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Thursday 2 September 2010
Florida Man Sentenced to over 21 Years in Prison for Operating Cramming Scheme While IncarceratedRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Willoughby Farr, 46, of West Palm Beach, Fla., has been sentenced to 262 months in prison and three years of supervised release for perpetrating a “cramming scheme,” which was designed to place charges on consumers’ telephone bills for collect calls that were not made, the Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Miami Field Office announced today.
According to court documents, from April 2003 to December 2005, Farr used three West Palm Beach companies – Nationwide Connections Inc., Access One Communications Inc., and Connect One Communications Inc. – to defraud consumers. Through these companies, Farr arranged for telephone companies to falsely bill consumers for approximately $35 million in collect calls. Because the charges typically appeared on the last page of consumers’ telephone bills, many paid the charges.
Farr pleaded guilty in May 2010 to two counts of mail fraud related to the scheme. In pleading guilty, Farr admitted that he committed the crimes while he was incarcerated in the West Palm Beach County Jail. He therefore hid his ownership of the three firms. He also hid his ownership because other firms had cut off his ability to bill for calls due to consumer complaints and the fact that state regulators had sued him for illegitimate billing.
“When the unscrupulous and the dishonest line their pockets with consumers’ hard-earned money, we will hold them accountable,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “As this sentence demonstrates, the Justice Department has put a priority on protecting the public from fraudulent schemes. This case should also remind consumers to carefully review their telephone bills for unauthorized charges.”
In February 2006, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) brought a cramming suit against several firms and individuals, including Farr. That suit resulted in a $34,547,140 civil judgment against Farr.
“The Postal Inspection Service did a superb job investigating this case,” said Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “The FTC first uncovered this scheme and brought it to the Justice Department’s attention. The case demonstrates the effectiveness of cooperative law enforcement efforts which can put an end to fraudulent schemes, and then bring wrongdoers to justice.”
“Crammers like Farr are eager to post bogus charges to consumers’ accounts,” said Inspector in Charge Henry Gutierrez. “The Postal Inspection Service will work tirelessly with its law enforcement partners to deter fraudulent use of the mails and to protect the American consumer.”
The sentence announced today was the result of the collaborative efforts of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Trade Commission.
El Departamento de Justicia entabla una demanda contra la oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Maricopa por negarse a cooperar plenamente con investigación bajo el Título VIRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Hoy el Departamento de Justicia entabló una demanda contra la Oficina del Alguacil del Condado de Maricopa [Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO)], el Condado de Maricopa y el Alguacil del Condado de Maricopa Joe Arpaio por negarse a cooperar plenamente con la investigación del Departamento de una supuesta discriminación por origen nacional en violación al Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964. El Título VI prohíbe la discriminación en programas que reciben fondos federales y, además, exige que los destinatarios de subsidios cooperen con investigaciones de discriminación brindando acceso a documentos, instalaciones y al personal. La MCSO firmó acuerdos de garantía contractual como condición para recibir fondos federales y prometió cooperar con investigaciones de alegatos de discriminación.
El Departamento entabló la demanda de hoy después de agotar todas las medidas de cooperación para acceder a los documentos y las instalaciones de la MCSO, como parte de la investigación realizada por el Departamento de la supuesta discriminación en las prácticas policiales y operaciones carcelarias de la MCSO. Desde marzo de 2009, el Departamento ha intentado lograr la cooperación voluntaria con su investigación. La negativa de la MCSO a cooperar con la investigación la convierte en un caso atípico extremo, ya que el Departamento no conoce ningún otro departamento de policía u oficina del alguacil que se haya negado a cooperar en los últimos 30 años.
“Las acciones de la oficina del alguacil no tienen precedentes. Es lamentable que el Departamento haya sido forzado a recurrir a un litigio para acceder a documentos e instalaciones públicas”, dijo Thomas E. Pérez, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles.
La investigación realizada por el Departamento sobre la MCSO está relacionada con alegatos de discriminación contra Hispanos, lo que viola la prohibición establecida en el Título VI de discriminación por origen nacional; las disposiciones contra patrones o prácticas de discriminación de la Ley Ómnibus de Control de Delitos y Calles Seguras de 1968; y las disposiciones contra patrones o prácticas de discriminación de la Ley de Control de Delitos Violentos y Aplicación Legal de 1994. El Título VI prohíbe la discriminación en programas con asistencia federal con base en la raza, el color o el origen nacional.
La investigación del Departamento sigue abierta y en curso. Para obtener más información sobre la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia, visite www.justice.gov/crt.
Los Estados Unidos de América contra el Condado de Maricopa, Arizona (PDF)
Wednesday 1 September 2010
Pakistani Taliban Leader Charged in Terrorism Conspiracy Resulting in Murder of Seven Americans in AfghanistanRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Hakimullah Mehsud, the self-proclaimed emir of the Pakistani Taliban, has been charged by criminal complaint for his alleged involvement in the murder of seven American citizens on Dec. 30, 2009 at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, the Justice Department announced today.
The two-count criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Aug. 20, 2010 and unsealed today, charges Hakimullah Mehsud, aka Hakimullah Mahsud, with conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens abroad and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) against U.S. citizens abroad.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Hakimullah Mehsud, a resident of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) in Pakistan, is the leader of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or what is more commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban. The TTP’s primary purpose is to force withdrawal of Pakistani troops from the FATA of Pakistan, which is located along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; to unite against NATO forces in Afghanistan and to establish Sharia – or Islamic law – in the tribal territories.
The affidavit alleges that the TTP has had alleged roles in, or claimed responsibility for, a number of acts of violence, including the December 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the September 2009 suicide attack on the Bannu, Pakistan, police station and numerous attacks on NATO supply lines throughout the FATA. These attacks are often coordinated with other insurgents or terrorist groups, including the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Today, the State Department designated the TTP as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and also designated Hakimullah Mehsud and another Taliban leader, Wali Ur Rehman, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $5 million each for information leading to their location.
Hakimullah Mehsud inherited the role as the leader of the TTP after its former leader and founder, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in August 2009, according to the affidavit. Hakimullah Mehsud remains the commander of TTP, which continues to plan and carry out attacks against the interests of the United States from the FATA. The TTP has recently claimed responsibility for the May 1, 2010 failed bombing of Times Square in New York and also claimed responsibility for the Dec. 30, 2009 suicide bombing in Afghanistan that is charged in the criminal complaint unsealed today.
On Dec. 30, 2009, the affidavit alleges, Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, also known as Abu Dujanah al-Khorasani (al-Balawi), a Jordanian physician, entered a U.S. military base near the town of Khost, Afghanistan, for a pre-planned meeting. Shortly after entering the base, al-Balawi detonated a suicide device concealed beneath his clothing, killing himself and seven U.S. citizens. Six other U.S. citizens were injured.
Soon after the attack, the affidavit alleges, the media arm of the TTP released a video depicting Hakimullah Mehsud and al-Balawi seated together, in which they explain in detail their motivation for launching a suicide attack against the Americans. In the video, Hakimullah Mehsud introduces al-Balawi, states al-Balawi’s reasons for becoming a suicide bomber and describes Americans as the enemy of the mujahideen.
According to the affidavit, Hakimullah Mehsud and al-Balawi both claim responsibility for an upcoming attack in the video, stating together, “And we arranged this attack to let the Americans understand that the belief of Allah, the iman [faith] that we hold, the taqwa [piety] that we strive for cannot be exchanged for all the wealth in the world.” In the video, Hakimullah Mehsud then explains that the motive for the attack against the Americans is revenge for the death of the former emir of the TTP, Baitullah Mehsud. Today, Hakimullah Mehsud is a fugitive believed to be residing in the FATA.
“Today’s charges underscore our continuing commitment to seek justice for Americans who are murdered or victimized by overseas terrorist attacks,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who helped bring about this prosecution.”
“We have no higher priority than bringing to justice terrorists who kill Americans serving and working abroad,” said Ronald C. Machen, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to seek justice for the victims of this heinous terrorist attack. I am proud of the efforts of our agents, analysts and prosecutors who have worked so hard on this case.”
“The FBI is committed to bringing to justice those responsible for this horrific crime and, equally important, to provide answers and closure to family and friends of those killed,” said Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The prosecutors handling the case are Trial Attorneys Sharon Lever and Jeffrey Groharing of the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Carlson Lieber and Michael C. DiLorenzo of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
If convicted of the charges unsealed today, Hakimullah Mehsud faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant violated a criminal law. All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Miami Man Pleads Guilty to Purchasing, Selling and Using Stolen Credit Card InformationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Juan Javier Cardenas of Miami pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to traffic in and possess unauthorized credit card numbers with intent to defraud, and one count of trafficking in unauthorized credit card numbers, 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.
At his plea hearing before U.S. District Court Judge K. Michael Moore, 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.
Cardenas faces maximum prison sentences of five years on the conspiracy charge and 10 years on the charge of trafficking in unauthorized credit card numbers. Cardenas also faces fines and terms of supervised release on both counts, as well as forfeiture of any property or proceeds derived from his criminal activities. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 18, 2010.
This 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 is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.
Justice Department Announces Agreement with Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Board of Elections on Protecting the Rights of Spanish-Speaking Puerto Rican VotersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced today a settlement with Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to protect the rights of Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican voters under Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act. Today’s agreement is intended to resolve concerns that limited English proficient Puerto Rican voters were being denied their full voting rights because of inadequate language assistance.
Under the agreement, the parties agreed to phase in additional bilingual poll workers and new bilingual sample ballots for the county’s primary election on Sept. 7, 2010. The agreement also provides for bilingual ballots in targeted precincts for the Nov. 2, 2010, general election, and bilingual ballots county-wide thereafter. In addition, the agreement includes the creation of a community-based Spanish-language advisory committee, which will include participation and feedback from the local Puerto Rican community. The parties have also agreed that federal observers may monitor Election Day activities in polling places in Cuyahoga County. The department will provide ongoing information to the county’s board of elections. Their settlement agreement will be filed in federal court and is subject to the approval of the court.
“The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Today’s agreement requiring bilingual ballots will ensure that Spanish-speaking voters receive the help they need to cast their votes effectively, with complete understanding of the ballot.”
“I’d like to thank those officials in Cuyahoga County whose dedication and commitment to voting rights has made this resolution possible,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steven M. Dettelbach said. “Protecting the voting rights of our citizens is part of the core mission of the Department of Justice as well as this U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act requires that jurisdictions with significant Puerto Rican populations cannot deny an individual’s voting rights based on their ability to read, write, understand or interpret any election matter in English. The 2000 Census found that more than 30,000 persons of Puerto Rican descent resided in Cuyahoga County and that more than 6,000 were voting age and limited-English proficient.
To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, voters may call the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931. More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting rights laws is available on the Justice Department website at www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.htm.
Hombre se declara culpable de compra, venta y uso de información robada de tarjetas de créditoRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Juan Javier Càrdenas de Miami se declaró culpable hoy de un cargo de conspirar para traficar y poseer números no autorizados de tarjetas de crédito con la intención de defraudar y un cargo de traficar números no autorizados 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 de la Oficina Local de Miami del Servicio Secreto de EE.UU., y el Agente Especial a Cargo Kenneth T. Jenkins Jr. de la División de Investigaciones Criminales del Servicio Secreto de EE.UU..
En su audiencia de declaración de culpabilidad ante el Juez Federal de Distrito K. Michael Moore, Càrdenas, 45, admitió que entre febrero de 2008 y mayo de 2009, compró información robada de tarjetas de crédito a un coconspirador a través del Internet. Càrdenas revendió la información, también a través del Internet, a terceros que la usaron para realizar compras fraudulentas con las tarjetas de crédito. El 27 de mayo de 2009, cuando agentes del Servicio Secreto de los EE.UU. allanaron su casa, Càrdenas tenía almacenados en su computadora 26,669 números de tarjeta de crédito.
Càrdenas enfrenta sentencias máximas de prisión de cinco años por el cargo de conspiración y 10 años por el cargo de traficar números no autorizados de tarjetas de crédito. Càrdenas también enfrenta multas y condenas a libertad bajo supervisión por ambos cargos, así como también la confiscación de cualquier propiedad o ganancias derivadas de sus actividades criminales. La lectura de la sentencia está programada para el 18 de noviembre de 2010.
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 está siendo investigado por el Servicio Secreto de los EE.UU.
El Departamento de Justicia anuncia acuerdo con el Consejo Electoral del Condado de Cuyahoga, Ohio para proteger los derechos de votantes Puertorriqueños de habla HispanaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — Hoy el Departamento de Justicia anunció un acuerdo conciliatorio con el Condado de Cuyahoga, Ohio para proteger los derechos de votantes Puertorriqueños de habla Hispana bajo la Sección 4(e) de la Ley de Derechos Electorales. El acuerdo de hoy tiene como objetivo resolver inquietudes respecto de la posibilidad de que los votantes Puertorriqueños con conocimientos limitados del inglés no gocen de plenos derechos electorales debido a la falta de asistencia idiomática adecuada.
Bajo el acuerdo, las partes aceptaron incorporar paulatinamente más empleados electorales bilingües y nuevas papeletas de muestra bilingües para las elecciones primarias del condado a realizarse el 7 de septiembre de 2010. El acuerdo también establece la existencia de papeletas bilingües en precintos específicos en las elecciones generales del 2 de noviembre de 2010 y papeletas bilingües en todo el país de ahí en adelante. Además, el acuerdo incluye la creación de un comité asesor comunitario en Español, que incluirá participación y comentarios de la comunidad Puertorriqueña local. Las partes también han acordado que observadores federales pueden observar actividades del día de elecciones en lugares de votación en el Condado de Cuyahoga. El Departamento brindará información constante al consejo electoral del condado. El acuerdo conciliatorio será presentado en un tribunal federal y está sujeto a la aprobación del tribunal.
“El derecho a votar es la base de nuestra democracia”, dijo Thomas E. Pérez, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles. “El acuerdo de hoy, que exige papeletas bilingües, garantizará que los votantes de habla Hispana reciban la ayuda que necesitan para votar eficazmente, con una comprensión cabal de la papeleta”.
“Quiero agradecer a los funcionarios del Condado de Cuyahoga, ya que gracias a su dedicación y compromiso con los derechos electorales fue posible esta resolución”, dijo el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Norte de Ohio Steven M. Dettelbach. “Proteger los derechos electorales de nuestros ciudadanos forma parte de la misión principal del Departamento de Justicia, así como también de esta Fiscalía Federal”.
La Sección 4(e) de la Ley de Derechos Electorales establece que las jurisdicciones con poblaciones significativas de Puertorriqueños no pueden privar a una persona de sus derechos electorales basándose en su capacidad de leer, escribir, comprender o interpretar cualquier asunto electoral en inglés. El Censo del 2000 determinó que más de 30,000 personas de descendencia Puertorriqueña residían en el Condado de Cuyahoga y que más de 6,000 estaban en edad de votar y tenían conocimientos limitados de inglés.
Para entablar demandas sobre prácticas electorales discriminatorias, los electores pueden llamar a la Sección Electoral de la División de Derechos Civiles al (800) 253-3931. Para obtener más información sobre la Ley de Derechos Electorales y otras leyes federales electorales, visite el portal del Departamento de Justicia en www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.htm
Canadian Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Role in Drug Smuggling Operation Between Canada and the United StatesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Hieu Phan, 36, of New Market, Ontario, Canada, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his role in the Benjamin Ton drug trafficking organization, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Special Agent-in-Charge John Bryfonski of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Philadelphia Field Office. Phan was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond to pay a $2,500 fine.
According to court documents, between 2002 and 2004, the Benjamin Ton drug trafficking organization imported more than 10,000 kilograms of marijuana and 300,000 ecstasy pills into the United States from various Asian organized crime groups in Canada. Hieu Phan acted as the Ton organization’s representative in Toronto. Phan admitted that he negotiated prices and terms of delivery with the drug trafficking organizations in Canada that manufactured the drugs. In addition, Phan ensured that these drug trafficking organizations were paid promptly for the massive amounts of drugs the Ton organization was purchasing. During the course of the conspiracy, the Ton organization smuggled approximately $25 million in U.S. currency to Canada to pay for these drugs. On one occasion, Phan arranged to smuggle a firearm into the United States concealed in a vehicle, along with a shipment of 55,000 ecstasy pills. In November 2004, DEA special agents stopped the vehicle in Ft. Washington, Penn., and seized the drugs and the firearm.
On Feb. 21, 2007, Hieu Phan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import and conspiracy to distribute marijuana and ecstasy, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, possession of methamphetamine and ecstasy with the intent to distribute, and importation of a firearm.
For the past several years, the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania have been working closely with the DEA, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and various Canadian law enforcement agencies, to crack down on these Asian organized crime groups that smuggle billions of dollars worth of drugs into the United States from Canada each year.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Fritchey and Trial Attorneys Marty Woelfle and Robert J. Livermore of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. The case was investigated by DEA special agents and law enforcement officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Criminal Organization Marihuana Enforcement Team.
The investigation also received assistance from ICE, the Philadelphia Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Ontario Provincial Police Department and the Toronto Metropolitan Police Department.
Allergan acepta declararse culpable y pagar $600 millones de dólares para resolver alegatos de promoción de usos no aprobados del Botox®Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – La empresa farmacéutica estadounidense Allergan Inc. ha aceptado declararse culpable y pagar $600 millones de dólares para resolver su responsabilidad criminal y civil surgida de la promoción ilegal realizada por la empresa de su producto biológico, Botox® Therapeutic, para usos no aprobados por la Administración de Medicamentos y Alimentos de los EE.UU. [Food and Drug Administration (FDA)], anunció hoy el Departamento de Justicia. La resolución incluye una multa criminal y una confiscación por un total de $375 millones de dólares y un acuerdo conciliatorio civil con el gobierno federal y los estados de $225 millones de dólares.
Bajo la Ley Federal de Alimentos, Medicamentos y Cosméticos [Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA)], en su solicitud a la FDA, las empresas deben especificar cada uso previsto de un producto biológico. Después de que la FDA aprueba un producto como seguro y eficaz para un uso especificado, cualquier promoción del fabricante para otros usos – conocida como usos "no aprobados" – hace que el producto esté mal rotulado.
Tony West, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División Civil del Departamento de Justicia y Sally Quillian Yates, Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Norte de Georgia, anunciaron hoy la presentación de una acusación criminal contra Allergan por promover Botox® para dolores de cabeza, dolores generales, espasticidad y parálisis cerebral juvenil: nada de lo cual está aprobado por la FDA. Según la acusación criminal, Allergan fijó como una de sus principales prioridades corporativas maximizar las ventas de Botox® para tales usos no aprobados.
En 1989, la FDA aprobó Botox®, un producto biológico de venta bajo receta que contiene la toxina botulínica tipo A, una neurotoxina purificada, para tratar el estrabismo (ojos bizcos) y el blefaroespasmo (la contracción involuntaria del músculo del párpado). En 2000 y 2004, fue aprobado para tratar la distonía cervical (la contracción involuntaria del músculo del cuello) y la hiperhidrosis axilar primaria (transpiración excesiva en las axilas), respectivamente. En 2010, fue aprobado para tratar la espasticidad en las extremidades superiores en adultos.
La acusación criminal alega que Allegan explotó su indicación aprobada para tratar la distonía cervical (CD) para hacer crecer ventas no aprobadas para dolores generales y de cabeza (HA). En 2003, Allegan desarrolló la "Iniciativa CD/HA" como "estrategia de rescate" en caso de que sus pruebas clínicas tuvieran resultados negativos con el objetivo de garantizar una expansión sostenida en los mercados de dolores generales y de cabeza. Como parte de esta iniciativa, Allergan alegó que la distonía cervical estaba "subdiagnosticada" y que los médicos podían diagnosticarla basándose en síntomas de dolor general y dolor de cabeza, aun cuando "no observaran distonía cervical".
Las tácticas de comercialización de usos no aprobados de Allergan también incluían el uso de médicos que generalmente tratan a pacientes con afecciones no aprobadas. En 2003, Allergan duplicó el tamaño de su equipo de reembolsos para ayudar a los médicos a obtener el pago de inyecciones de Botox® no aprobadas. Allergan realizaba talleres para enseñarles a los médicos y su personal administrativo cómo facturar usos no aprobados, llevaba a cabo auditorías detalladas de los registros de facturación de los médicos para demostrar cómo podían ganar dinero inyectando Botox® y operaba la Línea Directa de Reembolsos por Botox®, que brindaba una amplia gama de servicios gratuitos a pedido a médicos por usos no aprobados. Allergan también hizo trabajos de cabildeo a favor de programas gubernamentales de servicios médicos que expandieran la cobertura para usos no aprobados, dirigió talleres y cenas para médicos enfocados en usos no aprobados, les pagó a médicos para que asistieran a “consejos asesores” que promovían usos no aprobados y creó una organización en línea supuestamente independiente de educación sobre neurotoxinas para estimular un mayor uso de Botox® para indicaciones no aprobadas.
“La Ley Federal de Alimentos, Medicamentos y Cosméticos protege al público contra medicamentos y productos biológicos cuya seguridad y eficacia no están comprobadas. Cuando las empresas farmacéuticas realizan declaraciones infundadas y engañosas sobre sus productos, debilitan la protección de la salud pública que hace la Ley”, dijo Tony West, Secretario de Justicia Auxiliar de la División Civil del Departamento de Justicia. “Seguiremos enjuiciando a las empresas farmacéuticas que violen la Ley para su propio beneficio financiero”.
“La FDA había aprobado usos terapéuticos del Botox solo para cuatro afecciones poco usuales, pero Allergan fijó como una de sus principales prioridades corporativas maximizar las ventas de usos no aprobados mucho más lucrativos no aprobados por la FDA”, dijo Sally Yates, Fiscal Federal para el Distrito Norte de Georgia. “Allergan exigió un crecimiento tremendo de estas ventas no aprobadas año tras año, aun cuando existía escasa evidencia clínica de la efectividad de estos usos. El proceso de aprobación de la FDA se asegura de que las empresas farmacéuticas comercialicen sus medicamentos para usos con seguridad y eficacia comprobadas, y este caso demuestra que las empresas que no cumplen estas normas enfrentan un enjuiciamiento criminal y fuertes multas”.
Allergan ha aceptado declararse culpable de un delito menor criminal por uso indebido de Botox® en violación a la FDCA. Bajo el acuerdo de declaración de culpabilidad, la empresa pagará una multa criminal de $375 millones de dólares, lo que incluye la confiscación de bienes por un valor de $25 millones de dólares. La declaración de culpabilidad y sentencia de Allergan no son finales hasta que sean aceptadas por el Tribunal Federal de Distrito.
“La FDA existe para garantizar que los medicamentos comercializados al pueblo estadounidense sean seguros y efectivos", dijo la Dra. Margaret Hamburg, Comisionada, Administración de Medicamentos y Alimentos de los EE.UU. “La promoción ‘no aprobada’ de medicamentos amenaza la salud pública y el papel de la FDA, que ha servido correctamente a nuestro país y protegido a los estadounidenses de medicamentos inseguros e ineficaces”.
Como parte del acuerdo conciliatorio civil, Allergan ha aceptado pagar $225 millones de dólares adicionales al gobierno federal y los estados para resolver reclamos de que sus prácticas ilegales de comercialización hicieron que se presentaran reclamos falsos a programas gubernamentales de servicios médicos como Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE y el Programa Federal de Beneficios Médicos para Empleados, el Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos y los Programas de la Oficina de Compensación del Trabajador del Departamento de Trabajo. El acuerdo conciliatorio civil trata alegatos de que desde el 2001 hasta el 2008 como mínimo, Allergan promovió el Botox para indicaciones no aprobadas que no estaban aceptadas médicamente y que, por consiguiente, no estaban cubiertas por programas federales de servicios médicos, realizó declaraciones infundadas y engañosas sobre la seguridad y eficacia de Botox® para indicaciones no aprobadas, instruyó a los médicos sobre cómo utilizar códigos indebidos en reclamos por Botox® para indicaciones no cubiertas usando códigos inadecuados de diagnóstico para garantizar el pago por parte de programas gubernamentales de servicios médicos y entregó incentivos a médicos para que inyectaran más Botox®. La parte federal de la cifra del acuerdo conciliatorio civil es de $210,250,000 dólares y Allergan pagará hasta $14,750,000 dólares a los estados que elijan participar en el acuerdo.
El acuerdo conciliatorio civil resuelve tres demandas presentadas en el tribunal federal en el Distrito Norte de Georgia bajo las disposiciones qui tam, o de denunciante, de la Ley de Reclamos Falsos, que permiten que los ciudadanos privados entablen acciones civiles de parte de los Estados Unidos y participen de cualquier recuperación lograda. Como parte de la resolución de hoy, los denunciantes – la Dra. Amy Lang, Charles Rushin, Cher Beilfuss, Kathleen O'Conner-Masse y Edward Hallivis – recibirán $37.8 millones de dólares de la parte del gobierno federal de la cifra del acuerdo conciliatorio.
Allergan también ha ejecutado un Acuerdo de Integridad Corporativa [Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA)] con la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de los EE.UU. [Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG)]. El CIA de 5 años exige, entre otras cosas, que el directorio (o un comité del directorio) revise anualmente el programa de cumplimiento de la empresa y apruebe una resolución de que ha implementado un programa de cumplimiento eficaz; que determinados altos ejecutivos certifiquen anualmente que sus departamentos o áreas funcionales cumplen con los requisitos de los programas federales de servicios médicos; que Allergan les envíe a los médicos una carta notificándoles sobre el acuerdo conciliatorio; y que la empresa publique en su portal información sobre pagos a médicos, como honorarios, viajes o alojamiento. Allergan está sujeta a exclusión de programas federales de servicios médicos, entre ellos Medicare y Medicaid, por incumplimiento grave del CIA y a multas monetarias por incumplimientos de menor gravedad.
“La comercialización fraudulenta de medicamentos a través de la promoción de usos no aprobados o comisiones ilícitas a médicos que recetan los medicamentos debilita las protecciones brindadas por el proceso de aprobación de medicamentos y la toma de decisiones médicas. No se tolerará esta conducta”, dijo Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos. “Como resultado de este acuerdo conciliatorio, la OIG supervisará un Acuerdo de Integridad Corporativa con Allergan que incrementa la transparencia de las interacciones de Allergan con los médicos y contribuye a asegurar el cumplimiento y la responsabilidad de la empresa en el futuro”.
“Esta fue una investigación compleja muy demandante en cuanto a los recursos necesarios para realizar las numerosas entrevistas y documentar revisiones necesarias para que llegáramos al punto en que estamos hoy”, dijo Brian D. Lamkin, Agente Especial a Cargo de la oficina del Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)] en Atlanta. “El FBI, gracias a su vasta experiencia en la investigación de fraude en los servicios médicos, no solo puede brindar dichos recursos, sino que también puede reconocer qué circunstancias son las que más necesitan esos recursos. Las tácticas de comercialización de usos no aprobados de Allergan eran una de esas circunstancias mencionadas anteriormente”.
Allergan comercializa el Botox® para su uso cosmético aprobado bajo la marca comercial Botox® Cosmetic. Botox® Cosmetic posee su propio rótulo y código farmacéutico aprobado por la FDA. La resolución anunciada hoy no está relacionada con Botox® Cosmetic.
Están a cargo de la acusación del caso criminal la Oficina de Litigios de Consumidores de la División Civil y la Fiscalía Federal del Distrito Norte de Georgia. El acuerdo conciliatorio civil fue concretado por la División de Litigios Comerciales de la División Civil y la Fiscalía Federal. La Oficina del Consejero del Inspector General del HHS, el Centro de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid, la Oficina del Consejero Principal de la FDA y la Asociación Nacional de Unidades de Control de Fraude contra Medicaid brindaron asistencia en el caso.
Estuvieron a cargo de la investigación en el caso el FBI, la Oficina de Investigación Criminal de la FDA y la HHS-OIG. La Oficina de Administración de Personal de la Oficina del Inspector General, Integridad del Programa TRICARE, la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos y la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Trabajo brindaron asistencia a la investigación.
“Los empleados federales y también los contribuyentes estadounidenses merecen proveedores de servicios médicos, entre ellos fabricantes de medicamentos, que cumplan con los estándares más altos de conducta ética y profesional”, dijo Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General de la Oficina de Administración de Personal de los EE.UU. “El acuerdo conciliatorio de hoy hace recordar a la industria farmacéutica que debe cumplir con esos estándares y refleja el compromiso de las organizaciones federales de aplicación legal de enjuiciar conducta incorrecta e ilegal que pone en riesgo a quienes reciben servicios médicos”.
Este acuerdo conciliatorio forma parte del enfoque del gobierno en la lucha contra el fraude de servicios médicos. Una de las herramientas más poderosas en dicha iniciativa es la Ley de Reclamos Falsos, utilizada por el Departamento de Justicia para recuperar aproximadamente $3.1 billones de dólares desde enero de 2009 en casos asociados al fraude contra los programas federales de servicios médicos. Las recuperaciones totales del Departamento de Justicia en casos asociados a la Ley de Reclamos Falsos desde enero de 2009 superan los $4 billones de dólares.
Denuncia Belifuss O'Connor-Masse (PDF)
Denuncia Hallivis (PDF)
Denuncia Lang-Rushin (PDF)
Allergan Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $600 Million to Resolve Allegations of Off-Label Promotion of Botox®Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – American pharmaceutical manufacturer Allergan Inc. has agreed to plead guilty and pay $600 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of its biological product, Botox® Therapeutic, for uses not approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Justice Department announced today. The resolution includes a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $375 million and a civil settlement with the federal government and the states of $225 million.
Under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), a company in its application to the FDA must specify each intended use of a biological product. After the FDA approves the product as safe and effective for a specified use, any promotion by the manufacturer for other uses – known as “off-label” uses – renders the product misbranded.
Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice, and Sally Quillian Yates, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, today announced the filing of a criminal information against Allergan for promoting Botox® for headache, pain, spasticity and juvenile cerebral palsy – none of which were approved by the FDA. According to the criminal information, Allergan made it a top corporate priority to maximize sales of Botox® for such off-label uses.
In 1989, the FDA approved Botox®, a prescription biological product containing botulinum toxin type A, a purified neurotoxin, to treat strabismus (crossed eyes) and blepharospasm (involuntary eyelid muscle contraction). In 2000 and 2004, approval was given to treat cervical dystonia (involuntary neck muscle contraction) and primary axillary hyperhidrosis (excessive underarm sweating), respectively. In 2010, approval was given to treat adult upper-limb spasticity.
The criminal information alleges that Allergan exploited its on-label cervical dystonia (CD) indication to grow off-label pain and headache (HA) sales. In 2003, Allergan developed the “CD/HA Initiative” as a “rescue strategy” in the event of negative results from its clinical trials to ensure continued expansion into the pain and headache markets. As part of this initiative, Allergan claimed that cervical dystonia was “underdiagnosed” and that doctors could diagnose cervical dystonia based on headache and pain symptoms, even when the doctor “doesn’t see any cervical dystonia.”
Allergan’s off-label marketing tactics also included calling on doctors who typically treat patients with off-label conditions. In 2003, Allergan doubled the size of its reimbursement team to assist doctors in obtaining payment for off-label Botox® injections. Allergan held workshops to teach doctors and their office staffs how to bill for off-label uses, conducted detailed audits of doctors’ billing records to demonstrate how they could make money by injecting Botox®, and operated the Botox® Reimbursement Hotline, which provided a wide array of free on-demand services to doctors for off-label uses. Allergan also lobbied government health care programs to expand coverage for off-label uses, directed physician workshops and dinners focused on off-label uses, paid doctors to attend “advisory boards” promoting off-label uses, and created a purportedly independent online neurotoxin education organization to stimulate increased use of Botox® for off-label indications.
“The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act protects the public from drugs and biologic products that are not proven to be safe and effective. When drug companies make unsubstantiated and misleading statements about their products, they undermine the Act’s protection of public health,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “We will continue to pursue drug companies that violate the Act for their own financial gain.”
“The FDA had approved therapeutic uses of Botox for only four rare conditions, yet Allergan made it a top corporate priority to maximize sales of far more lucrative off-label uses that were not approved by FDA,” said Sally Yates, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. “Allergan further demanded tremendous growth in these off-label sales year after year, even when there was little clinical evidence that these uses were effective. The FDA approval process ensures that pharmaceutical companies market their medications for uses that are proven to be safe and effective, and this case demonstrates that companies that fail to comply with these rules face criminal prosecution and stiff penalties.”
Allergan has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor for misbranding Botox® in violation of the FDCA. Under the plea agreement, the company will pay a criminal fine of $375 million, which includes forfeiting assets of $25 million. Allergan’s guilty plea and sentence is not final until accepted by the U.S. District Court.
“The FDA exists to assure that drugs marketed to the American people are safe and effective” said Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration. “The ‘off-label’ promotion of drugs threatens public health and the role of the FDA, which has served our country well and has protected Americans from unsafe and ineffective drugs.”
As part of the civil settlement, Allergan has agreed to pay an additional $225 million to the federal government and the states to resolve claims that its unlawful marketing practices caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and to the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. The civil settlement addresses allegations that from 2001 through at least 2008, Allergan promoted Botox for off-label indications that were not medically accepted and therefore not covered by federal health care programs, made unsubstantiated and misleading statements about the safety and efficacy of Botox® for off-label indications, instructed doctors to miscode Botox® claims for uncovered indications using inappropriate diagnosis codes to ensure payment by government health care programs, and provided inducements to doctors to inject more Botox®. The federal share of the civil settlement amount is $210,250,000, and Allergan will pay up to $14,750,000 to states that opt to participate in the agreement.
The civil settlement resolves three lawsuits filed in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery. As part of today’s resolution, the whistleblowers – Dr. Amy Lang, Charles Rushin, Cher Beilfuss, Kathleen O'Conner-Masse, and Edward Hallivis – will receive $37.8 million from the federal share of the settlement amount.
Allergan has also executed a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The 5-year CIA requires, among other things, that the board of directors (or a committee of the board) annually review the company’s compliance program and pass a resolution that it has implemented an effective compliance program; that certain senior executives annually certify that their departments or functional areas are compliant with federal health care program requirements; that Allergan send doctors a letter notifying them about the settlement; and that the company post on its website information about payments to doctors, such as honoraria, travel, or lodging. Allergan is subject to exclusion from federal health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, for a material breach of the CIA and subject to monetary penalties for less significant breaches.
“Fraudulent marketing of drugs through off-label promotion or kickbacks to prescribers undermines the protections afforded by the drug approval process and medical decision-making. This conduct will not be tolerated,” said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “As a result of this settlement, OIG will oversee a Corporate Integrity Agreement with Allergan that increases the transparency of Allergan’s interactions with physicians and helps to ensure the company’s future compliance and accountability.”
“This was a complex investigation that required much in terms of investigative resources in order to conduct the many interviews and document reviews needed to get us where we are today,” said Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta. “The FBI, through its vast experience investigating health care fraud, is not only able to provide such resources, but is also able to recognize which circumstances need those resources the most. The off-label marketing tactics employed by Allergen was one of those aforementioned circumstances.”
Allergan markets Botox® for its approved cosmetic use under the trade name Botox® Cosmetic. Botox® Cosmetic has its own FDA-approved label and drug code. The resolution announced today does not address Botox® Cosmetic.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by the Civil Division’s Office of Consumer Litigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. The civil settlement was reached by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The HHS Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, FDA’s Office of Chief Counsel, and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units provided assistance.
This matter was investigated by the FBI, the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigation, and the HHS-OIG. The Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General, TRICARE Program Integrity, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General provided investigative assistance.
“Federal employees and indeed the American taxpayers deserve health care providers and suppliers, including drug manufacturers, that meet the highest standards of ethical and professional behavior,” said Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. “Today’s settlement once again reminds the pharmaceutical industry that it must observe those standards and reflects the commitment of federal law enforcement organizations to pursue improper and illegal conduct that places health care consumers at risk.”
This settlement is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover approximately $3.1 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 have topped $4 billion.
Belifuss O'Connor-Masse Complaint (PDF)
Hallivis Complaint (PDF)
Lang-Rushin Complaint (PDF)
Tuesday 31 August 2010
Former Fayette County, Kentucky, Correction Officers Sentenced for Civil Rights ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – John McQueen, 33, a former sergeant and supervisor at the Lexington-Fayette County, Ky., Detention Center (FCDC), and Clarence McCoy, 31, a former corporal at FCDC, were sentenced today in federal court in Lexington, Ky., for their roles in the systematic abuse of detainees at FCDC, the Justice Department announced. Federal Judge Karen K. Caldwell sentenced McQueen and McCoy to each serve 10 years in prison and two years of supervised release.
McQueen and McCoy were convicted by a federal jury on May 13, 2010. Evidence at the trial established that the defendants and other FCDC officers conspired to deprive detainees of their constitutional rights by physically abusing them and by authoring false and misleading incident reports in order to conceal the abuse. The conspiracy charge, for which both defendants were convicted, identified multiple incidents of abuse that occurred between Jan. 1, 2006, and Oct. 1, 2006. The other charges related to specific incidents of abuse and specific acts of obstruction of justice.
“The power granted to correctional officers so that they can perform their critical public safety duties does not give them free rein to abuse the civil and constitutional rights of inmates under their supervision,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Those officers who abuse their power and the public trust in this way will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Everyone is entitled to the protection of their civil rights,” said Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “This case is proof that the Department of Justice will actively pursue and prosecute anyone who violates another person’s civil rights no matter their position of authority.”
Before trial began, three additional co-defendants, all former employees of FCDC, pleaded guilty to federal charges connected to this case. Former Lieutenant Christine LaFoe pleaded guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice; Sergeant Anthony Estep pleaded guilty to a civil rights charge and an obstruction charge for failing to intervene in the abuse of inmates; and former Corporal Scott Tyree pleaded guilty to a civil rights conspiracy charge.
This case was investigated by the Louisville field office of the FBI, and it was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jared Fishman and Benjamin Hawk of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney James Arehart for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Corporate Executive Charged for Alleged Role in Illegal<br /> Campaign Contribution Scheme and with Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A Natick, Mass., man was charged today in federal court in Boston with engaging in a scheme to conceal from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and from the public illegal campaign contributions made to federal campaign committees, and with witness tampering, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts; and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in New England. Martin Raffol, 54, was charged today in a two-count criminal information with one count of engaging in a scheme to conceal material information from a federal agency and with witness tampering.
According to the court document, Raffol served as executive vice-president for a company that provided management services to a portfolio of real estate holdings, including several publically-subsidized housing communities in the Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods of Boston. Executives from the company and its parent company actively solicited campaign contributions from various individuals and entities for candidates running for federal, state and local office throughout the years, as part of its business. According to the court document, these executives did so primarily to advance the business interests of the company, including obtaining support for public financing of a large-scale development project within the city of Boston.
As part of an effort to increase the amount of campaign contributions to candidates who supported the company’s projects or who might support these projects in the future, executives and senior management allegedly directed Raffol to solicit campaign contributions from vendors who regularly did work for the company
Raffol in turn allegedly engaged in an ongoing scheme whereby he caused these vendors to be reimbursed for substantial campaign contributions solicited from them. This included vendors who provided general contracting services, energy services and security services. As a result of Raffol’s alleged scheme, the true source of these vendors’ campaign contributions was disguised from the FEC, similar state authorities, campaign committees, and ultimately, the public. In total, Raffol caused more than $12,000 in illegal campaign contributions to be made to candidates running for federal office, including candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. He also caused more than $30,000 in illegal contributions to be made to candidates running for state and local office, including candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, state senate, state house of representatives, district attorney, mayor of the city of Boston and Boston City Council. This alleged scheme caused numerous reports, which falsely indicated the source of these contributions, to be unwittingly filed by the relevant political committees with the FEC and similar authorities. There is no evidence that the federal campaign committees had knowledge of Raffol’s alleged reimbursement scheme.
The court document also alleges that Raffol engaged in witness tampering to conceal the illegal campaign contribution scheme and to prevent law enforcement from learning of the scheme. Specifically, Raffol allegedly instructed a witness to lie to authorities if they questioned him about the alleged campaign contribution scheme.
If convicted on these charges, Raffol faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the false statement charge, and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the witness tampering charge.
The case was investigated by the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Dowden of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts and Senior Litigation Counsel William M. Welch II of the Criminal Division.
The details contained in the information are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Chinese National Charged with Economic Espionage Involving Theft of Trade Secrets from Leading Agricultural Company Based in IndianapolisRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Kexue Huang, aka John, 45, has been arrested and charged in a 17-count indictment with economic espionage intended to benefit a foreign government and instrumentalities, and interstate and foreign transportation of stolen property, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison for the Southern District of Indiana.
Huang was arrested on July 13, 2010, in Westborough, Mass., by FBI agents, and today made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. According to the indictment, Huang is a Chinese national who was granted legal permanent resident status in the United States. The indictment alleges that Huang, formerly of Carmel, Ind., misappropriated and transported trade secrets and property to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) while working as a research scientist at Dow AgroSciences LLC (Dow). While he was employed at Dow, he then directed university researchers in the PRC to further develop the Dow trade secrets. He also allegedly applied for and obtained grant funding that was used to develop the stolen trade secrets.
"Economic espionage robs our businesses and inventors of hard-earned, protected research, and is particularly harmful when the theft of these ideas is meant to benefit a foreign government," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "The protection of trade secrets and all intellectual property is vital to the economic success of our country, and our leadership in innovation. We will continue to bring charges under the Economic Espionage Act wherever supported by the evidence."
"Complex cases like this one, where the challenge of highly technical evidence is compounded by geography, require extraordinary cooperation and flexibility between all components of the investigation," said U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Morrison. "We had that here."
According to the indictment, Dow is a leading agricultural company that provides agrochemical and biotechnology products. Since approximately 1989, Dow has made substantial investments in research and development to produce a class of organic insect control and management products. A proprietary fermentation process has been used to develop these organic insecticides.
According to the indictment, Huang was employed as a Dow research scientist from early 2003 until Feb. 29, 2008. As a Dow employee, Huang signed an agreement that outlined his obligations in handling confidential information, including trade secrets, and prohibited him from disclosing any confidential information without Dow’s consent. Dow employed several layers of security to preserve and maintain confidentiality and to prevent unauthorized use or disclosure of its trade secrets.
In December 2008, Huang allegedly published an article without Dow’s authorization through Hunan Normal University (HNU) in the PRC, which contained Dow trade secrets. The article allegedly was based on work supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), a foreign instrumentality of the PRC. Huang also allegedly directed individuals associated with HNU to conduct research at their laboratories on Dow trade secrets. The indictment also alleges that beginning in March 2008, after leaving Dow, Huang applied for and ultimately received grants from NSFC which he used to develop Dow trade secrets.
The indictment also alleges that beginning as early as September 2007, Huang directed research in the PRC on Dow confidential information, including trade secrets, which he was assigned to research in the course of his Dow employment. In addition, the indictment alleges that Huang sought information about manufacturing facilities in the PRC that would allow him and others to compete in the same market as Dow.
Huang faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine on each of the 12 counts of economic espionage. He faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the five counts of transportation of stolen property.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia J. Ridgeway of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark L. Krotoski and Trial Attorney Evan C. Williams of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). The National Security Division provided assistance in this matter. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI. Significant assistance in the case has also been provided by the CCIPS Cybercrime Lab.
The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Monday 30 August 2010
South Florida Doctor, Clinic Owner and Five Nurses Plead Guilty in Home Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A medical doctor, a clinic owner and four nurses, all South Florida residents, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan in U.S. District Court in Miami for their participation in a fraudulent Medicare home health care scheme, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced. Another nurse pleaded guilty on Aug. 25, 2010, to charges for her role in the scheme. The individuals were originally charged in a December 2009 indictment.
Dr. Fred Dweck pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of making false statements in patient files. According to plea documents, Dr. Dweck admitted to referring 858 Medicare recipients for unnecessary home health care services. Specifically, Dr. Dweck admitted to signing prescriptions, plans of care and medical certifications for these patients, making it appear that they qualified for home health care services, when in fact they did not qualify for the services. The services included therapy and skilled nursing visits for purported diabetic insulin injections. As a result of Dr. Dweck’s referrals, Miami-area home health care agencies billed the Medicare program for more than $37 million in false and fraudulent claims. Medicare paid more than $22 million of the fraudulent claims.
Dr. Dweck’s co-defendant, Yudel Cayro, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to plea documents, Cayro admitted to being an owner and operator of Courtesy Medical Group Inc., a Miami-area clinic that employed Dr. Dweck. Cayro admitted that he received kickbacks and bribes from people who recruited Medicare recipients into the scheme and from the owners and operators of Miami-area home health agencies in return for having Dr. Dweck issue prescriptions, plans of care and medical certifications for unnecessary home health care and therapy services. Cayro admitted that approximately 344 Medicare recipients were referred for such unnecessary services through his clinic, resulting in more than $16 million of fraudulent billing to the Medicare program by home health agencies. Medicare paid approximately $9.8 million for medically unnecessary home health care and therapy services.
Nurses Teresita Leal, Armando Sanchez, Lissbet Diaz, Marlenys Fernandez and Silvio Ruiz each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of making false statements in patient files. According to court documents, each of the nurses worked at various times for ABC Home Health Care Inc. and/or Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc., two Miami-area home health care agencies. The nurses admitted to falsifying patient files for Medicare beneficiaries to make it appear that the beneficiaries qualified for home health care and therapy services. The nurses admitted that they did so in agreement with their co-conspirators so that the Medicare program could be billed for medically unnecessary services. The owners and operators of ABC and Florida Home Health pleaded guilty last year in a separate case for their roles in the scheme. According to court documents, each nurse accepted responsibility for the billings to the Medicare program for certain patients each nurse purported to treat through ABC and/or Florida Home Health.
At sentencing, set for December 2010, each defendant faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for each conspiracy to commit health care fraud count and five years in prison for each false statement count.
Today’s guilty pleas were 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 cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys N. Nathan Dimock, Sam Sheldon and Henry Van Dyck, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Sarah Hall and Joe Beemsterboer 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 Southern District of Florida.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 810 individuals and organizations that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $1.85 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.
Médico, propietario de una clínica y cinco enfermeros del sur de la Florida se declaran culpables en ardid de fraude de servicios médicos a domicilioRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Un médico, el propietario de una clínica y cuatro enfermeros, todos residentes del sur de la Florida, se declararon culpables hoy ante el Juez Federal de Distrito Adalberto Jordàn en el Tribunal Federal de Distrito en Miami por su participación en un ardid fraudulento de servicios médicos a domicilio de Medicare, anunciaron los Departamentos de Justicia y Salud y Servicios Humanos [Health and Human Services (HHS)]. Otra enfermera se declaró culpable el 25 de agosto de 2010 de cargos por su papel en el ardid. Los cargos originales a los demandados se presentaron en una acusación formal de diciembre de 2009.
El Dr. Fred Dweck se declaró culpable de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y un cargo de realizar declaraciones falsas en expedientes de pacientes. Según los documentos de declaración de culpabilidad, el Dr. Dweck admitió referir a 858 pacientes de Medicare por servicios innecesarios de servicios médicos a domicilio. Específicamente, el Dr. Dweck admitió firmar recetas, planes de servicios y certificados médicos para estos pacientes en que simulaba que calificaban para servicios médicos a domicilio, cuando en realidad no era así. Los servicios incluían terapia y visitas de enfermeros calificados para supuestas inyecciones de insulina para diabéticos. Como resultado de los referidos del Dr. Dweck, agencias de servicios médicos a domicilio del área de Miami facturaron más de $37 millones de dólares en reclamos falsos y fraudulentos al programa Medicare. Medicare pagó más de $22 millones de dólares de los reclamos fraudulentos.
El codemandado del Dr. Dweck, Yudel Cayro, se declaró culpable de un cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos. Según los documentos de declaración de culpabilidad, Cayro admitió ser propietario y operador de Courtesy Medical Group Inc., una clínica del área de Miami que empleaba al Dr. Dweck. Cayro admitió haber recibido comisiones ilícitas y sobornos de personas que reclutaban a beneficiarios de Medicare para el ardid y de los propietarios y operadores de agencias de servicios médicos a domicilio del área de Miami a cambio de hacer que el Dr. Dweck recetara medicamentos, planes de servicios y certificados médicos para tales servicios innecesarios a través de su clínica, lo que generó más de $16 millones de dólares de facturaciones fraudulentas al programa Medicare por parte de agencias de servicios médicos a domicilio. Medicare pagó aproximadamente $9.8 millones de dólares por servicios a domicilio y terapias médicamente innecesarias.
Los enfermeros Teresita Leal, Armando Sànchez, Lissbet Díaz, Marlenys Fernàndez y Silvio Ruiz se declararon culpables de un cargo cada uno de cometer fraude de servicios a domicilio y un cargo cada uno de hacer declaraciones falsas en expedientes de pacientes. Según el expediente judicial, cada uno de los enfermeros trabajó en diferentes momentos para ABC Home Health Care Inc. y/o Florida Home Health Care Providers Inc., dos agencias de servicios médicos a domicilio del área de Miami. Los enfermeros admitieron haber falsificado expedientes de pacientes para beneficiarios de Medicare para que pareciera que calificaban para servicios médicos a domicilio y servicios de terapias. Además, admitieron haberlo hecho en acuerdo con sus coconspiradores para poder facturar servicios médicamente innecesarios al programa de Medicare. Los propietarios y operadores de ABC y Florida Home Health se declararon culpables el año pasado en un caso aparte por sus papeles en el ardid. Según el expediente judicial, cada enfermero aceptó su responsabilidad por las facturaciones realizadas al programa Medicare por determinados pacientes que cada enfermero alegó tratar a través de ABC y/o Florida Home Health.
En la lectura de la sentencia, programada para diciembre de 2010, cada demandado enfrenta un máximo de 10 años de prisión por cada cargo de conspirar para cometer fraude de servicios médicos y cinco años de prisión por cada cargo de declaraciones falsas.
Las declaraciones de culpabilidad fueron anunciadas 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 Buró Federal de Investigaciones [Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)]; y el Agente Especial a Cargo Christopher Dennis de la Oficina de Investigaciones de Miami de la Oficina del Inspector General del Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos [Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (OIG)].
Están a cargo de la acusación en los casos los Abogados Litigantes N. Nathan Dimock, Sam Sheldon y Henry Van Dyck, con asistencia de los Abogados Litigantes Sarah Hall y Joe Beemsterboer de la Sección de Fraude de la División Criminal. El caso fue investigado por el FBI y la HHS-OIG y surgió como parte de la Fuerza de Ataque de 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 de Fraude contra Medicare en siete distritos obtuvieron las acusaciones formales de más de 810 individuos y organizaciones que, en conjunto, facturaron de manera fraudulenta al programa Medicare más de $1.85 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 (HEAT)], visite: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Alabama Tax PreparerRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The United States has asked a federal court to permanently bar a Birmingham, Ala., man from preparing federal tax returns for customers, the Justice Department announced today. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, alleges that Douglas E. Dent fabricates large tax withholdings that result in large bogus refund claims on customers’ tax returns.
According to the complaint, each of the 47 federal tax returns prepared by Dent since 2008 has requested a fraudulent refund, often in amounts exceeding $100,000. The total amount of bogus refunds Dent has sought for customers exceeds $14 million. The government alleges that Dent often uses false Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Forms 1099-OID to report both fictitious interest income and tax withholdings.
Return preparer fraud and bogus refund claims based on false 1099-OID forms are identified by the IRS as two of the 2010 “Dirty Dozen” tax scams. Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop the promotion of tax fraud schemes and the preparation of fraudulent returns. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.
Justice Department Files a Lawsuit Alleging Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination by Arizona Community Colleges SystemRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit against the Maricopa County Community College District, alleging that it engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by imposing unnecessary and discriminatory hurdles to employment for work authorized non-citizens. The Community College District, known as Maricopa Community Colleges, is located in Maricopa County, Ariz.
The department’s investigation revealed that Maricopa Community Colleges required all newly hired non-citizens to present additional work authorization documents beyond those required by law, but did not require U.S. citizens to do so. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires employers to treat authorized workers in the same manner during the hiring process, regardless of their citizenship status. Yet, Maricopa Community Colleges imposed different and greater documentary requirements on at least 247 non-U.S. citizens, and did not end this practice until January 2010, well after the Justice Department initiated its investigation.
“The INA’s anti-discrimination provision makes it unlawful to treat authorized workers differently during the hiring process based on their citizenship status,” said Thomas E. Perez, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division. “Our Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is acting now to remedy this pattern or practice of discrimination.”
The lawsuit charging Maricopa Community Colleges was filed before the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer within the Executive Office for Immigration Review, another component of the Department of Justice.
OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, which protects work authorized individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of citizenship status or national origin discrimination, including discrimination in hiring and the employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) process. 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.
Hewlett-Packard Agrees to Pay the United States <br /> $55 Million to Settle Allegations of Fraud<br />Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) has agreed to pay the United States $55 million to settle claims that the company defrauded the General Services Administration (GSA) and other federal agencies, the Justice Department announced today. This settlement resolves allegations under the False Claims Act that HP knowingly paid kickbacks, or “influencer fees,” to systems integrator companies in return for recommendations that federal agencies purchase HP’s products. The settlement also resolves claims that HP’s 2002 contract with the GSA was defectively priced because HP provided incomplete information to GSA contracting officers during contract negotiations.
“Contractors must deal fairly with the government when doing business with federal agencies,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. “As this case demonstrates, we will take action against those who seek to taint the government procurement process with illegal kickbacks.”
The allegations that HP improperly paid kickbacks were first made in a lawsuit that whistleblowers Norman Rille and Neal Roberts filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in 2004. Under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, private citizens may file actions for fraud on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery.
“In this district, we are committed to aggressively pursuing any actions in which the government has been defrauded.” said Jane W. Duke, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “Ultimately, it is the taxpayers’ money at issue and our office works to protect the citizens of the United States.”
HP disclosed the defective pricing allegations resolved by today’s settlement to GSA contracting officials. In 2002, HP entered into a contract with GSA to sell computer equipment and software to federal agencies. Under applicable regulations and contract provisions, HP was required to tell GSA how it conducted business in the commercial marketplace so that GSA could use that information to negotiate a fair price for government customers using the GSA contract to purchase HP products. HP informed GSA contracting officials in 2007 that it might not have complied with all applicable provisions of the GSA contract. This disclosure led to an audit by the GSA Office of Inspector General (GSA-OIG), which concluded that the contract had been defectively priced.“Americans deserve the best deal possible when their hard-earned tax dollars are used,” said GSA Inspector General Brian D. Miller. “We will aggressively pursue companies that overcharge the government.”
The United States has settled kickback allegations similar to those made in this case in matters involving IBM for $2.9 million, Computer Sciences Corporation for $1.37 million, and PWC for $2.3 million. In addition, these same allegations were a part of a settlement with EMC Corporation which totaled $87.5 million. The EMC settlement also settled defective pricing claims found through an audit by the GSA OIG.
The civil investigation and resulting settlement were jointly handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, with assistance from the GSA-OIG, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Energy, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
The qui tam action is entitled United States ex rel. Rille. v. Hewlett-Packard, Inc., Civil No. 4-04 cv 0988(E.D. Ark.).
Four Promoters of Tax Defiance Scheme Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON- Four promoters of a Florida-based business that sold illegal tax defiance schemes, American Rights Litigators/Guiding Light of God Ministries (ARL), were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. All four defendants were convicted in May 2010 following a one-month jury trial.
Eddie Ray Kahn, formerly of Sorrento, Fla., was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit mail fraud and one count of mail fraud. Stephen C. Hunter, formerly of Candler, Fla., and Danny True, of Deltona, Fla., were sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and three counts of mail fraud. Allan J. Tanguay, of Flagler Beach, Fla., was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit mail fraud and one count of mail fraud.
The evidence at trial showed that Kahn founded and ran ARL from 1996 through 2004. During that time, ARL enrolled more than 4,000 customers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Defendants Hunter, True and Tanguay worked at ARL with Kahn to develop and sell tax defiance schemes based on deliberate misrepresentations of the legal foundation of the tax system.
The evidence at trial showed that the purpose of the tax defiance schemes promoted by the four men was to thwart the IRS in its attempts to assess and collect taxes by various means. These schemes included manufacturing and selling more than one thousand worthless “bills of exchange” supposedly drawn on the U.S. Treasury for customers to use in purported payment of their taxes, as well as producing false and harassing complaints against IRS employees that were sent to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) in Washington, D.C.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against ARL which resulted in a December 2003 preliminary injunction ordering ARL to cease selling its schemes. The evidence at trial showed that the defendants continued to prepare fraudulent and obstructive correspondence to the IRS on behalf of ARL customers, even after the entry of that order.
“This is precisely the type of conduct the Tax Division is committed to stopping under the National Tax Defier Initiative,” said John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Those who promote illegal tax defiance face prosecution and lengthy prison terms.”
“Today, justice is served, and these four individuals are being held accountable for their criminal actions. The manufacturing of worthless ‘bills of exchange’ was nothing more than a sham to disguise their intent to evade the payment of taxes,” said Victor S.O. Song, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS special agents work diligently to identify and bring to prosecution both those who evade their taxes, and those who assist others in evading their tax obligations – it’s a matter of maintaining public confidence in our system of taxation.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco commended the IRS and TIGTA agents who investigated the case, as well as Tax Division Trial Attorneys Jeffrey McLellan, Tino Lisella, and Melissa Siskind, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Kahn’s previous sentence in the Wesley Snipes case: www.justice.gov/tax/usaopress/2008/txdv08343.htm.
ARL injunction: www.justice.gov/tax/prtax/txdv03730.htm.
Federal Court Permanently Bars California Tax Preparer from Preparing Federal Tax Returns<br /> for Others Beginning October 15, 2010<br />Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal court has issued a permanent injunction barring Chris Elmer of Sacramento, Calif., from preparing federal tax returns for others after Oct. 14, 2010, the Justice Department announced today. U.S. District Court Judge John A. Mendez entered the order and judgment. The permanent injunction also bars Elmer’s tax-preparation company, Associated Tax Planners Inc. (ATP), and its principals (Elmer’s sons and son-in-law) from promoting a variety of improper tax schemes, and requires Elmer to divest himself of his interest in ATP. Elmer and his co-defendants consented to the entry of the permanent injunction.
The government’s complaint alleged that ATP repeatedly claimed false or inflated business deductions, many of which were allegedly claimed as purported business expenses of sham partnerships. The complaint also alleged that in many instances the defendants claimed purported partnership business losses on customers’ individual tax returns regardless of whether the customers actually had a partnership or other business enterprise. In addition, the government asserted that the defendants often did not file a corresponding partnership return when their customers reported partnership losses on their individual returns, or fabricated phony Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax identification numbers for the partnerships to conceal their sham nature.
The terms of the court’s order also require that any of the remaining defendants (other than Chris Elmer) who wish to continue to prepare tax returns for others must pass the IRS’s enrolled agent’s examination within three years. And the injunction provides for the appointment of a neutral monitor to evaluate whether ATP in the future is abiding by the terms of the injunction.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, thanked Justice Department trial attorney Brian H. Corcoran for handling the case, and also thanked Revenue Agent Dennis Brown of the IRS’s Small Business/Self-Employed unit in Sacramento.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained more than 470 injunctions to stop tax fraud promoters and tax return preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.
Friday 27 August 2010
United Airlines and Continental Airlines Transfer Assets to Southwest Airlines in Response to Department of Justice’s Antitrust ConcernsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice announced today that in light of the agreement by United Airlines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc. to transfer takeoff and landing rights (slots) and other assets at Newark Liberty Airport to Southwest Airlines Co., the department has closed its investigation into the proposed merger of UAL Corporation, the parent of United, and Continental. United and Continental entered into the arrangement with Southwest in response to the department’s principal concerns regarding the competitive effects of the proposed United/Continental merger.
The department conducted a thorough investigation. The proposed merger would combine the airlines’ largely complementary networks, which would result in overlap on a limited number of routes where United and Continental offer competing nonstop service. The largest such routes are between United’s hub airports and Continental’s hub at Newark airport, where Continental has a high share of service and where there is limited availability of slots, making entry by other airlines particularly difficult. The transfer of slots and other assets at Newark to Southwest, a low cost carrier that currently has only limited service in the New York metropolitan area and no Newark service, resolves the department’s principal competition concerns and will likely significantly benefit consumers on overlap routes as well as on many other routes. The slot transfer is through a lease that permanently conveys to Southwest all of Continental’s rights in the assets, in compliance with FAA rules.
Led by the office of the Ohio Attorney General, the offices of the attorneys general from California, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, New Jersey, Hawaii and the District of Columbia have also been investigating the proposed merger. The department is supportive of the states’ efforts to have any of their additional concerns about the proposed merger addressed.
United Airlines, based in Chicago, is the third largest carrier in the United States by revenue. In 2009, it collected $16.3 billion in revenue carrying approximately 80 million passengers. United and its regional affiliates offer service to more than 230 destinations in the United States and 30 other countries throughout the world.
Continental Airlines, based in Houston, is the fourth largest carrier in the United States by revenue. In 2009, it collected $12.6 billion in revenue carrying approximately 67 million passengers. Continental and its regional affiliates offer service to 265 destinations in the United States and over 50 other countries throughout the world.
Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas, is the sixth largest carrier in the United States by revenue. In 2009, it collected $10.4 billion in revenue carrying approximately 86 million passengers. Southwest serves 69 cities in the United States.
The Antitrust Division provides this information under its policy of issuing announcements related to the closing of investigations in appropriate cases. This announcement is limited by the division’s obligation to protect the confidentiality of certain information obtained in its investigations. As in most of its investigations, the division’s evaluation has been highly fact-specific, and many of the relevant underlying facts are not public. Consequently, readers should not draw overly broad conclusions regarding how the division is likely in the future to analyze other collaborations or activities, or transactions involving particular firms. Enforcement decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and the analysis and conclusions discussed in this statement do not bind the division in any future enforcement actions. Guidance on the division’s policy regarding announcements related to the closing of investigations is available at www.usdoj.gov/atr/public/guidelines/201888.htm.
Employee of Federal Contractor Charged with Disclosing National Defense Information to National News ReporterRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has returned an indictment charging Stephen Jin-Woo Kim with unlawfully disclosing national defense information to a reporter for a national news organization and making false statements to the FBI.
The indictment, which was unsealed today, was announced by David S. Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office.
Kim, age 43, was an employee of a federal contractor who was on detail to the State Department at the time of the alleged disclosure. Kim made his initial appearance today in court in the District of Columbia. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison for the unlawful disclosure of national defense information and up to five years in prison for the making of false statements.
According to the indictment, in June 2009, Kim knowingly and willfully disclosed information contained in an intelligence report classified Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) to a reporter for a national news organization who was not entitled to receive it. The classified information related to the national defense, specifically, intelligence sources and methods and intelligence concerning the military capabilities and preparedness of a particular foreign nation.
The indictment further alleges that, in September 2009, Kim made false statements to the FBI when he denied having had any contact with the reporter for a national news organization since meeting the reporter in March 2009, when in fact, Kim had had repeated contact with the reporter in the months following that meeting.
"The willful disclosure of classified information to those not entitled to it is a serious crime. Today’s indictment should serve as a warning to anyone who is entrusted with sensitive national security information and would consider compromising it," said Assistant Attorney General Kris. "I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who helped bring about today’s charges."
"The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting our nation’s secrets and bringing to justice those who betray the confidence placed in them by the American people. I want to thank the dedicated career prosecutors, investigators, and members of the intelligence community who worked tirelessly to uncover Mr. Kim’s wrongdoing and bring it before the court," said U.S. Attorney Machen.
"National defense information disclosed illegally to any person or organization is a crime and serves only those who wish to harm the United States and its citizens," said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Henry.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys G. Michael Harvey and Jonathan M. Malis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Patrick T. Murphy of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.
Doctor and Clinic Owner Who Moved Fraud Operation from Florida to Detroit Convicted for Role in $2.3 Million SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The owner of a Detroit-area medical clinic, Juan De Oleo, and a doctor who helped falsify files at the clinic, Dr. Rosa Genao, were convicted today by a federal jury in Detroit for their roles in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.
According to evidence presented during the two-week trial, Juan De Oleo owned a company called Xpress Center, Inc. (XPC), which was based in Livonia, Mich. Evidence showed that De Oleo and others established XPC for the sole purpose of defrauding Medicare. XPC was an outpatient clinic that purported to specialize in infusion and injection therapy. According to the evidence at trial, De Oleo and his co-conspirators imported the concept of "infusion" clinic fraud from South Florida to Detroit after increased law enforcement scrutiny in Florida. De Oleo enlisted his wife, Dr. Rosa Genao to help falsify medical files at XPC to make it appear that the clinic’s patients actually needed the medications being billed to Medicare. According to the evidence presented at trial, Genao wrote down fictitious symptoms in the patient charts maintained by the clinic in order to justify expensive and exotic medications that the clinic billed to Medicare. One of the exotic drugs, called octreotide, is used primarily in the treatment of acromegaly and severe diarrhea, and was billed by the clinic at several thousand dollars per dose.
As the evidence at trial showed, between approximately November 2006 and March 2007, the defendants submitted approximately $2.3 million in claims to Medicare for injection therapy services that were never provided and were not medically necessary. Medicare paid approximately $1.7 million of those claims.
Evidence at trial showed that XPC purchased only a small fraction of the medications that the clinic billed the Medicare program for providing. Patients were prescribed medications at the clinic based not on medical need, but rather on what medications were likely to generate the highest Medicare reimbursements.
Evidence at trial showed that Medicare beneficiaries were not referred to XPC by their primary care physicians, or for any other legitimate medical purpose, but rather were recruited to come to the clinic through the payment of kickbacks. In exchange for those kickbacks, evidence showed that the Medicare beneficiaries would visit the clinic and sign documents indicating that they had received the services billed to Medicare. Kickbacks came in the form of cash payments.
De Oleo was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and two counts of money laundering. Dr. Rosa Genao was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and one count of destruction or alteration of records. The health care fraud and money laundering counts carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine while the destruction of records count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled by the court.
Deirdre Teagan, a medical assistant who worked at XPC, was acquitted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the destruction of records count, and the court declared a mistrial on that count.
Including today’s guilty verdicts, seven individuals related to XPC have been convicted for their roles in Medicare fraud schemes.
Today’s verdict 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 (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Benjamin D. Singer and Gejaa T. Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The FBI and HHS-OIG conducted the investigation.
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 Eastern District of Michigan.
Since their inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven districts have obtained indictments of more than 810 individuals who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $1.85 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the HEAT team, go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Department of Justice and USDA Hold Workshop Focused on Competition Issues in the Livestock IndustryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today held the fourth of five joint public workshops to explore the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in American agriculture. The workshop, led by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, examined competition in the livestock industry and featured panel discussions on trends in the livestock industry, market consolidation and market transparency. The workshop also included opportunities for public comments.
Today’s meeting was the fourth in a series of workshops intended to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with a diverse group of stakeholders regarding competition and regulatory issues in the agricultural marketplace. These workshops are the first-ever to be held by the Department of Justice and the USDA to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry. Additional information about the workshops can be found at www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/index.htm#overview.
“Ultimately, today’s conversation is about much more than simply last year’s trends or this year’s challenges. It’s about livelihoods, families, this region’s economy and our centuries-old American way of life,” said Attorney General Holder. “We’ve made these workshops a cabinet-level priority so that we can most effectively and efficiently determine how to ensure a fairer, more competitive marketplace for producers and consumers alike.”
“Given the consolidation that has taken place in the livestock industry over the past decades, it is critical to ensure a fair market still exists to give all players an honest chance at success,” said Secretary Vilsack. “A fair and competitive marketplace is important not only for producers, but also for consumers, and today’s open and transparent dialogue with ranchers, farmers, academics and other industry stakeholders will provide us with a understanding of the complex issues in this important industry.”
Secretary Vilsack and Attorney General Holder began the workshop with opening remarks before leading a roundtable discussion, in which Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, participated with other federal and state officials, on competition issues in agriculture and the livestock industry. After the roundtable discussion, a panel of producers and feeders from throughout the country shared their first-hand experiences and perspectives on the industry. USDA and Justice Department officials then listened to public testimony from audience members.
In the afternoon, another panel will discuss trends in the livestock industry, including issues associated with contracting, price transparency and the effects of concentration. The final panel of various market participants will discuss market structure issues in the livestock industry. There will be an opportunity for more public testimony after the final panel.The workshop was held in Fort Collins, Colo., at the Lory Student Center on the Colorado State University campus and was attended by several key federal and state leaders, including Governor Bill Ritter, U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture John Stulp and Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock.
Videos and transcripts from today’s workshop will be available for review at a later date on the Antitrust Division’s website at www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/index.htm#dates. Individuals seeking more information on the workshops should contact [email protected].
California Man Charged with Attempting to Extort Sexually Explicit Images from MinorRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A Fremont, Calif., man made his initial appearance in federal court today on charges that include distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography and attempted extortion, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Melinda Haag.
According to an indictment dated June 24, 2010, and unsealed today, James Dale Brown, 27, is alleged to have used the Internet social networking website Facebook to communicate with a minor female identified as Jane Doe. Operating under the username "Bob Lewis," Brown is alleged to have demanded that Jane Doe send him a video of herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Brown is also alleged to have possessed and distributed child pornography.
Brown was arrested in Fremont on Aug. 26, 2010, and made his initial appearance in federal court in Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 27, 2010. He is currently being held in North County Jail in Oakland. The defendant’s next scheduled appearance is at 9 a.m. on Sept. 3, 2010, for a detention hearing before Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler.
The mandatory penalty for distribution of child pornography is at least five years in prison and up to 20 years. The maximum penalty for possession of child pornography is 10 years in prison and the maximum statutory penalty for attempted extortion is 20 years in prison. Brown also faces maximum fines of $250,000 on each charged count, plus restitution if appropriate.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hill and Department of Justice Criminal Division Trial Attorney Mi Yung Park of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, with the assistance of Jeanne Carstensen. The prosecution is the result of a one-year investigation by the FBI.
Please note: An indictment contains only allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Brown must be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Thursday 26 August 2010
Three Pennsylvania Men Indicted for Cross BurningRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Michael Bealonis and Kenneth Stiffey, Jr., of Robinson, Penn., and Michael Bracken, of Bolivar, Penn., were indicted this week by a federal grand jury on charges stemming from a cross burning in the yard of an African-American juvenile in November 2009.
In the three-count indictment, Bealonis, Stiffey and Bracken were charged with one count of conspiracy to interfere with the housing rights of another, one count of interfering with the housing rights of another, and one count of using fire in the commission of a felony.
If convicted, Bealonis, Stiffey and Bracken face a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the FBI, together with the Pennsylvania State Police. The case will be prosecuted by Trial Attorney Patricia A. Sumner from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Texas Chemical Plant to Pay Nearly $1.5 Million to Resolve Violations in the Transferring of Acid WasteRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Air Products LLC has agreed to pay $1.485 million in civil penalties to resolve hazardous waste mismanagement violations at its Pasadena, Texas, chemical manufacturing facility, the Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Texas announced today. The settlement resolves Air Products’ Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations in transferring spent acid to the neighboring Agrifos Fertilizer Inc. manufacturing plant.
As part of the settlement, Air Products has agreed to continue to manage the spent acid on-site and not ship it to Agrifos or any other facility not authorized to accept it. Air Products is currently in compliance with the RCRA requirements specified in the settlement. Air Products has agreed to notify EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in the event that the spent acid is either disposed of or sent off site.
"This settlement eliminates the disposal of spent-acid waste from the Air Products facility into the environment," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "By stopping this source of pollution, this settlement will reduce risks to human health and the environment."
Air Products, a manufacturer of chemicals used in the manufacture of polyurethane and hydrogen gas, operates its facility on a 105-acre tract of property adjacent to the Agrifos fertilizer plant. For many years, the company purchased sulfuric acid from Agrifos and returned a spent acid stream that Air Products had generated in its operations. In April 2006, inspectors from EPA observed that the return acid stream was a spent acid that was being used in part to make land-applied fertilizer. Agrifos is not authorized to accept hazardous waste from other facilities.
"We are concerned that wastes from mineral processing and associated fertilizer production can pose a serious risk to our nation’s drinking water and the health of families," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "And we’re just as concerned when contaminated wastes from other facilities find their way to these operations. EPA is working to minimize or eliminate risks to communities and the environment from illegal hazardous waste operations at phosphoric acid and other high risk facilities."
Air Products instituted modifications that will reduce the levels of contamination in the spent acid, and the construction of a $60 million regeneration plant that will stop the acid waste stream altogether. The regeneration plant construction was part of operational changes that were initiated prior to settlement negotiations and became effective as negotiations progressed.
This case is part of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiative for Mining and Mineral Processing. Although Air Products does not conduct mining or mineral processing, it sent the spent acid stream to a facility that does – the Agrifos fertilizer plant. Mining and mineral processing facilities generate more toxic and hazardous waste than any other industrial sector, based on EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory. If not properly managed, these facilities pose a high risk to human health and the environment. Since 2003, EPA has been investigating 20 phosphoric acid facilities in seven states.
In a national enforcement effort, EPA has focused on compliance in the phosphoric acid industry because of the high risk of releases of acidic wastewaters at these facilities, which can cause groundwater contamination and fish kills. A 2007 incident at the Agrifos phosphoric acid facility in Houston released 50 million gallons of acidic hazardous wastewater into the Houston Ship Channel. Another example is the 65 million gallon release of acidic wastewaters from the Mosaic Riverview facility into Tampa Bay, which led to a massive local fish kill.
The proposed settlement agreement, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.
Partner at Major International Accounting Firm Convicted of Tax CrimesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A jury in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., has returned a guilty verdict against Stephen A. Favato, a resident of Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., and a partner in BDO Seidman LLP’s Woodbridge, N.J., office, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The jury found Favato guilty of one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false tax return.
During the trial, evidence presented proved that from late 2001 through April 2005, Favato attempted to obstruct the IRS by, among other conduct, advising his client, Daniel Funsch, on how to include false items on the 2002, 2003 and 2004 joint income tax returns for Funsch and his then-wife. Additionally, the evidence proved that Favato knowingly prepared and signed false joint tax returns for the Funsches for these years, causing over $114,000 of tax loss to the IRS in connection with the Funsches’ filed 2002 return and attempting to cause over $150,000 of tax loss in connection with tax years 2003 and 2004.
The evidence presented at the trial showed that Favato advised Funsch to significantly reduce the salary payments that Funsch was receiving from his corporation and to instead have this compensation paid to Funsch’s limited liability company, Great Escape Yachts LLC, in the form of purported lease payments for Funsch’s yacht. However, his corporation had not leased the yacht. This course of action recommended by Favato enabled Funsch to fraudulently deduct his personal yacht expenses as business expenses. In addition, the evidence presented showed that Favato advised Funsch on how to falsely increase his expenses in order to fraudulently eliminate a portion of the gain on three properties that Funsch sold in 2002 and 2004. Finally, the evidence showed that Favato advised Funsch to report inflated charitable contributions on Funsch’s 2003 tax return.
The charges of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws and aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false return each carry a maximum punishment of three years and a fine of up to $250,000. In addition, Favato was acquitted of one count of tax evasion.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division; Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey; and Charles R. Pine, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Manhattan, commended the IRS agents who investigated the case, as well as Tax Division Trial Attorneys Patrick J. Murray and Sean Delaney, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Mississippi Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Production, Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Robert Morris of Crystal Springs, Miss., was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for production, distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Donald R. Burkhalter and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr. Morris was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release following his prison term and to pay a $1,500 fine.
Morris pleaded guilty on June 2, 2010, to four counts of producing child pornography, one count of distributing child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge William H. Barbour Jr. According to court documents and proceedings, ICE special agents and local police officers executed a federal search warrant on Jan. 15, 2009, for child pornography at Morris’s residence. A forensic review of a computer owned by Morris revealed numerous images of child pornography. According to information presented in court, Morris admitted to ICE agents that he had child pornography on his computer, that he had chatted with others online about having sex with children, and that he had knowingly received and traded pornographic images of children. A subsequent forensic review of Morris’ computer revealed that Morris had molested and photographed young teenage girls at his home on numerous occasions.
"Robert Morris’s crimes ran the full gamut of child pornography offenses – from production and distribution to receipt and possession," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "We can never forget that real children are being abused, then victimized repeatedly, as images of their abuse are passed from person to person. We are committed to investigating and prosecuting anyone who perpetuates this chain of exploitation – from those who create these horrific images, to those who send and receive them."
"All children have an absolute right to grow up free from the fear of sexual exploitation," said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., Special Agent in Charge of ICE’s Office of Homeland Security Investigation’s in New Orleans. "ICE relentlessly pursues predators who sexually abuse children, whether that abuse is physical in nature or if it’s accomplished by exploiting their images. The sentencing of Morris sends a strong message that ICE will not tolerate such despicable crime. Our agents will continue to police cyber space and target those who travel abroad to exploit one of the most vulnerable segments of our society- our children."
This case was investigated by ICE and the Crystal Springs, Miss., Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi and Trial Attorney Andrew McCormack of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
Justice Department Sues California Man to Stop Tax Schemes That Allegedly Cost the Treasury at Least $30 MillionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The United States has asked a federal court to permanently bar a California man from promoting alleged sham pension-plan and welfare-benefit-plan tax fraud schemes, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction suit against William Alexander, who is based in Pasadena, Calif., and his two companies – Retirement Plan Services Inc. and Lyons Pensions Inc. – was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the complaint, Alexander helps small business owners adopt sham pension plans. He allegedly falsely advises customers that they can claim significant deductions for purported contributions to these sham pension plans in order to reduce or eliminate their federal income taxes. The complaint also alleges that Alexander fraudulently re-characterizes his customers’ non-deductible personal expenses as purported deductible pension-plan contributions.
One example of misconduct cited in the complaint was a letter in which Alexander allegedly advised a married couple from Florida who are physicians "to look for old personal checks that you wrote from 1/1/02 through 9/15/03 that are personal checks that I could re-characterize as pension contributions." The complaint also quotes a letter that Alexander allegedly sent to a Los Angeles customer in which Alexander explains that between $50,000 and $60,000 that the customer had made as a down payment on her condominium had been re-characterized as a pension-plan contribution. The complaint further alleges that Alexander helped a California cardiologist, who made a purported $350,625 welfare-benefit plan contribution, to get the funds back by using a sham loan.
The complaint also alleges that Alexander advises his customers that they can re-characterize their salaries as pension plan contributions that he can refund to them through sham loans. For example, the complaint alleges that Alexander advised a Los Angeles customer that she could send Alexander a $200,000 check as a purported pension plan contribution, and that Alexander would then return that customer’s money to her.
According to the complaint, Alexander helps customers adopt pension plans that illegally exclude rank-and-file employees. The complaint cites a letter Alexander allegedly sent to one of his clients, a California physician, in which Alexander explains that the goal is to "exclude the employees from this rich pension plan that I use for the owner." The complaint further alleges that Alexander tries to conceal his pension-plan scheme by purposely not filing required documents with the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor.
Alexander’s promotion of the pension plan and welfare-benefit tax fraud schemes have allegedly cost the government at least $30 million.
In the past 10 years the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions against tax scheme promoters and tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website
Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Two Georgia Tax Return PreparersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The United States has sued two Cobb County, Ga., tax preparers, seeking to put them out of business, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, seeks to permanently bar Christopher Musyoki and Samuel Nganga from preparing federal returns for others. The complaint also names Musyoki’s tax preparation business, Simba Consultants Inc.
According to the government complaint, Musyoki and Nganga have underreported their customers’ income, and have included numerous fabricated claims for earned income and child tax credits on tax returns they prepare. Musyoki has also allegedly made fraudulent claims for the fuel tax credit. The fuel tax credit is available only in limited circumstances for off-highway business use, and fraudulently claiming the credit is one of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) "Dirty Dozens" tax scams for 2010.
The IRS has also 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.
Former Memphis Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force on an ArresteeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Bridges McRae, a former officer with the Memphis Police Department (MPD), pleaded guilty today in federal court to a felony civil rights charge related to the use of excessive force, the Justice Department announced today.
During the plea hearing, McRae admitted that Duanna Johnson had been in his custody when he used an unreasonable amount of force against her when he struck her while booking her into the Shelby County Jail. McRae acknowledged that his conduct violated federal law and that he violated Johnson’s civil rights. He further admitted that his attack caused bodily injury to Johnson in the form of cuts, bruises and pain.
McRae faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the civil rights offense. The parties agree that McRae will be incarcerated for 24 months per the plea agreement. McRae also agreed to plead guilty to one count of tax evasion, pending approval by the Department of Justice’s Tax Division.
"Law enforcement officers are entrusted with a great amount of power so that they can effectively carry out their duty to protect public safety. This officer abused that power when he violated the civil rights of an individual in his custody," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Officers who violate the public trust in this way will be brought to justice."
"Ensuring that public officials do not victimize the public by abusing their power is a top priority of this office," said Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
"No one is above the law, especially those who have sworn an oath to uphold the law," said Amy Hess, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Memphis Field Office. "It is a sad day when our citizens are preyed upon by its protectors, however, the FBI is proud to have worked alongside our law enforcement partners to ensure justice was served."
"We will continue to hold all officers of the Memphis Police Department accountable for their actions," said Director Larry Godwin of the MPD. "The citizens of Memphis expect no less. We will continue to investigate all complaints of abuse."
The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the MPD Security Squad. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker and Trial Attorney Jonathan Skrmetti from the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice are prosecuting the case.
Former Airline Executives Indicted in Conspiracy to Fix Fares on Flights Between the United States and the Republic of KoreaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A Brooklyn, N.Y., grand jury returned an indictment today against two former executives of Asiana Airlines, Inc. (Asiana) for participating in a conspiracy to fix economy class airfares paid by passengers for travel from the United States to the Republic of Korea, the Department of Justice announced today.
The one-count indictment returned today in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, charges Joo Ahn Kang and Chung Sik Kwak, each a former vice president of the Americas of Asiana, with conspiring with others to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing passenger fares for passenger transportation services from certain airports in the United States to Korea from in or about and between January 2000 and February 2006. Kang served as President of Asiana from December 2005 to November 2008.
According to the indictment, Kang and Kwak, each a citizen and resident of Korea, along with co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by communicating and agreeing on the price of one or more components of the fares charged to passengers who purchased economy class tickets for flights between the United States and Korea. As a part of the conspiracy, Kang, Kwak and co-conspirators monitored and enforced adherence to the agreed-upon, noncompetitive rates charged to passengers traveling between the United States and Korea.
Kang and Kwak are charged with violating the Sherman Act, a violation which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million 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 16 airlines and four executives have pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty in the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation into price fixing in the air transportation industry. To date, fines of more than $1.6 billion have been imposed in the investigation and all of the pleading executives have been sentenced to serve prison time.
The airlines that have pleaded guilty, or have agreed to plead guilty, as a result of the department’s ongoing investigation into the air transportation industry are: British Airways Plc, Korean Air Lines Co. Ltd., Qantas Airways Limited, Japan Airlines International Co. Ltd., Martinair Holland N.V., Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, SAS Cargo Group A/S, Société Air France, Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (KLM Royal Dutch Airlines), EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd., LAN Cargo S.A., Aerolinhas Brasileiras S.A., Cargolux Airlines International S.A., Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. Ltd., Northwest Airlines LLC and Asiana Airlines Inc. Airline executives who have pleaded guilty as a result of the investigation are Bruce McCaffrey of Qantas, Keith Packer of British Airways, Franciscus Johannes de Jong of Martinair and Timothy Pfeil of SAS. On Aug. 12, 2009, Jan Lillieborg, a citizen and resident of Sweden and former vice president of global sales for SAS Cargo, was indicted for participating in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by allocating customers and coordinating surcharge increases for international air shipments to and from the United States.
This case is part of a joint investigation into the air transportation industry being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York assisted in this matter. 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.
Attorney General Holder and HHS Secretary Sebelius Host Second Regional Health Care Fraud Prevention Summit in Los AngelesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTONToday Attorney General Eric Holder and U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius kicked off the second in a series of daylong summits bringing together a wide array of federal, state and local partners, beneficiaries, providers and other interested parties to discuss innovative ways to eliminate fraud within the U.S. health care system. The summit in Los Angeles included educational panels featuring law enforcement officials, including Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, consumer experts, providers and key government agencies.
“In communities across the region, our health care system is under siege – exploited by criminals intent on lining their own pockets at the expense of American taxpayers, patients and private insurers,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “But through the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, we are fighting back in bold, innovative and coordinated ways. In addition, the Affordable Care Act provides new resources and includes tough penalties to help stop and prevent health care fraud. We will continue to work vigorously with our law enforcement and private sector partners to punish those who steal from taxpayers, patients, seniors and other vulnerable Americans.”
Announced during the summit was a final regulation issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) increasing protections for both Medicare and Medicare beneficiaries from potentially fraudulent suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS). The new regulation enhances Medicare enrollment standards for DMEPOS suppliers by adding several new standards and strengthens existing standards that suppliers must meet before being able to furnish equipment and supplies to Medicare beneficiaries.
“The steps we are taking today provide us with additional tools to support our continuing efforts to reduce Medicare fraud by helping ensure that only appropriately qualified suppliers are enrolled in the program. We know the majority of medical equipment suppliers and health care providers want to improve the health of Medicare beneficiaries, but we also know there are those who look for any opportunity to take advantage of beneficiaries and Medicare, including sham operations that are not legitimate businesses,” said Secretary Sebelius.
The summit also featured educational panels that discussed best practices for both providers and law enforcement in preventing health care fraud. The panels included law enforcement officials, consumer experts, providers and representatives of key government agencies.
The recently enacted Affordable Care Act provides additional tools and resources to fight fraud in the health care system by providing an additional $350 million over the next 10 years through the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Account. In addition, the Affordable Care Act toughens sentencing for criminal activity, enhances screenings and enrollment requirements, encourages increased sharing of data across government, expands overpayment recovery efforts, and provides greater oversight of private insurance abuses. For information on the 2009 Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program Report, please visit www.justice.gov/dag/pubdoc/hcfacreport2009.pdf .
Investments in anti-fraud detection and enforcement pay for themselves many times over, and the Administration’s tough stance against fraud is already yielding results. In FY 2009, anti-fraud efforts put $2.51 billion back in the Medicare Trust Fund, a $569 million, or 29 percent, increase over FY 2008, and over $441 million in federal Medicaid money was returned to the treasury, a 28 percent increase from FY 2008.
The Affordable Care Act builds on innovative strategies to fight fraud, such as the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), the joint operation between the Department of Justice (DOJ) in partnership with the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, CMS and the HHS Office of Inspector General that has expanded Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams from South Florida and Los Angeles to now operating in seven regions to target health care fraud hot spots including Houston; Detroit; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Baton Rouge, La.; and Tampa, Fla.
On June 8, 2010, President Obama announced this nationwide series of regional fraud prevention summits as part of a multi-faceted effort to crack down on health care fraud. The Los Angeles summit was the second in a series, with additional summits to follow in the coming months in Detroit, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Las Vegas.
On July 16, 2010, the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder kicked-off the first in a series of Regional Health Care Fraud Prevention Summits in Miami.
A copy of the final regulation issued today is posted on the Federal Register site: www.cms.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll/09_ProviderEnrollmentRegulation.asp#TopOfPage
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Two Uzbek Men and One Moldovan Man Plead Guilty to Charges for Their Involvement in a Racketeering Enterprise That Engaged in Forced LaborRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Viorel Simon, Nodirbek Abdoollayev and Bakhrom Ikramov have all pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in a criminal enterprise that engaged in numerous criminal activities including forced labor, fraud in foreign labor contracting, visa fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, tax evasion and money laundering, the Department of Justice announced.
"These defendants took part in a modern day slavery scheme that victimized vulnerable individuals for profit," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Forced labor robs victims of their freedom and their dignity, and it will not be tolerated in the United States. We will continue the aggressive prosecution of cases like this."
According to court documents, Simon pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and fraud in foreign labor contracting. Simon actively supervised foreign national workers knowing that many of these workers were recruited with false promises and were coerced to work by threats of deportation and other adverse immigration consequences. Abdoollayev, who pleaded guilty to racketeering, assisted in the recruitment of foreign national workers, solicited hotels for housekeeping positions in which the foreign national workers were placed by the criminal enterprise, and laundered proceeds of the criminal enterprise. Ikramov, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud, fraudulently misrepresented the criminal enterprise’s payroll in order to defraud companies of insurance premiums.
Multiple co-defendants have previously pleaded guilty in connection with the case. On Aug. 18, 2010, Andrew Cole pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and fraud in foreign labor contracting. Ilkham Fazilov pleaded guilty on Aug 9. 2010, to racketeering conspiracy for his role in aiding and abetting others in the scheme. Jakhongir Kakhkharov pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy on March 17, 2010. Alexandru Frumusache pleaded guilty on Oct. 7, 2009, to forced labor trafficking. Abdukakhar Azizkhodjaev pleaded guilty on June 18, 2010, to misprision of a felony. Trial for the remaining defendants is set for Oct. 18, 2010.
The cases were investigated by the FBI, the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, the Kansas Department of Revenue and the Independence, Mo., Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Meiners and Civil Rights Division Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit Trial Attorney Jim Felte prosecuted this case for the government.
Roberto Settineri Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering ChargeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Roberto Settineri42, of Miami Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty today to a one count superseding information charging him with conspiracy to commit money laundering, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer for the Southern District of Florida and John V. Gilles, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
According to the information and statements made during the plea hearing, Settineri admitted to conspiring with others to launder $10 million in funds and concealed assets represented to be the proceeds of a large scale fraudulent scheme. The initial investigation was part of a joint U.S. and Italian law enforcement action.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2010, before U.S. District Court Judge James I. Cohn in Miami. Settineri faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Stone and Criminal Division Trial Attorney Margaret Honrath of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section.
The case was investigated by the FBI; the Broward County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office; the Miami-Dade Police Department; the Italian Ministries of the Interior and Justice; and the Italian National Police. Assistance was also provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Rome provided assistance in this case.
Rhode Island Mother and Son Plead Guilty to Interstate Extortion Related to Organized CrimeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Dorothy St. Laurent, 71, of Johnston, R.I., and her son Anthony St. Laurent Jr., 44, of Cranston, R.I., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to interstate extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act. The wife and son of Anthony St. Laurent Sr., a person identified by law enforcement as a member of organized crime, were charged in a federal complaint in February 2010 with extorting payments from bookmakers in the Taunton, Mass., area on behalf of Anthony St. Laurent Sr.
The guilty pleas were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Peter F. Neronha and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office. The pleas were entered before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith.
According to information presented at the plea hearing, beginning at least as early as 1988 and continuing through early February 2009, Dorothy St. Laurent and Anthony St. Laurent Jr. conspired with each other and others to extort "protection" payments from a group of illegal bookmakers operating in and around Taunton.
The government’s evidence includes a number of conversations recorded by the FBI in late 2008 and early 2009 that capture Dorothy St. Laurent and Anthony St. Laurent Jr. in conversation with a cooperating witness as they discuss efforts to maintain the extortion scheme, which, at that time, was generating $4,100 in cash collected by Dorothy St. Laurent every two weeks. The plea agreement stipulates that the defendants extorted in excess of $800,000 and less than $1.5 million.
Dorothy St. Laurent served as the primary collection agent of the cash payments provided by the bookmakers while Anthony St. Laurent Jr.’s role was to both threaten violence and on at least one occasion, to engage in actual violence to enforce continued payment.
Dorothy and Anthony St. Laurent Jr. are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10, 2010. Anthony St. Laurent Sr. is detained awaiting trial on a charge of solicitation to commit murder-for-hire and on this matter.
Trial Attorney Scott Lawson of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section is prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland. The matter was investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of Rhode Island State Police and the Providence Police Department.
Miami Contractor Pleads Guilty to Employment Tax FraudRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Victor Manuel Amaya pleaded guilty this morning to one count of willfully filing a false tax return before U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. The court set sentencing for Nov. 3, 2010.
According to court documents, from 2004 through 2007, Amaya, who owns Amaya Contracting and Stucco Inc. (ACS), filed fraudulent employment tax returns with the IRS and caused his company to underpay its federal employment taxes. To avoid having to report all of ACS’s employment tax obligations, Amaya regularly cashed checks made out to ACS at a local check cashing store instead of depositing them into the company’s account. Amaya then used the cash to pay his workers, which allowed him to report lower wages and lower employment taxes due on ACS’s employment tax returns. Amaya also used the cash for materials and personal expenses. Additionally, Amaya wrote ACS checks to fictitious companies and cashed them at local check cashing stores. Amaya also used this cash to pay his workers.
Amaya pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with willfully filing a false employment tax return with the IRS. All told, Amaya failed to report to the IRS approximately $2,130,568 in wages, which resulted a tax loss of approximately $319,585. Amaya faces a maximum of three years in prison and has agreed to pay restitution to the IRS of $319,585.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice, Tax Division, commended the IRS Special Agents who investigated this case and Tax Division Trial Attorney Matthew J. Mueller, who prosecuted the case.
Latin Kings Leader Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy That Included Two Attempted Murders, Armed Robbery and Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
GREENBELT, Md. - Francisco Ortiz, aka “Francis Gabriel Ortis,” “Pone” and “King Pone,” 26, of Rockville, Md., pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities as a member and leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation.
The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A Breuer, of the Department of Justice Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) - Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; Chief Roberto L. Hylton of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey.
“The people of Maryland know all too well the violence that Latin Kings members can bring to communities. Attempted murder, witness tampering and armed robbery – Francisco Ortiz admitted to participating in all these activities as a Latin Kings member and leader. As this guilty plea shows, however, our gang unit prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorneys and law enforcement partners are taking these violent offenders off the streets of our communities,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
“The defendant admitted that the Latin Kings is a violent organized gang with thousands of members who commit assaults, robberies and murders,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “The strategy of combining the resources and intelligence of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue federal racketeering charges is proving effective.”
According to Ortiz’s plea agreement, the Latin Kings is a violent street gang with thousands of members across the country and overseas. The Latin Kings have a detailed and uniform organizational structure, which is outlined – along with various “prayers,” codes of behavior and rituals – in a written “manifesto” widely distributed to members throughout the country. Members of the Latin Kings are also traditionally given “King Names” or “Queen Names,” which are names other than their legal names, by which they are known to members of the gang and to others on the street. At the local level, groups of Latin Kings are organized into “tribes,” including, the Royal Lion Tribe, MOG, Sun Tribe and UTL.
According to the plea agreement, in mid-2007, Ortiz became a member of the Royal Lion Tribe in Maryland and the tribe’s Third Crown/Enforcer. Ortiz became the First Crown/Inca of the tribe in 2008, when members of the Royal Lion tribe formed the MOG tribe. Ortiz led the MOG tribe until mid-2009, when he was removed from power, then formed and became the leader of the UTL tribe. As a Latin King leader, Ortiz organized meetings where dues were collected from members and gang business was discussed. As First Crown/Inca, Ortiz traveled to Pennsylvania, New York and Florida where he met with other Latin King leaders.
Ortiz admitted that as part of his gang activities, in late summer or fall of 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members carried out the armed robbery of a drug dealer at condominiums in Langley Park, Md. According to the plea agreement, one of the Latin Kings knocked on the drug dealer’s door and when the door opened, Ortiz and two other Latin King members and associates forced their way into the apartment, each carrying a gun. Once inside, they put their guns to the heads of the dealer and his young daughter. The Latin King members held the drug dealer and his daughter at gunpoint in the bedroom while they searched the residence, eventually stealing a few bags of powder cocaine.
According to the plea agreement, in December 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members and associates participated in the attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member. When several Latin King members began walking in the wooded area behind a condominium complex in Langley Park, one or more people - suspected to be MS-13 members - began shooting at them. After the Latin Kings began running to their cars, Ortiz made them stop, get out of their cars and retaliate against the suspected MS-13 members. When the Latin Kings found an individual who they believed was a member of MS-13, they attacked and stabbed him.
Ortiz admitted that on Jan. 19, 2009, he and other Latin King members and associates threatened and attempted to physically assault a Latin Queen, who was the intended victim of an earlier firebombing. Three days earlier, three members of the Latin Kings had been sentenced after pleading guilty in that case. Ortiz and other Latin Kings attended the sentencing at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Believing that if the Latin Queen was not a witness or changed her testimony the three Latin Kings would be able to successfully appeal their convictions for the firebombing, Ortiz and other Latin Kings put a plan in place to assault the Latin Queen in an attempt to influence, change or prevent her testimony. ATF agents learned of the plan and were able to prevent the attack.
Finally, Ortiz admitted that on July 8, 2009, he and members of the UTL tribe attempted to murder a person in Germantown, Md. The victim was walking on a residential street with two friends when a car approached them. Several people got out of the car and began chasing the victim. The victim was eventually caught and struck in the back of the head. The victim fell to the ground where Ortiz and other Latin Kings beat the victim with a bat, kicked, punched and stabbed him multiple times. Ortiz was arrested two days after the attack and at the time of his arrest had three machetes with him.
Ortiz faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. has scheduled sentencing for Dec. 1, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. Ortiz remains detained.
Co-defendants Miguel Cruz, aka “Skibee” and “King Skibee,” 45, of Bronx, N.Y., one of the founders of the Maryland tribe of the Latin Kings; Andres Echevarria, aka “B-Boy” and “King B-Boy,” 23, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who admitted that he held leadership positions in the Latin Kings; and Nelson Santos, aka “Nelly” and “King Nelly,” 27, of Silver Spring, Md., previously pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy in connection with their gang activities and are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 16, 2010, Sept. 2, 2010, and Oct. 22, 2010, respectively, at 9:30 a.m. All remain in federal custody.
The case was investigated by the Gaithersburg, Md.. Police Department, the Montgomery, Md., County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland National Capital Park Police - Prince George’s County Division, the Maryland State Police, the New York City Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Glatfelter and David Salem, and Lara M. Peirce, a Trial Attorney with the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit, prosecuted the case.
Canadian Man Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Selling Counterfeit Cancer Drugs Using the InternetRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Hazim Gaber, 22, of Edmonton, Canada, was sentenced today in Phoenix by U.S. District Court Judge James A. Teilborg to 33 months in prison for selling counterfeit cancer drugs using the Internet, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke for the District of Arizona and FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Office Nathan T. Gray. Judge Teilborg also ordered Gaber to pay a $75,000 fine, as well as $53,724 in restitution, and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.
Gaber was indicted by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on June 30, 2009, on five counts of wire fraud for selling counterfeit cancer drugs through the website DCAdvice.com. Gaber was arrested on July 25, 2009, in Frankfurt, Germany, and was extradited to the United States on Dec. 18, 2009. At his plea hearing in May 2010, Gaber admitted selling what he falsely claimed was the experimental cancer drug sodium dichloroacetate, also known as DCA, to at least 65 victims in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands between October and November 2007. Gaber also admitted to selling more than 800 pirated copies of business software between February 2007 and December 2008. As part of the plea agreement, Gaber agreed to forfeit or cancel any website, domain name or Internet services account related to this fraud scheme.
"Hazim Gaber went from selling false hope to cancer patients to now spending 33 months in a U.S. prison," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "Criminals often seek to exploit the most vulnerable of victims - but offering fake, unapproved medication to cancer patients reaches a new low. Today’s sentence shows that cyber criminals who prey on the seriously ill cannot elude justice simply by committing crimes outside of our borders."
"Gaber used the Internet to victimize people already suffering from the effects of cancer," said Dennis K. Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. "Now he will go to prison for this bogus business and heartless fraud."
"The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to pursuing individuals who prey on those who are living with the affects of cancer," said Nathan Gray, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Phoenix Division. "Today’s sentencing illustrates international law enforcement partners working together to send a message not to use the Internet to perpetuate fraud, especially against those afflicted with a serious medical condition."
According to the plea agreement, Gaber charged $23.68 for 10 grams of the purported DCA, $45.52 for 20 grams or $110.27 for 100 grams, plus shipping. In actuality, Gaber admitted he sent victims a white powdery substance that was later determined through laboratory tests to contain starch, dextrin, dextrose or lactose, and contained no DCA. According to court documents, along with the counterfeit DCA, the packages also contained a fraudulent certificate of analysis from a fictitious laboratory and instructions on how to dilute and ingest the bogus DCA. DCA is an experimental cancer drug that has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States. According to the plea agreement Gaber knew that the website DCAdvice.com contained false claims that it was the only legal supplier of DCA and falsely claimed it was associated with the University of Alberta.
According to information contained in the plea agreement, DCA is an odorless, colorless, inexpensive, relatively non-toxic experimental cancer drug that is highly sought by cancer patients. A doctor at the University of Alberta in Canada published a report in early 2007 summarizing the results of a study, which showed that DCA caused regression in several cancers, including lung cancer, breast cancer and cancerous brain tumors. According to information contained in the plea agreement, DCA cannot be prescribed by a medical doctor in the United States or Canada, since it is currently not approved for use in patients with cancer, nor is DCA available in pharmacies.
Today’s sentencing is part of a larger department-wide effort led by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force). Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation’s economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation and hard work. The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement, greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders. To learn more about the IP Task Force, go to www.justice.gov/dag/iptaskforce/
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Thomas S. Dougherty of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Sexton of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Significant assistance has been provided by the Edmonton Police Service, the Alberta Justice Office of Special Prosecutions-Edmonton, the Competition Bureau of Canada, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission and the Alberta Partnership Against Cross Border Fraud. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance in this case. The case was investigated by the Phoenix FBI Cyber Squad.
Tuesday 24 August 2010
Former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Charged with Bribery and Related Crimes in Afghanistan Fuel Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON A former U.S. Army staff sergeant was charged today with bribery, theft of government property and conspiracy in connection with a fuel theft scheme to solicit approximately $400,000 in bribes from a government contractor in Afghanistan, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Stevan Nathan Ringo, 26, of Marrero, La., was charged today in a three-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, with one count of bribery as a public official, one count of theft of government property, and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and theft of government property. Ringo was originally arrested on June 25, 2010, based on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government property.
According to the indictment, Ringo was stationed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank, a U.S. Army installation in the Logar Province of Eastern Afghanistan. FOB Shank supports U.S. military operations in Afghanistan in various ways, including through fuel receipt and redistribution. More specifically, the Army stores large quantities of fuel at FOB Shank and redistributes that fuel to installations in the surrounding area through government contractors. Ringo’s responsibilities at FOB Shank included supervision of that fuel redistribution process.
The indictment alleges that, between December 2009 and February 2010, Ringo solicited and accepted approximately $400,000 in cash payments from a government contractor in exchange for his creation and submission of fraudulent paperwork permitting that contractor to steal fuel from FOB Shank. The indictment alleges that the total value of the fuel stolen during the course of the scheme was approximately $1.4 million.
The bribery count carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000; three times the value of the payments made or solicited; or twice the value gained or lost from the scheme. The theft of government property count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost, while the conspiracy count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ryan S. Faulconer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmund P. Power for the Eastern District of Virginia. Substantial assistance was provided by Trial Attorney Dan E. Stigall of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs. The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, other military law enforcement at FOB Shank, and members of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force (NPFTF) and the International Contract Corruption Task Force (ICCTF).
The NPFTF, created in October 2006 by the Department of Justice, was designed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in government contracting activity for national security and other government programs. The ICCTF is a joint law enforcement agency task force that seeks to detect, investigate, and dismantle corruption and contract fraud resulting from U.S. Overseas Contingency Operations worldwide, including in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent.
Federal Court Permanently Bars Georgia Tax Preparers<br /> from Preparing Taxes for OthersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - A federal district judge in Atlanta has permanently barred Saloum A. Njie and his company, MIAAS Associates LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others, the Justice Department announced today. The court also ordered the defendants to provide their customer lists to the government and to mail copies of the court order to their former clients.
The court found that in preparing federal tax returns to submit to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the defendants consistently understated their customers’ true tax liabilities based upon unreasonable positions that they knew or should have known were not supported by substantial authority. The defendants prepared customers' tax returns claiming either the earned income tax credit for customers who do not qualify for the credit, or overstating the credit amount to which customers are entitled. Additionally, defendants have continued this unlawful practice despite three separate investigations by the IRS, each of which found numerous violations of federal tax law and resulted in thousands of dollars in monetary penalties.
Altogether, defendants’ activities may have resulted in more than $1 million in understated federal income tax liabilities for their customers, for returns prepared between 2006 and 2009.
Over the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained hundreds of injunctions to stop tax fraud promoters and dishonest tax return preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.
DOJ Officials Raise Awareness of Disaster Fraud Hotline for Reporting Oil Spill-Related SchemesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – As the Deepwater Horizon oil spill clean-up efforts continue and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) opens its doors, the Department of Justice is reminding members of the public to be aware of and report any instances of suspected fraudulent activity related to relief operations and funding for victims.
Members of the public can report fraud, waste, abuse or allegations of mismanagement involving disaster relief operations through the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Disaster Fraud Hotline at 877-NCDF-GCF (623-3423), the Disaster Fraud Fax at 225-334-4707 or the Disaster Fraud e-mail at [email protected]. Individuals can also report criminal activity to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. As part of a public awareness campaign, NCDF contact information is being publicized throughout the Gulf Coast region on 150 electronic billboards and more than 500 posters.
"We will not tolerate fraud schemes that exploit this tragic oil spill to the detriment of residents and businesses along the Gulf Coast," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "We know that following any disaster, criminals looking to make a quick buck often attempt to prey upon vulnerable disaster victims. Our agents and prosecutors stand ready to take swift and aggressive action against any oil-spill related fraud. We cannot and will not allow unscrupulous individuals to line their own pockets at the expense of men and women who have suffered real losses."
Assistant Attorney General Breuer reinforced that the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners have placed a high priority on the prompt investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes related to the oil spill.
"The NCDF stands ready to take complaints about any and all forms of fraud stemming from the oil spill," said Jim Letten, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana and Executive Director for the NCDF. "We urge all members of the public who suspect or hear reports of fraud relating to the oil spill to immediately contact the NCDF. All legitimate complaints that the NCDF receives will be immediately screened and referred to appropriate federal investigative agencies for possible criminal investigation and prosecution."
The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, certain U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and law enforcement agencies are coordinating to ensure expeditious handling of oil spill-related fraud cases. To enhance effective coordination among prosecutors, federal criminal investigative agencies and inspectors general, the department will host a one-day law enforcement training and coordination conference on oil spill fraud issues in September.
In response to a significant amount of fraud associated with federal disaster relief programs that went into effect following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, a Joint Command Center was established in Baton Rouge, La., in 2005. The command center, now known as the National Center for Disaster Fraud, has received and screened more than 39,000 complaints of disaster fraud and referred more than 25,000 of those to law enforcement for investigation. The NCDF – based on its extensive expertise and established infrastructure – has helped victims of fraud related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Wilma, Ike and Gustav, as well as those affected by severe storms in more than 20 different states, earthquakes, tsunamis and wildfires.
To date, the Department of Justice has charged more than 1,300 defendants in 47 judicial districts throughout the country for disaster fraud related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
To learn more about the NCDF and its efforts to fight fraud related to the oil spill, go to www.justice.gov/criminal/oilspill/.
Monday 23 August 2010
Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Apache and Navajo Counties, ArizonaRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it will monitor the primary elections on Aug. 24, 2010, in Apache and Navajo Counties, Ariz., to ensure compliance with the minority language requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other federal voting rights statutes. The Voting Rights Act requires these covered jurisdictions to provide language assistance in certain Native American languages during the election process.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the Attorney General or by a federal court order. Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in these counties based on the attorney general’s certification. The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations in these jurisdictions, and Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.
Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from OPM, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country. To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931. Visit www.justice.gov/crt/voting/index.php for more information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws.
Georgia Man Convicted of Child Sex Abuse OffensesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Dwain D. Williams was convicted Thursday by a federal jury in Valdosta, Ga., on child sex abuse offenses, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney G. F. Peterman III of the Middle District of Georgia.
Williams was convicted of one count of traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in illicit sexual conduct, one count of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact of a child under 12 years of age. The aggravated sexual abuse and the abusive sexual contact charges were committed while Williams was accompanying a member of the Armed Forces outside of the United States in violation of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA). Williams faces a possible mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison for his conviction.
At trial, the female victim, currently 15 years old, testified that Williams had repeatedly raped her starting from when she was nine years old until she was 13, when she lived in Okinawa, Japan.
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.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah McEwen of the Middle District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Mi Yung C. Park of CEOS. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Office of Special Investigations for Moody Air Force.
California Man Sentenced to Serve 295 Months in Prison in Child Pornography CaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – David Grummer, 44, of San Diego, was sentenced late Friday to 295 months in prison following his conviction on 18 counts of receipt of child pornography and five counts of possession of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy for the Southern District of California.
Grummer was convicted by a federal jury in San Diego on June 24, 2010. Grummer is also required to register as a sex offender and to serve 15 years of supervised release following his prison term. Grummer has been detained since his arrest on Dec. 5, 2008.
The case originated from a joint investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Criminal Enforcement and the FBI into the illegal sale of chlordane and DDT on the Internet. According to court documents and three days of trial testimony, Grummer, who was employed at a hazardous waste recycling facility, was selling banned chemicals on the Internet. Following an EPA, Office of Criminal Enforcement and FBI search warrant of his residence in Oceanside, Calif., forensic examiners discovered child pornography on one of the computer hard drives seized. According to evidence at trial and court documents, the FBI Cyber Squad then conducted an investigation that led to a second search warrant of the residence and the discovery of hundreds of images of child pornography on five separate hard drives. Additional forensic analysis revealed Grummer utilized file share programs to search for and download images depicting the sexual exploitation of children.
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 was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alessandra P. Serano and Matthew J. Gardner for the Southern District of California and Trial Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). The case was investigated by the EPA and the FBI, with the assistance from the Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory. Additional computer forensic support was provided by CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit.
Friday 20 August 2010
Two Individuals Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Traffic in Counterfeit Slot Machines and Computer ProgramsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Rodolfo Rodriguez Cabrera, 43, a Cuban national, and Henry Mantilla, 35, of Cape Coral, Fla., were sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Philip M. Pro in Las Vegas to two years in prison each for conspiring to produce and sell counterfeit International Game Technology (IGT) video gaming machines, commonly known as slot machines, and counterfeit IGT computer programs, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada Daniel G. Bogden and FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Las Vegas Field Office Kevin Favreau.
Judge Pro also ordered Cabrera and Mantilla each to pay $151,800 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms. The defendants also agreed to forfeit any and all counterfeit items in their possession and any illegal proceeds from their criminal activity.
Cabrera and Mantilla pleaded guilty on May 6, 2010, for their roles in the conspiracy. They were indicted originally by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas on April 22, 2009, with one count of conspiracy, two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, two counts of trafficking in counterfeit labels and two counts of criminal copyright infringement. According to court documents, Cabrera and Mantilla conspired between August 2007 and April 15, 2009, to make and sell unauthorized copies of computer programs designed for IGT video slot machines and counterfeit IGT video slot machines bearing IGT’s registered trademarks, all without the permission of IGT.
Cabrera was arrested June 8, 2009, in Riga, Latvia, and extradited from Latvia to the United States on Oct. 23, 2009. Cabrera is the first individual to be extradited from Latvia to the United States under a new extradition treaty between the U.S. and Latvia, which entered into force on April 15, 2009. Cabrera’s extradition and prosecution is the result of cooperation between U.S. and Latvian law enforcement and the Latvian government.
Today’s sentencings are part of a larger department-wide effort led by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force). Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation’s economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation and hard work. The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement, greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders. To learn more about the IP Task Force, go to http://www.justice.gov/dag/iptaskforce/
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Thomas S. Dougherty of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Chu of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada. Significant assistance has been provided by the Central Criminal Police Department of the Latvian Ministry of Interior; Latvia’s Office of the Prosecutor General, International Cooperation Division; and Senior Trial Attorney Deborah Gaynus of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
Tennessee Man Charged in Connection with Sex Trafficking SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in the Western District of Tennessee indicted Terrence Arnett Yarbrough, aka “T-Rex,” on four counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion against minor and adult female victims. Yarbrough, Michelle Johnson and Norma Yarbrough Webb were additionally charged in the indictment with conspiracy to fraudulently obtain food stamps.
The charges include allegations of sex trafficking of two minor and two adult female victims, during the time period between June 2006 and August 2009. Specifically, the indictment alleges that through the use of force, fraud and coercion, Yarbrough caused the women to commit commercial sex acts for his own financial benefit.
The conspiracy count alleges that on Sept. 26, 2009, and continuing until Feb. 28, 2010, Yarbrough, Johnson and Webb conspired to unlawfully acquire and possess food stamp coupons, authorization cards and access devices. According to the indictment, while Yarbrough was incarcerated in Lincoln City Mo. , he conspired with Webb to apply for food stamp benefits on his behalf. Webb then submitted an application to the Tennessee Department of Human Services that stated that Yarbrough resided at a particular address in Memphis Tenn The indictment also alleges that Johnson used the fraudulently-obtained benefits to purchase food at various stores in Missouri The food stamps, authorization cards and access devices were valued between $100 and $5,000, and were used to support the female victims.
If convicted of sex trafficking, Yarbrough could face a maximum sentence of life in prison. If convicted of conspiracy, Yarbrough could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker from the U.S. Attorney ’s Office for the Wester n District of Tennessee, and Jonathan Skrmetti, a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice ’s Civil Rights Division.
Statement on Accused Arms Trafficker Viktor Bout by Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. GrindlerRead the Press Release
"We are extremely pleased that the Appeals Court in Thailand has granted the extradition of Viktor Bout to the United States on charges of conspiring to sell weapons to a terrorist organization for use in killing Americans. We have always felt that the facts of the case, the relevant Thai law and the terms of our bilateral extradition treaty clearly supported the extradition of Mr. Bout on these charges.
The prosecution of Viktor Bout is of utmost priority to the United States, but the criminal charges he faces are not solely an American concern. He has been sanctioned by the United Nations for alleged arms trafficking activity and support of armed conflicts in Africa."
Northern Virginia Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Failing to Pay Employment TaxesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Eric Jon Eisenhower, a resident of Fairfax Station, Va., pleaded guilty Thursday 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 between 2004 and 2008, the Justice Department and IRS announced today.
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. U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis set Eisenhower’s sentencing for Nov. 12, 2010.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle and Tax Division Trial Attorney Caryn Mark are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.