District Not Recorded

The Department of Justice is pleased to announce the fifth expansion of the Tribal Access Program (TAP), a program providing federally recognized tribes with enhanced ability to access and exchange data with the national crime information databases for both criminal justice and non-criminal justice purposes.

TAP provides federally recognized tribes the ability to access and exchange data with national crime information databases for both civil and criminal purposes and provides training as well as software and biometric/biographic kiosk workstations to process finger and palm prints.  TAP also gives Tribes the ability to take mugshots and submit information to FBI CJIS.  By the end of 2019, TAP will be deployed to more than 70 tribes with over 300 Tribal agencies participating.

The department will accept applications from September 1 through October 31, 2019.  Eligible tribes that are selected for participation will be notified in November.

“The TAP program continues to give a growing number of tribes the ability to share criminal and civil information, and the access to data that helps solve crimes and protect the public,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen.  “The TAP program is just one example of our commitment to tribal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships that strengthen public safety across the United States.”

Utilizing TAP, tribes have registered sex offenders; entered orders of protection for notice and enforcement nationwide; run criminal histories that resulted in arrests and warrants being served; entered bookings and convictions; and completed thousands of fingerprint-based record checks for non-criminal justice purposes such as screening employees or volunteers who work with children. 

For FY20, the department offers TAP services through one of the following two methods:

• TAP-LIGHT: The department provides software that provides full access (both query and entry capabilities) to national crime information databases such as National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the Interstate Identification Index (III) and the International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets) for both criminal and civil purposes; and
• TAP-FULL: The department provides the same basic capabilities as TAP-LIGHT listed above, and also provides an additional hardware/software solution in the form of a kiosk-workstation that provides the ability to submit and query fingerprint-based transactions via FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) for both criminal and civil purposes.

“The Tribal Access Program now in use by the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians Police Department has been one of the very best investigative tools that could have been obtained by that department,” said San Pasqual Tribal Chairman Stephen W. Cope.  “Investigators from the Police Department, using various systems in the TAP program, identified a drug dealer responsible for counterfeit oxycodone/fentanyl pills that caused the death of a tribal member.  That dealer was surveilled and arrested while doing a 200-pill deal.  A search warrant served on his home revealed another batch of 200 fentanyl pills and a large quantity of heroin and cocaine.”

“Tulalip Tribes have utilized the Tribal Access Program since 2016, for several programs which has expanded Tulalip’s access to criminal justice information,” said Tulalip Tribal Chairperson Teri Gobin.  “We are able to register and track sex offenders entering and residing in Tulalip to provide better oversight and protections for our members and community. It has been instrumental in running our background checks of applicants who will have direct supervision over children to ensure our youth are being safely cared for.  Lastly, our child welfare department is able to have fingerprint criminal background checks processed to review potential placements to ensure our children are in safe homes.  We are quite pleased with the ease of use and prompt return of useful information.”

TAP relies on federal laws that provide tribes access for specific purposes, which include:

• Criminal justice uses: law enforcement, corrections, probation/parole, prosecution, criminal courts and pretrial services.
• Non-criminal justice uses: sex offender registry, housing, child support enforcement, agencies whose employees or volunteers have contact with or control over Indian children, Head Start programs, social service agencies that investigate allegations of abuse or neglect, and civil courts that issue orders of protection.

Given the funding sources, eligible tribes must have and agree to use TAP for:

• A sex offender registry authorized by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act;
• A law enforcement agency that has arrest powers; or
• Any use that provides services to victims of crime, such as a Tribal Court which issues orders of protection

TAP is funded by the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).   TAP is co-managed by the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and Office of Tribal Justice (OTJ). 

For more information about TAP, visit: www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap

The Justice Department announced today that it will require Third Point LLC and three funds it manages (Third Point Offshore Fund Ltd., Third Point Ultra Ltd., and Third Point Partners Qualified L.P.) to pay a $609,810 civil penalty and be subject to injunction for violating antitrust premerger notification requirements in connection with the three funds’ acquisition of shares of DowDupont Inc.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. against Third Point LLC and three funds it manages for violating the premerger notification and waiting period requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act of 1976.  At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement, subject to approval by the court, under which the three Third Point funds have agreed collectively to pay a $609,810 civil penalty to resolve the lawsuit.  The settlement also includes injunctive relief, under which Third Point LLC and the three funds are prohibited from undertaking similar acquisitions without complying with notification and waiting period requirements of the HSR Act.

The HSR Act imposes notification and waiting period requirements for transactions meeting certain size thresholds so that they can undergo premerger antitrust review.  Federal courts can assess civil penalties for premerger notification violations under the HSR Act in lawsuits brought by the department.  The maximum civil penalty for an HSR violation, which is adjusted annually, is currently $42,530 per day.

Further details about this matter are described in the FTC’s press release issued today, and in the attached complaint and competitive impact statement.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register.  Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Kenneth A. Libby, Special Attorney, United States, c/o Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20580.  At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent was convicted yesterday by a federal jury in New Orleans, Louisiana of perjury, obstruction of justice and falsifying government records.

After a seven-day trial, Chad A. Scott, 51, of Covington, Louisiana, was found guilty of two counts of perjury, three counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of falsifying government records.  U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who presided over the trial, has scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2019.

According to the evidence presented during the seven-day trial, Scott, while a DEA special agent in New Orleans, committed these crimes in and around the New Orleans, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, areas.  Specifically, the evidence showed that Scott directed a Houston-based drug trafficker to buy a Ford F-150 truck worth approximately $43,000 and forfeit the truck to Scott as part of the drug trafficker’s cooperation.  Scott then falsified the seizure paperwork for the truck in various aspects, including falsely claiming that he had seized the truck in New Orleans instead of Houston, in order to facilitate the vehicle being forfeited and given to Scott as his official government vehicle.

“Chad Scott violated his sworn commitment to serve the public and uphold justice, dishonoring the special trust that we place in each of our federal law enforcement agents,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Today’s conviction sends a clear message to the public that malfeasance by federal law enforcement officers will not be tolerated.”  

“The conviction of Chad Scott reinforces the message that no one is above law,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony T. Riedlinger.  “Scott’s actions were selfish and placed an unnecessary stain on an otherwise stellar agency.  We commend our partners at the DEA for their unprecedented level of cooperation throughout this investigation.”

“The criminal justice system relies on law enforcement agents to act with integrity and honesty.  By soliciting bribes and compromising cases, Scott undermined the values he swore to uphold as a federal agent,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert A. Bourbon of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (DOJ-OIG).  “The Office of the Inspector General will continue to be vigilant that corrupt law enforcement agents are held accountable.”

“At its core, DEA is a law enforcement agency committed to faithful and effective service to our country and its citizens, as well as uncompromising personal and institutional integrity,” said DEA Chief Inspector Brian McKnight.  “Throughout the course of this investigation and its ultimate trial, DEA was appreciative of the professionalism and support that we received from our law enforcement partners.”

Additionally, the evidence showed that Scott convinced the same Houston-based drug trafficker, as well as another drug trafficker in Houston, to testify falsely at a federal trial in New Orleans as to the identification of a major cocaine and heroin supplier in the Houston area.  Along with obstructing justice by inducing this false testimony, Scott then himself committed perjury during a motion session as well as during the federal trial, the evidence showed.  After a trial including this false testimony, the alleged supplier was found guilty.  Once Scott’s actions and the false testimony came to light, the case against the alleged supplier was dismissed by the court at the request of the United States.

Scott has been indefinitely suspended as a DEA special agent.

Two other former Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Sheriff’s Office deputies who were serving as DEA task force officers in New Orleans have pleaded guilty in this investigation.  Karl Emmett Newman, 52, of Kentwood, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to unlawfully carrying a firearm in furtherance of an August 2015 robbery, which was disguised as the execution of a search warrant, as well as misappropriating money confiscated by the DEA during another search.  Johnny Domingue, 30, of Maurepas, Louisiana, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and misappropriating money confiscated by the DEA.

Scott is additionally charged, along with Rodney Gemar, 43, of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, a former Hammond, Louisiana police officer and DEA task force officer, with various counts, including unlawful conversion of property by a government officer or employee and removing property to prevent seizure.  Trial on those charges is set for October 2019.  Those charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was initially investigated by the Louisiana State Police and later investigated by the FBI’s New Orleans Field Division, DEA-OPR and DOJ-OIG.  Acting Deputy Chief Charles Miracle of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Trial Attorney Timothy Duree of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

A Walled Lake, Michigan, businessperson, who owned a restaurant and an adult entertainment facility, pleaded guilty today to willful failure to pay over employment taxes and failure to file an individual income tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to the indictment and the plea agreement, Johni Semma owned Bayside Sports Bar & Grill (Bayside), a restaurant, and “The Coliseum,” an adult entertainment business. As the owner of Bayside, Semma was responsible for collecting and paying over Bayside’s employment taxes. From the first quarter of 2008 through the first quarter of 2015, Semma caused the restaurant to withhold payroll taxes from employees’ paychecks, but filed only two of the 29 Forms 941 required for those quarters and failed to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) approximately $1.3 million in employment taxes. Although Semma sold “The Coliseum” in 2012 for more than $6 million, he did not pay the delinquent payroll taxes. Semma also did not file a 2012 individual income tax return, resulting in a tax loss of approximately $463,000.

United States District Court Judge Paul D. Borman scheduled Semma’s sentencing for Jan. 30, 2020. Semma faces up to six years in prison, as well as a term of supervised release and monetary penalties. Semma also agreed to pay almost $1.8 million in restitution to the IRS.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Brittney Campbell, who are prosecuting the case. 

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.

Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division today announced the elevation of Section Chief Kathy O’Neill to the new role of Senior Director of Investigations and Litigation.  O’Neill, who most recently served as Chief of the Antitrust Division’s Transportation, Energy and Agriculture Section, will serve in the division’s front office as the senior-most career civil antitrust attorney, with responsibility over all civil merger and conduct investigations and litigation. 

“Kathy has proven her extraordinary talent as a leader in the Antitrust Division time and again, helping bring a number of blockbuster investigations to successful resolutions in recent years.  Her leadership, breadth of experience and advocacy have been invaluable, and in her new role she will be able to work closely with all of our civil section leadership to ensure that we carry out our mission on behalf of American consumers efficiently and effectively,” said Assistant Attorney General Delrahim.

O’Neill has been with the Antitrust Division for 12 years.  Prior to joining the Antitrust Division, she worked as an assistant attorney general for the New York State Attorney General, an attorney advisor for the Federal Communications Commission and in private practice.  O’Neill has played a leading role in advancing numerous high-profile matters, including the Antitrust Division’s investigation and settlement of Bayer’s proposed acquisition of Monsanto; the division’s civil investigation of a big-rigging conspiracy by several South Korea-based companies, which resulted in record-setting settlements under Section 4A of the Clayton Act; and the division’s successful challenge to Halliburton’s proposed acquisition of Baker Hughes.  O’Neill also played a prominent role in the litigation and settlement of U.S. v. US Airways Group Inc. and AMR Corp in 2013 and the Antitrust Division’s successful litigation efforts in U.S. v. NCM and Screenvision in 2015, U.S. v. AT&T Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG in 2011 and U.S. v. JBS S.A. in 2008.

O’Neill received her J.D. from Tulane Law School and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant TIMOTHY ROKE CEPEDA was sentenced in the United States District Court of Guam to 15 months imprisonment and five years of supervised release.  This sentence follows Cepeda’s guilty plea on May 21, 2019, to Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2250.  Cepeda was also ordered to attend a Sex Offender Treatment Program at the Bureau of Prisons.  Upon release, he must register with the Sex Offender Registry in any jurisdiction where he lives, works or attends school.  The Court also authorized probation officers to search any of his electronic devices.  In addition, Cepeda is prohibited from employment that would place him in direct contact with minors.

          The U.S. Attorney reminds defendants who have committed sexual offenses that, under federal and local law, all sex offenders have a duty to register and keep their registration current with the Sex Offender Registry in their jurisdiction.  Sex offenders who travel to Guam and reside on island must inform the Guam Sex Offender Registry where they reside, work or attend school. They must also periodically update their registration information.  The Sex Offender Registry was created in an effort to protect the public and potential victims, prevent further victimization, and inform the public of the whereabouts of sex offenders.  Guam’s Sex Offender Registry can be found online at the website for the Judiciary of Guam.  www.guamcourts.org (link is external).  The Department of Justice also funds the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) mobile application, which provides free access to sex offender data nationwide.

          U.S. Attorney Anderson noted that this prosecution was part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood (PSC) initiative, a nationwide commitment to aggressively prosecute sexual predators who victimize children and adults, possess or receive child pornography, and otherwise fail to register with a Sex Offender Registry.

          The U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Rosetta L. San Nicolas, an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Guam.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) against Baltimore County and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD).  The lawsuit alleges that since Jan. 1, 2013, BCPD has engaged in unintended employment discrimination against African American applicants for entry-level police officer and cadet positions by making hiring decisions based on the results of hiring examinations that were not job-related and that disproportionately excluded African American applicants.  Through this lawsuit, the United States seeks a Court order that would require BCPD to utilize selection procedures that comply with Title VII, and to provide individual remedies to African American former applicants who are shown to be entitled to them.

“Employers must be mindful that an employment selection device, like a test, must be shown to be job-related if it disproportionately excludes members of one of Title VII’s protected groups,” stated Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Title VII is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, and religion.  More information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Civil Rights Division’s website at www.justice.gov/crt.

In a settlement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the city of Houston, Texas, has agreed to implement a comprehensive set of corrective measures and improvements to the city’s sewer system to resolve longstanding problems with sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and discharges into various water bodies of pollutants in excess of permitted limits from the city’s 39 wastewater treatment plants.

The agreement, upon final approval by a U.S. District Court Judge, will resolve the city’s noncompliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA) and provisions of the Texas Water Code (TWC). These violations were alleged in a joint Complaint filed on Sept. 20, 2018, by the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of EPA, and the state of Texas, on behalf of the TCEQ. The city also has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $4.4 million, which will be shared equally with the State of Texas.

“The settlement, done in partnership with the state of Texas, will see that the city of Houston attains compliance with state and federal environmental laws by expanding its wastewater treatment capacity and thus reducing sewage overflows into city streets and waterways,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The city should have acted faster to make the necessary infrastructure investments to avoid public health problems but today’s settlement is a substantial step towards meeting the legal requirements enacted to protect the public from unsanitary conditions, dangerous bacteria, and the contagious diseases that pose intolerable risks to the city’s residents and visitors.”

“Fixing Houston’s sewer system will be a massive undertaking. But it is necessary to protect public health and the environment,” said Susan P. Bodine, EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA and the State of Texas worked with the city to develop a comprehensive solution that will improve the quality of life of Houston’s citizens as well as the quality of water in and around Houston.” 

“This settlement sets a roadmap of what needs to be done to preserve health and safety for millions of Texans and protect our state’s water resources for generations to come,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “We will continue working alongside our federal partner to assure the city of Houston fulfills all its obligations under this agreement and the laws of Texas.”

The city of Houston operates one of the largest sewer systems in the nation, which serves nearly two million people. The system includes more than 6,000 miles of sewer lines, 390 lift stations, and more than 120,000 manholes.

To come into compliance with the CWA and the TWC, the city will implement over a period of 15 years extensive measures to prevent SSOs and effluent violations, at an estimated cost of $2 billion.  

Preventing raw sewage in the form of SSOs from going onto the streets of the city and from entering waters of the United States and waters of the state eliminates a significant threat to human health and the environment. These discharges have contributed to bacteria contamination of Houston water bodies, degraded water quality, and contain viruses that may cause illnesses. 

During implementation of the work required under the consent decree the release of raw sewage from the city’s sewer system will be reduced by approximately six million gallons a year.  Currently, this sewage is entering various water bodies in, around and near the city, including the Buffalo Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel.

Under the consent decree, Houston will address the insufficient capacity of its sewer system in identified areas where large-volume SSOs have occurred during major rain events. In addition, some non-wet weather SSOs occurring in the city over the years have been caused by defective conditions such as cracked and broken sewer lines. The city has agreed to conduct a system-wide inspection of all its gravity sewer lines and manholes to assess their structural condition.  The city will annually remediate no less than 150 miles of sewer lines based upon the results of the inspection and assessment.  Further, to address another major cause of SSOs in the form of blockages caused by debris and fats, oil and grease (FOG), the city will implement two major cleaning programs. Under the first program, the city will target SSO-prone areas for cleaning in the first two years and complete cleaning of all gravity sewer lines in the first 10 years of the consent decree with additional cleaning requirements thereafter. A second cleaning program will target areas that require more frequent cleaning to prevent SSOs from occurring, primarily due to FOG.

Finally, the city has agreed to implement a number of measures as early action projects to address SSOs and effluent violations within the first few years of the consent decree. Several of the early action projects involve wastewater treatment plants. The city, the United States and the state identified 10 wastewater treatment plants that have experienced a significant number of effluent violations, including such pollutants as E. Coli, ammonia and total suspended solids. The city will implement improvements and repairs that will address the causes of violations at these plants, as well as implement a maintenance program to cover all of its wastewater treatment plants. As additional early action projects, the City will renew / replace more than 100 lift stations and more than 35 miles of the sewer system’s force main sewer lines, which transmit wastewater  under pressure.

The consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period before the court can give final approval and enter the consent decree as a final judgment, at which time it will become effective. The consent decree is available at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/city-houston-clean-water-act-settlement-information-sheet.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant GAVIN REYES DUENAS, age 33, from Talofofo, was sentenced in the United States District Court of Guam to 87 months imprisonment for Attempted Possession with Intent to Distribute Fifty Grams or More of Methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).  The Court also ordered five years of supervised release following imprisonment, 100 hours of community service, and a mandatory $100 assessment fee.  In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          On November 19, 2016, the U.S. Postal Inspector and the Drug Enforcement Administration intercepted two packages in the mail.  The packages were found to contain approximately 3,113.9 net grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride (“ice”).  Further investigation revealed that Duenas used his family’s post office box to receive the ice.  Once in his possession, Duenas intended to distribute the drug on island.  He also expected to receive some of the drug as payment from his supplier.  At the time of his arrest, Duenas possessed methamphetamine pipes, syringes, scales, Ziploc baggies and $43,335.00 in U.S. currency.  

          U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “Federal law enforcement continues to aggressively pursue drug trafficking activity on Guam.  This case demonstrates the benefits of effective partnerships and the results of long term investigations.  Our office vigorously enforces federal drug laws at every opportunity.  We will also obtain the forfeiture of illegal proceeds whenever possible.  While our distance from the mainland is great, we will similarly seek any off island sources of supply and hold them accountable.” This case was the result of a joint investigation by the U.S. Postal Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  The case was prosecuted by Rosetta L. San Nicolas, an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Guam.

The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced that it is moving forward to facilitate and expand scientific and medical research for marijuana in the United States. The DEA is providing notice of pending applications from entities applying to be registered to manufacture marijuana for researchers. DEA anticipates that registering additional qualified marijuana growers will increase the variety of marijuana available for these purposes.

Over the last two years, the total number of individuals registered by DEA to conduct research with marijuana, marijuana extracts, derivatives and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has increased by more than 40 percent from 384 in January 2017 to 542 in January 2019. Similarly, in the last two years, DEA has more than doubled the production quota for marijuana each year based on increased usage projections for federally approved research projects.

“I am pleased that DEA is moving forward with its review of applications for those who seek to grow marijuana legally to support research,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “The Department of Justice will continue to work with our colleagues at the Department of Health and Human Services and across the Administration to improve research opportunities wherever we can.” 

“DEA is making progress in the program to register additional marijuana growers for federally authorized research, and will work with other relevant federal agencies to expedite the necessary next steps,” said DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon.  “We support additional research into marijuana and its components, and we believe registering more growers will result in researchers having access to a wider variety for study.”

This notice also announces that, as the result of a recent amendment to federal law, certain forms of cannabis no longer require DEA registration to grow or manufacture. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which was signed into law on Dec. 20, 2018, changed the definition of marijuana to exclude “hemp”—plant material that contains 0.3 percent or less delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. Accordingly, hemp, including hemp plants and cannabidiol (CBD) preparations at or below the 0.3 percent delta-9 THC threshold, is not a controlled substance, and a DEA registration is not required to grow or research it. 

Before making decisions on these pending applications, DEA intends to propose new regulations that will govern the marijuana growers program for scientific and medical research. The new rules will help ensure DEA can evaluate the applications under the applicable legal standard and conform the program to relevant laws. To ensure transparency and public participation, this process will provide applicants and the general public with an opportunity to comment on the regulations that should govern the program of growing marijuana for scientific and medical research.

The Notice of Application is available here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/27/2019-18456/bulk-manufacturer-of-controlled-substances-applications-bulk-manufacturers-of-marihuana.

Attorney General Barr today invited Romanian Minister of Justice Ana Birchall to meet with him in Washington this coming September. The Department of Justice has worked closely with Ana Birchall and views her as a vital and trusted partner in the fight against corruption. Her leadership comes at a vital time for Romania, where controversies have raised questions about Romania’s commitment to rule of law values and have diminished public trust and caused increasing concern in the international community. Under Birchall’s leadership, Romania can once again be a model in the region for progress on anti-corruption issues. 

The Attorney General and Minister Birchall first met in June in Bucharest, Romania, where Minister Birchall hosted the U.S./EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial, during the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In a bilateral meeting, the Attorney General and Minister discussed the U.S.-Romania Strategic Partnership, which is important for both our nations’ continued security and prosperity. The close collaborative relationship between the law enforcement agencies of Romania and the United States has resulted in significant joint successes in the fight against transnational crime, particularly in the areas of cybercrime-related fraud, narcotics trafficking, and human trafficking.  These successes have protected citizens in both our countries.

In particular, during their June meeting, Minister Birchall emphasized her commitment to ensuring that Romania takes all steps necessary to strengthen its anti-corruption laws and processes. In their meeting in September, the Attorney General and Minister will discuss how the U.S. Department of Justice can assist the Minister, and her Ministry, in this vital task. The Department of Justice welcomes this opportunity to meet again with a valued and trusted partner who is committed to fighting for the rule of law. 

Southeastern Grocers Inc. and its subsidiaries BI-LO LLC and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (together, “SEG”), owners and operators of regional grocery store chains BI-LO LLC, Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarket, have agreed to reduce emissions of potent ozone depleting gases from refrigeration equipment at 576 stores under a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. Under the settlement, SEG will spend an estimated $4.2 million over the next three years to reduce coolant leaks from refrigerators and other equipment and improve company-wide compliance. SEG will also pay a $300,000 civil penalty.

The United States alleged that SEG violated the Clean Air Act by failing to promptly repair leaks of class I and class II refrigerants, ozone-depleting substances used as coolants in refrigerators. SEG also failed to keep adequate servicing records of its refrigeration equipment and failed to provide information about its compliance record.

“This consent decree will help assure SEG’s future compliance with the Clean Air Act’s ozone-depletion program — by requiring leak monitoring, centralized computer recordkeeping, and searchable electronic reporting to EPA,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

“Through this settlement, Southeastern Grocers will implement concrete steps to reduce leaks of ozone depleting gases from the refrigeration equipment in their stores,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Susan Bodine. “These steps will not only help to prevent damage to the environment, but should also help save energy.”

SEG will now implement a corporate refrigerant compliance management system to comply with federal stratospheric ozone regulations and to detect and repair leaks through a new bi-monthly leak monitoring program. In addition, SEG will achieve and maintain an annual corporate-wide average leak rate of 17.0 percent through 2022, well below the grocery store sector average of 25 percent. SEG must also use non-ozone depleting advanced refrigerants at all new stores, and an additional 15 existing, non-advanced refrigerant stores.

EPA regulations issued under the Clean Air Act require that owners or operators of commercial refrigeration equipment that contain over 50 pounds of ozone-depleting refrigerants repair any leaks within 30 days. Damage to the ozone layer results in dangerous amounts of cancer-causing ultraviolet solar radiation, increasing skin cancers and cataracts. An added benefit of repairing refrigerant leaks is improved energy efficiency of the system, which can save electricity.

The settlement is the fourth in a series of national grocery store refrigerant cases, including cases previously filed against Safeway Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., and Trader Joe’s Co.

Southeastern Grocers Inc., and its subsidiaries BI-LO LLC and Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., all headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, are privately held companies which own and operate regional grocery store chains BI-LO LLC, Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., Fresco y Más and Harveys Supermarket in the southeastern U.S., with 576 stores located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina and have a projected revenue of $8.45 billion in for the 2019 fiscal year.

The settlement was lodged today in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. It will be available for viewing at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.

On Dec. 13, 2017, The Walt Disney Company entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets and businesses from Twenty-First Century Fox, including Fox’s 22 regional sports networks (RSNs).  After an investigation, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on June 27, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to block the proposed transaction.  At the same time, the Department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Department’s competitive concerns.

The proposed settlement requires Disney to divest Fox’s RSNs.  On May 3, 2019, Disney and Sinclair Broadcasting entered into an agreement (the Divestiture Transaction), under which Sinclair proposes to acquire the RSNs, except the New York Yankees-affiliated YES Network, from Disney.  The Department, after an investigation, approved Sinclair’s acquisition of the 21 RSNs.  Under the terms of the proposed Final Judgment filed with the court, the Department has the sole discretion to approve the divestiture of the Fox RSNs to one or more acquirers. 

“In exercising its discretion, the Antitrust Division has a duty to ensure that competition will be preserved for the American consumer, here the sports fan,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “Sinclair’s acquisition of the divested regional sports networks addresses the harm the Division identified in its review of the Disney-Fox transaction.”

Based upon its investigation, the Department did not find that the Divestiture Transaction would lead to competitive harm, and found that Sinclair has the incentive to use the RSNs to compete in all affected markets and that Sinclair has sufficient business experience and financial capabilities to compete effectively in the affected markets over the long term.

A Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy, Richard Palmer, 58, was indicted today on charges that he used unreasonable force by shooting an unarmed woman and misleading state investigators about the circumstances of his actions, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and FBI Special Agent in Charge Rachel Rojas of FBI’s Jacksonville Division.

According to the indictment, on Oct. 11, 2016, Palmer, while on duty as a Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy, shot a woman whose hands were visible and empty. Palmer’s actions resulted in bodily injury to her. Palmer later misled investigators by falsely justifying the shooting, claiming that the woman’s left hand was in her pocket, that the woman was pulling her left hand out of her pocket, and that he saw a dark object in her left hand.

Palmer faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for his use of unreasonable force, 20 years in prison for his false statements, and fines. An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Jacksonville Division. Special Legal Counsel Mark Blumberg and Trial Attorneys Maura White and Anna Gotfryd of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

A 14-count indictment has been unsealed today in San Antonio, Texas, charging five individuals with coordinating an identify-theft and fraud scheme targeting servicemembers and veterans. The charged defendants, who were based both in the Philippines and the United States, are alleged to have used the stolen personal identifying information (PII) of thousands of military members to access Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs benefits sites and steal millions of dollars. 

The defendants, Robert Wayne Boling Jr., Fredrick Brown, Trorice Crawford, Allan Albert Kerr, and Jongmin Seok, were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identify theft based on their alleged leading roles in the theft and exploitation of victim PII to conduct their fraud scheme. Boling (a U.S. citizen), Kerr (an Australian citizen), and Seok (a South Korean citizen) were arrested in the Philippines. Brown and Crawford, both U.S. citizens, were arrested in Las Vegas and San Diego respectively. Brown has been detained pending trial. Crawford is awaiting a detention hearing.

“The crimes charged today are reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the Department of Justice. These defendants are alleged to have illegally defrauded some of America’s most honorable citizens, our elderly and disabled veterans and servicemembers,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Through today’s action, the Department is honoring our pledge to target elder fraud schemes, especially those committed by foreign actors using sophisticated means, and to protect the veterans of our great country. I am proud of the quick and effective work done on this case by our Consumer Protection Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, with strong investigative support from the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. We all will continue to work together to ensure that our veterans and servicemembers are protected from fraud.”

“Our message is pretty simple,” said U.S. Attorney Bash. “It doesn’t matter where on this planet you reside. If you target our veterans, we’re coming for you. Our veterans were willing to risk everything to protect this Nation from foreign threats. Now it’s our turn to seek justice for them.”

“The compromise of personally identifiable information can significantly harm our service members, veterans and their families and we will aggressively investigate such matters,” said Glenn A. Fine, Principal Deputy Inspector General, performing the duties of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General. “This indictment and the coordinated actions of our criminal investigative component, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, demonstrate our commitment to swift action against those who attempt to enrich themselves through identify theft, money laundering, and conspiracy. The DoD OIG, working in partnership with the Department of Justice, will continue to identify, disrupt, and bring to justice those who threaten military members, retirees, and veterans through fraud and corruption.” 

“VA is working with DoD to identify any instances of compromised VA benefits accounts,” said James Hutton, VA assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs. “Just as importantly, VA has taken steps to protect Veterans’ data and are instituting additional protective measures.”

According to the indictment, the defendants’ identity-theft and fraud scheme began in 2014 when Brown, then a civilian employee at a U.S. Army installation, stole thousands of military members’ PII, including names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and Department of Defense identification numbers. Brown is alleged to have then provided the stolen information to Boling, who exploited the information in various ways together with his Philippines-based co-defendants Kerr and Seok.

As asserted in the indictment, Boling, Kerr, and Seok specifically used the stolen information to compromise a Department of Defense portal designed to enable military members to access benefits information online. Once through the portal, the defendants are alleged to have accessed benefits information.  Access to these detailed records enabled the defendants to steal or attempt to steal millions of dollars from military members’ bank accounts. The defendants also stole veterans’ benefits payments. After the defendants had compromised military members’ bank accounts and veterans’ benefits payments, Boling allegedly worked with Crawford to recruit individuals who would accept the deposit of stolen funds into their bank accounts and then send the funds through international wire remittance services to the defendants and others. Evidence of the defendants’ scheme was detected earlier this year, advancing the investigation that led to the indictment.

The unsealed indictment was announced today in San Antonio by U.S. Attorney John Bash of the Western District of Texas, Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Morrell, and Director Gustav Eyler of the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch.

The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are coordinating with the Department of Justice to notify and provide resources to the thousands of identified victims. Announcements also will follow regarding steps taken to secure military members’ information and benefits from theft and fraud.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The United States is represented by Trial Attorneys Ehren Reynolds and Yolanda McCray Jones of the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Blackwell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. The matter was investigated by agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and counsel Matthew Freund, along with substantial investigative support from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Benefits Protection and Remediation Division. The U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Philippine law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the District of Nevada, the Southern District of California, and the Eastern District of Virginia also provided assistance. Resources from the Department of Justice’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative and its Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force aided in the matter’s investigation and prosecution.

Since President Trump signed the bipartisan Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act (EAPPA) into law, the Department of Justice has participated in hundreds of enforcement actions in criminal and civil cases that targeted or disproportionately affected seniors. In particular, this past March, the Department announced the largest elder fraud enforcement action in American history, charging more than 260 defendants in a nationwide elder fraud sweep.  The Department has likewise conducted hundreds of trainings and outreach sessions across the country since the passage of the Act.   

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.  For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx. Information about the Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative is available at www.justice.gov/elderjustice; information on the Servicemember and Veterans Initiative is at https://www.justice.gov/servicemembers.

A federal grand jury has indicted a Washington woman for false declarations before the grand jury and obstruction of justice.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Raymond Duda of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office and Chief of Police Carmen Best of the Seattle Police Department made the announcement.

According to the indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Washington, on Feb. 28, 2018, Shawna Reid, 34, of Everett, Washington, made false material declarations to a federal grand jury when she denied before the federal grand jury that she previously told a Seattle Police Department Detective and FBI Special Agent during an interview on Aug. 23, 2017, that Suspect #1 told her that Suspect #1 bragged about involvement in the murder of a judge or attorney that lives on top of a hill.  Reid further denied before the federal grand jury that she previously told the detective and special agent on Aug. 23, 2017, that Suspect #1 bragged that the murder victim was someone of importance like a judge or an attorney general.

According to the indictment, Reid is also charged with obstruction of justice for making false material statements to law enforcement officials on Aug. 25, 2017, and Dec.7, 2017, and then on Feb. 28, 2018, before a federal grand jury.  All of the false statements pertained to whether Suspect #1 told Reid about Suspect #1’s involvement in the murder of a lawyer, judge, or attorney general who lived on a hill.

The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Seattle Police Department.  Section Chief David Jaffe and Trial Attorneys Joseph Wheatley and Matthew Hoff of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. Clymer are prosecuting this case.

A former precious metals trader at the London, Singapore and New York offices of a U.S. bank (Bank A) pleaded guilty today to conspiracy and spoofing charges, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. of the FBI’s New York Field Office. 

Christian Trunz, 34, of London, England, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to engage in spoofing and one count of spoofing.  Today’s pleas were accepted by U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 19, 2020.  Trunz resigned from his position as an Executive Director at Bank A earlier today.

According to admissions made as part of his plea and other statements made in court, between approximately July 2007 and August 2016, Trunz placed thousands of orders that he did not intend to execute for gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (NYMEX) and Commodity Exchange Inc. (COMEX), which are commodities exchanges operated by CME Group Inc.  Trunz learned to spoof from more senior traders, and spoofed with the knowledge and consent of his supervisors.

This case is the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBI’s New York Field Office. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement provided assistance in this case. Trial Attorneys Avi Perry and Matthew F. Sullivan of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Trunz is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today seeking to block Sabre Corporation’s $360 million acquisition of Farelogix, Inc. The Department said that Sabre and Farelogix compete head-to-head to provide booking services to airlines. Booking services are IT solutions that allow airlines to sell tickets and ancillary products through traditional brick-and-mortar and online travel agencies to the traveling public.  The Department said that the acquisition would eliminate competition that has substantially benefitted airlines and consumers.

The Antitrust Division’s lawsuit alleges that the transaction would allow Sabre, the largest booking services provider in the United States, to eliminate a disruptive competitor that has introduced new technology to the travel industry and is poised to grow significantly.

“Sabre’s proposed acquisition of Farelogix is a dominant firm’s attempt to take out a disruptive competitor that has been an important source of competition and innovation,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “If allowed to proceed, the acquisition would likely result in higher prices, reduced quality, and less innovation for airlines and, ultimately, traveling American consumers.”

As alleged in the complaint, Sabre is the dominant provider of booking services in the United States with over 50 percent of airline bookings through travel agencies.  Sabre operates a global distribution system, or GDS, which is a digital platform that provides booking services to airlines in addition to other functionality.  For many years, Sabre has operated outdated technology and resisted innovation.  Farelogix is an innovative technology company that has stepped in to address the needs of airlines and their customers. 

As alleged in the complaint, Farelogix has injected much-needed competition and innovation into stagnant booking services markets.  Airlines have successfully leveraged their ability to turn to Farelogix to negotiate lower fees with Sabre and the other GDSs, and to reduce their reliance on GDSs for booking services.  Farelogix has also pioneered the development of new technology that empowers airlines to make a wider array of offers to travelers who book tickets through travel agencies.  This new technology enables airlines to make more varied and personalized offers to consumers who book through travel agents, including bundles of ancillary products such as wi-fi, lounge passes, entertainment options, and meals – choices not available to travelers through Sabre’s legacy technology.

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, Sabre executives have acknowledged that acquiring Farelogix would eliminate a competitive threat and further entrench Sabre in booking services.  For example, on the day Sabre announced its intention to buy Farelogix, Sabre’s chief sales officer texted a colleague that one major U.S. airline would “hate” it.  The colleague replied, “Why, because it entrenches us more?”  Similarly, a Farelogix executive observed that buying the company would allow Sabre to “tak[e] out a strong competitor vs. continued competition and price pressure.” 

As alleged in the complaint, Sabre’s attempt to acquire Farelogix follows many other attempts by Sabre to neutralize its competitor, including a campaign to “shut down Farelogix.”  Indeed, Farelogix has long complained about Sabre’s tactics, alleging that Sabre has sought to stifle competition.  For example, in 2013, Farelogix’s CEO alleged that “Sabre has wielded its monopoly power in an attempt to destroy Farelogix and prevent competition. . . .” And just last year, Farelogix’s CEO told European antitrust authorities that Sabre and the other two major GDSs “continue to leverage significant market power to preserve their market position and stifle innovation.”  Now that Farelogix has gained a foothold in booking services and is poised to grow, Sabre seeks to eliminate this scrappy competitor once and for all by acquiring it.

Sabre Corp. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Southlake, Texas.  Sabre operates the largest global distribution system in the United States. Sabre’s 2018 revenues were approximately $3.9 billion.

Farelogix, Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Miami, Florida.  Farelogix offers a next-generation booking services solution, known as Open Connect.  In 2018, Farelogix earned approximately $42 million in revenues.

Earlier today, extensive coordination and cooperation efforts between United States and Brazilian law enforcement and prosecution authorities culminated in the Brazil Federal Police (DPF) conducting a significant enforcement operation to disrupt and dismantle a transnational criminal organization.  The human smuggling organization targeted is alleged to be responsible for the illicit smuggling of scores of individuals from East Africa and the Middle East, into Brazil, and ultimately to the United States.  The enforcement operation included the execution of multiple search warrants and the arrests of three prolific, Brazil-based human smugglers on Brazilian charges:  Abdifatah Hussein Ahmed (a Somalian national); Abdessalem Martani (an Algerian national); and Mohsen Khademi Manesh (an Iranian national).

“We commend today’s efforts by our Brazilian counterparts to take decisive action under their recently enacted human smuggling laws against criminal networks that threaten the national security of Brazil, the United States and other nations,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Such collaborative efforts with our foreign law enforcement partners show our collective resolve to hold international human smugglers to account to the fullest extent of the law.” 

Assistance provided by U.S. authorities was coordinated under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department, Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns.  ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources.  ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

HSI Boston led U.S. investigative support efforts, working in concert with HSI Brasilia, HSI San Diego, the HSI Human Smuggling Unit ECT program, Enforcement and Removal Operations, the International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center, the HSI Liaison to the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Southern Command, Operation CITADEL, BITMAP, and the National Targeting Center – Investigations.  The Justice Department, both Criminal Division’s HRSP and the Office of International Affairs, provided significant legal and other assistance in this matter.

A former Kansas bank executive was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday for his participation in a bank fraud scheme to obtain a $15 million construction loan for certain bank customers based upon false and fraudulent representations.  The loan was shared among 26 Kansas banks.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Justin R. Bundy of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General’s (FDIC-OIG) Kansas City Regional Office, Special Agent in Charge Timothy R. Langan of the FBI’s Kansas City Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Catherine Huber of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General’s (FHFA-OIG) Central Region Office made the announcement.                                                                                                                                                           

Troy A. Gregory, 52, of Lawrence, Kansas, was found guilty of four counts of bank fraud and two counts of false statements, as charged in a November 2017 indictment.  The jury failed to reach a verdict as to one count of conspiracy.  Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2020, before U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia of the District of Kansas, who presided over the trial.

According to the evidence submitted at trial, Gregory was a bank executive and loan officer who had made millions of dollars in loans to a group of borrowers who were struggling to make payments on the loans.  Beginning in approximately late 2007, Gregory began the process of making a $15.2 million construction loan to build an apartment complex to that same group of borrowers.  Gregory’s bank shared this loan with 25 other Kansas banks.  Gregory made and caused others to make false statements to the banks about the strength of the borrowers, the debt status of the apartment property and the existence of approximately $1.7 million in certificates of deposit for collateral on the loan, all to get the loan approved.  Instead of using the loan funds promised for building the apartments, Gregory immediately diverted over $1 million of the loan to pay for part of the certificates of deposit pledged as collateral, pay off debt on the apartment property, and make payments on unrelated loans, the evidence showed.  Other Kansas banks that shared in this loan would not have participated in the loan without the false representations and promises. The banks ultimately wrote off millions of dollars on the $15.2 million construction loan, the evidence showed.

The FDIC-OIG, IRS-CI, FBI and FHFA-OIG are investigating this matter.  Trial Attorney Andrew R. Tyler and Senior Litigation Counsel David A. Bybee of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department announced today that American Airlines Inc. has agreed to pay approximately $22.1 million to resolve its alleged liability under the False Claims Act for falsely reporting the times it transferred possession of United States mail to foreign postal administrations or other intended recipients under contracts with the United States Postal Service (USPS). American Airlines is an international airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We expect companies doing business with the government to comply with their contractual obligations,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice vigorously pursues all manner of fraudulent conduct that undermines the benefits that the government has bargained for.”

USPS contracted with American Airlines to take possession of receptacles of United States mail at six locations in the United States or at various Department of Defense and State Department locations abroad, and then deliver that mail to numerous international and domestic destinations.  To obtain payment under the contracts, American Airlines was required to submit electronic scans of the mail receptacles to USPS reporting the time the mail was delivered at the specified destinations. The contracts specified penalties for mail that was delivered late or to the wrong location. Today’s settlement resolves allegations that scans submitted by American Airlines falsely reported the time it transferred possession of the mail. 

“The U.S. Postal Service contracts with commercial airlines for the safeguarding and timely delivery of U.S. Mail to foreign posts, including the mail sent to our soldiers deployed to foreign operating bases,” said Scott Pierce, Special Agent in Charge, USPS Office of Inspector General. “The Office of Inspector General supports the Postal Service by aggressively investigating allegations of contractual non-compliance within the mail delivery process, including the falsification of delivery information.  Our special agents worked hand-in-hand with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division to help ensure a reasonable resolution and we applaud the exceptional work by the investigative and legal team.” 

This matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the USPS Office of the Inspector General, and the USPS Office of General Counsel.

The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

PCI FlorTech Inc., an Illinois-based commercial flooring contractor, has been charged for its role in a long-running conspiracy to rig bids and fix prices for commercial flooring services and products sold in the United States, the Department of Justice announced today.  

PCI FlorTech has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $150,000 criminal fine for its role in the conspiracy and to cooperate in the Division’s ongoing investigation. PCI FlorTech’s charge follows the guilty plea of a former vice president of another commercial flooring contractor.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, PCI FlorTech engaged in a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the commercial flooring market by submitting complementary bids to ensure that the designated company would win the bidding. PCI FlorTech participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as 2009 until at least June 2017.

“Today marks the first charge brought against a corporation for rigging bids and undermining the competitive process that consumers—including schools and charities—depend upon to get a competitive price for flooring,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “We will continue to investigate and prosecute contractors and their executives who cheat in the bidding process.”

“PCI FlorTech illegally conspired to elevate bid prices, ultimately cheating the public out of the competitive pricing necessary to complete construction projects,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey S. Sallet, FBI Chicago. “This charge demonstrates that the FBI is committed to working with its government partners to hold contractors accountable when they attempt to profit at their community’s expense.”

A violation of the Sherman Act carries maximum penalties of a $100 million criminal fine 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.

The charges are the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging, price fixing, and other anticompetitive conduct in the commercial flooring industry, conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office and the FBI’s Chicago Field Division.

Anyone with information on bid rigging, price fixing, or other anticompetitive conduct related to the commercial flooring industry should contact the Antitrust Division’s Chicago Office at 312-984-7200 or visit https://www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.html.

Attorney General William P. Barr today announced he will appoint Dr. Kathleen Hawk Sawyer as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and Dr. Thomas R. Kane as the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Dr. Hawk Sawyer previously served as Director of BOP from 1992 – 2003.  

“I am pleased to welcome back Dr. Hawk Sawyer as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Under Dr. Hawk Sawyer’s previous tenure at the Bureau, she led the agency with excellence, innovation, and efficiency, receiving numerous awards for her outstanding leadership, “ said Attorney General Barr. “I am also pleased to announce Dr. Thomas R. Kane as the Deputy Director of BOP. Dr. Kane served in the Bureau for over thirty years under four Attorneys General and is known for his expertise and proficiency in prison management and organization. During this critical juncture, I am confident Dr. Hawk Sawyer and Dr. Kane will lead BOP with the competence, skill, and resourcefulness they have embodied throughout their government careers. I would also like to thank Hugh Hurwitz, Acting Director of BOP, for his dedication and service to the Bureau over the last fifteen months. I have asked Mr. Hurwitz to return to his responsibilities as Assistant Director of BOP’s Reentry Services Division, where he will work closely with me in overseeing the implementation of one of the Department’s highest priorities, the First Step Act.”

Dr. Kathleen Hawk Sawyer began her Bureau of Prisons career in 1976 as a psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Morgantown, West Virginia, and subsequently held positions of increasing responsibility as Chief of Psychology Services at Morgantown; Senior Instructor at the Bureau of Prisons' Staff Training Academy (STA) in Glynco, Georgia; Associate Warden at FCI Fort Worth, Texas; the Bureau's Chief of Staff Training at STA; and Warden at FCI Butner, North Carolina. In May 1989, she was selected as Assistant Director for the Program Review Division, where she was responsible for developing and implementing a system of internal controls for all Bureau operations. In 1992, Attorney General Barr appointed Dr. Hawk Sawyer as Director of BOP. While serving as Director for over a decade, she introduced the Forward Thinking Initiative, which was designed to prepare the agency to meet future demands and conditions. Additionally, she implemented reengineering initiatives intended to identify and eliminate unnecessary or redundant functions in order to maximize staff attention to inmates and yield agency-wide cost savings. While Director, Dr. Hawk Sawyer received numerous awards for service and leadership, including the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Management in 1992, the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service in 1994 and 2000, and the Presidential Distinguished Executive Award in 1997. She served as Director until she retired in 2003.

Dr. Thomas R. Kane served in the Bureau of Prisons from 1977 to 2018, including 30 years in multiple senior leadership positions such as Chief of Staff, Assistant Director, Deputy Director, and Acting Director under four Attorneys General. While at BOP, he provided long-term leadership for the enhancement of processes to assess prisoner risk level and need for treatment, as well as the BOP business process by reengineering initiatives resulting in significant organizational cost efficiencies and process improvement. Additionally, he served as a member of the FBI Advisory Policy Board for Criminal Justice Information Services, the District of Columbia Sentencing Commission, and the BOP Health Services Governing Board. Dr. Kane received numerous awards and other recognition throughout his career, including the Attorney General’s Medallion, two Meritorious Presidential Rank Awards, and the BOP Distinguished Service Medal.  Dr. Kane also serves as a member of the American Psychological Association and the American Correctional Association.

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI) announced that SINGEO I. SINGENES, age 63, and INNOCENCIA ESIROM, age 56, were sentenced in U.S. District Court today by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood. SINGENES and ESIROM were convicted of unauthorized use of food stamp benefits, in violation of Title 7, United States Code, Section 2024(b). Each defendant received a sentence of 12 months and one day imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. The Court also ordered each defendant to pay a $100 special assessment fee and, jointly and severally, a total of $490,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

          SINGENES owned and ESIROM operated S & I Mart, a small convenience store that was located in Barrigada, Guam, and has since closed. On March 1, 2011, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service authorized S & I Mart to participate in the agency’s program known as SNAP, formerly the  Food Stamp Program. SNAP is a 100% federally funded program that provides financial aid to eligible recipients for use at authorized retail food stores. Under the program, SNAP recipients receive  electronic benefits transfer (“EBT”) authorization cards that operate as debit cards. Each month authorized recipients are issued certain amounts of SNAP benefits that could be accessed only with their EBT cards and encrypted personal identification numbers. Under the program, SINGENES and  ESIROM knew that SNAP benefits could not be accepted or redeemed in exchange for credit or loans, and that SNAP recipients could not be discriminated against by charging them interest or different prices, among other things.

          From March 1, 2011 to September 1, 2013, the defendants defrauded the USDA and obtained SNAP benefits in exchange for extending credit to SNAP recipients. The defendants allowed SNAP recipients to purchase items on credit, and used their SNAP benefits from their EBT cards to pay off their credit balances at the beginning of the next month. The defendants also charged higher prices to SNAP recipients who purchased merchandise on credit and charged them a $20 late fee if they failed to pay their credit balances at the beginning of the following month. The practice of accepting SNAP benefits as payment on credit accounts or loans was a violation of the program and accounted for 90% of the store’s sales.

          U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “The USDA investigation revealed a continuous pattern of fraud by these defendants over a substantial period of time. The SNAP program provides essential nutritional benefits to needy families nationwide. That these defendants would defraud not only the program, but also the recipients is unconscionable. Our office will hold dishonest retailers accountable through prosecution and disqualification in an effort to maintain the integrity of this important program.”

          The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the USDA-Office of Inspector General investigated the case.  The case was prosecuted by Marivic P. David, Assistant United States Attorney.

BIRMINGHAM – Birmingham man pled guilty during trial, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, and Special Agent and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

           Monterius King, 31, entered his plea on August 5th before U.S. District Judge Liles Burke at the end of the first day of trial, after several witnesses had testified.  King pled guilty to robbing the ServisFirst Bank on Richard Arrington Blvd. on January 3, 2017.  King also pled guilty to robbing the Jet Pep gas station on Center Point Parkway on April 24, 2017, and to discharging a firearm during that robbery, in which he shot a clerk in the stomach.  King has pending charges remaining in state court for attempted murder and robbery arising from the JetPep robbery, and for robbery arising from the ServisFirst bank robbery.  A sentencing date has been set for December 16th. 

            “Those who threaten the lives of innocent employees and customers are exactly the violent criminals we will remove from our communities and relocate to a bed in federal prison,” Town said.  “The government was fully prepared to present evidence at trial that would prove the guilt of this defendant. He now faces federal time in a federal prison.”

            “Protecting the public by the removal of the criminal element that commits acts of violence with a firearm was the result of the combined efforts by ATF and our partners,” Watson said.

            King faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the robberies, plus a consecutive term of at least 10 years for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. 

            The ATF investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Geer, III, is prosecuting.

William Patrick Syring, 61, of Arlington, Virginia, was today sentenced to 60 months in prison for threatening employees of the Arab American Institute (AAI) because of their race and national origin, threatening AAI employees because of their efforts to encourage Arab Americans to participate in political and civic life in the United States, and transmitting threats to AAI employees in interstate commerce.

“Threats aimed to intimidate individuals based on their ethnic or racial origin are despicable violations of civil rights freedoms protected by our constitution,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “The Department of Justice will continue to fight to preserve the basic rights of people to live, work, and speak in their communities without the fear of hostility based on racism.”

“Investigating hate crimes is one of the FBI’s highest criminal priorities; these hateful acts are not only an attack on the victim, but are meant to intimidate an entire community,” said Timothy R. Slater, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “This sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to holding accountable those who seek to violate the civil rights of the people of our community through violent threats.”

Evidence presented at trial established that from 2012 to 2017, Syring sent over 700 emails to AAI employees, culminating in five death threats in 2017. According to court documents, Syring previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to sending threatening emails to AAI employees. Evidence presented at trial showed that Syring used nearly identical language that he admitted were threats in 2008 as he did in 2017.

According to testimony in court, AAI employees were frightened of Syring because he had sent them death threats in the past and continued to do so over a decade later. Additionally, according to witness testimony, many AAI employees lived in fear that Syring would follow through on his threats and physically harm them. They further testified to the toll it took on them personally and their families and loved ones.

On May 9, Syring was convicted on all 14 counts in the indictment, including seven hate crime charges and seven interstate threats charges. The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, and is being prosecuted by Civil Rights Division Senior Legal Counsel Mark Blumberg and Trial Attorney Nick Reddick.

Nathaniel Griffin, 29, today pleaded guilty to using unlawful force on an inmate while Griffin was serving as a correctional officer with the Tennessee Department of Corrections, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee D. Michael Dunavant, and FBI-Memphis Special Agent in Charge M.A. Myers.

“The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute correctional officers who violate the public’s trust by committing crimes and attempting to cover up violations of federal criminal law,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “Officer Griffin abused his power in this case, and the Department of Justice held him accountable for his unlawful actions.”

"Correctional officers must abide by and adhere to the same laws they take an oath to uphold and enforce. Instead of serving and protecting the public, this officer used physical force to violate the civil rights of an individual and will now be held accountable, vividly illustrating that no one is above the law,” said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant.

"The FBI takes all allegations of civil rights violations seriously, and we will work tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners to preserve the integrity of the criminal justice system," said M.A. Myers, Special Agent in Charge of the Memphis Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  "Those who choose to ignore the oath they took to protect and serve will be investigated and brought to justice."

On or about Feb. 1, Griffin and fellow correctional officers T.P., J.Y., C.M., and C.S. entered the cell of R.T., an inmate in the mental health unit at the Northwest County Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Inmate R.T. spit and then remained seated on a bench, with his arms by his sides.

Correctional officer J.Y. looked in the direction of the surveillance camera in the cell and said, “Cover the camera.” Officer C.S. then covered the camera with his hand. When the camera was covered, Griffin saw inmate R.T. sitting with his arms by his side.  Correctional Officer J.Y. then repeatedly punched R.T. Griffin estimated that Officer J.Y. hit R.T. between 20-30 times. At some point, Officer J.Y. stopped hitting R.T., looked back at Officer T.P., and said, “Get you some.” Officer T.P. then stepped up and punched R.T. between four to five times. 

During the assault by the officers, inmate R.T. sat on the bench and covered his face and head with his hands. Griffin knew that punching R.T. was unlawful, but he did not step in to stop it.  Officers T.M., C.S., and C.M. were in a position to watch as J.Y. and T.P. punched inmate R.T., but none of them attempted to stop the officers from hitting R.T.

Griffin heard an officer in the cell ask for paper towels. Correctional Officer C.M. handed the towels to Griffin. Griffin wet them in the sink, and handed them to Officer C.S. Griffin knew when they wet the towels, they would be used to cover the camera. After R.T. was punched by J.Y. and T.P., Griffin observed that R.T. was bleeding. 

After Officers J.Y. and T.P. stopped punching R.T., the inmate spit on Griffin’s chest and arm.  Griffin punched R.T. multiple times. Griffin then left the cell.

Outside of the cell, Griffin spoke with T.P., J.Y., and Corporal T.M.  Corporal T.M., who was the ranking officer, told the other officers that they should come up with a false cover story about what happened to R.T.  Griffin understood that any subsequent discussion of the incident would not include that he and other officers had punched R.T. 

Griffin admitted in today’s guilty plea that he violated 18 U.S.C. § 242 when he repeatedly punched and injured inmate R.T. without legal justification. The maximum penalty for this civil rights offense is 10 years imprisonment. Sentencing is set for Nov. 13. 

This case was investigated by the Memphis Division of the FBI with the support of the Tennessee Department of Corrections, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Rebekah J. Bailey of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorney David Pritchard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.

Robert Hammac, 45, a former officer of the Lake Charles Police Department, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge James D. Cain, Jr., for using excessive force against an arrestee, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph for the Western District of Louisiana, and FBI’s New Orleans Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Anderson.   

Hammac pleaded guilty to a single count of deprivation of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242.  According to documents filed today, Hammac was involved in a vehicle pursuit of G.T. on May 8, 2017, for several miles. The car was brought to a stop, and G.T. raised his hands in the air in a manner indicating surrender. Other officers then ordered G.T. out of the car and began pulling him out of the car. Hammac ran to the front passenger side door, opened it, grabbed G.T. before he could exit, pulled him back into the car, and repeatedly punched G.T.’s head with a closed fist. The victim was not resisting in any way or posing a threat.

“Law enforcement officers must uphold and defend the constitution,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “When an officer abuses their power, the public’s trust in law enforcement is compromised. The Department of Justice will continue to hold such officers accountable under the law.”

“Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph. “The vast majority of law enforcement officers perform their difficult and dangerous duties with integrity and courage.  However, law enforcement officers who betray the badge and the public’s trust, as the defendant did here, also dishonor their profession and their fellow officers.  This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the Western District of Louisiana.”

“Police officers respond to challenging and dynamic situations every day,” stated FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Anderson. “They are trained to maintain professionalism and adhere to standards of conduct in any situation. In this instance, the officer did not apply his training and violated the constitutional rights of the victim. Instances such as this are unacceptable and will continue to be high priority investigations of the FBI."

Hammac faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for Nov. 14.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla Bynog of the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Mary J. Hahn of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

Two former correctional officers at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, were sentenced today for their roles in assaults on a handcuffed inmate in January 2017. Adrian Almodovar III and Charles Philson III previously pleaded guilty to depriving the inmate of his constitutional rights while acting under color of law.

“The Justice Department is committed to holding correctional officers who deprive inmates of their right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment accountable to the public,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband. “The Civil Rights Division will continue to obtain justice for victims of these atrocious crimes.”

“The vast majority of law enforcement officers maintain a high standard of conduct and perform their duties with honesty, integrity, and bravery. Law enforcement officers at every level should be held to a high standard and those who deprive citizens of their civil rights and undermine the public trust should be held accountable. I want to thank the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the FBI, and Louisiana Office of the State Inspector General, and our staff for their efforts in this case.”

"Along with our partners, the FBI will aggressively pursue allegations wherein correctional officers abuse their position of power and authority to deny persons their constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment,” stated Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Anderson. “The FBI is appreciative of its partnership with the LA Department of Corrections to root out correctional officers who choose to break the law and physically abuse defenseless inmates.”

“Corrections Officers are given great authority and trust, and when they abuse that trust, it undermines the entire system,” said Louisiana Inspector General Stephen Street. “Physically abusing a handcuffed inmate can never be tolerated. It was entirely appropriate that these individuals be prosecuted and punished. The Louisiana OIG will continue working these criminal cases with our law enforcement partners for as long as necessary to protect the integrity of our system.  I want to thank U.S. Attorney Brandon Fremin and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for all their efforts on this case.”       

During his previous plea hearing, Almodovar admitted to unlawfully striking inmate J.H. on multiple occasions while J.H. was handcuffed. He also admitted to failing to intervene to stop his fellow correctional officers from using unlawful force on J.H.  Almodovar further admitted to unlawfully striking a second inmate, L.B., in the head while L.B. was handcuffed. Almodovar was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Philson previously pleaded guilty to witnessing other correctional officers using unlawful force on J.H. and failing to intervene to stop them. He was sentenced to 12 months probation.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Baton Rouge Resident Agency Office and the Louisiana Office of the State Inspector General. Trial Attorney Christopher J. Perras and Assistant United States Attorney Cal Leipold also assisted in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Zachary Dembo of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.

A Portland, Maine tax return preparer pleaded guilty today to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank of the District of Maine.

According to plea documents and statements made in court, Ashraf Eldeknawey operated a tax return preparation business located inside the Ahram Halal Market in Portland during the years 2015 through 2018. Eldeknawey admitted to willfully preparing a false 2015 tax return for two clients that intentionally included overstated self-employment income in order to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit and a fraudulently increased refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Eldeknawey admitted that his preparation of false tax returns caused a loss to the government between $40,000 and $100,000.

Eldeknawey faces up to three years in prison, as well as monetary penalties.  As part of the plea, Eldeknawey also agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of the loss caused by his conduct. 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Frank thanked Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and William Guappone of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.  Zuckerman and Frank also commended IRS Criminal Investigation; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General; and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Fraud Investigation and Recovery Unit, who investigated the case. 

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the Division’s website.

Chairman Ajit Pai of the Federal Communications Commission announced today that his office has circulated a draft order approving the combination of T-Mobile and Sprint along with the divestiture of Sprint’s prepaid business to Dish Network Corp.  Just as the Department determined last month, the FCC’s draft order concludes that the merger and divestiture should move forward.  As the FCC explained, the circulation of the draft order means that the matter is now ready for consideration by the full Commission.

“I commend the FCC on passing this important milestone toward approval of the merger and divestiture, and congratulate them on completing their thorough review and analysis,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.  “We are now one step closer to strengthening competition for high-quality 5G networks that will benefit American consumers nationwide.” 

The Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the offices of five state Attorneys General (Plaintiff States), filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on July 26 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction.  At the same time, the Department and the Plaintiff States filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Department’s and the Plaintiff States’ competitive concerns. The participating state Attorneys General offices represent Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, T-Mobile and Sprint must divest Sprint’s prepaid business, including Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Sprint prepaid, to Dish Network Corp., a Colorado-based satellite television provider.  The proposed settlement also provides for the divestiture of certain spectrum assets to Dish.  Additionally, T-Mobile and Sprint must make available to Dish at least 20,000 cell sites and hundreds of retail locations.  T-Mobile must also provide Dish with robust access to the T-Mobile network for a period of seven years while Dish builds out its own 5G network.

T-Mobile US Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.  In 2018, T-Mobile posted revenues of more than $43 billion.  Deutsche Telekom AG, a German corporation headquartered in Bonn, Germany, is the controlling shareholder of T-Mobile US Inc. 

Sprint Corporation is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.  In 2018, its posted revenue was over $32 billion.  Sprint is controlled by SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese Corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

The Department of Justice announced today that it has reached a settlement agreement with four car reconditioning companies in California: Automotive Creations, Inc., Dynamic Auto Images, Inc., Prestige Auto Specialists, Inc., and Expert Automotive Reconditioning, Inc. (collectively, the Companies). The settlement resolves the Department’s investigation into whether the Companies violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against lawful permanent residents when verifying their authorization to work in the United States.

“The Civil Rights Division remains committed to ensuring that employers do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of citizenship, immigration status, or national origin when requesting documents to verify employees’ work authorization,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “We commend the Companies for their commitment to ensuring that all future documentary requests will comply with the law.”

The Department’s independent investigation concluded that, from at least October 2015 through at least August 2018, the Companies requested that lawful permanent residents produce unnecessary and specific immigration documents to prove their work authorization, even when they had provided other legally acceptable documents. The anti-discrimination provision of the INA prohibits employers from requesting more or different documents than necessary to prove work authorization based on the employees’ citizenship, immigration status, or national origin. All work-authorized individuals, regardless of citizenship status, have the right to choose which legally acceptable documents to present to demonstrate their ability to work in the United States.  

Under the settlement, the Companies will pay $159,000 in civil penalties to the United States and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements. Additionally, certain employees will be required to attend training on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation. 

More information on how employers can avoid unlawful discrimination is available here.  Workers can find information about their rights under the anti-discrimination provision of the INA here.  For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; or discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

A federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, has issued an order permanently barring Jeffrey Cadet, Kersh Tax Service, LLC, and Kersha Lewis from preparing federal tax returns for others, or owning or operating a tax preparation business, the Justice Department announced today.

The court also ordered the defendants to mail copies of the court order and complaint to all persons or entities for whom they prepared federal tax returns after Jan. 1, 2014.

The complaint filed by the government alleged that defendants prepared tax returns containing fictitious itemized deductions and/or fictitious business expenses. The complaint also alleges that the defendants filed returns containing fictitious and/or inflated education expenses to improperly claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and Lifetime Learning Credit on behalf of customers. According to the complaint, the defendants circumvented due diligence requirements for claiming the AOTC and the Earned Income Tax Credit, charged deceptive and/or unconscionable fees to customers, failed to provide customers with complete copies of their tax returns, and failed to sign or identify themselves as the preparer on many returns they prepared.

The injunction against Cadet, Kersh Tax Service, and Kersha Lewis was entered by default because those defendants failed to defend against the government’s allegations. Saglenda Johnson, who was also named as a party to the lawsuit, consented to a similar injunction entered earlier in the case.

Return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams and taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. 

In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page. If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details.

United States Attorney’s Office today announced the sentencing of Shakeel Kahn and his brother Nabeel Kahn on federal charges of operating a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiring to distribute prescription medications, which resulted in the death Jessica Burch.  The sentencing follows a nearly four week trial that concluded in May 2019. 

Shakeel and Nabeel Kahn were sentenced by United States District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson. 

Shakeel A. Kahn, (53) received a 25 year sentence for counts including drug distribution resulting in death, operating a continuing criminal enterprise, and the use of a firearm in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime.  Nabeel Aziz “Sonny” Kahn (46), received a 15 year sentence, including a 5 year consecutive sentence for use of a firearm in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime.

“This is a substantial sentence that reflects the severity of the offenses in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Klaassen.  “In concert with the ongoing nationwide effort to combat opioid abuse, my office will continue to focus on stemming the tide of illegally prescribed drugs.  These are particularly addictive and dangerous drugs that must be used with care, and we must ensure the integrity of the prescribing process to prevent abuse,” said Klaassen.  “I appreciate the effort of the DEA diversion team in the investigation of this case.”

Numerous other defendants were charged and convicted in State court on drug trafficking charges for their involvement in selling prescription medications received through Shakeel Kahn’s practice. 

The investigation of this case began in April 2016, based on a complaint from the Wyoming Board of Pharmacy indicating Shakeel Kahn was prescribing large amounts of controlled substances under two DEA registration numbers – one in Arizona and one in Wyoming.  Trial testimony revealed that the Kahn drug distribution organization was unlawfully prescribing opioids in small rural communities located in and around Fort Mohave, Arizona; Casper, Wyoming; and the Wind River Indian Reservation between January of 2011 and December of 2016. 

Shakeel Kahn purported to be a pain management physician.  He targeted vulnerable addicts as customers.  They received prescriptions for highly addictive opioids at rapidly escalating volume and in potentially deadly combination with other drugs.  It was not uncommon for customers to pay as much as $4,000 per month to Kahn in exchange for the prescription opioids.  The patients who received the medications often had no visible source of income that would allow them to afford the prescriptions – other than what they were earning re-selling the drugs on the street.  Tragically, at least one patient, Jessica Burch, died as a result of an overdose of medications received from Shakeel Kahn’s practice.       

This case was investigated with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

“I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein was found dead early this morning from an apparent suicide while in federal custody. Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered. In addition to the FBI’s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein’s death."

A Waco, Texas, tax return preparer pleaded guilty Tuesday before United States Magistrate Judge Jeffrey C. Manske to conspiracy to defraud the United States announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to the indictment and information presented at the plea hearing, Janell Lightner, assisted co-defendant Stacey Anderson in the preparation and filing of false tax returns. Anderson operated her tax return preparation business, Anderson Professional Tax Services, out of Anderson’s residence in Waco. Lightner and Anderson conspired to defraud the United States by preparing false 2013 and 2014 individual income tax returns, which claimed false business items and/or education tax credits in order to fraudulently increase their clients’ tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Lightner and Anderson prepared returns for clients in Texas, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Lightner has admitted to causing a tax loss of over $1.3 million.  

In June 2019, Anderson also pleaded guilty to the aforementioned conspiracy charge as well as filing a false 2014 income tax return.  Anderson admitted to causing a tax loss of over $10 million. Anderson’s sentencing is set for Oct. 9, 2019.

The Court scheduled Lightner’s sentencing for Dec. 5, 2019.  Lightner faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge as well as a term of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Robert Kemins and David Zisserson, who are prosecuting the case. Mr. Zuckerman also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas (Waco Division) for their substantial assistance on this case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website. 

NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that BRANDON HALL, a/k/a “B-Hilly,” age 29, and DWAYNE LABRANCH, a/k/a “Mondo,” a/k/a “Black,” age 37, both of New Orleans, were sentenced on Wednesday, August 7, 2018 after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and a quantity of fentanyl, along with firearm charges. 

United States District Judge Sarah S. Vance sentenced HALL to 196 months of imprisonment followed by four years of supervised release.  LABRANCH was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment followed by four years of supervised release.

According to court records, during the timeframe of the charged drug conspiracy, HALL and LABRANCH conspired with codefendants Jonathan LAWRENCE, Aloysius KORIEOCHA, Brian MAXSON, Donald MARCELIN, Lance STOVALL, Vonzo MAGEE, and others, to distribute heroin and fentanyl throughout the New Orleans area.  These individuals were members of a drug-trafficking organization that operated primarily in the Eastside Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans.  Collectively, the group referred to their neighborhood as “The Zoo,” a name derived from a popular rap song and video filmed in the neighborhood.  Each of the eight defendants has been linked to drug activity in Eastside Hollygrove through law enforcement controlled purchases, Title III wire and electronic interceptions, witness statements, drug seizures, and other evidence.  Each of the eight defendants in this case has pleaded guilty.  Thus far, MARCELIN, KORIEOCHA, HALL, and LABRANCH have been sentenced. 

The FBI New Orleans Gang Task Force (NOGTF), which led this investigation and was assisted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Orleans Police Department, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorneys Brandon S. Long, David Haller, and Edward Rivera are in charge of the prosecution.              

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Beaver Medical Group L.P. (Beaver) and one of its physicians, Dr. Sherif Khalil, have agreed to pay a total of $5,039,180 to resolve allegations that they reported invalid diagnoses to Medicare Advantage plans and thereby caused those plans to receive inflated payments from Medicare, the Justice Department announced. Beaver is headquartered in Redlands, California.    

“The United States relies on healthcare providers to submit accurate diagnosis data to Medicare Advantage plans to ensure those plans receive the appropriate compensation from Medicare,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “We will pursue those who undermine the integrity of the Medicare program and the data it relies upon.” 

Under the Medicare Advantage program, also known as the Medicare Part C program, Medicare beneficiaries may opt to obtain health care coverage through private insurance plans that are owned and operated by private insurers known as Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs). Medicare pays MAOs a fixed, monthly amount to provide health care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries who enroll in their plans. Medicare adjusts these monthly payments to reflect the health status of each beneficiary. In general, Medicare pays MAOs more for sicker beneficiaries and less for healthier ones.

MAOs often contract with physician groups and other healthcare providers to provide care to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in their plans. These healthcare providers report diagnoses and other information to the MAOs, which the MAOs then submit to Medicare in order to obtain higher risk-adjusted payments. 

In this case, several MAOs in California contracted with Beaver to provide health care to Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in their plans. The MAOs often compensated Beaver with a share of the payments that the MAOs received from Medicare for the beneficiaries under Beaver’s care. Thus, Beaver had a financial incentive to submit additional diagnosis codes to the MAOs in order to increase the payments that the MAOs received from Medicare. The settlement resolves allegations that Beaver and Dr. Khalil knowingly submitted diagnoses that were not supported by the beneficiaries’ medical records in order to inflate the payments that the MAO received from Medicare.

“As enrollment in Medicare Advantage continues to grow, investigation into accuracy of diagnosis data becomes ever more important,” said Timothy B. Francesca, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  “Those who inflate bills sent to government health programs can expect to pay a heavy price.”  

The settlement resolves allegations originally brought in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act by Dr. David Nutter, a former employee of Beaver. The act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of any recovery. Dr. Nutter will receive approximately $850,000.

The government’s intervention in this matter illustrates its emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

This matter was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

The case is docketed as United States ex rel. David Nutter, M.D., and David Nutter, M.D., individually, v. Sherif F. Khalil, M.D., Beaver Medical group, L.P., The Beaver Medical Clinic, Inc., Epic Management, L.P., and Epic Management, Inc., No. CVC17-02035-PSG-KKX (C.D. Cal.).    

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

The former CEO of the Israel-based company Yukom Communications, a purported sales and marketing company, was found guilty yesterday for orchestrating a scheme to defraud investors in the United States and worldwide by fraudulently marketing approximately $145 million in financial instruments known as “binary options.”

Lee Elbaz, 38, a citizen of Israel, was found guilty after a three-week jury trial of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud.  Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 9, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang of the District of Maryland, who presided over the trial.  Elbaz was arrested on a criminal complaint in September 2017 and indicted in March 2018.

“This verdict demonstrates that the Department will hold accountable those who deceive American investors with false claims and rates of returns,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “We are committed to prosecuting financial fraud, even when perpetrated from abroad.”

“I would like to commend the FBI agents, analysts and our DOJ colleagues for their hard work to seek justice for the victims of Lee Elbaz’s fraud,” said Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office, John P. Selleck.   “We would not be successful in our work if not for our partners around the world; and this investigation demonstrates that no matter where fraudsters and criminals try to hide, we will work tirelessly to locate them.”

According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendant and her co-conspirators fraudulently sold and marketed binary options to investors located in the United States and throughout the world through two websites, known as BinaryBook and BigOption.  The evidence showed that in her role as CEO of Yukom, Elbaz, along with her co-conspirators and subordinates, misled investors using BinaryBook and BigOption by falsely claiming to represent the interests of investors when, in fact, the owners of BinaryBook and BigOption profited when investors lost money; by misrepresenting the suitability of and expected return on investments through BinaryBook and BigOption; by providing investors with false names and qualifications and falsely claiming to be working from London; and by misrepresenting whether and how investors could withdraw funds from their accounts.  Representatives of BinaryBook and BigOption, working under Elbaz’s supervision, misrepresented the terms of so-called “bonuses,” “risk free trades” and “insured trades,” and deceptively used these supposed benefits in a manner that in fact harmed investors, the evidence showed.  

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  Principal Assistant Chief Henry Van Dyck and Trial Attorneys L. Rush Atkinson and Caitlin Cottingham of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.  Assistant Chief Tracee Plowell and Trial Attorney Ankush Khardori previously prosecuted the case.

Individuals who believe that they may be a victim in this case should visit the Fraud Section’s Victim Witness website for more information at: https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/lee-elbaz.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice will hold a public workshop on September 23, 2019, to discuss the role of antitrust enforcement in labor markets and promoting robust competition for the American worker. The workshop will cover a variety of labor competition issues, including, among other topics: anticompetitive no-poach and wage-fixing agreements, approaches to labor market definition, the role of employer collaboration and contractual arrangements between employers on competition for workers, labor monopsony in merger enforcement, and antitrust exemptions for collective bargaining and other labor union activity. Panelists will discuss recent developments in the law, economic research, and policy proposals, as well as how to effectively develop cases challenging labor monopsony. 

Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Makan Delrahim will open the workshop, which will bring together economists, attorneys, labor representatives, and industry experts who examine competition in labor markets and who have experience litigating or studying labor antitrust cases. The Division intends to explore the practical considerations that antitrust enforcers and private litigants face in bringing cases that involve labor markets. The workshop will begin with an overview of the status of labor economics, followed by a series of panels examining (1) approaches to defining labor markets; (2) antitrust analysis of labor restraints arising out of competitor collaborations and contractual partnerships between employers; and (3) statutory and non-statutory antitrust exemptions for labor union activities.

The Department of Justice invites comments from the public on the topics covered by this workshop. Interested parties may submit public comments online now through October 23, 2019 at atr.laborworkshop.info@usdoj.gov.  

The workshop is free and open to the public and will take place in the Great Hall of the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C., from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST on September 23, 2019. A recording of the workshop will be available on the Division’s website. Registration information, an agenda, directions to the event, and a list of speakers will be available in the near future on the event web page. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to register in advance for the workshop at atr.laborworkshop.info@usdoj.gov. Members of the press also should copy Alexei.Woltornist@usdoj.gov on their registration email. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees should bring a valid government-issued photo ID (government badge, license, passport, etc.) and arrive in time to go through security.

Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. If you need such an accommodation, please contact Alexei Woltornist in the Office of Public Affairs at Alexei.Woltornist@usdoj.gov. Such requests should include a detailed description of the accommodations needed and a way to contact you if we need more information.

The Department of Justice announced today the FBI-led recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through Operation Independence Day.  This initiative — a revamping of a previously successful program — was executed during the month of July through 161 operations conducted nationwide.

Operation Independence Day relied on the 86 FBI-led Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs), which leveraged the resources and intelligence of other federal, state, local, and tribal partners.  Overall, more than 400 agencies participate in these task forces.

Operation Independence Day prioritized locating and rescuing missing minors who are at great risk for sexual exploitation, and arresting the traffickers exploiting them.  To that end, through its partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), FBI special agents and intelligence analysts reviewed information provided through NCMEC’s CyberTipline, to identify missing minor children at risk for sexual exploitation, and then worked with state and local partners to execute law enforcement activity designed to recover those children and arrest traffickers.

The health and welfare of recovered minor and adult trafficking victims was a further priority.  To facilitate these efforts, the FBI’s Victim Services Division and victim specialists stationed in each of our 56 field offices also worked closely with the task forces during the operation to ensure recovered children received the help they needed.  Victim specialists put internal and external resources in place before the operation to ensure victim assistance was a priority in the aftermath of the law enforcement operations.   

“This initiative has two crucial goals: rescuing children being sold for sex and prosecuting their adult traffickers,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “Child sex trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable in our society.  Perpetrators victimize children in communities throughout the country, and we are determined to find and rescue them.  Through the FBI’s leadership, we have recovered thousands of child victims, and this latest operation adds to the success of that decades-long effort.”  

“Make no mistake, the FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the sex traffickers who exploit them,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.  “Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive life of sex trafficking.  Our agents, intelligence analysts, professional staff, and victim specialists work tirelessly before, during and after these operations to make sure that victims get the help they need to reclaim their lives.”

“The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is proud to be part of this extraordinary partnership with the FBI.  The FBI and the Department of Justice have been instrumental in spearheading multi-agency collaboration between organizations to locate and provide resources to victims of child sex trafficking,” said John Clark, President and CEO of NCMEC.  “We know this horrendous crime impacts communities across our country every day and we applaud the FBI for continuing to work tirelessly to locate these victims and hold accountable those who are selling children for sex.”

In June 2003, the FBI, in conjunction with the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and NCMEC, launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI).  This combined effort was aimed at addressing the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States.  In the years since its inception, the ILNI has expanded to 86 dedicated CEHTTFs.  These task forces, with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the FBI’s Victim Services Division, have worked successfully to rescue thousands of children.

Through ILNI, the FBI, along with its local law enforcement partners, uses task forces to leverage resources and intelligence to identify and recover child victims and prosecute those responsible for their exploitation.  This collaborative effort has led to the recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims.  The initiative has also led to more than 2,750 convictions, including more than 15 life sentences and many other sentences ranging from 25 years to life.

In 2008, the ILNI initiated Operation Cross Country (OCC)—a focused, national campaign that targeted the venues where children were the victims of commercial sex trafficking.  Since 2008, there have been 11 iterations of OCC, recovering more than 900 child victims and arresting nearly 1,400 traffickers.  The last operation was held in October 2017 with 78 task forces participating.

The FBI determined that after 11 years of OCC success, it was time to re-evaluate the program.  The newly renamed Operation Independence Day was conducted over an entire month, rather than a few days, but continued to focus on the recovery of child victims from commercial sex trafficking.

The FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit and DOJ coordinated the operation.  For additional information on Operation Independence Day and the Innocence Lost initiative, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/operation-independence-day-2019.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today the FBI-led recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through Operation Independence Day.  This initiative — a revamping of a previously successful program — was executed during the month of July through 161 operations conducted nationwide.

Operation Independence Day relied on the 86 FBI-led Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs), which leveraged the resources and intelligence of other federal, state, local, and tribal partners.  Overall, more than 400 agencies participate in these task forces.

Operation Independence Day prioritized locating and rescuing missing minors who are at great risk for sexual exploitation, and arresting the traffickers exploiting them.  To that end, through its partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), FBI special agents and intelligence analysts reviewed information provided through NCMEC’s CyberTipline, to identify missing minor children at risk for sexual exploitation, and then worked with state and local partners to execute law enforcement activity designed to recover those children and arrest traffickers.

The health and welfare of recovered minor and adult trafficking victims was a further priority.  To facilitate these efforts, the FBI’s Victim Services Division and victim specialists stationed in each of our 56 field offices also worked closely with the task forces during the operation to ensure recovered children received the help they needed.  Victim specialists put internal and external resources in place before the operation to ensure victim assistance was a priority in the aftermath of the law enforcement operations.

“This initiative has two crucial goals: rescuing children being sold for sex and prosecuting their adult traffickers,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “Child sex trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable in our society.  Perpetrators victimize children in communities throughout the country, and we are determined to find and rescue them.  Through the FBI’s leadership, we have recovered thousands of child victims, and this latest operation adds to the success of that decades-long effort.”  

“Make no mistake, the FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the sex traffickers who exploit them,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.  “Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive life of sex trafficking.  Our agents, intelligence analysts, professional staff, and victim specialists work tirelessly before, during and after these operations to make sure that victims get the help they need to reclaim their lives.”

“The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is proud to be part of this extraordinary partnership with the FBI.  The FBI and the Department of Justice have been instrumental in spearheading multi-agency collaboration between organizations to locate and provide resources to victims of child sex trafficking,” said John Clark, President and CEO of NCMEC.  “We know this horrendous crime impacts communities across our country every day and we applaud the FBI for continuing to work tirelessly to locate these victims and hold accountable those who are selling children for sex.”

In June 2003, the FBI, in conjunction with the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and NCMEC, launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI).  This combined effort was aimed at addressing the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States.  In the years since its inception, the ILNI has expanded to 86 dedicated CEHTTFs.  These task forces, with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the FBI’s Victim Services Division, have worked successfully to rescue thousands of children.

Through ILNI, the FBI, along with its local law enforcement partners, uses task forces to leverage resources and intelligence to identify and recover child victims and prosecute those responsible for their exploitation.  This collaborative effort has led to the recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims.  The initiative has also led to more than 2,750 convictions, including more than 15 life sentences and many other sentences ranging from 25 years to life.

In 2008, the ILNI initiated Operation Cross Country (OCC)—a focused, national campaign that targeted the venues where children were the victims of commercial sex trafficking.  Since 2008, there have been 11 iterations of OCC, recovering more than 900 child victims and arresting nearly 1,400 traffickers.  The last operation was held in October 2017 with 78 task forces participating.

The FBI determined that after 11 years of OCC success, it was time to re-evaluate the program.  The newly renamed Operation Independence Day was conducted over an entire month, rather than a few days, but continued to focus on the recovery of child victims from commercial sex trafficking.

The FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit and DOJ coordinated the operation.  For additional information on Operation Independence Day and the Innocence Lost initiative, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/oid2019.

                                                                         # # #

19-842

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today the FBI-led recovery or identification of 103 child victims and the arrest of 67 sex traffickers through Operation Independence Day.  This initiative — a revamping of a previously successful program — was executed during the month of July through 161 operations conducted nationwide.

Operation Independence Day relied on the 86 FBI-led Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces (CEHTTFs), which leveraged the resources and intelligence of other federal, state, local, and tribal partners.  Overall, more than 400 agencies participate in these task forces.

Operation Independence Day prioritized locating and rescuing missing minors who are at great risk for sexual exploitation, and arresting the traffickers exploiting them.  To that end, through its partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), FBI special agents and intelligence analysts reviewed information provided through NCMEC’s CyberTipline, to identify missing minor children at risk for sexual exploitation, and then worked with state and local partners to execute law enforcement activity designed to recover those children and arrest traffickers.

The health and welfare of recovered minor and adult trafficking victims was a further priority.  To facilitate these efforts, the FBI’s Victim Services Division and victim specialists stationed in each of our 56 field offices also worked closely with the task forces during the operation to ensure recovered children received the help they needed.  Victim specialists put internal and external resources in place before the operation to ensure victim assistance was a priority in the aftermath of the law enforcement operations.

"This initiative has two crucial goals: rescuing children being sold for sex and prosecuting their adult traffickers,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.  “Child sex trafficking is a heinous crime that preys on the most vulnerable in our society.  Perpetrators victimize children in communities throughout the country, and we are determined to find and rescue them.  Through the FBI’s leadership, we have recovered thousands of child victims, and this latest operation adds to the success of that decades-long effort.”  

“Make no mistake, the FBI is fiercely focused on recovering child victims and arresting the sex traffickers who exploit them,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray.  “Through operations like this, the FBI helps child victims escape the abusive life of sex trafficking.  Our agents, intelligence analysts, professional staff, and victim specialists work tirelessly before, during and after these operations to make sure that victims get the help they need to reclaim their lives.”

“The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is proud to be part of this extraordinary partnership with the FBI.  The FBI and the Department of Justice have been instrumental in spearheading multi-agency collaboration between organizations to locate and provide resources to victims of child sex trafficking,” said John Clark, President and CEO of NCMEC.  “We know this horrendous crime impacts communities across our country every day and we applaud the FBI for continuing to work tirelessly to locate these victims and hold accountable those who are selling children for sex.”

In June 2003, the FBI, in conjunction with the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and NCMEC, launched the Innocence Lost National Initiative (ILNI).  This combined effort was aimed at addressing the growing problem of domestic sex trafficking of children in the United States.  In the years since its inception, the ILNI has expanded to 86 dedicated CEHTTFs.  These task forces, with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the FBI’s Victim Services Division, have worked successfully to rescue thousands of children.

Through ILNI, the FBI, along with its local law enforcement partners, uses task forces to leverage resources and intelligence to identify and recover child victims and prosecute those responsible for their exploitation.  This collaborative effort has led to the recovery or identification of more than 6,600 child victims.  The initiative has also led to more than 2,750 convictions, including more than 15 life sentences and many other sentences ranging from 25 years to life.

In 2008, the ILNI initiated Operation Cross Country (OCC)—a focused, national campaign that targeted the venues where children were the victims of commercial sex trafficking.  Since 2008, there have been 11 iterations of OCC, recovering more than 900 child victims and arresting nearly 1,400 traffickers.  The last operation was held in October 2017 with 78 task forces participating.

The FBI determined that after 11 years of OCC success, it was time to re-evaluate the program.  The newly renamed Operation Independence Day was conducted over an entire month, rather than a few days, but continued to focus on the recovery of child victims from commercial sex trafficking.

The FBI’s Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit and DOJ coordinated the operation.  For additional information on Operation Independence Day and the Innocence Lost initiative, please visit www.fbi.gov/oid2019.

# # #

The Department of Justice today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with R.E.E. Inc., which owns and operates McDonald’s restaurants in the Texas Rio Grande Valley.  The settlement resolves a claim that the restaurants R.E.E. operated violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens when verifying their work authorization.

“Employers should not impose discriminatory restrictions on the choice of valid, legally acceptable documents workers can present to prove they are authorized to work,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division.  “We are pleased that R.E.E. will work with the Division to ensure that, in the future, it doesn’t impose unlawful discriminatory barriers on workers during the employment eligibility verification process.”

The Department’s investigation concluded that from at least Oct. 14, 2015, to at least Dec. 31, 2017, R.E.E. required non-U.S. citizens to provide specific documentation issued by the Department of Homeland Security to prove their work authorization because of their citizenship or immigration status, even though some had already presented other valid proof of their authorization to work.  The Department also concluded that R.E.E. improperly rejected valid documents some non-U.S. citizens tried to present to prove their work authorization, such as their state IDs and unrestricted Social Security cards.  All work-authorized individuals, regardless of citizenship status, have the right to choose which valid, legally acceptable documents to present to demonstrate their ability to work in the United States.   

Under the settlement, R.E.E. will pay $82,800 in civil penalties to the United States, pay $8,746.43 in back pay to a worker who lost work as a result of R.E.E.’s hiring practices, and be subject to departmental monitoring, training, and reporting requirements.

The Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.  Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation. 

More information on how employers can avoid unlawful discrimination is available here.  Workers can find information about their rights under the anti-discrimination provision of the INA here.  For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; or discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.   

LLB Verwaltung (Switzerland) AG, formerly known as “Liechtensteinische Landesbank (Schweiz) AG” (LLB-Switzerland), a Swiss-based private bank, reached a resolution with the United States Department of Justice, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division today. As part of the agreement, LLB-Switzerland will pay a penalty of $10,680,554.64 to the United States.

“This resolution is another step forward in the Department of Justice’s pursuit of tax evaders, who use foreign bank accounts to commit criminal activity, and those institutions, who enable such criminal tax activity,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman. “The Department is dedicated to holding both financial institutions and individual offenders accountable for tax evasion.”

According to the terms of the non-prosecution agreement, in addition to paying a penalty, LLB-Switzerland has agreed to cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings in return for the Department’s agreement not to prosecute the company for tax-related criminal offenses committed by LLB-Switzerland.

According to the statement of facts agreed to by the parties, LLB-Switzerland and some of its employees, including members of the bank’s management, conspired with a Swiss asset manager and U.S. clients to conceal those U.S. clients’ assets and income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through various means, including using Swiss bank secrecy protections and nominee companies set up in tax haven jurisdictions. At its peak, LLB-Switzerland had approximately one hundred U.S. clients holding nearly $200 million in assets. The majority of those accounts were in the names of nominee entities.

In 1997, Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG (LLB-Vaduz), a bank headquartered in Liechtenstein, acquired LLB-Switzerland (LLB-Vaduz reached a separate agreement with the Justice Department in 2013 that excluded LLB-Switzerland from the resolution). At that time, LLB-Switzerland provided banking and asset management services to individuals and entities, including citizens and residents of the United States, principally through private bankers based in Zurich, Geneva and Lugano, Switzerland. LLB-Switzerland also acted as a custodian of assets managed by third-party external investment advisers.

In 2003, LLB-Switzerland began a relationship with a Swiss asset manager. The asset manager offered to create nominee structures, including corporations, foundations, and trusts, to conceal accounts owned by his U.S. clients at Swiss financial institutions. LLB-Switzerland delegated to the Swiss asset manager the authority to prepare account opening and “know your customer” (KYC) documents. 

The Swiss asset manager provided prospective customers with a sales letter, pitching his ability to conceal a client’s assets and income from taxing authorities through the use of multiple layers of sham offshore entities and nominee directors in countries or regions that the Swiss asset manager thought would resist requests for information and assistance from foreign law enforcement, including law enforcement in the United States. LLB-Switzerland and its management knew that the Swiss asset manager was marketing structures to clients as a means of tax evasion as the bank kept a copy of the manager’s sales letter in the bank’s files.

In 2008, after it became publicly known that UBS AG, Switzerland’s largest bank, was the target of a U.S. criminal investigation focusing on tax and other violations, the amounts that LLB-Switzerland held for U.S. clients swelled. At the end of 2007, the Bank had 72 U.S. clients with almost $80 million in assets. By the end of the next year, the number of U.S. clients increased to 107, but the assets more than doubled to over $176 million. LLB-Switzerland’s management knew that many of the U.S. clients coming to LLB‑Switzerland were bringing undeclared funds with them. 

Although LLB-Switzerland’s management monitored the United States’ investigation of UBS, LLB-Switzerland failed to take actions to cease assisting U.S. taxpayers to evade their taxes. While in August 2008, LLB-Vaduz prohibited U.S. persons from becoming clients of the Liechtenstein bank, LLB-Switzerland did not implement a similar policy. Despite press reports, indicating the Swiss asset manager was under investigation for helping clients evade U.S. taxes, LLB-Switzerland waited two years – until a grand jury had indicted the Swiss asset manager - to close the accounts he managed. 

LLB-Switzerland’s remediation efforts since 2012 have been comprehensive. It halted and terminated all U.S. cross-border business with U.S. clients. All of LLB-Switzerland’s U.S. clients and its relationship with the Swiss asset manager ended. It also dismissed its managers and employees implicated in the Department’s investigation of the bank’s U.S. cross-border business, and LLB-Vaduz has shut down the operations of LLB-Switzerland. In 2013, LLB-Vaduz closed LLB-Switzerland and returned LLB-Switzerland’s banking license to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman thanked Senior Litigation Counsel Mark F. Daly and Assistant Chief Jason Poole of the Tax Division, who served as counsel on this matter. Zuckerman also thanked the Internal Revenue Service for its assistance.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.

Attorney General William P. Barr issued the following statement:

"The Justice Department joins in mourning with the people of El Paso, Texas. Those who commit such atrocities should be held accountable swiftly and to the fullest extent the law allows."

A federal jury in Flint, Michigan, convicted Gerri Avery today of engaging in a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Avery obstructed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in its attempts to collect payroll taxes due and owing for Integrated HCS Practice Management (Integrated), a Southfield, Michigan, company, by providing false and misleading information to the IRS Revenue Officer attempting to collect the taxes owed. Integrated, a management services business for healthcare providers, failed to pay payroll taxes due from its employees for the third quarter of 2013, the fourth quarter of 2013, and the first quarter of 2014. Avery, whose duties at Integrated were central to the business’s operations, made statements to the IRS Revenue Officer that attempted to minimize her involvement in and knowledge of the business as well as the involvement of Joseph DeSanto, one of the owners of the business. Avery also told the IRS she did not know how to obtain bank statements and other documents related to the business, despite regularly accessing such records as part of her responsibilities for the company.

In a related case, DeSanto himself has pleaded guilty to failing to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over payroll taxes relating to Integrated and to failure to file his personal tax return for 2013.

United States District Judge Laurie J. Michelson scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2019. Avery faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, in addition to a term of supervised release and restitution.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Mark McDonald and William Guappone, who are prosecuting the case, and paralegal Eric Mahoney.   

Additional information about the Tax Division’s enforcement efforts can be found on the Division’s website.

The Department of Justice today announced that it reached a settlement agreement with Pete Pappas and Sons Inc. (Pappas and Sons), a produce distribution company located in Jessup, Maryland. The settlement resolves claims that Pappas and Sons violated the antidiscrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by unlawfully requesting specific work authorization documents from non-U.S. citizens based on their citizenship or immigration status.

“Employers cannot reject valid work documentation based on the citizenship, immigration status, or national origin of their employees,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “We appreciate Pete Pappas and Sons’ cooperation and look forward to working with the company to ensure compliance with the settlement.”

The Department of Justice initiated an investigation after a refugee filed a charge alleging that Pappas and Sons required him to present an unnecessary immigration document during onboarding, even though he had already presented a driver’s license and unrestricted Social Security card, which were sufficient to prove his identity and work authorization. The investigation concluded that a human resources employee at Pappas and Sons rejected valid documents and routinely requested unnecessary immigration documents from non-U.S. citizens because of their citizenship or immigration status, which, in the refugee worker’s case, delayed his start date. The INA prohibits employers from rejecting valid documents and making unnecessary requests for additional work eligibility documentation based on a worker’s citizenship, immigration status, or national origin.

Under the settlement, Pappas and Sons will pay a civil penalty to the United States, provide back wages to the injured worker, train the company’s human resources personnel on the requirements of the INA’s antidiscrimination provision, and be subject to Department compliance monitoring. 

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination against individuals who are authorized to work based on citizenship, immigration status, and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation.

Employers can find information on how to avoid unlawful discrimination in the Form I-9 and E-Verify processes here. Employers can find additional information on how to avoid unlawful discrimination based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin here. Workers can find information about their rights under the antidiscrimination provision of the INA here. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the INA, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a free webinar; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe to GovDelivery to receive updates from IER.

Applicants or employees who believe they were subjected to discrimination based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin; or retaliation can file a charge or contact IER’s worker hotline for assistance.

The Department of Justice announced today that it will require Nexstar Media Group Inc. and Tribune Media Company to divest broadcast television stations in thirteen markets as a condition of resolving a challenge to the proposed $6.4 billion merger between Nexstar and Tribune.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with the offices of three state Attorneys General, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed merger. At the same time, the Division filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the suit by remedying the competitive harms alleged in the complaint, through the divestitures and related conditions.  The participating state Attorneys General offices represent Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

“Without the required divestitures, Nexstar’s merger with Tribune threatens significant competitive harm to cable and satellite TV subscribers and small businesses,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “I am pleased, however, that we have been able to reach a resolution of the Division’s concerns, thanks in part to the parties’ commitment to engage in good faith settlement talks from the outset of our investigation.”

According to the complaint, without the divestitures the merger would eliminate head-to-head competition between Nexstar and Tribune in the thirteen local markets in which the divestitures are being required. These markets are centered in Davenport, Iowa; Des Moines, Iowa; Ft. Smith, Arkansas; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Hartford, Connecticut; Huntsville, Alabama; Indianapolis, Indiana; Memphis, Tennessee; Norfolk, Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

As a result of the merger, the combined company would likely charge cable and satellite companies higher retransmission fees to carry the combined company’s broadcast stations, resulting in higher monthly cable and satellite bills for millions of Americans.

The merger would also enable the company to charge local businesses and other advertisers higher prices for spot advertising in the divestiture markets. Businesses that rely on broadcast advertising benefit from price competition among broadcast station owners. Nexstar and Tribune compete with one another for the business of local advertisers, and the proposed merger would eliminate that competition, harming local businesses.

The Antitrust Division has determined that the divestitures would resolve aforementioned antitrust concerns related to the licensing of retransmission consent and the sale of broadcast television spot advertising that would otherwise result from the merger. The divestitures required under the settlement announced today would, if approved by the court, require Nexstar to sell one or more stations currently owned by either Nexstar or Tribune in each of the thirteen markets. The settlement requires that the divestitures be accomplished in such a way as to satisfy the United States that the divested stations, in consultation with the Attorneys General of Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and associated assets will be used by the buyers as part of a viable and competitive commercial television broadcasting business.

Nexstar is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Irving, Texas.  Nexstar owns 171 television stations in 100 local markets.  In 2018, Nexstar reported revenues of $2.8 billion.

Tribune is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.  Tribune owns 44 television stations in 33 local markets.  In 2018, Tribune earned revenues of more than $2.0 billion.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the department’s competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Owen Kendler, Chief, Media, Entertainment, and Professional Services Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest.

A Micronesian government official was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release yesterday for his participation in a money laundering scheme involving bribes made to corruptly secure engineering and project management contracts from the government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Eli S. Miranda of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office.

Master Halbert, 44, a Micronesian citizen, was sentenced in Honolulu by U.S. District Judge Susan O. Mollway of the District of Hawaii.  Halbert pleaded guilty on April 2 to a one-count information filed in the District of Hawaii charging him with conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Halbert was a government official in the FSM Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure who administered FSM’s aviation programs, including the management of its airports.  Halbert admitted that between 2006 and 2016, a Hawaii-based engineering and consulting company owned by Frank James Lyon paid bribes to FSM officials, including Halbert, to obtain and retain contracts with the FSM government valued at nearly $8 million, in violation of the FCPA.  Lyon and Halbert agreed that these bribe payments would be transported from the United States to the FSM.

Lyon, 53, of Honolulu, Hawaii, pleaded guilty on Jan. 22 to a one-count information filed in the District of Hawaii charging him with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and to commit federal program fraud.  Lyon was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison on May 13. 

The FBI investigated this case.  Trial Attorney Katherine Raut of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General provided significant assistance. 

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters.  Additional information about the Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.