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15 December 2009
Presidential Task Force on Controlled Unclassified Information Releases Report and RecommendationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON— Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced two major steps in their efforts to implement reforms to enhance information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and safeguard sensitive information used by the government—designed to expand joint capabilities to protect the United States from terrorist activity, violent crime and other threats to the homeland.
The Presidential Interagency Task Force on Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), led by Attorney General Holder and Secretary Napolitano, today released a report recommending a single, standardized framework for marking, safeguarding and disseminating sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information across the federal government. SBU information refers collectively to the various designations for documents and information that are sufficiently sensitive to warrant some level of protection but that do not meet the standards for classification.
Attorney General Holder and Secretary Napolitano also announced the creation of dual Program Management Offices (PMOs) to coordinate support for state and local Fusion Centers and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI), housed within DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ), respectively, to work in partnership to enhance information sharing between federal, state, local and tribal agencies and the private sector. Coupled with the CUI framework, these new offices represent a significant milestone toward fully implementing information sharing reforms called for following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"Our recommendations will allow the federal government to be more open and transparent while still meeting our first priority of keeping the American people safe," said Attorney General Holder. "By streamlining and modernizing the system for designating, marking and handling sensitive information, we can achieve the appropriate balance between the public’s right to access information and the government's imperative to maintain the security and privacy of all Americans."
"Our review of policies and procedures for access to and sharing of sensitive but unclassified information across the U.S. Government revealed a need for a more open, standardized approach," said Secretary Napolitano. "The task force recommendations, coupled with newly-dedicated federal-wide resources to support Fusion Centers, will improve information sharing, transparency and engagement with our partners in state and local law enforcement as we work together to combat terrorism, violent crime and other dangerous threats to the homeland."
Both announcements reflect the Obama administration’s commitment to improving the ability of federal state, local and tribal governments as well as the private sector to gather, analyze, share and utilize information in order to protect communities from violent crime including terrorism, while protecting the privacy and civil rights of Americans.
The Task Force report proposes 40 actions intended to mitigate current inconsistencies among SBU information policies in federal agencies by simplifying and consolidating procedures—intended to enhance standardization, information sharing, government transparency, and protection of information only where there is a compelling requirement to do so. The recommendations also seek to balance the imperatives of protecting legitimate security, law enforcement, privacy and civil liberties interests.
The Task Force was directed to review the ongoing efforts of the CUI Council, which was established by a 2008 Presidential Memorandum, and its ongoing efforts to establish a CUI Framework for terrorism-related information. One significant recommendation in the report would expand the scope of the CUI Framework to the designation, marking, safeguarding and dissemination of all SBU information.
The new PMOs will work jointly to provide sustained funding and personnel support to 72 state and local Fusion Centers nationwide and provide training and resources to frontline law enforcement officials to better document activities possibly linked to terrorism through NSI, a DHS-DOJ collaboration designed to detect, analyze and share intelligence about suspicious behavior and other indicators while protecting privacy and civil liberties.
The Fusion Center and NSI PMOs will establish strong cross-linkages, including the exchange of senior-level specialists and management personnel, and joint program performance measures in order to ensure efficient oversight and coordination of current initiatives and successfully facilitate ongoing efforts to build and develop the Information Sharing Environment.
State and major urban area Fusion Centers help fulfill key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission by providing critical links for information sharing between and across all levels of government. NSI operates in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major City Chiefs, Major County Sheriffs, and other state, local and tribal partners to gather, blend and analyze information gathered from local law enforcement about suspicious activity.
There are more than 100 different SBU markings and handling procedures currently in use across the federal government. The report recommends that all SBU markings be replaced with one, simplified set of markings—"CUI"—which will be standardized under the CUI Framework. Additional recommendations include simplifying the definition of CUI; clarifying that CUI markings have no bearing on releases either under the Freedom of Information Act or to Congress; and phasing in implementation of the expanded scope of the CUI Framework.
President Obama initiated the review on May 27 with a Presidential Memorandum directing Attorney General Holder and Secretary Napolitano to lead a 90-day review of current procedures for categorizing and sharing SBU information. If implemented, the recommendations would revise the 2008 Presidential Memorandum that established the CUI Framework for handling and disseminating CUI information.
The Task Force, which involved senior representatives from 12 federal agencies, met with representatives both within and outside the information sharing environment; state, local and tribal partners; privacy and open government organizations; and members of Congress. The Task Force also analyzed previous studies of SBU and the efforts of the CUI Council.
For more information, visit www.dhs.gov or www.justice.gov. The report can be found online at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cui_task_force_rpt.pdf
Parent Company of Two New Jersey Hospitals to Pay U.S. $7.95 Million to Settle False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services Inc., the parent company of two New Jersey hospitals, has agreed to pay the United States $7.95 million to resolve allegations that the hospitals defrauded Medicare, the Justice Department announced today. The two hospitals are Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center (OLL) in Camden, N.J., and Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County (LMC) in Willingboro, N.J.
LMC is a defendant in a suit brought by a whistleblower, Tony Kite, in 2005. The lawsuit alleged that the hospital fraudulently inflated its charges to Medicare patients to obtain enhanced reimbursement from Medicare. In addition to its standard payment system, Medicare provides supplemental reimbursement, called "outlier payments," to hospitals and other health care providers in cases where the cost of care is unusually high. Congress enacted the supplemental outlier payments system to give hospitals the incentive to treat inpatients whose care requires unusually high costs. The lawsuit alleged that the hospital inflated its charges to obtain supplemental outlier payments for cases that were not extraordinarily costly and for which outlier payments should not have been paid.
The United States conducted a separate investigation of OLL. The government alleged, as a result of that investigation, that the hospital also wrongfully obtained excessive outlier payments.
"As the settlement announced today demonstrates, the Department of Justice is committed to pursuing those who defraud Medicare and drive up the costs of health care," said Assistant Attorney General Tony West, head of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. Assistant Attorney General West noted that this settlement was the result of the coordinated efforts of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"This office is committed to protecting the Medicare Trust Fund from fraud and abuse," said Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Mr. Kite brought his suit under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Under the civil settlement announced today, Mr. Kite will receive $356,000, plus interest, out of the Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services settlement.
Michigan Tax Preparers Permanently Barred from Preparing Returns for OthersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON –The Justice Department today announced that Chief District Judge Paul L. Maloney has permanently barred Joyce M. Stone and Charles J. Freed, both of Tipton, Mich., from preparing income tax returns for others. Judge Maloney, sitting in Kalamazoo, entered the order and judgment, which also bars Stone, Freed and their company, Stone and Associates, from aiding or assisting others in the preparation of income tax returns and from engaging in any other conduct that substantially interferes with the enforcement of the internal revenue laws. Stone and Freed consented to the entry of the permanent injunctions against them.
According to the government’s filings, Stone and Freed prepared customers’ income tax returns claiming improper deductions, including improper deductions for fictitious or inflated charitable contributions and employee expenses. The court previously found that, acting individually or through their business, Stone, Freed and a third defendant prepared more than 3,500 income tax returns since January 2005. An IRS audit of a sample of returns they prepared showed that these returns understated tax liability by an average of $6,283 per return.
Stone and Freed have been barred from preparing income tax returns for others since the entry of a preliminary injunction against them in 2006. In a separate criminal proceeding, Judge Maloney on Nov. 30, 2009, sentenced Stone and Freed to prison for 37 months, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Both pleaded guilty in June 2009 to conspiring to defraud the IRS with respect to their return-preparation activities. At the sentencing hearing, the court found that Stone and Freed had repeatedly violated the preliminary consent injunction by continuing to prepare returns ever after they had been ordered by a federal judge to stop.
In the past decade the Justice Department has obtained injunctions against more than 435 tax-scheme promoters and tax preparers. Information about those cases is available on the Justice Department Web site.
Medicare Fraud Strike Force Expands Operations into Brooklyn, N.Y.; Tampa, Fla.; and Baton Rouge, La.Read the Press Release
Thirty people have been charged in three cities for their alleged roles in schemes to submit more than $61 million in false Medicare claims as part of the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division announced today. Also today, the Departments of Justice and HHS announced the expansion of Strike Force operations to Brooklyn, Tampa and Baton Rouge in the fifth, sixth and seventh phases of a targeted criminal, civil and administrative effort against individuals and health care companies that fraudulently bill the Medicare program.
Five indictments were unsealed today in Miami, Detroit and Brooklyn, following the arrests of twenty-five individuals in Miami, four individuals in Detroit and one in Brooklyn. In addition, Strike Force agents executed four search warrants at businesses and homes in Coconut Creek, Fla.; Miami and Brooklyn.
The joint DOJ-HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of federal, state and local investigators designed to combat Medicare fraud through the use of Medicare data analysis techniques and an increased focus on community policing. Strike Force teams are operating in seven cities in the United States: Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston, Brooklyn, Tampa and Baton Rouge.
"When President Obama took office, he promised a new commitment to cracking down on the criminals who steal billions of dollars from Medicare each year through fraudulent claims," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "Today, HHS and DOJ are following through on that commitment with the announcement of three new Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams in Baton Rouge, Tampa, and in Brooklyn. Along with teams already operating in Miami, Los Angeles, Houston and Detroit, these Strike Force operations will allow us to concentrate our agents and resources on the criminal hubs where we know a significant share of fraud occurs. Medicare is a sacred promise to America’s seniors and we will do everything we can to protect it. The announcement we’re making today is a significant step towards securing Medicare for seniors today and generations to come."
"Medicare fraud schemes are driven by greed – pure and simple," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "The people who perpetrate these crimes rob Medicare of precious dollars by fraudulently billing for made-up or unnecessary services. In Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit and Houston, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force is making significant progress against these schemes. Through the Strike Force’s proven data analysis, we are now also identifying and prosecuting the worst offenders in Brooklyn, Tampa and Baton Rouge, and we will continue to rid these communities of Medicare fraudsters."
The Strike Force operations in Brooklyn, Tampa and Baton Rouge are another important step of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their joint efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud through enhanced cooperation. The HEAT taskforce is made up of top-level law enforcement agents, prosecutors and staff from both Departments and their operating divisions. In the May 2009 announcement, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the expansion of the Strike Force into Detroit and Houston to build upon existing partnerships between the agencies in a heightened effort to reduce fraud and recover taxpayer dollars.
Individuals charged in indictments announced today are accused of various Medicare fraud crimes, including conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program, conspiracy to launder money, money laundering, criminal false claims, making false statements and receiving kickbacks.
According to charging documents, the defendants participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for products and services that were in fact medically unnecessary and oftentimes, never provided. In the Detroit cases, defendants are alleged to have participated in a scheme whereby they paid pay kickbacks to patients who received instructions from the clinic owners and patient recruiters to feign symptoms to justify expensive testing, including nerve conduction studies. In Brooklyn, the two defendants are alleged to have billed Medicare for durable medical equipment, including expensive shoe inserts reserved for diabetes patients, when in fact much cheaper and over-the-counter shoe inserts were provided to beneficiaries who often didn’t need them. In Miami, 15 individuals, including doctors and nurses, are charged in connection with fraudulent claims to Medicare for home health services. In another case in Miami, individuals are charged for their various roles in running a medical clinic that purported to provide injection and infusion treatments to HIV/AIDS patients and submitted fraudulent claims Medicare for such services, which were often medically unnecessary and/or never provided.
Collectively, the physicians, company owners, executives and others charged in the indictments are accused of conspiring to submit approximately $61 million in false claims to the Medicare program.
"The successful HEAT operations today are powerful illustrations of the effectiveness of our interagency Strike Force teams," said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. "They demonstrate our commitment to catching criminals who prey on providers and beneficiaries alike. The addition of Strike Force teams to Brooklyn, Tampa and Baton Rouge, based on extensive data analysis, expands law enforcement’s combined efforts to combat health care fraud."
"Today’s announcement reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to working with our partners in the fight against health care fraud," said Kevin Perkins, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. "We will continue to dedicate the resources necessary to root out the fraud and bring those perpetrating it to justice. This type of fraud is not victimless - we are all victims when our health care system is defrauded."
Since the inception of Strike Force operations in March 2007 – Miami (Phase One), Los Angeles (Phase Two), Detroit (Phase Three), Houston (Phase Four), and Brooklyn (Phase Five) – the Strike Force has obtained indictments of more than 460 individuals and organizations that collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than one billion dollars. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
Each of the Strike Force teams is led by a federal prosecutor from the respective U.S. Attorneys’ Office or the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. Each team has an agent from the FBI and HHS-OIG.
The cases are being prosecuted by Deputy Chief Kirk Ogrosky, Senior Trial Attorney John K. Neal, Trial Attorneys N. Nathan Dimock, Gejaa T. Gobena, Benjamin Singer, Katherine Houston, Michael Padula, and Special Trial Attorney Martha Talley of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
To learn more about the HEAT team, go to: www.hhs.gov/stopmedicarefraud
Case Summaries
Detroit Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet
Los Angeles Area Tax Preparer Sentenced <br /> to Six Months in Prison for Violating InjunctionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – James A. Mattatall of Torrance, Calif., was sentenced yesterday to six months in prison for violating a permanent injunction, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson sentenced Mattatall to the maximum sentence allowable under law.
In 2004, a permanent injunction was entered which barred Mattatall from preparing tax returns for others and representing persons before the IRS. In September 2009, Mattatall was convicted of criminal contempt following a one-day trial before Judge Dean Pregerson, who had also entered the injunction against Mattatall.
According to evidence presented at trial, Mattatall violated the injunction by continuing to prepare tax returns and represent customers before the IRS after he was enjoined from doing so. Additionally, Mattatall attempted to evade detection by not signing returns he prepared and by using an alias when representing customers before the IRS.
According to statements made by Judge Pregerson at the sentencing hearing, a maximum sentence was important to accomplish the societal interests in fostering respect for the law and deterring others from breaking the tax laws. The court noted that sending a message that those who violate injunctions will face jail time was an important goal of the sentence. Judge Pregerson cautioned Mattatall not to construct an "alternative universe" that justifies disobeying tax laws, while ordinary taxpayers meet their tax obligations in a law-abiding manner.
"The court’s strong sentence shows there are serious criminal consequences to violating injunctions," said John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. "The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting any enjoined tax preparer or promoter who violates an injunction."
Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco commended the efforts of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division agents who investigated the case, as well as trial attorney Michael Pahl and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Conte of the Central District of California, who prosecuted the case.
In the past decade the Justice Department has obtained injunctions against more than 435 tax preparers and tax fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Tax Division Web site.
Former State Department Employee Sentenced<br /> for Illegally Accessing Confidential Passport FilesRead the Press Release
A former State Department employee was sentenced today to 24 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 65 confidential passport application files. Karal Busch, 28, of District Heights, Md., was also ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the District of Columbia to perform 25 hours of community service. Busch pleaded guilty on Aug. 26, 2009, to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access.
According to court documents, Busch worked full-time for the State Department as a citizens services specialist in the Office of Children’s Issues from June 2003 through July 2006. In pleading guilty, Busch admitted that she had access to official State Department computer databases in the regular course of her employment, including the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS), which contains all imaged passport applications dating back to 1994. The imaged passport applications on PIERS contain, among other things, a photograph of the passport applicant as well as certain personal information including the applicant’s full name, date and place of birth, current address, telephone numbers, parent information, spouse’s name and emergency contact information. These confidential files are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, and access by State Department employees is strictly limited to official government duties.
In pleading guilty, Busch admitted that between March 4, 2004, and June 1, 2006, she logged onto the PIERS database and viewed the passport applications of more than 65 celebrities and their families, actors, professional athletes, musicians, models and other individuals identified in the press. Busch admitted that she had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that her sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity.
Busch is the ninth current or former State Department employee or contractor to plead guilty in this continuing investigation. On Sept. 22, 2008, Lawrence C. Yontz, a former Foreign Service Officer and intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 200 confidential passport files. Yontz was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2008, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Jan. 14, 2009, Dwayne F. Cross, a former administrative assistant and contract specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 150 confidential passport files. Cross was sentenced on March 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. On Jan. 27, 2009, Gerald R. Lueders, a former Foreign Service Officer, watch officer and recruitment coordinator, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 50 confidential passport files. Lueders was sentenced on July 8, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. On July 10, 2009, William A. Celey, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 75 confidential passport files. Celey was sentenced on Oct. 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Aug. 17, 2009, Kevin M. Young, a contact representative, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 125 confidential passport files. Young was sentenced on Dec. 9, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. On Oct. 27, 2009, Yvette M. Burrison, a passport specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 100 confidential passport files. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled for Burrison. On Nov. 9, 2009, Susan Holloman, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing 70 confidential passport files. Holloman is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2010. On Aug. 26, 2009, Debra Sue Brown, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 60 confidential passport files. Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on Mar. 23, 2010.
These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Armando O. Bonilla of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The cases are being investigated by the State Department Office of Inspector General.
Former Senate Employee Charged with $75,000 Wire Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Ngozi T. Pole, 39, a former office manager in the U.S. Senate, was charged today in a six-count indictment for an alleged scheme to defraud the U.S. Senate of more than $75,000, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division announced today.
According to the indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Washington, Pole worked as the office manager for former U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Pole’s responsibilities included transmitting salary and bonus information to the Senate Disbursing Office in order to adjust the pay of employees in the Senator’s office. According to the indictment, beginning in at least 2003 and continuing until January 2007, Pole repeatedly submitted paperwork causing the Senate to pay him larger salary and bonus payments than had been approved by either the chief of staff or Senator Kennedy. The indictment alleges that the excess payments totaled more than $75,000.
According to the indictment, Pole hid the existence of these unauthorized payments by repeatedly transmitting information to the chief of staff falsely showing that Pole received only those payments which had been authorized. Pole, of Waldorf, Md., is charged with five counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government property.
Each wire fraud charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. The theft of government property charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys M. Kendall Day and Ethan H. Levisohn of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division. The case is being investigated by the FBI. Senator Kennedy’s Office has cooperated fully with the investigation.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Indictment
14 December 2009
Terrorism Defendants Sentenced in AtlantaRead the Press Release
Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, of Roswell, Ga., and Syed Haris Ahmed, 25, of Atlanta, were sentenced today in federal court following their convictions earlier this year in separate but related criminal trials, the Justice Department announced.
"With their words and their actions, these defendants supported the wrongheaded but very dangerous idea that armed violence aimed at American interests will force our Government and our people to change our policies. That is terrorism, and it will not succeed," said Sally Quillian Yates, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. "The risk posed by men such as these defendants continues, both here and abroad. Hopefully, meaningful sentences such as these will make our citizens and our soldiers safer around the world as the message is sent that we will vigorously investigate and prosecute those who would ally themselves with terrorists."
In Washington, D.C., David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division, said, "This case serves as another reminder of the global nature of the terrorism threat and the importance of international and domestic cooperation in addressing it. These defendants, who conducted surveillance of potential terror targets at home and pursued terrorist training overseas, were part of an online network that connected extremists in North America, Europe and South Asia. I commend all those who were involved in this prosecution and the related investigations around the world."
FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Greg Jones said, "The radicalization of U.S. citizens by jihadist recruiters abroad is a very real and growing concern that the FBI and the U.S. Government as a whole must deal with. The FBI is charged with preventing terrorist attacks before they occur and we are committed to this task. Individuals engaged in such activities as these two individuals cannot successfully argue that such activities are constitutionally protected."
U.S. District Court Judge William S. Duffey, Jr., sentenced Sadequee to a term of 17 years in prison, to be followed by 30 years of supervised release. Judge Duffey sentenced Ahmed to 13 years in prison, also to be followed by 30 years of supervised release.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Yates and the evidence presented during the trial: Sadequee was born in Fairfax, Va., in 1986. He attended school in the United States, Canada and Bangladesh. In December 2001, while living in Bangladesh, he sought to join the Taliban, to help them in their fight against U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Ahmed, a naturalized citizen born in Pakistan in 1984, came to the United States in the mid-1990s. He attended high school in Roswell and Dawsonville, Ga., followed by college studies at North Georgia College and Georgia Tech.
Sadequee and Ahmed began discussing their obligation to support jihad in late 2004. By this time, both Sadequee and Ahmed had become active on several web forums known to support the cause of violent jihad. These discussions quickly grew into an active conspiracy with others to provide material support to terrorists engaged in violent jihad. The evidence indicated that the material support consisted of (1) Sadequee, Ahmed, and other individuals who intended to provide themselves as personnel to engage in violent jihad, and (2) property, namely, video clips of symbolic and infrastructure targets for potential terrorist attacks in the Washington, D.C., area, including the U.S. Capitol, the World Bank headquarters, the Masonic Temple, and a fuel tank farm -- all of which were taken by Sadequee and Ahmed to be sent to "the jihadi brothers" abroad.
At trial, the government presented evidence that Sadequee, Ahmed, and their co-conspirators used the Internet to develop relationships and maintain contact with each other and with other supporters of violent jihad in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Pakistan and elsewhere. In support of the conspiracy, in March 2005 Sadequee and Ahmed traveled to Toronto to meet with other co-conspirators, including Fahim Ahmad, one of the "Toronto 18" suspects awaiting a terrorism trial in Canada. While in Canada, Sadequee, Ahmed, and their co-conspirators discussed their plans to travel to Pakistan in an effort to attend a paramilitary training camp operated by a terrorist organization, as well as potential targets for terrorist attacks in the United States.
In April 2005, Sadequee and Ahmed drove to the Washington, D.C., area to take the casing videos, which the government’s evidence showed they made to establish their credentials with other violent jihad supporters as well as for use in violent jihad propaganda and planning. Sadequee later sent several of the video clips to Younis Tsouli, aka "Irhabi007" (Arabic for "Terrorist 007"), a propagandist and recruiter for the terrorist organization Al Qaeda in Iraq, and to Aabid Hussein Khan, aka "Abu Umar," a facilitator for the Pakistan-based terrorist organizations "Lashkar-e-Tayyiba" and "Jaish-e-Mohammed." Both Tsouli and Khan have since been convicted of terrorism-related offenses in the United Kingdom and are imprisoned there.
The government’s evidence additionally showed that Sadequee and Aabid Hussein Khan, the convicted U.K.-based terrorist, using a members-only violent jihadist web forum known as "At-Tibyan Publications," recruited at least two individuals to participate in violent jihad. One, a self-identified 17-year-old American convert, was praised by Sadequee for his "capacity of fulfilling [his] largest obligations in [his] native land."
The government also presented evidence at trial that in July 2005, Ahmed traveled from Atlanta to Pakistan in an unsuccessful attempt to enter a paramilitary terrorist training camp and ultimately engage in violent jihad. While in Pakistan, Ahmed met with Aabid Hussein Khan, and the two discussed Ahmed’s intention of joining a camp. The day before Ahmed returned to Atlanta, Sadequee departed Atlanta for Bangladesh, carrying with him, hidden in the lining of his suitcase, an encrypted CD; a map of Washington, D.C., that covered all of the areas he and Ahmed had cased; and a scrap of paper with Aabid Hussein Khan’s mobile phone number in Pakistan.
Once in Bangladesh, Sadequee began to conspire more closely with Younis Tsouli and Mirsad Bektasevic, a Swedish national of Serbian origins. Specifically, Tsouli, Bektasevic, Sadequee and others formed a violent jihadist organization known as "Al Qaeda in Northern Europe." The group was to be based in Sweden. The evidence at trial showed that in October 2005, Sadequee sought a visa that would allow him to relocate from Bangladesh to Sweden. Bektasevic was arrested in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Oct. 19, 2005. He and a co-conspirator were found in possession of over 20 pounds of plastic explosives, a suicide belt with detonator, a firearm with a silencer and a video recorded by Bektasevic demonstrating how to make detonators; showing an arsenal of semi-automatic weapons, grenades, explosives and other arms; and depicting Bektasevic and others placing a grenade booby-trap in a forest near Sarajevo. Sadequee had been in electronic and telephonic contact with Bektasevic as recently as three days before Bektasevic’s arrest, discussing the silencer and explosives Bektasevic had acquired for the group. Bektasevic has since been convicted of terrorism offenses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Meanwhile, after returning to Atlanta to resume his studies at Georgia Tech in August 2005, Ahmed remained in contact with Sadequee, expressed regret at his failure to join violent jihadists, conducted internet research on topics such as high explosives and defeating Special Operations troops, and discussed his intent to make another attempt to enter a violent jihad training camp. In March 2006, Ahmed was approached by FBI agents and agreed to a series of voluntary, non-custodial interviews over the course of eight days. Amid efforts to deny his illegal activities and mislead the agents, Ahmed made increasingly incriminating statements. Efforts by the FBI to obtain Ahmed’s cooperation in the ongoing international terrorism investigation ended after the FBI discovered that Ahmed was surreptitiously contacting Sadequee, who was still in Bangladesh, to advise him of the FBI investigation and to warn him not to return to the United States.
Ahmed was arrested on March 23, 2006, in Atlanta, on material support of terrorism charges. He has been in custody ever since.
Sadequee was arrested on April 20, 2006, in Bangladesh, on charges arising out of false statements he made in an August 2005 interview with the FBI in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). Sadequee was indicted in the Northern District of Georgia on July 19, 2006, and transferred to Atlanta in August of that year, after the charges in EDNY were dismissed at the Government’s request.
This case was investigated by agents and officers of the Atlanta Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which is led by the FBI, Atlanta Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert McBurney, Alexis Collins and Christopher Bly prosecuted the case.
North Dakota Executive Sentenced to Prison for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Micheal Fisher, a former co-owner of Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. Inc. (FSG) based in Dickinson, N.D., was sentenced to 37 months in prison today by Judge Daniel L. Hovland in Bismark, N.D., the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Judge Hovland also ordered Fisher to pay a $90,000 fine and to pay restitution of $308,069.
On May 29, 2009, Fisher pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding the IRS, four counts of aiding in the filing of false federal tax returns for FSG and four counts of filing false individual tax returns.
In October 2008, Amiel Schaff, FSG’s former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. In May 2009, Clyde Frank, FSG’s former comptroller, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. FSG was also charged in the superseding indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States. In May 2009, the United States reached a deferred prosecution agreement with FSG in which FSG admitted responsibility for defrauding the United States. The agreement requires FSG to pay a total of $1.16 million in restitution, penalties and fines, implement measures to prevent future fraud at the company and cooperate with the IRS in audits of its tax returns. Under that agreement, prosecution against FSG is deferred until December 2011.
According to court documents and testimony, Micheal Fisher caused FSG employees to pay for personal expenses such as construction expenses and furnishings for his personal residence and a recreation building, construction expenses for improvements to Tiger Discount, a gas station owned and controlled by Fisher, as well as household and utility bills, vacations, credit card bills and legal expenses for him and other Fisher family members. According to court documents and testimony, these payments for Fisher were never reported to the IRS, they were deducted on the FSG corporate income tax returns, and Fisher failed to report all of his income on his individual income tax returns.
In October 2009, Judge Hovland sentenced Schaff and Frank each to 12 months probation with a condition of home confinement. Judge Hovland also imposed a $1,000 fine on each co-defendant and ordered both Schaff and Frank to complete 20 hours of community service by speaking to college students about the criminal offense to which they pleaded guilty and corporate fraud in general.
"As tax filing season approaches, U.S. taxpayers should be aware of the serious consequences facing those who fail to honestly and accurately report their income to the IRS," said John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. "Those who fly in the face of the tax laws face investigation, prosecution, and if convicted, significant prison sentences and substantial fines."
"IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to investigating individuals who use their corporations as personal piggy banks," said Eileen Mayer, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. "Mr. Fisher used his position of power to defraud not just his own company, but the honest, hardworking Americans that pay their tax obligations."
Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota for their assistance in this case. He also thanked the IRS Criminal Investigation agents who investigated the case, as well as Tax Division trial attorneys Christopher S. Strauss and Michael J. Watling who prosecuted the case.
11 December 2009
Physical Therapist, Money Launderer and<br /> Patient Recruiter Plead Guilty in Connection <br /> with Multiple Detroit Health Care Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Detroit-area residents Baskaran Thangarasan, Sandeep Aggarwal and Wayne Smith pleaded guilty this week for their roles in connection with several Detroit-area health care fraud schemes, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Terrence I. Berg, Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Daniel Levinson, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today.
Thangarasan, 37, pleaded guilty on Dec. 9, 2009, to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox of the Eastern District of Michigan. Aggarwal, 38, pleaded guilty Dec. 9, 2009, before Judge Cox to one count of conspiracy to launder money. Smith, 47, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen. At sentencing, Thangarasan and Smith face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; Aggarwal faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
According to information contained in plea documents, Thangarasan, a licensed physical therapist, admitted that he began working in approximately September 2003 as a contract therapist for a co-conspirator. This co-conspirator owned and controlled several companies operating in the Detroit area that purported to provide physical and occupational therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. Thangarasan admitted that he, the co-conspirator and others created fictitious therapy files appearing to document physical therapy services provided to Medicare beneficiaries, when in fact no such services had been provided. According to court documents, the fictitious services reflected in the files were billed to Medicare through sham Medicare providers controlled by Thangarasan’s co-conspirators.
Thangarasan admitted that his role in creating the fictitious therapy files was to sign documents and progress notes indicating he had provided physical therapy services to particular Medicare beneficiaries, when in fact he had not. Thangarasan was paid approximately $50 by co-conspirators per file that he falsified in this manner. Thangarasan also admitted that in the course of the scheme charged in the indictment, he signed approximately 1,011 fictitious physical therapy files, falsely indicating he had provided physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. Thangarasan admitted he knew that the files he helped falsify were used to justify fraudulent billings to Medicare.
In addition, Thangarasan admitted that between approximately September 2003 and May 2006, his co-conspirators submitted claims to the Medicare program totaling approximately $5,055,000 for files that were falsified by Thangarasan. Medicare actually paid approximately $2,325,000 on those claims. Thangarasan admitted that throughout the conspiracy, he was fully aware that Medicare was being billed for occupational therapy services he had falsely indicated he had performed.
In his plea in the same case, Aggarwal admitted to assisting co-conspirator Suresh Chand in laundering the proceeds of Chand’s Medicare fraud scheme. Chand, who pleaded guilty in September 2009 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to launder money, admitted to conspiring to submit approximately $18 million in fraudulent physical and occupational therapy claims to the Medicare program. Aggarwal, who admitted working at Chand’s office, acknowledged that his role in the scheme was to set up sham entities at Chand’s direction, with the purpose of using those entities to distribute the proceeds of the fraud to the various co-conspirators. According to plea documents, one such entity was called Global Health Care Management Services. Aggarwal admitted that Global Health Care Management Services, which he helped create, provided no health or management services of any type, but existed solely as a mechanism to conceal the location of fraudulently obtained Medicare proceeds. Aggarwal admitted in his plea that he and Chand laundered approximately $393,000 through this sham entity.
Smith pleaded guilty to an indictment that charged he transported and paid Medicare beneficiaries to attend Sacred Hope Center, a Southfield, Mich.-infusion clinic. According to the indictment, t he beneficiaries he paid and transported were paid to sign paperwork indicating that they had received infusions and injections of specialty medications that they did not in fact receive.
According to the indictment, Sacred Hope Center routinely billed the Medicare program for services that were medically unnecessary and/or never provided. The primary owners and operators of Sacred Hope Center have pleaded guilty and admitted purchasing only a small fraction of the medications that the clinic billed the Medicare program for providing. These co-conspirators have also stated that patients were prescribed medications at the clinic based not on medical need, but instead based on which medications were likely to generate Medicare reimbursements.
These cases are being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney John K. Neal and Trial Attorney Benjamin D. Singer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas W. Beimers of the Eastern District of Michigan. The cases are being investigated by the FBI and the HHS Office of the Inspector General. Theses cases were brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Since the inception of Strike Force operations in March 2007 – Miami (Phase One), Los Angeles (Phase Two), Detroit (Phase Three), and Houston (Phase Four) – the Strike Force has obtained indictments of more than 331 individuals and organizations that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $720 million. 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.
Each of the Strike Force teams across the separate phases are led by a federal prosecutor from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section or the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Each team has an agent from the FBI and HHS-OIG.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov
Ninth Person Pleads Guilty to<br /> Illegally Accessing Confidential Passport FilesRead the Press Release
A ninth individual pleaded guilty today to illegally accessing numerous confidential passport application files, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division announced. Debra Sue Brown, 47, of Oxon Hill, Md., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola in the District of Columbia to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access. Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on Mar. 23, 2010.
According to court documents, Brown has worked full-time for the State Department since Sept. 1995 as a file clerk and a file assistant in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. In pleading guilty, Brown admitted that she had access to official State Department computer databases in the regular course of her job, including the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS), which contains all imaged passport applications dating back to 1994. The imaged passport applications on PIERS contain, among other things, a photograph of the passport applicant as well as certain personal information including the applicant’s full name, date and place of birth, current address, telephone numbers, parent information, spouse’s name and emergency contact information. These confidential files are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, and access by State Department employees is strictly limited to official government duties.
Brown admitted that between Mar. 25, 2005, and Feb. 7, 2008, she logged onto the PIERS database and repeatedly searched for and viewed the passport applications of more than 60 celebrities and their families, actors, comedians, professional athletes, musicians, other individuals identified in the press, and personal friends and acquaintances. Brown admitted that she had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that her sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity.
Brown is the ninth current or former State Department employee or contractor to plead guilty in this continuing investigation. On Sept. 22, 2008, Lawrence C. Yontz, a former Foreign Service Officer and intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 200 confidential passport files. Yontz was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2008, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Jan. 14, 2009, Dwayne F. Cross, a former administrative assistant and contract specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 150 confidential passport files. Cross was sentenced on March 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. On Jan. 27, 2009, Gerald R. Lueders, a former Foreign Service Officer, watch officer and recruitment coordinator, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 50 confidential passport files. Lueders was sentenced on July 8, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. On July 10, 2009, William A. Celey, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 75 confidential passport files. Celey was sentenced on Oct. 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Aug. 17, 2009, Kevin M. Young, a contact representative, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 125 confidential passport files. Young was sentenced on Dec. 9, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. On Aug. 26, 2009, Karal Busch, a former citizens services specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 65 confidential passport files. Busch is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15, 2009. On Oct. 27, 2009, Yvette M. Burrison, a passport specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 100 confidential passport files. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled for Burrison. On Nov. 9, 2009, Susan Holloman, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing 70 confidential passport files. Holloman is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2010.
These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Armando O. Bonilla of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section. The cases are being investigated by the State Department Office of Inspector General.
Former Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Participating in Scheme to Steal Large Quantities of Fuel from U.S. Army in IraqRead the Press Release
Robert Jeffery, 55, a former master chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy, was sentenced today to four years in prison for his participation in a scheme to steal approximately 10 million gallons of fuel from the U.S. Army in Iraq, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride.
Jeffery, a U.S. citizen who resided in the Philippines until his arrest in connection with this case, was also sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Claude M. Hilton in the Eastern District of Virginia to forfeit $66,500 and to pay $16, 757, 673 in restitution, jointly and severally with his co-conspirators. Jeffery was also sentenced to two years of supervised release following his prison term. Jeffery was convicted by a federal jury on Aug. 11, 2009, after a two-day trial on one count of conspiracy and one count of theft of government property.
According to the evidence presented at trial, from February 2008 through May 2008, Jeffery and his co-conspirators, purportedly representing Department of Defense contractors in Iraq, used fraudulently-obtained documents to enter the Victory Bulk Fuel Point (VBFP) in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and presented false fuel authorization forms to steal aviation and diesel fuel from the VBFP for subsequent sale on the black market. The United States owns and operates the VBFP in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The VBFP supplies fuel to both military units and U.S. government contractors operating in and around the Victory Base Complex. The evidence at trial showed that Jeffery served as an escort for the fuel trucks and retrieved hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel from the VBFP based on fraudulent fuel authorization forms. Jeffery received approximately $66,000 in personal profits from the scheme.
In related cases, Robert Young pleaded guilty on July 24, 2009, to participating in the same scheme. In his plea, Young admitted that he and his co-conspirators employed several individuals to serve as drivers and escorts of the trucks containing the stolen fuel. Young admitted that he received approximately $1 million in personal profits from the scheme. On Nov. 6, 2009, Young was sentenced to 97 months in prison.
Lee William Dubois pleaded guilty on Oct. 7, 2008, to participating in the same scheme. In his plea, Dubois admitted that he obtained government-issued common access cards for the drivers and escorts of the trucks and also presented false documents to the VBFP authorizing his co-conspirators to draw fuel. Dubois admitted that he received at least $450,000 in personal profits from the scheme. On Aug. 25, 2009, Dubois was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
Michel Jamil pleaded guilty on July 27, 2009, in connection with his role in the theft scheme. Jamil admitted that in March 2007, he and two of his co-conspirators arranged for the creation of a false fuel authorization form authorizing individuals to draw fuel from the VBFP. Jamil also admitted to serving as an escort for the fuel trucks to retrieve the fuel from the VBFP. Jamil admitted he received between $75,000 and $87,500 in personal profits from the scheme. Jamil’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2010.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Linick, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Fraud Section Trial Attorneys Andrew Gentin and Brigham Cannon. The investigation of this case was conducted by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI, and members of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force and the International Contract Corruption Task Force (ICCTF).
The National Procurement Fraud Task Force, 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, including in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait.
10 December 2009
Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Police Officer Indicted on Federal Civil Rights ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in Providence, R.I., has indicted an officer with the Woonsocket Police Department, charging him with violating the civil rights of a 16 year-old juvenile by physically assaulting him, as well as obstruction of justice.
The indictment alleges that on Sep. 15, 2009, Officer John H. Douglas punched, struck and otherwise assaulted the juvenile and then sought to persuade fellow officers who witnessed the assault to provide a false justification to law enforcement officers investigating the incident.
The indictment was returned on Dec. 9 and was unsealed following Douglas’ arrest today by FBI agents with assistance by Woonsocket Police. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation, 20 years in prison for the obstruction violation and a $250,000 fine for each count.
This case was investigated by Special Agent James Pitcavage of the Rhode Island Division of the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John McAdams and Terrence Donnelly, and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Avner Shapiro.
An indictment is merely an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Statement by Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan<br /> on Joint Study on School Crime and SafetyRead the Press Release
"The study released today shines a light on a problem too often in the dark – youth violence. Schools should be safe havens where young people can learn and prosper, and anything less than that is unacceptable. We’ve met with students affected by the fatal beating of Derrion Albert in Chicago and brought teens struggling with the issue of dating violence here to Washington. Through these conversations, research like the study released today, and an intense focus on vital policy issues, we are gathering the tools necessary to address this problem effectively. In the coming year, the Departments of Education and Justice will work side-by-side with our local and community partners, bringing all of our combined resources to bear, to help stem the tide of youth violence.
"Eradicating youth violence is a priority of this administration and a priority of both these agencies. As cabinet officials, as concerned citizens and most importantly, as fathers, we are committed to continuing our work to eliminate youth violence."
The study can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/iscs09.htm.
Largest Environmental Bankruptcy in U.S. History Will Result in Payment of $1.79 Billion Towards Environmental Cleanup & RestorationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—As a result of the largest environmental bankruptcy in U.S. history, $1.79 billion has been paid to fund environmental cleanup and restoration under a bankruptcy reorganization of American Smelting and Refining Company LLC (ASARCO), the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture announced today.
ASARCO is a leading producer of copper and one of the largest nonferrous metal producers in the United States. It is based in Arizona and is responsible for sites around the country that are contaminated with hazardous waste.
The money from environmental settlements in the bankruptcy will be used to pay for past and future costs incurred by federal and state agencies at more than 80 sites contaminated by mining operations in 19 states. Those states are Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
"The effort to recover this money was a collaborative and coordinated response by the states and federal government. Our combined efforts have resulted in the largest recovery of funds to pay for past and future clean up of hazardous materials in the nation’s history. Today is a historic day for the environment and the people affected across the country," said Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli.
"Today’s landmark enforcement settlement will provide almost one billion dollars to clean up polluted Superfund sites," said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "This will mean cleaner land, water and air for communities across the country."
"This settlement exemplifies government at all levels working effectively for the American taxpayer to recover damages from polluters and restore and protect important national landscapes and significant wildlife resources that have been injured," said Interior Assistant Secretary Tom Strickland. "In consultation and collaboration with our state and tribal co-trustees, this money will be used exclusively to restore, replace or acquire the equivalent of resources injured at more than a dozen sites where ASARCO operated and we have identified natural resource damage."
"I would like to thank the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and USDA Office of General Counsel for their diligence in reaching this comprehensive settlement that will so benefit restoration of public lands," said Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief for the National Forest System, U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture. "This settlement provides significant resources to address land restoration from past mining activities on National Forest System lands in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana and Washington."
Under the terms of the plan, all allowed claims were paid in full along with interest. Funds were distributed as follows:
- The United States received approximately $776 million which will be distributed in accordance with the underlying settlements to address over 35 different sites;
- The Coeur d’Alene Work Trust was paid $436 million;
- The three custodial trusts—which address the owned but not operating properties of ASARCO and involve a total of 13 states and 24 sites - were paid a cumulative total of approximately $261 million; and
- Payments totaling in excess of $321 million were paid to 14 different states to fund environmental settlement obligations at over 36 individual sites.
In total, the payment will address environmental cleanup and restoration at more than 80 sites around the country. Much of the money paid to the United States will be placed in special accounts in the Superfund to be used by EPA to pay for future cleanup work. It will also be placed into accounts at the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture to pay for natural resource restoration.
ASARCO filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code on Aug. 9, 2005. American Smelting and Refining Company or ASARCO has operated for nearly 110 years—first as a holding company for diverse smelting, refining, and mining operations throughout the United States and now as the Arizona-based integrated copper-mining, smelting, and refining company.
By the time it filed for bankruptcy, ASARCO’s core operating assets were limited to certain operations in the states of Arizona and Texas. However, it continued to own numerous non-operating properties that were highly contaminated and was subject to environmental claims at sites that were not owned by the company.
In August 2009, following lengthy litigation, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas held a two-week hearing on competing plans of reorganization for ASARCO that would allow the company to be purchased out of bankruptcy. During this hearing, two competing plans emerged that proposed to pay creditors in full with interest.
On Aug. 31, 2009, Judge Richard Schmidt of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi issued a recommendation to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to confirm the plan proposed by ASARCO’s parent company—a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville accepted Judge Schmidt’s recommendation and confirmed Grupo Mexico’s plan on Nov. 13, 2009.
On Dec. 9, 2009, Grupo Mexico met its funding obligations and the plan was consummated. Additionally, the environmental payment and property transfer obligations outlined in the numerous settlement agreements, which had been approved by the Bankruptcy Court over the course of the litigation, were complied with.
The full payment of environmental claims, plus interest, will facilitate the cleanup of contamination and restoration of natural resources at numerous sites across the country. The reorganized company remains liable for environmental liabilities at the properties that it will continue to own and operate.
Ft. Worth, Texas, Couple Charged with Holding Nigerian Woman in Domestic ServitudeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury has indicted a Ft. Worth, Texas, husband and wife, Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji, on charges of engaging in a nine-year scheme to compel the labor of a Nigerian victim as their domestic servant, the Justice Department announced today.
According to the seven-count indictment returned late yesterday, which charges the defendants with conspiracy, forced labor, document servitude, alien harboring and false statements, Emmanuel Nnaji and Ngozi Nnaji enticed a widowed Nigerian mother of six to come to the United States to be their domestic servant by falsely promising a salary and support for her children, who she was struggling to support.
The indictment alleges that the defendants procured fraudulent immigration documents, confiscated the victim’s documents, harbored her in their home, compelled her to work long hours with no days off for little or no pay, used a scheme to isolate her and restrict her communications, withheld her documents and pay, and refused her requests to return home or be paid. The indictment also alleges the defendants failed to provide support for the victim’s six children in Nigeria, limited and monitored contact with her family in Nigeria, isolated her from normal society in the United States, and refused to allow her to regularly attend church. The indictment alleges Emmanuel Nnaji sexually assaulted the victim and made her fearful to call the police.
If convicted, Ngozi and Emmanuel Nnaji each face a maximum sentence of up to 55 years in prison. An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Ngozi Nnaji, a Nigerian national, faces deportation following conviction on any of the charged felonies.
This case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Susan French of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
Former DOD Contracting Officer Sentenced to 110 Months in Prison for Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense was sentenced today to 110 months in prison for filing false tax returns in which he failed to report more than $2.4 million in income, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division Christine A. Varney.
Tijani Ahmed Saani, 53, was also ordered to pay a $1.6 million fine and serve one year of supervised release following his prison term. Saani was also ordered to pay $816,485 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Saani was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Judge Richard J. Leon.
Saani, a former resident of Kuwait City, Kuwait, and dual U.S./Ghanaian citizen, pleaded guilty on June 25, 2009, to five counts of filing false tax returns, one for each tax year from 2003 through 2007. According to court documents, Saani admitted failing to report at least $2.4 million in taxable income during this time, while he served in Kuwait as a contracting officer for the Department of Defense. According to the indictment to which Saani pleaded guilty, he worked on detail from 2002 until 2007 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Saani also admitted he failed to report his ownership interest in foreign bank accounts in five different countries, including Ghana, Switzerland, the Jersey Channel Islands, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Saani used these accounts to help conceal his unreported income, and to send and receive wire transfers totaling more than $3.5 million.
This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard B. Evans and Kathryn H. Albrecht of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Trial Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher, Emily W. Allen and Ryan Danks of the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section. Assistance was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
The case is being investigated by IRS – Criminal Investigation, Army Criminal Investigation Division, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
Today’s sentencing is part of the Department’s ongoing investigation into procurement fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department’s National Procurement Fraud Initiative, announced in October 2006, is designed to promote the early detection, identification, prevention and prosecution of procurement fraud associated with the increase in contracting activity for national security and other government programs.
Anyone with information concerning bid rigging, bribery or other criminal conduct regarding DOD contracts is urged to call the Defense Criminal Investigative Service at 800-424-9098 or [email protected]; Army Criminal Investigation Division at www.cid.army.mil; or the FBI at 800-225-5324.
9 December 2009
United States Transfers One Guantanamo Bay Detainee to KuwaitRead the Press Release
Fouad Mahmoud al-Rabiah, a Kuwaiti national, has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of Kuwait.
As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, the detainee was approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance with Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the Administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer the detainee at least 15 days before his transfer.
On Sept. 17, 2009, a federal court ruled that al-Rabiah may no longer be detained under the Authorization for the Use of Military Force and ordered the government to release him from detention at Guantanamo Bay.
This transfer was carried out under an arrangement between the United States and the government of Kuwait. The United States will continue to consult with the government of Kuwait regarding this individual.
Since 2002, more than 550 detainees have departed Guantanamo Bay for other destinations, including Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Chad, Denmark, Egypt, France, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Palau, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and Yemen.
Taiwan LCD Producer Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $220 Million Fine for Participating in LCD Price-Fixing ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A Thin-Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) producer and seller has agreed to plead guilty and pay $220 million in criminal fines for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of liquid crystal display panels, the Department of Justice announced today.
According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Chi Mei Optoelectronics participated in a conspiracy to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide from Sept. 14, 2001, to Dec. 1, 2006. According to the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Chi Mei has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation.
TFT-LCD panels are used in computer monitors and notebooks, televisions, mobile phones and other electronic devices. By the end of the conspiracy period, the worldwide market for TFT-LCD panels was valued at $70 billion. Companies directly affected by the LCD price-fixing conspiracy are some of the largest computer and television manufacturers in the world, including Apple, Dell and HP.
According to the charge, Chi Mei carried out the conspiracy by agreeing during meetings, conversations and communications to charge prices of TFT-LCD panels at certain pre-determined levels and issuing price quotations in accordance with the agreements reached. As a part of the conspiracy, Chi Mei exchanged information on sales of TFT-LCD panels for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices.
Chi Mei, which is based in Tainan, Taiwan, is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act. Each violation carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
Including today’s charges, as a result of this investigation, six companies have pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty and have been sentenced to pay or have agreed to pay criminal fines totaling more than $860 million. Additionally, nine executives have been charged to date in the department’s ongoing investigation.
Today’s charge is the result of a joint investigation by the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office and the FBI in San Francisco.
Anyone with information concerning illegal conduct in the TFT-LCD industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office at 415-436-6660.
State Department Employee Sentenced<br /> for Illegally Accessing Confidential Passport FilesRead the Press Release
A State Department employee was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 125 confidential passport application files. Kevin M. Young, 42, of Temple Hills, MD, was also ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the District of Columbia to perform 100 hours of community service. Young pleaded guilty on Aug. 17, 2009, to a one-count criminal information charging him with unauthorized computer access.
According to court documents, Young has worked full-time for the State Department since February 1987. He has been a contact representative for the Passport Special Issuance Agency for the last eight years. In pleading guilty, Young admitted he had access to official State Department computer databases in the regular course of his employment, including the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS), which contains all imaged passport applications dating back to 1994. The imaged passport applications on PIERS contain, among other things, a photograph of the passport applicant as well as certain personal information including the applicant’s full name, date and place of birth, current address, telephone numbers, parent information, spouse’s name and emergency contact information. These confidential files are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974, and access by State Department employees is strictly limited to official government duties.
In pleading guilty, Young admitted that between March 11, 2003, and Dec. 21, 2005, he logged onto the PIERS database and viewed the passport applications of more than 125 celebrities, actors, comedians, professional athletes, musicians, models, a politician and other individuals identified in the press. Young admitted that he had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that his sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity.
Young is the eighth current or former State Department employee or contractor to plead guilty in this continuing investigation. On Sept. 22, 2008, Lawrence C. Yontz, a former Foreign Service Officer and intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 200 confidential passport files. Yontz was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2008, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Jan. 14, 2009, Dwayne F. Cross, a former administrative assistant and contract specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 150 confidential passport files. Cross was sentenced on March 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. On Jan. 27, 2009, Gerald R. Lueders, a former Foreign Service Officer, watch officer and recruitment coordinator, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 50 confidential passport files. Lueders was sentenced on July 8, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. On July 10, 2009, William A. Celey, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 75 confidential passport files. Celey was sentenced on Oct. 23, 2009, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. On Aug. 26, 2009, Karal Busch, a former citizens services specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing more than 65 confidential passport files. Busch is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15, 2009. On Oct. 28, 2009, Yvette M. Burrison, a passport specialist, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing nearly 100 confidential passport files. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled for Burrison. On Nov. 9, 2009, Susan Holloman, a file assistant, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing 70 confidential passport files. Holloman is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2010.
These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Armando O. Bonilla of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The cases are being investigated by the State Department Office of Inspector General.
Polembros Shipping Ltd. Sentenced for Crimes Related to Pollution from Cargo Ship Traveling to New OrleansRead the Press Release
Polembros Shipping LTD., a ship management company headquartered in Greece, was sentenced today in federal court in New Orleans to pay a $2.7 million criminal fine for violating anti-pollution laws, ship safety laws, and making false statements during a U.S. Coast Guard investigation of the M/V Theotokos, the Justice Department announced.
Additionally, Polembros was ordered to pay a separate $100,000 community service payment to the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, a subunit of Smithsonian Institute. The money will be used to research and mitigate the effects of marine invasive species suspected to be transported in ballast waters of ocean-going vessels. Invasive species can threaten native species and damage the ecosystems of the United States.
The court further ordered Polembros to serve three years probation. As a condition of the probation, all ships owned or managed by Polembros, currently 20 vessels, will be barred from entering U.S. ports and territorial waters for three years.
Additionally, the Court awarded a total of $540,000 to nine former crew members of the Theotokos who extensively cooperated in the investigation and gave information that led to the guilty plea and conviction of Polembros. Congress granted courts the power to award a "monetary payment" or "whistleblower award" for up to one-half of any criminal fine imposed under the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships.
"The terms of probation and penalties imposed by the court will prevent the company from putting the health of the territorial ports and waterways of the United States at risk while the company benefits from economic activity in our Nation’s waters," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "The industry should take notice that the Justice Department and our investigative counterparts will continue to prosecute and seek penalties for those who violate our nation’s environmental laws."
"This historic case showcases the excellent collaboration between personnel from the U. S. Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section and the U. S. Coast Guard," said Jim Letten, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. "I also want to express my appreciation to the nine crew members of the Theotokos for their extensive cooperation in this investigation. The message should be clear that this office, in conjunction with its law enforcement partners, will continue to vigorously prosecute companies that pollute our marine environment."
Polembros pleaded guilty on Sept. 30, 2009, to violating two counts of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships: one count in connection with failing to maintain an accurate oil record book for the cargo ship M/V Theotokos, and the other concerning the carrying of fuel oil in a tank forward of the collision barrier; violating the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act, by failing to maintain accurate ballast water records; violating the Ports of Waterways Safety Act, by failing to report hazardous condition of the crack on the rudder stem of the ship; and making false statements by concealing the fact that fuel oil was leaking into the forepeak ballast tank.
The investigation into the M/V Theotokos led to the first criminal prosecutions under the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act. The false statement charge related to the crew’s attempt to conceal the fact that fuel oil was leaking into the forepeak ballast tank.
Additionally, on Oct. 15, 2009, Panagiotis Lekkas, the master and highest ranking officer aboard the ship, was sentenced to ten months confinement, a $4,000 fine, and a three year ban on entering U.S. ports and territorial waters, for his role in the obstruction of justice, as well as violations of environmental and ship safety laws. On Oct. 1, Charles P. Posas, the vessel’s chief officer, was sentenced to probation and a three year ban from U.S. ports and territorial waters for one count of false statement and one count of violating the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act. In another related case, on Nov. 5, 2009, the chief engineer, Georgios Stamou, was sentenced to pay a $15,000 fine and a term of probation including a five year ban on entering U.S. ports and territorial waters, after pleading guilty to one felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and one felony violation for making a false statement.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service with assistance from inspectors from Sector New Orleans as well as legal assistance from U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans and at Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The case is being prosecuted by Christopher L. Hale of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section along with Dorothy Taylor of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Alleging Retaliation by City of Fort Pierce, FloridaRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a consent decree with the city of Fort Pierce, Fla., that, if approved by the U.S. District Court, will resolve the department’s lawsuit against the city alleging that it retaliated against a former employee in its Code Enforcement Department, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex and religion, and also prohibits retaliation against employees for opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe are discriminatory under Title VII or for filing a complaint of employment discrimination.
The department’s complaint, filed on August 25, 2008, alleged that the city unlawfully retaliated against former Code Enforcement Officer Shirley Kirby because she complained of racial discrimination against her and three other African-American Code Enforcement Officers. The consent decree requires that the city provide Kirby with $150,000 ($110,000 in compensatory damages and $40,000 in back pay and lost benefits). The decree also requires the city to provide its employees with training regarding workplace discrimination and retaliation, as well as to review its policies regarding discrimination and retaliation and, where necessary, amend those policies to comply with the law.
"Our nation’s civil rights laws ensure that every individual can go to work each day without fear of discrimination based on the color of their skin," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez. "We are pleased that the city of Fort Pierce has agreed to make Ms. Kirby whole for her losses and to take steps to ensure that its employees comply with Title VII’s prohibitions against discrimination and retaliation in the future."
The enforcement of Title VII is a priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its Web sites at http://www.justice.gov/crt/ and http://www.justice.gov/crt/emp/.
Georgia Couple Charged with Human Trafficking and Immigration Violations for Exploiting Woman from SwazilandRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in Atlanta has indicted an Ellenwood, Ga., husband and wife, Juna Gwendolyn Babb, 54, and Michael J. Babb, 53, on charges of conspiracy, forced labor, document servitude, which is confiscating someone’s passport and visa, and harboring an alien for financial gain, the Justice Department announced.
The indictment was handed down last week by a federal grand jury in Atlanta and remained sealed until the defendants were arrested today. They are expected to make their initial appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker.
According to the indictment and information presented in court: between about March 2005, and continuing until on or about Feb. 7, 2007, Juna Gwendolyn Babb and Michael J. Babb allegedly conspired to compel the labor of the victim by enticing her to come to the United States from the Kingdom of Swaziland, Africa. The indictment alleges they falsely promised the victim a lucrative, short-term opportunity to provide catering services at the wedding of a family member of theirs. However, upon the victim’s arrival to the United States, the couple allegedly compelled her labor as a housekeeper and nanny in their home through the use of debt and threats of arrest and imprisonment.
After the victim’s arrival in the United States, the defendants confiscated her passport and return airline ticket, and told the victim that she owed them a debt for the costs of her travel to the United States. The Babbs allegedly then compelled the victim’s labor by using the debt that they claimed the victim owed them, and by threatening her with arrest and imprisonment by immigration authorities once her tourist visa expired. The couple then allegedly required the victim to clean the homes of their friends and associates, and to assist with Michael Babb's construction business. The indictment also alleges that the defendants required the victim to work long hours every day of the week, for which the victim was grossly underpaid on those few occasions that the Babbs paid her at all for her labor and services.
An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the FBI and ICE. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Gabay-Smith and Richard Moultrie Jr., and Trial Attorney Karima Maloney of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.
Department Issues FOIA Annual Report in More Accessible Format as Part of the President’s Initiative on Transparency and Open GovernmentRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – As part of President Obama’s initiative on Transparency and Open Government, the Department of Justice is setting a transparency precedent for the rest of government by releasing on its Web site, the Department of Justice’s Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Report in a more publicly accessible format.
At the same time, the department is releasing, in this machine-readable format, 19 other agency annual FOIA reports from a sampling of other federal agencies, making a total release of 20 distinct data sets. As a result of the new format, members of the public, including public interest organizations, scholars, and the media, will be able to more easily track FOIA performance.
The department announced today’s initiative in response to the Open Government Directive issued by the White House yesterday.
The Directive directs all federal agencies to make their annual FOIA reports available in this machine-readable format starting with Fiscal Year 2009. The department in turn will make all of the machine-readable reports available in one location on the department’s Web site (www.justice.gov) as well on the Data.gov Web site.
Annual FOIA reports include detailed statistics on the number and disposition of FOIA requests, including response times, volume of requests, and personnel costs. Ultimately, increasing the usefulness of the FOIA processing data will also enable targeted outreach to agencies by the department to ensure greater compliance with the FOIA government-wide.
This initiative furthers the department’s ongoing efforts to foster increased transparency and accountability across the government. In accordance with the President’s Memorandum on the FOIA issued on Jan. 21, 2009, the Attorney General issued comprehensive new FOIA Guidelines on March 19, 2009. These new FOIA guidelines address the presumption of openness that the President called for in his FOIA memorandum, the necessity for agencies to create and maintain an effective system for responding to requests, and the need for agencies to proactively and promptly make information available to the public.
As part of this transparency initiative, the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is now routinely releasing opinions from current and previous administrations on the OLC Web site.
The Department’s Office of Information Policy (OIP) has also been actively engaged in a variety of initiatives to inform and educate agency personnel on the President’s and Attorney General’s new openness principles.
Following the President’s FOIA memorandum and the Attorney General’s FOIA guidelines, OIP held a government-wide training conference attended by more than 500 government agency personnel. In keeping with the new focus on proactive disclosures and increased use of technology, OIP has made that presentation available to the public through the department’s Web site. OIP has also conducted numerous additional, agency-specific training sessions focused on the administration’s transparency initiative. Training sessions have been held at the Departments of Army, Commerce, Navy, Energy, Treasury, Labor, Transportation, as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and General Services Administration. OIP has also conducted trainings and outreach to U.S. Attorneys Offices around the country to ensure that they are fully aware of these new FOIA guidelines.
To assist agencies in implementing the new FOIA guidelines, on April 17, 2009, OIP issued extensive written guidance to all agencies. This guidance, posted on FOIA Post, the department’s online FOIA publication, discussed the new approaches for responding to requests and working with requesters; the new, more limited standards for defending agencies when they deny a FOIA request; the new requirements to maximize the use of technology to disclose information; the new requirement to post information online proactively; and the new accountability requirements for agency Chief FOIA Officers.
OIP has also been reaching out to the public and the requester community, through engagement with the American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP), an association of public and private sector officials interested in issues relating to transparency and other interested members of the FOIA community.
This training and outreach will continue as the department works to implement the Attorney General’s FOIA guidelines.
The Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Reports can be found online at: http://www.justice.gov/oip/fy08.html.
8 December 2009
Syracuse Mortgage Underwriter to Pay United States Nearly $679,000 to Resolve Mortgage Fraud AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON -- Robert Corp, a mortgage underwriter in Syracuse, N.Y., has agreed to pay the United States close to $679,000 to settle allegations that he defrauded the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Justice Department announced today. This settlement resolves Corp’s liability under the False Claims Act, a federal statute that imposes triple damages and penalties for false claims made in connection with federal government programs.
The Justice Department filed suit against Corp in May 2008, alleging that he made false statements to HUD on an application for government insurance of a mortgage loan used to refinance the existing debt of Brylin Hospitals, a psychiatric and substance abuse hospital in Buffalo, N.Y. The mortgage insurance program authorizes HUD to guarantee mortgage loans used to refinance debt held by hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Corp allegedly overstated Brylin Hospitals’ existing debt in order to obtain a larger refinance loan, and HUD was required to pay more in mortgage insurance claims as a result of Corp’s allegedly false statements.
"Mortgage fraud is a top priority for this administration," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. "We will aggressively pursue both individuals and corporations who defraud federal mortgage insurance programs, which are so important to this economy." Assistant Attorney General West noted that his case was a collaborative effort involving the Justice Department’s Civil Division, HUD’s Office of General Counsel – Office of Program Enforcement, and HUD’s Office of the Inspector General in Buffalo, New York.
"We have no tolerance for those who try to cheat the Federal Housing Administration or the taxpayer," said FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. "It’s not just about protecting the financial health of the FHA insurance fund – this is about protecting each and every hospital and healthcare facility that looks to the FHA for safe and secure mortgage financing."
Member of the Cherokee Nation Pleads Guilty to Selling Bear Gall BladdersRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—Clement Calhoun of Cherokee, N.C., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Asheville, N.C., to federal charges for unlawfully trafficking in bear gall bladders, the Justice Department announced.
The conviction arose from a three-year undercover anti-poaching investigation, called Operation Botanical, into the unlawful collection, purchase, sale and transportation of ginseng and bear parts within and along the southern Appalachians.
Calhoun entered his guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate District Court Judge L. Dennis Howell to two misdemeanor charges under the Lacey Act. According to the documents filed with the court, Calhoun illegally sold 51 bear gall bladders off of the Cherokee Nation trust lands, beginning in January 2005 and continuing through September 2005.
The Lacey Act is the federal law that makes it illegal to transport or sell wildlife taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of tribal law. Animal parts, like bear gall bladders, are considered wildlife under both the Lacey Act and the Cherokee code. Bear gall bladders are used as an Asian medicinal.
Under the Cherokee code, it is illegal for tribal members to sell parts of big game animals, like bear gall bladders, to non-members, to anyone beyond the boundaries of Cherokee Indian trust lands or to anyone who will remove the parts from trust lands.
Calhoun admitted that on three separate occasions—Jan. 11, 2005, Jan. 24, 2005 and Sept. 13, 2005— he knowingly transported and sold bear gall bladders when he should have known they were sold in violation of the Cherokee Code. The defendant admitted he sold to non-members of the Cherokee Nation or sold to persons who would remove the bear parts from trust lands and that he should have known that these parts were sold in violation of the Cherokee code.
According to the plea agreement, Calhoun admitted that the retail value of all of the wildlife involved was at least $6,600. As part of the agreement, he has agreed to publish a statement in a newspaper apologizing for his illegal conduct.
Calhoun faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for each count. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Jan 12, 2010.
The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville. The case was investigated by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement, with assistance from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Justice Department Signs Agreement with City of Atlanta to Ensure Civic Access for Persons with DisabilitiesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the city of Atlanta to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The department has conducted compliance reviews with certain localities in all 50 states, helping to improve the lives and broaden opportunities for millions of Americans with disabilities.
"Civic access is a basic and critical civil right, and it ensures individuals with disabilities can play productive, fulfilling roles in their communities," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "City officials are to be commended for making this commitment to fulfill the ADA’s promise of equal access to city programs and services."
PCA was initiated to ensure that persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in civic life, a fundamental part of American society. As part of the PCA initiative, Justice Department investigators, attorneys and architects survey state and local government facilities, programs and services in communities across the country to identify the modifications needed for compliance with ADA requirements. The agreements are tailored to address the steps each community must take to improve access. This agreement is the 174th under the PCA initiative and the 13th agreement reached this year.
"Like other communities throughout the United States, Atlanta still has some work to do to achieve full ADA compliance," said Assistant Attorney General Perez. "This agreement sets out a realistic plan with specific steps and reasonable timeframes for the city to get there."
Under the agreement announced today, the city of Atlanta will take several important steps to improve access for individuals with disabilities, such as:
- Making physical modifications to its facilities so that parking, entrances and routes into facilities, parking lots, public telephones, restrooms, service counters and drinking fountains are more accessible;
- Making specific modifications to improve access to city parks and tennis courts;
- Officially recognizing Georgia’s telephone relay service and training staff to use the relay service to ensure effective communication for people who are deaf or hard of hearing;
- Continuing to ensure that 9-1-1 emergency service calls placed by persons with disabilities who use text telephones (TTYs) are answered as quickly as other calls, that such calls are monitored for timing and accuracy, and that employees are trained and practiced in using a TTY to make and receive calls;
- Implementing a plan to improve the accessibility of city sidewalks and provide for the installation of accessible curb ramps throughout Atlanta;
- Ensuring that the city’s official website is accessible to persons with disabilities, including individuals who are blind or have low vision;
- Ensuring equal access to emergency management services for persons with disabilities;
- Developing a method for providing information for interested persons with disabilities concerning the existence and location of the city’s accessible services, activities and programs;
- Installing signs at inaccessible entrances to facilities directing persons with disabilities to accessible entrances;
- Posting, publishing and distributing a notice to inform members of the public of the ADA’s provisions and their applicability to the city’s programs, services and activities; and
- Adopting a grievance procedure to deal with complaints of disability discrimination relating to city programs and services.
Today’s settlement agreement was reached under Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by state and local governments. The agreement will remain in effect for three years. The department will monitor compliance with the agreement until required actions have been completed.
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia. With a 2008 estimated population of 537,958, it is the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. According to Census data, more than 22 percent of people living in Atlanta are individuals with disabilities.
People interested in finding out more about the ADA, today’s agreement, the Project Civic Access initiative, or the ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments can access the ADA home page at http://www.ada.gov or call the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD).
Four Arkansas Men Sentenced on Civil Rights Charges in Cross Burning ConspiracyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Jacob Wingo, Clayton Morrison, Darren McKim and Richard Robins were sentenced today and yesterday in federal court in Hot Springs, Ark., on federal civil rights and obstruction of justice charges related to a conspiracy to drive a woman and her children from their home in Donaldson, Ark., because the victims associated with African-Americans.
Wingo, 20, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, three years of post-incarceration supervision, a fine of $10,000, and a $300 special assessment; Morrison, 29, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, three years of post-incarceration supervision, a fine of $5,000, and a $300 special assessment; McKim, 38, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, three years of post-incarceration supervision, a fine of $5,000, and a $200 special assessment; and Robins, 42, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, three years of post-incarceration supervision, a fine of $5,000 and a $200 special assessment. A fifth defendant, Dustin Nix, 21, was sentenced on Nov.6, 2009, to a prison term of 12 months and one day, three years of post-incarceration supervision, a fine of $5,000 and a $200 special assessment.
Each of the defendants pleaded guilty in September 2009. In the plea proceedings and documents filed in court, Wingo admitted building a cross, transporting it to the victims' home and attempting to set it on fire. Morrison admitted to helping prepare the cross and accompanying Wingo and Nix to the victims’ home in order to burn it. McKim and Robbins admitted encouraging Wingo and Nix to build the cross and to burn it at the victims’ home, as well as driving to the victims’ home on a separate occasion to threaten and intimidate them. McKim also admitted to providing materials to Wingo and Nix for them to use to build the cross.
"The defendants in this case threatened a young family with violence simply because they associated with persons of another race. Threats of this kind have no place in this country, but they are regrettably all too common," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez. "Aggressive prosecution of hate crimes is a top priority for the Civil Rights Division, and these convictions should send a message to those who would carry out similar criminal acts."
Special Agents from the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office investigated this matter. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Quinn for the Western District of Arkansas, and Special Litigation Counsel Gerard Hogan and Trial Attorney Benjamin Hawk of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Former U.S. Army Officer Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Role <br /> in Bribery Conspiracy in Al-hillah, IraqRead the Press Release
Curtis Whiteford, a former colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, was sentenced today to five years in prison for his participation in a wide-ranging bribery conspiracy in Al-Hillah, Iraq. U.S. District Court Judge Mary L. Cooper for the District of New Jersey, Trenton Division, also ordered Whiteford to pay $16,200 in restitution and to serve two years of supervised release following his prison term.
Whiteford, 53, of Deweyville, Utah, was charged in a 25-count indictment unsealed on Feb. 7, 2007, along with former U.S. Army Lt. Col. Debra M. Harrison, former U.S. Army Reserves Lt. Col. Michael Wheeler, and civilians William Driver and Seymour Morris Jr., with various crimes related to a scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority-South Central Region (CPA-SC). Whiteford was the second-most senior official and highest ranking military officer at CPA-SC in Al-Hillah. A federal jury convicted Whiteford and Wheeler on Nov. 7, 2008. Whiteford was convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery and the interstate transport of stolen property (ITSP). Wheeler was convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, ITSP and possessing unregistered firearms. Wheeler will be sentenced at a later date. Harrison pleaded guilty on July 28, 2008, to one count of honest services wire fraud for her role in the scheme. Driver pleaded guilty on Aug. 5, 2009, to laundering portions of more than $300,000 stolen from the CPA-SC by Harrison, his wife, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 10, 2009. Morris was acquitted at trial.
According to testimony at trial, Whiteford and Wheeler conspired from December 2003 to December 2005 with at least three others—Robert Stein, at the time the comptroller and funding officer for the CPA-SC; Philip H. Bloom, a U.S. citizen who owned and operated several companies in Iraq and Romania; and U.S. Army Lt. Col. Bruce D. Hopfengardner—to rig the bids on contracts being awarded by the CPA-SC so that more than 20 contracts were awarded to Bloom. In total, Bloom received approximately $8 million in rigged contracts. Testimony revealed that Bloom, in return, provided Whiteford, Harrison, Wheeler, Stein, Hopfengardner and others with more than $1 million in cash, SUVs, sports cars, a motorcycle, jewelry, computers, business class airline tickets, liquor, promise of future employment with Bloom and other items of value.
Bloom admitted he laundered more than $2 million in currency that Whiteford, Harrison, Wheeler, Hopfengardner, Stein and others stole from the CPA-SC that had been designated for the reconstruction of Iraq. Bloom then used his foreign bank accounts in Iraq, Romania and Switzerland to send some of the stolen money to Harrison, Stein, Hopfengardner and other Army officials in return for them awarding contracts to Bloom and his companies.
On Jan. 29, 2007, co-conspirator Robert Stein was sentenced to nine years in prison for related charges of conspiracy, bribery and money laundering, as well as weapons possession charges, for his role in the same scheme. Stein was also ordered to forfeit $3.6 million for his role in the bribery and money laundering scheme.
On Feb. 16, 2007, co-conspirator Philip Bloom was sentenced to 46 months in prison for related charges of conspiracy, bribery and money laundering for his role in the scheme. Bloom was also ordered to forfeit $3.6 million for his role in the bribery and money laundering scheme.
On June 25, 2007, Lt. Col. Bruce Hopfengardner was sentenced to 21 months in prison for conspiracy and money laundering related to this scheme. Hopfengardner was also ordered to forfeit $144,500.
These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys John P. Pearson and Kevin Driscoll of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, as well as Trial Attorney Ann C. Brickley. The cases are being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI-Washington Field Office.
District of Columbia Seafood Company, Two Employees Charged with Purchasing Illegally Harvested Striped BassRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON— A Washington, D.C., fish wholesaler and two of its employees have been charged in U.S. District Court in Maryland for the purchase of illegally harvested striped bass, commonly referred to as rockfish, from the Potomac River from 1995 through 2007, the Justice Department announced today.
Ocean Pro Ltd., aka Profish, and two of its fish buyers, Timothy Lydon of Bethesda, Md., and Benjamin Clough of Graysonville, Md., were charged in a five-count felony indictment, alleging one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, three substantive felony Lacey Act counts, and one count of making a false statement. The Lacey Act is a federal law that prohibits individuals or corporations from transporting, selling, or buying fish and wildlife harvested illegally.
The indictment alleges that from 1995 to May 2007, Profish purchased striped bass that had been illegally harvested in Maryland and Virginia, from at least five commercial fishermen. The indictment also charges one commercial fisherman, Gordon Jett of Fredericksburg, Va., for his role in illegally harvesting striped bass and selling them to Profish in 2007.
According to the indictment, in at least 1995, Profish began buying illegally harvested rockfish from local commercial fishermen. Initially, Lydon was Profish’s buyer for striped bass. Clough assumed that role in 2001, when he was hired by Profish, and he continued to purchase untagged and oversized striped bass from commercial fisherman and others until May 2007. The indictment alleges that in 2007, Jett, on numerous occasions, sold untagged and oversized striped bass to Profish.
In early spring each year, wild coastal striped bass (Morone saxatilis) enter the estuary or river where they were born to spawn, and then return to ocean waters to live, migrating along the coastline. Fish spawned from the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem contribute the greatest number of striped bass to the Atlantic coastal fishery, and the commercial fishery for Atlantic coastal striped bass is based primarily on migrations of fish born in the Chesapeake Bay area. Striped bass do not die after spawning. They may live up to 30 years and reach 50 pounds or more. The population of coastal Atlantic striped bass depends heavily upon the capability of older, larger, female striped bass to successfully reproduce.
Maryland regulates the commercial catch of striped bass from its waters and enforces the regulations of the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, which regulates the commercial catch of striped bass from Maryland waters located in the main stem of the Potomac River. The striped bass management and protection measures, including tagging requirements, closed seasons, size limits, and quota amounts, are focused on maintaining a target spawning stock to protect the fishery from over-fishing.
The Lacey Act carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss as a result of the crime. Corporations face a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the gain or loss as a result of the crime.
A criminal indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual or company charged by criminal indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The charges are a result of the investigation by an interstate task force formed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maryland Natural Resources Police and the Virginia Marine Police, Special Investigative, Unit in 2003. The task force conducted undercover purchases and sales of striped bass in 2003, engaged in covert observation of commercial fishing operations in the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River area, and conducted detailed analysis of area striped bass catch reporting and commercial business sales records from 2003 through 2007.
These cases are being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorneys Kevin Cassidy and Wayne Hettenbach of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacy Belf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Attorney General Holder, Secretary Salazar Announce<br /> Settlement of Cobell Lawsuit on Indian Trust ManagementRead the Press Release
Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced a settlement of the long-running and highly contentious Cobell class-action lawsuit regarding the U.S. government’s trust management and accounting of over three hundred thousand individual American Indian trust accounts. Also speaking at the press conference today were Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli and Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes.
"Over the past thirteen years, the parties have tried to settle this case many, many times, each time unsuccessfully," said Attorney General Holder. "But today we turn the page. This settlement is fair to the plaintiffs, responsible for the United States, and provides a path forward for the future."
"This is an historic, positive development for Indian country and a major step on the road to reconciliation following years of acrimonious litigation between trust beneficiaries and the United States," Secretary Salazar said. "Resolving this issue has been a top priority of President Obama, and this administration has worked in good faith to reach a settlement that is both honorable and responsible. This historic step will allow Interior to move forward and address the educational, law enforcement, and economic development challenges we face in Indian Country."
Under the negotiated agreement, litigation will end regarding the Department of the Interior’s performance of an historical accounting for trust accounts maintained by the United States on behalf of more than 300,000 individual Indians. A fund totaling $1.4 billion will be distributed to class members to compensate them for their historical accounting claims, and to resolve potential claims that prior U.S. officials mismanaged the administration of trust assets.
In addition, in order to address the continued proliferation of thousands of new trust accounts caused by the "fractionation" of land interests through succeeding generations, the settlement establishes a $2 billion fund for the voluntary buy-back and consolidation of fractionated land interests. The land consolidation program will provide individual Indians with an opportunity to obtain cash payments for divided land interests and free up the land for the benefit of tribal communities.
By reducing the number of individual trust accounts that the U.S must maintain, the program will greatly reduce on-going administrative expenses and future accounting-related disputes. In order to provide owners with an additional incentive to sell their fractionated interests, the settlement authorizes the Interior Department to set aside up to 5 percent of the value of the interests into a college and vocational school scholarship fund for American Indian students.
The settlement has been negotiated with the involvement of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It will not become final until it is formally endorsed by the court. Also, Congress must enact legislation to authorize implementation of the settlement. Because it is a settlement of a litigation matter, the Judgment Fund maintained by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury will fund the settlement.
"While we have made significant progress in improving and strengthening the management of Indian trust assets, our work is not over," said Salazar, who also announced he is establishing a national commission to evaluate ongoing trust reform efforts and make recommendations for the future management of individual trust account assets in light of a congressional sunset provision for the Office of Special Trustee, which was established by Congress in 1994 to reform financial management of the trust system.
The class action case, which involves several hundred thousand plaintiffs, was filed by Elouise Cobell in 1996 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and has included hundreds of motions, dozens of rulings and appeals, and several trials over the past 13 years. The settlement funds will be administered by the trust department of a bank approved by the district court and distributed to individual Indians by a claims administrator in accordance with court orders and the settlement agreement.
Interior currently manages about 56 million acres of Indian trust land, administering more than 100,000 leases and about $3.5 billion in trust funds. For fiscal year 2009, funds from leases, use permits, land sales and income from financial assets, totaling about $298 million were collected for more than 384,000 open Individual Indian Money accounts and $566 million was collected for about 2,700 tribal accounts for more than 250 tribes. Since 1996, the U.S. Government has collected over $10.4 billion from individual and tribal trust assets and disbursed more than $9.5 billion to individual account holders and tribal governments.
The land consolidation fund addresses a legacy of the General Allotment Act of 1887 (the "Dawes Act"), which divided tribal lands into parcels between 40 and 160 acres in size, allotted them to individual Indians and sold off all remaining unallotted Indian lands. As the original holders died, their intestate heirs received an equal, undivided interest in the lands as tenants in common. In successive generations, smaller undivided interests descended to the next generation.
Today, it is common to have hundreds—even thousands—of Indian owners for one parcel of land. Such highly fractionated ownership makes it extremely difficult to use the land productively or to provide beneficial use for any individual. Absent serious corrective action, an estimated 4 million acres of land will continue to be held in such small ownership interests that very few individual owners will ever derive any meaningful financial benefit from that ownership.
Additional Information is available at the following sites: www.cobellsettlement.com. The Department of the Interior website: www.doi.gov. The Office of the Special Trustee website: www.ost.doi.gov
7 December 2009
U.S. Settles with Itochu Corp. and Itochu International <br /> Regarding Defective Bullet-Proof VestsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The United States has reached a $6.75 million settlement with Itochu Corp. of Japan and its American subsidiary, Itochu International Inc., to resolve claims under the False Claims Act in connection with the companies’ importation and sale of defective Zylon fiber used as the key ballistic material in bullet-proof vests purchased by the United States for federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies, the Justice Department announced today.
The Itochu companies imported the Zylon fiber on behalf of the Zylon manufacturer, Toyobo Co. Ltd. of Japan. The United States alleged that the Itochu companies were aware that the fiber degraded quickly over time and that the companies knew that this degradation rendered bullet-proof vests containing woven Zylon unfit for use. The government further alleged that, despite this knowledge, Itochu personnel actively participated in the marketing of the Zylon fiber and downplayed the extent of the degradation problem.
"We will not tolerate companies that put the lives of law enforcement officers at risk by providing defective material for bullet-proof vests," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. "This agreement resolves our allegations that these corporations wasted taxpayers dollars by failing to address problematic vests even after they were aware of them."
This settlement is part of a larger government investigation of the industry’s use of Zylon in body armor. As part of today’s agreement, Itochu has pledged its cooperation in the government’s ongoing investigation. The United States has previously settled with five other participants in the Zylon body armor industry for over $47 million. Additionally, the United States has pending lawsuits against Toyobo Co., Honeywell Inc., Lincoln Fabrics, Ltd., Second Chance Body Armor Inc., and First Choice Armor Inc. Several former executives of Second Chance and First Choice are also named in those suits.
Assistant Attorney General West acknowledged the contributions of the many federal agencies assisting the government’s ongoing investigation of the Zylon body armor industry, including the Justice Department’s Civil Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia; the General Services Administration, Office of the Inspector General; the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General; the Department of the Treasury’s Inspector General for Tax Administration; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Command; the Air Force Office of Special Investigations; the Department of Energy, Office of the Inspector General; the U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of the Inspector General; the Defense Contracting Audit Agency; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Two Florida Executives, One Florida Intermediary and Two Former Haitian Government Officials Indicted for Their Alleged Participation in Foreign Bribery SchemeRead the Press Release
Two Florida executives of a Miami-Dade County-based telecommunications company, the president of Florida-based Telecom Consulting Services Corp., and two former Haitian government officials were charged in an indictment unsealed today for their alleged roles in a foreign bribery, wire fraud and money laundering scheme.
According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly participated in a scheme to commit foreign bribery and money laundering from November 2001 through March 2005, during which time the telecommunications company paid more than $800,000 to shell companies to be used for bribes to foreign officials of the Republic of Haiti’s state-owned national telecommunications company, Telecommunications D’Haiti (Haiti Teleco).
According to court documents, the telecommunications company executed a series of contracts with Haiti Teleco that allowed the company’s customers to place telephone calls to Haiti. The alleged corrupt payments were authorized by the telecommunications company’s president and vice president and were allegedly paid to successive Haitian government officials at Haiti Teleco. According to the indictment, the purpose of these bribes was to obtain various business advantages from the Haitian officials for the telecommunications company, including issuing preferred telecommunications rates, reducing the number of minutes for which payment was owed, and giving a variety of credits toward sums owed, as well as to defraud the Republic of Haiti of revenue. To conceal the bribe payments, the defendants allegedly used various shell companies to receive and forward on the payments. In addition, they allegedly created false records claiming that the payments were for "consulting services," which were never intended or performed.
The five individuals charged in the indictment are:
- Joel Esquenazi, 50, of Miami, the former president of the telecommunications company, is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to commit wire fraud, seven counts of FCPA violations, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 12 counts of money laundering;
- Carlos Rodriguez, 53, of Davie, Fla., the former executive vice president of the telecommunications company, is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and commit wire fraud, seven counts of FCPA violations, one count conspiracy to commit money laundering and 12 counts of money laundering;
- Robert Antoine, 61, of Miami and Haiti, a former director of international relations for telecommunications at Haiti Teleco, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering;
- Jean Rene Duperval, 43, of Miramar, Fla. and Haiti, a former director of international relations for telecommunications at Haiti Teleco, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 12 counts of money laundering; and
- Marguerite Grandison, 40, of Miramar, the former president of Telecom Consulting Services Corp., and Duperval’s sister, is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and commit wire fraud, seven counts of FCPA violations, one count conspiracy to commit money laundering and 12 counts of money laundering.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The conspiracy to commit violations of the FCPA and wire fraud 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 FCPA counts each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $100,000 or twice the value gained or lost. The conspiracy to commit money laundering count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. The money laundering counts each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. The indictment also gives notice of criminal forfeiture.
On April 27, 2009, Antonio Perez, the former controller of the telecommunications company, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit FCPA violations and money laundering for his role in the payment of bribes to former officials of Haiti Telco.
On May 15, 2009, Juan Diaz, the president of J.D. Locator Services, a shell intermediary company, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and money laundering. He admitted to receiving more than $1 million in bribe money from telecommunication companies. Diaz admitted he then laundered the money for a former Haitian government official. Diaz is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2010.
The government’s investigation is ongoing. The Department of Justice is grateful to the government of Haiti for continuing to provide substantial assistance in gathering evidence during this investigation. In particular, Haiti’s financial intelligence unit, the Unité Centrale de Renseignements Financiers (UCREF), the Bureau des Affaires Financières et Economiques (BAFE), which is a specialized component of the Haitian National Police, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security provided significant cooperation and coordination in this ongoing investigation. The indictment was unsealed today after the arrest of Duperval by the BAFE on Dec. 5, 2009, and his subsequent initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Miami. Rodriguez and Grandison also made initial appearances today in Miami. Arrest warrants have been issued for Antoine and Esquenazi.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Nicola J. Mrazek of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, Trial Attorney Kevin Gerrity of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aurora Fagan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this matter. The cases were investigated by the IRS-CI Miami Field Office.
Indictment
Three South Carolina Men Plead Guiltyto Federal Civil Rights and Carjacking ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Thomas Howard Blue Sr., Thomas Howard Blue Jr. and Judson Hartley Talbert pleaded guilty today in federal court in Florence, S.C., to charges relating to the assault of an African-American man and two white men in December 2007, the Justice Department announced.
During the plea hearing, the defendants agreed that the elder Blue forcibly escorted Dahndra A. Moore out of an establishment known as the "Stop and Shop" after Moore had entered the store to use the restroom. Once outside, the elder Blue forced Moore to the ground and his son threatened Moore with a chainsaw while a small crowd watched. As Moore was being attacked by father and son, Talbert stole Moore’s car and drove it to a site along South Carolina’s Great Pee Dee River known as "Blue’s Landing." After realizing that Moore was attempting to call the police, Blue pursued Moore our of the Stop and Shop store parking lot to a nearby road, where Moore escaped by seeking refuge in the home of a local family.
The three defendants acknowledged that they acted because Moore was African-American and because he was attempting to use the services of the Stop and Shop.
The defendants also agreed that the elder Blue then retrieved a pistol and attacked a white man, Jackson M. Hayes, whom he believed to be aiding Moore. The elder Blue stuck the pistol against Hayes’ face and threatened to kill him when he denied knowing anything about Moore. When the third victim arrived at the Stop and Shop to retrieve Moore’s car, the elder Blue threatened to kill him with his pistol. Talbert and Blue Sr. also burnt Moore’s car in an attempt to cover up their crimes.
"Our nation has come a long way in our battle against bigotry, but this case is a reminder that there are still those individuals who wish to divide our communities by hate," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. "There was no subtlety in these disturbing acts of violence. Prosecuting hate crimes such as these is a top priority for the Civil Rights Division."
"The barbaric conduct of these three defendants against a man solely because of his skin color is shocking. Our office along with our law enforcement partners will fully prosecute those who choose to violate federal hate crime laws," said W. Walter Wilkins, United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina.
The three men each pleaded guilty to conspiring to deprive, and actually depriving, Moore of his right to engage in a federally protected activity, and conspiring to carjack and actually carjacking Moore’s automobile. The elder Blue, 49, also pleaded guilty to depriving two other victims of their right to engage in federally protected activity as well as using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence against of those victims. As part of their pleas, the elder Blue agreed to a 13 year prison sentence, Talbert, 35, agreed to serve 9 years in prison and the younger Blue, 28, agreed to a three year sentence for his role.
The case was investigated by FBI Special Agent Steven Stokes with assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Investigator Shawn Feldner of the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Bradley Parham and U.S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney Michael J. Frank are prosecuting this case.
Justice Department Releases Video Explaining Federal Protections Against Immigration-Related Discrimination in the WorkplaceRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today the release of a new video aimed at educating employers about worker rights and employer responsibilities under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The anti-discrimination provision forbids citizenship status and national origin discrimination in the workplace.
The half-hour video, available online and in DVD format, describes the types of discrimination prohibited and how employers can avoid discriminatory practices. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is distributing the DVD. OSC enforces the anti-discrimination provision. It also staffs telephone hotlines to help employers and workers quickly resolve immigration-related workplace problems.
"We want to ensure that workers know their rights and that employers know their responsibilities under our nation’s civil rights laws, which protect documented workers against employment discrimination because of their citizenship status, their accent, their appearance or their national origin," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
"While OSC vigorously pursues violators of this law, it also conducts an extensive public education program to train employers about fair employment practices and how to avoid discrimination against authorized workers," adds Perez.
The video is available on the OSC Web site at www.justice.gov/crt/osc/. In addition, single copies in DVD format can be ordered by calling OSC.
Those interested in ordering the video or seeking assistance from OSC may call its toll-free employer hotline at 800-255-8155 (voice) or 800-237-2515 (TTY) or its worker hotline at 800-235-7688 (voice) or 800-237-2515 (TTY).
Chicagoan Charged with Conspiracy in 2008 Mumbai Attacks <br /> in Addition to Foreign Terror Plot in DenmarkRead the Press Release
New federal charges filed today allege that a Chicago man, who was arrested in October for planning terrorist attacks against a Danish newspaper and two of its employees, also conducted extensive surveillance of targets in Mumbai for more than two years preceding the November 2008 terrorist attack on India’s largest city that killed approximately 170 people, including six Americans, and injured hundreds more.
The defendant, David Coleman Headley, a U.S. citizen, earlier this decade allegedly attended terrorism training camps in Pakistan maintained by Lashkar e Tayyiba (Lashkar), and conspired with its members and others in planning and executing the attacks in both Denmark and India, federal law enforcement officials announced today.
Also today, a criminal complaint was unsealed in federal court in Chicago charging Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Abdur Rehman), a retired major in the Pakistani military, with conspiracy in planning to attack the Danish newspaper and its employees. Another Chicago man, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen and native of Pakistan, was arrested in October on federal charges filed in Chicago relating to the Danish terrorism plot.
Through his attorneys, Headley has authorized the Justice Department to disclose that he is cooperating in the ongoing investigation of both the Danish and Indian terror plots. He has remained in federal custody without bond since he was arrested in Chicago on Oct. 3, 2009. No date has been set yet for his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Headley, 49, was charged in a 12-count criminal information with six counts of conspiracy to bomb public places in India, to murder and maim persons in India and Denmark, to provide material support to foreign terrorist plots, and to provide material support to Lashkar, and six counts of aiding and abetting the murder of U.S. citizens in India.
The charges were announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the FBI’s offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., are also participating in the case.
"This case serves as a reminder that the terrorist threat is global in nature and requires constant vigilance at home and abroad," said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. "We continue to share leads developed in this investigation with our foreign and domestic law enforcement partners as we work together on this important matter."
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III, said: "This case illustrates the importance of continued global cooperation to combat terrorism around the world. The FBI continues to strengthen relationships and to foster collaboration with our international partners to best ensure our collective ability to identify and disrupt international terror networks."
"This investigation remains active and ongoing. The team of prosecutors and agents will continue to seek charges against the other persons responsible for these attacks. I continue to express my deep appreciation to the FBI agents and other members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their extremely hard work on this matter," said Mr. Fitzgerald.
Mumbai Terror Attacks
According to the charges, after learning from members of Lashkar in late 2005 that he would be traveling to India to perform surveillance for Lashkar, Headley changed his name from Daood Gilani on Feb. 15, 2006, in Philadelphia, in order to present himself in India as an American who was neither Muslim nor Pakistani. He later made five extended trips to Mumbai — in September 2006, February and September 2007, and April and July 2008 — each time taking pictures and making videotapes of various targets, including those attacked in November 2008.
Starting Nov. 26, 2008, and continuing through Nov. 28, 2008, 10 attackers trained by Lashkar carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Café, the Nariman House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley allegedly had scouted in advance, killing approximately 170 victims.
The six Americans killed during the three-day siege are identified in the charges as Ben Zion Chroman, Gavriel Holtzberg, Sandeep Jeswani, Alan Scherr, his daughter Naomi Scherr, and Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum.
Lashkar (the "Army of the Good") operated in Pakistan for the principal purpose of fighting to separate from India portions of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization on Dec. 26, 2001. Headley allegedly attended Lashkar training camps in Pakistan that began in February and August 2002 and August and December 2003.
After being tasked in late 2005 with gathering surveillance in Mumbai and changing his name in early 2006, the charges allege that Headley traveled to Chicago in June 2006 and advised a person identified in the charges as Individual A of his assignment. Headley obtained Individual A’s approval to open an office of First World Immigration Services in Mumbai in 2006 as cover for his surveillance activities, the charges allege. Headley allegedly misrepresented his birth name, father’s true name and the purpose of his travel in his visa application.
After each trip that Headley took to India between September 2006 and July 2008, he allegedly returned to Pakistan, met with other co-conspirators and provided them with photographs, videos and oral descriptions of various locations. In March 2008, Headley and his co-conspirators discussed potential landing sites for a team of attackers who would arrive by sea in Mumbai, and he was instructed to take boat trips in and around the Mumbai harbor and take surveillance video, which he did during his visit to India starting in April 2008, the charges allege.
At various times, Headley allegedly conducted surveillance of other locations in Mumbai and elsewhere in India of facilities and locations that were not attacked in November 2008, including the National Defense College in Delhi, India.
Denmark Terror Plot
Regarding the Denmark terror plot, Headley allegedly conspired between October 2008 and Oct. 3, 2009, with Ilyas Kashmiri, as well as a person identified as Individual A, members of Lashkar and others to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, including murder and maiming, against the facilities of the Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, and two of its employees, Editor A and Cartoonist A. In 2005, the newspaper published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, to which many Muslims took great offense.
Mirroring the initial charges filed against Headley in October, today’s charges allege that he met with co-conspirators while he was in Pakistan in late 2008 and discussed planning for the attack, including extensive surveillance work that he would perform. In late December and early January 2008, after advising Individual A of the planned attack and his intended travel to Denmark to perform surveillance of the newspaper’s facilities, Headley obtained Individual A’s approval and assistance to identify himself as a representative of First World and gain access to the newspaper by falsely expressing interest in advertising the business in the newspaper. At the same time, while in Chicago, Headley exchanged emails with co-conspirators to continue planning for the attack and coordinate his travel to Denmark to conduct surveillance. Before departing Chicago, Headley obtained business cards that identified him as a representative of First World, according to the charges.
Headley allegedly traveled in January 2009 from Chicago to Copenhagen, Denmark, to conduct surveillance of the Jyllands Posten newspaper offices in Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark, and videotaped the surrounding areas. From January through May 2009, Headley met with co-conspirators, including Kashmiri, on multiple occasions in Pakistan to review his surveillance and discuss plans for the attack, the charges allege, adding that Headley traveled in August 2009 from Chicago to Copenhagen to conduct additional surveillance and made approximately 13 videos. On Oct. 3, 2009, Headley was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, intending ultimately to travel to Pakistan to meet with, and deliver, the approximately 13 surveillance videos to co-conspirators, including Kashmiri.
The charges identify Kashmiri as an influential leader of Harakat-ul Jihad Islami (HUJI), an organization that trained terrorists and executed attacks in the state of Jammu and Kashmir under Indian control and other areas. Kashmiri based his operations from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of western Pakistan, and area which served as a haven for terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda and the Taliban. Headley allegedly was introduced to Kashmiri as early as February 2009, and understood that Kashmiri was in regular communication with the senior leadership of al Qaeda.
Abdur Rehman complaint
The two-count complaint unsealed against Abdur Rehman, which was filed on Oct. 20, 2009, charges him with conspiracy to murder and maim persons in a foreign country, and providing material support to that foreign terrorism conspiracy. Abdur Rehman allegedly participated in the planning of a terrorist attack in Denmark, coordinated surveillance of the intended targets, and facilitated communications regarding the surveillance and planning with a member of Lashkar and Kashmiri.
Abdur Rehman, who was not named previously but whose alleged participation was described in the initial charges against Headley and Rana, allegedly played the central role in communicating with Headley and facilitating contacts with other co-conspirators in Pakistan, including members of Lashkar. During Headley’s trip to Pakistan in January 2009, Abdur Rehman took him to the FATA region of Pakistan to meet with Kashmiri and solicit the participation of Kashmiri and his organization in the planned attack on the Danish newspaper, according to the complaint against Abdur Rehman. A search of Headley’s luggage when he was arrested revealed a list of phone numbers, including a Pakistani number that he allegedly had used to contact Abdur Rehman.
The count against Headley charging conspiracy to bomb public places in India that resulted in deaths carries a maximum statutory penalty of life imprisonment or death. All of the other counts against Headley carry a maximum of life imprisonment, except providing material support to the Denmark terror plot, which carries a maximum prison term of 15 years.
The conspiracy to murder or maim persons in a foreign country charge against Abdur Rehman carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, and the count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The prosecution of Headley and Abdur Rehman is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Collins and Victoria J. Peters from the Northern District of Illinois, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. The investigation into the Mumbai attacks is continuing with the active participation of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
The public is reminded that criminal charging documents contain mere allegations that are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
4 December 2009
Tewksbury, Mass., Health Care Provider and Its CEO Permanently Enjoined Relating to Failure to Comply with Federal Employment Tax RequirementsRead the Press Release
A federal court in Boston issued a judgment against Excel Home Care Inc. in the amount of $473,510.76 for unpaid federal employment and unemployment taxes after its owner Diane E. Porter consented to the entry of an order of permanent injunction that prohibits her or anyone else from operating this Tewksbury, Mass., home health care provider. The order also provides that Ms. Porter is prohibited from owning, managing or controlling any entity that utilizes other individuals to perform services as an employee or a consultant.
On May 26, 2009, the Honorable Patti B. Saris issued a preliminary injunction order requiring Excel Home Care and Ms. Porter to timely file all employment and unemployment tax returns for Excel Home Care with the IRS, deposit all federal employment and unemployment taxes in an appropriate federal depository bank in accordance with federal deposit regulations, and refrain from making any disbursements or assigning any property out of the ordinary course of business from the date of payment of wages until the amounts which are required to be withheld from the payment of those wages were paid to the IRS. This preliminary injunction order was issued in response to the April 15, 2009, suit filed by the Justice Department, alleging that Excel Home Care Inc. had failed to file employment taxes for the quarters ending December 31, 2005, through March 31, 2008. It was further alleged that, Excel Home Care had failed to pay unemployment taxes for the years 2003 and 2005-2007.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, thanked Lisa L. Bellamy, the Justice Department trial attorney who handled the case, and Supervisory Revenue Office Domenic Caliri who conducted the investigation.
In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained more than 430 injunctions against tax fraud promoters and tax return preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s Web site.
3 December 2009
Two Foreign Nationals Sentenced for Roles in International Money Laundering Scheme Involving Online SalesRead the Press Release
Two Bulgarian nationals have been sentenced in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia for their roles as money launderers for a transnational criminal group based in Eastern Europe, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.
Ivaylo Vasilev Pletnyov, 39, of Svishtov, Bulgaria, was sentenced yesterday to four years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman for conspiracy to commit money laundering. Pletnyov was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his prison term and was ordered to pay $306,502 in restitution. Pletnyov pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2009.
Nikolay Georgiev Minchev, 45, of Sofia, Bulgaria, was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Minchev was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his prison term and was ordered to pay $270,444 in restitution. Minchev pleaded guilty on Sept. 21, 2008.
According to court documents, from approximately July 2005 through May 2006, Pletnyov and Minchev participated in a scheme to post advertisements on eBay and other web sites, fraudulently offering expensive vehicles and boats for sale that they did not possess. When the U.S. victims expressed interest in the merchandise, they were contacted directly by an e-mail from a purported seller. The victims were then instructed to wire transfer payments through "eBay Secure Traders"—an entity which has no actual affiliation to eBay but was used as a ruse to persuade the victims that they were sending money into a secure escrow account pending delivery and inspection of their purchases. Instead, the victims’ funds were wired directly into bank accounts in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Greece that were controlled by Pletnyov, Minchev and their co-conspirators. According to court documents, in less than one year, the criminal conspiracy netted more than $1.2 million from U.S. victims.
Pletnyov and Minchev were originally charged on Jan. 9, 2008, along with four additional defendants: Roman Teodor, Georgi Vasilev Pletnyov, Georgi Boychev Georgiev and Antoaneta Angelova Getova. The United States continues to work with foreign counterparts in Romania and Poland regarding the remaining defendants. An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI – Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation (HNBI) Organized Crime Task Force located in Budapest, Hungary (Budapest Task Force). The Budapest Task Force was established by the FBI in April 2000 in an effort to address the increasing threat of Eurasian organized crime groups to the United States. Its objective was to develop cooperation with law enforcement in Central/Eastern Europe, and to identify transnational cases with a nexus to the United States.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Lisa Page of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance on this case.
Deputy Attorney General David Ogden to Leave Department of JusticeRead the Press Release
Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden announced today that he will leave the Department on February 5, 2010 to return to private practice. Prior to joining the Department as Deputy Attorney General in March, Ogden chaired the Obama Administration’s transition team for the Department of Justice.
"David Ogden has been an invaluable leader for the Department of Justice and for this Administration," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "From leading the transition team that established early goals for the Department to spearheading major initiatives such as our effort to fight health care fraud, he has been an effective and diligent advocate for the American people. Through his work here, he has helped reinvigorate the Department’s traditional missions, restore its reputation for independence, and make the country safer and more secure. I am sorry to see him go, and I thank him for his service to the Department and to the nation."
Prior to his confirmation, Deputy Attorney General Ogden was a partner at the law firm of WilmerHale, which he joined in 2001. He previously served in senior positions at the Department of Justice during the Clinton Administration.
Deputy Attorney General Ogden made the following statement:
"I took a leave from my practice of law thirteen months ago on Election Day to lead the Department of Justice transition for President Obama. My hope then was to identify the goals for a successful transition at a critical time for the Department, when its credibility was under attack and when its traditional law enforcement missions had suffered. During the transition, President-elect Obama and Attorney General-designate Holder asked me to serve as the Deputy Attorney General, which gave me the opportunity to complete the transition process and see the Department solidly on a path to achieving those goals. I accepted that challenge, with the intention of returning to my practice as soon as I felt the Department was firmly on that path.
"I believe the objectives established over a year ago have been accomplished. In order to afford the President and the Attorney General sufficient time to identify my successor and to ensure a smooth transition, I have agreed to continue to serve until February 5, 2010, when I will step down to return to private practice.
"The Department today is on the path we first set out over a year ago. First, we have reinvigorated the Department’s traditional law enforcement mission with new resources and new initiatives. I am proud of the work we have done in establishing a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to fight financial crime, leading a Health Care Prevention Task Force that has already pursued major prosecutions, establishing a Border Working Group to combat Mexican cartels, and attacking international organized crime through increased intelligence sharing with our partners. We have implemented new policies to stem the terrible tide of violence against women and children in Indian Country, crafted budgets that will provide critical new funding for law enforcement, civil rights and our nation’s prison system, and we will soon make key recommendations for reforms of sentencing and corrections policy. I appreciate the Attorney General’s having asked me to lead these initiatives and am proud of the progress we have made.
"Second, we have taken significant steps to ensure that we vigorously protect our national security consistent with the rule of law, including working closely with the FBI and the Intelligence Community on major counter-terrorism investigations, working on closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and bringing perpetrators to justice in federal courts or military commissions, and developing a new policy for effective and lawful interrogations.
"Third, we have substantially restored the Department’s historically strong relationship with state, local, and tribal law enforcement through outreach and inclusion on the Department’s major initiatives including the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and HEAT.
"And finally, we have put in place a terrific senior management team that under the Attorney General’s leadership will build on this foundation. Through our work in each of these areas, the goals I hoped to achieve when I accepted this position either have been or soon will be fulfilled. The Department is in good hands, and I feel I can now return to the private practice I have missed these thirteen months.
"It has been a singular privilege to work alongside the Department’s dedicated career professionals, whose commitment to the national interest and the cause of justice is an inspiration to me. I am very grateful to President Obama and Attorney General Holder for the opportunity to serve my country and the Department of Justice in this Administration, and I will continue to assist them in any way possible."
Birmingham Man Sentenced to Prison for False Tax Refund SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Cardale Leon Bates of Birmingham, Ala., was sentenced to 57 months in prison today by U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Judge Coogler also ordered Bates to3 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $56,946 in restitution.
In June 2009, Bates pleaded guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and filing a false claim for tax refund. According to the plea agreement and statements made in court, from 2004 through 2005, Bates, who was indicted in May 2009, and others participated in a fraudulent scheme to obtain payment of false tax refunds presented to the IRS. As part of the scheme, Bates acquired names and social security numbers for the purpose of using this information to assist in the preparation of false tax returns claiming refunds. The false claims for refunds were ultimately filed electronically with the IRS and the proceeds of the scheme were directed into several bank accounts that the defendant Bates and others controlled. All told, Bates presented $121,932 worth of false claims to the IRS, resulting in $56,946 in false tax refunds to be issued by the U.S. Treasury.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama for their assistance in this case. Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco also thanked the IRS-Criminal Investigation agents and the agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration who investigated the case, as well as Tax Division Trial Attorneys Matthew J. Mueller and Jed M. Silversmith and Assistant United States Attorney Melissa K. Atwood who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.
Attorney General Holder, Secretary Duncan Meet with Youth Leaders, Parents on Teen Dating ViolenceRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – As part of the Justice Department’s year-long commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan met today with teen leaders, their parents and program directors from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships (Start Strong). The discussion around teen dating violence was held in conjunction with nationwide events as part of the 6th It’s Time to Talk Day, organized annually by Liz Claiborne Inc. to draw national attention to the importance of talking about domestic violence, teen dating violence and intimate partner abuse.
“We must engage the broadest spectrum of community partners in order to stem youth violence, and a cornerstone of that partnership is young people themselves,” said Attorney General Holder. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with young people to develop innovative solutions to help prevent teen dating abuse.”
“For too long we’ve been unwilling to face the reality that teen dating violence occurs,” said Secretary Duncan. “It’s been a taboo subject folks would simply not talk about. But we can’t afford to do that any more: too many young people are getting hurt. We must all do our part to break the silence and work toward eliminating teen dating violence.”
Start Strong , the largest initiative ever funded to target 11-to-14-year-olds to promote healthy relationships as the way to prevent teen dating violence and abuse, is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in collaboration with the Family Violence Prevention Fund. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Blue Shield of California Foundation are investing $18 million in 11 communities across the country to identify and evaluate the most promising pathways to stop dating violence and abuse before it starts (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is funding 10 sites around the country and Blue Shield of California Foundation is funding one site in California.). The Family Violence Prevention Fund is the National Program Office for Start Strong. Youth representing four of the Start Strong east coast sites, including Boston Public Health Commission, Boston; Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Bronx, New York; RYASAP, Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Sojourner House; Providence, Rhode Island participated in today’s discussion.
Start Strong communities are working to create innovative prevention models that can be replicated across the country. Each community has developed a comprehensive plan that focuses on four core strategies involving e ducation, policy change, community outreach and cutting-edge social marketing campaigns to empower teens to develop healthier relationships throughout their lives. For more information, go to: http://www.startstrongteens.org
Liz Claiborne Inc. has organized It’s Time to Talk Day each year since 2004 to draw national attention to the importance of talking about domestic violence, teen dating violence and intimate partner abuse. Today’s event in Washington, D.C. is one of many being held across the country in schools, communities and state and local governments. For more information, go to: http://www.loveisnotabuse.com.
Today’s event is another segment of the Justice Department’s effort to raise public awareness on issues around violence against women, to reinforce and build coalitions among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and victim services communities, and to reinforce the goal of ending domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking for men, women and children across the country. In addition to the organizations, activists and victim service providers in the field holding events today, the Department has encouraged the more than 100 celebrity allies who have lent their names in support of the Department’s “Join the List” initiative to raise awareness with their fans, through web and fan sites, and social networking profiles. A list of celebrity allies is below:
Aaron Eckhart - Actor
Alexis Bledel -Actress
Amanda Beard -Olympic Gold-Medal Swimmer
Amy Poehler - Actress, Comedienne
Ashley Judd - Actress
Barbara Walters - Journalist, Author, Television Host
Brian White - Actor
Chamique Holdsclaw - Atlanta Dream, WNBA
Chrisette Michele - Singer-songwriter
Christina Ricci - Actress
Common - Hip Hop Artist
Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Actor
Curtis Granderson - Detroit Tigers, MLB
Cynthia Cooper - Houston Comets, WNBA (Retired), Former NCAA and WNBA Coach, WNBA Hall of Fame Inductee
Daisy Fuentes - Television Personality
Dara Torres - 5-time Olympic Athlete
Debbie Allen - Actress, Choreographer, Director, Producer
Diane Keaton - Actress, Director, Producer
Dominique Dawes - Olympic Gold Medalist, Motivational Speaker, Activist
Ellen DeGeneres - Talk Show Host, Comedienne, Actress
Elisabeth Hasselbeck - Author, Television Host, Designer
Emily Blunt - Actress
Emmy Rossum - Actress, Singer-songwriter
Eva Mendes - Actress
Faith Hill - Singer, Actress
Fiona Apple - Singer-songwriter
Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon - Actress
Ginuwine - Singer
Idris Elba - Actor
Irene Bedard - Actress
Jaime Pressly - Actress
Jason Bateman - Actor
Jenna Fischer - Actress, Writer
Jennifer Love Hewitt - Actress
Joe Torre - Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Founder of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation
John Lithgow - Actor
Joy Behar - Comedienne, Author, Television Host, Actress
Judy Blume - Author
Kevin Spacey - Actor
Kristina Guerrero - Television Host
Kyra Sedgwick - Actress, Producer
Linda Fairstein - Author
Leeza Gibbons – Television/Radio Host, Producer
Leslie Morgan Steiner - Author
Lisa Leslie - Los Angeles Sparks, WNBA, Olympic Gold Medal Basketball Player
LisaRaye McCoy - Actress
Marcus Johnson -Musician
Mariska Hargitay - Actress, Founder and President of the Joyful Heart Foundation
Martina McBride - Singer-Songwriter
Matt Dillon - Actor
MC Lyte - Rap Pioneer, Songwriter, Actress, Activist
Melissa Joan Hart - Actress
Meryl Streep - Actress
Michael Bolton - Singer
Michelle Pfeiffer - Actress
Michelle Williams - Actress
Mira Sorvino - Actress
Nastia Liukin - Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast
NFL Players Association, in addition to the following players:
Adalius Thomas - New England Patriots
Brandon Moore - New York Jets
Darrell Green - Washington Redskins (Retired)
Drew Brees -New Orleans Saints
Erik Coleman - Atlanta Falcons
Gary Brackett - Indianapolis Colts
George Wilson - Buffalo Bills
Hank Fraley - Cleveland Browns
Jay Feely - New York Jets
Jerricho Cotchery - New York Jets
Kareem McKenzie - New York Giants
LaDainian Tomlinson - San Diego Chargers
Muhsin Muhammad - Carolina Panthers
Nate Kaeding - San Diego Chargers
Quintin Mikell - Philadelphia Eagles
Shaun O’Hara - New York Giants
Steve Hutchinson - Minnesota Vikings
Nia Long - Actress, Director
Nicole Kidman - Actress, UNIFEM Goodwill Ambassador
Omar Epps - Actor
Padma Lakshmi - Television Host
Patti LaBelle - Singer, Songwriter, Actress, Author, Humanitarian
Paula Zahn - Journalist, Producer
Peter Hermann - Actor
Phylicia Rashad - Actress
Rebecca Romijn - Actress
Ricky Martin - Singer
Robin Givens - Actress, Writer
Rosie Perez - Actress, Dancer, Choreographer
S. Epatha Merkerson - ActressSally Field – Actress
Salma Hayek - Actress, Director, Producer
Sam Jones III - ActorScarlett Johansson - Actress, Singer-songwriter
Sherri Shepherd - Comedienne, Actress, Television Host
Steve Buscemi - Actor, Director
Stockard Channing - Actress
Susan Sarandon - Actress
Teresa Weatherspoon - Los Angeles Sparks, WNBA (Retired), Coach of Louisiana Tech Women’s Basketball
Tim Roth - Actor
Tom Arnold - Actor
Tony Hawk - Skateboarder
U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team
Victor Rivas Rivers - Actor, Author, Activist
Vivica A. Fox - Actress, Director, Producer
Washington Mystics - WNBA
Washington Nationals - MLB
Whoopi Goldberg - Actress, Comedienne, Producer, Television Host
Wynton Marsalis - Musician
Zoe Saldana - Actress
2 December 2009
Justice Department Asks Court to Authorize Service of a John Doe Summons Seeking the Identities of U.S. Clients of R. Allen Stanford’s Investment CompaniesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has filed papers seeking a federal court order authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve a "John Doe summons" on Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver of the Stanford Group Company (SGC) and related entities. The John Doe summons requires the receiver to provide documents identifying those U.S. taxpayers holding foreign accounts at or through Stanford Group Company (SGC), Stanford Trust Company Ltd. (STCL) and Stanford International Bank (SIB) during 2002-2009.
On Feb. 16, 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Stanford of a fraudulent $7 billion investment scheme. As a result, the federal district court in Dallas appointed Mr. Janvey to take possession and control of Stanford’s books and records, as well as those of his related entities. On June 19, 2009, a federal grand jury indicted Stanford for mail, wire and securities fraud.
According to the papers filed in court by Justice Department Tax Division attorneys, the IRS does not know the identities nor the financial investment information of U.S. persons with such offshore accounts, and the IRS cannot readily acquire it other than through the John Doe summons. According to the declaration of IRS Revenue Agent Daniel Reeves filed in support of the petition, the IRS has evidence volunteered from a U.S. taxpayer that account statements and Form 1099s from Stanford-controlled entities did not include interest or income generated from SIB accounts or certificates of deposits.
According to the Reeves declaration, evidence available to the IRS suggests that many of the persons in the John Doe class may have been under-reporting income, evading income taxes or otherwise violating the internal revenue laws of the United States. The aggregate amount of the resulting taxes that should have been reported and paid to the U.S. Treasury is unknown.
With information sought in the John Doe summons, the IRS can inspect each taxpayer's income tax return to determine if there are any understatements or misstatements of income. Additionally, the IRS can determine if Stanford’s U.S. taxpayer clients filed "Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts" (FBARs). Any U.S. taxpayer who has a financial interest in or signature or other authority over any foreign financial account (including bank, securities, or other types of financial accounts) must file the FBAR if the aggregate value of the financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during a calendar year.
According to the Reeves declaration, a large number of FBARs may not have been filed by U.S. owners of the offshore SIB CDs.
"We will work hand-in-hand with the IRS to vigorously enforce the tax laws against those taxpayers who use offshore accounts to evade taxes," said John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division.
Army Officer, Wife and Relatives Sentenced in Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme Related to DOD Contracts in Support of Iraq WarRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A former U.S. Army contracting officer, his wife, his sister and his niece were sentenced today for their participation in a bribery and money laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer and Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division Christine A. Varney. All four defendants were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division by Judge Royal Furgeson.
The individuals were sentenced as follows:
- John L. Cockerham, 43, a major in the U.S. Army, was sentenced to 210 months in prison. He also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following the prison term and to pay $9.6 million in restitution.
- Melissa Cockerham, 43, Cockerham’s wife, was sentenced to 41 months in prison. She also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following the prison term and to pay $1.4 million in restitution.
- Carolyn Blake, 46, John Cockerham’s sister, was sentenced to 70 months in prison. She also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following the prison term and to pay $3.1 million in restitution.
- Nyree Pettaway, 36, John Cockerham’s niece, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. She also was ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $5 million in restitution.
John Cockerham pleaded guilty in February 2008 to conspiracy, bribery and money laundering for his participation in a complex bribery scheme while working as an Army contracting officer in Kuwait in 2004 and 2005. Cockerham was responsible for awarding contracts for services to be delivered to troops in Iraq, including bottled water. Cockerham admitted that in return for awarding contracts, he received more than $9 million in bribe proceeds. Once Cockerham agreed to take money in exchange for awarding contracts, he directed the contractors to pay his wife and sister, among others, in order to conceal the receipt of bribe payments.
Melissa Cockerham pleaded guilty in February 2008 to money laundering for accepting $1.4 million on John Cockerham’s behalf, and admitted that she stored the money in safe deposit boxes at banks in Kuwait and Dubai. Carolyn Blake pleaded guilty in March 2009 to money laundering for accepting more than $3 million on John Cockerham’s behalf, and admitted that she stored the money in safe deposit boxes at banks in Kuwait. Blake also admitted that she intended to keep 10 percent of the money that she collected. Both Melissa Cockerham and Carolyn Blake also admitted that they obstructed justice by impeding and obstructing the investigation.
Nyree Pettaway pleaded guilty in July 2009 to conspiring with John Cockerham, Carolyn Blake and others, to obstruct the investigation of money laundering related to Cockerham’s receipt of bribes. Pettaway admitted that Cockerham solicited her help in creating cover stories for the millions of dollars he received and in returning $3 million in cash to co-conspirators
for safekeeping. Pettaway also admitted that she traveled to Kuwait in January 2007, received the cash from Blake, and gave it to others to hold for Cockerham. To date, the United States has recovered more than $3 million in bribe proceeds.
"John Cockerham and his family members went to great lengths to receive, hide and move millions of dollars in illegal bribes during the course of their corrupt scheme. Now, after three years of dedicated investigation and prosecution, they have been held accountable," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer. "We must ensure that service members receive crucial supplies, free of the taint of corruption, as they carry out their missions. Rest assured that the Department will prosecute those individuals who choose to manipulate U.S. Armed Forces supply contracts for personal gain."
"It is very rewarding to see these people sentenced after such a complex and exhausting investigation by our special agents and our law enforcement partners," said Brigadier General Rodney Johnson, the commander of U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID). "Cockerham and his co-conspirators broke the sacred trust and confidence we, the U.S. Army, place in our officers. What gives me comfort in these types of investigations is the knowledge that there are literally tens of thousands of U.S. military officers serving our country with distinction and honor and doing the right thing every single day. Cockerham is an exception and for that he will be held accountable."
"This continuing investigation shows that the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, its law enforcement partners and prosecutors will not stand idly by while the contracting process is circumvented by those trying to make an easy dollar," said Sharon Woods, Director, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. "As a team, we will continue to methodically investigate these allegations, work to insure confidence in the system, and protect the war fighter."
"Public corruption is always unacceptable but especially so when members of the Armed Forces are involved," said Stuart W. Bowen Jr., Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR). "The vast majority of public officials and military personnel are honest and committed to serving the public interest. For more than three years, SIGIR and our law enforcement partners investigated this complex crime, proving that our commitment to identify, pursue and prosecute such criminals remains unwavering."
These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Richard B. Evans of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, as well as former Public Integrity Section Trial Attorney Ann C. Brickley, and Trial Attorneys Mark W. Pletcher and Emily W. Allen of the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section. Assistance was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs. The cases are being investigated by the Army CID, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, FBI, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and SIGIR.
The National Procurement Fraud Task Force, 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.
1 December 2009
Virginia Investment Firm Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy with Attorney and KPMG Tax Partner in Tax Shelter CaseRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Michael Parker of Baltimore, who was the chief operating officer of TransCapital Corporation, a tax-advantaged investments company based in Northen Virginia, pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.
According to the plea agreement and statements made during the hearing before United States District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith in Cincinnati, Parker admitted to conspiring with Daryl Haynor, an accountant who was a tax partner at KPMG LLC, in its Tysons Corner, Va., office, and Jon Flask, an attorney for TransCapital, who was a partner at a law firm in Vienna, Va., to defraud the IRS with regard to tax shelter transactions. Parker admitted that he was both a CPA and an attorney, but acted as the Chief Operating Officer of TransCaptial Corporation. In October 2009, Haynor and Flask were indicted for conspiracy to defraud the IRS and for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws.
According to the plea agreement and statements made during the hearing, from 1998 through 2006, Parker, Haynor and Flask marketed and implemented a tax shelter to KPMG clients called the Sale Leaseback of Tenant Improvements Strategy (SLOTS), which enabled various U.S. corporations to claim tax deductions totaling more than $240 million on corporate income tax returns filed with the IRS. During 2002 through 2004, the IRS audited three U.S. corporations that had claimed losses generated by SLOTS transactions, including The Kroger Company. Parker identified Kroger as the Fortune 500 corporation which did the largest SLOTS tax shelter transaction, and which claimed over $178 million in loss deductions, causing over $64 million in tax loss to the IRS. Parker admitted that he, Haynor and Flask conspired to impede and impair the IRS by making false and misleading statements to IRS agents and attorneys during these audits, including the Kroger audit. Additionally, Parker admitted that he, Haynor and Flask concealed certain aspects of the tax shelter transaction from SLOTS clients, including Kroger, for the purpose of impeding and impairing the IRS. Parker further acknowledged that the SLOTS tax shelter and related transactions were themselves nothing more than devices to disguise and conceal mere financing transactions.
Parker faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, Haynor and Flask face a maximum sentence of eight years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
An indictment is merely a formal charge by the grand jury. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in U.S. district court.
John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio for their assistance in this case. Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco also thanked the IRS-Criminal Investigation agents who investigated the case, as well as Tax Division Trial Attorneys John E. Sullivan, Richard M. Rolwing and Joseph A. Rillotta who are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.
United States Transfers a Guantanamo Bay Detainee to HungaryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced that a detainee has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of Hungary.
As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, the detainee was approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance with Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the Administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer the detainee at least 15 days before his transfer.
Late last night, a detainee originally from the West Bank was transferred to the government of Hungary. The government of Hungary has requested that the detainee’s identity be withheld for security and privacy reasons. The United States is grateful to the government of Hungary for helping achieve President Obama’s directive to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
This transfer was carried out under an arrangement between the United States and the government of Hungary. The United States has coordinated with the government of Hungary to ensure the transfer takes place under appropriate security measures and will continue to consult with the government of Hungary regarding this individual.
Since 2002, more than 550 detainees have departed Guantanamo Bay for other destinations, including Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Chad, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Palau, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and Yemen.
United States Transfers a Guantanamo Bay Detainee to FranceRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced that a detainee has been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the control of the government of France.
As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of this case. As a result of that review, the detainee was approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance with Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the Administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer the detainee at least 15 days before his transfer.
Late last night, Sabir Lahmar, a native of Algeria, was transferred to the government of France. On Nov. 20, 2008, a federal court ruled that Lahmar may no longer be detained under the Authorization for the Use of Military Force and ordered the government to take all necessary and appropriate diplomatic steps to facilitate his release from detention at Guantanamo Bay. The United States is grateful to the government of France for helping achieve President Obama’s directive to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
This transfer was carried out under an arrangement between the United States and the government of France. The United States has coordinated with the government of France to ensure the transfer takes place under appropriate security measures and will continue to consult with the government of France regarding this individual.
Since 2002, more than 550 detainees have departed Guantanamo Bay for other destinations, including Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Chad, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Palau, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and Yemen.
Los Angeles’ Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic<br /> Pays $3 Million to Settle Kickback AllegationsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - The Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, a sports medicine clinic in Los Angeles, has agreed to pay the United States $3 million to settle allegations that it received illegal kickbacks from HealthSouth Corporation, the Justice Department announced today.
The settlement resolves allegations that HealthSouth paid kickbacks to Kerlan Jobe in the form of stock option grants, donations to the Kerlan Jobe Foundation, loan forgiveness on an equipment lease, and a disproportionately high ownership interest in a jointly owned ambulatory surgery center. In exchange for the illegal kickbacks, Kerlan Jobe allegedly referred patients to HealthSouth facilities. As a condition of continued participation in government healthcare programs, Kerlan Jobe was required to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services to address Kerlan Jobe’s financial relationships with referral recipients.
"People are entitled to trust the advice they receive from their health care providers," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. "When kickbacks are involved, the integrity of that advice is undermined."
This settlement follows a December 2007 settlement between the United States and HealthSouth in which HealthSouth paid the United States approximately $14.7 million to resolve HealthSouth’s liability for improper financial relationships with Kerlan Jobe and an Alabama sports medicine clinic, which HealthSouth’s then-new management self-reported to the government.
"Lining the pockets of physicians corrupts clinical judgment and will not be tolerated," said George Cardona, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. "This settlement serves as a reminder that federal health care program beneficiaries’ referrals should be based on quality of care for the patient, not the financial benefit for any physician or healthcare company."
Assistant Attorney General West noted that the investigation was a collaborative effort by the Civil Division of the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against Newark, New Jersey, Public Schools to Enforce the Employment Rights of U.S. Naval ReservistRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the Newark Public Schools (NPS) that will resolve its lawsuit on behalf of George Lawton, a naval reservist, against NPS alleging it violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Under the terms of the consent decree, NPS must provide Lawton with $6,125 to compensate him for the wages and benefits he lost as a result of NPS’s actions, and must offer to reemploy Lawton in the position he would have held but for his active duty service. The consent decree must be approved in federal court in Newark, N.J.
Subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires that servicemembers who leave their jobs to serve in the U.S. military be timely reemployed by their civilian employers in the same position, or in a comparable position to the position that they would have held had they not left to serve in the military. In its complaint, the Justice Department alleged that Lawton, a substitute teacher for NPS, was offered a full-time teaching position by NPS, but was called to active duty in August 2005 and deployed overseas before the start of the school year. Upon his completion of active duty in August 2007, NPS did not promptly reemploy Lawton as a substitute, nor offer him the full-time teaching position, despite his contacting NPS numerous times. Lawton filed a complaint with the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), which investigated the matter, determined that his claim had merit and, upon failure of conciliation efforts, referred the matter to the Justice Department.
"The men and women who sacrifice so much to serve our nation in uniform should not also have to sacrifice their livelihood when they return from service," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "Cases like this further reinforce the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting the rights of our nation’s servicemembers."
So far in 2009, the Civil Rights Division has filed 22 USERRA lawsuits on behalf of service members. Additional information about USERRA can be found on the Justice Department’s Web sites, http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp and http://www.servicemembers.gov, as well as on the Labor Department’s Web site at www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/main.htm.
30 November 2009
United States Transfers Two Guantanamo Bay Detainees to ItalyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice today announced that two detainees have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the custody and control of the government of Italy.
As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of each of these cases. As a result of that review, these detainees were approved for transfer from Guantanamo Bay. In accordance with Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements, the Administration informed Congress of its intent to transfer each of these detainees at least 15 days before their transfer.
Earlier today, Abel Ben Mabrouk bin Hamida Boughanmi and Mohammed Tahir Riyadh Nasseri, both of Tunisia, were transferred to the government of Italy. Both detainees are the subject of outstanding arrest warrants in Italy and will be prosecuted there. The United States is grateful to the government of Italy for helping achieve President Obama’s directive to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
These transfers were carried out pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding concluded by Attorney General Eric Holder and Italian Justice Minister Angelino Alfano in September. The United States has coordinated with the government of Italy to ensure the transfers take place under appropriate security measures and will continue to consult with the government of Italy regarding these detainees.
Since 2002, more than 550 detainees have departed Guantanamo Bay for other destinations, including Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Chad, Denmark, Egypt, France, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Palau, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and Yemen.
North Carolina Poultry Processing Plant and Manager Indicted for Violations of Clean Water ActRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON—A federal grand jury in Greensboro, N.C., returned an indictment today charging a poultry processor and a plant manager with multiple violations of the Clean Water Act for illegally discharging wastewater from its Raeford, N.C., based facility, the Justice Department announced.
House of Raeford Farms Inc. and its plant manager, Gregory Steenblock, were both charged with 14 counts of violating the Clean Water Act. House of Raeford is a turkey slaughter and processing facility located in Raeford.
The indictment alleges that on 14 occasions between January 2005 and August 2006, House of Raeford and plant manager Steenblock allowed plant employees to bypass the facility’s pretreatment system and send its untreated wastewater directly to the Raeford Publicly Owned Treatment Works without notifying city officials. The untreated wastewater was contaminated with waste from processing operations, including blood and body parts from the slaughtered turkeys.
The bypasses and failure to report them were in violation of House of Raeford’s pretreatment permit as well as the city of Raeford’s sewer use ordinance. As alleged in the indictment, many of the bypasses took place while House of Raeford was subject to a consent order with the city that specifically required it to eliminate all bypasses from its facility.
House of Raeford is owned by House of Raeford Farms Inc., a privately held corporation operating seven poultry slaughter and processing facilities in North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana. The Raeford facility processes over 30,000 turkeys per day and its operations generate approximately one million gallons of wastewater per day.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, the company faces a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the gain or loss resulting from the offense, whichever is greater, per count. Steenblock faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, per count.
The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and was investigated by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.