting fishery resources and their habitats, as well as other restoration activities along the Massachusetts and Rhode Island coast,” said David Kennedy, Acting Assistant Administrator of NOAA’s National Ocean Service.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Regional Director Marvin Moriarty added, “We are pleased that a settlement has been reached. These funds will help increase summer breeding success for piping plovers and other shorebirds.”
The proposed consent decree outlining the settlement was lodged in court today and is available at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. It is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
Friday 12 November 2010
Three Men Charged in Albuquerque, N.M., with Federal Hate Crimes Related to Assault of Disabled Navajo ManRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal grand jury indicted three men in Albuquerque, N.M., on federal hate crime charges related to a racially-motivated assault of a 22-year-old man of Navajo descent who has a significant cognitive impairment.
Paul Beebe, 27, William Hatch, 29, and Jesse Sanford, 25, all of Farmington, N.M., have been charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that was enacted in October 2009. More specifically, the indictment alleges that the defendants branded the victim by heating a wire hanger on a stove and burning the victim’s flesh, causing a permanent swastika-shaped scar on his arm. It is alleged that as part of the plan and purpose of their conspiracy, the defendants further defaced the victim’s body with white supremacist and anti-Native American symbols, including shaving a swastika in the back of the victim’s head and using marker to write the words "KKK" and "White Power" within the lines of the swastika. The indictment also alleges that the defendants took advantage of the victim’s developmental disability to induce him to make a cell phone video in which he purportedly consents to the branding.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Albuquerque Division in cooperation with the Farmington Police Department and the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto D. Ortega for the District of New Mexico and Special Litigation Counsel Gerard Hogan and Trial Attorney Fara Gold of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Tennessee Man Sentenced for Illegally Accessing Former Governor Sarah Palin’s <br /> E-Mail Account and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – David C. Kernell, 23, today was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for intentionally accessing without authorization the e-mail account of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and obstruction of justice, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney William C. Killian for the Eastern District of Tennessee. U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Phillips also imposed a three-year term of supervised released. In imposing the prison sentence, Judge Phillips recommended service at Midway Sanction Center, but noted that the Bureau of Prisons would decide where Kernell would serve his sentence.
On April 30, 2010, after a week-long trial, a jury found Kernell guilty of one count of misdemeanor unauthorized access to obtain information from a computer and one count of obstruction of justice. The jury found Kernell not guilty of wire fraud. The jury could not reach a verdict on the identity theft charge and the judge declared a mistrial as to that charge.
According to evidence presented at trial, on Sept. 16, 2008, Kernell, a resident of Knoxville, Tenn., obtained unauthorized access to former Gov. Palin’s personal e-mail account by resetting the account password. Evidence showed that after answering a series of security questions that allowed him to reset the password and gain access to the e-mail account, Kernell read the contents of the account and made screenshots of the e-mail directory, e-mail content and other personal information. Kernell posted screenshots of the e-mails and other personal information to a public website. Kernell also posted the new e-mail account password that he had created, thus providing access to the account by others.
Evidence at trial showed that Kernell became aware on Sept. 16, 2008, after the illegal entry into the email account, of a possible FBI investigation. Evidence showed that Kernell began a series of deletions of records and documents with the intent to impede an anticipated FBI investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krotoski currently detailed to the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Weddle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee. CCIPS Trial Attorney Josh Goldfoot provided significant assistance. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Anchorage, Alaska, and Knoxville field offices.
Northern Virginia Business Owner Sentenced to Prison for Failing to Pay Employment TaxesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A northern Virginia business owner was sentenced today in federal court in Alexandria, Va., for failing to collect, account for and pay over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) more than $200,000 in withholdings from employees’ paychecks, the Justice Department and IRS announced today. U.S. District Court Judge Ellis sentenced Eric Jon Eisenhower, a resident of Fairfax Station, Va., to 19 months in prison and ordered him to pay $88,826.79 in restitution to the IRS.
According to court documents, Eisenhower was the president of CoManage Inc., a computer software development company. From December 2004 through June 2008, Eisenhower failed to pay over to the IRS CoManage’s employees’ withholdings for Social Security, Medicare and federal income taxes.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, commended the investigative efforts of the IRS agent involved in this case, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle and Tax Division Trial Attorney Caryn Finley, who prosecuted the case.
Justice Department Sues to Shut Down Alabama Tax Return PreparerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The United States has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Aurelia Sanderson Johnson of Montgomery, Ala., from preparing tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. In the civil injunction suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the United States alleges that Johnson, operating under the trade names "Johnson Tax Service" and "On-Time Tax Service" employed at least two schemes on returns she prepared for customers in order to obtain false or overstated refunds.
According to the complaint, Johnson has prepared at least 1,000 returns since 2006. Johnson allegedly prepared returns reporting fictitious information to inflate or generate false earned income tax credits. In addition, Johnson has allegedly prepared returns with fabricated business expense deductions on her customers’ returns leading to underreported income and bogus refunds.
The Internal Revenue Service has listed tax return preparer fraud as one of its "Dirty Dozen" tax scams for 2010. The Department of Justice has obtained injunctions against hundreds of tax-return preparers and tax-fraud promoters in the past 10 years. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.
Justice Department Settles Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Essex County, N.J.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with Essex County, N.J., that, will resolve the department’s lawsuit against Essex County for refusing to permit a corrections officer to wear a religiously-mandated headscarf.
The lawsuit, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges employment discrimination on the basis of religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.
The department’s complaint alleges that Essex County refused to permit Yvette Beshier to wear a khimar (religiously-mandated headscarf) while working as a corrections officer. According to the complaint, the Essex County Department of Corrections first suspended Beshier and then terminated her on the ground that her wearing a khimar violated its uniform policy for corrections officers. The complaint alleges that Beshier had requested a religious accommodation that would permit her to wear her khimar, but Essex County denied her request.
Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin and religion. The act’s religious discrimination provisions require employers to make reasonable accommodation for applicants’ and employees’ religious observances, practices and beliefs.
The settlement agreement obtained by the department requires Essex County to pay Beshier a monetary award of $25,000. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Essex County has adopted a religious accommodation policy and procedure and will provide employees with training regarding religious discrimination and accommodation.
"An individual should not have to choose between keeping a job and practicing their faith when accommodations can be reasonably made," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "We are pleased that Essex County has agreed to give fair consideration to its employees’ requests for reasonable accommodations."
"We are proud to partner with the Department of Justice in ensuring that the workplace is free of religious discrimination," said Jacqueline A. Berrien, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces Title VII. "As our country becomes more diverse, we must remain vigilant about protecting workers from bias in the workplace."
The Newark, N.J., area office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated and attempted to resolve Beshier’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 Civil Rights Division is committed to the vigorous enforcement of Title VII. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its websites at www.justice.gov/crt/ and www.justice.gov/crt/emp/.
Columbus, Ohio, Accountant Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Fraud and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – An Ohio accountant was sentenced to 11 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson in Columbus, Ohio, for conspiring to commit mortgage fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today.
According to court testimony and documents, Dennis G. Sartain of Hilliard, Ohio, was the accountant for convicted Columbus-area home builder, Thomas Parenteau. Sartain conspired with Parenteau to commit tax-fraud and money-laundering schemes through which the pair defrauded the IRS of more than $1 million and defrauded banks into lending more than $18 million to Parenteau and his nominees. A jury convicted Parenteau for his role in these crimes in July of this year after a two-month trial.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Watson ordered Sartain to pay restitution to the IRS and the defrauded banks in an amount to be determined and to forfeit to the U.S. government $120,000.
As part of the conspiracy to defraud the United States, Parenteau and Sartain prepared and filed with the IRS four false income tax returns for Parenteau’s mistress, Pamela A. McCarty. The false returns generated more than $850,000 in refunds from the IRS and state of Ohio that all went to Parenteau.
In additiona, Parenteau and Sartain, along with McCarty and Parenteau’s wife, Marsha K. Parenteau, committed a money-laundering conspiracy through which they obtained nearly $19 million in loans against a 27,000-square-foot home, by falsely representing income and submitting other false documents. They used the money to make more than $6 million in premium payments at $85,000 a month on four life insurance policies on the life of Thomas Parenteau’s father, who passed away on April 4, 2009. The government has moved for the forfeiture of the life insurance premiums and death benefits.
Finally, after learning of the IRS investigation into the tax, bank fraud and money laundering schemes, Thomas Parenteau, McCarty and Sartain engaged in a scheme to obstruct justice by concealing computers, creating false documents, destroying or altering evidence, tampering with a witness, and lying to federal and local investigators. Marsha K. Parenteau, and Pamela A. McCarty are scheduled to be sentenced for their respective roles in these schemes on Jan. 5, 2011. The sentencing for Thomas Parenteau is not yet scheduled.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, commended the IRS Criminal Investigation special agents who investigated the case, as well as Tax Division trial attorneys Richard Rolwing and Sean O’Connell, who prosecuted the case.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Virginia Contractor and Its President to Pay United States to Settle Allegations of Falsely Obtaining Hubzone ContractRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – CFP Group, located in McLean, Va., and its president, Roberto Clark, have agreed to pay the United States $150,000 to settle claims that they used false statements to obtain a contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Justice Department announced today. The United States alleged that CFP Group and Clark made false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain certification as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) company, and then used this certification to wrongfully obtain a Veterans Affairs contract for fire alarm installation.
Under the HUBZone program, companies that maintain their principal office in a designated HUBZone, and meet certain other requirements, can apply to the SBA for certification as a HUBZone small business company. HUBZone companies can then use this certification when bidding on government contracts. In certain cases, government agencies will restrict competition for a contract to HUBZone-certified companies.
The United States alleged that Roberto Clark submitted an application on behalf of CFP Group to the SBA to have it certified as a HUBZone company. On the application, Clark represented that CFP Group’s principal office was located in a designated HUBZone in Maryland. In fact, the United States alleged, no company employees worked at that location and Clark’s office was actually in Vienna, Va., which is not a designated HUBZone location. Based on the false application, the SBA certified CFP Group as a HUBZone small business company. CFP Group then used this certification to obtain a fire alarms systems contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which had been set aside for a qualified HUBZone company. The company is no longer participating in the HUBZone program and has relocated to McLean, Va.
"The HUBZone program is intended to benefit companies that create jobs in areas of high unemployment," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. "Participants in this program must act honestly and deal fairly and we will take action against those who don’t play by the rules."
"This case is one of a series that the Government has pursued for false claims made to obtain HUBZone and other set-aside contracts. The SBA Office of Inspector General will continue to aggressively pursue and seek criminal or civil fraud prosecution of false statements made to obtain preferential contracting and other government benefits," said SBA Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson.
"This case represents the cooperative effort of SBA’s Offices of the General Counsel and the Inspector General and the Department of Justice to uncover and remedy fraud in our procurement programs. Uncovering and pursuing fraud cases is one of SBA’s highest priorities," said SBA General Counsel Sara Lipscomb.
Assistant Attorney General West thanked the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the SBA Office of General Counsel, the SBA Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General for the collaboration that resulted in the settlement announced today.
U.S. Settles Lawsuits Against Hewlett-Packard and Intervenes Against its Business Partners for Violating FCC Competitive Bidding Rules in TexasRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The United States has settled two whistleblower lawsuits for $16.25 million alleging that Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) violated the competitive bidding rules of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-Rate Program at the Dallas and Houston Independent School Districts in connection with technology services contracts with those school districts. At the same time, the United States announced that it was intervening in those same lawsuits against HP’s former business partners, Micro Systems Engineering (MSE) and Analytical Computer Services (ACS), as well as against several individuals.
The E-Rate program, created by Congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, provides funding for needy schools and libraries to connect to and utilize the Internet. The E-Rate program is funded by monies collected from telephone users. The FCC oversees the E-Rate program.
The two lawsuits were filed under the False Claims Act’s whistleblower provisions, which permit private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. The first lawsuit was filed in Dallas by Dan Cain and Pamela Tingley. The United States is intervening in that lawsuit against MSE; Ruben Bohuchot, the former chief technology officer of the Dallas Independent School District; and Frankie Wong, the former chief executive officer of MSE. The second lawsuit was filed in Houston by Dave Richardson and Dave Gillis. The United States is intervening in the second lawsuit against ACS.
Both lawsuits allege that the defendants provided illegal gratuities and inducements to school officials, such as the use of several yachts and tickets to sporting events, including the 2004 Super Bowl, while the companies were bidding on school district contracts funded by the E-Rate Program. From the settlement with HP announced today, relators Cain and Tingley will receive $1,424,969, while Richardson and Gillis will receive $796,280.
The United States has elected to intervene in both lawsuits, under the authority of the False Claims Act which allows the government to intervene in and take over any whistleblower action filed. The United States’ notices of intervention stated that the United States expects to file its own complaint in each case within 45 days.
“The E-Rate Program provides much-needed funding that allows underprivileged students to access the Internet,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “We will continue to pursue those who use improper inducements to undermine the integrity of this important program.”
In July 2008, both Wong and Bohuchot were found guilty of bribery in U.S. District Court in Dallas for their conduct relating to the Dallas Independent School District and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. In addition, the United States previously settled related claims against the Dallas Independent School District for a payment of $750,000 and against the Houston Independent School District for a payment of $850,000. Both school districts also agreed not to seek payment for pending claims.
Assistant Attorney General West acknowledged the cooperation among the many government agencies participating in this ongoing matter, including the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas, and the FCC’s Office of the Inspector General and Office of General Counsel.
The cases are U.S. ex rel. Cain v. Micro Systems Enterprises et al., No. 3-05CV1843-P (N.D. Tex.) and U.S. ex rel. Richardson v. Analytical Comp. Services et. al., Civ. No. H-05-3836 (S.D. Tex.).
Principal of A&O Entities Pleads Guilty for His Role in $100 Million Fraud Scheme Involving Life SettlementsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Brent Oncale, 36, of Houston, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., to conspiracy charges in connection with his role as a principal of the A&O entities, a group of businesses that acquired and marketed over $100 million of 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.
Oncale 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 conspiracy to commit money laundering involving losses to investors of more than $50 million. At sentencing, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
According to court documents, Oncale 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. Oncale 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.
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.
Ohio Real Estate Agent Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Mortgage and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Todd M. Gongwer, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced today to two years in prison for conspiring with convicted Columbus area home builder Thomas Parenteau to commit a mortgage fraud scheme in which the pair defrauded banks into lending more than $10 million to Gongwer, his nominees and unqualified borrowers, the Justice Department announced today. Gongwer was also sentenced for committing tax evasion by using bank accounts of others to hide the income that he earned from ReMax Affiliates from 2000 through 2005.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson ordered Gongwer to forfeit $250,000 and pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the financial institutions he defrauded in amounts to be determined by the court.
On May 4, 2009, Todd Gongwer pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging conspiracy to commit bank fraud and tax evasion. According to court documents and testimony, Gongwer became a licensed real estate agent in 1998. During 2005 through 2007, Gongwer and others negotiated and participated in five real estate deals in which Gongwer, a nominee or another buyer would purchase a luxury home for a falsely-inflated purchase price and receive a kick-back. In each transaction, the buyer, or Gongwer on the buyer’s behalf, would misrepresent his or her income and assets in order to obtain approximately financing for approximately 90 percent of the inflated purchase price. The parties to the transactions attempted to justify the inflated purchase prices by creating false work-change orders and addenda that created the appearance that the inflated prices represented additional, substantial work to be completed on the homes. The object of each transaction was to use the loan proceeds in excess of the actual purchase price to fund hundreds of thousands of dollars in kick-back payments to the buyers. The buyers have been unable to maintain the mortgage payments on the luxury homes and have all defaulted on the loans.
Gongwer negotiated a sixth transaction that was similar to the luxury home transactions but involved the sale of 15 condominium units in three buildings located in Columbus. The condominium transaction involved inflated purchase prices, fraudulently obtained financing and a substantial kick-back payment to the buyer. The total fraud loss caused to the lenders was more than $5 million.
During tax year 2004, Gongwer worked for ReMax Affiliates Inc. and was paid approximately $158,333.32 in gross income. Gongwer deposited that income into nominee accounts to conceal his receipt of that income from the IRS. Gongwer failed to file income tax returns for tax years 2000 through 2005. The tax loss including relevant conduct is more than $200,000.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Watson lauded Gongwer’s cooperation with the government but said that "avarice and greed were [Gongwer’s] primary and motivating factors." The judge also said that he had seen "physical assault victims who were less devastated" than Gongwer’s aunt, whose identity Gongwer stole. In considering the amount of restitution due to the defrauded banks, Judge Watson said that he was "frustrated because of the willful blindness of the lending institutions, and the cooperation and participation of appraisers and many others."
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing and Sean O’Connell of the Justice Departments’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Northern Virginia Businessman Pleads Guilty to Bank and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Kevin Shaffer of Sarasota, Fla., and Washington D.C., pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion before Alexandria, Va., federal district court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Judge Lee set sentencing for Feb. 4, 2011.
According to documents filed with the court, Shaffer was the president and a co-owner of a Manassas, Va.,-based consulting business named Matrix-DSS. Shaffer admitted to committing bank fraud against BB&T Corp. In connection with a $5,650,000 construction loan for a home in McLean, Va., Shaffer signed a false loan application. Shaffer submitted to BB&T fictitious documents, including Forms W-2, pay stubs, bank statements and retirement account statements. BB&T sustained a loss of $1,815,612 as a result of this fraud. The total bank fraud loss, which includes additional frauds that Shaffer committed against other banks, is $2,688,571.93.
Shaffer also pleaded guilty to tax evasion for the 2005 tax year. According to court documents, Shaffer did not file a timely tax return for that year and did not pay the taxes he owed. During an interview with IRS agents in December 2008, however, he falsely claimed that he had electronically filed a tax return for that year and had paid his taxes by credit card. Shaffer eventually filed a 2005 tax return in January 2009, but under-reported his income. The government sustained a $211,865.86 tax loss as a result. Including relevant conduct pertaining to Shaffer’s tax evasion for tax years 2004, 2006 and 2007, the total tax loss is $536,228.77.
Finally, Shaffer admitted failing to account for and pay over to the IRS $42,320.66 in federal taxes that he withheld from the paychecks of Matrix DSS employees during the quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2007. Including relevant conduct for other quarters, the total tax loss associated with this conduct is $272,209.14.
Shaffer faces up to 40 years in prison.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, commended the IRS and Secret Service agents who investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles F. Connolly and Tax Division Trial Attorney Tracy L. Gostyla, who are prosecuting the case.
Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion as Part of Organized Crime InvestigationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island to tax evasion related to his 2003 income tax filings, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha for the District of Rhode Island and Acting Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Tax Division.
Gerald Diodati, 61, of Seekonk, Mass., pleaded guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Mary M. Lisi to one count of tax evasion. According to court documents, from approximately 2003 through 2006, Diodati concealed from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at least $586,000 he earned through his construction business by converting the proceeds of his businesses to cash and utilizing check cashing services for the purpose of evading assessment of income tax. For each year of the scheme, false income tax returns were prepared and filed, concealing additional taxes Diodati rightfully owed. In all, from 2003 through 2006, Diodati attempted to evade the assessment of more than $194,000 in federal income taxes.
According to information presented during the plea hearing, the case originated from an undercover investigation initiated by the FBI’s Providence, R.I., Field Office. As part of the investigation, the FBI established an undercover company, Hemphill Construction, which sought the award of union construction contracts. Diodati began working as a consultant to Hemphill Construction in 2002, operating his own businesses out of the construction company’s office in Johnston, R.I.
In 2003, Hemphill Construction was awarded a subcontract after signing a collective bargaining agreement with the Rhode Island Laborers District Council on behalf of 3 local unions, to perform demolition work at the Rising Sun Mills rehabilitation project in Providence. Hemphill, in turn, subcontracted the work to Diodati through RI Demolition Inc., a company Diodati formed for this purpose. According to information presented during the plea hearing, Diodati suggested to Hemphill in late 2003 that he be paid in cash for the work that his company performed on the Rising Sun Mills project. Diodati proposed that Hemphill keep 20 percent of what he was owed and pay him the balance in cash in order to reduce his taxable income, stating that, “Uncle Sam doesn’t have to know about it, so it keeps me down in the lower bracket.” Diodati later noted that both Hemphill and RI Demolition made money on the scheme and that, “the only one who is losing is the government.”
According to information presented at the plea hearing, Diodati opened a safety deposit box at a local bank. He then requested that the money owed him by Hemphill be paid in cash in installments placed in the safety deposit box rather than by business checks. Between December 2003 and March 2004, Diodati received more than $230,000 in cash payments for construction work placed into his safety deposit box.
As a result of this practice as well as other means Diodati used to conceal income, RI Demolition underreported business receipts to the IRS for 2003 by $244,486. In August 2004, Diodati tried to evade the assessment of a substantial income tax by causing to be prepared, signed and filed an individual income tax return for tax year 2003 that reported zero taxable income, which meant no taxes were due, when in fact his actual tax liability was $58,503.
At sentencing, scheduled for Feb. 10, 2011, Diodati faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release following his prison term. Diodati has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $194,031.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Scott Lawson of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section and Trial Attorney Jessica Nuzzellilo of the Tax Division. The case was investigated by the IRS – Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
Justice Department Settles Allegations of Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination Against Hoover Inc.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with Hoover Inc., a leading manufacturer of vacuum and carpet cleaners with facilities in Ohio and Texas, to resolve allegations that Hoover engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination by imposing unnecessary and discriminatory hurdles in the I-9 process upon lawful permanent residents.
According to the department’s findings, Hoover required all permanent residents who presented a permanent resident card (green card) for I-9 purposes to produce a new green card when theirs expired. In contrast, Hoover’s U.S. citizen workers were not required to present new documents. Like U.S. citizens, permanent residents are always work authorized, regardless of the expiration of their documentation. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits employers from treating permanent residents differently than U.S. citizens in the I-9 process.
Under the terms of the settlement, Hoover has agreed to pay $10,200 in civil penalties. Hoover will also train its human resources personnel about employers’ nondiscrimination responsibilities in the I-9 process, and it will provide periodic reports to the department for one year.
"All permanent residents in the United States have the right to continued employment without the burden of presenting new documentation when their green cards expire," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "We are pleased to have reached the settlement with Hoover and look forward to continuing to work with all employers, both public and private, to educate them about their responsibilities under federal law."
The Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, which protects work authorized individuals against discrimination in hiring, firing and recruitment or referral for a fee on the basis of citizenship status and national origin. The INA also protects all work-authorized individuals from discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process and from retaliation.
For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call 1-800-255-7688 (OSC’s worker hotline) (1-800-237-2525, TDD for hearing impaired), 1-800-255-8255 (OSC’s employer hotline) (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), or 202-616-5594; email [email protected] ; or visit OSC’s website at www.justice.gov/crt/osc.
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with University of South Carolina to Ensure Students Are Free from HarassmentRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with the University of South Carolina to resolve an investigation into the university’s policies and procedures related to discrimination and harassment.
After receiving a report of race discrimination on campus, the department examined the university’s policies and practices related to the handling of complaints of discrimination and harassment. Federal civil rights laws require public institutions to appropriately address and respond to such complaints. To meet this federal standard, the university agreed to improve its policies and practices for receiving, investigating and resolving complaints of discrimination and harassment. The settlement agreement will ensure that students, faculty and administrators understand and are trained on their responsibilities under the university’s policies, including when and how to report incidents of harassment or discrimination, and will require the university to respond to such complaints in a timely and effective manner. In order to ensure ongoing compliance with its revised policies, the university also will train select administrators, faculty and students to lead future trainings on campus. The settlement provides that the university will adopt revised anti-discrimination and harassment policies before the start of the 2011-12 school year and will initiate training during the spring 2012 semester.
"Public institutions of higher education must ensure that their students are not denied equal access to educational opportunities," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Public institutions must adopt policies and procedures that allow them to identify and respond to allegations of discrimination and harassment in a reasonable, timely and effective manner. I applaud the University of South Carolina for entering into an agreement that will communicate to students, faculty, administrators, and the public at large, that discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated on its campus."
The enforcement of Title IV is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt .
Justice Department Files Fair Housing Lawsuit in Iowa Against Owner and Managers of Federally-subsidized Property for Sex DiscriminationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has sued the owners and managers of Park Towers Apartments, a federally-subsidized apartment complex in Waterloo, Iowa, alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
The suit, filed on Nov. 10, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, alleges that Michael Nieman, the on-site manager of Park Towers, sexually harassed women who were tenants at the complex. The suit alleges that Nieman harassed these women by commenting on their body parts, making other sexual comments, making sexual gestures, entering women’s apartments without permission or notice, and conditioning housing benefits, such as rent, cable television, and lockout fees, on an exchange of sexual favors. The suit also names as defendants Elders, Inc., and J.S. Property Management, L.C., which jointly own and manage Park Towers.
"No woman should have to fear sexual harassment where she lives, as alleged in this case," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "Conditioning housing benefits on sexual favors constitutes unlawful sex discrimination, and the Justice Department will prosecute landlords who engage in such discrimination."
"Sexual harassment by housing providers makes tenants feel uncomfortable and afraid to live in the place they call home," stated John Trasviña, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "HUD will continue to enforce everyone’s right to live free from discrimination."
This lawsuit arose as a result of complaints filed with HUD by two former tenants. After an investigation of the complaints, HUD issued a charge of discrimination and referred to the Department of Justice after one of the complainants elected to have the case heard in federal court. The suit alleges that the defendants engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination and seeks a court order prohibiting future discrimination by the defendants, monetary damages for those harmed by the defendants’ actions, and a civil penalty.
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination can call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected], or contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.
Georgia Realtors to Pay $60,000 to Settle Fair Housing LawsuitRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that Harry Norman Realtors (HNR) and Jennifer Sherrouse have agreed to pay monetary damages and civil penalties of $60,000 to settle a Fair Housing Act lawsuit alleging that they discriminated against families with children.
The suit charged that HNR and Sherrouse, realtors in the Atlanta area, advertised a "no-child policy" at a unit for sale in the Georgian Manor Condominiums, located at 3648 Peachtree Road in Atlanta, and that they refused to show the unit to potential buyers with children.
"Real estate agents have no excuse for violating our nation’s fair housing laws," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "We must be particularly vigilant against discrimination by repeat players in the housing field."
"‘No-children policies’ are against the law," stated John Trasviña, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "The Fair Housing Act prohibits them and HUD will enforce the law to protect the rights of families with children."
The consent decree must still be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The decree requires HNR and Sherrouse to pay $5,000 to Metro Fair Housing Services Inc., $30,000 to a fund for individuals who suffered damages as a result of the defendants’ conduct and $25,000 to the government as a civil penalty. HNR and Sherrouse are prohibited from engaging in discrimination, and their employees and agents must undergo fair housing training.
This lawsuit arose as a result of a complaint filed with HUD by Metro Fair Housing. After investigating the complaint, HUD issued a charge of discrimination, and the case was referred to the Justice Department. The Justice Department earlier reached a settlement with the owner of a unit at Georgian Manor, who was required to pay $7,500 to Metro Fair Housing and $2,500 to the government. The department is continuing to litigate claims against the Georgian Manor Condominium Association for allegedly having maintained policies for 20 years that discouraged families with children from living in the building.
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.usdoj.gov/crt. Individuals who believe that they may have been victims of housing discrimination at Georgian Manor should call the Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743, mailbox number 9998, or e-mail the Justice Department at [email protected]. Individuals who believe they may have been victims of housing discrimination may also contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777.